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Fringe Shorts

Aug 9, 2012
FRINGE SHORTS: "BOOGIEography" by Blue Umbrella Productions
Camille LeFevre

Camille Lefevre says this crowdpleasing festival favorite is "quick, quirky and fun." If you'd like to see this show, act quickly to get your tickets - this one's been selling out the house.
Aug 9, 2012
FRINGE SHORTS: "The Urban Hermit" by Rachel Nelson
phillip andrew bennett low

phillip andrew bennett low muses on storytelling devices, busking, and the powers of empathy in this review of Rachel Nelson's "The Urban Hermit".
Aug 9, 2012
FRINGE SHORTS: "The Dust" by Core Project Chicago
Amber Davis

Amber Davis enjoyed the excerpts from Core Project Chicago's thought-provoking interdisciplinary movement piece exploring the entanglements of Death, Fate, Memory and Man.
Aug 9, 2012
FRINGE SHORTS: "Two Dead Boys" by the Newton Theatre
phillip andrew bennett low

phillip andrew bennett low was thrilled by this under-the-radar show, calling it "Hans Christian Andersen meets Itchy and Scratchy, by way of Eugene Ionesco."
Aug 9, 2012
FRINGE SHORTS: "The Gay Banditos" by The Mechanical Division
Amber Davis

Amber Davis says "The Gay Banditos" is pretty funny, but even the show's kick-ass ensemble of talented actors aren't enough to compensate for a so-so script with a penchant for easy stereotypes.
Aug 9, 2012
FRINGE SHORTS: “Identity" by Threads Dance Project
Camille LeFevre

Camille LeFevre says this young dance troupe performs sometimes unsteadily, but with conviction: "The intention is laudable. The choreography and its execution are still in process."
Aug 8, 2012
FRINGE SHORTS: "Bodacious Beauties" by Eileen Rosensteel
Amber Davis

Amber Davis was intrigued by Eileen Rosensteel's turn-of-the-20th century piece on sideshows and sizeism, and though the premise is promising, the script lacks the nuanced storytelling that would have made its message more resonant for modern audiences.
Aug 8, 2012
FRINGE SHORTS: "The Mysterious Disappearance of the Second Younger Sister" by RE/Dance
Camille LeFevre

Camille LeFevre says RE/Dance's show generated more unresolved questions than answers: "Is it an allegory about the loss of literature, letters, meaning, reading, and the heft and tactile qualities of books in a digital age?" Mysterious indeed.
Aug 8, 2012
FRINGE SHORTS: "An Answer for the Unknown" by New Plastic Theatre
phillip andrew bennett low

phillip andrew bennett low wanted to love New Plastic Theatre's big-ideas, ambitious reimagining of Dante's "Inferno" - saying it has so much to commend it - but "it falls down in places it can't afford to."
Aug 7, 2012
FRINGE SHORTS: "Ivory Tower Burning" by Jay Gabler
Camille LeFevre

Before serving as arts editor at the Twin Cities Daily Planet, Jay Gabler received a doctorate in sociology from Harvard, an education he puts to fine use in his thought-provoking Fringe Festival debut, "Ivory Tower Burning," says Camille LeFevre.
Aug 6, 2012
FRINGE SHORTS: "Nucleus...and Other Cell Bodies" by Kelly Radermacher
phillip andrew bennett low

Playwright phillip andrew bennett low was really excited to see a Fringe show mixing dance and science -- turns out "Nucleus... and Other Cell Bodies" isn't quite as straightforward as all that.
Aug 6, 2012
FRINGE SHORTS: "Voices of Action: Women in Performance"
Amber Davis

Actor and stage manager Amber Davis is a new addition to mnartists.org Fringe team. First up: she recommends a thoughtful assortment of dance works featuring Taja Will, Elizabeth June Bergman, Lynn Andrews and Krista DeNio.
Aug 12, 2011
FRINGE SHORTS: "House of Usher" by Coin Purse Theatre Company
phillip low

Reviewer phillip low was predisposed to like this show, but despite the "ballsiness" of the project, he found this story-behind-the-story about Edgar Allen Poe's life rang a bit false.
Aug 12, 2011
FRINGE SHORTS: "Ballet Amore" by Cities' Classical Dance Ensemble
Lightsey Darst

Lightsey Darst weighs in on a show by the Twin Cities newest ballet company, "Ballet Amore:" she says it's an ably executed crowdpleaser, the sort that makes for a nice introduction to the form, if you're new to ballet.
Aug 12, 2011
FRINGE SHORTS: "Longing for Qeej" by Iny Asian Dance Theatre
Lightsey Darst

Lightsey says you should go see "Longing for Qeej" - not for the usual "cultural blahblah" reasons - but for the glitter and incandescent smiles, and to encourage more working in these dance forms to make forays outside specifically Asian audiences.
Aug 11, 2011
FRINGE SHORTS: "Fletcher and Zenobia Save the Circus" by Live Action Set
Christy DeSmith

Christy DeSmith finds the aesthetic appeal and visual storytelling of this show (like all Live Action Set productions) utterly compelling - and that's good, because the script itself doesn't quite bear its fair share of the narrative burden.
Aug 10, 2011
FRINGE SHORTS: "The 612" by Rogues Gallery Arts
Christy DeSmith

Christy DeSmith had high hopes for this show after seeing the cheeky, local-music themed marketing postcard. While she liked "The 612" fine, it didn't quite live up to her expectations.
Aug 10, 2011
FRINGE SHORTS: "This is Where Your Free Time Goes to Die" by Screaming Mutes Productions
phillip low

phillip low loved "This is Where Your Time Goes to Die," written by the late Tim Gage, a local playwright who died of melanoma more than a year ago and performed by three different actors.
Aug 10, 2011
FRINGE SHORTS: "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by Peterjohn Productions
Lightsey Darst

Lightsey Darst offers a perceptive, fantastically witty review of a show she says "truly reeks of college dorm room." She's got some bracing criticism for the players, for sure, but delivers it with both style and a fair amount of affection.
Aug 10, 2011
FRINGE SHORTS: "The Attic Room" by RE/Dance Group
Camille LeFevre

Camille LeFevre raves, "After years of watching dance at Fringe and writing aimed at encouraging the almost-there, it's a joy to discover a fully-formed show that, even in its youthful vigor, engages the intellect and resonates with the heart and spirit."
Aug 8, 2011
FRINGE SHORTS: "Flesh" by Present State Movement
Lightsey Darst

Lightsey Darst reviews one of this year's most buzzed-about Fringe performances, "Flesh" by Present State Movement: five solos by five stellar Twin Cities dancers: Tamara Ober, Leslie O'Neill, Laura Selle Virtucio, Nic Lincoln, and Amy Behm-Thomson).
Aug 8, 2011
FRINGE SHORTS: “Super Spectacular! To Opera with Love” by the Donovan Ensemble
Christy DeSmith

Christy DeSmith took in what looks to be an emerging hit from this year's Fringe, "Super Spectacular! To Opera with Love" by the NYC-based Donovan Ensemble- filled with charmingly irreverent, reworked renditions of opera classics.
Aug 6, 2011
FRINGE SHORTS: “How Do You See It?” by Christopher Watson Dance Company & Jeffrey Peterson Dance
Camille LeFevre

Camille LeFevre reports back from a collection of thoughtful dance performances at the Fringe, choreographed by Christopher Watson and Jeffrey Peterson - "How Do You See It?"
Aug 6, 2011
FRINGE SHORTS: "Robot Lincoln: The Revengeance (The Musical)" by OT Pro-Ductions
phillip low

phillip low reviews "Robot Lincoln: The Revengeance (The Musical)," a Fringe debut by Mankato-based OT Pro-Ductions, and he finds it delightfully silly mess of a show that, warts and all, he says is definitely one to see.
Aug 6, 2011
FRINGE SHORTS: "Grim Walks Tonight" by Rainy Day Cabaret
Camille LeFevre

As happens at the Fringe, Camille LeFevre caught a show she'd not put in her itinerary, while waiting for another to begin. She found Rainy Day Cabaret's "Grim Walks Tonight" to be an intriguing, if not quite fully realized big-ideas dance production.

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