Fringe Festival Day 3!

Day 3 of the Fringe!  Saturdays are a busy one, with the first show starting at 1:00 in the afternoon.  Our first stop this fine day was to the Theater in the Round (just down the street from Town Hall and Republic 7 Corners) for a showing of The Tourist Trap.

Need some bloomers?

The Tourist Trap was a really well done production and quite creepy and disturbing, differing from the glut of comedies I've been seeing.  This one would have fit in just fine to the Twin Cities Horror Festival.  Full of disturbing twists, I would recommend this if you like serial killers, gore, and great acting!

Our second show was in the same venue, so we filed out, got in line for our tickets and then back into line for seating.  This time we were seeing Mainly Me Productions' Our American Assassin; or You Can't Handle the Booth!  I've loved every production these guys have done, and this is no exception.  Bordering on the ridiculous at times, this show covers the assassination of Abraham Lincoln from the point of view of the actors in the play he was seeing at the time.  Some great music cues as well.  Silly, funny, an all-around great comedy!

Sj entering the massive eyesore that is the Rarig Center!

Next we trucked it over to the Rarig Center to catch a showing of CIRCULATE.  Last year we saw CLOCKED by this group and found it to be one of the best dance pieces we had ever seen so we tried them out again this year.  Circulate is a bit less about dance and more about movement and physicality. A mix of skits and dance, the show focusses on the news in all its forms, with some excellent improv thrown in as well.  Worth a viewing!

Back to the Theater in the Round!  This time to see Fifth Planet.  I wasn't sure what to expect from this show but had seen actor Edwin Strout and Director/Producer Jean Wolff in my favorite Fringe show of all time The Friar and the Nurse, so I took a chance.  A slow burn of a show, starting quietly and slowly, but building up to a fine and rewarding end.  Both of the actors did an amazing job of handling this understated but very real story of friendships, astronomy, and love.  Great sound and lighting as well.  See it.  Seriously.

Back to the Rarig for Stuck on a Truck: A Hooch Crixby Mystery.  This was a bit of a wild card show for us, filling a blank spot on our well-planned schedule.  Both my wife and I enjoyed the show, but it isn't in our top list.  A fun red-neck murder mystery but not incredibly deep.  There were a few missed cues in our showing, but overall still a decent show.

Yes at this point we actually ate dinner.  A great duck burger at Republic paired with a Founders Devil Dancer for me and I was ready for one last show!

Our final show was The Sex (ED) Show!  By the Dirty Curls.  Banjo toting Courtney McLean fronts this band of ladies (and one guy on bass) who teach us all about sex in song, dance, and storytelling.  Funny doesn't begin to cover what these gals do.  I had tears of laughter draining out of the corners of my eyes through much of the show.  At one point Courtney's banjo strap broke but she went with it-- playing her banjo balanced on one leg like Ian Anderson in Jethro Tull!  Crass, dirty, an occasional boob, this one is not for kids!  In the smallest stage in Rarig, so I would pre-order tickets if you plan on seeing them--they are likely to sell out!