It is upon us! My favorite time of year. It beats Christmas, New Years Eve, and even my birthday. It's 10 days of the year that are dedicated to everything I love: creativity, challenge, risk, festival, communication, performing, witnessing, processing art, and drinking.

There are hundreds of shows happening in Minneapolis this weekend, this week, and next weekend. Check out the Fringe Website: www.fringefestival.com, read some audience reviews, find a show or two that sounds interesting, and go check it out. This is the time to get out of your comfort zone and feed your brain with a little theater. Then head to Bedlam Theater, this year's headquarters, to have a beer and talk about what you saw and what you thought with other Fringe-goers.

Minneapolis is renowned for its amazing Fringe. Come see what all the fuss is about.

dorajar wrote:

It is upon us! My favorite time of year. It beats Christmas, New Years Eve, and even my birthday. It's 10 days of the year that are dedicated to everything I love: creativity, challenge, risk, festival, communication, performing, witnessing, processing art, and drinking.

Woah woah woah woah. People have been trying to get me to get interested in this fringe thing, but why has no one told me about the drinking?!?

Oh yeah. There are parties every single night of the Fringe. Every.Single.Night. This year they're all at Bedlam, on 6th St. by Cedar-Riverside. Great space with lots of different rooms and even a rooftop patio with a great view of the skyline. Multiple bars, lots of room for milling about, tons of fascinating people... come check it out!

So far my top recommendation is the Cody Rivers show. These guys are brilliant and will blow your mind!

More recommendations!

American Sexy, by the New Theatre Group, performing at the U of M Rarig Arena. My brief review:

This show made me really uncomfortable. Which is good. It says something true and sad about what it is to be a young woman (and man) in today's culture of hyper-projection of image, short attention spans, brief celebrity, and sexuality as female power. There were a few moments that had me squirming in my seat with sheer discomfort from the degradation the female characters were willingly submitting themselves to, all the time mistaking it for getting the upper hand over the boys. This is a disturbing but profoundly insightful look at the clash between inner lives and the need to feel validated by others' desire by any means necessary. The actors are brave, and I applaud their fearless tackling of such difficult material. The New Theatre Group has completed a trifecta of awesome Fringe shows with American Sexy. Check it out.

Musical the Musical! by Urban Samurai at the U of M Rarig Proscenium

This is one raunchy, hilarious, gasp-inducing, roll-in-the-aisles-funny show. The satire is funny, the actors are shameless, and the music is great. Krystyn Spratt is an incredible actress and I can't wait to see whatever she does next. Ryan Grimes and Courtney Miner delight as opposite sides of the same coin. Reid is charming, Kecia is adorable, and the chorus is full of talent too. I'm not easily shocked, but I found myself clapping my hand over my mouth more than once. Hilarious!

More winners...

Shift, at the Bryant-Lake Bowl. A powerful, moving, engaging, and funny one man show.

And An Intimate Evening with Mike Fotis. He sits in a chair and reads you his stories. And they're hilarious. Tonight's 10 PM show was sold out. See it if you can!