Sunday-Fringe Day 4

by Wendy Gennaula • August 4, 2008 • We took the light rail train to Bedlam (Fringe Central) today. We saw two shows and Mixed Blood and then walked to the Rarig for the third. We headed back to Bedlam where we enjoyed the Best Ice Cream Sandwiches Ever! Then we hopped back on the train and came home.

Good To Momma is the blog of Wendy Gennaula, one of five bloggers covering the Minnesota Fringe Festival for the Daily Planet.

Next we saw PieRats:The Crusade for Peaches Cobbler. Although the script was clever the production felt under-rehearsed. There were transitions where you could see the cast thinking “what comes next?”. Kyle Conner as the pie maker frequently broke character. The story had some great bits. William Bradshaw as Blind Bart with his “evil pocket dog” Jolly Rodger-Rita” had the audience in stitches.

I also question the wisdom of opening the show with an off-color joke: A pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel down his trousers. The bartender says “do you know there’s a steering wheel down your trousers” to which the pirate replies “it’s drivin’ me nuts!”

I’m no prude. My kids are older and I have no problem with it. The joke is funny. But I don’t know many familes who take their pre-schooler to a pirate play to hear jokes about men’s junk.

Our final play was John Heimbuch’s Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead. This is not a show intended for kids but Tommy really wanted to see this one. He enjoyed it but much of it flew over his head. He wanted more zombie action.

I loved it. The script was witty and tight and the cast was superb. I would love to see this play extended to a full-length show. If anything, I think the zombies should be more terrifying.

We are taking tomorrow off from fringing. I still have 3 shows left to review.

Wendy Gennaula is a singer and actress in the Twin Cities. She is the mother of two extraordinary Fringelings.