Minnesota Fringe Festival: Fear Factor, Storms Beneath Her Skin, Even Yours and Starf*cker
Sunday, lovely Sunday:
I spent a large part of the day trying to get gallons of cat pee out of my sister’s clothes after the cat visited her suitcase. The life of a Fringe blogger and board member is so exotic and action-packed. Two heavy soil wash cycles and a presoak with all of the white vinegar I had in the house, coupled with five stinky dryer sheets, provided acceptable results. The clothes smell odd, but the odor is not identifiable as cat pee. I am now about to try a magical solution on the saturated leather sandals, and am not optimistic. Stay tuned. Some days I think my life could be its own Fringe show. I don’t know if I’d have much of an audience for this part. Is there enough material to do a whole hour on getting cat pee out of things? The list is long at our house: cement floor, wood floor, carpet, clothing, shoes, jackets, suitcase, guitar case, recording studio cables, treadmill, yoga mat. That’s just off the top of my head. On other breaking news, I found THREE pairs of my capris in Bob’s dresser that I thought were lost forever! It was like Christmas!!
John Grady’s Fear Factor: Canine Edition at Patrick’s Cabaret is a touching and lovely story about man’s best friend. Anyone who has ever had a pet can relate to the bonds formed and also the hard decisions that we’re obligated to make as the pet reaches the end of its life. Very sweet show. I don’t think I’m giving anything away by saying the dog dies in the end, and I appreciated Grady’s rendition of the story – heartfelt, but not devastatingly harrowing for the audience. It’s a great show, highly recommended. See him on Thursday at 8:30.
Storms Beneath Her Skin at Patrick’s Cabaret. I had been looking forward to Rebecca’s story (a candid sharing of her transition from boy to girl, including emotions, observations and logistics) and thought her show was entertaining, extremely informative and thought provoking. I honestly don’t understand why variations on the continuum of sexual/gender identity are any more scandalized than differences in intelligence, body size, athletic ability, or hair color. I hope that within my lifetime the notion that we must fit neatly into either Box A or Box B – for anything – will be viewed as preposterous. See Rebecca’s next show Tuesday at 5:30.
On to Even Yours at Theatre in the Round. This show about deceit and infidelity was strong for the first three-quarters or so of the show. Compelling story and acting, but then the train left the tracks and I won’t give anything away, but WHAT??? Seriously? I left confused, but I can’t say I hated the show. It just got weird and finished weirder. The reviews are coming in strong – maybe those people have more friends who have experienced Evan’s particular trip to the wrong side of the tracks. And if so, I’d like to meet them. I welcome discussion about this one – it could be I’m just too dull to figure it all out. Check it out Thursday at 5:30.
Starf*cker! Oh my gosh, he’s going on again in like an hour. Get over to the Rarig Thrust! Deemed my sister’s favorite of the eight shows she saw, Jason’s show is very funny. It’s as if Jason moved from his rural Minnesota hometown and ate Kathy Griffin and started stalking stars. Jason will be fighting off fag hag wannabes with a stick. If you can’t get to Rarig by 5:30 today, try again Thursday at 10.
- Kate Hoff's blog
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I am a volunteer board member of the Fringe. I began blogging the festival in 2004 and joined the board in 2008. This blog is my opinion only and not that of the Fringe.
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