Minnesota Fringe Festival 2012: "Nightmare Without Pants" at the U of M Rarig Center Thurst

All day I was waffling between seeing Class of 98 or Happy Hour in the 5:30 slot. Finally, I decided to see neither and go with Joking Envelope's Nightmare Without Pants (after realizing I chose one Scrimshaw over another—Joseph Scrimshaw wrote/acted Nightmare Without Pants while his wife Sarah Stevenson Scrimshaw created the boozy dance number Happy Hour). That's the aspect of the Fringe that causes me anxiety: having to make decisions like this (I'm so afraid of making a regrettable one). 

Anyway. I was really happy with the decision to see Nightmare Without Pants as it turned out. During the first 15 minutes I wasn't sure I going to be impressed, the audience laughter seemed more obligatory than uncontrollable. But that didn't last for very long. Nightmare is as weird a show as the program claims and the title suggests. The revolves around one woman's "nightmare" (Shanan Custer, who keeps her pants on throughout) where she must fall in love with a stranger in order to escape bizarre punishment for doing her taxes wrong. Joseph Scrimshaw's added another funny show to his repertoire. I wonder if anything more will be done with it, as the ending seemed kind of unfinished. But, then again, dreams and nightmares rarely satisfy.