Minnesota Fringe Festival 2008

Five satirical scenes for your inner pot-smoking hippie... or war-loving neocon wingnut. This is humor for 9/12, from a woman paralyzed by fear (as told by Edgar Allen Poe) to "George W. Quixote."

The genius of Edgar Allan Poeoriginal American poet, master of horror and mystery writeras you have never seen displayed on stage before. "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Purloined Letter" and "The Bells."

In Dreams Begin Responsibilities

by Marya Hart

Venue: Ritz Theater Proscenium

An ill-suited couple decides to marry. The son of their unhappy bond witnesses the courtship, with funny and heartbreaking results. A musical adaptation of Delmore Schwartz's story. (A work in progress.)

Life Sciences

by Frustrated Muppets

Venue: Playwrights' Center

Four strangers are trapped in a man-sized hamster cage. Where are they? How did they get there? Is it hilarious and awesome? Yes, yes, it is. Join us for this irreverent, semi-existential romp!

My War: From Bismarck to Britain and Back

by Klatch Productions

Venue: Theatre de la Jeune Lune

WW II. True story. Bombing raids and B-24s. Rationing and shortages. Dancing and doughnuts. Through letters and diaries, a Boomer discovers two remarkable womenher mother and grandmother. Step back in time.

No Stranger Than Home

by Katherine Glover

Venue: Intermedia Arts

A pleading memory from a former guerrilla. Grammatical mistakes in the language of international love. The culture shock of a two-family childhood. And other stories of the foreign and the familiar, both here and abroad.

Phi Alpha Gamma

by Dan Bernitt

Two years ago, a gay-bashing plagued the fraternity's image. Weighing loyalty and justice, how will the brothers react when a member of their group comes out?

Reincarnation: Another Chance at Failure

by Rampleseed

Like life? Try several. See the relentless humiliations and inadvertent triumphs of one soul unimpeded by limits of time, space or logic. A two-man comedy that refuses to die.

Sex, Lies and Abandonment: The Nature of Adoption

by Jane Kathryn Kolles

A birth mother surrenders her baby. An adoptive mother receives. After years of silence, they each have something urgent to say. Step inside the adoption journey and watch these women kick and scream through loss.

Silent Poetry - A Tribute To Marcel Marceau

by Dean Hatton

Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre

A collection of nonverbal comedic and dramatic skits inspired by the work of Marcel Marceau written and created by Dean Hatton, a student of Mr. Marceau's.

Skunkape Sexkult

by Mother/Destroyer

Venue: Lab Theater

In a world gone mad, where the bonobo chimp holds the cure for societys ills, a primatologists passion for a brighter future is pitted against a psychosomatic paraplegics lust for revenge. And a skunkape.

Strawberry Fields Temporarily

by Leaky Pen, Inc.

Venue: Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts

The maker of "Mittens for Fat Kids" performs tales about the humiliations of stand-up comedy, the consequences of pornography theft, and the celebration of life as a long and winding driveway.

The Jamal Lullabies

by Emily Conbere and East River Commedia

Venue: Southern Theater

Four young women sing at a memorial to Jamal Slims Hall, a no-account drug dealer and a beautiful, tired-out addict.

Sun., Aug. 10 @ 2:00 p.m.

Paul Bunyan Runs for President

by Vanderpan Enterprises

Venue: Bryant-Lake Bowl

Lower Taxes, Bigger Axes. That's the message Paul Bunyan approves when America's biggest lumberjack runs for the country's highest office.

Sun., Aug. 10 @ 2:30 p.m.

Fools for Love

by Hastings High School Drama Club

Venue: Southern Theater

Performed in the style of red-nose European clown, Noah Bremer (Live Action Set) directs this tender, youthful and knee-slapping exploration of the most intense of human emotions: Love.

In Rehearsal

by Alison Vodnoy

Venue: Intermedia Arts

Meet both sides of seven affairs in a one-woman fusion of extraordinary physicality. Comedy, modern dance, loneliness and lesbians. Laugh, cry, realize why you keep fucking up relationships.

Numbers Up!

by John Leo

Superstar "El Macho del Norte" has wandered off for good, leaving his overwrought sidekick pants down, curtains up. Eccentric dance, raunchy jokes, bittersweet melodies and outrageous physical comedy ensue.

Ophelia

by Studio Zero

Venue: Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts

An investigation into the hidden love story within Shakespeare's greatest tragedy. The piece explores a familiar story from a new perspective in a new work from this talented young company.

Reviving the Lecture Circuit

by Meg and Rob

Venue: Playwrights' Center

Sick of modern celebrities? Sketch comedians Meg and Rob are here to help! They'll bring you lectures from six madcap famous folks who won't be profiled in People magazine But you wish they would be.

small aïda

by Penelope Freeh

Venue: Theatre de la Jeune Lune

A dancing two-person re-telling of opera's famous story. From Verdi to Johnny Cash, high-octane movement is born from a low rumble. Tumble into sound, fury, graceful disquiet and limbic pomp.

The Cody Rivers Show Presents: Stick to Glue

by The Cody Rivers Show

A two-person physical comedy sketch show.

The Fish, the Fruit, and the Pet Coffin Maker

by The Flower Shop Project

Venue: Lab Theater

Welcome to the mind of Ryan Burk, a Willy Wonka-esque acid trip of courtly love between scientists and fish, humanity's genocide against fruit and pet coffin makers' struggle for reproductive freedom.

The Legend of Little Bad: Not Her Father's Fairytale

by Behemoth Theatre Company

The Big Bad Wolf and Little Red's daughters head into the dark forest to get a new fairytale of their very own. They will need all of their courage, smarts and your help to succeed. Come howl with usaaawoooo!

The Nosdrahcir Sisters

by Sara and Kimberly Richardson

The imaginative lives of two quiet ladies. Teacups triumph, aliens say beep and mermaids shop in the produce aisle. A mishmash of clown, movement and object theater, where everything is funnyeven the sad.

Tipping the Bucket

by Allegra J. Lingo

Venue: U of M Rarig Center Arena

Rebelling against politics, proselytizing and puking, rockstar Allegra Lingo surfs the waves of her Baptist past and gay Catholic present to find an island of her own.

Waking in Minneapolis

by Chris Knutson

Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre

A man awakes to find his life has fallen apart and his bike is missing. He attends the "wrong" wake and has a "life-changing" day with the unique characters he encounters there.

Women in China

by Shen Pei Art Studio

Venue: Ritz Theater Proscenium

Dance drama by world-renowned choreographer ShenPei to debut at the Fringe, brings the history of women in China to the stage, capturing changing roles of women in Chinese society over time.

Sun., Aug. 10 @ 4:00 p.m.

A Day in the Life of Marcela Laurela

by Surprise Package Productions

Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre

Come see Marcela Laurela (Cinderella?) as she puts on her flamenco shoes, crashes through that imaginary wall between mime/clowning and dance, and takes life one day at a time. Prince Charming optional.

adjective

by Megan Dowd

Venue: Playwrights' Center

Madison went looking for someone. Maybe someone to love. Maybe someone to screw. She found someone, stumbled across him, who she didn't expect. Who she stumbled upon, however, means everything to everyone.

An Inconvenient Squirrel

by Joseph Scrimshaw Productions

The lost village of the squirrel-people is thrown into chaos when a young squirrel refuses to choose a name! A live-action cartoon packed with chattering, scampering and existential identity crisis!

BULL"An American Story of Bullheadedness"

by Chain Coffee Productions

An original adaptation of Ionesco's absurdist classic "Rhinoceros." A community of American citizens turn into Texas longhorn bulls. Created by Main Street School of Performing Arts and Jon Ferguson.

Homecoming

by Michelle DiMeo and Rosa Morsy

Venue: Southern Theater

Seeking contentment, an intimate dialogue erupts from emotionally charged movement and text in "Homecoming." Added feature: "Shower," a creative exploration of bridal customs and the gender rituals of matrimony.

Love and a Lion

by NihaoHello Theatre Company

Venue: Theatre de la Jeune Lune

An opera about love, set in a circus, riddled with danger, intrigue, treachery, romance, tears, forgiveness, laughter and more! "I put it on par with Guns N' Roses." Satisfied audience member

Maggie's Magical Cat & Other Catastrophes

by Saint Peter Area Children's Theater

Maggie and her magical cat playfully engage with audiences to explore the sometimes painful, often comical world of grade-school politics, unconventional families adoption and other "what ifs?" of the universe.

Snip, Snap, Snute

by Alrighty, Then

The trolls let the goats cross the bridge, but capture the farmer. The changelings find the Troll Ma's heart (big chase scene) everyone learns to get along, and unlike Disney, nobody gets blown up! Great fun!

Spring Awakening

by Blue Water Theatre Company

Venue: Lab Theater

Sex, drugs and Wagner run wild in "Spring Awakening," the story of a group of German teenagers who, in 1891, must find their way out of adolescence and enter adult society in a most confusing time in their lives.

Suitcase Cabaret

by Claire Simonson

Venue: Intermedia Arts

St. Clare and the Devil Duck are back! A cavalcade of multimedia religio-politico-heliophysical rumination and satire, from the creator of Fringe 2005's "Boob Toob." Big ideas come in small packages

The Mistress Cycle

by Maddak Productions

Venue: Bryant-Lake Bowl

Mistress: A woman who illicitly occupies the place of wife. No male equivalent. Intimate musical tale "The Mistress Cycle" explores choices and consequences of five women, historical and fictional. Engaging, enticing.

The Underpants Show

by Lili's Burlesque

Venue: Ritz Theater Proscenium

No beating around the bush, Lili's Burlesque Revue is thrilled to present The Underpants Show, where you'll delight in the Twin Cities' finest variety performers doing what they do best: hot jazz, bawdy comedy, slapstick, and vintage tease. You'll see London, France, and so much more!

This Play is Trash

by The Theat of the Cunch

Venue: U of M Rarig Center Arena

Why buy something you can get out of a Dumpster for free? One man's trash is another man's one-act play.

White Bread

by Pun Intended

Venue: Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts

Imagine a place where stereotypes are portrayed as food. In this satire, white bread, granola, an apple, potato and backwards Oreo blend together and heat up in the hardships of living in a clichéd world.

Sun., Aug. 10 @ 5:30 p.m.

Among the Oats

by Jared Reise

Venue: Intermedia Arts

Three guys wake up and find themselves inside of a can of oatmeal.

Cowboy Dragqueen

by DragIn Productions

Venue: U of M Rarig Center Arena

She's back...Or is she? From the closet that brought you Fringe favorites "These Pumps are Killing Me" and "The Sound of Muzak" comes the tri of the trilogy. So saddle up and grab the reigns as our cowboy falls out of his Stetsons and into some JimmyChoo's.

Department of Angels

by Schave & Reilly

The Department summons all angels to work. Please punch in, sign out armor, put on halos and report to your cloud. Lateness, practical jokes and raucous laughter are not tolerated and may lead to dismissal.

Dying for the Chance

by Sundial Theater Company

Venue: Lab Theater

En route to the Paris Music Festival, zany Miss Bodacious croaks! Desperate for a chaperone and director,her high school students pretend she's alive. Then a bumbling Frenchman falls in love

JACK

by Eric Van Wyk

Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre

A bright-eyed puppet Jack turns his old beanstalk story inside out while trying to escape a human puppet-eating giant. Starvation seeds discovery and a swirling world is born. One man puppeteers all!

Love and Video Games

by Rachel Reiva

As Jack struggles with the violence of his brother a a death of a parent, Stacy, a teenage ghost, believes the only was to help Jack is to hook him up with the hot guy next door.

Robin Hood The Musical!

by Top Hat Theatre

A rich love story packed with adventurous fun! Engaging music transports you back to the timeless tales rooted at the Major Oak. Witness this high-energy, sword-clashing musical jaunt through Sherwood Forest!

Roofies in the Mochaccino

by Empty S Productions

Venue: Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts

Hey, kidsonly six F-bombs! National Poetry Slammer Michael Shaeffer delivers rocked-out odes and turbid tantrums, tackling Transformers, 2Pac, Chewbacca, Elvis Presley, randy mammoths and mmmmmmmmuppet sex!

Secrets of the Little Yellow Diary

by Patty Nieman

Venue: Ritz Theater Proscenium

Small-town Ohio, 1977. In her bright yellow bedroom, preteen Patty dreams about an Indian dancing boy scout, a green velvet dress like Scarlett O'Hara's and a fab future in musical theater. Her diary tells all!

The Scarlet Lady

by Bridge Productions

Venue: Southern Theater

Melanie Moën, a free-spirited writer, appears to tormented auteur Jay Johnson thirteen years after an ill-fated theater affair. Passion unfolds, all under the watch of the Scarlet Lady, who wanders the catwalk above.

The Spaceman Chronicles

by Sanguine Theatre

Venue: Theatre de la Jeune Lune

Citizen Craig Web attempts the impossible: space travel without all that fire. A comedy concerning the outer limits of human achievement.

Trying Guilt

by Culture Mesh Collective

One woman, multiple characters and lots of shoes. Fusing hip hop, mime, monologue and her guilty pleasure... Shoes. Christina Frank explores the funny, confining and confusing phenomenon of guilt.

Twisted

by Dana's Boys

Venue: Playwrights' Center

What is the meaning behind a poem called "Jabberwocky"? Find out the curious, demented and savage things that happen when a girl named Alice starts asking too many God damn questions!

Sun., Aug. 10 @ 6:00 p.m.

Brilliant Traces

by TMJ Productions & Theatre Unbound

Venue: Bryant-Lake Bowl

The wilds of Alaska. Fate, a runaway bride and a cynical recluse converge in a match of wills to echo the raging blizzard outside. A kooky exploration of love, loss and the unlikely places we find sanctuary.

Sun., Aug. 10 @ 7:00 p.m.

(life seed)

by Nic Hager

Venue: Lab Theater

"Please wake me from this dream, I wish to sleep now." An exploration in which a woman attempts multiple methods of re-creation in order to evolve.

Bonnie Prince Charlie

by Far From the Tree

Venue: Theatre de la Jeune Lune

Bonnie Prince Charlie returns to England to reclaim his throne. Music and mayhem, love and death, desparate women and men in kilts. What can stop the wave of Scot's vengeance?

Boys Don't Make Passes at Girls Who Wear Glasses

by True Enough Theater

Venue: U of M Rarig Center Arena

Embrace your inner dork as Laura and Curt (the geeks behind "Take a Left at the Giant Cow") fog up your glasses with torrid tales of nerd romance. Did we say torrid? We meant awkward, embarrassing and unrequited.

Delirium for Two

by Theatre Novi Most

Venue: Red Eye Theater

A tragicomedy performed in Russian and English, Delirium for Two is part absurdist slapstick and part object ballet. It centers on a bickering couple who can barely understand each other. He speaks only Russian and she speaks only English. They are hiding out from an unseen armageddon that surrounds them.

Deviants

by Live Action Set

Venue: The Soap Factory

Meet four individuals you'd rather not know but can't ignore. See them in an old Soap Factory. "This surprising melange of transgressive theater and dance is disturbingly funny." Rohan Preston, Star Tribune.

Dying in Public Places: a darkly comic new musical

by Ambrosiatic Productions

Lust. Terror. Violence. Outbursts of song. All of these can happen when stuck in an invisible box... Cannibilism, too.

Frizzabelle and the Circus

by Squishy Grapes

When young Frizzabelle finds herself alone at a failing circus, she must help a crazy troupe of clowns, jugglers and sideshow weirdos step up to save their show.

HafenGeist

by Atomic Lotus & Invocatio

Venue: Ritz Theater Proscenium

Violent murder on holy ground gives rise to a possessing spirit of evil. When a brother and sister are trapped in the ruins, can they break the curse? Do they want to? A gothic ballet based on "Hansel and Gretel."

Modern Muses

by DRP Dance

Venue: Southern Theater

Passion, conflict, hope and knowledge. A fusion of life's desires.

PieRats: The Crusade for Peaches Cobbler

by People Sittin Around Doin Theatre

Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre

A pie maker's swashbuckling, slapstick adventure with Captain Schleptoba and Clueless Willie, who help save his love Peaches Cobbler from the villainous paws of Blind Bart and evil pocket dog Jolly Rodger-Rita.

Shakespeare's Land of the Dead

by Walking Shadow

London, 1599: Shakespeare's "Henry V" opens the Globe Playhouse, but while the actors strut and fret, an excess of bile plagues the populace outside. A true and accurate account of the Elizabethan zombie plague.

Stupid Face

by Courtney Roche