Minnesota Fringe Festival

Music by Ben Mattson
Set Design and Construction by Nancy Waldoch

A classic tale of deception and the theater, loosely based on the opera Pagliacci. Guitars, juggling, singing, heart-break, intrigue, death and fried chicken. Part homage. Totally rock and roll.

Check out Fringe Blogger Matthew Everett's review of the show here

See Love Me or Die! on 3-Minute Egg's Fringe Coverage here!




Here's a sneak-preview from Fringe-for-All #2:




Footage from two of our workshop rehearsals with the cast.

The cast

Anna Carol
Role: Bianca (Petra)
After spending last summer in New Mexico as Cinderella in Into the Woods, Anna is more than excited to be spending this summer back in the twin cities and enjoy her first Fringe experience. Anna originated the role of Sarah in A Christmas Carol Finale with Savage Umbrella and also worked as the choreographer on this past year's remount. She also has been seen on Minneapolis stages with MMT in the area premieres of Zanna, Don't! and Bright Lights Big City, 8 Ball's production of The 1940's Radio Hour, and is a running understudy/swing for Tony and Tina's at the Lowry. She also works as a resident director/choreographer for YAI!, Fred Moore Middle School, and DeLaSalle High School. Look for her in the fall in Theatre Latte Da's production of The Full Monty at the Ordway Center's McKnight.

Joe Song
Role: Noah (Callum)
JOE SONG likes to figure stuff out; mostly people but sometimes computers. He is a developer, an actor and a singer who has worked around town with Bedlam Theatre, Impossible Theatre Group, Savage Umbrella and appeared in films by Dan WiersGalla, and Elizabeth Day.

Bryan Grosso
Role: Thatcher (Antonio)
BRYAN GROSSO is beyond excited to be working with Savage Umbrella for the first time! Bryan first met Blake and Laura while working on 3am's Romeo and Juliet (Benvolio) and has continued to work on many projects with them, including; Two Left Feet and FATAL. Along with Savage Umbrella Bryan has been seen working with: Upright Egg (Love Project, Chuck Mee Project, Present Project 08'), 20% (The Naked I), National Theatre for Children, and Ensemble Productions. Later this summer Bryan will be seen in 20%'s After Juliet (Benvolio).

Tera Kilbride
Role: Jo (Harley)
TERA KILBRIDE is a performer, theater maker and real live human. She holds a BA from the Experimental Performance Institute at New College of California in San Francisco. Since returning home to Minneapolis, she's performed in Derive 2, Bedlam Theater's 10 Min. Play Fest, and the Minneapolis Pinter Studies. She is thrilled to be a part of Love Me or Die!, and continues to seek opportunities to work on original, re-inventions and/or collaborative work.

Heidi Jedlicka
Role: Sylvia
This is Heidi’s premier experience with Savage Umbrella, and she is very much enjoying the experience. Heidi has worked with Electric Telescope Theatre Company, CLIMB theatre, and as a company member for The Children’s Theatre Company of Sioux Falls. Mostly recently Heidi was seen playing Popeye in Starting Gate Productions’ The Miss Firecracker Contest. Up next, Heidi will head to South Korea in the late summer to teach English and play with the Seoul Players. Heidi holds a BA in Theatre with an emphasis in Global Gender Studies from The College of St Benedict.

Carl Atiya Swanson
Role: Cork
CARL ATIYA SWANSON is a multifarious emanation, a founding member of Lamb Lays with Lion, an engaging diplomat, a freelance inksmith, the Art + Fashion Director of the Clapperclaw Music + Arts Festival, a solo act, interested in your dreams, long division, a dandy, them's fighting words and someone to call in a bind.

Eric Cohen
Role: Cosmo
ERIC COHEN is a juggler, clown, and actor. A former instructor at the Providence Circus School, Eric has trained at the Dell'Arte School for Physical Theatre, Nimble Arts, and Shakespeare & Company of Massachusetts. He has performed with CLIMB Theatre, Lub-Dub Circus, and the Dell'Arte Company.

Todd A. Janssen
Role: Cotton
TODD A. JANSSEN is a boy. Todd likes theatre. Todd likes you. Todd hopes you will like this show.

Sarah Teich
Role: Coralie
SARAH TEICH enjoys the arts and the copious amounts of money it provides. She is happy to be back in business with Savage Umbrella after last winter’s A Christmas Carol Finale. In the last year she has been involved with Theatre Limina, Theater Mu, Pangea World Theater, Guthrie Theater, and 3AM Productions; ranging from coordinating volunteers to crossing the Wurtele Thrust in a polka dot dress. During the weekdays she has her fun working at The Playwrights’ Center.

Alan Wales
Role: Connor
Originally hailing from the great city of Elkhorn, Wisconsin; Alan is ecstatic to be performing with Savage Umbrella. In the last few years Alan has had the honor to work with such talented groups as: The Actor's Theater of Minnesota, The National Theatre for Children, and Minneapolis Musical Theatre. If you keep your eyes peeled you can catch Alan playing some of his original music at local open-mic nights across the Twin Cities.

Savage Umbrella

Love Me Or Die!

Fri., Jul. 31 @ 7:00 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 1 @ 7:00 p.m.
Tue., Aug. 4 @ 10:00 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 5 @ 5:30 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 8 @ 7:00 p.m.

Warning! Violence, Adult language

Venue U of M Rarig Center Xperimental
For ages 13+
Created by B. Bolan & L. Leffler-McCabe
Web site www.savageumbrella.com
genres Musical theater, Comedy
subjects Relationships, Relationships
features World premiere, Original script/choreography, Original music, First-time Minnesota Fringe Festival producer

Overall rating

User reviews

Hilarious!
by Maria Stukey Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I was engaged the whole time and thought that it was a such a great concept for a show. Although I was laughing almost nonstop,the show was not only funny, but thoughtful and moving. Some of the acting and singing could have been stronger, but the material was fabulous and speaks for itself. Go see it!

LOVED IT!
by Sylvia Gardner Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
There is nothing like over the top musical theater to make my day fantastic! I loved this show. It was well acted and directed. I loved the costune choices. The vocal talent blew me away. Congratulations on this show to the cast, writers, director, and designers!

I expected better
by Lucy Nelson Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
I have heard good things about this play all week, but for me it just fell short. The singing from the Anna and Joe was great, but I was let down by the townies singing. For one it was too soft, and another I was having a hard time understanding them. The town members seemed to each have a strong character to portray, but they didn't work well together as i would have hoped. I would rather have just seen the main four and left the townies at home.

Oh, that's a kiss!
by William Ronchak Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Very entertaining and filled with more plot twists than anyone could ever imagine. Great acting, singing, and physical comedy.

A wacky take on Pagliacci
by Hazen Markoe Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
The classic opera Pagliacci gets a wild and high energy update in this charming, hilarious and somewhat melancholy production by Savage Umbrella. Set in modern times, this unusual story tells the tale of a tragic love triangle with the help of a rambunctious chorus that never fails to solicit laughs from the audience. As the lead "clown," Anna Carol shines in her big solo, as well as providing most of the show's pathos. If there was one weakness, it was the fact that it was sometimes hard to understand the chorus over their energetic antics. Overall, however, this is a cute and fun show that I definitely recommend.

Wonderful!
by Christina Lein Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This was a great production! Fast paced, creative, incredibly funny, and witty. Strong ensemble and some amazing voices. Savage Umbrella put on one hell of a great show!!

Terrific Fun
by je jo Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I really enjoyed this offering. Very quirky, smart and silly. There were a couple of lines that made me laugh so hard I missed what came next. A lot of clever references and in-jokes. Thoroughly enjoyable!

Lively fun stuff!
by vickijoan keck Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
I'm so glad I chose this for my 10 pm show because anything else might have put me to sleep. Good humor and over the top acting plus terrific music and singing made this so much fun! The line about not being able to donate blood anymore was one of my biggest laughs at the fringe. (you had to be there). the end was a bit of a downer, but all in all I enjoyed this immensely!

What if....
by re gurgitate Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
What if we took a slight story and to build it up, added everything including the kitchen sink(bucket of chicken) till we reached 50 minutes? The answer within this show.

Fun, quirky show
by Meaghan DiSciorio Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
This show was not at all what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised. The use of the chorus and the way they told the story is great, as are the songs. Overall a super fun, quirky show.

Fun show...just not for me.
by Laura Fishburne Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Take this review with a grain of salt because it was fun and a well put on show. For some reason I wasn't a big fan. I couldn't get into the songs even though they were fun. I recommend seeing it if your friends invite you for sure!

Die Trying
by Kathy Douglass Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
One kitty for trying something so ambitious, one kitty for assembling such a large cast. It's not easy getting this many people to participate in the demands of the fringe show. One kitty for the script. But zero kitties for the dreadful overacting from much of the cast and the amaturish perfomances.

One of my favorite shows at the Fringe..
by Erika Klein Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Sure, the book is a little muddled, but the actors are so talented, the dialogue so hilarious, and the music so genuinely catchy, that "Love Me or Die!" made my "best of the Fringe" list.

Questionable chorus
by Peggy Bandit Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
Overall I did enjoy this show. It was a clever script with gender switches and the lead actors were wonderful. The chorus--not so much. The voices were just not up to the standards needed for this show. I know they were supposed to be from "small town" but their backwardness was overdone.

What Fun!
by Minrod Mier Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
This is a terrific show with plenty of laughs and a tender moment thrown in here and there. The costumes used in the show (and not the videos seen on their page here) really add to the dimension of the classic performance versus the whimsical. Poking fun at the theatre and relationships, this a high-energy romp with plenty of real drama that really flies.

bright, fun, clever, and dark
by Rachel Flynn Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
a well-written show with strong performances and a great use of the play within the play. a bright, sugary outside conceals a dark, meaty core. the songs are really excellent, providing more than just filler and actually informing the story and moving the plot forward, and Anna Carol's solo at the end in particular is powerful. it's in a smallish venue so arrive early 'cause you should see this show and it seems like this will have the potential to sell-out.

Outstanding!
by Joseph Halvarson Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Great show. Smart, engaging, funny, poignant, and sweet. Highly recommended, and in my opinion best of the Fringe so far. Go to this show twice or more.

Great show
by Debora Drower Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I loved the show in a show (there was even an extra tiny program!) Fast moving and funny.

Not what I expected... in a good way
by Damon Runnals Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
I really loved this show. The juxtaposition of story inside story and the towns folk of Inglebrok vs the "Actors" was so much fun. I know this show was pulled from an Opera but way to go on making it your own and crafting a wonderful piece of storytelling.

Well done
by Ben Henry-Moreland Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
A smart, well-conceived performance. The constant chorus commentary really kept the action moving. Big chorus numbers could have been a little tighter, but Bianca's big song was intense and moving. Also of note were tight physical performances by the principals during the play-within-a-play sections and use of the multi-level performing space. And I am not above bragging that I caught musical quotations and allusions to the source opera. Definitely a show I'd recommend.

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