Minnesota Fringe Festival

Rebekah is an Amish girl visiting the city for the first time. Robot is a highly advanced robot programed to assist humans. When the two meet there is an instant spark, but can Rebekah leave her family, religion, and the only home she's ever known for the love of a Godless machine?

Featuring a dozen unforgettable songs, "Rumspringa" is the most fun musical about robots and Amish people you'll see this year.




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The cast

Alex Carlson
Role: Daniel
Alex has a B.A. in Theatre Arts and Economics with Honors from the University of Minnesota, Morris. His past productions include playing The Cat in the Hat in Seussical, Frankie in A Lie of the Mind, Truffaldino in A Servant of Two Masters and Barnette Lloyd in Crimes of the Heart. He has been nominated for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship four times. Alex recently moved back to St. Paul and is making a living by selling plasma. He appears on the local improv scene and one day dreams of being on the Amazing Race.

Katie Carlson
Role: Sarah
Katie has a B.A. in Theatre Arts and a licensure in secondary English from the University of Minnesota, Morris. Past roles include a Who in 'Seussical the Musical,' Toad in 'The Wind in the Willows,' Princess Lumina in 'The Dark Castle,' and Servant in 'The Merchant of Venice.' Katie wishes to pursue her interests in directing and educational theatre and continue acting on the side. If given the chance to take her own Rumspringa, she would most likely sell her fine Amish wares and blow all the money on hookers.

Noah Coon
Role: Noah
Noah is thrilled to be a part of the MN fringe festivle! Noah is a 4th grader from Fargo, ND and has performed nationally in theater, film, and TV commercials. Some of his favorite roles include performing the role of Noah Gellman in Caroline Or Change at the Guthrie thearer and touring nationaly with A Christmas Carol and Songs From The Tall Grass. Other shows include: Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Oliver, Little House At Plum Creek, Oklahoma, Cinderella and 101 Dalmatians. Noah is a three time Emma award winner.

Olivia Coon
Role: Olivia
Olivia is very excited to be back on stage again. A kindergartener from Fargo, ND, Olivia has been seen nationally in theater, film and TV commercials. She was last seen playing Tiny Tim and Fan in A Christmas Carol National Tour. Other roles include Disney's 101 Dalmatians, The Carnival of Animals, and Cinderella. Her other interests include singing, swimming, riding bike, gymnastics, and ballet.

John Eisenrich
Role: Joseph
John recently graduated from the University of Minnesota Morris, where he appeared on stage as Lenny in "Of Mice and Men." He can be seen regularly at the Treppenwitz Late Night Comedy Show at the Lowry Lab theater.

Tyler Helland
Role: Levi
Tyler's interest in musical theatre started in 6th grade when he earned the lead role in "Peter and the Wolf." As a senior in high school, Tyler played Captain Von Trapp in "The Sound of Music." Tyler has also enjoyed performing in the pit for the musicals "Grease", "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", "My Fair Lady", and "The Full Monty". Tyler co-produced and starred in the film version of "Rumspringa" while a student at the University of Minnesota, Morris, and is excited to be back for the stage show.

Debi Kilde
Role: Rebekah
Debi graduated from Bethel University in 2003 with a B.A. in Music Theatre. Debi has worked throughout the Metro area in numerous musical theatre productions, recently having had the amazing experience of being part of the original cast of Snapshots: Life in the City, an original musical by legendary composer/artist, J.D. Steele. In addition to her work in musical theatre, Debi has had the opportunity to stretch herself as a singer and as an actress through work in opera, straight (non-musical) theatre, inter-active theatre, industrial film, voice over, and as a church choir section leader/soloist.

Twin Cities area credits include: Great American History Theatre, Hennepin Stages, North Star Opera, The Jungle Theatre, Actor's Theatre of Minnesota, Troupe America, Jon Hassler Theatre, Paul Bunyan Playhouse, and Theatre Mu.

Billie Jo Konze
Role: Mary
Billie Jo Konze has always dreamed of becoming Amish, ever since she saw her first bearded, suspendered man working in a field with a horse-drawn plow. Having failed at quilting and furniture-making, Billie believed this cherished dream would never be realized. Ironically, the path to this dream of pious simplicity would take her to the Godless world of the stage, where Billie has had the opportunity to portray characters as varied as a Russian Revolutionary, a Guatemalan man, a cartoon character, and a prairie settler. In the Twin Cities Billie Jo has performed with the Guthrie Theater, the Illusion Theater, Theatre in the Round, Theatre Unbound, Teatro del Pueblo, Workhouse Theatre, No Refunds Theatre, 20% Theatre, In the Basement Productions and with the Minnesota Zephyr's "Zephyr Cabaret." Billie Jo has also been featured in independent films, television commercials and industrials, and occasionally performs with the improv team "Cut Below the Belt." For more information about Billie Jo's current projects, please check out her website at http://www.billiejokonze.com

Marques Matthias
Role: Robot

Bert Michalscheck
Role: Abraham
Ro(Bert) is a Minnesota native. He just graduated the University of Minnesota, Morris with a degree in vocal music education. There he was involved in all the performing ensembles as well as other groups and organizations on campus. He will be starting his teaching career in Becker, MN, for which, he is super stoked! In his spare time Bert likes to give directions to lost elderly people, sing German lieder at Becker Home Furniture, and watch old episodes of Rescue 911.

Natalie Wass
Role: Ruth
Natalie Rae Wass has appeared in the last 8 fringes including fringe hits 'In Defense of Sin or My Friend's Best Stories' and 'The Tyranny of God's Love' with the Ministry of Cultural Warfare and 'Love in a Time of Rinderpest' presented by Bedlam Theater. Other fringe productions include 'The Scarlet Lady' with Bridge Productions, 'Gumball Geezus' and 'Serendipity' with Chopping Block Productions, 'Kabuki 47 Samurai' and 'The Lion's Pride' with Green T Productions and 'The Angel and the Tower' with Risa Cohen Aerial Dance. You may have also spotted Natalie in numerous shows at the Old Log Theater, performing in various capacities at Mall of America, as a living statue with Mannequin in Motion, as a singing telegram with Partycrashers or with her dance company Inimitable Feets.

Josey Balenger
Role: Stage Manager
Josey worked as a professional stage manager at Stepping Stone Theatre, where the child actors were more well behaved than the cast of Rumspringa.

Paul Jenni
Role: composer
Paul, a Math, Physics & Statistics graduate from U of MN - Morris, works a cubicle job, crunching numbers at a local bakery products manufacturer. To keep himself from going completely insane, he dabbles in music, whether it's composing or playing his trumpet. As a student at Morris, Paul wrote the score for the 2006 film version of "Rumspringa," which won several "UMMY"s including one for best musical number. Paul is also a veteran member Eagan Community Theater's pit orchestra, having performed in six of their last seven shows, including "The Music Man," "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," "Oklahoma," and this year's "Fiddler on the Roof." In his free time, Paul enjoys cooking, ultimate frisbee, and fantasizing about home-ownership with wife, Aleecia.

Jake Scott
Role: Samuel
Jake is very excited to be involved in the Minnesota Fringe Festival for the first time! Jake has been performing improv comedy in the Twin Cities since 2005. He is a member of 6 Ring Circus at the Brave New Workshop and performs with the group Treppenwitz at the Lowry Lab Theatre in St. Paul. As a student at the University of Minnesota, Morris, Jake helped create the film version of "Rumspringa The Musical" for the 2006 University of Minnesota, Morris Student Film Festival. When he's not pretending to be Amish, Jake teaches 4th grade at Otsego Elementary School.

Andrew Tralle
Role: Song writer

Best Weird Dog

Rumspringa the Musical

Sat., Aug. 1 @ 7:00 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 2 @ 10:00 p.m.
Mon., Aug. 3 @ 7:00 p.m.
Thu., Aug. 6 @ 5:30 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 8 @ 10:00 p.m.

Venue Augsburg Studio
For ages 12+
Written by Jake Scott
Web site www.treppenwitztheatre.com
genres Musical theater, Comedy
subjects Relationships, Religious
features World premiere, Regional (MSP) premiere, Original script/choreography, Original music, First-time Minnesota Fringe Festival producer

Overall rating

User reviews

not so much...
by michael freiert Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
Kilde, Konze, Wass and Matthias make this tolerable, in fact they did a wonderful job. The rest of the production had some critical flaws, be it a music track that could have used at least one non-synthesized instrument, dry performances, the random children's scene that added nothing to the script, or the impressively stereotypical mockery of an outsiders religion, richly ironic in a story of forbidden love. Really the four actors listed are outstanding, and several others had some significant strengths, but this left the guy sitting next to me watching my sandals rather than the show.

A Hoot, a hit
by David Trudeau Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Take a really good concept and flesh it out in a somewhat amateurishly but very sincerely acted and sung musical with really low budget costumes and props but with a lot of energy and some cute kids and direct it well and voila - a Fringe sellout.

Very fringey
by David McKay Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Fringe allows you to find some truly unique offerings that are as enjoyable as they are original. I went into this show knowing nothing about it's plot and I am glad as it was always impossible to predict what would happen next.

This young cast is full of solid performers who skillfully mix song, dance, acting, and comedy into one of the most fun shows at fringe this year.

Those little singing kids were especially hilarious, poor robot.

Clever and Entertaining
by Heather Baldwin Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
What's better than a comedy musical love story about an Amish girl and a robot? A comedy musical love story about an Amish girl and a robot that features "The Electric Slide". The show's premise was original, the song/dance numbers were fun, and I left the theatre feeling entertained.

Amish electricity is 1337
by Dave Romm Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
Geeky musical that mostly respects the Amish (but not entirely) and mostly respects the conventions of science fiction (but not entirely). A fun little show that's in exactly the right space. Three and a half kitties rounded down for mediocre singing and acting by some in the cast. A Shockwave Radio Theater Review.

Longer reviews with pictures at Baron Dave's LiveJournal and snarky comments on Facebook.

Fantastic Comedy with a Lot of Heart
by Johnny Sincere Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Great concept. Loveable characters/actors. Catchy music. Loads of humor. It must've been a lot of work! Quick transitions. Nice development of the story in one hour. I empathized with the characters and even had goosebumps! For the intellectual it could be an analogy for so many things deeper than a musical comedy but extremely enjoyable nonetheless. I was very pleased that I saw it. Bravo!

The droid that I've been looking for...
by TJ Hara Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
If we're being completely honest here, Rumspringa is kind of a mixed bag (still tending toward the good) in its writing and performance. But if we're being completely honest here, it's so much damn fun that the flaws tend to vanish in the silly and entertaining musical numbers. If I didn't have a full dance card already this week, I would easily come back for another performance of this show!

What a laugh!
by Whitney Lubrant Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I thought this show was a good time. The way you incorporated movie and TV quotes was genius. And kudos to the person who wrote the music.

Delightful Play
by Cheryl simonson Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Rumspringa the Musical was a wonderful treat. Very talented singers and dancers. Cute idea. I really enjoyed the show.

Rumspringa
by Laura Simonson Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I loved the play. It was very funny, and warm hearted and touching. Alex you ROCK!!! You are full of energy and pep. Katie, you go girl. I also like the Charlie's Angels pose. I would see it again and recommend it to friends.

Rumspringa Rocks!
by Barb Sundquis Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Fun show - good humor - lots of talent! Must see!!

Cute Story
by Denise Helland Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I loved the jokes and song lyrics.....enjoyed the catchy tunes. Great voice Rebekah (a.k.a. Debi Kilde). The whole cast did a great job. I wish my schedule allowed me to see it a second time.

I went twice!
by Andrew Tralle Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
The show was great! Amish people and robots? Who could ask for anything more?

Laughed so hard I....
by Mack Carlson Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Had me laughing from opening scene to last. Be prepared for alot of subtle jokes and obscure/hilarious references. Great voices in entire cast. Overall definetly a must see for all ages.

A must see for Fringers!
by Laura Fishburne Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
To be honest I didn't think much coming in. I thought it would be good for a chuckle or two but this show caught me by surprise. There were a lot of songs, although you can tell that singing isn't most of the actors forte however it is still very passable!

I was surprised that a show like this could have 4 major characters develop the way they did. The lead had the best voice and did a great job. The evil boyfriend as the only sane one of the bunch! The father was fun and quarky, he helped move the first act along as everything out of his mouth, and his actions, had me rolling on the floor laughing! The robot was great too. I thought the other actors helped bring the show together, the woman all played their part well and the men had one of the best scenes (hint, amish boy band) but the show stealers were the two little kids making fun of the robot...in song!

I was really happy with this show. The youtube videos do not do this show justice, see it for yourself with friends and laugh the night away.

good dumb fun
by Sharon Kahn Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
The songs are clever, the performances are energetic and the robot is great. If you expect any more than that (like, for instance, consistent characterization or a plot that makes even a tiny bit of sense) you will be disappointed. But, hey, it's a musical.

If you're Amish you'll probably be insulted. But if you're Amish you probably won't be attending the Fringe (although I'll bet you HAVE heard of electricity).

I'm obligated to say it.
by Molly O Chamberlain Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
The kind of show that runs rampant at the Fringe Festival: good idea, poorly executed.

It had some good points - the lead had a great voice, they certainly gave it their all, and - hey - a dude spray painted his head silver.

But don't feel bad it you miss this show.

Great show!
by Nancy Meissner Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I only went to this show because it involved a robot, but I was pleasantly surprised by how clever and well-executed it was! Wonderful performances by Rebekah and Robot were bolstered by a talented supporting cast (the overly-enthusiastic Conan O'Brien-esque dude especially cracked me up). Bravo!

Desire greater than realization.
by re gurgitate Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
I really wanted to like this one more than I did. Give the story a few more rewrites, tighten up the pacing, and instrumentation on songs, and SING LOUDER PEOPLE, and it could make it to 4 stars.

As far as I know...
by Dan Linden Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This is the only show at the Fringe that has two little kids insulting a robot. Like, really digging into him. How could you not want to see that? Great concept, great songs. Probably the only time I've actually enjoyed hearing the Electric Slide since, well, ever. I agree with the other reviewers that the balance between singer and music was a bit off. Sometimes it was hard to make out the words. But despite the technical issues, this company has really put together something everyone should see.

robot love
by kelly frank Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Great dance numbers, great humor, nice robot costume. The boy band Amish dance scene was great. Every character did little and big things to make me laugh. The choreography was fun as well. If you're a robot, or Amish, or wish you were, you'll like this

fun show, great cast
by Ann Meier Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I loved the show -- it was consistently fun to watch and moved well. The cast did a great job of mixing the Amish and the 'modern world' and the songs were great (I am a personal fan of the boy band scene). I definitely thought the standouts in this production were Rebekah and her father (and of course the adorable under 12 cast members!). The only thing that seemed a little less than polished was the strength of the individual cast members' voices -- it was most notable with the father and Samuel and I had to strain to catch their words sometimes. Overall -- fantastic though, I would definitely recommend others to it!

Robot Doing The Robot, Very Meta
by Steven Montenegro Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Those of you that know me know I love the genre of Robot Musical Comedy and also that I love the genre Amish Musical Comedy, but even I was surprised that someone was able to so deftly combine them. This show was great. The songs were hilarious and the concept was genius. And really, is there anything greater than seeing a robot do the robot? My only complaint is that it was sometimes hard to hear the singers over the pre-recorded music. Can't hold very minor tech issues against the performers though. If you haven't seen this show yet, you're life is missing something.

It's Electric!
by Kelly Brogan Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I hummed "Not Programmed for Emotion" the entire ride home from my so-worth-it 10 PM Sunday night showing.

Much, much funnier than the preview or trailer lets on. I will dream tonight of doing "It's Electric" with Rebecca and Robot. Also loved the bratty children and perverted butter churning.

Very impressive.

I know it churned my butter
by H J Meyer Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Accurate representation of both Amish and Robot life. The show shines in the whole ensemble dance numbers! Everyone is so likable, I would have bought the entire cast in a gift shop.

Rumspringa
by Jon Seismic Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
The cast had great energy, fun songs, no dull moments! I want to go again!

Rumspringa
by mark scott Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I enjoyed the songs-(music & lyrics), the humor, and all the actors were great.

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