HERO
An original musical about four brothers on a flight crew during World War II.
Written and performed by Tyler, Jordan, Alex, and Soren Olsen.
Yup, they're brothers. And a quartet.
Original music by Nicholas Olof Jacobson Larson.
Funny, heart-breaking, exciting, scary, and appropriate for everybody.
From the company that produced last year's hit show, QUAKE.
Bring your friends.

PRODUCED BY RawRedMeat Productions, and DANGEROUS THEATER, a theater company specializing in original theater about ordinary people in extraordinary situations. A member of THE HIVE.

Tyler Olsen
Role: Director/Writer/Designer/Actor
Tyler's the oldest. He sings baritone. He wrote the show. He just finished directing HAPPY CAFE for Four Humors. He can escape from handcuffs.

Jordan Olsen
Role: Actor/Props
Jordan's the second oldest. And the biggest. He's been at college for ten years and will probably never leave. He's a philosopher. His favorite thing to do is throw boulders into lakes.

Alex Olsen
Role: Actor/Builder
Alex is third oldest. He's a scenic carpenter. He is the loudest. He is also a poster child for attention deficit syndrome. He doesn't know the meaning of the word "subtle".

Soren "Snort" Olsen
Role: Actor/Lighting/Sound
Soren is the youngest. He just graduated from the University of Iowa. He is the thinnest. He is the calmest. He has also been in jail more than any of the other brothers.

Nicholas Olof Jacobson-Larson
Role: Composer
Nick lives in LA. But he's originally from Minnesota. He has more names than anyone else involved in this show. He's writing music for movies and TV shows. He can't quite figure out how he ended up with the Olsen brothers, but hasn't quit yet, so we assume he's having a good time.

Jessica Gunzburger
Role: Stage Manager
Jessica has eternal patience. She's a Residence Hall director at the U of M. She's from Iowa originally, but don't hold it against her. She's very organized. She is also a ninja.

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Hero: A New Musical
by Bernard McGarrigle Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
The best acapella group I heard at this year's fringe. Their range & harmony was beautiful. Then there is twist in the outcome and you are crying. k mcgarrigle

Family Matters
by Rick Treece Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Well, this show definitely gets the prize for the most elaborate Fringe set, all the more impressive in that the Xperimental floor doesn't seem very accessible for (un)loading materiel. These 4 bros. handled the acting and a capella singing challenges equally well, and somehow avoided sounding Barber-Shoppy. As you expand this, insert some music earlier (after the opening piece).

Nicely Done
by Mark Long Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
I'm surprised this is just a snippet of something more. It was great as a stand-alone piece, so I look forward to a full production.

Musical On the Verge
by Joe Luis Cedillo Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
The singing was my entry into this piece, but found the staging and text wanting more. Enjoyed that this was a musical without instruments and truly rides on the strength of Voice. The pair of brothers harmonize and play well off each other. If anything, I needed a change from the barbershop style quartet--though not repetitious, it started to feel like it towards the end and sounding the same. The staging was a little muddled, watching someone's back and overlapping dialogue made it hard to understand, transitions & acting felt off, and forced sentimentality at the end didn't land for me. I give props to taking on a story of these brothers and the attempt at writing about the WWII historical moment.

Made Grandpa Proud
by Teresa Nelson Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
In the middle of Fringe you come upon talent from 4 brothers...they made you feel like you were there mother watching from home. They made you go back to a time when brothers knew each other and had a good time together. Well done, energetic, and they could sing.

Those Olsen boys can sing!
by Virginia Haggart Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
HERO was a treat with the natural chemistry of the four real Olsen brothers. Their acapella harmonies were lovely which one would expect from family members. They sing with such ease and fun and tenderness at times. Their mother is a retired music teacher and directs shows for Rosetown Playhouse and their father a cellist so they have strong musical and theatrical DNA.

The story was funny and touching and for someone who had a father in WWII, it was especially moving but younger audience members seemed very engaged as well.

Check out HERO. Those Olsen boys are talented.

Definitely Deserves ALL THE KITTIES!
by Katie Goldammer Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
A beautiful show about the complex relationships between siblings under pressure. Well written with great music and fantastic set design, this show gives you a taste of the talented Olson brothers. Went in expecting a lot and was not disappointed! GO SEE IT!

Better than its rating reflects
by Suzanne Sharrock Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Four brothers in a WWII bomber - touching, brother humor and brotherly fighting, great set design (inside of a WWII bomber with minimal material), singing was only OK, but the interactions between brothers were the main story here. Sad ending, but hey, war isn't fun. A serious, funny, unusual show that never reaches to greatness, but plenty of very good moments. It really felt like four brothers interacting (which they are in real life).

Powerful stuff!
by MN Wacks Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
I wished the plot had a little more development, but I enjoyed the musical numbers and the story was very touching in the end -- and didn't know these was actually brothers too. Pretty cool.

Joyful and Fun
by Jesse Villarreal Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
The vocal performances were amazing. Loved every moment the brothers began any song as I knew it was going to be a treat.

I was engaged from start to finish!

Great, sentimental show
by Delano Dugarm Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Wonderful singing and completely truthful bickering between the four brothers. The set was amazingly evocative for some 2 x 4s and a couple of pieces of plywood.

I suppose the story could be tighter, but I really enjoyed the contrast between the unity of the brothers the random, meaningless chaos of war. It's great to see such an unusual topic so well realized.

Good music, show needed more
by Kathleen Hagen Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
Good music, brothers performed welltogether when singing and it was a capella. But too much war noise, hard to understandbecause everyone talking at once.

Heartwarming, Spunky, and Truthful
by Elena Glass Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This show includes everything that the fringe should be about. Humor, wit, heart, and lots of (fabulous) vocals make for a heartwarming, hilarious, touching show that is not to be missed! This band of brothers have all of the vocal talent to maintain a quality barbershop quartet performance, but that only touches the tip of the iceberg of what the show is really about. The dialogue, sometimes witty, sometimes poignant and heartbreaking, covers the banter and camaraderie of four brothers in close quarters. What was really fascinating for me to see was the fascinatingly different personalities of the four brothers, from the in-charge, protective oldest brother, to the practical, defiant youngest brother. These four work SO well on stage together, and are all extremely talented young men in their own rights. This show's songs, stories, and message will stick with me for a very long time. You are SERIOUSLY missing out if you don't include this show in your MUST-SEE list for this year's Fringe Festival.

Pleasantly Surprised
by Ben Stasny Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Generally I don't gravitate towards a sappy story of family, but after reading the wide range of reviews this show has received I just had to check it out for myself. HERO is a heart-warming story of brotherly love but also provides well-written and well-executed humor in almost every scene. The brothers all know how to move the show along and tell a story simply by being themselves. THAT is my favorite part of the show, the fact that all of them are just being themselves, being each other's brother. I could have sat there for hours more watching those great relationships.

The singing was beautiful, funny, and impressively coordinated. The lights and sound set up the perfect context for the audience to be immersed in--a war. And the fact that the brothers so smoothly continued their dialogue over all the gunfire/bombing sound effects is quite astounding. If it had been any other way it wouldn't have worked, but they put so much time, energy, and emotion into the show and for that everyone involved with HERO deserves 5 kitties.

Choir of lutefisk
by Carola Allin Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Engrossing, lively show, at times fun and at times very moving. Go for the harmony alone. Meaningful to any older Minnesotan, but also enjoyable for younger ones.

Emotionally moving brothers
by Jim Ciccone Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
We could tell from the start, these brothers are a real family -- genuine humor and typical brotherly bantor. The songs were fun and slightly campy and their voices were quite good. The script had an interesting mix of humor and very poignant moments. Definitely recommend for anybody that has had times of joy and times of sorrow with their own siblings.

A Powerful Band of Brothers
by Alex Schmuck Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This production is incredibly moving. The powerful bond of brotherhood between the Olsen boys is clearly seen through their humorous banter, compassionate understanding, and the gorgeous vocal talents. The music is a cappella with impressive vocal blend that greatly contributes to the powerful idea of brotherhood that the Olsen brothers share on the stage and possibly in real life. In addition to expressing their togetherness through acting and singing, the Olsens also express their unity off the stage as they all contributed to this show through other collaborative theatre talents such as Tyler’s playwriting, Jordan’s prop mastery, Alex’s set building, and Soren’s lighting design. The show is hilarious, suspenseful, and so emotionally grasping that every audience member will feel an intense effect that individuals can only get though experiencing great theatre. This is not a show to miss so make sure that you arrive early to the Xperimental theatre at the Rarig Center to ensure that you are allowed access to this powerful show.

Engrossing and touching
by Jacqueline Dutton Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
These brothers are a tight ensemble that can't sing AND act. I thought they did a helly of a job with a 1 hour time slot. Terrific quartet singing and a sweet story that let us in on the relationships, getting to feel for these characters. Wonderful set, costumes and best use of sounds Ive heard yet aty Fringe.

Remember
by Kale Ganann Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
HERO: A New Musical is almost something great. There's the beginning of something grand here, but unfortunately, HERO isn't there yet. The script veers around the contours of story, but never quite stays on the road long enough to make any strong points, the actors are decent but all still on book, and the singers blend well but seem to also be asked to go out of their range more than they should. There are a few scenes that defy understanding, because all four brothers are yelling their lines at the same time and next to impossible to understand, and they seemed to be points of great importance. They seemed to be sttempting some grand points on the incoherence of war and the importance of family, but if so, they were lost like the dialogue. I want to like this play, I really, really do, and I can't say my hour was wasted. They have a fascinating set design and, like I said, there's a seed of something far better down the road. But for today, it's merely okay.

Good Barbershop - bad play
by David Trudeau Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
The best part of this production was the clever set and the great barbershop numbers. The plot is lame beyond belief and is not based on life but on bad WWII movie cliches. Going from a bunch of happy "South Pacific" type navy air guys to tragedy on a meaningless mission doesn't work. It's hard to feel the tragedy when these fellows die - we never got to know them through character development. This seriously needs rewriting and then some expert direction. I could have listened to these guys sing for half an hour but sitting through the play was tedious.

Never took wing.
by re gurgitate Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
The script never engaged me on personal level. Possibly if I had learned more about the characters rather than just them reacting to their environment, I could have been swept away. However, the singing demonstrated some real talent.

great intentions...
by Mark Browning Milner Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
i wanted to like this more than i did. the drama didn't really grab, the comedy wasn't really funny, the songs and singing were *okay* - this was just a show with very high goals that didn't *quite* get there. it didn't help that each of the four brothers (all very appealing in their own right, and fairly good actors and singers) were still on book half the time. i say catch one of their last couple of shows after they've had a chance to settle into performance when you've seen all your a-list choices.

Well done
by Michael Lewis Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
I wasn't sure how this was going to work out, but the acting and the singing was terrific. It was funny and at times and deadly serious at times, and through it all, it had me riveted on the edge of the seat. There were a couple of hiccups in this show, but the cast just rolled with it and kept going. Great harmony and great tunes. And as a huge airplane geek, I appreciated that they did their research about the aircraft, which really pays off. I'd see this one again.