"Robot Lincoln: The Revengeance" is a quirky, satirical musical comedy that is part sci-fi, part steam punk, part action adventure, part buddy movie, and all spoof. In this deliberately inaccurate retelling of Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth's relationship, Booth assassinates Lincoln, who is revived as a robot. Lincoln is sent to stop Booth, whose insanity has driven him to try to destroy the world. But when an unexpected enemy bursts into their conflict and presents an even greater threat, can the two enemies come to a mutual understanding, resolve their differences and unite to save the world?

Mary Todd Lincoln wanders through the show, as do several presidents (all robots) from various periods of American history, as well as sundry historical characters performing in a plauditory pastiche of musical styles. If you don't think about it too hard, you'll have a wild and wacky time.

Travis Berg
Role: Producer/Writer/Director

Dustin Jackson
Role: Producer/Writer/Andrew Jackson

Robb Krueger
Role: Composer/Musical Director

Andy Gullikson
Role: Stage Manager

Casey Morgan
Role: Dance Choreographer

Hannah DesMarais
Role: Costume Designer

Adam Sahli
Role: Robot Lincoln

Jason Garton
Role: John Wilkes Booth

Libby Slater
Role: Mary Todd/Uncle Samantha

David Wasylik
Role: GK

Taylor Johnson
Role: Benedict Arnold

Katherine Rapacz
Role: Franklin Roosevelt

McKenzie Jones
Role: Hillary Clinton

Jess Dougherty
Role: Thomas Jefferson

Ryan Thorsen
Role: John F. Kennedy

Tom Bennet
Role: George Washington

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Impressed
by Scott Jackson Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I find it refreshing to see so many people bring their individual creative talents and meld them into a great performance, without taking themselves too seriously. Benny Hill would be proud, as am I.

A Spectacular Flop
by Mickey Foley Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
The two kitties are for the excellent cast and the costumes. If those elements had been combined with a good script, this would've been one of the best shows in the Fringe. Instead, the game actors are saddled with a pointless, lumbering narrative that seems to exist only to introduce new characters and perform other feats of exposition. True, there are some good one-liners, but a series of jokes does not a comedy make. Ditto Mark Lacroix's comment on the "gay panic" humor. It's 2011, guys. Let's move on, shall we? Even the way Mary Todd Lincoln's madness is mocked feels mean-spirited, despite a hilarious performance by the actress playing her. This show tries to get by on its wacky premise, but that alone will never carry a story.

Disappointing. Lazy "gay panic" humor.
by Mark Lacroix Follow this reviewer
Rating 1 kitty
I love both robots and history, and I'm willing to forgive a lot for high-concept nonsense, but Robot Lincoln was both trying too hard to be funny and not trying enough to do anything else, like an overly-long Funny or Die video.

It has some clever moments (many pun-based, but still good) and I have to give credit for the sheer amount of music, but as others have said, it was often difficult to hear the performers.

Also, I was a bit offended by the (spoiler alert) gay panic routine between Lincoln and Booth. Not as a gay-rights supporter, but because it's amazingly lazy. Like the kind of thing they still do on SNL because some people think it's shocking to see two dudes kiss on stage.

Anachronistic sci-fi silliness
by Heather Baldwin Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
The title of this show alone caught my eye right away, and my interest was piqued further after seeing their preview performance at the Out-of-Towner showcase. This is a wacky musical comedy about Uncle Sam, John Wilkes Booth, Benedict Arnold and robot versions of several ex-presidents (and Hilary Clinton) who start off fighting each other, but then band together to fight the evil villain "G.K." (whose identity is revealed in the show). If you're looking for a show with a strong cohesive plot that makes a lot of sense, this is probably not the show for you. But if you want a fun way to spend an hour, with awesome songs and even more awesome costumes, it's worth your time.

Clever Idea. Average Outcome.
by Ronny Cary Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
Actors were hard to hear. Plot was hard to follow. Rounding up form 2 and a half kitties to three for the effort and nice visual aspect of the show.

Nope
by Richard Shields Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
I was disappointed. The concept was a good one but the execution did not come together for me. I was bothered by the poor voice and sound quality. I often could not hear clearly and the singing did not impress.

I still salute
by Hailey Colwell Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
No, the plot wasn't terribly cohesive, but if you like musical ridiculousness and have a sense of humor about history, this is a mash-up you may well enjoy. It's definitely worth checking out.

WTF?
by Erik Lundin Follow this reviewer
Rating 1 kitty
I think WTF is the best way to describe this play. I wasn't real sure what to expect from this production, but a sensible plot would have been nice, or maybe I just lost out on the plot because the actors were to quiet to hear a good amount of the time even though I was in the second row, and the overpowering music didn't help either.

This show does have great costumes though that fit very well into the steam punk attitude that they seemed to be going for and the few moments I heard was kind of campy funny, but most of the laughs came from the jokes the audience told when they were making fun of how bad the show was.

Maybe it was this one performance...
by Mark Wheeler Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
I'm going to give this show the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe it was just this one performance that the music drowned out most of the actors. Great costumes brings my initial reaction to give the show a 2 up to 3.

Campy, funny, needs tighter structure
by Suzanne Sharrock Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Yeah, it was fun - all the various presidents in costume with silly plot - some characters pretty thinly fleshed out - plot very contrived, but a great spectacle and entertaining nevertheless. I found myself thoroughly enjoying it, but always hoping for "a bit more" acting, plot, cohesiveness.
Go see it anyway; it's still "fringy" and fun. Loved some of the presidents - Kennedy and Jackson, esp.

Great Costumes!
by Lisse Regehr Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
This was a fun play, but could've been made much better if we could've actually heard the actors. I could hardly ever understand what was really being said when they were singing and sometimes couldn't hear them when the music was off. The actors themselves were a lot of fun to watch; I was very impressed with them. The costumes blew me away - I couldn't get over them...just an awesome job! This really was a fun play, if they could fix the sound issues I'd give them a four for sure.

What the...???
by Tristine Miller Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
I came to this on suggestion from a friend. While it was entertaining with a few good one-liners here and there, I couldn't hear the dialog most of the time, and the songs were drowned out by their music. Great costumes and original concept, but I think I would have rather caught a different performance.

Fun
by Jennifer Reviews Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
This was a fun upbeat production performed by a bunch of promissing college students. Great costumes. Some witty jokes. Some of the actors were excellent - some were mediocre but all had energy and overall, I enjoyed what they brought to the table.
Feminist and/or Hillary Clinton fans beware, this wasn't exactly the most positive portrayel of the female gender - but if you can move beyond that, you'll find a lot of youthful talent that makes you chuckle.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?
by Benjamin Egerman Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Come on, people, this show is AMAZING. This is the type of show you can go to and scream at the stage. Which is to say, I did. I was not the only one. USE YOUR FREAKIN SWORD, ROBOT WASHINGTON! USE YOUR SWORD! I generally love any show where that feels appropriate, and this is no exception. Listen, when push comes to shove, you could see some other show or you could see the one where Thomas Jefferson is a lady robot pimp. USE YOUR SWORD, WASHINGTON!

Less Would Have Been More
by Bill McTeer Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
This show has good ideas, nice scenes, an attractive and energetic cast, impressive costumes, and songs. But it doesn't hang together very well. Robotic presidents, John Wilkes Booth as an mad (but redeemable) inventor, and invaders from around the world are too much for a single Fringe show. Go for the energy, go for the costumes, and try to ignore the excess plot.

Some things stuck.
by re gurgitate Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
As in how many things can we throw against the wall. The production had me shaking my head and smiling at the same time, which is a new experience for me. Certainly a fringy show. Singing talent varied widely, with the backing music drowning out parts of the songs(as usual). Didn't see a lot of steampunk on display, but presidential robots will always be fun. Good choice!

Love and Hate
by Patrick Pfundstein Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
"Robot Lincoln" rode a quality roller-coaster with a funny concept, an earnest cast putting out full effort, and some very funny moments (Mary Todd Lincoln was generally good, and Lincoln and Boothe extending hands of friendship and more was absolutely golden). On the other hand the script was pretty thin (the show clocked in at 45 minutes, and it took at least two instances of gratuitous padding to get that far), the ending was less than strong, and some of the songs weren't worth the effort the cast gave them. In the old days this would have gotten 2.5 stars, but forced to deal in whole numbers, I'll bump it up a bit for effort.

They are on to something
by Liz Blank Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
It looks like I was at show 3 of 5. The sound is too loud in this show, it drowns out the performers most of the time. The audience is also filled with a lot of people laughing before anything is funny. This threw me off watching the show. The costumes are great and there is a lot of potential in this show though.

Audience upstaged the show
by Hazen Markoe Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
I loved the concept and the message of American unity is a worthy one, but this Steampunk take on Abraham Lincoln is inconsistent and and hard to understand. Part of that was due to the rather loud music that tended to drown out the singers, while an overly enthusiastic group of fans stole focus with their energetic commentary from the seats. The cast clearly is energetic and are clearly having fun, but more focus was needed.

recommended
by Jon Hopkins Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
I love me some steampunk! That said the script wasn't all I was hoping for, relying kind of solely on music. I did greatly appreciate the costumes as well as the performers.

I LOVE the ambition!
by Zachary Coulter Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
3 kitties are just for having the balls to produce a "steampunk musical" for Fringe! Add to that a script that is irreverent and goofy without losing sight of the (admittedly loose - but it's FRINGE!!) narrative and you've got yourself a recipe for great laughs. I loved it!

Man, Phillip Low sure seemed to like it
by Cato Brutus Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Phillip sat to our left during the show, and I think his incredulous guffaws perfectly encapsulated what was awesome about this show. It's not the best acted, best written, or best directed show, but RoboLincoln should win some kind of reward for "Most Gonzo, Bizarre Show at the Fringe." Everybody jumps on the crazy train and when the audience gets off an hour later, everyone leaves with a big grin on their faces, mumbling "What the heck just happened?"

Cast needs to work on either projecting more or when not singing, but overall a good show that embraces its own inventiveness and stupidity.

D.I.Y.
by Kale Ganann Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
This is a show that embraces the low-tech, 'what do we have lying around the house?' nature of Fringe. It's sort of entertaining, sort of incoherent, sort of okay, and sort of not. There's some clever bits, but really it's all just a build-up to a terrible pun. So, yeah, if terrible puns are your thing, and one will cover you, this is your show.

It was such a blast!
by Lauren Arneson Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I had a really great time. Everything was so well done. The costumes were amazing. When the journey of the show was over, I was surprised to find out that just under an hour had passed. It did not feel like anything was missing, except for a live orchestra. That said, it is rare for a festival to use a live orchestra. We were humming the music on the way back to the car. Wonderful performances all around and some of the ladies have fantastic voices.

Thomas Jefferson as a pimp
by Publius McGee Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
It wasn't brilliant and it had some big flaws, but everyone in this show was giving 110% and loving it. They were fantastic singers, so it was a shame the sound levels were off. Though I spent half the show saying, "What the hell?" it was in a good way. Very fringey.

Hey, kids, let's put on a show!
by Rand Park Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
These kids put GLEE to shame... Sure, there are some stumbles, but ROBOT LINCOLN is exactly the kind of production that a bunch of college drama majors and theater geeks would put on as an after-show farce once the serious "acting" was done. "Hey, let's make Abe Lincoln a robot!" "Yeah, and then let's make OTHER presidents robots, too!"

I thought the singing was great, the stage presence was strong and the campy "plot" (if you could call it that) hilarious.

These thespians from Minnesota State Mankato stormed the Rarig thrust at the U of M and made it their "home" stage for this gutsy, silly and entertaining performance.

Left Some Things to be Desired
by Corwin Amyx Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
Concept and costuming were entertaining, but much else needed work. Creative team could have potential, though.

Gratifying Tomfoolery
by Marge Jackosn Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
If the goal of this prodcution was to keep me laughing, then they accomplished what they set out to do. The storyline was unique and it moved along quickly. I would have liked to see what they could have done with a bigger stage and a longer run time. Their vocals were strong and impressive. For their first time at the fringe, these guys did a great job. I look forward to seeing more from them in the future.

Fun concept, shaky execution
by Matilda ZombieQueen Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
Face it, the title makes you laugh. Unfortunately, the book for this seems to be no longer than the elevator pitch. Still, nice costume design and some fun moments (notably the Lincoln/Booth love duet).

Fun, exciting, but not earthshaking
by Andrew Lopez Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
This was a huge amount of fun, with laughs and wierd robot costumes and a little bit of gay humor thrown in for some laughs. I felt alot like I did after watching Evil Dead: the Musical. Entertained, but not stimulated. The cast and crew worked very hard, and I truely hope they move on and do more shows similar to this. Three kitties for the rough acting, and the singers probably should have been miked. I loved the Insane song. "squish squish"

Robots!
by Amy Bonifas Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
Enjoyed both Booth and Mary Todd very much. The story itself could have used more power but the songs were clever and the character list was a great collection of historical figures.

Not Worth Your Time, but Not Terrible
by David Peterjohn Follow this reviewer
Rating 1 kitty
I'll start with the positive aspects of the production: It's clear that these people are having fun and love their work. That's an important aspect for small productions like this. The costumes are also very well done, providing some interesting visuals and characterization to the fantastical looking robo-presidents in the show.

My issue here is poor quality of writing, humor and musical drama. There are so many characters crammed into this production that we never get to go deep into any one of them. We never know them. Many get merely one superficial moment of character establishment and then are mostly used as a set-piece rather than a person to care about or be interested in.

For example: Benedict Arnold's only characterization is a silly laugh. That's it, and when his character betrays Robo-Lincoln I did not care at all because he wasn't a person. He was just a silly laugh.

The music is not bad, but it's not musical theatre music. Musical theatre music has drama and characterization. These songs are somewhat amusing and sung decently, but do nothing for the plot or characters. They're just gimmick songs attempting for laughs. They slow down the pace of the show's plot.

Last is the humor. It's not terrible, but not very good. There was one clever pun by the use of switching "magnum" with "majority" but everything else was a version of "Presidential quote, but robots" that fell flat. The comic timing is a little off, but it's mostly that these are no so much jokes as tacking on references to robots on everything.

In the end I walked out about 20 minutes in. It wasn't unbearable, but I had seen enough.

This company has a lot of potential and energy. I think perhaps in the future more focus on just a few characters rather than many will yield more developed characters and thus more interesting humor and music.

I wish them all the luck.

Funny Premise, Some Jokes, Rough Singing
by Daniel Ducharme Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
This was a fun show to watch. There were quite a few tongue-in-cheek moments for the actors that had me laughing hard. I smiled bemusedly throughout the whole play, whether it was at the actual jokes, or at how flat they fell. I enjoyed some of the numbers, and Thomas Jefferson has serious pipes, but overall the music was flat and timid.

Cute, But Disappointing
by David Norris Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
I wanted SO hard for this show to succeed. It’s got everything I love: singing, revisionist history, gay themes and steampunk! But oh, dear. This is a case study in "Fringe Musicals Gone Wrong." It had a solid vocal cast that went underutilized. The opening/closing choral bits were great, but the rest was awful send-ups of pop songs and chintzy Broadway tunes. Also—we don't need a faux orchestral score. The best ones utilize the festival's logistical limitations and rely on the quality of their product, cast and crew to make it work. A tinny MIDI score only spotlights your weaknesses. The writing and plot were poor and sophomoric, with some funny jokes here and there but not enough to save the show. And PLEASE don’t tack on a gay subplot about Lincoln for laughs and drop it. And if I see another kick line, I may be muttering “squish squish” too—speaking of, Libby Slater was a hoot as Uncle Sam!

Funny, needed more rehearsal
by Amber B.V. Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
Funny premise. Great costumes. Good singing. Needed projection and better blocking. Tech was off but can't fault the actors on that one. Thinking maybe projection will be better once the tech is smoothed out and they won't have to be so timid to hear the music. Strong performances by some. Others, lacking. Biggest complaint. Projection. However, recommend for a silly good time that requires so thinking but to sit back and enjoy. My prediction is that after there first show, things will smooth out.

Promising script but bad acting...
by Jennie Eckholt Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
I agree with the reviewer who stated that he kept laughing at how not funny the show was. While the premise of the play was promising, and their re-interpretation on the presidents (double barrel Jackson!) was creative, the acting was dreadful. Most actors were timid and soft. The cast lacked energy, except for Mary Todd and Robokahn who were visibly trying to pull along their castmates with their enthusiasm. I give one kitty for the eye candy and a second kitty to Mary Todd for her great performance.

Every thing a fringe show should be
by Bruce Aamot Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Creative, imaginative, fun, fresh and a little on the raw-unpolished side. More shows like this should be encouraged.

Clunky in places, but I left happy
by TJ Hara Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
I went to see this on the basis of its Fringe-For-All preview and its goofy premise. The size of the cast and the costumes are pretty impressive for a Fringe show, but are also a bit of a drawback when you have the entire cast on stage at once and people start singing over each other a little. It's a three-kitty show but for the musical reconciliation of Robot Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth: it's worth an extra kitty and a "see it" recommendation on the strength of that number alone.

Mechanized musical melodrama merriment
by Will Weisert Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
OK, so this one won't be shoving 'The Book of Mormon' off Broadway anytime soon, this ensemble has done a very good job of taking an interesting premise - a robotic Lincoln teaming up with John Wilkes Booth and several other robotic Presidents to save the world and, perhaps, find true love - and carrying it for three quarters of an hour.

Rough edges abound but the energy and enthusiasm of the cast keep their audience engaged.

Fantastic Frivolity
by Rebecca Morgan Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
In my experience as a Fringe Festie, opening night for any play in the festival will have it's bumps. It was easy to overlook the bumps from tonight's opening of this show because of what the production offered. It was a visual spectacle with the kitchy creativity that was put into the costuming, each character had their own unique individual look and their dress added to each characters personality.
I don't think it's fair to fault the cast if the music was too low, that should fall on the sound system. It did not take away from the overall joy and entertainment of the show itself. I think that overall it was impressive to see a fringe show that was mounted on a larger scale than what you typically see from fringe show. I think the biggest cast I've seen in the past was 7? And these guys had over 10, I think they should of been given a bigger stage. And they did great with the space they had.
The script was original and funny, the music and songs were great and catchy, very similar to the old time radio ad jingles that get stuck in your head, which makes the play memorable. It looked like this was a strong team of players and they enjoyed what they were doing. I don't necessarily think there was any rhyme reasoning or logic that was meant to be conveyed in the story, except that it was supposed to be silly and fun. What's there not to love about that? Sometimes I think as an audience we spend too much time in trying to find a meaning in what we are watching, when we should just sit back and enjoy the frivolity and humor in nonsensical silliness. I had a good laugh and humor is the best medicine for everything. The gang of people I attended the show with had a good time and the general feeling of "wow, that was pretty cool"
I think it's refreshing to see a large group take on such an ambitious production. That shows moxie, and I think that's an impressive quality to have for first timers. Im looking forward to seeing what they develop in the future and hope their type of fantastic frivolity becomes a staple in future Fringe shows.
Loved it and am recommending this show to all my Fringe Festie pals!! Kudos!! Keep up the good work!!

Nice eye candy, but not much else
by Andrew Brown Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
The funniest part of this show was that I kept laughing at how not funny it was. The costumes were great, but the acting was hit and miss. The music didn't add anything to the overall experience and unfortunately I couldn't always pick out the lyrics. All in all, I don't regret going, but can't recommend it.

Cute concept & committed performances
by Florence Brammer Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
This is a very clever show, with lots of laughs and a large cast giving 100% to every scene. There were some technical gliches on opening night (e.g., singers not in sync with the recorded music, inaudible lines), but nothing that rose to the level of really interfering with the fun. I hadn't been planning to go to this, but did so at the last minute, and was glad I did.

Disjointed But With Heart
by David Rust Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
A friend of mine also attended this show at the same time as I, but took away a very different opinion. I'm afraid I only thought it was "Ok" and laden with flaws. Mostly, the young actors who performed need to learn how to project and block their movements on the stage. But these are relatively minor complaints. My biggest problem was with the script.

It jumped about and divulged into curious, little sequences that didn't seem to make much sense. I had a hard time following the internal logic of the story and, sadly, even for a comedy, that can be problematic.

The concept is strong. It's funny. Following the cybernetic undead adventures of Abraham Lincoln (post-John-Wilkes-Booth) and other roboticized, famous political personages, is inherently entertaining. The inclusion of Steampunk elements didn't hurt its appeal.

Still, the script and acting needed polish.

I do agree with my friend who said that it was heartening to see these young actors really taking on an ambitious project like this. The scope was huge and these performers are to commended for it.

Honestly, I'm looking forward to what they do next in future years as they develop their skills.

Steampunk'd: history rewritten
by Fringivitis Vulgaris Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
An assassination, the birth of the internet, Sharks vs. Jets, self-referential quips, dead presidents, and a love that could not be undone by mechanical differences: THIS is what happens when you sleep through American History class. Campy, silly, and well sung.

Pardonable
by August Berkshire Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
The premise of this play was admittedly hard to pull off, but they did a pretty decent job of it. The spectacle of the costumes added to the fun. The Lincoln-Booth duet (which had been performed in the previews) was a high point. If you like this kind of silliness, as I do occasionally, you should enjoy this play.