Fringe - 2nd Saturday (Aug 8) - wonderful day

Such a fun day! Not only was everything we saw excellent, we saw friends! Spent some time in line at Squawk with minnehaha K, waved to barondave and Johanna across a crowded room and chatted with a couple who turned out to live on our block while in line for "Bard Fiction." We managed to hook up with friends for dinner during the 8:30 slot and had a swell time: mle292 mgs eileenlufkin, plus WINOLJs: Barb and Mark and Diane. We had beer and sandwiches at the relocated Acadia Cafe, which is the latest incarnation of the building formerly known as the New Riverside. Barb's right: the black bean burger is great, especially with a pitcher of beer to counteract the aggressive jalapeno. Mmmm. Here's what we saw.

1:00 p.m. - Squawk * * * * *
2:30 p.m. - Jurassic Dork * * * * *
4:00 p.m. - Buyer's Remorse * * * *
5:30 p.m. - Tales ... Of the Expected! * * * *
7:00 p.m. - Bard Fiction * * * * *
10:00 p.m. - Tragedy of You [2nd time] --


___________
1:00 p.m.
Squawk * * * * *
presented by Walking Shadow Theatre Company
Venue: Gremlin

Surprisingly thoughtful examination of the nature of friendship wrapped in an absurdist comedy about a penguin in the military. The acting was excellent and the penguin puppet was wonderful. It must have been a difficult decision deciding how to handle the penguin's dialogue. The decision to have him speak only in squeaks and squawks but be instantly understood by everyone on stage was the perfect way to solve the problem. This technique not only preserves the "otherness" of the penguin, it engages the audience by forcing them to fill in for themselves what Falkland must have just said.
___________
2:30 p.m.
Jurassic Dork * * * * *
presented by John Skelley
Venue: Gremlin

Unspeakably hilarious (assuming you are familiar with the movie - it would be pretty baffling if you were not). Like all shows of this nature, success is completely dependent on the talents of the solo actor, and John Skelley rises to the occasion with rubber-faced mimicry and frenetic athleticism. Inspired use of mood music and ridiculously silly props pushes it over the top into brilliance. The first dinosaur sighting is recreated by a swim noodle with a balloon on top poking around from behind a curtain, followed shortly by Skelley lumbering around the corner with the assemblage attached to a bike helmet on his head. The use of toy cars and other small size props allows sudden changes of scale that are inherently funny, especially juxtaposed against the memory of just how scary that part of the movie really was. Not only did this show make me laugh myself silly, it reminded of just what a good movie Jurassic Park really was. I think I'll add it to my Netflix queue.
___________
4:00 p.m.
Buyer's Remorse * * * *
presented by Sarah Gioia and Steve Moulds
Venue: Mixed Blood

It certainly didn't sound appealing in the show description (what - ANOTHER show about cold-blooded murder) but we added it to our schedule after numerous recommendations from passing strangers in line at other shows. Sure enough, it was well done and I'm glad we saw it. The actors were excellent, especially Sam Landman as Parker the hitman and Matt Rein as Matt. Tone was a bit of a problem, though. Matt's character reacts to events like a normal human being, whereas the other characters are all caricatures of one type or another. Rachel is particularly disturbing, coming off as a borderline sociopath. It left me unsure whether I should be treating it all as a silly spoof and laughing at the clever lines or if it was supposed to be a nightmare scenario from the point of view of Matt.

___________
5:30 p.m.
Tales ... Of the Expected! * * * *
presented by Ari Hoptman
Venue: U of M Proscenium

Stellar cast, but the material was pretty thin. Maybe I've just seen a few too many variations on the fractured fairy tale, and the genre just isn't as funny as it was back when I was watching Rocky and Bullwinkle. It would have been a great kid's show if it weren't for the astonishingly foul-mouthed Mom in the first play. Don't get me wrong - she was hilarious - but she pretty much takes the play off the table as a kids' matinee.

___________
7:00 p.m.
Bard Fiction * * * * *
presented by Tedious Brief Productions
Venue: U of M Thrust

I've only seen Pulp Fiction one time several years ago, so a lot of the spoof went over my head. However, I caught enough of the references to see how brilliantly the source material was adapted to the Elizabethan style. If there's a remount of this play I think I'd rewatch the movie and then see the play again. The dialogue flew so thick and fast that it would take several viewings to pick it all up.

___________
10:00 p.m.
Tragedy of You [2nd time] * * * * *
presented by Joseph Scrimshaw Productions
Venue: U of M Thrust

Saw this again simply because I'd just talked some of my dinner companions into seeing it and went along for the ride. I was curious to see how much it changed with a different "you" as the seed. Not as much as you might think, actually. It was significantly less hilarious on second viewing, but interesting to see how the whole process worked. I probably didn't get 5 kitties of enjoyment out of the second viewing, but it would be silly to give it a different rating the 2nd time around. It's a brilliant marriage of pre-scripted post-modern theater, physical comedy and improv.

Health note - knee getting better

This note is mostly for my own benefit. I have a little trouble with my knees now and then but never can remember the details later on. I couldn't even tell you if it's always the same knee every time. So this time I'm making notes. No particular reason to make this entry private, but unless you have a great interest in middle-aged knees you probably don't much care about what follows.

I strained my right knee exactly 3 weeks ago, apparently by biking a little farther than I was used to (18 miles on flat terrain, which really shouldn't have been a problem). I didn't even notice the injury, but the day after biking it was hurting. It hasn't been intensely painful, but it just hasn't been getting any better. It hurts when I bend my knee at a particular angle with weight or pressure on the knee. Biking aggravates it slightly, but the thing that hurts the most is something that is very difficult to avoid: standing up from a sitting position. Going up stairs causes some pain. Walking is fine, and even skating doesn't hurt except when my leg gets really tired. I've been wearing a knee brace or Ace bandage most days, which seems to help while I'm wearing it but has no residual effect. I've also developed some very odd and unflattering methods of getting out of a chair, which may have actually made some difference. Basically I lever myself up with my arms, keeping most of my weight on my left foot with my right leg as straight as possible. If I do it right I don't get the little "pop" of pain that I get when I stand up normally.

Anyway, yesterday I wore the knee brace all day despite the miserable hot weather and hardly noticed any pain all day. This morning the knee didn't pop the first couple of times I stood up, even without the brace.  I iced it (as I usually do in the morning) and slapped on the knee brace. At this point it feels almost normal. It may not be all well, but I think it is finally getting better.

Fringe - oop, missed a cuppla daya - Thursday & Friday #2 (Aug 6 and 7)

THURSDAY Aug 6
8:30 p.m.
Was my brother in the battle? SONGS OF WAR - unrated
presented by Stephen Swanson & David Gompper
Venue: Playwrights' Ctr

This is the epitome of the type of show that I can't give a meaningful rating to. Apparently the performance was superb if you like classical (operatic style) singing. I don't. The first half of the show was all art song - I found it excruciating. The second half featured more accessible selections, including some Tom Lehrer, which fared pretty well in this style. On the other hand, it also included a song that I utterly loathe - "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda." Richard liked this show better than I did, but not by much. We should have skipped this one.

____________________________
10:00 p.m.
This Show Will Change Your Life! * * * * 1/2
presented by David Mann
Venue: Intermedia

Okay, it didn't change my life, but it sure did make me laugh. Motivational seminars seem like such an easy target that I was expecting a show full of mugging and cheap shots (we just stopped in on a whim because the time and place were convenient). Surprise! It was hilarious! The two performers are so skilled that they don't have to overact to make their point; they have the exact body language,timing and gimmicks of the professional salesman. The catch phrases and bullet points are familiar enough to sound momentarily plausible at the beginning of each new pitch before the whole thing collapses into nonsense. Great chemistry between the two as they reminisce about their long friendship ("What a stroke of luck that we ended up sharing the same cell that night!") and subtly jockey for control of the stage.


FRIDAY Aug 7

10:00 p.m.
The Flickering Wall * * *
presented by Illusion Theater Venue: Illusion

Audience traipses around the back stairs and hallways of the century-old repurposed Masonic Temple, interacting with bits of theater. Biggest downside: group is too large to even fit in some of the spaces, and the A/C cannot keep up. As the tour moves from dismal little hallways into the larger and more interesting backstage areas it gets better and better, and I was really enjoying it by the end. The skits are simply written and broadly played, but if you go with the flow it's a lot of fun. The stories themselves are pretty trivial; the ones that work are the ones that highlight the space and involve the audience. Recommended, but with reservations.