Somewhere between Circumference of a Squirrel and Tales of Cunning and Wit I found time to visit Alt Bike and Board, and finally found a bike I liked! It needs a little bit of customization to make it perfect (different handlebars, adjustable handlebar stem, more comfortable seat) but this shop is happy to do all those things for no charge.

I finally realized that the bike I thought I wanted just didn't fit me right. No matter which size frame I tried, the Marin City Bikes were too tall in the front (causing the top bar to be uncomfortably close to my crotch) and had a brake cable that stuck out at an awkward angle and hit me in the inner thigh. And somehow the frame just didn't feel like it fit me. I started looking at other brands, but kept coming back to Marin. I finally realized that I could have all the features I wanted if I just switched my sights to the Urban Bike line and looked for a shop that could modify the stem.

So I tried a 17" Marin Muirwoods, and it felt really good. The Muirwood is a modified mountain bike (unlike most hyrbrids, which are modified road bikes). I liked the lower gearing and the agility of the smaller diameter, fatter wheel. The top bar is much lower than the other one and the brake cable wasn't hitting my leg.

After finding this bike yesterday I was too excited to focus on Fringe shows. So I went back to the shop at noon today to confirm that I wanted it and get my required customizations in writing. I sent Richard off to some afternoon shows at the Ritz by himself and just came home to relax and think about my new bike.

12:00 PM Circumference of a Squirrel * * * * *
Presented by Metro Productions at Bryant-Lake Bowl

Spectacularly good - possibly the best storyteller I've seen yet. There are no more scheduled performances, but if it should turn out to be the Fringe Encore for this venue, everybody who likes this type of performer should run right out and see it.

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2:30 PM Stories of Cunning and Wit * * * 1/2
Presented by Black Storytellers Alliance at Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts

African folk tales told by a perfectly adequate, but not brilliant, storyteller. I put this one on the agenda so that I would already be downtown in time to be at the head of the line for the next show. It was nothing special, but a perfectly agreeable placeholder.

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4:00 PM From Here to Maternity * * * * *
Presented by Joshua Scrimshaw and Shanan Wexler at Carmichael Lynch - 10th Floor

THIS is the Scrimshaw show that should have been on every Fringer's must-see list (not that Scottish thing). A series of slightly disconnected skits built around Charlie and Meg's baby-making. We just howled. The couple interaction skits were dead-on, touching and hilarious at the same time. But the real treasures were the oddball ones: the reading of "Curious George Goes to Daycare," Josh's interpretive dance routine (not only funny, but darn good dancing!), and the sniping between the (white male) OBGYN and the (female vegan) midwife that degnerates into a full-on brawl ("Ha! I'm a midwife; I can breathe through the pain!! Take THAT!!" "HaHA! I'm a doctor! I can self-medicate!! [swallows mouthful of pills] Take THAT!!"

After the third show we retired to the Loon Cafe -- a conveniently placed, heavily air-conditioned downtown sports bar -- for dinner. Then it was back into the scorching heat to bike to the Pillsbury Waite Center for that one about North Dakota. As we were pedaling down Portland, saracura pulled alongside us in her vehicle to say hi and ask where we were going (same as her, it turned out). She zoomed off, but reappeared again a couple of blocks from the theater to let us know that it was sold out. Oh well. It wasn't really high on my list to see, it was just the only thing it seemed like we could get to easily by 7pm that looked remotely interesting. I have no idea why it was sold out 20 minutes before showtime, but we had no trouble getting into From Here to Maternity.

It was cool seeing a fellow rabid Fringer on the trail like that, and very nice of her to come back and let us know the show was sold out. Thanks, saracura! It's fun being part of a club, even if it's a club that only lasts 10 days.

Plans for the rest of the evening: chill out in our surprisingly comfortable living room, then saunter out after sundown to see this one (it being in our neighborhood and all):

10:00 PM Wallace & The Dragon
Presented by Walking Boxes Productions at Intermedia Arts

7:00 PM We'll Survive if We Don't Protect Ourselves * * * * 1/2
Presented by Penelope Freeh at Grain Belt Bottling House - Atrium

Really superb dancing in a very interesting space. I particularly enjoyed the segments where the dancers wore gorilla heads. Not quite 5 stars because I would have liked a little more variety - maybe 30 minutes of the main dance and a couple of short pieces with a different tempo and style. But that's probably my failing more than the dance troupe's - I just don't have a very long attention span for non-verbal performance.

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9:00 PM The Most Mysterious Day of the Year * * *
Presented by The Missoula Oblongata at Circle of Discipline

Not the worst show I've seen this year by any means, but probably the most aggravating. So many wonderful bits: the nutso surrealism, excellent acting, bright bits of dialogue, inspired use of props. Yet the whole is so much less than the sum of its parts. What ever possessed these people to think that they needed 90 minutes for this little bit of fluff? Even an hour would have felt long (especially in that unbearably hot performance space), but an hour and a half was interminable. Jokes that would have been wonderful as throwaway lines were draggggged out and repeated until they ceased to be funny and just became annoying. The cockeyed characters were initially charming, but by they end they just became sad and tiresome. And all that time spent setting up the plot turned out to be treading water - the "mystery" was never solved, the relationships between the two feuding families went nowhere, the parakeet (the only likeable character) spent the second half of the play in a semi-catatonic depression, and the whole show ended much like the final season of The Sopranos. Unlike last year's offering (Wonders of the World, Recite) this play did not have a single moment of joy in it. This troupe has tremendous talent and creative energy, and if they're here next year I'll go see them again - provided the show isn't more than an hour long!

At least, I think it's Wednesday. I'm actually getting a little bit disoriented. Whatever day it is, this evening was a winner! Two absolutely 5-star shows.

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7:00 PM Bards
Presented by Four Humors Theater at Southern Theater

This is the best show I've seen so far, narrowly edging out Flammable People. It's a good story, a fantastic cast, clever staging, and a stage crew that sings madrigals in perfect 4-part harmony while changing the props and carting dead bodies offstage. Danny Salmen makes a fabulously hunky Kit Marlowe: poet, playwright, and special agent for Her Majesty's Secret Service. Matt Spring's talented but tongue-tied Shakespeare is inspired. And the Earl of Southampton -- oh, my. There are two more performances of this show, plus in all likelihood one more chance to catch it as a Fringe Encore. Don't miss it!!

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8:30 PM Monster Movies with My Undead Dad
Presented by Nancy Donoval at Playwrights' Center

Nancy Donoval is the story-teller's story-teller. She's not a roller-coaster of emotion like Amy Salloway, or an ADHD maniac like Jimmy Hogg. She's just really really good, whether she's telling a classic folk tale, explaining why her childhood cellar was full of invisible witches, or sharing bittersweet memories of her late father.

All shows were good to excellent: can't beat that! I also had a pleasant 12-mile bike ride (biking to the West Bank has been much improved by the Midtown Bikeway) and spent an hour or two bike shopping at The Hub Bike Coop, Lake Street location. Didn't buy anything, but got a better idea what I'm looking for. Justin is a really nice salesman.
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4:00 PM William Shakespeare's Hystery Queene Margaret
Presented by Bedlam Theatre at Bedlam Theatre - Parking Lot

Wow. Queen Margaret was pretty cool. I thought this was going to be one of those comic mashups of Shakespeare, but it's not: it's a genuine (and highly successful) attempt to edit the massive Henry VI 3-play cycle down to a reasonable length: in this case, one hour. Astonishingly enough, the story is easy to follow, and is actually pretty gripping. I have to admit that I have no experience whatsoever with these plays, but I have to wonder what the other 14 hours could possibly add to the story, other than more bodies.

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5:30 PM A Brief History of Petty Crime
Presented by The Roodie Pancake Experiment at Bedlam Theatre
Your basic comic monologue about a few episodes from a mildly misspent youth. The stories were amusing and Jimmy Hogg's delivery is intense and entertaining. Unfortunately, the glass of wine I bought in the lobby brought on an attack of the sleepies, and I wasn't completely awake for all of it.

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7:00 PM Circumference
Presented by Awkward Moment Productions at Mixed Blood Theatre
Really really good, just like everybody thought it would be. A little rough around the edges (what with puffpastry practically having a nervous breakdown while writing the piece, she apparently didn't have time to practice the final version before the performance) but it really didn't matter. Her writing, her timing and delivery, and her pure lovableness elevates her confessional monologues above almost everybody else's even when the performance is not quite perfected. It was worth seeing the slightly unpolished first show just to see the radiant glow on her face when the audience gave her a huge hand and partial standing ovation at the end. I sat next to one of the guys from The Broken Brain Summit (which Amy wrote but did not perform) and his enthusiasm was contagious. He kept telling people proudly, "Amy is a personal friend of mine!"

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10:00 PM Blue Collar Diaries
Presented by Michelle Myers at Intermedia Arts
This one is low-key and under the radar, but really excellent. It's just one woman sharing little vignettes about some of the people she knew while growing up in St. Paul. With just a few simple props she slips into each character, doing the voices and body language superbly, with still pictures of the old neighborhood projected behind her. Don't miss it.

Bowing to the reality of a surprising but much-needed all-day rain, we abandoned the bikes for the day and drove. We actually stuck to plan for most of the day, but replaced the West Bank shows in the evening with Flawed Genius in Southeast, for a total of 5 shows. It was a successful day, leading off with two excellent productions: Hansel and Gretel: The Musical and The Broken Brain Summit.

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1:00 PM - Hansel and Gretel: The Musical ****
--- Top Hat Theatre at Theatre de la Jeune Lune
One of the most elaborate productions I've ever seen at the Fringe - huge cast, colorful costumes, full musical score. The theme of Hansel and Gretel is problematical for modern audiences, coming down to this: adults will always betray you; live by your wits or die a terrible death. The producers of this show have made a game attempt to deal with this dismal message by stuffing the play full of loving mommies and daddies, dancing/singing animals, and villagers that alternate between joyful peasant festivals and woodland search parties. But no amount of added sugar can disguise the fact that the children do get abandoned in the woods, harrassed by nasty crumb-eating blackbirds, and nearly eaten by a witch. It's all great fun. Recommended to everybody except sour-tempered Brothers Grimm purists.

2:30 PM - The Broken Brain Summit *****
--- Interact Center for the Visual Performing Arts at Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts
This was just great; a wonderful combination of art and reality. We sat down front, which turned out to put us right in the middle of the circle of "performers" (brain-damaged adults who were both reading from a script and telling their own stories). A wonderfully intimate experience, and a perfect change of pace after the large scale Hansel and Gretel. Incidentally, if you go to the address listed in the Fringe schedule you will just find a lot of lost Fringers asking each other where the theater is. The theater entrance is actually on the other side of the building, on 2nd Street not 3rd Avenue.


4:00 PM - Nor Did the Atomic Bomb Drop Itself ***
---- Richard Rousseau/Gone Today Productions at Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts
A very erratic production, with disconnected parts that never formed any kind of whole, or illuminated the intriguing title. The story-teller (Richard Rousseau) that began and ended the show was superb. The poetry (Tom Cassidy) was well delivered, but not to my taste: I prefer rhyme and scansion to heavy-handed irony. And the skit in the middle? Pointless and incomprehensible.


5:30 PM - Salome by Oscar Wilde **
--- Arthur Repertory Theatre at Theatre de la Jeune Lune
The first show I've seen this year that I actually disliked. The play itself was disappointing - I expected more from Oscar Wilde than a flat retelling of the "Bring me the head of John the Baptist" story. There were some nice descriptive turns of phrase, but precious little wit or character insight. The staging was inconsistent: Herod and his queen in full period costume, but everybody else in modern dress. The casting was inexplicable: John the Baptist (wearing nothing but a pair of punked out blue jeans) looked like a fat, hairy couch potato, with dull, piggy little eyes and limp hair. When his head makes a solo appearance at the end it looks like the head of Rasputin (appropriate enough, except that it doesn't remotely resemble the head of the actor that was playing John). Worst of all, the dancing was leaden. To be fair, Richard liked the show better than I did.


8:00 PM - Flawed Genius ***1/2
--- Barnaby King at The Soap Factory
The original Sad Clown and his astonishing piano. Barnaby King is a very talented performer, rubber-faced and seemingly boneless, and he really knows how to work the crowd. However, his material is a little thin and some of his schticks drag on way too long, giving the audience too much time to reflect on how uncomfortable the venue really is. I enjoyed his show, but I must admit that I was glad when it was over.

8:00 PM
The Book of Pops ****
Presented by Theater Zero at Bryant-Lake Bowl

10:00 PM
The Cody Rivers Show: Flammable People *****
Presented by The Cody Rivers Show at Minneapolis Theatre Garage

11:30 PM
An Intimate Evening with Fotis; The Taller Side of Ferrari McSpeedy ***
Presented by The Importance of Being Fotis at Minneapolis Theatre Garage

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The Book of Pops ****
We only went to this one because it fit the schedule, and were very pleasantly surprised at how good it was. This show apparently grew out of a series of improv sketches, but somebody did a lot of work weaving those sketches together into an overall story that touches on themes of life, death, relationships and self. The staging is really remarkable - the huge cast (including several children) flits across the stage, through the audience, and in and out of doors (breaking not only the 4th wall but the 5th one as well) without missing a beat. The performances are engaging, but the segues are brilliant. Recommended for all ages - with one caveat. The printed program contains a hastily inserted horrified disclaimer along the lines of "We had no idea that bridge was going to break, and we're really really sorry but there's nothing we can do about it at this point..." Indeed. The play takes place on, under and around a bridge, and given the themes of the play there are references to death and drowning that could well be upsetting to more sensitive audience members.

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The Cody Rivers Show: Flammable People *****
This show is soooo good! I just wish there were some way to describe it adequately. It's a couple of guys in bright green jumpsuits and big hair doing rapid-fire absurdist sketch comedy, physical humor, fish impersonations, and occasional acrobatic song-and-dance routines. If you like that sort of thing, you'll love these guys. Sit down front if you're feeling brave.

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An Intimate Evening with Fotis; The Taller Side of Ferrari McSpeedy ***
One guy sitting at a desk and READING (not telling) stories from his (not terribly long, not terribly interesting) life. This guy has quite a following, and I guess he's pretty good at what he does, but not to my taste. If you would find that a boring monologue about sports becomes hilarious when the names of the players are replaced by the names from the old Transformers cartoons, then you are his target audience. I clearly am not.

Still planning to attend mmagidow's art show this evening at the Northrup King Building, assuming we can find a way across the river. Up 94 to Broadway looks like the best bet, but no idea what traffic will be like.

It looks like the Thursday showing of "Flawed Genius" has been cancelled, but it would have been hard to make an 8pm show anyway. So I guess we'll head over to the Ritz after touring the Northrup King Building, buy our Ultrapasses, and see whatever is playing at the time. The goal for the evening is actually the 10pm show at the Ritz: Robert Anton Wilson's Masks of the Illuminati.