2008 Minnesota Fringe Festival Day 1
Aug. 1st, 2008 12:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
barondaveA good start: Two plays featuring science/science fiction on the radio bracketed two musicals. All but the first were really good, with the last one being the best. Note: Unlike previous years, the Fringe only allows full star ratings, and you can't give a show **** 1/2. This forces some rounding, which I'll mention here on LJ but not necessarily on the Fringe site.
The Spaceman Chronicles **
"0900 AM-ish"
Some good laughs and a dash of pathos in a story of a man's dream and how it affects his son's hope of being a spaceman. The shadow puppetry is good.
Audish ****
Monty Python Does A Chorus Line
The kids are talented actors and remarkable singers. The show is fun and strange, full of whimsey with a cynical but all-too hard-boiled view of show business.
Great American Horror Movie Musical ****
Recreating MTV
The show recreates several 80s music videos around a plot dealing with the search for serial killer Eric Rudolph. Often very funny and the familiar music is well done.
War of Worlds: The Musical - A Tribute to Old-Time Radio *****
"Who's Off First"
Several 30's radio genres get sliced and diced. The routines are sharp, the situations are funny, the repartee is tight and the ensemble singing is marvelous. Oh, and the Martians are fun too. W. G. Herbert... er, HG Wells would be pleased.
LJ Note: Really **** 1/2 stars, but it was the best show of the evening so I rounded up. I've written plays with similar tropes and we tackled the story head on with Warp of the Worlds, the 1982 Minicon Live Stage Show. But Shockwave Radio didn't do musicals. This show was about a radio show, and not aimed at making an actual audio recording, so they could do a lot more. And they did.
Saw three of the shows with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
freeimprov, who was taking official Fringe pictures. Did several interviews and such. Podcast coming soon. Whee! It has begun!
The Spaceman Chronicles **
"0900 AM-ish"
Some good laughs and a dash of pathos in a story of a man's dream and how it affects his son's hope of being a spaceman. The shadow puppetry is good.
Audish ****
Monty Python Does A Chorus Line
The kids are talented actors and remarkable singers. The show is fun and strange, full of whimsey with a cynical but all-too hard-boiled view of show business.
Great American Horror Movie Musical ****
Recreating MTV
The show recreates several 80s music videos around a plot dealing with the search for serial killer Eric Rudolph. Often very funny and the familiar music is well done.
War of Worlds: The Musical - A Tribute to Old-Time Radio *****
"Who's Off First"
Several 30's radio genres get sliced and diced. The routines are sharp, the situations are funny, the repartee is tight and the ensemble singing is marvelous. Oh, and the Martians are fun too. W. G. Herbert... er, HG Wells would be pleased.
LJ Note: Really **** 1/2 stars, but it was the best show of the evening so I rounded up. I've written plays with similar tropes and we tackled the story head on with Warp of the Worlds, the 1982 Minicon Live Stage Show. But Shockwave Radio didn't do musicals. This show was about a radio show, and not aimed at making an actual audio recording, so they could do a lot more. And they did.
Saw three of the shows with
freeimprov, who was taking official Fringe pictures. Did several interviews and such. Podcast coming soon. Whee! It has begun!