*Note this blog is written by our Executive Producer Kyle B. Dekker. This Fringe season he has decided to chronicle HCM's experiences at the Minnesota Fringe Festival. Please enjoy the blog to read about the run of our show, and for reviews of shows Kyle attends during the Festival.

Reviews

I'm back at Fringe after a night off to rest and recuperate. I hit a wall Sunday night and took Tuesday off to rest up for the stretch run of Fringe. I had planned to make three shows tonight, starting with Blackout Improv at 5:30PM but I just missed getting there on time by a couple of minutes thanks to traffic. I did manage to catch two shows and they were both great in very different ways.

Stranger-er Things: Netflix and Kill - Turd Sprout Productions

I saw the preview of this show on July 24th and I loved it. A one man show accompanied by a musician, Tom Reed recaps and acts out season one of Stranger Things in 50 minutes. If you think that sounds crazy, silly, and hilarious you'd be right.

I don't think you need to have watched or know anything about Stranger Things to enjoy Stranger-er Things. The energy, performance and humor stands on its own. If you are a fan of the show, you will really appreciate the jokes and over the top caricatures of characters from the show. My favorite jokes were the commentary bits about some of the sillier and contrived parts of the plot and events of the Netflix show.

The tech and music of the show were really well done. Parodies of pop songs you know with new Stranger Things specific lyrics will have you laughing with glee. The sound and light design of the show were excellent and really enhanced this top notch performance.

Dungeon - Hit The Lights! Theater Co.

Lights, props, and action. On the face this show is a super simple quest story about a boy going into a dungeon to try and find his sister. But this show is so much more than that. It's a phenomenal blend of shadow puppetry, physical performance, live music, and the most clever use of flashlights I've ever seen.

I don't want to describe too much because words won't do any justice to the beauty of the show. There is never a dull moment and time flies as you are watching. Visually this may be one of the most interesting plays I've ever seen. There are no stage lights used in this performance as they provide their own lights. The story takes place in an underground cavern and the stage is always dark except for the various flashlights and glowing objects the cast uses to tell the story.

I don't want to spoil anything more, go see this show. You will be amazed, you will laugh, and you will likely walk away thinking this is the best show you will see all Fringe. I did.

Wrap

Two shows attended tonight bringing me to 16 total for Fringe. I may not be able to make any shows tomorrow, but will review them if I do. Thanks for reading.