Reunited with her grieving mother and rigid older sister, a less-than-responsible method actor channels her late, beloved grandmother in advance of her funeral, never letting go of the character for days. Three-way — or is it four-way? — family confrontations ensue, opening up old closets full of relatively modest skeletons. Written and directed by Kari Heistad, “Playing Dead” is family-friendly fare that gets surprisingly dark in the middle, even while staying a tad too light at the edges on its path toward a foreseeably upbeat ending.
The sudden arrival of Lady MacBeth is inspired if under-explored, and it’s a shame we never get to see the characters interact at the burial. Attending (and critiquing) one’s own funeral would be comedy gold. Presented by Kari Heistad at the Mixed Blood Theatre; 7 p.
m. Aug. 6, 10 p.
m. Aug. 9, 8:30 p.
m. Aug. 11 Still trying to decide what to see? Check out all our Fringe reviews at twincities.
com/tag/fringe-festival , with each show rated on a scale of Must See, Worth Considering, Could Be Worse or You Can Skip. The Minnesota Fringe Festival is presenting more than 100 hourlong stage acts from Aug. 1–11 around Minneapolis.
Visit MinnesotaFringe.org for ticket and show information. Related Articles Theater | Fringe review: In ‘Looking For Justice (In All The Wrong Places),’ lessons worth hearing get lost in disorganized storytelling Theater | Fringe review: ‘Parts’ is partway there, but needs more punchline Theater | Fringe.