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 review: ‘Antistrophe to an Andro-Sapphic Tragedy’ reflects on complicated, confusing experience of holding onto one’s values amid loss Theater | Fringe review: A live advice seminar, ‘What You Need To Do Is!’ helps you handle grown-folk business Theater | Fringe review: ‘The Greenhouse’ tries to plant seeds of interpretation on environmentalism, community and balance Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to print (Opens in new window) Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) More Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Submit to Stumbleupon (Opens in new window).
