Show: 5
Title: Boy Crazy
Category: COMEDY / IMPROV / MUSICAL THEATER / STORYTELLING / AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
By: Madde Gibba
Created by: Madde Gibba
Location: Rarig Arena
Summary: A solo show about dating that combines storytelling, original songs, and scenes acted out with audience volunteers.
Highlights: This show made me laugh until I cried, and then later get a little teary-eyed with genuine emotion. Fringe vet Madde Gibba, a self-described "bad picker," tells the most horrifyingly hilarious stories about the men that she's dated. It's a great mix of songs (accompanying herself on the keyboard in singer/songwriter style), storytelling pieces (the one that had me crying - a terrible public breakup), and scenes that an audience volunteer draws out of a basket and performs opposite her (more mild stories like making out with a bartender on the streets of New Orleans). Stories come from her time living in NYC, or living and performing on a cruise ship (an odd and fascinating lifestyle), or here in the Twin Cities. Madde's got it all - she's hilarious, she knows how to tell a good story, she has a great voice, she's honest and vulnerable, and she writes beautiful songs. Because in the end, it's not about all these boys she loved and lost, it's about her, and being happy with her life and the things she has regardless of who she's dating, or not. As Whitney reminds us, it's the greatest love of all. It's only day two of the Fring Festival, but this one is my favorite of the shows I've seen so far.