Play Review: Fearless 5 Music

photo courtesy of Fearless Comedy

I compared Fearless 5 Music to The Play that Goes Wrong (Mischief Theatre Company) when Fearless presented its show at the Historic Mounds Theater in St. Paul.

Fearless 5 Music is a fabulous medley of short plays meant to poke fun at theater, actors and musicians.This annual show is in its sixth year and includes five short plays directed by Duck Washington, Cara White, Dave McKay, Aiden Milligan and Jason Kruger. The music varied from play to play, sometimes 'traditional' musical, other times a straight forward play about music and musicians, or some place in between. The cast of seven actors carried the unique challenges of the play with the help of musical director, Chad Dutton, on keyboard.

The first play The Barb, written Kayla Sotebeer is Shakespeare-themed. Each of the characters dressed to resemble those in the Elizabethan era, a few in hooded robes with millstone collars. Even a wizard made an appearance along with a cleric and several others. The main character droned on about his perceived failures as an artist in his acting troupe, when another tells him he can escape and go rogue. The Barb makes an effort to include verses written four centuries apart but it's the constant bickering that delights as characters chase one another with swords. And brings in millennial concepts like twerking and comedic lines like:

You can't be an artist unless you're sad.  Not one artist has had a good childhood.

The next play, The Second Annual Upper Midwestern Vegan Ribfest written by Kelvin Hatie, featured actors Emma Tiede, Caleb Cabiness, Michael Bloom, and Joy Ford who show up to Not-Ribfest with the intention to play alternative music for vegans. Unfortunately, the characters are undecided after realizing their opening song is called The Meat." Vegans are not into irony, if they were they'd eat meat," Booker said. The play made me wonder whether they'd go for it, or if  their resistance to veganism would change their mind.

Macbeth: The Musical centered around the remake of Macbeth, written by Tim Wick.  This fun play within a play had great energy and allowed the characters to sing jingles and mock a playwright's intention. It was hilarious to see the actors upstage one another and play multiple roles.

The play after intermission called Westbrook Middle School is Proud to Present Its Fall Musical Which Opens Tomorrow for General Audiences was my favorite. It was written by Denzel Belin and centered around middle school students who work on and off stage and fall in love. Each of the couples are keen on keeping their romance hidden. This play is perfect for Valentine’s Day. The comedy is too cute, and the audience is led to understand the inner workings of theater, as characters practice the art of speedy costume changes and embrace authenticity. It reminded me of theater initiation and Do's and Don'ts.

The finale play, No Small Parts written by Angela Fox gave the actors one last opportunity to show their playfulness by rehearsing for a musical within the musical.  There's always that one singer who upstages the rest and Adrienne Reich did a great job of showing everyone her skills.

Each of the plays pokes fun at what it means to be an artist and the self deprecation and comedy is out of this world.

The Mounds Theatre requires proof of a full course of COVID-19 vaccination. Patrons must have a completed COVID-19 vaccination card, with their final dose at least fourteen days prior to the event. Attendees must wear masks inside the venue while not eating or drinking. At intermission, popcorn, coffee and cocktails are served.

Performances will be held February 11th, 12th, 18th, 19th, 25th and 26th/ All shows at 7:30pm. Tickets at the door or in advance at https://moundstheatre.org