Performance: Spotlight

Minnesota Fringe Festival

The Minnesota Fringe Festival opens Thursday in 15 Twin Cities venues. For the next 10 days, theatergoers will be bombarded by 165 show producers who want you to see one of their collective 820 performances. The volume is daunting not only to the uninitiated but also to the veteran Fringer. Based on two Fringe previews last month, I ran up this list of shows that look promising.

Recommended: "Rip," "Sin Eater," "Ash Land" "Joe Dowling's ... Shakespeare on the Moon," "Portrait of the Artist as a Yo-Yo Man," "Comedy, Magic, & Neurosis," "Hans the Obscure," "The Gay Banditos," "Fruit Fly: The Musical," "Sneak Thief," "The Complete Works of William Shatner (abridged)," "Steampunk Apocalypse" and "Candide."

Above average: "Room for Cream: A Caffeinated Nightmare," "Even Yours," "Prophecy," "casual encounters," "Happy Hour," "Ms. Luisa Eats," "A Comedy of Edits," "Their Century," "Nightmare Without Pants," "Salem," "Tales From a Twisted Universe," "Class of 98," "Serif Punglasses," "The Computer Wore Semiotics," "The Love Show," "Curt and Laura Used to Be Good at Gymnastics and Stuff," "Pretentious Conversations" and "BOOGIEography."

(Opens Thu. 14 venues in Minneapolis, one in St. Paul. $12 per show. Must have $4 button; multi-show passes. Through Aug. 12. 1-866-811-4111 or www.fringefestival.org.)