Soup to Nuts 08/09/2011 3:28pm

First a quick heads-up: from 4:00pm to 8:00pm this evening, the LRT construction zone will be flooded with crude oil and set on fire. Adjust your travel plans accordingly. Moto-i has offered the following apology on Twitter: moto-i would like to extend an earnest apology to #MNfringe goers for less-than-ideal experiences at Fringe Central this past wknd. We're working to improve our offerings as a venue for festival goers. #FringeCentral is a big responsibility and honor for us as hosts. If I can be a big boy, I will visit Moto-i tonight for rooftop trivia. Around 9:00 last night, I was lurking in the bushes outside Rarig. I heard rustling behind me and turned to discover a mother raccoon with five youngsters staring at me. I tried to take a picture but it was too dark, so here's a food-related raccoon link. Food Fringing - Brain Fighters includes a character whose name is a FOOD! The princess heroine of Disney Dethroned makes it a point to be VERY SKINNY! And a woman in Once Upon a Time in the Suburbs has a difficult relationship with CHICKENS! I didn't plan to see these three shows last night, but that's what happened and I'm glad it did. I'm not the target audience for Disney Dethroned. I suppose I must have seen Disney's Snow White and/or Sleeping Beauty at some point when I was a child, but I've never seen more than a moment or two of the other Disney princess movies. So, while I was only sporadically amused by the show, I was continuously delighted by the enthusiasm of everybody else. The performer and his audience became collaborators, putting the story together, together. Making jokes, taking little breaks, simultaneously mocking the source material and loving it. That was fun. My immediate reaction to Brain Fighters was that this is a show I could have written in my sleep.* If Joseph Scrimshaw crept into my sleeping chamber and manipulated my hands across a keyboard. (I'm pretty sure something like this has happened already.) Randy Reyes is deeply, abidingly funny. And little kids laughing uncontrollably is one of the world's great sounds. Once Upon a Time in the Suburbs made me really happy, too. I love how Ferrari McSpeedy fearlessly dances along the line between ridiculous and awesome. It's a terrible line because you can't know which side of the line you're going to fall on until you put it in front of an audience. For me, the scooter horses were ridiculous, but a shabby little well on a stick was awesome. All three shows featured performers working with a minimum of props and set pieces to create whole worlds. They did so with energy and talent and generosity. They are working like crazy just to entertain some people for a few minutes in August. I know some of these performers and don't know others and I love them all very much. I don't know why the Fringe turns me into such a softie. I spend most of my time hording gold and hating everyone and every thing. Maybe I just need a week off from all that. FOOD FRINGE! *I'm making fun of an audience review for Brain Fighters.