Fringe review: ‘Omar Khayyam Club’ is an informative, unsatisfying historical dramatization
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Could be worse
Fictionalizing real-life Omar Khayyam Clubs — early 20th-century social gatherings devoted to the ancient Persian poet — this play is on the precipice of tackling important questions: About commercialization of Khayyam’s image, about the drunken intellectual façade of these men-only clubs, about translators’ creative license. But to conclude, Khayyam himself shows up, played stiffly by onetime public-access television chef Emmet Johnson, to essentially say: No, it’s all fine and for the best, the end. Director August Berkshire has perhaps seen more Minnesota Fringe shows than anyone and, for his festival debut, has written a fact-dense script that sometimes feels like a college lecture, lectern and projected slides included. Costumes are great, and actor Jack Neveaux’s unexpectedly good physical comedy is a bright spot.
Presented by Thee & Me Productions at Rarig Center Thrust; 8:30 p.m. Aug. 8, 10 p.m. Aug. 11, 4 p.m. Aug. 12
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The Minnesota Fringe Festival turns 30 this year, presenting 101 hourlong stage acts from Aug. 3-13 at theaters throughout Minneapolis. Pioneer Press reporters will post their reviews online daily at TwinCities.com/tag/fringe-festival. Visit MinnesotaFringe.org for ticket and show information.
