Twin Cities Horror Festival XIII - Schaulust

This year's Twin Cities Horror Festival is celebrating its 13th year and this festival is truly an outstanding selection of short horror theater.

We've seen 10 of the 11 shows so far (and you can read our reviews for Day One, Day Two, and Day Three here) and Schaulust by Keith Hovis Productions is our final show. 

ALTHOUGH, if time allowed, here are the shows we would happily see a second time:

❤ Let's Summon a Demon at Debbie's by Love Drunk Life
❤ Doctor Clown by Dangerous Productions

❤ The Alchemist's Bargain by Phantom Chorus Theatre

Back to Schaulust! We are longtime fan (stans?) of Keith Hovis. As we wrote in a 2019 Fringe post:

"What can we say about Keith Hovis that we haven't already said? You know, like this: "Keith Hovis, playwright and composer, is a master of mixing the macabre and the funny with clever, melodic songs" (TCHF VI: A Morbid History of Sons and Daughters). Or perhaps "Go see this. Keith Hovis is a young genius, and this show is just as dark and delightful as his Teenage Misery. The music is fun and the lyrics are hilarious." (Fringe 2017: Jefferson Township Sparkling Junior Beauty Pageant). "The lyrics are marvelously clever, the music is tuneful, the melodies are memorable, the arrangements are beautifully done." (Teenage Misery) We could GO ON."

We caught this show on HALLOWEEN and it was the appropriately the creepiest show of the festival. Schaulust is written and performed (and songs) by Keith Hovis. Taking place in the intimate Crane Studio, this show is beautifully and viscerally designed (I swear I could SMELL that set) from the detailed depiction of Wyatt's (Keith Hovis, of course) place to the ingenious use of projections.

Telling the audience his story, Hovis seamlessly moves between funny and sad and real creepy interspersed with clever and rocking songs. Is he sharing his sad tale of the end of a relationship? Why is he so agitated? And why oh why is there a box dripping blood on his desk? Shocking and delightful and, as with all Keith Hovis productions, a must-see.

This has been a fantastic Twin Cities Horror Festival! Don't forget that Give to the Max Day is coming up on November 21. Consider a donation to this amazing, artist-run festival!