Review of A Fool’s Errand at the Minnesota Fringe Festival.
Felix Hampton Brown, Howard Lieberman, Loren Niemi

Felix Hampton Brown is right – there are some books of the Bible whose pages make better reefer paper than others. Ecclesiastes is a good choice. Stay away from Leviticus and Judges. Use the Book of Revelation only to enhance a very weak smoke.

I’m impressed by the range of these three men, and how they integrate their stories of faith. And they are all stories of faith. Felix’s core story is about redeeming faith – the faith that brings one out of chaos, that rescues and saves, that grounds body and soul. Howard Lieberman truly is a devout agnostic: his faith is in the power of inquiry and the validity of his own experience, both rational and sensual; Loren Niemi’s faith is always and forever in ideas and ideals, whether or not he measures up to them: loyalty, community, work. In this show, Felix’s strength is in the furnace that stokes him; Howard’s, in the gentleness and generosity of his comedy; Loren’s, in his willingness to walk with us, in the middle of our lives, through the dark wood.

It is no fool’s errand to go see this show; wherever you are on the spectrum of faith, someone on stage will speak to you.