Fortune's Fool Theatre

In 2005, I was a playwright with and award-winning script, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET?, that was receiving staged readings all over the country, but no theatre would produce. I applied for a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (MRAC). We had never produced anything. All we had was a good play and a group of talented artists.

But they actually gave us money, and so we were able to stage our show. The Pioneer Press called it “a gem in every way … compelling and thought-provoking,” and the StarTribune called it a “compelling and provocative play.”

Flash forward twenty years: Fortune’s Fool Theatre is still here, still in the business of producing plays and musicals, and frequently producing world premieres. All this was done with the help of talented artists, MRAC, the Minnesota State Arts Board (MSAB), foundations, audiences—and donors.

For twenty years, we have only produced work that our producing artistic directors, Daniel and Ariel Pinkerton, are passionate about. That might be a world premiere play, such as last year’s sold-out hit LINCOLN’S CHILDREN. That might be a new musical, such as 2023’s charming COLD PLANET WARM HEART. That might be an obscure work by a world-renowned playwright, such as 2018’s award-winning THE SKRIKER. We will stage anything we discover and love, aiming only to have you discover and love it, too.

For our twentieth anniversary, we wanted to celebrate! Now more than ever, we need to ridicule the powers that be, so we decided to revive our biggest hit: the bawdy, subversive YARRRH! THE LUSTY, BUSTY PIRATE MUSICAL, and, in keeping with our mission to produce world premieres, also produce a brand-new sequel—the equally cheeky, gender-bending HAVE YARRRHSELF A LUSTY, BUSTY XMAS! Between the two shows, three performers will play over 20 characters: pirates, wenches, tyrants, urchins, mythical beings, and thinly disguised American billionaires.

But was that enough? No! We decided that this 20th Anniversary Festival would feature free admission for all. Our prices have always been low, but this will be FREE. It’s our way of saying thank you to everyone who has been a part of our journey and of making sure that there are no barriers to anyone who wants to attend. We liked that idea, and MRAC did, too; they gave us a generous enough grant to support our free festival..

And yet, prices for everything have risen since I wrote the grant in October of 2024. Corsets and swords are more expensive than they used to be! This is where you can help. Donors can help insure that free theatre succeeds in 2025, and perhaps even create a fund that will allow us to continue to offer free theatre in the future. If you like theatre that is truly for EVERYONE, if you like the bold idea of FREE THEATRE, and of course, if your budget allows it, won’t you make a donation to Fortune’s Fool Theatre for Give to the Max Day 2025? Giving starts on November 1, and the Big Official Day is November 20.

With gratitude,

Daniel Pinkerton, co-artistic director, Fortune's Fool Theatre

Cold Planet Warm Heart cast                          Motz & Richardson in Lincoln's Children