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Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
Burning Man and the Reverend Nuge
Our Rating: 
Bible-college keener Tommy Nugent’s dream of pulpit mastery went to hell after he committed a sin of the flesh with a church intern.
But he resurrected the dream after a godless spell as a gambler left him penniless. Reborn as an agnostic motivational speaker, Tommy travels from town to town casting out corporate demons and preaching the way of a drug-free life to school kids.
The Detroit-based storyteller applies the Sermonizing 101 template here, opening with a bit of bedevilment involving razor blades and peppering his tale with jokes as he recalls a search for enlightenment that found him wandering in the Nevada desert during the Burning Man festival.
Neither performance nor epiphany are particularly electrifying, but I’ll wager every audience judges them entertaining enough.
— Pat St. Germain
From the official Fringe Festival program:
Comedic storyteller Tommy Nugent recounts his journey from Pentecostal preacher to atheist street magician unraveling the mysteries of life over two trips to Burning Man. Who knew "accidental enlightenment" was to be found in the desert with the help of Cheez Whizzed nipples, "special" brownies and a mysterious, underdressed stranger?
Warnings: Language,
RECOMMENDED: General Audience
60 min
Red River College (Venue 11), to July 24
Tickets: $10
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