# 79 Seconds on Stage — Fact Sheet
_Updated July 13, 2026_

## What it is
A free guide to theater in Minneapolis, St. Paul and the surrounding area.
Every play and musical on stage, with dates, venues, and links to tickets and
reviews — updated every morning.

## The numbers
- **43 theater companies** tracked
- **69 current and upcoming productions**, plus the full
  100-show Minnesota Fringe Festival lineup
- **11 shows** playing right now
- **55 venues**
- **56 reviews** surveyed from local critics and bloggers, linked to
  the shows they cover

## How it works
Automated scrapers visit each theater's website every morning and pull in show
titles, dates, venues, descriptions, images and ticket links. Nothing is
submitted by hand; theaters do nothing at all.

## The model
- Free to browse. Free to be listed.
- No ads, no sponsored placement, no fees to any company.
- Every company gets the same card, the same placement, the same visibility.
- Subscribers and contributions are the site's only source of revenue. The
  weekly newsletter is $1/month or $10/year.

## Why "79 Seconds"
In 1963 the Mona Lisa came to America. Crowds stretched for blocks. When
organizers realized thousands in line wouldn't get in before the painting left,
they divided the remaining time by the number of visitors — and gave everyone
exactly 79 seconds. Equal access. That's the idea.

## Boilerplate (copy and paste)
> 79 Seconds on Stage is a free guide to theater in Minneapolis, St. Paul and
> the surrounding area, listing every play and musical on stage — from the
> Guthrie to storefront companies in basements and barns — with no ads, no
> sponsored placement, and no cost to the theaters listed.

> 79 Seconds on Stage is a public service benefit from 79 Seconds LLC, a brand,
> strategy and product incubator in Minneapolis. More at 79seconds.com.

## Contact
Ross Phernetton, Founder & Editor
editor@79seconds.org · 79seconds.org
