Friday, July 26, 2024
"English" at the Guthrie Theater, a Co-Production with the Goodman Theatre
Wednesday, July 24, 2024
2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival Must-See List
The most adventurous 11 days in the #TCTheater year is almost upon us! The Minnesota Fringe Festival runs August 1 through 11, with about 100 shows playing at 9 Fringe venues (plus some additional venues for independently produced shows). This will be my 14th consecutive year attending MN Fringe (if you count the all-virtual 2020 festival and the 2021 hybrid), so I have a pretty good idea of how to go about this. But if you're new to fringing, don't worry, it's easy! The MN Fringe website has everything you need to know, including details about all of the shows, info for how to get to the venues, and ticketing info. Bookmark this, and refer to it as needed. I also have a few tips at the bottom of this post. But first, and without further ado, my annual Minnesota Fringe Festival Must-See List.
Thursday, July 18, 2024
Broadway Tour of "SIX" at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
"Kinky Boots" at Lyric Arts
Sunday, July 14, 2024
"Rope" at Gremlin Theatre
Saturday, July 13, 2024
"Penelope" at Theatre Elision
Friday, July 12, 2024
"The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)" by Jackdonkey Productions at Phoenix Theater
Wednesday, July 10, 2024
2024 Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona
Monday, July 1, 2024
"Little Shop of Horrors" at the Guthrie Theater
Sunday, June 30, 2024
"Glensheen" at the History Theatre
Saturday, June 29, 2024
"A Wrinkle in Time" at Theatre in the Round
Monday, June 24, 2024
"Only Ugly Guys" at Open Eye Theatre
Saturday, June 22, 2024
"Romeo and Juliet: Love in a Time of Hate" by Teatre del Pueblo at Luminary Arts Center
Friday, June 21, 2024
Blackout Presents: Juneteenth at the Ordway
Friday, June 14, 2024
"Once Upon a Time... Josephine Baker!" at Yellow Tree Theatre
Sunday, June 9, 2024
"Eleemosynary" by Spacetime Theatre at Gremlin Theatre
"Come from Away" Broadway Tour at the Ordway Center
Saturday, June 8, 2024
"devoured: notes on love and enmeshment" at The Southern Theater
Sunday, June 2, 2024
"Johnny Skeeky; or, The Remedy for Everything" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater
Saturday, June 1, 2024
"The Servant of Two Masters" at Lyric Arts
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
"Machinal" by Clevername Theatre at the Center for Performing Arts
Machinal: mechanical, done without thinking, from force of habit. Early 20th century playwright Sophie Treadwell uses this word as the title of her her 1928 play about a woman caught in the mechanics of a woman's expected life path and the disastrous results. In Clevername Theatre's new production (my first experience with the play), it feels like it could have been written yesterday instead of almost 100 years ago. It's performed in the German Expressionist style with exaggerated, almost absurd, performances, which is a bit off-putting. But that's intentional, and how the play was written, and it beautifully and harshly exemplifies the experience of this woman. Even if the style feels unfamiliar to audiences used to modern American theater, the themes are resonant with modern life. The show is halfway through its short two-week run, with only three remaining performances at the Center for Performing Arts in Uptown.
Sunday, May 26, 2024
"Peter and the Starcatcher" by Duluth Playhouse at the NorShore Theatre
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
"Men on Boats" at Theatre in the Round
Sunday, May 19, 2024
"The Brontide" by nimbus theater at The Crane Theater
Saturday, May 18, 2024
"Bonehouse / Outsider" by Ghoulish Delights at The Crane Theater Studio
Friday, May 17, 2024
"The Spitfire Grill" by Ten Thousand Things at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church
"Skeleton Crew" at the Guthrie Theater
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
"The First Lady of Song: Ella Sings The Irving Berlin Songbook" at The Hive Collaborative
Monday, May 13, 2024
"Blended Harmony" at the History Theatre, a co-production with Theater Mu
Sunday, May 12, 2024
"Rasputin" by Four Humors Theater
Saturday, May 11, 2024
"Sea Cabinet" at Theatre Elision
Friday, May 10, 2024
"Torch Song" at Six Points Theater
Thursday, May 9, 2024
NYC Theater Trip 2024: "Suffs" at The Music Box Theatre
Show*: 4
Title: Suffs
Location: The Music Box Theatre
Written By: Shaina Taub (music, book, and lyrics)
Summary: The story of the final leg of the fight for women's suffrage, told as a fun and modern musical with an all-female cast.
NYC Theater Trip 2024: "October 7: A Verbatim Play" at The Actors Temple Theatre Off-Broadway
Show*: 3
Title: October 7: A Verbatim Play
Location: The Actors Temple Theatre
Written By: Phelim McAleer
Summary: A docu-play about the horrific attack on Israel by the terrorist group Hamas on October 7, in which over 750 civilians were killed.
NYC Theater Trip 2024: "The Outsiders" at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
Show*: 2
Title: The Outsiders
Location: Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
Written By: Adam Rapp and Justin Levine (book), Jamestown Revival and Justine Levine (music and lyrics)
Summary: An adaptation of the 1967 novel by S. E. Hinton and the 1983 movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola, about three orphaned brothers and their "greaser" friends and rival gang of "socs" (the rich kids).
NYC Theater Trip 2024: "Merrily We Roll Along" at the Hudson Theatre
Show*: 1
Title: Merrily We Roll Along
Location: Hudson Theatre
Written By: music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by George Firth
Summary: The story of three artist friends told backwards - from the unhappy ending to the happy beginning.
Friday, May 3, 2024
"FLEX" at Penumbra Theatre Company
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
"Urinetown" at Lakeshore Players Theatre
Lakeshore Players Theatre's 71st season just keeps getting better! I would say that their new production of the hilarious satirical musical Urinetown is the best thing they've done this season, but then I remember the other great shows they've done this season (She Loves Me, I Am My Own Wife, and more). Suffice it to say that this is their best season since I've been attending shows at the Hanifl Performing Arts Center in lovely downtown White Bear Lake (which admittedly has only been about six years). Urinetown is one of my favorite musicals, since seeing the Broadway tour over 20 years ago. There have been a handful of #TCTheater productions, but it's been a while, so I was thrilled to see it as the conclusion of this ambitious season which began with the smart, funny, and relevant play What the Constitution Means to Me. I'm even more thrilled to report that it's a fantastic production, with a talented and energetic cast, detailed design, fun choreography, and direction that hits on all of the humor and relevancy of the script (continuing through May 19).
Sunday, April 28, 2024
"A Year with Frog and Toad" at Children's Theatre Company
Saturday, April 27, 2024
"Language Archive" by Theatre Pro Rata at the Crane Theater
Julia Cho's The Language Archive, which premiered in 2010, is a sweet, odd, and endearing little play. Park Square Theatre produced the regional premiere in 2015, when I called it "smartly written, funny, a bit fantastical but very grounded in reality... touches the heart as well as the mind and the funny bone." I described it thusly: "It's about the different languages that we all speak, not just the actual language, but also the more intimate informal languages that we develop in relationships with the different people in our lives. Even though the characters in the play all speak English, they struggle to communicate with each other on a deeper level, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing, as we all do." It's a great choice for Theatre Pro Rata, which consistently makes interesting choices (this is actually one of the rare times when I've seen one of their play choices previously). They've employed a talented five-person cast (Park Square had seven), and an inventive design with some unique delights. You can see this little gem of a play now through May 4 at the Crane Theater.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
"A Jumping-Off Point" at the Jungle Theater
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
"The Sound of Music" at Artistry
Sunday, April 21, 2024
"9 to 5" at Lyric Arts
Saturday, April 20, 2024
Being Alive: Mandy Patinkin in Concert at the Ordway Center's Concert Hall
Friday, April 19, 2024
"They Wear Teal Ribbons Around Their Tongues" by Full Circle Theater Company at Gremlin Theatre
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
"Lend Me a Tenor" by Expressions Community Theater at Lakeville Arts Center
Sunday, April 14, 2024
The History Plays: "Richard II," "Henry IV," and "Henry V" in rep at the Guthrie Theater
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
"Winterreise: A Winter's Journey" at The Hive Collaborative
Monday, April 8, 2024
"God of Carnage" at Theatre in the Round
Sunday, April 7, 2024
"I Am My Own Wife" at Lakeshore Players Theatre
Lakeshore Players Theatre's ambitious 71st season continues with perhaps the most interesting choice of the season - playwright Doug Wright's solo play I Am My Own Wife, chronicling his interviews with an East German transgender woman known as Charlotte von Mahlsdorf - antiques collector, museum curator, and gay icon. Charlotte lived through the Nazi and Communist occupations of Berlin. She provided a haven for the gay community in East Berlin during a time of persecution, but also worked as an informant for the Stasi (the Communist secret police). She was truly a singular individual, and the play explores not just her life, but also the playwright's investigation into her life, and his conflicting feelings about her complicated life.* I've previously only seen one production of this play 12+ years ago at the Jungle, and I was thrilled to revisit it. It's so smartly written, weaving Charlotte's stories, the playwright's questions, and historical facts into the storytelling. Lakeshore's production in the intimate immersive space of their black box theater features a charmingly detailed design and a tour de force performance by Lewis Youngren. Only five performances remain - don't miss your chance to see the truly impressive work happening out here in the 'burbs of White Bear Lake.