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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.
Saturday, April 6, 2024
"Hecuba" by Pangea World Theater
Friday, April 5, 2024
Toronto Theater Trip: "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead," "SIX," and The Second City
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
"The Lion King" Broadway tour at the Orpheum Theatre
Sunday, March 24, 2024
"The Color Purple" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater
Saturday, March 23, 2024
"Apples in Winter" at Gremlin Theatre
Friday, March 22, 2024
Black and Funny Improv Festival at HUGE Theater
Monday, March 18, 2024
"A Unique Assignment" at History Theatre
Sunday, March 17, 2024
"Love and Other Things that Ruined My Life" by Brave New Workshop at Dudley Riggs Theatre
Saturday, March 16, 2024
"The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington" at Mixed Blood Theatre
Thursday, March 14, 2024
"Hairspray" on tour at the Ordway Center
Sunday, March 10, 2024
"Radiant Vermin" at Lyric Arts
"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" at Lakeshore Players Theatre
To continue Lakeshore Players Theatre's ambitious 71st season, which began with the regional premiere of the smart, poignant, relevant play What the Constitution Means to Me, they're presenting the 2015 Tony-winning Best Play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, about an autistic boy who goes in search of the truth about a dog and finds the truth about himself. It's a really lovely production of this cleverly constructed and moving play, with a strong ensemble cast and inventive design, that makes you feel all the feels. But it's only running for two weekends, so head to charming White Bear Lake to experience this Curious Incident through March 17. And then get ready for the conclusion of this exciting season with the rarely done solo play I Am My Own Wife, a for-kids production of Pinocchio, and the hilarious social satire musical Urinetown. Good things are happening out here in the suburbs.