"Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help" and "The Spitfire Grill" at Commonweal Theatre Company

Commonweal Theatre Company is in their 38th year of producing professional theater in Southern Minnesota; I've been a Twin Cities Theater Blogger for 16 years, and I can't believe it took me this long to visit them. The Commonweal is located in Lanesboro, a town known for the Root River State Trail, B&Bs, and great theater. They have a five-show season that runs from April through December, with shows overlapping so it is possible to see two shows in one visit, which is what I did. I made the beautiful 2-hour drive on a rainy Saturday morning, saw two shows that day (during which the clouds cleared), had some good food and drinks, did a little shopping, and stayed at a lovely B&B just down the street. This may have been my first visit but it will not be my last; I will be adding The Commonweal to my annual theater vacay list, which includes Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona (June-July), the Tony-winning American Players Theatre in Spring Green, WI (June-October, I'm making my 4th visit in a few weeks), and occasional trips to Duluth Playhouse and/or Zeitgeist (Urinetown in November!). There are obviously a ton of great theater options in the Twin Cities, but theater is everywhere, and people in rural areas or outstate cities deserve great theater too, in fact it's vital to a thriving community. "Commonweal" means "the public welfare," and this theater truly feels like it is for the public welfare, and an important part of the community. For us non-locals, it's really fun to experience theater in other locations, explore other areas in the Midwest, and make a vacation out of it. One of the two shows I saw closes this week, but the other continues through the end of October, with another play opening in September, plus a holiday show that is one of my favorites, so there's still time to visit Lanesboro and enjoy everything the area has to offer, including great theater, this late summer/fall/winter.

The Commonweal has a core company of artist-administrators, all of whom have a job within the organization, in addition to being actors, designers, directors, and/or crew on this season's shows. They also have an apprentice program, in which recent graduates spend time in all departments and learn about everything that goes into running a theater. They also bring in guest artists (including familiar names and faces from #TCTheater) to work on shows, and it feels like a really great community. After performing in an old movie theater, they built a new space in 2007 that better fits their needs. The performance space is an intimate thrust stage with no bad seats, and in fact the seats themselves are from the old Guthrie Theater. The lobby areas contain local stone, as well as wood from the original building, and eclectic artwork (including an entire forest of animals hanging upside-down from the ceiling). The theater is located in the shadow of one of the gorgeous bluffs of the driftless region, mere steps from the Root River Trail, on the main street of town with lots of nearby restaurants, bars, shops, lodging, and a coffee shop.

the O'Shea family (photo by Peterson Creative Photography & Design)

I made the trip to see The Spitfire Grill, a lovely folky musical I've enjoyed at Lyric Arts and Ten Thousand Things. And since I was going, I saw the other show that's playing right now, even though I knew nothing about it. I ended up really loving Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help. It's a relatively new play, written by Seattle-based actor and playwright Katie Forgette, that's been making the rounds the last few years, including at Sidekick Theatre in Bloomington. Set in 1973 (the year I was born), I found this "retro coming-of-age comedy" to be hilarious and heart-felt, ridiculous and relatable. It's a memory play, as protagonist/narrator Linda O'Shea tells us at the beginning of the play, kind of like The Glass Menagerie, only less traumatic. Similar to that play's Tom, in this play Linda speaks directly to the audience, telling us a story from her past, specifically a couple pivotal events, or dominos as she calls them, that happened when she was 19. She steps in and out of the action of the story, with other characters sometimes asking for a monologue, or reminding her what really happened, in an endearing fourth-wall breaking way. In fact, this entire Irish Catholic family is endearing; mom and dad, grandma who is never seen but only heard yelling from upstairs, Aunt Terri who is separated from her husband, eldest daughter Linda, a self described "loud-mouthed blasphemous hippie," and 13-year-old Becky, movie-obsessed and precocious, yet behind other girls her age in the ways of the world. Which brings us to our precipitating event - mom asks Linda to give Becky, "the talk," which she reluctantly and very accurately does, unaware that Becky is practicing her detective skills and recording the whole thing on her new tape recorder. Somehow the tape gets played for the parish priest, which sets off a whole series of events that causes this family to bond together for their survival.

Under director Katie Lupica, who brings out all the heart and humor of the script, the five-person cast is excellent, and at the end of the 3+ month run, really feel like a family. Grace Cummings is a strong narrator, very personable, and smoothly dealing with any audience feedback she gets (the danger of speaking directly to the audience - sometimes they talk back!). New company member Elisabeth Meyer is adorable as Becky, a believable 13-year-old. Beth Regener is the stereotypical self-sacrificing housewife of the era, but is more than she seems. 15-year company member Jeremy van Meter is the stereotypical not-quite-there dad of the era, and also plays the parish priest and the nosy neighbor, because, as Linda tells us, her dad's personality was so big he sometimes impersonates people in her memories. Rounding out the cast is a familiar face from #TCTheater, Betti Battocletti, as the cool aunt Terri who blackmails the priest to save the day.

For a set that has to be taken down and reset several times a week, the O'Shea family home is quite substantial and detailed. It looks every bit the '70s, and will feel nostalgic for anyone who grew up in that era, including a coffee table similar to the one in my living room growing up (holding a record player that actually turns), and a kitchen with mustard yellow cupboards and corded rotary phone on the wall (ours were avocado green). Religious imagery and vintage Twins and Vikings memorabilia adorn the walls (this play is not set in Minnesota, but is written as if it could be any town in America). Lighting helps us navigate the memory element, and the sound design importantly has voices coming from up the stairs, and music from the turntable, specifically a great '70s soundtrack that continues pre-show and during intermission. And I have to disagree with Linda; '70s fashion was the best, and this show has a lot of fun '70s looks, specific to the personality of each character. (Scenic design by Brady Whitcomb, props design by Lizzy Andretta, lighting design by Seojung Jang, sound design by Josiah Laubenstein, costume design by Kimberly K. Murphy).

After getting ice cream from the cutest ice cream shop, checking into the lovely J.A. Thompson House B&B, and dining al fresco at Juniper's Restaurant (all within easy walking distance of the theater, as is Paddle On Coffee where I fueled up for my two-show day), it was time for the next show! The crew had been hard at work - any trace of the O'Shea's house was gone from the stage, replaced by birch trees and a multi-level railroad trestle of Gilead, WI.

at the Grill (photo by Peterson Creative Photography & Design)

I'm told that The Commonweal does not necessarily do a musical every year, but The Spitfire Grill is a perfect choice for this season. It's a story of community, redemption, and small-town life, something that feels quite at home in Lanesboro. Based on the 1996 movie of the same name, it tells the story of a young woman named Percy, recently released from prison, who goes to the small town of Gilead to start a new life, drawn by a photo she saw of the fall colors along the river. Except that she arrives in winter, so she has to wait a whole year to see it, during which time she becomes a part of the community, if a bit reluctantly at first. Some people in this small town are more welcoming of her than others, but she eventually proves her value and goodness, and finds the new start she was looking for.

Company member for over 20 years and the theater's Associate Artistic Director and Director of External Communications (who invited me and gave me a tour of the theater), Adrienne Sweeney directs The Spitfire Grill and achieves a wistful yet hopeful tone (the musical has a happier ending than the movie, thankfully). We feel the hardships of these people's lives, but also the joys of small-town life. Georgia Doolittle, who has performed with several Twin Cities theaters in recent years, is perfectly cast as Percy, so earnest and world-weary, yet spirited and determined. She has a gorgeous voice, opening the show singing a capella. She's surrounded by a great ensemble, including Betti Battocletti (the one actor who's in both shows) as Hannah, the owner of the grill; Alex Schlesinger as the sheriff and a potential love interest; Adam Lenehan as Hannah's not-so-nice nephew Caleb; and Lizzy Andretta as his put-upon wife who finds a new start of her own. This lovely folk-tinged score is played by a four-piece on-stage band, two of whom also play roles in the show (Stela J. Burdt as the nosey postmaster and music director Ian Zahren as a mysterious man in the woods). The sound is really great in this intimate space, the performers unmiked. The open set evokes the natural landscape, with diner tables and counter rolled on stage when needed, the lighting hints at the changing time of day, and the costumes are simple utilitarian garb that could belong to any era (sound design by Josiah Laubenstein, scenic design by Greg Vanselow, lighting design by Paul Epton, costume design by Annie Cady).

I had a great weekend in Lanesboro; my only regret is that it took me this long to get to The Commonweal. I look forward to returning next year and spending more time there exploring the area - biking the scenic and mostly flat trail (bike rentals available at the General Store), paddling or floating on the river, visiting the several Minnesota State Parks in the area. The moral of the story is - check out what theater may exist wherever you live or wherever you may be traveling to. You never know what you'll find, like the hopefully not-so-hidden gem that is Commonweal Theatre Company.