"Twelve Angry Men" at Lyric Arts

The last time I saw Twelve Angry Men, the men were singing. That was Theater Latte Da's world premiere musical adaptation of the classic American story, which began as an episode of a TV show, before being adapted into a stage play and movie. I've actually only seen the non-singing version once, 20 years ago (and have never seen the movie, natch), so I was eager to revisit it at Lyric Arts. I knew from Latte Da's 2022 musical that, despite being written 70 years ago, this piece still has lots to say about today's world, but I was still struck by how timely and relevant this play feels now. In just 90 minutes, it explores ideas of justice, and injustice, race, class, privilege, anti-immigrant sentiment, masculinity, communication, and empathy. This is a really tight production with a fantastic 13-person cast (12 jurors + 1 bailiff), on a gorgeous 1950s jury room set. Twelve Angry Men is a classic for a reason - thought-provoking, relevant, intellectually engaging, and even funny at times. See it on Lyric Arts' Main Street Anoka stage now through November 1 (just be careful to avoid the Halloween celebrations in the Halloween capital of the world!).

"The Jungle" at Mixed Blood Theatre

One of the best things that theater can do is put a human face on an abstract political issue. That's what The Jungle does for the refugee crisis. Commissioned by London's National Theatre from Good Chance Theatre and premiering at the Young Vic in 2017, it's an immersive experience that tells the story of a refugee camp in Calais, France in 2015 known as The Jungle. Mixed Blood Theatre's production is the first since that original production, which moved to the West End, then Off-Broadway, then a few other US locations. It's a nearly three-hour play that flies by in what feels like half that time, telling the stories of so many different characters that feel like real people. A cast of 18 actors and two musicians fill the historic firehouse that is Mixed Blood Theatre, with perhaps the best use of this space I've seen. It felt like I was inside the camp, and I didn't want it to end. This is a truly special one-of-a-kind piece of theater that we're so lucky Mixed Blood is bringing to us. It's playing Tuesday through Sunday for the next two weeks and I highly recommend you spend a little time in The Jungle. With Mixed Blood's "radical hospitality" program you can attend the show for free, but if you're able, please pay whatever amount you can for the ticket to support important work like this.