"Men on Boats" by Ten Thousand Things at Hennepin United Methodist Church

Over 15 years ago, I hiked into the Grand Canyon with nine other women (one old friend and eight new friends), many of us in celebration of our upcoming 40th birthday. It was no three-month journey through an uncharted wilderness, but it was a challenging full day hike down to the bottom of the canyon, a couple of nights at the charming Phantom Ranch, and a challenging full day hike up and out. Last night, seven of the ten of us reunited to experience Ten Thousand Things' wonderful production of Men on Boats, a reimagining of the first government sanctioned expedition down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. It's a story of adventure, of the camaraderie that comes with doing hard things together, of the complicated ideas of Manifest Destiny and unchecked masculinity upon which our country is founded. Ten Thousand Things has put their usual clear-eyed bare-bones all-the-lights-on spin on this story, with a fantastic cast of ten female/non-binary/trans actors, told in a playful way with heart, humor, and physicality to represent all the various locations and situations on the journey. i.e., there are no cisgender men and no boats in Men on Boats. Nothing against either, but this is an inventive way to tell the story. You, too, can experience this challenging and satisfying journey at Hennepin United Methodist Church, Capri Theater, or 825 Arts through March 15.

Playlabs 2025 at the Playwrights' Center

Every fall, The Playwrights' Center hosts Playlabs, a festival of new plays with free readings over two weeks. Of course, this is in addition to the work that they do year-round supporting thousand of playwrights in various ways. I attended Playlabs every year from 2016 to 2019, as well as many other readings. But for whatever reason, I'd only been back to that beloved old church in South Minneapolis once since the pandemic. This summer, they moved into their brand new home at University and Raymond in St. Paul, with more space to support playwrights, and now they're hosting their first Playlabs in this gorgeous new space. I attended just one of the readings of the festival, but it made me realize how much I've missed The Playwrights' Center. We are so lucky to have this treasure in our community, and are invited to be part of the process of developing new plays, which we need so much right now! Because a play isn't a play without an audience, when playwrights get to see and hear how audiences react to their work. Now that I've been back, I vow to become a PWC regular again! Their monthly Ruth Easton New Play Series begins in December and continues through the spring, but for right how, you can attend readings and other events in this celebration of new plays through November 1, and/or watch any of the plays virtually after the festival's conclusion.

"Sickle" by Theatre Novi Most at Mixed Blood Theatre

Sickle is a brutal play that's tough to watch. This is not a play to go to for a fun night out and to forget your troubles. It's a play that shines a light on a little known part of history known as the Holodomor, a genocide by starvation perpetrated by the Soviet Union on the people of Ukraine in the 1930s, with striking parallels to what's happening today. This Minnesota premiere play, written by Chicago-based playwright Abby Fenbert, is beautifully and devastatingly brought to life by Theatre Novi Most and an incredible cast of five women, baring their souls on stage as they pay homage to the strength and resiliency of the Ukranian people, particularly the women. I can't help but be reminded of the story of the Ukranian woman who, in the early days of the current war, gave sunflower seeds to a Russian soldier so that when he died on Ukranian soil, something beautiful would grow. That woman is a descendent of the women represented in this play - fierce, loyal, loving women who will stop at nothing to protect their family, their home, their land. The limited run of Sickle concludes on May 10, click here for tickets and info on special events like live music and a Ukranian food truck. Novi Most is partnering with Stand with Ukraine MN for this production; click here to find out more about them and learn how you can support Ukraine in their current crisis.

"Red and the Mother Wild" by Transatlantic Love Affair and Illusion Theater at Center for the Performing Arts

This spring, Transatlantic Love Affair is back at Illusion Theater, the artistic partner of this Minnesota Fringe-born physical theater company for a decade and a half. TLA typically debuts new original pieces at Fringe, and then in the next year or two continues to develop and expand the show into a 75-ish minute piece produced by and staged at Illusion. This year, they're remounting/revisiting their 2011 Fringe hit Red Resurrected, which I first saw in 2013 in the expanded Illusion Theater version. Retitled Red and the Mother Wild and with some additional content/themes added, it's still an exquisitely lovely and achingly beautiful piece, as all of TLA's work is. It's essentially a coming of age story of a young orphan girl who finds her purpose in the supposedly dangerous woods, told without any props or set pieces (or shoes), but simply using the voices, bodies, and souls of the talented seven-person cast. Experience the magic that is TLA at Center for the Performing Arts in Uptown through April 12.

"Dial M for Murder" at Yellow Tree Theatre

Yellow Tree Theatre is opening their 17th season in a cozy strip mall in Osseo with a classic: the 1952 play Dial M for Murder, adapted into a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and now smartly adapted by local prolific playwright Jeffrey Hatcher. The Guthrie produced this adaptation earlier this year, so I wasn't that excited when I heard Yellow Tree was doing it so soon after. But seeing the show last night, it totally won me over. It's a classic for a reason - an intricately plotted thriller with a strong female heroine who escapes death - and this new adaptation honors that but makes the story more modern with a few slight changes (the murderous husband is a failed novelist rather than former tennis celebrity, and the American writer named Max that his wife has an affair with is a woman). Yellow Tree's production on their sweet little intimate stage (as opposed to the Guthrie's expansive and lush thrust stage), with a fantastic four-person cast (one less than at the G), is definitely worth seeing, whether or not you've seen this story before. Dial M for Murder plays Wednesdays through Sundays until October 13.

"The Importance of Being Earnest" at the Guthrie Theater

My 20th season as a Guthrie Theater subscriber begins with a play that was part of my 7th season - the Oscar Wilde classic comedy The Importance of Being Earnest. This is the fourth production in Guthrie history, the most recent being in 2009 (the year before I started this blog, so no record of my experience exists). Earnest is an absolute confection of a play, full of delicious language, ridiculous characters, and silly situations. This new production is absolutely delightful, from the three gorgeous sets, to the scrumptious costumes, to the fantastic performances by familiar faces and new. See it on the Wurtele Thrust Stage now through October 15.

"Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley" at the Jungle Theater

It's the most wonderful time of the year* - time to return to Christmas at Pemberley at the Jungle Theater. Playwrights Lauren Gunderson (one of the most produced playwrights in the country, often writing plays about women in history, particularly in STEM) and Margot Melcon have created the most delightful Jane Austen fan fiction in this series of plays based on the characters in Pride and Prejudice. The Jungle produced the first one, Miss Bennet**, in 2017 and it was such a hit that they co-commissioned a sequel, The Wickhams, which premiered the following year. After remounting Miss Bennet in 2019 and taking a break for two years for... you know, they've done it again, with another co-commission and rolling world premiere of the third (but hopefully not last) installment - Georgiana and Kitty. Each of these plays focuses on a different Bennet sister or two, but they're all similar in their sparkling dialogue that feels both period appropriate and refreshingly modern, their centering of women in the story (continuing the legacy of Jane Austen), their fleshing out of characters who didn't get much space in the original novel, and their charming romances complete with obstacles to be overcome, just like all good Austen heroines. With Georgiana and Kitty we get not one but two new Austen heroines to love and root for in their pursuit of love, art, purpose, and happiness. Every Christmas at Pemberley is sheer delight from start to finish, and I hope the Jungle makes this a 40+ year tradition (my dream is that they'll produce all three plays in rep someday and I can see them all in one wondrous epic day). You can visit Pemberley any day except Monday from now through December 23 (click here for info and tickets).

"In the Next Room" at Yellow Tree Theatre

Sarah Ruhl's funny and feminist, historical and modern play In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play had its regional premiere at the Jungle about ten years ago, and can now be seen on Yellow Tree Theatre's intimate Osseo stage. It's an unexpected title, and while, yes, the play features the vibrator (more specifically the time in history when "electric massage" was a serious medical treatment for a particular ailment of women diagnosed as "hysteria"), the play is really about relationships, medical practice, the dawn of electricity, and connections. Yellow Tree's strong cast and detailed design, combined with this smart script, make for a highly entertaining night at the theater, even if it might make you squirm in your seat a little (which is not a bad thing in theater).*

"Understood" by Trademark Theater, an Audio Play

Two years ago, Trademark Theater premiered the new play Understood, written by resident playwright Tyler Mills, about a divided couple and a divided nation. Now, when that division has only increased, and a global pandemic has made live performance dangerous, they've pivoted this piece into an audio play, updating it for 2020. It works remarkably well in this format. Removing the visuals and the staging allows the audience to really focus on the words, and what's in between the words. And this play is all about what's being said, or not being said, or how it's being said. Understood is available now through the election, and is such an advocate for the kind of communication, listening, and connection we'll need to survive the next few months.

"Steel Magnolias" at the Guthrie Theater

Steel Magnolias is not a new or particularly revolutionary play, but the reason it still resonates 30+ years after its premiere (and the popular 1989 movie adaptation) is that this story of female friendship, and the ways that women come together to support, challenge, and love each other, will never go out of style. Unlike the poofy bangs and high-waisted stone-washed jeans of the '80s. The Guthrie's new production of this late 20th Century classic features a terrific and mostly local all-female cast, plus an all-female creative team, that together bring out all of the "laughter through tears is my favorite emotion" feeling of the play. Steel Magnolias is warm and comforting, familiar and funny, moving and life-affirming.

"Our Town" at Artistry

Thornton Wilder's Our Town is an American classic, first produced over 80 years ago, and continuing through the years with frequent productions in theaters and schools around the country. It's a simple story really; its three acts explore the ideas of "Daily Life," "Love and Marriage," and "Death and Dying" through the interconnected residents of Grover's Corners. But it's really quite profound in its simplicity, the final act being especially poignant as it forces us to look at the beauty of every day life and communion with our fellow human beings, something that is often overlooked in the busyness of life.* The new production by Artistry, perhaps best known for their musicals, features a fantastic cast that brings out all of the humor, heart, and meaning in this classic. There's a reason that Our Town continues to be produced, and audiences continue to see it - it speaks to us in a very real and deep way.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2019: "Mad as Nell, or How to Lose a Bly in Ten Days"

Day: 4

Show: 12

Title: Mad as Nell, or How to Lose a Bly in Ten Days

Category: COMEDY / HISTORICAL CONTENT

By: Rinky Dink Productions

Created by: Rinky Dink Productions

Location: Rarig Center Thrust

Summary: A modern, comic, feminist retelling of 19th Century investigative journalist Nellie Bly who went undercover in a mental institution.

Highlights: Written by cast members Josh Carson, Shanan Custer, Allison Witham, and Kelsey Cramer as Nellie Bly, this show is the fun mash-up of history and pop culture that I've come to expect from this group (freshly minted as Rinky Dink Operations, with a quarterly variety show at BLB). They tell the loosely historical story of aspiring "lady reporter" Nellie Bly, who tries to impress editor Joseph Pulitzer by writing a series of articles exposing the horrible conditions at the mental hospital she gets herself committed to (possibly mashed up with the movie How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, or maybe that's just for the clever title). The cast (also including Adelin Phelps, Aisha Ragheb, Tim Hellendrung, and equity members James Detmar and the deliciously evil Sue Scott!) is hilarious and playful, they sing a few fun original songs, there are just the right amount of 4th wall breaking moments, and the inspiring feminist story is succinctly, cleverly, charmingly, and irreverently told. Simply put, this is Fringe at its best.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"The Devout" by Transatlantic Love Affair at Illusion Theater

In their first all female ensemble piece, devised physical theater troupe Transatlantic Love Affair takes on the myth of Medusa. If I didn't know that going in, I wouldn't have known it from the show, which is typical of TLA's reimagining of fairy tales that is more about exploring the theme than telling the exact same story as we think we know it. In this case, Director Isabel Nelson and assistant director Joy Dolo have focused on this part of the Medusa myth (per Wikipedia): "In a late version of the Medusa myth, related by the Roman poet Ovid (Metamorphoses 4.770), Medusa was originally a ravishingly beautiful maiden, 'the jealous aspiration of many suitors,' but because Poseidon had raped her in Athena's temple, the enraged Athena transformed Medusa's beautiful hair to serpents and made her face so terrible to behold that the mere sight of it would turn onlookers to stone. In Ovid's telling, Perseus describes Medusa's punishment by Minerva (Athena) as just and well earned." This is 2019, and we won't stand for that anymore. TLA imagines a world in which Medusa (here called Demeres) isn't punished for being raped, but rather is supported by her sisters while her attackers are brought to justice. That's a wonderful narrative to put out into the world, and the six-person ensemble does so with TLA's trademark beautiful and evocative physicality.

"Teen Idol: The Bobby Vee Story" at History Theatre

This winter, History Theatre is bringing back their original play with music based on the life of local rock and roll legend Bobby Vee. You would be forgiven for not recognizing the name (especially if you didn't live through the '60s), but you would surely recognize some of his hits (e.g., "Devil or Angel," "Take Good Care of My Baby," "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes"). And that's why we have the History Theatre, to bring us edutainment about parts of our local history that we maybe don't know as much about as we should. Teen Idol: The Bobby Vee Story premiered in 2016, and the creators collaborated with Bobby's sons Jeff and Tommy. Bobby Vee died from complications of Alzheimer's during that first run of the show, bringing an extra poignancy to it. On second viewing, Teen Idol really feels like a Jeff and Tommy's love letter to their parents - a clean-cut Midwestern boy who for a short time was one of the biggest music stars in the world, and the woman who loved him but didn't sacrifice herself for his career. The play has been tweaked a little, with three new songs added, and by my count about two-thirds of the 24-person cast are new to the show. But it's mostly the same as last time: a play that transcends the jukebox musical to tell the story of how one star survived his rise to and fall from fame with grace and dignity intact, thanks in part to his family.

"Understood" by Trademark Theater at Soma Studios

"People by and large are idiots." Wow, does this ever ring true, especially on a day when some of my fellow Minnesotans showed up and cheered for the current White House resident despite all the ugly things he's said and done. How can people do that?! It's completely incomprehensible to me; they are completely incomprehensible to me. This feeling is at the core of the new play Understood by Tyler Mills, which Trademark Theater is intentionally producing running up to next month's midterm election. Director Tyler Michaels notes in the program, "This play swirls around these two ideas: A broken couple and a broken country." In this thoughtful and thought-provoking two-hander, a married couple is looking to be understood by each other, the one that is supposed to know and love them best, and also by a stranger whose beliefs are inexplicable to them.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2018: "Gunplay!"

Day: 6

Show: 23

Title: Gunplay!

Category: Comedy / Sci-Fi / Political Content

By: Tom Reed

Created by: Tom Reed

Location: Mixed Blood Theatre

Summary: The National Machine Gun Association (NMGA) sends its new youth liaison to a high school theater group to get them to perform a gun safety drill musical.

Highlights: Is it right to laugh about gun violence in schools? Nothing else has seemed to work to minimize the problem. Although this show doesn't laugh at gun violence, it laughs at the ridiculousness of the gun lobbies and politicians and the way that they speak about gun violence. It's a pretty hilarious and pointed show about one of the most sobering issues we face today. Naive Anders (Tom Reed) is sent to a small school that needs the theater funding the NMGA will provide in return for putting on their show. Teacher Laura (Adelin Phelps) reluctantly agrees so that she can put on the new musical Mortgage (based on RENT) in the spring. Her students (composer Austen Fisher, Karina Strom, Lauren Anderson, Matthew Englund, and Meredith Casey) at first go along with it, but once they realize the pro-gun content of these admittedly fun and peppy songs, they protest and decide to do their own thing (a hilarious mash-up of snippets of musical theater songs). Anders and Laura have chemistry and as Anders begins to learn about the larger world, and think about the organization he works for, he joins the students in their protest. The final moments are sobering as we hear some startling gun statistics, but the message is delivered in a clever, fun, and entertaining way. For a thoughtful exploration of the gun culture in America, go see Gunfighting: An American Story. To laugh at the ridiculousness of everything surrounding the gun culture, see Gunplay!.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Cardboard Piano" at Park Square Theatre

Forgiveness. Redemption. Healing. Can you always repair something that you broke if you try hard enough? Or will some things remain forever broken? Can we do bad things, I mean really bad things, and somehow wash our souls clean to become "good" again? Can you forgive someone who's responsible for the greatest hurt of your life? And if not, how do you ever recover from that hurt?

These are some of the ideas and questions brought to mind by the beautiful and devastating new play Cardboard Piano at Park Square Theatre. You know a love story between two young women in Uganda on the eve of the new millennium will not end happily, and this one sure doesn't. It left me feeling absolutely broken. But perhaps hopeful that healing can be possible if we listen to each other and try to understand.

"Idiot's Delight" by Girl Friday Productions at Park Square Theatre

Idiot's Delight is one of those deceptive plays that makes you think it's a light and fun romp through the past, until you begin to see the seriousness behind the beautiful clothes and pretty music. WWI vet Robert E. Sherwood's play premiered in 1936 and is eerily prescient about the impending war in Europe. Or maybe not; maybe it was obvious at the time that the world was heading to another Great War, only 20 years after the first one. But even now, 80 years after it was written, the themes of nationalism, loyalty, changing borders, and a great sadness at the cost of war on all sides ring true. This one left me feeling a little depressed, but with much to contemplate, and also thoroughly entertained, as always, by Girl Friday Productions' biennial contribution to the #TCTheater world. Girl Friday specializes in "larger scale American plays of exceptional literary merit that are less frequently produced today," and Idiot's Delight is indeed a delight, but one that is most certainly not for idiots.

"We Are the Levinsons" by Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company at Highland Park Center Theater

The new play We Are the Levinsons is like a very special episode of a TV sitcom. I mean that as a compliment; I grew up on sitcoms (and I learned a lot from the very special episodes). Playwright Wendy Kout has experience with TV sitcoms; she created one that ran four seasons. The play is structured as a series of scenes with natural commercial breaks, often punctuated with a joke or a shocking reveal. Even the font used in the program has a Gilligan's Island-esque feel. But like those very special episodes, We Are the Levinsons deals in more than easy jokes as the characters struggle with aging, illness, messy family relationships, and identity crises. And you may find yourself shedding a few tears amongst all the laughter.

"Promise Land" by Transatlantic Love Affair at Guthrie Theater

Twin Cities Theater Bloggers' favorite theater of 2016, the charmingly named Transatlantic Love Affair, is making their Guthrie Theater debut as part of the Guthrie's new Level Nine Series. This series makes theater more accessible (all tickets for shows in the Dowling Studio are just $9), and also endeavors to engage theater-goers with what they call "community engagement activities," which often include post-show discussions or displays in the golden lobby. Hopefully TLA's participation in this series will allow people who don't know that TCTB knows about them to get on board with this truly unique and special physical theater company.