"For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday" by Prime Productions at Mixed Blood Theatre

Now in their 8th season of telling stories about women in their prime (at a time when we start to become invisible in society), Prime Productions is bringing us the regional premiere of Sarah Ruhl's For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday. Playwright Sarah Ruhl wrote this play for and about her mother, Chicago theater actor Kathleen Ruhl, who, like the character Ann in the play, played Peter Pan in an Iowa production and met Mary Martin (read more about that here). In this fictionalized version of her mother's life, Sarah explores ideas of family relationships, grief, loss, religion, faith, politics, and what it means to grow up (and do we have to?). It's an engaging and relatable 90 minutes. See it at Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis' Cedar-Riverside neighborhood now through October 26.

"The Courtroom: A Reenactment of One Woman's Deportation Proceedings" by Jungle Theater at Hamline University

The Courtroom: A Reenactment of One Woman's Deportation Proceedings is unlike any theater I've seen before. As the title indicates, it's more a reenactment than a play. All of the text is taken from court transcripts, arranged by Tony nominated theater artist Arian Moayed. If that sounds dry and boring, it isn't. It's surprisingly riveting. Yes, you have to pay attention, because the words weren't constructed to entertain and hold our attention, so it requires a little more work from an audience. There's a lot of legalize, but if you love Law and Order type shows, you'll love this. But the beautiful thing about Jungle Theater's production is that behind all the legal talk and formalities is a true human story. The cast, direction, and staging really make us feel that humanity, and at the end, the play has a truly beautiful message about the best that America, this nation of immigrants, can be. 

"The Revolutionists" at Park Square Theatre

"Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?" This quote from Hamilton (coming to Minneapolis next week) could also describe Park Square Theatre and Prime Productions' co-production of The Revolutionists. Both pieces are a more inclusive retelling of history, both take place in the late 18th century, both feature citizens staging a revolution to make their country a better place. The Revolutionists is the story of four historical women in the French Revolution, so "who dies" is most of them (Madame Guillotine comes for us all in the end), and "who tells your story" is Lauren Gunderson, one of the most produced playwrights in the country and one of my favorites. She has a knack for writing historical women as if they were alive today, with modern language and experiences that relate directly to today's world. Her dialogue sparkles with wit and meaning, her characters are real and fully rounded people, and this fantastic four-person cast brings them to vivid life on Park Square's stage. Sadly, this will be the last play on that stage for the foreseeable future; Park Square has cancelled the remainder of their season to regroup and recover from a couple of tough years, and hopefully come back stronger next season. So don't miss this chance to see their always great work, this time made better by collaboration with Prime Productions, a company that focuses on telling stories by about women in their prime. The Revolutionists is another in a series of smart, successful, entertaining collaborations this #TCTheater season (continuing through April 16 only).

"The Roommate" by Prime Productions at Mixed Blood Theatre

"PRIME Productions seeks to explore, illuminate and support women over fifty and their stories through the creative voice of performance." I say huzzah to that! And to the return of PRIME and their celebration of women in their prime, who are often overlooked in entertainment and in life. Their first post-pandemic-intermission production is the two-hander The Roommate written by Playwrights' Center affiliated writer Jen Silverman, and it's a gem. In this dark comedy that the website describes as "Breaking Bad meets Grace and Frankie," to which I would add a little bit of Good Girls, two very different women find themselves living together, and learn things from each other, whether it's how to commit crimes or how to open up to a friend (click here for info and tickets). 

"Little Wars" by Prime Productions at Mixed Blood Theatre

British mystery writer Agatha Christie. American playwright Lillian Hellman. Activist Muriel Gardiner. American author Dorothy Parker. It's debatable whether or not these four accomplished women met in the home of the equally accomplished women Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas in the French Alps in 1940, but it sure makes for a fascinating play. One with these many roles for women in their prime. A perfect choice, then, for the debut of the new theater company Prime Productions whose mission is "to explore, illuminate, and support women over 50 and their stories through the creative voice of performance." As a woman who's approaching that age (at a seemingly greater speed with each passing year), it's a mission I whole-heartedly support. And the Twin Cities is the perfect location for such a company, as we are lucky enough to have many female theater artists in their prime. Little Wars, a play about fascinating real-life historical women*, is an exiting debut for this company. I look forward to seeing what else the amazingly talented women in their prime in the #TCTheater community can do, when given the opportunities they deserve but are often denied by our ageist and sexist society.