"The Book of Will" by Theatre Pro Rata at the Crane Theater

We all just take for granted that Shakespeare's 30+ plays have always been available - to put on a play, to read in school, to make a parody of. But it turns out that like many playwrights from centuries past, his plays might have been lost to us forever. A theater world without Shakespeare is unimaginable, and we have his good friends and actors in his company to thank for it. And we have this season's most produced playwright Lauren Gunderson to thank for giving us this story, and Theatre Pro Rata for bringing us the regional premiere of The Book of Will. It's a compelling and dynamic tale about 17th century publishing, as shocking as that may sound, and Pro Rata gives it fine treatment, with a great cast and simple yet effective design. See it the Crane Theater through October 11, and find out how Shakespeare's First Folio came to be.

"The Birds" by TheatreX at the Hive Collaborative

Irish playwright Conor McPherson's play The Birds could be a series in The Walking Dead Universe, but with birds instead of zombies. Like the ever-expanding TV world, the real trouble comes from the humans, not the dangerous creatures that have launched humans into a post-apocalyptic world. The play is based on the same short story that the 1963 Hitchcock movie is, but from my understanding (never having seen the movie), the characters and plotline are different. This story is an intimate, almost claustrophobic, one, focusing on just four characters and how they react to this new world order. This is the first production I've seen by new-ish #TCTheater company TheatreX, which launched in 2018 with an adaptation of the novel The Haunting of Hill House, staged in St. Paul's own Hill House, which I somehow missed. I'm happy to have finally caught one of their productions, the slow build tension filled examination of the human psyche that is The Birds. See it at The Hive Collaborative through April 27.

"Log Kya Kahenge (what will people say?)" at Lyric Arts, a co-production with Exposed Brick Theatre and South Asian Arts and Theater House

There have been a lot of co-productions in #TCTheater lately (which is a great way to share resources and audiences, and support the work of other companies), but this might be the first co-co-production. Not one, not two, but three theater companies have joined forces to bring this engaging new play to life on Lyric Arts' stage. Exposed Brick Theatre supplied the playwright and director (co-Artistic Directors Aamera Siddiqui and Suzy Messerole), South Asian Arts and Theater House (SAATH) provided some of the cast members and the connection to the local South Asian community, with Lyric supplying production and design resources. And probably countless other ways that the three companies contributed and shared duties. Judging by the final product, it's a beautiful partnership. Log Kya Kahenga (which means "what will people say?" in Hindi or Urdu, two related languages of South Asia) tells the story of a family dealing with grief, loss, change, mental health challenges, and societal and parental pressure. It's a story specific to the South Asian community, but universal in these themes. The short run continues for two more weekends only at Lyric Arts in Anoka.

"Hecuba" by Pangea World Theater

Last month, I had the pleasure of interviewing Pangea World Theater's General Manager Adlyn Carreras and Production Manager Suzanne Victoria Cross, along with my fellow blogger Julie from Minnesota Theater Love, for our podcast Twin Cities Theater Chat (listen here or wherever you listen to podcasts). It truly was eye-opening to learn about all of the programs that this organization offers, in addition to what we traditionally think of as theater. I found them to be incredibly thoughtful and passionate about the work of community building and lifting up diverse voices. With this as their foundation, it's no wonder that the theater they create is relevant and inclusive and has something to say about our world. Such is Hecuba, a millennia old story retold by modern day Irish playwright Marina Carr, whose By the Bog of Cats, a loose retelling of Medea, was produced by Theatre Pro Rata last year. Similar to that play, this Hecuba reimagines a mythical figure as a real, flawed, relatable woman who is trying to survive in unimaginable circumstances. The history of the world is a history of war, violence (often towards women), and genocide, and unfortunately the daily news is also littered with such stories. This mythical story about the brutality of war, set at the end of the Trojan War, is all too relevant. It's a beautifully written play, and Pangea's regional premiere production features a strong cast, effective elements of physical theater, and a sparsely beautiful design set against the gorgeous backdrop of the Southern Theater, all elements combining for a powerful and sobering experience.

"The Buddha Prince" by TigerLion Arts at Wasburn Fair Oaks Park

If you've been reading Cherry and Spoon for a while, you might know that Nature, the outdoor walking play about the life, work, and friendship of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, is one of my favorite theater experiences of all time. But what you may not know, and what I didn't know either, is that Nature was not TigerLion Arts' first foray into ambulatory theater. Back in the early aughts, Nature co-creators Markell Kiefer and Tyson Forbes (along with Samuel Elmore) developed The Buddha Prince with Tibetan-American artist Tenzin Ngawang. After performing multiple times around the country, the piece was shelved while Nature was developed and toured for the next decade. Now they're bringing it back for the first time in 14 years. I said on the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers' podcast Twin Cities Theater Chat that if The Buddha Prince was half as good as Nature, it would be a wonderful experience. I'm happy to report that it is as lovely and unique an experience as Nature, with many of the same themes and even structure, just with a different focus. A co-production with the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota, The Buddha Prince is a celebration of the life and work of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, as well as Tibetan culture, music, history, and dance.

"Code You" by Exposed Brick Theatre at Dreamland Arts

Exposed Brick Theatre, "dedicated to telling untold stories, centering omitted narratives and creating art at the intersection of identities," was founded in 2004, and somehow this is my first experience with them. Last night I saw the new play Code You, written and directed by Nora Montañez Patterson, at Dreamland Arts, a sweet little venue on Hamline Avenue in St. Paul that I haven't been to since pre-pan. Code You is one of several plays to come out of Exposed Brick's 2020 "Through Our Eyes" program, in which they commissioned eight playwrights to write plays "in response to the multiple pandemics impacting MN communities." Code You starts out as fun and trippy multiple-reality narrative about friends just hanging out and having fun, but there's an undercurrent of something more sinister happening, and things get serious real fast. The short run continues for one more weekend only, and the hour-long play is short, sweet, and to the point, bringing back the fear of the unknown from those early COVID days and reminding us what we all went through.

"Orlando" by Theatre Pro Rata at the Crane Theater

Although based on a 1928 Virginia Woolf novel and adapted into a play around the turn of this century by Sarah Ruhl, Orlando speaks very much to this time, with its exploration of gender fluidity, and it's skewering of societal norms around gender identity and gender roles. Written in a modern narrative style, with the ensemble taking turns describing the story as it plays out, there's a playfulness to it despite the seriousness of the ideas presented. Theatre Pro Rata has assembled an excellent cast and team to bring the complex, modern, insightful story to life at the Crane Theater (through March 27, click here for info and tickets).

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2021: "The Convent of Pleasure"

Day: 1

Show: 2

Title: The Convent of Pleasure

By: Theatre Pro Rata

Performance Type: Live In Person

Location: Wood Lake Nature Center Amphitheater (outdoors)

Length: 90 minutes

Summary: A hilarious modern adaptation of the 17th Century play of the same name about a woman who forsakes the company of men, founding a commune of women who dedicate their life to pleasure.

Highlights: Theatre Pro Rata got their start at the Minnesota Fringe Festival 20 years; one of the many benefits of this festival is that it supports artists in such a way that allows companies like this to form and expand beyond the festival that birthed them. Local playwright/actor/comedian/baker Heather Meyer's play is one of those "ghost plays" that was supposed to premiere in the summer of 2020, and happily it is finally seeing the light of day. This fantabulous all-female cast really brings out all of the humor in the script (of which there is much), as well as the emotion in the sweet love story between Lady Happy (the delightful Boo Segersin), who uses the money her father left her when he died to create the Convent and live only for the immediate pleasures of all of the senses, and Princess Principle (a serene Megan Kim), who loves Lady Happy but longs for commitment. Kelsey Laurel Cramer, Nissa Nordland Morgan, and Taj Ruler play Lords Somewhat, Sortof, and Soso, who try to woo the ladies, devilishly twirling their greasepaint mustaches. Ankita Ashrit, Lynda Dahl, and Kayla Dvorak Feld flit across the stage and grounds as Lady Happy's companions, while Meri Golden frets as her mistress of accounts. And can we talk about the costumes? So fun, colorful, and playful, with flowers and hats and frills to spare (designed by Mandi Johnson). There's a reason I chose this show to see on the first night of the Fringe - a company that's been doing good work for 20 years, a strong cast, the feminist theme, and the promise of laughs make this a must-see.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.