"Tribes" at the Guthrie Theater

The new play Tribes, by British playwright Nina Raine, is about nothing less than the nature of love, family, language, words, books, emotions, music, and the interaction of all of these things. The framework in which these issues are explored is a dysfunctional family with three adult children, one of whom was born deaf, all living with their parents in North London. The deaf child never learned to sign, and instead learned to read the lips, faces, and bodies of his family. But still, the nuances of their boisterous interactions are lost to him. He meets a woman who grew up hearing in a deaf family, but is slowly losing her hearing. This introduction to the deaf community opens up a new world to him and makes him look at his family differently, with devastating results. While the element of deafness vs. hearing and the use of sign language (with surtitles to translate) is a fascinating element of the play, at its heart is a very real and human story of belonging and finding your place in the world, and how to navigate that journey within the family you were born into. Tribes is an excellent play and the Guthrie has assembled a stellar cast, which makes for a completely absorbing night at the theater. This is the first play I've seen of the Guthrie's 2013-2014 season (I see Uncle Vanya next week), and judging by this example, it's going to be an extraordinary season in the big blue building on the river.

Billy has returned home from university to live with his parents, both authors, and his older brother and sister who are both trying to find their way in life, to "find their voice." This is a family that shows its affection through arguing with and insulting each other (something those of us coming from "Minnesota nice" families may not recognize). Siblings Dan and Ruth pick on each other relentlessly, and father Chris is constantly haranguing his children and their life choices. The opening scene of the play is one big long argument over dinner, with Billy sitting quietly, occasionally asking what's going on, and being told "it's nothing." He's alone in the storm that is his family. Perhaps for this reason everyone loves Billy the best, but maybe they don't really know him. He meets Sylvia at a party, a woman who's fluent in sign and dealing with slowly losing her hearing, and is instantly smitten by her and the deaf community he has so far avoided. He learns to sign and becomes a part of this community, at the same time Sylvia is longing to leave it for the bigger world. Billy decides to stop talking to his family until they make the effort to learn sign language for him. He tells them he doesn't feel like he belongs, and he doesn't need them anymore. Billy is finally fully able to express himself, and everything he's been holding back his whole life comes out, and it's absolutely devastating.

This play lulled me into thinking it was a sharp and acerbic comedy, and then the second act delves into these deep and painful issues like a knife to the heart. The exploration of the idea of language and how that relates to feelings is fascinating. At one extreme is the family patriarch, a retired professor and author who believes that you can't feel something unless you have the words to express it. And therefore, he believes that people who speak in sign language are somehow shallower than people who use spoken words. Ruth is an aspiring opera singer trying to "find her voice," who believes that the music itself expresses emotions even without words. Signing is like music, and is as beautiful as poetry. It can also be harsh and ugly, as when Billy lets loose his pent-up feelings. He tells his father this is the first time he's really listening to him, and it's because he stopped speaking. This is the kind of play that's so full, I wish I had time to go back and see it again to let it soak in more completely.

an uncomfortable family dinner
(photo by T. Charles Erickson)

This six-person cast is a dream. Most of them are known and beloved to me from their work on the Guthrie and other local stages, along with two cast-members making their Guthrie debut - one of those accomplished soap/theater actors, and a deaf actor who so completely embodies his character physically and emotionally. At the head of this crazy family is Stephen Schnetzer, who is best known for playing Cass Winthrop on Another World for many years (and whom I know for taking that character to my beloved soap As the World Turns when AW went off the air). But he's also an accomplished theater actor (as many NYC soap actors are), and he's fantastic on stage. He's so good at playing this selfish, arrogant, egotistical man that I almost wanted to boo him at curtain call! Matching him as his wife Beth is our own beloved Sally Wingert, who makes the most of every moment (I particularly enjoyed Beth's befuddlement while answering her cell phone), and also conveys the deep love for her very different children in the midst of the craziness. Anna Reichert and Hugh Kennedy are so great as the bickering siblings, walking the fine line between spoiled brat and sympathetic young adult. Hugh Kennedy absolutely ripped my heart out. His character is so mean to his sister and parents in the first act that you wonder why he is so mean, and soon learn that his attitude is covering a deep sensitivity and mental illness. By the end of the play his childhood stammer and the voices in his head have returned, and he wears a slouchy sweater like armor around his wounded soul. Tracey Maloney has the Herculean task of speaking in several languages - sign, spoken English, and the high-pitched and slightly broken English of someone who can no longer hear their own voice - and she does it all beautifully. Last but certainly not least is John McGinty as Billy. The most powerful moment of the play is when Billy finally finds his voice and tells his family that he feels left out. It's devastating, but in John's hands it's a thing of painful beauty. When he begins signing is when his acting finds depth.

I know you're already saying to yourself, "I've got to see this play!" But just wait, I haven't told you about the set yet! And what an incredible set, unlike anything I've ever seen. The three walls of the family's living space are covered floor to very high ceiling in books, like some giant library. It's the kind of room I'd like to be trapped in for days, weeks, months, and just escape from the world into the world of books (which is what several members of this family do). The wood floor curves over the end of the stage and spills into my lap in my front row seat of the proscenium theater. The large space is filled with a dining room table, couch, a few chairs, and a piano (used to beautiful effect). A party scene and a bedroom are achieved by the lowering of a wall and the entrance of a table or bed. This is a play that would be brilliant on a bare stage, but the addition of this wondrous set by Alexander Dodge takes it one step further.

Tribes continues on the Guthrie's Proscenium Theater stage through November 10. I highly recommend it. Yes, I'm a big fan of the Guthrie (this is my 11th year as season subscriber) and enjoy pretty much everything they do, but this is one of the best plays I've seen there in quite a while. My favorite play of last season was Clybourne Park, and this reminds me of that in the harsh and real way it opens up issues. But this I think has more heart to it. It's emotional and thought-provoking, beautifully written and acted. In short, it's everything I want a play to be.

"Red Resurrected" by Transatlantic Love Affair at Illusion Theater

My favorite show of the 2012 Minnesota Fringe Festival was Transatlantic Love Affair's Ash Land. I was incredibly moved by their simple and eloquent storytelling; the company of actors created a rich and complex world using nothing but their bodies and voices. I was completely transported into another world, which is all I ask for from theater. Transatlantic Love Affair's 2011 Fringe hit Red Resurrected is currently being presented as part of Illusion Theater's "Lights Up!" series. Like Ash Land, it's another innovative piece of theater, and it deserves a much larger audience than the one at the Illusion Theater last night. At just 70 minutes, it's well worth your time to see something fresh and unexpected and completely lovely.

Red Resurrected, written and directed by 2012 Ivey emerging artist Isabel Nelson, loosely re-imagines the familiar fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood, combining it with other myths and legends in a way that makes it feel like a completely new story, yet familiar. Red lives in a small town called Primrose in the hills of Appalachia; she has no family of her own, and instead is literally being raised by the village. She's a happy child, doing chores and playing with her friends, but warned never to go down to the woods. Red is fascinated by the woods, and as she grows up she begins to find that the woods are the only place she feels at home. When her safe and familiar world is shaken (the wolves that young women face are not always of the canine variety, but are just as dangerous), she escapes into the woods on a path that runs west out of Primrose. There she meets a woman who can heal the broken, and learns from her. Eventually she decides to return home to see if she can bring healing to her friends and family in the village.

the wise woman and Red in her hut in the woods

In Transatlantic Love Affair's signature style, this seven person cast tells their story on a completely bare stage with not a single set piece or prop. This is a true company; all of them have appeared in previous TLA shows, and that connectedness shows. At times they move as one unit, representing everything in Red's world from the trees to the dripping faucet to every sound you've ever heard in the woods. They also beautifully sing traditional Appalachian music, which adds so much in creating this world. I hesitate to call out any members of this true ensemble because they're all just wonderful, but I will. Heather Bunch brings levity to her role as Red's friend and the grim Mrs. Quinn, but also brings out the serious side of both of these characters. Anna Reichert is also great as the narrator and wise woman of the woods, and Adelin Phelps once again embodies a completely relatable heroine to root for.

the family sits down at the dinner table

I love the way that Transatlantic Love Affair tells such simple and beautiful stories, combining movement, music, and words in a completely innovative way. It's really indescribable, so you should go see it for yourself (playing at the Illusion Theater in downtown Minneapolis now through March 2). If I may paraphrase the moving final words of the show, sometimes a woman finds herself on a path in the woods, fixing things that are broken, singing with a full voice to the mountains. I'll camp a little while in the wilderness, and then I'm goin' home.

"Capital Crimes: The St. Paul Gangster Musical" at the History Theatre

I love HBO's Boardwalk Empire, about gangsters in Atlantic City during Prohibition.  There's something about that era of history that seems glamorous and delicious, even though the reality of it was violent and dark.  The History Theatre offers a fun and campy look at this era in our very own hometown.  Capital Crimes: The St. Paul Gangster Musical* is a little like Boardwalk Empire the musical, without the heavy drama, and with the Depression-era Midwest as the backdrop instead of AC.  I almost wish they had gone a little bit further into camp; there were some more serious moments that didn't quite fit the tone of the show.  But all-in-all it's a fun show that is sure to make you want to learn more about these criminals and their involvement in Minnesota history.  And it's pretty cool to think that some of these things happened just a few blocks from where you're sitting.  That's what the History Theatre does best - shed light on the complicated and varied history of our beloved state.

The show tells the true story of Barker-Karpis gang, who were bank robbers, murderers, and kidnappers working throughout the Midwest, including Minnesota, where they kidnapped local beer tycoon William Hamm.  This story is told through the eyes of crime reporter Nate Bomberg who acts as narrator (Jake Endres, also playing multiple other roles, much as he did in the last History Theatre show, Coco's Diary).  We see the Barker brothers, their mother, and Alvin Karpis as they plan and commit crimes.  We also see J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI chase them, in particularly Karpis as Enemy Number One.

A few highlights of the show:

• Get there early for the pre-show entertainment - an onstage speakeasy, complete with dancing, singing, drinking, and fighting.  I kept waiting for the dancers to return during or after the show, but sadly they never did.
• E.J. Subkoviak again plays a government official with questionable motives and techniques.  In 1968 he was Nixon's adviser John Mitchell, and here he's Hoover.  One of the highlights of the show is his hilarious song "Perfection." This show is at its best when it's tongue-in-cheek, not taking itself too seriously.
• Josiah Austin Gulden as Karpis looks like a young Nucky Thompson (with better teeth), has a great voice, and makes a compelling hero-criminal.  You almost want him to get away with his crimes and retire with his "girl" and start a family.
• Speaking of, the two gangster girlfriends are played by the clownish (I mean that as a complement) and loose-limbed Kimberly Richardson and the more serious and lovely-voiced Anna Reichert.  Paula and Dolores take "stand by your man" to a whole new level.
• You can definitely see touches of director Noah Bremer of Live Action Set in this show.  His theater company excels at physical theater, using their bodies and movement to set the scene and tell the story.  There are some really lovely moments of that here, but I found myself wishing for more.
• I love period costumes, and E. Amy Hill does a beautiful job bringing the 1930s to life without being too over-the-top about it.  Wear your long strand of pearls or your fedora and you'll fit right in.

*I received two complementary tickets to attend the opening night of Capital Crimes: The St. Paul Gangster Musical.