"Collected Stories" by Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company at the Highland Park Center Theatre

I recently commented that I love two-people-sitting-in-a-room-talking kind of plays. Collected Stories is one of those plays. But rather than one long conversation, it's a series of conversations over six years in an ever changing teacher/student relationship. Written 20 years ago by Donald Margulies, the play does not feel dated (except in character wardrobes and phone references), but rather is a smart and thoughtful exploration of what it means to be a mentor, a mentee, and a writer of stories, yours or others. I found Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company's production, playing now through March 18, to be entertaining, engaging, and thought-provoking.

"Rhinoceros" by 7th House Theater at A-Mill Artist Lofts

There have been various responses to the new presidency and the current political climate, including Facebook groups, letter writing and calling campaigns, petitions, and a nation-wide women's march. But what do artists do in response to injustice? They make art. Last weekend 7th House Theater opened a short run of what they call a "pop up production" of the 1959 play Rhinoceros, written by Eugene Ionesco as a response to the rise in Fascism in pre-WWII Europe. As company member David Darrow explained before the show, their new original musicals (which they've become known for) take about a year to plan, write, create, and produce, which makes it challenging to stay current. And they're not alone, most theaters plan their seasons months or years in advance, which is often necessary to secure talent and space in this busy theater town. But with this piece, 7th House is presenting "a specific work at a specific time in history." After just ten days of rehearsal, they very intentionally opened on the night of the inauguration, a work presented in what David called "a mostly sort of way." While the staging is minimal and actors have scripts in their hands, Rhinoceros is a work that is wholly entertaining, eerily relevant, and exactly what we need right now. Only three performances remain this weekend - don't miss this hot-off-the-presses, incredibly timely, excellent work from this talented young company.

"Harvey" at the Guthrie Theater

"I've wrestled with reality for over 40 years, and I'm happy to report that I finally won out over it." So says Elwood Dowd, he who sees the imaginary six-foot tall white rabbit, in the 1944 play Harvey by Mary Cole. That's an attitude I can fully get behind, because sometimes reality sucks. And I think that's part of the reason for my love of going to the theater - because I can forget the sometimes depressing reality of the world for a few hours and immerse myself in the world of the play. Harvey is just such a play. So maybe it's 70 years old, and is nothing ground-breaking or particularly illuminating about the society we live in today, but the Guthrie's new production of this classic is wonderful escapist entertainment that also provides some still relevant commentary on people, society, and relationships. The world might be a happier place if we all had our own Harvey to focus on rather than dwell on the harshness of the world around us.

"Clybourne Park" at Yellow Tree Theatre

As a follow-up to their fun, light-hearted, crowd-pleasing holiday show A Hunting Shack Christmas, Yellow Tree Theatre is presenting Clybourne Park, a darkly funny and challenging play dealing with heavy and timely issues of race, class, gender, and gentrification. This is one of the things I love about Yellow Tree; they don't pander to their suburban audience with easily digestible fare, they challenge them with plays that might take them outside of their comfort zone. One of the biggest areas of improvement for Yellow Tree, now in their 8th season and taking their place among the heavy hitters in town, is increasing diversity on their stage (and in the audience). I'm thrilled that they've chosen two plays this season that tackle race head on (this play and the upcoming musical Violet), and hope that this trend of diversity, and even non-traditional casting, continues. But back to the play at hand - Clybourne Park is a funny, edgy, brilliantly written play (it won the Tony in 2012) and this production does it justice with a top-notch cast and director.

"To Kill A Mockingbird" at the Guthrie Theater

I don't ever want to read the recently published Go Set A Watchman, which reportedly paints a much less flattering, more complex, and perhaps more realistic portrait of the small-town Southern lawyer Atticus Finch. The Atticus Finch of Harper Lee's 1960 novel To Kill A Mockingbird and the 1990 stage adaptation by Christopher Sergel, now playing on the Guthrie's thrust stage, is just the best man. This is the Atticus I want to know, remember, and celebrate. The lawyer who believes in justice, equality, and fairness for every person, who is a loving yet strict father who raises his children to be smart and independent thinkers who use their own judgement to decide what's right and wrong, that's the Atticus that I, however naively, believe in. And that's the Atticus that it's a bittersweet joy to watch as his story comes to life on the Guthrie stage. Except of course that it's not really Atticus' story, it's his daughter Scout's story as she comes to see that her father and the town she lives in are not exactly what she thought they were. With the clear-eyed innocence and straight-forwardness of a child, she guides us through this story that is representative of a difficult and ugly time in our history, a time that isn't as long ago as we like to think. To Kill A Mockingbird is an American classic and this beautiful production does justice to it.

Even though it's been many years since I read the book or saw the 1962 movie starring Gregory Peck (so long that I had forgotten the ending), the story is familiar to anyone growing up in this country where it's required reading at most schools. In 1935 Alabama, a black man is accused of raping a white woman, and Atticus Finch defends him in court despite the bad will of most of the town against him and his family for defending a black man. All of this is reflected through the eyes of his daughter Scout who, along with older brother Jem and friend Dill, watch the proceedings with curiosity, fascination, confusion, and dismay.

Atticus with Jem, Scout, and Dill (Baylen Thomas,
Noah Deets, Mary Bair, and Issac Leer, photo by Joan Marcus)

I'm not sure I've ever seen three children command the Guthrie stage before like these three kids. There are two sets of the Scout/Jem/ Dill trio, and the ones I happened to see (Mary Bair, Noah Deets, and Isaac Leer) are a charming, precocious, and talented bunch. When they're not on stage alone for long scenes, they're going toe-to-toe with a cast full of beloved Guthrie veterans (of note, only one of the adults has never appeared at the Guthrie before). I am in awe of all three of them and what they're able to do at such a young age! I especially adore Mary Bair as Scout. If I had a daughter I'd want her to be just like Scout - smart, stubborn, curious, independent, brave, sensitive, open-hearted, unafraid to speak her mind and ask questions, and quick to defend herself and her family.

the trial of Tom Robinson (Baylen Thomas, J.C. Cutler,
Ansa Akyea, and Peter Thomson, photo by Joan Marcus)

While these kids own this stage and this story, the adults aren't bad either. That one Guthrie newcomer I mentioned? That would be Baylen Thomas as Atticus, who perfectly embodies all of the wonderful characteristics that I described above, while still portraying the humanity of Atticus behind the icon. There are too many wonderfully strong performances in this cast to mention, but to name a few: Stacia Rice with a warm presence as the neighbor Miss Maudie who serves as a narrator, a clever device by the playwright that allows him to set the scene and include some of Harper Lee's language; Regina Marie Williams as the Finch's beloved housekeeper Calpurnia; Ansa Akya bringing depth and humanity to the accused man; Peter Thomson as the judge, in Mark Twain hair leaning back in his chair chomping on a cigar; T. Mychael Rambo leading a choir as Reverend Sykes; Ashley Rose Montondo, both sympathetic and infuriating as the accuser; and Bruce Bohne as her utterly despicable father.

As per usual at the Guthrie, the set, costume, lighting, and sound design make it easy to suspend disbelief and feel like we're in a small Southern town a century ago. The thrust stage is covered with a worn wooden floor, surrounded by three front porches and one rope swing. The jailhouse is lowered from the ceiling, and the inside of the courtroom comes up from below for that crucial scene that spans the intermission. Lived-in period costumes complete the look (set and costumes by James Youmans and Matthew J. LeFebvre).

I found this to be a really lovely evening at the theater, one that left me with tears in my eyes, a warmth in my heart, and a feeling of injustice, not so much at Tom Robinson's fate (because really, what other ending could there be in the deep South of the 1930s), but that Tom Robinson's story continues to be repeated today. To Kill A Mockingbird is a classic piece of American literature, one that's timely and relevant despite being set 80 years in the past, and this beautiful production and excellent cast of young and old alike bring it to life in an entirely satisfying way. (Continuing through October 18.)

"H2O" by Gremlin Theatre at the Minneapolis Theatre Garage

The 2015 Torch Theater/Gremlin Theatre season at the Minneapolis Theatre Garage* continues with the first all-Gremlin production, after the joint production, the dark and disturbing Death and the Maiden, and Torch's perfect screwball comedy Boeing Boeing earlier this year. For their production Gremlin is tackling H2O, a new play by Jane Martin (most likely a pseudonym for Jon Jory, Artistic Director of the Actors Theatre of Louisville). In the capable hands of director Ellen Fenster (who has made me cry on more than one occasion) and a couple of compelling three-named actors, Peter Christian Hansen (Gremlin's Artistic Director) and Ashley Rose Montondo (most recently seen as a girl who cried witch in The Crucible at the Guthrie), this intense 90-minute two-hander is a funny, painful, and engaging story of fame, faith, and art.

This is the story of Jake and Deborah, about as opposite as two people can be, and both actors bring out the best (and worst) in their characters with a believable, if ever-changing, chemistry. Jake is the benefactor (or victim) of the quick and absolute kind of fame that happens often in the media age. He was cast as a superhero in a series of movies, but doesn't feel worthy, so plans to prove his worth (mostly to himself) by playing Hamlet on the Broadway stage. Deborah is a young NYC actor who believes that acting is her calling, because Jesus told her so. Raised and schooled by her father in the church he founded after receiving a similar calling, Deborah is a woman of principles, determined to live by them, with a series of strict rules about what is and isn't OK in her career. Jake is disgruntled with the idea of acting, while for Deborah it is her life's noble purpose. When these two people are thrown together due to a tragic event, their worlds collide. Jake convinces Deborah to be the Ophelia to his Hamlet, and the two embark on a friendship that is at first good for both, expanding their worldviews, but then takes a dark turn when Deborah won't give Jake what he wants. Deborah does as much as she can to save Jake, but he is unable to take that extra step and save himself. Spoiler alert: this one doesn't have a happy ending.

If I may compare this play to a TV show, Jake and Deborah's destructive relationship reminds me of the relationship between Chris and Sister Pete on HBO's brilliant ahead-of-its-time prison drama Oz. In a memorable scene, Sister Pete tells Chris "we don't choose God, God chooses us," and Chris raises his hand to the sky with a desperate look and says "pick me!" Like Jake, Chris is full of self-loathing and desperate to be rid of it, desperate to be saved by someone, not realizing that he needs to save himself, and unable to do so.

Deborah and Jake (Ashley Rose Montondo and
Peter Christian Hansen, photo by Aaron Fenster)

The title of the play, H2O, has several meanings. Firstly, Hamlet to Ophelia. Not a good relationship after which to model one's own, but Jake and Deborah's relationship does follow the slow descent into madness of these characters. H2O is also the chemical formula for water, a theme that appears often in the play, as does actual water (this is a messy one, figuratively and literally). Water is a symbol of life, used in religious ceremonies. Which brings me to another theme of the play, faith. The character of Deborah is at times infuriating, at other times exhausting, with her strict and unforgiving relgious belief and her insistence that Jesus speaks to her. But I also found her to be smart, funny, modern, and likeable, struggling to marry her beliefs with the messy real world. Lastly the play explores the idea of fame, especially fame that comes too easily and too quickly. The insane pressure that we put on our celebrities to be a certain way or act a certain way is often too much to bear, and the story of a famous actor or musician who succumbs to self-destructive behavior is all too familiar.

The many scene changes and set changes are handled smoothly by the cast and crew, including four "essentials" who are sort of a mix of both. Dressed in black, they move furniture on and off stage quickly and efficiently, and also serve as extras in some scenes, wordlessly interacting with Jack and Deborah, providing a blank wall for them to react to and bounce off of as they deliver their monologues. The stage is completely bare, with just a few key set pieces brought out when needed (set design by Carl Schoenborn). Katharine Horowitz's sound design helps set the scene in the various NYC locations.

H2O is a challenging play, both to stage and to watch, with its depictions of violence and an unhealthy relationship. It's not for the faint of heart, but is, as per usual with Gremlin Theatre, very well directed, acted, and produced. H2O continues through June 27 (find half-price tickets on Goldstar).



*The final production in the Torch/Gremlin/Garage season will be another joint production TBA.


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"The Crucible" at the Guthrie Theater

Arthur Miller's 1953 play The Crucible is a classic of the American theater, and dramatizes one of the greatest failings of the American, or rather pre-American, judicial system. During the infamous Salem witch trials of the late 17th Century, twenty people were put to death for the crime of witchcraft, following a long history of the execution of "witches" in Europe. Arthur Miller explores the larger themes of this horrible incident through a very personal story of one affected family, making the play at once intimate and epic. Despite being over 60 years old, the themes of religious fanaticism, mob mentality, and persecution of people who are different are sadly as current as they were during the McCarthy era when the play was written. The Guthrie's grand production of this classic with a cast chock-full of talent is truly something to behold. It's long and intense, but somehow the nearly three hours didn't feel long to me; I was engaged every minute by this compelling story and these beautifully flawed and human characters.

The story begins when the Reverend Parris discovers several young women, including his daughter Betty and niece Abigail, dancing in the woods. Yes, dancing! Betty is afflicted by a strange illness that is blamed on the family's Barbadian slave who is accused of conjuring spirits. In what amounts to a harmless prank gone horribly wrong (never underestimate the power of teenage girls), the girls continue to accuse more and more people of witchcraft, who are given the option of confessing or hanging. The whole thing spirals out of control and Abigail soon accuses her former employer/lover John Proctor's wife, an honest and well-respected woman. John attempts to defend his wife but is powerless against the mass hysteria that has overtaken the community. But somehow in the midst this devastating event, he's able to face the truth and become the best version of himself.

the deputy-governor and John Proctor (Stephen Yoakam and
Erik Heger) with the accusers (photo by T. Charles Erickson)

This is a huge play with many characters but just four long scenes, each of which is like a mini play in itself with several different segments and lots of people entering and exiting. All of it is beautifully orchestrated by the Guthrie's departing Artistic Director Joe Dowling. Joe has directed several Arthur Miller* plays at the Guthrie in his 20-year tenure, but this is his first time doing The Crucible here, and it's a beautiful swan song. The 20+ person cast truly is an embarrassment of riches. There are so many wonderful, experienced, beloved actors who pass through the story for just a moment or two. I'm wondering if some of them took the role just to be part of one of Joe Dowling's last productions at the Guthrie.**

Michelle O'Neill and Erik Heger as
Elizabeth and John Proctor
(photo by T. Charles Erickson)

This production reunites Mr. and Mrs. Macbeth from the 2010 production at the Guthrie (one of my favorites that year) as Mr. and Mrs. Proctor. Michelle O'Neill gives a quietly powerful and emotional performance, and Erik Heger is, as he was five years ago, just magnificent. John Proctor is the kind of role that covers the full range of emotions, from angry to devastated, proud to broken, and Erik hits every note. So raw, so emotional, he has the audience in the palm of his hand in the final climactic scene.

Other highlights in this huge and talented cast include: Stephen Yoakam, always a strong and formidable presence onstage and therefore a perfect choice to play the deputy-governor in charge of the legal proceedings; beloved Guthrie vet Peter Michael Goetz, bringing welcome comic relief through the role of Giles Corey, who was tried along with his wife; the great Wendy Lehr, who could bring comfort to any bewitched person, as noble accused Goody Nurse; and several graduates and students of the U of M/Guthrie BFA program (aka the Guthrie's rich farm system), including Chloe Armao as instigator Abigail Williams, and Ashley Rose Montondo, going from sane and sympathetic friend of the Proctors to full out crazy as Mary Warren.

For the opening dancing-in-the-woods scene, a dozen or so large heavy trees hang just above the stage, their roots not quite touching. They are then raised to the ceiling and hang over the rest of the proceedings like a dark cloud. Ominous sounds and lighting add to the somber and heavy mood (set, lighting, and sound by Richard Hoover, Mark McCullough, and Scott W. Edwards). Jane Greenwood's prim and proper period costumes look so authentic you feel like you're right back there in 1692.

As a theater geek I should have seen this play before now, but I have not, and only have vague memories of the 1996 movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder. Now I get why it's such a classic - an important and frightening incident in our history that still has echos in today's world, a personal story of one man's struggle with honor, faith, and redemption, an intense and compelling three hours of theater. It's also a powerful argument for why the separation of church and state is absolutely essential and one of the best things about this country, so that no one person's religious belief is allowed to take away the rights, or in this case the life, of another person who's seen to be in some way evil under that belief.

The two shows on the Guthrie's main stages right now are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play on the Proscenium Stage is a new, modern, creative, and innovative play. Across the lobby on the Thrust Stage, The Crucible is a fine and faithful production of a beloved and acclaimed classic. For traditional theater excellently executed with a huge cast full of mostly local talent and top-notch production values, it's a play not to be missed (playing now through May 24).


*Read more about Joe Dowling and the Guthrie Theater's relationship with Arthur Miller here.
**The Guthrie will celebrate Joe Dowling in a gala performance on June 6 - limited seats still available.


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"Crimes of the Heart" at the Guthrie Theater

If you have not seen Crimes of the Heart at the Guthrie in the last month, you have just over a week to catch it before it closes. I was previously unfamiliar with this tragicomedy set in the South in the 1970s and was delighted by what I saw. It's darkly funny and features a very real, somewhat dysfunctional, but loving family fully and comfortably inhabited by this six-person cast.

The Magrath sisters grew up in the small town of Hazlehurst, Mississippi with their grandparents following a tragedy. As often is the case, the eldest Lenny stayed behind to care for her ailing grandparents as the other two went off into the world. Youngest sister Babe married the successful town lawyer, while middle sister Meg went off to Hollywood to find her fortune as a singer. After Babe shoots her husband, for reasons that unfold over the course of the play, the sisters reunite in their grandparents' home to "get through these real bad days here" together. The "getting through" is complicated by cousin Chick, who's always resented the sisters and is more of a hindrance than a help, and Meg's encounter with an old boyfriend. At the end of the play we don't know if Babe will go to jail, if Meg will reunite with Doc, or if Lenny will be able to stop playing family caregiver and be happy with her new boyfriend, but we do know that for better or worse, the Magrath sisters will be there for each other.

Georgia Cohen, Maggie Chestovich, and
Asley Rose Montondo

As the three sisters, Maggie Chestovich, Georgia Cohen, and Ashley Rose Montondo create very full and different characters in Lenny, Meg, and Babe. Maybe it's because they've been performing the piece for a month, but the familial bond between them is palpable. Sarah Agnew is a hoot as cousin Chick, strolling into the house like she owns it and bossing the sisters around. David Darrow brings a great energy and physicality to the role of Babe's lawyer Barnette, literally jumping around the stage in excitement. Sam Bardwell usually plays the role of Meg's old boyfriend Doc but was out on paternity leave the night I saw the show, so understudy Dustin Bronson filled in. I consider it a privilege to see understudies perform; it's so wonderful to watch someone step into a cast that has been performing together for some time and seem like they've always been there, and you know they're going to give it their all since it's one of the few times they get to perform the role. Such is the case here. This is a cast that works and plays well together, centered on the three sisters.

This is one of those Guthrie sets that I wanted to climb right into and sit down with a glass of lemonade. James Youmans designed the cozy and lived in Magrath home with see through walls, so that you can see the blue sky and power lines behind it. The '70s period costumes by Clint Ramos are super cool, from Meg's Charlie's Angels outfit and classic wrap dress, to Barnette's three piece bell-bottom suit, to Chick's perfectly tailored bright-colored suits with matching shoes.

Crimes of the Heart is funny, tragic, poignant, and engrossing. Go visit these sisters at the Guthrie before they depart and move on with their crazy lives.

"Pride and Prejudice" at the Guthrie Theater

Pride and Prejudice is the final production in the Guthrie's 50th anniversary season, and my tenth season as a subscriber. It's also the first repeated show in that 10 years (not counting the annual production of A Christmas Carol). Pride and Prejudice was the first production in my first season as a subscriber in the summer of 2003 (that has a nice symmetry to it, doesn't it?). It almost didn't work out that way - when the season was announced last year, the final show was Born Yesterday. Earlier this year the decision was made to move that show to this winter, with Pride and Prejudice replacing it. Which I imagine caused a bit of a ruckus, getting all the required ducks in a row for this scale of a production on a shortened timeline, including a last-minute actor change. You wouldn't know it, as this is a gorgeous production, impeccably cast, and a charming rendition of a classic literary love story.

Jane Austin's most popular novel centers on the Bennet family in early 19th century England - five daughters of marriageable age, an exasperated father, and a mother whose only goal is to see her daughters married and taken care of, since none of them can inherit their father's estate under English law. Wealthy gentlemen arrive in the country, and the Bennets are all aflutter. Balls, witty repartee, misunderstandings, scandals, and reconciliations continue for two hours, in a story I'm sure most of you are familiar with (if not - see Wiki). This adaptation by Simon Reade (a different one than they used 10 years ago) stays pretty faithful to the story as I remember it, condensing it nicely for the stage and keeping much of Austin's prose in the form of letters that are read by both the sender and recipient.

Ashley Rose Montondo
and Vincent Kartheiser
as Elizabeth and Darcy

The Guthrie has assembled an excellent cast of familiar faces and new, beginning with Ashley Rose Montondo as our heroine, the smart and spirited Elizabeth. Ashley was a last-minute replacement, stepping in just a month before previews began, and a fortunate one at that. She is so natural and charismatic as Lizzie; it's a star-making turn for someone with a relatively short bio (it's worth noting that Ashley, along with five other cast-members, is a product of the U of M/Guthrie BFA program). As her Darcy, Minnesota-actor-turned-TV-star Vincent Kartheiser* is initially stoic, disagreeable, and cold - as Darcy should be (he is the "pride" in Pride and Prejudice). But as he shows his softer side, Elizabeth warms to him, and so do we (it's lovely to see a natural smile on Vincent's face, something his Mad Men character never quite manages). They make quite a charming pair, and it's easy to root for and celebrate their happiness when it comes at long last. All of the Bennet sisters are perfectly cast, from Christine Weber as the eldest, the sweet and beautiful Jane, to Thallis Santesteban as the amusingly bookish Mary, to Aeysha Kinnenun, stealing scenes as the young and flighty Lydia. Completing the family, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are played by the appropriately frazzled Peter Thomson and ridiculously silly Suzanne Warmanen. Kris Nelson is excellent as always as the quite creepy Mr. Collins (showing quite the range from his last role - the creepy-in-a-different-way Stanley Kowalski). Hugh Kennedy is charming as always as the good Mr. Bingley, and Anna Sundberg does haughty privilege well as his sister. Last but not least, Sally Wingert has a couple of nice turns as two completely different aunts - the girls' friendly aunt and Darcy's hilariously stern aunt.

The set is dominated by a gorgeous and fascinating moving showpiece (set design by Alexander Dodge). The floor of the thrust stage is cut into concentric circles that rotate in opposite direction, the outer supporting a set of huge stately white columns, the inner a wall with three glass doors. As the circles spin in opposite directions, the set pieces are arranged in seemingly infinite combinations to represent various indoor and outdoor settings. The stairs around the familiar thrust stage are covered with green grass, with green topiary adorning the back of the stage. The only downfall of this relatively simple set is that it's difficult to see the difference between the Bennet's modest home and the more extravagant homes of the Darcys and Bingleys, but that's what the imagination is for. The costumes, hair, make-up, etc. are of course stunning; I expect no less at the Guthrie. Adding a little visual action to the drama, Joe Chvala has choreographed some charming English country dances. I was particularly impressed that Darcy and Elizabeth carry on a complete conversation while effortlessly performing the steps of an intricate dance.

Pride and Prejudice is a great choice to close the Guthrie's landmark season. A classic and well-loved story; a cast that features Guthrie vets, new young local talent, and one of Minnesota's famous sons; and gorgeous production values. I found it to be quite charming.




*I have to admit, when Vincent Kartheiser was announced as Mr. Darcy, I was very excited. You see, before I was a theater junkie, I was a TV junkie, and I still am. I believe Man Men to be the highest form of the art that television can be. And I love it when my fellow Minnesotans make it big on the national scene and then come home to share their gifts. I met Vincent a few weeks ago at the Guthrie's 50th Anniversary Gala and made a blithering idiot of myself, so in shock I was to see him live and in person instead of on my TV screen in 60s period garb. It took a minute to get used to him in a different role, but I saw no traces of Pete Campbell in Mr. Darcy. He's in a position of success where he has many choices before him, and the fact that he chose to do a play in his hometown is a pretty cool thing.