"Flip the Script: The Great Divide IV" an audio play series by Pillsbury House Theatre

"During the 2016 presidential election, the American political landscape ruptured into one of the most heated divides in recent history. In response, Pillsbury House Theatre began The Great Divide project, commissioning five new ten-minute plays each year tackling the rising political tensions in America. As we head towards the 2020 election, on the heels of a pandemic and a global uprising, that divide has grown even larger. For the fourth and final installment of The Great Divide, Pillsbury House Theatre has invited five former Great Divide playwrights to write a companion piece to their earlier work that imagines a way to move forward, beyond the divide. By pairing playwrights' earlier work with pieces written in this election year, Flip the Script is a powerful examination of the past, present, and future of our political divide."

"Significant Other" by Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company at Highland Park Center Theatre

Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company is continuing their 25th anniversary season with the regional premiere of the 2017 Broadway play Significant Other. They last produced the work of NYC-based playwright Joshua Harmon several years ago with Bad Jews. Both plays are smart and sharp modern comedies with depth, but while Bad Jews was about cultural identity and family, Significant Other is about, well, finding a significant other. Society put so much pressure on us to be coupled, a pressure that our protagonist Jordan feels increasingly strongly as he watches his friends get married. MJTC's production is top notch and features a fantastic cast and elegant deceptively simple design. If you've not been to MJTC lately, this is a great time to check them out.

"Agatha Christie: Rule of Thumb" at Park Square Theatre

Park Square Theatre's final show of their 2018-2019 season opened during a busy July, followed by a busy Fringe Festival, so I'm finally seeing it now in the final two weeks of its run. As has become tradition at Park Square, they're presenting a fun summery mystery. Or in this case, three fun summer mysteries. Agatha Christie: Rule of Thumb is a triptych of short plays written by the famed mystery writer. They're performed by a talented and diverse nine-person company of actors, on the same set with some tweaks, all under the directorship of Austene Van who keeps the tone light, fun, elegant, and very dramatic. It's a delight to watch this team play together in this yummy summer mystery.

"Cry It Out" at Yellow Tree Theatre

There's been a lot of crying at Yellow Tree Theatre this season (the classic play The Miracle Worker about a deaf and blind child learning to communicate, the new musical Flowers for the Room about a woman in a coma, plus tears of laughter at the original Minnesota comedy Miracle on Christmas Lake). But fortunately their final show of the season, the regional premiere of the new play Cry It Out, despite having the word "cry" in the title, is a comedy. Although not without poignant moments and very relatable pain. It's not an easy pat sitcom with solutions found in 90 minutes. Rather it's an exploration of the joy, pain, confusion, isolation, friendships, and conflicts associated with being a new parent. No need to bring tissues for this one, but be prepared to laugh, and if you've ever had young children, commiserate, as the excellent cast and creative team brings us right into this messy, funny, real world.

"She Persists: The Great Divide III" at Pillsbury House Theatre

For the third year in a row, Pillsbury House Theatre is presented a collection of short plays that speak to our divided nation. The 2017 collection was subtitled Plays for a Broken Nation, 2018 was Plays on the Politics of Truth, and 2019 is an all-female collection/creation called She Persists. The series has been a really wonderful way to examine what divides us in a non-judgmental, non-threatening way, while offering a path towards hope and greater connection and conversation with each other. With most theater companies planning their seasons out a year or more in advance, it's difficult for them to immediately respond to what's happening in the world. But this series allows for that, with five brand new 10-minute plays that could not be more timely and relevant.

"for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf" at Penumbra Theatre

Penumbra Theatre's new production of for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf is my first experience with this acclaimed piece of theater, and now I see what all the fuss is about. I've heard the name of course, but didn't really know what it was about. Turns out it's about so much, and told in a uniquely moving way that's basically a series of poems with accompanying music and movement. I usually have a hard time connecting to poetry, but there's something about the beauty and raw truth of Ntozake Shange's words, and the gorgeous performances by this ten-person all women of color cast, that moved me to tears. I don't have adequate words to describe why, but do yourself a favor and go see it.

"The Great Divide II: Plays on the Politics of Truth" at Pillsbury House Theatre

Last year, just a few months into this divisive presidency, Pillsbury House Theatre presented a series of short plays commissioned from local playwrights titled The Great Divide: Plays for a Broken Nation. Utilizing art not to judge or blame, but to explore where we are at this present moment, how we got here, and how we can move forward. One year later, it feels like we're more divisive than ever (although not without a few glimmers of hope), and Pillsbury House has yet again commissioned five short plays, this time under the title The Great Divide II: Plays on the Politics of Truth. They asked the playwrights, "What does truth have to do with our us vs. them mentalities? What is the difference between fact and truth anyway, and does it matter? What happens when our firmly embedded emotions become facts?" The result is five very different and very thoughtful plays, all dealing in some (more or less obvious) way with truth.

"Electra" by Ten Thousand Things at Open Book

To begin her final season as Artistic Director of Ten Thousand Things, the company she founded over 25 years ago, recent Ivey Lifetime Achievement Award winner Michelle Hensley has chosen the Greek classic Electra. This 2000+ year old story of betrayal and revenge is clearly and succinctly told in not much more than an hour, and like all TTT shows, feels both fantastical and grounded in reality. With guest director/adapter Rebecca Novick out of San Francisco, seven of the top #TCTheater actors, a warm and wonderful Peter Vitale musical soundtrack, and very little in the way of usual theater magic (except that created by the skills of the performers), this tragedy is a joy to watch.

"The Great Divide" at Pillsbury House Theatre

Tension. Authentic. Provocative. Humorous. Hope. Uncomfortable. Despair. Familiar. These were some one-word audience reactions to the performance of Pillsbury House Theatre's collection of new short plays last night, titled The Great Divide: Plays for a Broken Nation. I think we're all aware that the world is not the same as it was a year ago, or even six months ago. Theater is a great way to explore the issues that we're all grappling with, to understand them, to process them, to look for solutions. Pillsbury House jumped right into this by commissioning five local playwrights to write a ten-minute play with the title as their only prompt. The result is a diverse collection of stories and characters that are all of the above things, as well as incredibly relevant, timely, and necessary.

"The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin" at History Theatre

I just got back from my annual trip to NYC, "center of the universe," where I saw six Broadway shows in five days (read my mini-reviews here). While I was there, I also took a walking tour of the Lower East Side through the Tenement Museum, which I highly recommended if you're in the city. The tour was fascinating and served to reinforce the idea that the history of the Lower East Side, the history of New York City, the history of America is an ever-changing story of immigrants. Immigrants who have come to this country in search of better opportunities and better lives for their families. Unfortunately, our history also includes an ever-changing story of prejudice and discrimination against immigrants. Today, it's Muslim and Mexican immigrants that face the brunt of it. But the idea of keeping immigrants out due to fear is not a new one; in 1882 the first legislation against the immigration of a specific race was passed - the Chinese Exclusion Act. Local playwright Jessica Huang's new play The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin tells the true story of one Minnesota family affected by this legislation. In keeping with the History Theatre's commitment to tell the untold stories of all Minnesotans, it's a beautiful and affecting look at the very timely and relevant issue of immigration through the very specific story of one family.

"Pericles" by Ten Thousand Things at Open Book

When I first saw Pericles, at the Guthrie earlier this year, I wrote, "I had a bit of a hard time with the play (as I often do the first time I see a Shakespeare play, unless Ten Thousand Things is doing it)." Lucky for me, Ten Thousand Things is doing it! And while I appreciated that production of Pericles, it didn't resonate with me the way that TTT's new production does, it didn't get inside me and make me feel for the characters and understand their plight. I should just give up seeing anybody else do Shakespeare, because no one does it like Ten Thousand Things. They make these 400-year-old plays so relevant and relatable and current, in a way that makes me love Shakespeare! The complicated plot of Pericles, filled with many characters and locations, is made simple through the use of smart editing, props, costumes, and most of all these eight incredible actors who make Shakespearean language sound so natural and easily understandable. Trust me, you've never seen Shakespeare quite like this.

"The Palabras Project" by Other Tiger Productions at Park Square Theatre

After spending the evening walking around the historic James J. Hill House on Summit Avenue watching theater, I spent the next night walking around the historic Hamm Building in downtown St. Paul watching theater. But unlike the comic opera wedding in The Marriage of Figaro, the wedding depicted in The Palabras* Project, based on Spanish playwright Frederico Garcia Lorca's 1932 tragedy Blood Wedding, is decidedly less happy. If "blood wedding" makes you think of Game of Throne's "red wedding," you're not far off. But this isn't a straight-forward adaptation of the play. New theater company Other Tiger Productions, founded by local theater artists Jessica Huang and Ricardo Vázquez with a mission "to pursue other forms, stories, and modes of collaboration in order to present an inclusive and global theater experience," has assembled a collection of short pieces around the theme of Blood Wedding. Incorporating music, dance, and puppetry, as well as theater, the pieces are performed in various locations in and around Park Square Theatre's basement Boss Stage, including hallways, lobbies, and rehearsal rooms. It's a truly unique experience that goes beyond theater, and a wonderful new (or old) form of storytelling.

"You for Me for You" by Mu Performing Arts at the Guthrie

You for Me for You. Judging by the title I wondered if this was a play about former American Idol judge Randy Jackson. But of course it's not, rather this regional premiere by Mu Performing Arts is about North Korea, a subject I (and most Americans) know less about than American Idol. I was fortunate enough to attend the play when there was a post-show discussion with the playwright Mia Chung and director Randy Reyes, facilitated by the Star Tribune's Rohan Preston (read his review here). Hearing from the playwright, the director, and the cast about their experiences creating this piece gave me greater insight into the story. Mia shared that because there is so little known about what North Korea is actually like, she felt freedom in creating this world through "magic realism" and really tried to focus on the human aspect of the story. She succeeds beautifully, as I was completely engrossed in the lives of these characters as brought to life by Mu's strong cast (the first to feature Korean actors in the three lead roles). This specific story of North Korean refugees is also universal in its themes of family, love, and sacrifice, themes that will feel familiar to any audience.

"Purple Cloud" by Mu Performing Arts at Mixed Blood Theatre

In celebration of 50 years of Asian American theater, Mu Performing Arts is presenting their 49th (if memory serves) world premiere play about the Asian American experience. That's an incredible commitment to new work, and to giving voice to stories that might not otherwise be heard. And while Purple Cloud is a specifically Asian American story, it's true what they say that the more specific a story is, the more universal it is. This "hapa" (meaning mixed) girl's search for identity, family, and a place in the world is something everyone can relate to in some way, and told in an innovative, imaginative, fantastical yet grounded way by playwright Jessica Huang.

"Middle Brother" by Mu Performing Arts at the Southern Theater

I love Mu Performing Arts' unique take on classical musicals with Asian-American casts, most recently a gorgeous production of Sondheim's A Little Night Music. But what they do best is foster and produce new work about the Asian-American experience, which is of course part of the American experience. Middle Brother, written by frequent Mu actor and their Marketing Coordinator Eric Sharp, is one such piece. Eric draws on his own experience as a Korean adoptee who returns to Korea as an adult and tells a similar story about a character named Billy in a funny, poignant, fantastical, imaginative way.

Middle Brother is not so much a linear story as a series of vignettes, dreams, scenes, and fantasies. We meet Billy as he's about to leave his home state of Iowa to visit Korea for a few months, hoping to learn more about his heritage and blend into society. Of course it's not that easy, as he finds himself not quite fitting in, a feeling with which he's familiar. In addition to Billy (played by the playwright), five actors (Audrey Park, Michael Sung-Ho, Sara Ochs, Sherwin Resurreccion, and Su-Yoon Ko) portray a sort of Greek Chorus, or in this case Korean Chorus, as well as other characters in the story. The play starts out almost interactive, with the Chorus speaking directly to the audience and defining the two worlds in a clever way. We see scenes of Billy interacting with his younger brother, also adopted from Korea but with little interest it. In Korea, he learns that he also has a biological older brother (hence the title), who he meets and begins to learn about his family. Or does he? Interspersed with these scenes are fantasy sequences about Billy being born to the royal family and he and his prince brother playing (like when Annie sings "Maybe," imagining what her biological parents were like). My linear logical brain had a bit of a hard time understanding which parts were "real" and which were "fantasy." I wanted to know what really happened to Billy, his brother, and his parents, but maybe the point is that answers in transnational adoptions aren't so easy to come by.

the cast of Middle Brother (photo by Michal Daniel)

This piece features an inventive use of space, props, and storytelling. One large set piece dominates the space at the Southern theater, a raised platform with arches that the actors climb on and crawl under. A matching smaller piece on wheels functions as a literal bridge between the two worlds, a plane, and a hospital bed (set and props by John Francis Bueche). The recurring original song "Holy Crap, Here I Am*" sung in Korean Karaoke style expresses Billy's feelings more than mere words can.

I was surprised to read in the program that over 100,000 children have been adopted out of Korea since 1953. This play doesn't offer answers to the issues that adoptees face so much as share one person's experience. It's amusing, entertaining, and effective, if a bit difficult to understand at times for the literal minded. Playing now through September 18, with discount tickets available on Goldstar.


*Listen to Eric talk about writing the song "Holy Crap, Here I Am" on the new music-theater podcast Twin Cities Song Story.