"Steel Magnolias" at Yellow Tree Theatre

The first time I saw Steel Magnolias on stage (because of course the popular 1989 movie was a play first) was at Yellow Tree Theatre 13 years ago. Enough time has passed for them to revisit this funny and heart-warming story of female friendship. The last time I saw it was the at the Guthrie five years ago, in which Yellow Tree's Artistic Director Austene Van played Truvy. She moves to the director's chair for this production, leading a fantastic cast in this lovely production. I brought a group of female friends (as is my tradition at Yellow Tree, since I used to work at a nearby office), none of whom had seen the play (some not even the movie), and a good time was had by all. Well, a good time, and also a few tears. But as Truvy says, "laughter through tears is my favorite emotion!" Spend a couple of hours with these Steel Magnolias at Yellow Tree in Osseo now through December 22.

"Once Upon a Time... Josephine Baker!" at Yellow Tree Theatre

In the new play with music Once Upon a Time... Josephine Baker! at Yellow Tree Theatre, written by and starring Artistic Director Austene Van, we get an overview of the fascinating life of Josephine Baker. It plays out like a dream, which leads to more curiosity about this inspiring and ground-breaking woman, who left the racism of America behind to become a star in Paris in the early 20th Century, while still continuing to fight for Civil Rights. This production gives us a glimpse into her difficult childhood, her many marriages, her work as a spy during WWII, her talent, and the human behind the legend. See it in Osseo Wednesdays through Sundays until June 30.

"Skeleton Crew" at the Guthrie Theater

Just before the pandemic, Yellow Tree Theatre partnered with New Dawn Theatre to produce the regional premiere of Dominique Morisseau's Skeleton Crew, the final installment in her trilogy of plays known as The Detriot Project (which includes Detroit '67, produced by Penumbra in 2015). Since then, the play premiered on Broadway, receiving three Tony nominations and one win (for Phylicia Rashad). Now it's back in the Twin Cities, on the Guthrie's proscenium stage, with the same director as the Yellow Tree/New Dawn production (Austene Van, founding Artistic Director of New Dawn, who has since become the Artistic Director of Yellow Tree), as well as some of the same cast and design team. It's basically the 2020 production on a bigger stage and with a bigger scale. And this is a play deserving of a second look, and of a wider audience, as it tells a very human and relatable story of blue collar workers struggling to stay afloat during the recession of the late aughts. See this powerful and moving play, that's also funny and entertaining, now through June 9.

"The Rats & The Wasp's Nest" at Yellow Tree Theatre

About halfway through the first of a pair of one-act Agatha Christie mystery plays at Yellow Tree Theatre, it started to seem familiar. At intermission I checked cherryandspoon.com (which is much more reliable than my memory) and found that I had indeed seen these two plays before. They were part of a triptych of plays at Park Square Theatre in 2019 called Agatha Christie: Rule of Thumb. The director of that piece, Austene Van, has brought two of these plays to Yellow Tree Theatre, of which she is now the Artistic Director, to begin their 16th season in their warm and cozy space in a strip mall in Osseo. Each one of these plays is under 45 minutes long, and both are wonderful examples of tight and concise mystery storytelling. It's like a mini Agatha Christie repertoire festival, but it only takes you less than 90 minutes on one night to see the shows. You will be rewarded by great performances in these murder stories that are more light and funny than dark and scary. A perfect way to ease into October (continuing through October 29).

"Ain't Misbehavin'" by Stage North at the Capri Theater

For just their third production, Stage North (based in the Capri Theater in North Minneapolis) is bringing us the Fats Waller musical revue Ain't Misbehavin'. Despite the fact that it won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1978 (in between Annie and Sweeney Todd), it's rarely done anymore, and perhaps best known as the show for which Nell Carter won a Tony (her costar André De Shields would have to wait 40 years for his). It's similar in structure to Smokey Joe's Cafe, which has seen a resurgence in recent years, so it's about time we were able to celebrate the music of early 20th century jazz composer/pianist Fats Waller. Even if you don't think you know his music, these early jazz standards will sound familiar. This show is truly a showcase for the five talented performers, and a celebration of the Harlem jazz style that Fats helped to create.

"Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill" at Yellow Tree Theatre

To close out their 15th season in Osseo, Yellow Tree Theatre is presenting the play with music Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill. The play imagines one of jazz legend Billie Holiday's final concerts before her death at the age of 44 after years of drug and alcohol addiction. #TCTheater favorite Thomasina Petrus returns to this role she's played many times in her career (I saw her do it at the Jungle in 2018), and once again gives a masterful performance. She simply becomes Billie. She said in a talkback after the show (which she does after every show for anyone who wants to stay and chat about the show, which I highly recommend) that the more she plays the role the more she's able to get out of the way and let Billie shine through. Which she does, not in a mystical spirit kind of way, but in a way in which she's telling Billie's story as truthfully as she can. It's a thing to see indeed, and you can (and should) see it for another two weekends before it closes on May 21 (click here for info and tickets).

"The Defeat of Jesse James" at History Theatre

#TCTheater's favorite musical theater creative team Hatcher and Poling is back! Prolific local playwright Jeffrey Hatcher and longtime local musician/composer Chan Poling have teamed up on a number of musical theater pieces, the most successful being Glensheen, which History Theatre will be remounting once again this summer. Their newest work, began several years ago at the suggestion of History Theatre's recently retired Artistic Director Ron Peluso, is The Defeat of Jesse James. If you're thinking, I've already seen this story, you're not wrong. The story of the famed outlaw, whose career in crime was essentially stopped right here in Minnesota, has been told countless times. But you've never seen it quite like this - as a rock concert. This format allows the creators to not just tell this familiar story, but also comment on it, and our fascination with it. The all-star cast gives their all to this show that is delightfully meta, thought-provoking, and super fun. See it at the History Theatre in downtown St. Paul now through May 28.

"Holidate" at Yellow Tree Theatre

Yellow Tree Theatre is doing something a little different this holiday* season. From the beginning, Yellow Tree has produced an original holiday Minnesota comedy written by co-founder Jessica Peterson, both in the popular Miracle on Christmas Lake series and other stand-alone plays. Taking a break from that this year, they're producing another original holiday show, this one written by new Artistic Director Austene Van for Park Square Theatre in 2011. There may be fewer Minnesota references and goofy characters, but it's still a festive, fun, and heart-warming show. Plus, there's music, lots of great music! So make yourself a Holidate with Yellow Tree Theatre in charming downtown Osseo this year (continuing through December 30).

"Weathering" at Penumbra Theatre

Prolific #TCTheater playwright Harrison David Rivers has written another beautiful and relevant story about humans. Weathering was commissioned by Penumbra as a response to the growing awareness of racial disparities in maternal health. A quick google search reveals staggering statistics around the racial disparity in infant and maternal mortality in this country - two and three times higher for Black mothers compared to White mothers. Weathering puts a human face on those statistics and lets us experience the tragedy of one family, as well as the healing that can happen within a community.

"In the Next Room" at Yellow Tree Theatre

Sarah Ruhl's funny and feminist, historical and modern play In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play had its regional premiere at the Jungle about ten years ago, and can now be seen on Yellow Tree Theatre's intimate Osseo stage. It's an unexpected title, and while, yes, the play features the vibrator (more specifically the time in history when "electric massage" was a serious medical treatment for a particular ailment of women diagnosed as "hysteria"), the play is really about relationships, medical practice, the dawn of electricity, and connections. Yellow Tree's strong cast and detailed design, combined with this smart script, make for a highly entertaining night at the theater, even if it might make you squirm in your seat a little (which is not a bad thing in theater).*

"A Raisin in the Sun" at Guthrie Theater

The American classic A Raisin in the Sun premiered in 1959, making Lorraine Hansberry the first female Black playwright on Broadway, but it's anything but dated. Unfortunately, racism, discrimination, and unjust practices like redlining are still very much a part of our world, as evidenced by the recent racist and anti-Semitic fueled mass shooting in Buffalo, and the fact that in Minnesota 77% of White families own their homes compared to only 26% of Black families. This is the legacy of the world Hansberry wrote about that we're still experiencing. The Guthrie's production of this ever-relevant piece is beautifully wrought, from the detailed set to the raw and emotional performances by the entire cast. You can see it now through June 5 on the Guthrie's proscenium stage.

"Passing Strange" at Yellow Tree Theatre

The latest offering at Yellow Tree Theatre, the little theater in the 'burbs with big bold theatrical offerings, is Passing Strange, a loosely autobiographical musical by the musician known as Stew (with help from Heidi Rodewald on the music composition). This rarely done musical (last seen in #TCTheater at Mixed Blood in 2014) is a coming of age story about a young black man from L.A. who travels to Europe in search of what he calls "the real." The narrator (played by Stew himself on Broadway) and his younger self take us on this epic journey with them, filled with the highs of love and music and the lows of grief and heartbreak, and it's a beautiful thing when he comes out the other end with a better understanding of life, love, and art.* The talented cast and creative team at Yellow Tree bring out all of the passion and poignancy of the piece, for a truly unique experience. See it in Osseo through May 8 (click here for info and tickets).

The History Theatre's Virtual New Works Festival "Raw Stages," Fall 2020

Every January, the History Theatre hosts a new works festival called "Raw Stages." Most of their programming is original works, so they rely on these annual workshops and readings as part of the development process. Faced with a long closure of the theater space due to the current and seemingly never-ending pandemic, they decided to hold another "Raw Stages" festival this year - virtually. Workshops and readings are done over Zoom, with the each of five recorded readings available for streaming for a week, spread out about a month apart. I missed the first one, Not In Our Neighborhood (which was supposed to premiere in the spring of 2020), but I've watched the other four. The most recent and currently streaming is the delightful Betty Crocker Musical, with a live talk-back on Friday. Read on for details of all five new works and how you can watch them.

"A Breath for George" by New Dawn Theatre

New Dawn Theatre is a relatively new #TCTheater company, but they wasted no time in responding to the recent murder of George Floyd and the local and nationwide protests that followed. They have created a film called A Breath for George that features local artists, advocates, scholars, and community leaders sharing songs, spoken word, poetry, and stories about racism. Every night this week, and continuing into next week, the film is playing outdoors at theaters around town. I attended the showing at Gremlin Theatre last night, and found it to be incredibly powerful and moving. I believe in the power of theater to change the world, and I commend New Dawn for taking part in the important conversation around racism that's happening in all walks of life right now.

"Skeleton Crew" at Yellow Tree Theatre, a co-production with New Dawn Theatre

What better time than Black History Month for Yellow Tree Theatre to partner with New Dawn Theatre to present their first play (to my knowledge) with a black cast, director, and playwright? Looking around the suburban Osseo theater, I didn't see many people of color, but prolific and talented playwright Dominique Morisseau's Skeleton Crew, while being a specific story of the African American experience, is also a universal story of people struggling to survive and thrive in America. And if there's anything I've learned from Penumbra Theatre, it's that the African American experience is an important part of the American experience, and African American stories are stories that we all need to hear to better understand the world that we live in (see also Penumbra's The White Card). The fantastic four-person cast, along with the director and design team, beautifully bring this story to life.

"Steel Magnolias" at the Guthrie Theater

Steel Magnolias is not a new or particularly revolutionary play, but the reason it still resonates 30+ years after its premiere (and the popular 1989 movie adaptation) is that this story of female friendship, and the ways that women come together to support, challenge, and love each other, will never go out of style. Unlike the poofy bangs and high-waisted stone-washed jeans of the '80s. The Guthrie's new production of this late 20th Century classic features a terrific and mostly local all-female cast, plus an all-female creative team, that together bring out all of the "laughter through tears is my favorite emotion" feeling of the play. Steel Magnolias is warm and comforting, familiar and funny, moving and life-affirming.

"Crowns" by New Dawn Theatre Company at the Summit Center for Arts and Innovation

It's a new dawn. A new dawn of theater that lifts up unheard voices and tells untold stories. The newest #TCTheater company, aptly named New Dawn Theatre Company, is here for it, leading the way. They have a company overflowing with talent and an ambitious mission to produce three works each year (a play, a musical, and a devised work) that "are by, for and feature women, minorities and members of the LGBT communities." Their inaugural production just opened at the new Summit Center for Arts and Innovation, a former Summit Avenue church that has been converted into a performance space. It's the perfect setting for Regina Taylor's Crowns, a free-flowing musical piece that explores the tradition of wearing hats in the African American community as it relates to spirituality, history, legacy, and family. Theater is my religion and this is my kind of church - a completely mesmerizing and engrossing piece that takes me to another place as if in a dream.

"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.

"A Raisin in the Sun" at Lyric Arts

The last time I saw the American theater classic A Raisin in the Sun was in November 2016, at Park Square Theatre. Re-reading that post today, I was struck by this: "I'm writing this on the afternoon of election day, and no matter what tomorrow brings or who our president is, the work for social justice and equality continues. Theater such as this furthers that work by taking a deep look at our shared history and how it reflects in the present." Well, it's two and a half years later, and we now know what that tomorrow brought, and the tomorrows after that. The never-ending work for social justice and equality feels even more urgent now, and this play about "dreams deferred" for African Americans is as relevant as ever. Lyric Arts has brought this classic to their suburban Anoka stage and delivered a powerful production. I have previously called Lyric out for their lack of diversity on stage, which is something I know they've been working on. I commend them for bringing this play with a mostly African American cast to their stage and their audience, and for hiring a black female director (veteran #TCTheater artist Austene Van) to tell this story written by the first black female Broadway playwright, proving that this 60-year old story is one that still needs to be heard, even (or especially) in the suburbs.

"Into the Woods" by Ten Thousand Things at North Garden Theater

Into the Woods is one of Stephen Sondheim's most popular and frequently performed musicals. In the eight years I've been blogging about #TCTheater, I've now seen (and written about) seven different local productions. So I'm not going to write about the brilliance of this fairy tale mash-up (with book by James Lapine) that turns the idea of "happily ever after" on its head; you can read my thoughts about that here. Instead, I'll share with you what makes this production special, namely, because Ten Thousand Things does theater like no one else. It's my first time seeing them do Sondheim, which is exciting because TTT has a knack for breaking down the most complex shows (and Sondheim is nothing if not complex) and laying bare the truest heart of the piece. And since they're a weaver of fairy tales, traditional and otherwise, Into the Woods is a perfect match for TTT. This production (which continues through March 24 at various locations, including free performances at prisons, homeless shelters, community centers, and other places where people don't normally experience theater and therefore need it the most) is sheer perfection and perhaps my favorite thing they've done. But I say that about pretty much every TTT show I see.