"Great Falls" by Open Circuit Theatre at the Hive Collaborative

New #TCTheater company Open Circuit Theatre, whose mission is "artistic resistance, telling stories that disrupt systems of oppression," has chosen for their debut the 2008 play Great Falls by prolific Minnesota-born playwright and Playwrights' Center core writer Lee Blessing. The systems of oppression depicted in this play are, to put it bluntly, men. Or rather, the many patriarchal systems we live under that allow men to abuse and take advantage of women, often with little recourse. Hopefully things are better in the post #MeToo era, but the unnamed young woman in this story has to find her own way through, with the help of her estranged ex-stepfather. Like all Lee Blessing plays, the two-hander Great Falls is brutal but real, with characters that are not always likeable but always human. And this production is a well-done impressive debut for this new theater company. You can see it at the cozy and intimate Hive Collaborative in St. Paul's Midway neighborhood through this weekend only.

"The Closing Night Audience Q&A for ROCCO'S CRIMES" by An Alleged Theatre Company at the Phoenix Theater

If you've been to a post-show discussion, aka talkback, aka Q&A, you know that sometimes they can be really great, and sometimes they can be painfully awkward. And sometimes even both at the same time! New theater company An Alleged Theatre Company plays with that idea in their original play The Closing Night Audience Q&A for ROCCO'S CRIMES. It's a clever conceit that allows them to poke loving fun at this theater thing that we all love so well, and maybe take too seriously sometimes. The cast is delightfully committed to the earnest silliness, showing off a bit of improv skills as well. See it at Phoenix Theater in Uptown this weekend or next weekend only (don't mind the unfinished entry way - it's open!).