"The Jungle" at Mixed Blood Theatre

One of the best things that theater can do is put a human face on an abstract political issue. That's what The Jungle does for the refugee crisis. Commissioned by London's National Theatre from Good Chance Theatre and premiering at the Young Vic in 2017, it's an immersive experience that tells the story of a refugee camp in Calais, France in 2015 known as The Jungle. Mixed Blood Theatre's production is the first since that original production, which moved to the West End, then Off-Broadway, then a few other US locations. It's a nearly three-hour play that flies by in what feels like half that time, telling the stories of so many different characters that feel like real people. A cast of 18 actors and two musicians fill the historic firehouse that is Mixed Blood Theatre, with perhaps the best use of this space I've seen. It felt like I was inside the camp, and I didn't want it to end. This is a truly special one-of-a-kind piece of theater that we're so lucky Mixed Blood is bringing to us. It's playing Tuesday through Sunday for the next two weeks and I highly recommend you spend a little time in The Jungle. With Mixed Blood's "radical hospitality" program you can attend the show for free, but if you're able, please pay whatever amount you can for the ticket to support important work like this.

"Othello" by Classical Actors Ensemble at Elision Playhouse

I've enjoyed Classical Actors Ensemble's summer outdoor tradition of Shakespeare in area parks since 2015. But it turns out they also perform indoors. And while their fall indoor production of Othello isn't as fun and playful as their outdoor shows (also, it's Othello), it's still accessible, understandable, and entertaining. Othello is a heavy play, one I'm not as familiar with, and not a short play (i.e., better for me to see a matinee, which I did). But the clear direction and great performances by the cast make the relevant themes of love, betrayal, trust, deception, and manipulation ring out. It continues weekends through November 20, plus a few free readings of other plays (see CAE's website for more info).

"Redwood" at Jungle Theater

Nearly two years after its planned opening night that never happened in March 2020, Redwood is finally opening at Jungle Theater this weekend. A lot has happened in those two years, and the dramedy about an interracial couple who discovers an uncomfortable ancestral connection may play a little differently now (read more about that here). But through humor and a loving family, the exploration of the complicated connections that bind us, historically and presently, is ultimately hopeful. It shows us that globally, nationally, and personally, we need to acknowledge past traumas, but not let them define us as we move forward together. This funny, thought-provoking, and moving play (the title refers to the deep roots of a family tree) continues at Jungle Theater in Uptown through March 13.

"The Most Beautiful Home... Maybe" by Mixed Blood Theatre Company at Springboard for the Arts

Mixed Blood Theatre's second production of their 2021-2022 season, The Most Beautiful Home... Maybe, delivers an important message about the housing crisis in an unconventional performance style. The audience participation was too much for this extreme introvert; it just makes me uncomfortable and further distances me from the subject matter, as opposed to drawing me in with non-participatory storytelling. But for those who don't mind some pretty significant audience participation, it might be a good way to start imagining a better world in the future, where everyone has safe affordable housing.

"Animate" by Mixed Blood Theatre at the Como Zoo

photo by Rich Ryan

Earlier this year, Jack Reuler announced his retirement as Artistic Director of Mixed Blood Theatre, a company he founded in 1976. Mixed Blood has truly become a model of inclusivity, diversity, and accessibility in theater, amplifying often unheard voices on stage and off, and making sure everyone is able to be in the audience with its Radical Hospitality program. But before he retires, Jack is directing another incredible site-specific piece. The new play Animate, written by Ken LaZebnik, is an immersive ambulatory play at the Como Zoo that is, of course, about a zoo. Specifically about the ethics of zoos, accepting donations from wealthy people of questionable character, and "does the good of the many supersede the good of the individual," human or animal. It's an impressive logistical feat, features a ton of #TCTheater talent, and asks some big questions without providing easy answers. In fact, the audience is asked to provide their own answers to the big questions of the show. Unfortunately, the entire (free) run is sold out, but stay tuned in case more dates are added (click here for details).

"Autonomy" by Mixed Blood Theatre at the St. Paul RiverCentre

Mixed Blood Theatre's latest project is wildly ambitious, and they accomplish it quite brilliantly. Reminiscent of Safe at Home, a walking play staged in nine locations at CHS Field with precise timing, Autonomy is a driving play staged at nine locations within the exhibit hall at St. Paul RiverCentre. It's a play about climate change, immigration, and autonomous vehicles (aka self-driving cars). A great guideline for making theater is "content dictates form," so when the content is about cars, why not surround the audience with classic cars and have them drive around in golf carts? A little on-the-nose, but it's quite effective. It's really too bad they're only running it for one weekend. There are four more groups of performances but only extremely limited tickets remain. Autonomy is a forward-thinking experiment in theater like you've never seen before.

Prescient Harbingers: "Hype Man," "Hooded," and "Gloria" at Mixed Blood Theatre

As usual, Mixed Blood Theatre is doing something pretty remarkable right now. They're presenting three plays in rep, all written by young black men. Under the umbrella "Prescient Harbingers" (meaning: "having or showing knowledge of events before they take place;" "a person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another"), these three brilliant plays explore what it means to be a black man in America, directly or indirectly (one is even subtitled Being Black for Dummies), along with commenting on race relations in America and more generally on modern life in America. Young black men are dying at an alarming rate, and these are voices we need to listen to if we ever hope to understand the problem so that we can stop it from happening. If you are a young black man, I can only imagine how validating it must feel to see these voices and these stories on stage. If you're not, I encourage you to go see one, two, or preferably all three of these plays with an open mind and an open heart. Listen, hear, laugh, cry, be disturbed, get angry, join the movement for justice and equality. But don't go see these plays just because it's good for you, good for the larger community, but also because they're extremely well-written and beautifully produced by the team at Mixed Blood Theatre, and make for one entertaining and engaging day of theater. All three plays are presented on Saturdays and Sundays through December 2 with about an hour in between, during which you can get sustenance from the lovely sandwiches, salads, and snacks provided by Birchwood (also available for pre-order here), with single plays showing Wednesday through Friday evenings. You can see all three plays for just $35 (click here for information and to make reservations), or, as always, you can take advantage of Mixed Blood's "Radical Hospitality" program - free admission for available seats two hours prior to the performance. Please carve some time out of your schedule to see this important work.

"The Seven" by Ten Thousand Things at Open Book

Friends, I know I rave about Ten Thousand Things often on this blog, but I'm telling you, The Seven is crazy good. It's unlike anything I've ever experienced. Using an adaptation by Will Power, they've taken an ancient Greek tragedy and reinvented it as something entirely modern, fresh, relatable, energetic, contemporary, and understandable. The New York Times review of the 2006 premiere at NY Theater Workshop referred to it as "a hip-hop musical comedy-tragedy." This cast of eight includes some of the top talent in this town, and they all bring it. There's really no choice but to do so; in the small fully lit space at Open Book with minimal sets and costumes, there's nothing to hide behind. What you see is what you get, and in this case, what you get is awesome.

Artistic Director Michelle Hensley introduces the show, as she always does, and sets the stage for those of us unfamiliar with the story. The original play, Seven Against Thebes, tells the story of Oedipus' sons, upon whom he levied a curse - that they would kill each other. Despite their best intentions to avoid the curse, they of course fulfill it, as always happens in Greek tragedies. The Seven also shows us Oedipus, explaining his own curse (that he would kill his father and marry his mother) and bestowing it upon his sons after they cast him out, and later appearing to them to encourage them in falling victim to it. It's a universal tale of family, war, power, fear, and destiny.

The cast is comprised of eight talented actor/singer/rappers (most of whom I've seen in theaters around town), directed by Sarah Rasmussen, fresh off the completely delightful In the Next Room at the Jungle. We are guided through the story by the narrator/DJ, mixing tunes and tales, played by the fabulous Aimee K. Bryant. Bruce A. Young is strong and powerful as Kind Oedipus, with a scary turn as one of the Seven who wage war against Thebes. As his sons, H. Adam Harris and Kinaundrae Lee give their all, vocally, physically, and emotionally, as the loving brothers who unthinkably turn against each other. One tough and kingly, the other a nature-loving poet, but both sons of the cursed family. The excellent Greek chorus consists of Katie Bradley, Brian Sostek, Ricardo Vazquez, and Joetta Wright, who also play the worried people of Thebes and the titular Seven, a parade of superheroes. Particularly impressive is Ricardo (see also Next to Normal), who possesses a voice that was made for musical theater, ringing out across the room with no amplification necessary. He also has a pretty cool fight scene with himself.

Even though hip-hop and rap are not my favorite musical genres, the music here is fantastic (directed, as always, by Peter Vitale, who also accompanies on percussion). Fast raps are combined with more pop sounding tunes, much of it a capella, all ably performed by the talented cast. The costumes (by Annie Cady) are simple but effective, modern mixed with classic (and to-die-for green gloves worn by the chorus to represent nature).

I don't know how Ten Thousand Things does it. In a fully lit room with minimal sets and costumes, you're more aware that this is just pretend, but somehow, because of their particular brand of genius, it's so easy to be carried away into their world, and never want to leave. I was so engrossed in the world created in that room, that when it was over and I walked outside, I forgot for a moment where I was and what I was supposed to do next. Reality is jarring when you realize that what you truly believed was reality for a short space in time was only make-believe. That's theater at its best, and that's what Ten Thousand Things consistently does. Three more weekends of paid public performances remain (in addition to their usual schedule of performing in prisons, schools, and community centers). Go see it.