American Players Theatre 2024

This year I made my second visit to American Players Theatre, the magical theater in the middle of the woods of Wisconsin. My friends at Minnesota Theater Love have been going for years, and finally convinced me to join them two years ago. I was enamored of the setting and the quality (and quantity) of work produced, and declared that "if Middle Earth had a theater, it would look like American Players Theatre," so I was happy to make the trip again after missing last year. And now I am thoroughly and irrevocably ensorcelled by the experience that is APT; I don't think I'll miss another year if I can help it. We saw five shows in three days, four of them outdoors, each better than the last. If you're a theater fan in the Midwest, put APT on your must-do list. A lovely four-hour drive from the Twin Cities through the corn fields and rolling hills of Wisconsin brings you to a two-stage, eight-show repertory theater than runs from June through September (with an additional indoor show in October). It's a gem that even the New York Times has visited - so why haven't you? This year we stayed at House on the Rock Resort which is the closest (and perfectly satisfactory) lodging to the theater at just about a mile away, but there are other hotels, B&Bs, and AirBnBs in the vicinity. Plus there are plenty of shops and restaurants in and around Spring Green to entertain you (although I do recommend making a reservation for Saturday night dinner, we visited four restaurants before we found one that could seat us). So make a long weekend of it, visit the truly bizarre funhouse that is House on the Rock (admission included if you stay at the Resort), take in the majesty of Taliesin (which I have yet to do), and enjoy some amazing theater, scenery, and cheese!

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" at Pioneer Place Theatre Company in St. Cloud

"Mendacity is the system we live in. Liquor is one way out, death is the other." Oh Tennessee Williams, no one does tragedy quite so beautifully as you! Even though his plays are filled with despair, anguish, and pain, they make me so happy. Especially when the poetic language and tragic relationships are brought to life as beautifully as they are in Pioneer Place Theatre Company's production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Set in the back of a 100 year old building in downtown St. Cloud, "Central Minnesota's Premiere Professional Theatre" often attracts talent from the Twin Cities, as it has for this show. Directed by one of our best directors, Craig Johnson, this Cat features a cast full of Twin Cities favorites. So I happily made the one hour drive through a wintery precipitation mix to St. Cloud (where much of my extended family lives and where I went to college) to take in some quality theater at a new-to-me location (and eat the best pizza in the world at House of Pizza just across the street). If you're a theater-lover in the St. Cloud area, make plans to see this show before it closes this weekend. And if you're in the Twin Cities, I know there's more theater offered than one person could possibly see (believe me, I've tried), but if you're interested in some beautiful Tennessee Williams tragedy, this one is worth the drive.

"The Jungle Book" at Children's Theatre Company

Confession: I've never read The Jungle Book (the collection of stories written by Rudyard Kipling in 1894) or seen the 1967 Disney movie (that I can remember). So I was on the fence about seeing Children's Theatre Company's new adaptation, until I saw the cast list (more on them later). They're about a month into their two and a half month run, and I'm so glad I decided to see the show. This coming of age story that just happens to take place in a jungle is a wonderful tale of friendship, family, community, interdependence with nature, and finally having the courage to strike out on your own. With a sparse adaptation featuring just five actors playing all of the characters (most of them animals), whimsical musical accompaniment and sound effects, and a set that's like the best playground imaginable, The Jungle Book is sheer delight from start to finish.

Even if you, like me, have never read the book or seen the movie, you probably know the story. A young human child is raised by wolves in the jungle, who call him Mowgli. As he gets older, the bear Baloo and the panther Bagheera take him under their wings, er... paws. Mowgli learns to commune with the animals of the jungle, but soon finds out that not all of them are his friends. He has the usual growing pains of any human child, but eventually comes to appreciate his animal family and all they've done for him (there's hope, parents!). Because of their love and guidance, he's able to go off on his own into the human world and find his place in the world.

The delights of this adaptation by Greg Banks, who also directs are many, and include:

• Eric Sharp joyously inhabits the character of Mowgli from the playful non-verbal child, to the rebellious kid wanting to play with his friends, to the young man who is ready to set out on his own, but grateful to his animal family.
• The other four actors play three to four animal characters each, and completely physically transform into each one. Highlights include H. Adam Harris' lovable Baloo that any child would want as a friend, Casey Hoekstra's deliciously menacing tiger, Autumn Ness' stern but maternal prowling panther, Nastacia Nicole's smooth and seductive snake, and all of them as the playful and mischievous monkeys.
• Unlike the Disney movie, this is not a musical, but there is music and sound. Victor Zupanc plays multiple instruments including percussion, accordion, and various whistles and noisemakers, which provides a lovely soundtrack to the story.
• Joseph Stanley's set is a playground any kid (or adult) would love to play on, with multiple levels, stairs, ladders, swings, and platforms high off the ground. It provides endless possibilities for exits, entrances, and interactions, and the cast is all over it.
• The costumes (by Alison Siple) are subtly representative of the animals the actors are portraying. There are no full fuzzy stuffed animal type of costumes. Rather the actors are dressed in fairly normal people clothes with accessories that hint at the animal - a gray furry hood for the wolves, a brown fuzzy coat for the bear, a colorful mane and bungee cord tail for the monkeys, and beautiful long silk scarf for the snake. Simple but creative and effective, and most importantly, easy to change as these actors get their workout transforming from one animal to the next.
• The message of "we're of the same blood" is so beautiful and moving, and perhaps even more important to remember today than it was 100 years ago. We're all part of the jungle that is earth, and The Jungle Book reminds us of that.

This Jungle Book is so fun and playful, with a beautiful message about a family that's not related by blood (or even of the same species) and a connection with nature. Whether you're a child or an adult, a fan of the story or unfamiliar with it, it's impossible not to love it. (Continuing through December 20 in CTC's ground level Cargill Stage).

Mowgli and the monkeys (H. Adam Harris, Casey Hoekstra,
Eric Sharp, Autumn Ness, Nastacia Nicole, photo by Dan Norman)

This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

Fringe Festival 2015: "The Picture of Dorian Gray"

Day: 6

Show: 28

Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Category: Drama

By: New Epic Theater

Written by: Oscar Wilde

Location: Ritz Theater Proscenium

Summary: A modern adaptation of Oscar Wilde's novel about a cold, cruel, beautiful man and the artist who's in love with him.

Highlights: As in last year's One Arm, director/scenographer Joseph Stodola once again presents a stylistically beautiful and ambitiously staged drama with a cast full of fantastic actors. The show opens with a sort of dark dance as the characters move around the stage, fight, and create beautiful pictures (movement by James Kunz). All are dressed in black, white, and gray, and florescent lighting is well used to create some stark images (lighting by Karin Olson). The whole look of the show is sleek and cool, which matches the tone of the story. Dorian (Trevor Goris) is not a likeable character - selfish, conceited, cruel, and obsessed with the idea that his picture should age while he remains young and beautiful. He has poor Basil, the artist (Caleb Fritz Craig), under his spell, parties with buddies Harry (Casey Hoekstra) and Alan (Ryan Colbert), and does not treat the women in his life well (Alexandra Dorschner and Kieherra Laing). Things take an ugly and violent turn but Dorian remains beautiful on the outside in this well-realized concept that leaves one feeling cold.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Guthrie Theatre

Yesterday I sat on the famous thrust stage of the Guthrie Theater and watched a bunch of soldiers, lovers, and fairies dance, sing, fly, converse, love, hate, and generally cavort around in a bare circular space. Or was it all a dream? Such is the Guthrie's latest production of perhaps Shakespeare's best loved romantic comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream, that after three hours of spellbinding theater, you're not quite sure if what you saw just happened, or perhaps, as Puck suggests in his epilogue, it was all just a dream. Artistic Director Joe Dowling has returned to an old favorite in his final season at the Guthrie, assembling a gorgeous and talented cast of local favorites with a few national talents thrown in. It's no wonder that he returned to this show (a version of which was last seen in 2008); this Midsummer is a dream of a production, with plenty of spectacle in the form of dancing, flying, singing fairies, humor in the form of typical Shakesperean hijinks, and heart in this sweet romance that ends with a neat happily ever after. Everything about it is truly a delight.

The plot of Midsummer is familiar to most theater-goers, being a frequently produced play. Lysander loves Hermia and she him, but her father Theseus, duke of Athens, has betrothed her to Demetrius, who also loves her although she does not return his love. Lysander and Hermia vow to run away together, and Helena, whose love for Demetrius has recently been rejected, tells him so that he will follow, and she in turn follows him. As we know, strange things can happen when you go into the woods, especially in this case as the young lovers encounter a group of mischievous fairies, who delight in nothing more than creating havoc among humans (if you've ever found an object in a different location than you left it, that might be fairies at work). Through a series of mix-ups, both Demetrius and Lysander are bewitched into believing they love Helena, who, like a nerdy teenager tired of being the butt of jokes, does not believe them. Hermia is confused, devastated, and then furious at this turn of events, and the mayhem continues until the fairies decide to set things right again. Another subplot follows a troupe of actors rehearsing for a play, suffering from the most horrible and hilarious actorly cliches, which allows for some delightful poking fun at oneself. Oh, and one of them is turned into an ass and is wooed by the queen of the fairies. It's a whole lot of silliness that allows for some wonderful encounters, fights, conversations, and dances among the large cast of characters.

Puck and the flying fairies (photo by Dan Norman)

And what a cast it is. It's so lovely to see so many familiar and beloved faces on one stage, while discovering a few new favorites who are thrown into the mix to keep things fresh. First among the many delights is the fairy King's attendant who is responsible for causing much of the mayhem. Tyler Michaels brings his unique physical consciousness to the role of Puck, creating a character that's not quite human, almost reptilian, with a bit of Gollum thrown in. Tyler seems unbound by the laws of gravity that inhibit us mere mortals, as he bounds around the stage with deep knee bends, head cocked to one side as he gleefully watches the mischief he has created, thoroughly enjoying "what fools these mortals be." He's like a mischievous loyal pet of Oberon's, who is given a long leash but sometimes needs to be pulled back when he goes too far, not for malicious reasons, but just to see what will happen. (And there's even an inside joke for those of us who saw and loved Tyler in My Fair Lady last summer.)

the Actors (Jay Albright, Peter Thomson, Andrew Weems,
Kris L. Nelson, Angela Timberman, and Michael Fell,
photo by Dan Norman)

As the first fairy, Nike Kadri is making her Guthrie debut after making an impression on stages around town. She looks and sounds fantastic, singing a few songs and leading the fairies in their dance (although not a musical, there are a handful of original songs by Keith Thomas, with some brilliant choreography by co-director David Bolger). Christina Acosta Robinson (who returns to the Guthrie after participating in the Guthrie Experience a few years ago) is absolutely regal as both Titania and Hippolyta, fairy and human royalty, and Nicholas Carrière (a Guthrie newcomer) effortlessly transitions from the stern and slightly square Duke Theseus to the powerful and cool Oberon.

the Lovers (Emily Kitchens, Casey Hoekstra, Zach Keenan,
and Eleonore Dendy, photo by Dan Norman)

The troupe of actors is comprised of a bunch of local comic geniuses (including the always hilarious Jay Albright and Angela Timberman), with East Coast actor Andrew Weems (also seen at the Guthrie as Uncle Vanya) as the buffoonish and blustering Bottom, delivering the most ridiculously drawn-out comic death scene I've ever seen. In fact, the entire play-within-a-play is hysterical as performed by the "Community Theater of Athens." The four lovers could not be more charming (or look better in underwear) than local actors Eleonore Dendy, Casey Hoekstra, and Zach Keenan, along with Twin Cities newcomer Emily Kitchens as the eager and slightly awkward Helena.

For this production, the Guthrie has added a half dozen rows of bleacher seating around the back of the thrust stage, creating an in-the-round effect, almost like you're at the circus. If you're lucky enough to snag one of these seats (available online or call the box office for details), you're led down a stairway and into a secret hallway through the bowels* of the Guthrie, and suddenly you arrive on the stage. There are plenty of ushers and signs along the way so that you don't "accidentally" wander off into a restricted area. It's a great place from which to watch the show, although some of the effects of the video projections at the back of the stage are lost because you have to tear your eyes away from the stage (a difficult task) to look behind you at the screen. One of the reasons it's so difficult to turn away from the stage is Fabio Toblini's gorgeously rich costumes, from Hippolyta's elegant gowns, to the lovers' modern clothing, to the actors' silly get-ups, to the fairies' barely there tribal pieces.

It may be dreary bitter midwinter here in Minnesota, but it feels like warm and colorful midsummer on the Guthrie's thrust stage. The magical, mystical, mischievous dream continues through the end of March. It's not a short play (clocking in at about three hours including intermission), but it's chock full of delights for the eyes, ears, mind, and heart.


*If you want to see more of the bowels of the Guthrie, take a backstage tour, offered most weekends.


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"Prints" by Torch Theater Company at the Minneapolis Theatre Garage

This has been a most excellent week of theater. I saw five shows (four plays and one musical), and each was so different from the rest but so wonderful in its own unique way. I truly experienced the breadth and depth of the Twin Cities theater community this week, from a lovely and intimate two-person musical, to an intensely dramatic historical play, to a funny and poignant play about small town Minnesota, to a wildly inventive new fairy tale. And capping it off is Prints, a sharp and funny new play written by local actor John Middleton and presented by Torch Theater Company (their first production in over a year), brilliantly acted by the company of eight, "corrupted from a true story" about the kidnapping of Minnesota beer tycoon William Hamm in 1933.* I couldn't have asked for a better conclusion to this most excellent week of theater.

The story in Prints features a mishmash of facts from the true story of the Barker-Karpis gang, along with completely made up bits designed to tell an entertaining story. And it works. We view the kidnapping through the eyes of two reporters who are asked by the kidnapped man's daughter Pearl to help investigate. They soon decipher that it must be the work of the infamous Barker-Karpis gang, and work with a corrupt cop and the Hamm family to try to prove it and find Hamm. The FBI gets involved and applies the brand new "Silver Nitrate Method" to pull fingerprints off the ransom note (this part of the story is true). Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the stage, the gang is holding poor Mr. Hamm hostage and trying to figure out how they're going to get out of this mess.

The highlights are many and include:

• The tone is pitch-perfect, as director Craig Johnson gets just the right mix of sharp humor and occasional darkness from his cast. Some audience members were laughing during the shooting scenes but I found them sad and scary.
• Speaking of, Zach Curtis is truly formidable as the unstable gangster "Creepy" Karpis, and is the one dark element that anchors the comedy and gives real weight to this crime story, despite the silly shenanigans going on around him. There's nothing funny about Creepy (at least not that you would admit in his presence).
• On the opposite end of the spectrum, Karen Wiese-Thompson cracked me up as the flighty socialite Mitzi Hamm with her every expression and gesture, and also brings a bit of pathos to the role of Ma Barker - a mother who loves her boys, even though those boys are gangsters.
• Playwright John Middleton and Mo Perry share a witty banter and sly humor as the reporters, in a His Girl Friday sort of way.
• Most of the cast play multiple roles, and slip easily and quickly back and forth between the different skins they inhabit, including Summer Hagen as Pearl, Creepy's girl, and FBI director Hoover; Casey Hoekstra as an uptight FBI agent and the nervous gangster Doc, who's on the receiving end of much of Creepy's brutality; Ari Hoptman as everybody's favorite bartender, the kidnapped man with a bag over his head, and a stand-up comic with jokes so bad they're funny; and Sam Landman as the corrupt Minnesota cop and one of the Barker boys. Just really beautiful and interesting and funny performances by everyone in every role.
• The writing is really fantastic - sharp and tight, with one particularly clever scene featuring two interrelated and overlapping interrogations by the two reporters.
• I love the range of accents, from gangsters who talk like we think gangsters talked, to women who talk like women in old movies, to Mitzi's occasionally returning German accent, to the very Minnesotan cop.
• The set by Michael Hoover (who I swear is the busiest set designer in the Cities) is a perfect backdrop. A brick wall with several doors, and a Hamm's label functioning as a scree upon which videos are played and behind which shadowed scenes take place. (Although the multiple levels seemed to be a bit tricky for the cast to negotiate as they tripped more than once, but never breaking character for a moment so that the stumbles almost seemed planned.)
• Finally, the period costumes (by John Woskoff) look pretty snazzy and help differentiate the multiple characters.

Welcome back Torch Theater Company, don't be gone so long next time! This is a great example of why the Twin Cities theater community is so stellar - a new play by a local playwright, an ensemble of individual talents who work well together, and an all around high quality production. Playing now through March 8 at the Minneapolis Theater Garage, with discount tickets available on Goldstar.

*This is not the first show I've seen on this topic, see also History Theatre's Capital Crimes: The St. Paul Gangster Musical.

"Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde" by Walking Shadow Theatre Company at the Minneapolis Theatre Garage

Irish playwright and poet Oscar Wilde is famous for his professional life - such plays as The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband - and his personal life - he was tried for and convicted of "gross indecency," i.e., homosexuality, which was illegal in England at the time (late 19th century). The latter is the subject of the play Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. It's a very well-constructed play; playwright Moisés Kaufman combines the actual transcripts from the trial with quotes from related newspaper articles, biographies, and auto-biographies to tell the story in a very real and vibrant way. Walking Shadow Theater Company has assembled an excellent nine-man cast (directed by a woman, co-Artistic Director Amy Rummenie) to play a few dozen characters in Oscar Wilde's universe. This is not an easy play, it requires the audience's attention and participation. It took me a little while to get used to the structure of the play, in which the source of each new quote is cited by someone in the ensemble, but once I did I found it to be a fascinating exploration of ideas.

In the first of the three trials, Oscar sues the father of his lover, Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas, for libel after he left a card at his club calling him a "posing sodomite" (what a civilized way of insulting someone). Oscar's attorney puts up a good case, but when they learn that the defense is going to call several young men as witnesses to testify against Oscar that could result in him being prosecuted for gross indecency, he withdraws the case. Too late - he's immediately arrested and tried. The second trial, against Oscar this time, results in a hung jury. The third and final trial results in Oscar being convicted and sentenced to two years in prison. He suffers injury and illness while in prison, from which he never recovers; he dies just a few years later, in exile in Paris. Oscar has several opportunities to leave the country during this process to escape trial and imprisonment. But he chooses to stay and fight an unjust law, and to stand up for his ideals of art and aestheticism. He argues that he is a poet and an artist, and that his love for Bosie is pure and misunderstood. Unfortunately Oscar's story has a tragic ending, but it provides for a very thought-provoking and engrossing night at the theater, exploring ideas still relevant today.

Oscar (Craig Johnson) and Bosie
(Casey Hoekstra, photo by Dan Norman)

Leading that excellent nine-man cast I mentioned is Craig Johnson, who gives a rich, layered performance as Oscar. At times funny and flippant, at times hurt and delicate, at other times strong and confident. He is sympathetic and entertaining, from the way he smooths his hair to the expression on his face as he silently listens to his accusers. Casey Hoekstra is as charming as Bosie as he was in last year's Summer and Smoke. You can feel Bosie's love for Oscar, despite the fact that he conveniently leaves the country to avoid prosecution himself. Even thought Bosie is not present for Oscar's second and third trials, he's there in spirit and memory and letters, as he haunts the edge of the stage, watching the proceedings with growing agitation. I hesitate to call out anyone in the ensemble, most of whom are on stage for the entire play and ably play all of the roles and accents given to them. But I will mention a few personal favorites - Bryan Porter is very entertaining as he relishes every diverse role and accent he plays; Alex Brightwell gives a moving closing speech as well as portraying Oscar's friend and fellow writer George Bernard Shaw; and David Beukema displays great range as everyone from Queen Victoria to a bewigged judge to a modern Oscar Wilde scholar.

The Minneapolis Theatre Garage is one of my favorite smaller theater spaces in the cities. It's a great blank slate in which worlds can be created, with the audience close and intimate as actors often wander through the aisles. Set designer Steve Kath has turned it into a courtroom, with a railinged judge's bench, a movable witness box, tables and benches, and books piled in corners. Costume designer E. Amy Hill has done a great job replicating Oscar's outfit in the photo on the cover of the playbill, down to the fur collar and walking stick. All of the characters are in equally meticulous period garb.

This is the kind of play I like. It's challenging, thought-provoking, historical yet relevant, and engrossing, the kind of play that'll leave you with lots to think about and ponder as you leave the theater. And it's well-written, well-acted, and with great attention to detail in the set and costumes and direction. If this is the kind of play you like too, you have four more chances to see it, this Wednesday through Saturday at the Theatre Garage in Minneapolis.

Alex Brightwell and the cast of Gross Indecency
(photo by Dan Norman)

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Walking Shadow Theatre Company at Red Eye Theater

Last night I walked into Red Eye Theater (a new venue for me) to find the large open stage area strewn with dried leaves, backed by a fence with bare trees painted on it. It set the scene for a delightfully spooktacular and silly story to play out in an innovative way - Walking Shadow Theatre Company's new version of the short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. While parts of it I didn't quite get as much as the rest of the audience seemed to (similar to how I feel when I try to watch Saturday Night Live - I just don't get it), there are also parts that I found to be funny and whimsical and clever. Written by co-Artistic Director John Heimbuch and directed by Jon Ferguson, it's inventive and creative storytelling, which I always applaud.

You all know this story - 18th century schoolteacher Ichabod Crane arrives in the small New England community called Sleepy Hollow. The town is full of ghost stories and legends, including the one about the headless horseman who haunts the woods. Ichabod vies with a local man Brom Bones for the affection of the lovely young Katrina Van Tassel, and soon becomes a ghost story himself when he supposedly encounters the horseman and disappears without a trace. Walking Shadow tells this story with exaggerated dramatic effect - audible gasps, extreme facial expressions, and wild gestures - which makes it more campy and funny than scary.

Things I enjoyed about the show:

• The set and costume design are fantastic and really couldn't be better. Erica Zaffarano's set and props (the aforementioned leaf-strewn floor and bare tree fence) are simple and natural and creative - a stack of books for a chair in the schoolhouse, sticks and branches to form a horse. Lori Opsal's costumes are gorgeously distressed and dusty, looking authentic but aged. The hair and make-up is the icing on the cake, the pale faces and dark eyes and lips of the actors accentuating their already over-the-top reactions.
• At the Sunday church service, the ensemble sings a wonderfully dark hymn, "Death! 'Tis a melancholy day, To those who have no God."
• Ryan Lear is fantastic as Ichabod, he really embodies this character and is a delight to watch. He's backed by a great ensemble (many of whom helped create the piece in its first incarnation at the Jon Hassler Theater in 2010), including Brant Miller as the bully Brom, Joanna Harmon as the ghoulish coquette Katrina, and Casey Hoekstra as the enthusiastic preacher.
• All of the physical storytelling bits are really clever and effective - the various ways of representing the horse and horseman, the strange little puppet show, the wind blowing Ichabod's coat, and my favorite, Ichabod and Katrina's walk through the woods while remaining stationary in space, with one or the other falling behind when the conversation gets tricky.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow continues through this weekend only. Check it out for something different.

Ryan Lear as Ichabod Crane, with the wind blowing his coat

"Summer and Smoke" at Theatre in the Round

Tennessee Williams is one of my favorite playwrights. He has created several memorable women (or perhaps versions of the same woman), among them Amanda Wingfield, Blanche DuBois, and Maggie the Cat. I have recently become acquainted with Alma Winemiller in Theatre in the Round's sublime production of Summer and Smoke, and I am utterly charmed by her complexities and heart-broken by her plight. Like all of Tennessee Williams' women, Alma is a genteel Southern woman with clear ideas of the way life should be, whose story turns tragic when reality doesn't live up to her expectations. 

I love a good unrequited love story, and this is one of the best I've seen. The kind that makes you think maybe things can work out for these two crazy kids, and then dashes your hopes to the ground as reality sets back in and it all falls apart. The prim and proper minister's daughter Alma is in love with the boy next door, the playboy doctor's son John, who grew up to be a doctor himself. Alma is not the type of woman John usually keeps company with, but he's drawn to her. Alas, theirs is a love that can never be. She wants him physically, but she can't admit that even to herself because it doesn't fit into the world she's created for herself. He wants her soul, but he doesn't even know what that means because in his clinical, earthly world the soul doesn't even exist. This creates an attraction and tension between them that can never be relieved, and it's unbearably tragic to watch it all unfold. There are some light and funny moments in the play as well, especially in the first act. But Tennessee Williams did not write comedies (one misguided Broadway production of Streetcar notwithstanding), so we know there's no chance for a happy ending for our couple.

John and Alma
(Casey Hoekstra and Joanna Harmon)

The show is all about Alma and John. Yes there are other people onstage and several of them have nice moments (including Karen Bix as Alma's childlike mother, Ty Hudson as Alma's sweet but boring suitor, and Tara Lucchino who almost succeeds in making me like Alma's rival for John's affection), but the success of the play hinges on the performances of Joanna Harmon and Casey Hoekstra as Alma and John. And boy do they deliver. Joanna, a member of the inventive physical theater company Live Action Set, plays Alma with a nervous fluttery energy that never subsides. She puts her training to good use in this very physical performance; you can see the tension in Alma's body as she interacts with various characters. Casey, a graduate of the U of M/Guthrie program making his Twin Cities stage debut (to which I say welcome and please come back soon!), plays John with a relaxed intensity, all slow knowing smiles as he lounges and watches Alma. Whenever either was off stage I waited for their return, and the best scenes are the ones with the two of them together. Their relationship is so intense and complex, perplexing and familiar. One particularly intense love scene took place literally a few feet in front of me on the intimate Theatre in the Round stage, which made me wish I had one of those fans from the Winemiller's sitting room!

The busy and multi-talented Randy Reyes directed the play and did a beautiful job with the intricate dialogue and intense scenes. With a set design by Rob Jensen, the small stage is packed with set pieces that manage to create three distinct settings, two of which interact with each other as John and Alma stare out their windows across the yard at each other. The details are impeccable as the audience gets a close-up view due to the unique in-the-round stage (the usher led me right through the Winemiller's living room to my seat on the opposite side, and I was close enough to peek over an actor's shoulder at an authentic-looking photo album). The costumes (by Carolann Winther) are evocative of the time, place, and character, from John's white suit to Alma's conservative clothes to Rosa's vibrant red dress.

I've been to Theatre in the Round several times in the past few years for Fringe shows, but it's been a while since I've seen a Theatre in the Round production. Currently celebrating their 61st season, they are the longest running theater in Twin Cities. Even the Guthrie has only been around a mere 50 years! They were recently featured on one of my favorite shows MN Original (a weekly series on tpt that showcases local artists of all types of media). You can watch that feature online to learn about the interesting challenges presented by the in-the-round design. I will definitely be back to Theatre in the Round before next year's Fringe; they have several interesting shows coming up this season, including the Pulitzer Prize winning play Rabbit Hole in January. Unfortunately Summer and Smoke has already closed, so if you missed it, I apologize, because you missed a good one.