"Dracula (a feminist revenge fantasy)" by Night Fire Theatre at the Historic Mounds Theatre

NYC-based actor/playwright Kate Hamill is most known for her Jane Austin adaptations (including Emma, commissioned by and premiering at the Guthrie in 2022), and sometimes stars in the world premieres. She's also taken her pen to other classics, like Sherlock Holmes and Little Women (commissioned by and premiering at the Jungle in 2018). And now, thanks to Night Fire Theatre's regional premiere production, we have her adaptation of Dracula, subtitled "a feminist revenge fantasy." Like all of her adaptations, it's feminist and funny, and a little fantastical (in this case fitting the subject matter). A huge cast brings the new twist on the old story to life on stage (and off) at the Historic Mounds Theatre in St. Paul's Dayton's Bluff neighborhood, which is a beautiful but slightly creepy old theater that may or may not be haunted, i.e., the perfect setting for this story. The Twin Cities Horror Festival starts this weekend, and I'm unable to attend due to the busy October #TCTheater season (and my general dislike of horror), but I feel like I got a taste of the horror fest in this show; the one difference between this and other Kate Hamill adaptations it the amount of blood! If you're a fan of feminist retellings of classic stories, or copious blood on stage, Dracula is the show for you! (Continuing through Halloween night.)

"The Great Armistice Day Blizzard" by nimbus theatre at the Crane Theater

All signs point to this being a snowy winter here in Minnesota; since the first significant snowfall a few days before Thanksgiving it feels like it hasn't stopped snowing, and conditions are ripe for an above-average snowfall this season. This is good news for those of us who enjoy outdoor winter activities that rely on snow, but not so much for those who view snow as an inconvenience. But no one wants a recurrence of what happened on Armistice Day of 1940. This day that was founded to commemorate peace was anything but peaceful for people in the Midwest, where temperatures in the 60s lured them outside to enjoy the warm November weather, only to be blasted by dropping temperatures and several feet of snow. As is their wont, nimbus theatre has devised a new play about this historic event. But instead of focusing on the grand scale of a storm that resulted in 154 deaths, including 49 in Minnesota, playwright and director Liz Neerland has chosen to focus on four people caught up in the storm, resulting in an intimate and engrossing 80-minute story. It's worth going out into the snow and cold to see The Great Armistice Day Blizzard at the Crane Theater through December 21 (but if there's a blizzard - by all means, stay home!).

"A Life of Days" by nimbus theatre at the Crane Theater

nimbus theatre's new original plays always explore some fascinating topic, idea, or historical era in a way that gets me thinking and wanting to know more. Their latest such work, A Life of Days, officially opens tonight and was inspired by a true story about a family that lived completely isolated in Siberia for 40 years. You can read that super fascinating story here, as well as playwright Liz Neerland's other literary research and inspiration here. I want to read all of these books, preferably by myself in a remote cabin in the woods, but as that's not possible at the moment, I'll settle for seeing this thoughtful rumination on solitude, society, nature, civilization, and humanity.

"And Then There Were None" at Theater in the Round

And Then There Were None is the best-selling novel by one of the world's most popular mystery writers, Agatha Christie. If one can overlook the horribly offensive original title and the song from which it came (which, to be honest, I'm not sure one can), it's a suspenseful and gripping tale of the most deadly game of Survivor. Christie herself adapted the story into a stage play, even changing the ending. I'd never seen or read it, and I love a good mystery play, so I found Theatre in the Round's production to be an entertaining and surprising afternoon at the theater.