"The Effect" at Jungle Theater

In my day job, I work in clinical trials. I'm not a researcher in the clinics working with patients, I sit at home in my living room analyzing the data they collect. But still, the themes and situations in the brilliant play The Effect are familiar and fascinating to me. Written by Lucy Prebble, a writer and executive producer on the brilliant and brutal HBO show Succession, the play asks thorny and relevant questions about the ethics of clinical research, for-profit pharmaceutical companies, and the health care industry in general. It also explores the very stuff that makes us human, our feelings and emotions, and if that resides in our brain, or in our heart, or in situations or the substances we're taking. (If you're getting Severance vibes, you're not alone.) In short, The Effect is my favorite kind of play - smart and thought-provoking, asking difficult questions and not answering them, populated with complex, interesting, and engaging characters. And as expected, Jungle Theater's production really couldn't be better, with a fantastic four-person cast and spot-on design. If you like smart, thoughtful, relevant plays, The Effect is not to be missed (continuing through the end of March).

Improv at the Jungle: "Off-Book"

With the recent closure of HUGE Theater, your Uptown home for improv for 15 years, local improv troupes and shows are needing to find new venues at which to perform. Jungle Theater, just blocks away from HUGE, has stepped up to be one of those venues. They have a new series called "Improv at the Jungle," with a group called The Neighborhood performing regularly, as well as a show called Off-Book, hosted and co-directed by Sean Dillon and Isabella Dunsieth. I saw the latter this week and I just may have a new favorite improv show! Keep reading for why, and make plans to see their next performance on March 3. Visit the Jungle website for info and tickets to all of their improv shows. You can also see improv at Strike Theater in Northeast Minneapolis, The Hive Collaborative in St. Paul, Brave New Workshop (which hosted the long-running show Family Dinner in December), and other locations around town. Visit this website for a list of improv events in the Twin Cities.

"Dinner For One" at the Jungle Theater

Jungle Theater has a new holiday* tradition. After gifting us the most charming Jane Austen fan fic series Christmas at Pemberley from 2017 to 2022 (the finale of which is currently playing at Lyric Arts), they debuted their original piece Dinner for One last year. This sweet little play with music is based on a 12-minute comedy sketch written in the '20s, a televised version of which has become annual holiday viewing in many European countries. Artistic Director Christina Baldwin came up with the idea for the show, and co-created it with Sun Mee Chomet and Jim Lichtsheidl, with the former directing and the latter two performing. Featuring an odd ritual of a dinner party for Miss Sophie's 90th birthday and her imaginary guests, personified by her loyal servant, it's the perfect vehicle to show off the strength of the creators. And although I would like to say it's the rare show I wish were longer (it's a scant 60 minutes), it's perfection and I wouldn't change a thing. Somehow those 60 minutes are fuller and more satisfying than many shows two and three times its length. Dinner for One continues through January 5 at Jungle Theater in Uptown.**

"Dinner for One" at Jungle Theater

Jungle Theater's original piece Dinner for One, based on a 12-minute comedy sketch written in the '20s, is sheer delight. Artistic Director Christina Baldwin came up with the idea for the show, and co-created it with Sun Mee Chomet and Jim Lichtsheidl, with the former directing and the latter two performing. Featuring an odd ritual of a dinner party for Miss Sophie's 90th birthday and her imaginary guests, personified by her loyal servant, it's the perfect vehicle to show off the strength of the creators. And although I would like to say it's the rare show I wish were longer (it's a scant 60 minutes), it's perfection and I wouldn't change a thing. Somehow those 60 minutes are fuller and more satisfying than many shows two and three times its length. Dinner for One plays Tuesdays through Sundays until New Years Eve; I recommend you get your tickets to this one sooner rather than later.

"Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley" at the Jungle Theater

It's the most wonderful time of the year* - time to return to Christmas at Pemberley at the Jungle Theater. Playwrights Lauren Gunderson (one of the most produced playwrights in the country, often writing plays about women in history, particularly in STEM) and Margot Melcon have created the most delightful Jane Austen fan fiction in this series of plays based on the characters in Pride and Prejudice. The Jungle produced the first one, Miss Bennet**, in 2017 and it was such a hit that they co-commissioned a sequel, The Wickhams, which premiered the following year. After remounting Miss Bennet in 2019 and taking a break for two years for... you know, they've done it again, with another co-commission and rolling world premiere of the third (but hopefully not last) installment - Georgiana and Kitty. Each of these plays focuses on a different Bennet sister or two, but they're all similar in their sparkling dialogue that feels both period appropriate and refreshingly modern, their centering of women in the story (continuing the legacy of Jane Austen), their fleshing out of characters who didn't get much space in the original novel, and their charming romances complete with obstacles to be overcome, just like all good Austen heroines. With Georgiana and Kitty we get not one but two new Austen heroines to love and root for in their pursuit of love, art, purpose, and happiness. Every Christmas at Pemberley is sheer delight from start to finish, and I hope the Jungle makes this a 40+ year tradition (my dream is that they'll produce all three plays in rep someday and I can see them all in one wondrous epic day). You can visit Pemberley any day except Monday from now through December 23 (click here for info and tickets).

"Moonlit Walk Home" at Nautilus Music-Theater

Nautilus Music-Theater's second new original piece of music-theater this season is the lovely song cycle Moonlit Walk Home. It turns out that #TCTheater's favorite singing sisters Christina Baldwin and Jennifer Baldwin Peden have a talented poet for a mother, which isn't really that surprising; artistic talent often runs in families. Fern Green Baldwin put her writing aside to raise eight children and numerous plants and animals on 36 acres in the Minnesota River Valley outside of Jordan, Minnesota. She finally got back to writing in her 70s, and published her first book of poetry Moonlit Walk Home at the age of 80. Her daughters have adapted it into a song cycle, along with stage director Ben Krywosz and composer Daniel Nass. The result is a really beautiful collection of music that is not only a love letter to their mother, but also to finding poetry and beauty in the simple and mundane things of everyday life. 

"In the Midst of Things: In Medias Res" streaming from An Opera Theatre

One fun thing about this virtual theater era is that you can discover new companies that you haven't been able to see before, since they're now easily accessible in your own home. Such as the new opera company called simply An Opera Theatre. I love their mission statement: "to produce socially-relevant works, in order to break down the barriers of the classical art form, and bring communities together," and this: "We hope to promote work for working artists in Minnesota. And it doesn't just stop at opera! AOT believes in fusing multiple art forms to create tantalizing theater events for a diverse artistic community." They've created a new original 15-minute opera that they've been sharing with schools around the area, and will be available to the public May 28 - June 6 on their Facebook page and website. I got to see a sneak peek of In the Midst of Things: In Medias Res; it's really great, and left me wanting more!

"Is Edward Snowden Single?" streaming from Jungle Theater

Jungle Theater's first ever virtual play Is Edward Snowden Single? is one of the best uses of this new medium that I've seen. Playwright Kate Cortesi wrote the play before this pandemic shut down all live performance, but the Jungle team has turned it into something that feels like it was written for this form that is sort of theater but not really, and sort of film but not really. Combining illustrations, animation, and fantastically versatile performances by two actors in front of green screens in separate locations, not to mention some pretty great voice acting, they tell this story of two best friends trying to navigate life, love, work, and the truth in a truly fresh and innovative 2020 kind of way.

"Mondo Tragic" - an audio play from Jungle Theater

The first of Jungle Theater's three-part "Jungle Serial" series was released recently. Mondo Tragic is a 30-minute audio play written and performed by Eric Micha Holmes, with seamlessly integrated sound design by Omar Zubair. It's an intense and mesmerizing exploration of race, racism, and racial identity, that traverses from the Mondo films of the '60s and '70s to Rachel Dolezal. I recommend listening while lying on the floor with your eyes closed to let the sounds, story, and ideas wash over you without any external distractions.

"Liberty Falls 2020" web series by The Moving Company

The Moving Company is remounting their absurd comedy Liberty Falls 54321 as a four-part web series called Liberty Falls 2020, and I couldn't be happier about it. We revisit the specifically odd characters from the play (last seen in early 2017) in the specifically odd year that is 2020. The first three episodes are free to view, and if you like what you see, the fourth episode can be viewed for only $6.99. The talented and hilarious original cast (plus a few welcome additions) has reunited in creative ways to bring us wonderfully silly story, not without some social commentary. Click here to watch.

"A Doll's House, Part 2" at the Jungle Theater

When I saw A Doll's House a few years ago I was struck by how much 19th century Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's 140-year-old play still resonates. A few years ago playwright Lucas Hnath wrote a sequel that takes place 15 years later, so approaching the turn of the last century, but written with modern language and sensibilities. It feels both of its time and of our time. A Doll's House, Part 2 furthers the conversation that Ibsen began around marriage and women's role in society. And while maybe it's true that "we've come a long way, baby," history is full of steps forward and backward in terms of human rights, and this is a conversation that feels particularly important to have today. The Jungle Theater's regional premiere is beautifully done, as to be expected by the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers' favorite theater of 2019.

The 77th "Musical Mondays" at LUSH, January 2020

What better way to celebrate the beginning of the 2020s than to look back at some great musical theater songs from the 1920s? For their 77th show, Musical Mondays did just that. Hosted by talented #TCTheater artists and BFFs Sheena Janson Kelley and Max Wojtanowicz, this popular monthly cabaret series at LUSH Bar in Northeast Minneapolis showcases different local talent every month. Also different every month is the theme, which gives musical theater fans like myself the chance to take a deep dive into a specific genre and learn a little bit more about musical theater history, while enjoying a fun and entertaining night, at the cost of a suggested $5 donation (which goes directly to the artists). This series should definitely be on the radar of every local music-theater fan. Their next show is on February 3; follow their Facebook page for the announcement of theme and performers.

"Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley" at Jungle Theater

#TCTheater friends, I would like to visit Pemberley every year for the holidays* (or really any time of the year). For the third year in a row, Jungle Theater is presenting their own special brand of Pride and Prejudice fan fiction, in the form of delightfully modern yet still very Austen plays by the playwrighting team of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon. Their 2017 production of Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley was so successful that they co-commissioned a sequel for 2018 - The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley. This year they're remounting the 2017 production of Miss Bennet with much of the original team, plus a few delightful new additions. Jane Austen created such a rich world in Pride and Prejudice that I could envision a dozen more sequels, as we continue to visit these four loving but very different sisters in different times in their lives. (Oh wait, there are five sisters; we haven't seen Kitty yet, so she deserves her own sequel next!) This is exactly how I like my Austen - fresh and modern and feminist and charming, but still within the manners of the time. I want to live in that world, but I guess I'll settle for a visit to Pemberley once a year via the Jungle Theater.

"Ordway Cabaret: Back to Before" at the Ordway Center for Performing Arts

The third installment of the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts' Ordway Cabaret series brought together some of the most talented women working in local music-theater. In addition to singing a wide variety of songs from the musical theater canon, they each shared personal stories about being a woman working in music-theater, and the depiction of women in the past and present of musical theater. I'm loving this new series (similar to the Ordway's former series, Broadway Songbook, but more personal) because it allows us to, as director Kelli Foster Warder said in her pre-show talk, celebrate these songs and musicals that we love, and still critique them in terms of how they speak to today's world. And let's face it, some of our most beloved classic musicals are real problematic when it comes to their depiction of women (e.g., Guys and Dolls) and people of color (or lack thereof). The 2018 hit Minnesota Fringe show Not Fair, My Lady! tackled this issue heads on, and Back to Before (a lyric from a song from Ragtime) continues that theme on a bigger stage. For this show, the Ordway appropriately brought together not just an all-female ensemble (including one of Not Fair, My Lady!'s creators, Colleen Somerville), but also an all-female team behind the scenes. Several of the women commented that it was their first time working on an all-female team, which is pretty astounding. But also perhaps a sign of things to come. The world has changed in the last few years, and "we can never go back to before."

"Small Mouth Sounds" at the Jungle Theater

"Friends, @jungletheater's Small Mouth Sounds is exactly my kind of play: awkward, funny, profound, and full of one of my favorite things in theater that I rarely get - silence! Perfect execution by the yummy cast and the whole team."

This was my Instagram post upon arriving home from the Jungle last night, and it pretty much says it all. I'll expand on that a bit more here, but in general, this new play about six people on a silent meditation retreat is hilarious, heart-breaking, and very human. Visit the Uptown theater now through June 16 to experience it yourself (pro tip: the Jungle is one of the few theaters in town with Tuesday and Wednesday performances, which have lower ticket prices, better availability, and usually less Uptown crowd/parking/traffic issues than weekends).

"The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley" at Jungle Theater

Last year around this time, the Jungle Theater introduced #TCTheater to the wonderfully imagined world of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in the years after the novel's conclusion, via playwrights Lauren Gunderson and Margo Melcon. I called Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley "very reminiscent of Jane Austen, but also fresh and modern and new. It's a witty, smart, utterly charming new play that celebrates not just literal sisterhood, but women working together and supporting each other, both onstage and behind the scenes." Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen notes that they "had so much fun we co-commissioned this companion piece." I'm happy to report that The Wickhams: Christmas* at Pemberley, now playing at the Jungle as part of a rolling world premiere, is just as delightful as the first one. Friends, I want to return to Pemberley every year, at Christmas or during the heat of summer, upstairs or downstairs, starring any (or all) Bennet sister(s). The world and characters that Lauren and Margo have created is so rich and wonderful, with endless story possibilities. These plays are everything you love about Jane Austen, but with more modern sensibilities. Sheer delight!

"Little Women" at the Jungle Theater

Louisa May Alcott's 150-year old novel Little Women is experiencing a bit of a resurgence at the moment. A beautiful mini-series came out recently on Masterpiece, a modern adaptation is set to be released to movie theaters this fall, and director/writer Greta Gerwig's star-studded movie is currently in pre-production. #TCTheater is also getting in on the action; Jungle Theater has commissioned a new theatrical adaptation from Kate Hamill (who recently adapted Sense and Sensibility, seen on the Guthrie stage two years ago). There's a reason Alcott's semi-autobiographical novel has remained so popular. This story of four very different sisters who support each other despite their differences, and each struggle to find their own path in life, is timeless and always inspirational. This lively adaptation (that stops short of the end of the book), featuring a wonderful and diverse cast, is sweet and heart-warming, staying true to the source but casting the story in a more modern and relevant light.

"Hand to God" at Jungle Theater

Hand to God is a little like Avenue Q, but with less singing, more frequent cursing, and more graphic simulated puppet sex. The 2015 Tony nominee for best play is having its regional premiere in a fantastic production at Jungle Theater, and if you don't mind being a little uncomfortable at the theater (you shouldn't, it's good for you), it's well worth braving the construction, traffic, and parking headaches that come with a trip to Uptown to see this funny, irreverent, and sad little play.

"The Good Person of Szechwan" by Ten Thousand Things at St. Paul's ELCA

Michelle Hensley, retiring Artistic Director and Founder of Ten Thousand Things, is a gift. A gift to theater, a gift to Minnesota, a gift to the world. She taught us a new way to do theater, a new way to experience theater, one that considers who the audience can and should be, which is everyone. Read her book All the Lights On if you want to know more about it, or go see her beautiful swan song The Good Person of Szechwan (continuing through June 3), which is also the first play that TTT ever did nearly 30 years ago when Michelle started it in California. We've been lucky enough to have TTT as a vital part of the #TCTheater community for 25 years, a tradition that will continue after Michelle's retirement under the leadership of new Artistic Director Marcela Lorca. One can only hope that all of the artists and audience members she's worked with and influenced in those years will continue on this tradition of inclusive, accessible, imaginative theater that is unlike anything else.

"Pirates of Penzance" at Park Square Theatre

Park Square Theatre's new production of the Gilbert and Sullivan classic comic operetta The Pirates of Penzance, re-imagined by director Doug Scholz-Carlson, music director Denise Prosek, and this dreamy nine-person cast, is indeed a divine emollient. But it's not just pure escapist silliness. G&S, in addition to writing hilariously clever and gorgeously melodic pieces, also included more than a little social and political commentary in their work. Amidst all the humor and fun lies some insightful questioning of the society and politics of Victorian England. So it is entirely appropriate, then, that this 2018 production has been updated to include some current social and political commentary, and some of the dated concepts of the piece have been modernized. The result is a supremely entertaining musical that's refreshingly modern, while still respectful of the source, and even providing some historical context around the 1879 NYC premiere. I've been in love with The Pirates of Penzance since first seeing it at the Guthrie 14 years ago, then discovering the glorious Kevin Kline-ness of the early '80s Broadway production and movie. I've now found whole new ways to love it.