"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.

"Iphigenia and Other Daughters" by Theatre Unbound at Gremlin Theatre

Playwright Ellen McLaughlin's play Iphigenia and Other Daughters, an adaptation of several ancient Greek plays about the tragic lives of the children of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, premiered in the mid-'90s. But looking at the production history, there's been a spike in productions in the last few years, mostly at colleges. Perhaps we've recently become more hungry for these stories of women who take revenge on those who've wronged them. Theatre Unbound is bringing us the regional premiere of this modern retelling of an ancient women's story. In just a brisk 75 minutes, thanks to strong performances from the mostly female cast, we really get to know and empathize with these women.

"Words Do Move" by Sandbox Theatre at the Crane Theater

Words Do Move. Or in this case, words, music, movement, images, and the combination thereof move. Sandbox Theatre's latest ensemble-created work is a series of poems, stories, songs, and dances about relationships, identity, grief, joy, and life. It is, indeed, moving, as the five-person ensemble and one-person band share their stories and their souls with the audience. Words Do Move is unique and lovely and just over an hour long, all good things, and plays through November 17 at the Crane Theater in Northeast Minneapolis.

"Miranda" at Illusion Theater

The titular character of James Still's new play Miranda is like Homeland's Carrie Mathison, but more grounded in reality, without all of the soap opera drama. A CIA operative currently based in Yemen after years of working in the Middle East, she's good at her job, but has begun to grow weary with all that her job entails. The playwright notes, "While the pursuit of happiness may be one of the inalienable rights guaranteed in our Declaration of Independence, Miranda is too smart not to know that happiness is elusive. She's thrived during her years in the CIA in the pursuit of meaning, not happiness. But what if that meaning and sense of purpose has faded with time and age - what now?" Miranda is a dense and fascinating play about the women and men who immerse themselves in foreign lands to secure intelligence for the US government, but also find themselves getting entangled in the lives of the people they live among.

A Reading of "queens" at Playwrights' Center

"Now in its 12th year, the Ruth Easton New Play Series gives selected Core Writers 20 hours with collaborators to workshop their script—to write, rewrite, experiment, and shape their work. For playwrights, this means great leaps forward for their plays. For audiences, this means a thrilling and intimate night of theater."

I attended my second "thrilling and intimate night of theater" as part of the 2016-2017 series last night (see also December's Wink by Jen Silverman). It was a clear, cold, snowy, moonlit night, perfect for gathering with fellow theater-lovers and theater-makers to experience a new work of theater. And what an exciting new work Martyna Majok's queens is. Although unfinished (the 3rd act has yet to be written and was described in a few sentences), it drew me right into the world of the play and made me care about these characters. I look forward to seeing the full work onstage sometime in the coming years, but in the meantime, it was a thrill to be a part of the play development process at Playwrights' Center, something they do so well.

Fringe Festival 2016: "Mead Hall"

Day: 6

Show: 29

Title: Mead Hall

Category: Comedy

By: Tedious Brief Productions

Created by: Greer, Tallen, and Watson-Jones

Location: U of M Rarig Center Thrust

Summary: A meta-Fringe mash-up of the oldest story in Western literature, Beowulf, and the 1989 Patrick Swayze movie Roadhouse.

Highlights: This isn't your ordinary mash-up, in which two seemingly different stories are combined into one. This one is told in a very meta-Fringe way, with actors playing versions of themselves doing a Fringe show. Or rather shows, as due to a mix-up, two different productions show up in the same place at the same time - a very literary and nerdy one-man show/lecture about Beowulf, and a musical adaptation of Roadhouse (on roller skates!). At first the two groups argue and take turns telling their story, but eventually they come to realize that their stories have several parallels (thanks, Joseph Campbell and the hero cycle) and work together to conclude the two stories that have now become one. The cast is great as both heightened versions of themselves, and the overblown characters (Clarence Wethern as the Beowulf guy, the Roadhouse cast consisting of Kayla Dvorak, Brandon Ewald, Delta Rae Giordano, David Schlosser, Noë Tallen, and a late and shirtless Derek Meyer as the Patrick Swayze character). The structure of the show allows the creators (director Carin Bratlie Wethern, writers Aaron Greer, Ben Tallen, and Brian Watson-Jones) to poke fun at the Fringe itself (including a list of ridiculous Fringe titles that are no more ridiculous than real Fringe titles), while still producing a very fringey show. To be enjoyed by lovers of classical literature, bad '80s movies, and the Fringe. I can't wait for the sequel next year!

"A Lie of the Mind" by Theatre Pro Rata at nimubs theatre

An all too real depiction of the real-life hanging of a circus elephant. A disturbing adaptation of a well-known dystopian novel. A devastating and thought-provoking portrait of a child molester. And now a deep dive into an abusive relationship. Theatre Pro Rata doesn't shy away from the tough stuff. After a brief trip to the lighter side with The Illusion at Park Square this summer, Pro Rata returns to the dark side with a sobering look at abusive and dysfunctional families in Sam Shepard's A Lie of the Mind. This dark fable of a modern day Western offers little hope, but once again Pro Rata offers a beautiful, well-acted and -directed, and disturbing evening of theater.

The play begins shortly after Jake (a frighteningly good Nate Cheeseman) has beaten his wife Beth (a frail yet strong Amy Pirkl) so badly that she ends up in the hospital with brain damage, and has to relearn how to walk and talk. This is not the first time this has happened, and Beth's brother Mike (Bear Brummel) and parents (Don Maloney and Delta Rae Giordano) take her home to recover in Montana where she grew up. Similarly, Jake's sister (Joy Dolo) and bitter mother (Kit Bix) take him in while his brother Frankie (Gabriel Murphy) travels to Montana to check on Beth and make sure she's not dead, as Jake feared. What follows is an exploration of three dysfunctional families. Beth's father is the stereotypical head of the household, spending all his time in the hunting shack and ordering his wife to apply oil to his dry and cracking feet. Jake's mother has never recovered from her husband leaving and his tragic death. And we know how Jake and Beth ended up.

Nate Cheeseman and Amy Pirkl
as the not so happy couple
(photo by Charles Gorrill)

This is one of those plays that makes one happy to be single. What's the point of getting married if all you do is make each other miserable, and raise miserable children who go out to make other people miserable? None of these characters are particularly likeable, but all are beautifully brought to life by the strong cast under the direction of Carin Bratlie Wethern. Perhaps the least hateful of these miserable people is Beth, who, like many so-called simple-minded characters, speaks simple and eloquent truth in her blunt and mixed up speech. And Frankie seems like a good guy, trying to make up for his brother's sins. But maybe looking for good guys isn't the point of the play. Maybe it's to recognize the bad guys within all of us. And then hopefully not marry one.

The starkly beautiful West of Sam Shepard's imagination is well represented on nimbus' intimate stage by scenic designer Ursula Bowden. The stage elegantly and seamlessly combines three very different sets - a hotel, hospital room, and childhood basement bedroom - with a painted Western backdrop tying them together. The former two sets are replaced by the Montana living room, which shares some of the same space with the basement bedroom. In fact they almost seem to exist in the same space, even though they're presumably hundreds of miles apart, as Jake and Beth can almost seem to see each other across the distance.

The last Shepard play I saw was only an hour long, so I was expecting this one to be short as well. It's not, coming in at almost three hours with intermission. That's a long time to spend with these miserable people in their miserable lives, but it's a compelling and engaging play despite the misery. A Lie of the Mind continues through September 27.