"Monster Heart" by Combustible Company at the Southern Theater

200 years after its publication, Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein still holds a permanent place in our culture, having inspired countless adaptations in theater, film, and television over the years. There's a reason that this story of the creature who just wants to be loved and accepted, and the destruction that follows when he isn't, continues to appeal to us; there's something very human about this creature. The author's life, while less fantastical, is every bit as dramatic as her story. Combustible Company's new piece Monster Heart combines the two stories into one beautifully tragic arc of love and grief (see also Collide Theatrical's recent Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which did the same through dance and pop music). Combining text from the novel and other writings of the time with music and movement, they weave a haunting tale, shedding new light on this familiar story. Only four performances remain in this short two-week run; click here for info and tickets.

"Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" by Collide Theatrical Dance Company at the Southern Theater

For eight years, Collide Theatrical Dance Company has been creating new dance musicals, either with original stories or based on classic works. Even the pandemic didn't stop them - they presented an outdoor dance cabaret last fall when all of us were starved for live entertainment; produced a Valentine's Day video dance piece; and returned to the outdoor stage this spring for a dance musical based on Alice in Wonderland. Now they're back inside the best dance venue in town, the Southern Theater, for the premiere of their dance musical based not just on the well known 19th Century novel Frankenstein, but also on the life of its lesser known author, Mary Shelley. Over 75 minutes of continuous dance, the seven-person ensemble tells these remarkable interconnected stories with great emotion and vitality.

"Frankenstein - Playing with Fire" at the Guthrie Theater

The Guthrie Theater is opening their 56th season (my 16th as a subscriber) with a play they commissioned 30 years ago. Minnesota playwright Barbara Field (who also provided the adaptation for the Guthrie's first A Christmas Carol, that they used for over 30 years) adapted Mary Shelly's famed novel Frankenstein as Frankenstein - Playing with Fire, premiering in 1988. About her work she says, "the animating spirit of this play is a hunger for science and knowledge that motivates the questions these two old men ask each other." One big long conversation between two people about science, philosophy, life, and death is a play that's right up my alley (bonus: mathematical equations!), especially when so beautifully designed and acted as this.

"Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus" by Green T Productions at the Historic Mounds Theatre

Finding myself with a free Saturday night due to the rescheduling of Leslie Odom, Jr.'s concert at Orchestra Hall, I decided to check out Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus. I'd never seen a show by Green T Productions, never been to the Historic Mounds Theatre, and the show is 90 minutes no intermission (my favorite thing) - perfect for a spontaneous Saturday night trip to the theater! Mounds Theatre is a perfect venue for this creepy tale (my friend told me it's haunted), and Green T has created an ambitious and innovative new telling of this 200-year old tale. While I didn't always get everything that was going on, it certainly held my interest and created some memorable moments.

Fringe Festival 2015: "FRANKENSTEIN"

Day: 1

Show: 1

Title: FRANKENSTEIN

Category: Something Different

By: Raw Red Meat Productions

Directed by: Tyler Olsen

Location: Intermedia Arts

Summary: A super creepy cool retelling of the Frankenstein story, in which a young boy becomes obsessed with the book to an unhealthy degree.

Highlights: Victor's story is told in a nonlinear fashion, and just like the original Dr. Frankenstein (and Victor himself), we need to put the pieces together to come up with one disturbing whole. Victor is often the narrator of his own story, and we see flashes back to his childhood mixed with scenes from the present at a dark and scary cabin. Scenes often move from one to the other in the middle of a conversation, with characters disappearing and appearing as if by magic. Tyler Olsen wrote, directed, and designed the show (a remount from last year's Twin Cities' Horror Festival), and has created a terrifying and starkly beautiful world. The whole show is done in the dark with hand-held lights and one floor light, flashed on and off at appropriate times to create some really beautiful images with contrasting light and dark. The sound design adds to the creep factor, from the moment you walk into the theater to the sound of buzzing flies. The excellent cast is fully committed to the creation of this world, centered around a raw and emotional performance by Miles Duffey as Victor, with the nimble Joanna Harmon as his girlfriend, Jay Kistler as a childhood friend, and Garrett Vollmer and Noah Bremer as some pretty scary monsters. The whole thing is really well done and yes, there is blood, and some pretty messy clean-up. Moral of the story: don't let your children read Frankenstein.