"Measure for Measure" by The Birth Play Project at A-Mill Artist Lofts

My favorite new theater company of 2022, The Birth Play Project, is back, this time with a new twist on a classic. Their new play with music Mary’s Wondrous Body, based on a so-bizarre-it-must-be-true story of a woman who claimed to give birth to rabbits, was indeed wondrous. Now this company whose mission is "to place birth in public memory by developing representational practices for staging reproductive stories" is presenting Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. If you're wondering, "what does this play have to do with birth?," you're not alone. I've seen this play a few times before, and it's always been Isabella's story, a soon-to-be nun who is offered a chance to save her brother Claudio from death, if she sleeps with his accuser Angelo. But so far in the background that I even forgot she was there, is Juliet, Claudio's not-quite-wife, who is pregnant with his child (the crime with which they're both charged). This adaptation by Madeline Wall and William Edson, who also direct the piece, puts the focus on this forgotten woman who is quietly (or not so quietly) giving birth while the other actions of the play swirl around her. It's an engaging and entertaining take on this classic that explores a hidden side of it, and makes one wonder what other birth stories are hiding in the background, waiting to be told. Click here to find out more about The Birth Play Project and to purchase tickets to one of their two remaining performances at Saint John the Evangelist Episcopal Church and Elision Playhouse.

"Peter and the Starcatcher" at Lyric Arts

For my first show of the 2024-2025 #TCTheater season, I saw Lyric Arts' production of the charming and whimsical play with music Peter and the Starcatcher. This is my 6th time seeing this show in the last 12 years (most recently at Duluth Playhouse this spring), but the great thing about it is that there is a lot of room for play and invention within the structure of the script. It's typically done with physical theater and low-tech theater magic, and it's always fun to see how a company interprets the story and adds their own spin. Directed by Lyric Arts' Resident Director Scott Ford, this production is very loose and playful, while also being polished and well choreographed. The talented 12-person cast works and plays well together to bring this charming story to life. It's very funny and entertaining, and also sweet and nostalgic as it taps into the familiar and beloved story of Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. Make the short trip out to Anoka to see how Peter became Pan, with the help of a strong and spirted young girl, now through September 29.

"Radiant Vermin" at Lyric Arts

"We are thrilled to have you join us on this wildly dark, complex, and comedic ride... This show touches on a variety of intricate themes that include the unhoused, gentrification, myths surrounding the middle class, religious trauma, morality, and so much more. While I could try to explain further, it's better not to give too much away and just let you experience the journey." This note in the program from director Callie Aho pretty much sums up everything that can be said to someone considering seeing Lyric Arts' production of Radiant Vermin. The premise of the smart, funny, and super dark three-person play is so outrageous, I can't even begin to talk about it without spoiling the experience of seeing this play. But I will add that the direction, acting, and design are spot-on, so if any of the above sounds intriguing to you, I highly encourage you to head up to Anoka to see this play before it closes on March 24.

"Wit" by Hypnic Jerk Theatre at Theatre in the Round

I first saw the Pulitzer Prize winning play Wit six years ago, when I called it "simply devastating," "also funny, and smart, and philosophical, and enlightening," and "brilliantly written." Hypnic Jerk Theatre, a newish #TCTheater company in their first post-pan show, is currently presenting a new production at Theatre in the Round, and it's excellent. Joy Donley gives a strong, funny, and heart-breaking performance in "one of the juiciest roles in theater - a smart, educated, independent, confident woman who experiences life in a whole new way while approaching death from cancer." But this isn't a one-woman show, and the ensemble gives great support. The staging and design in the in-the-round space are effective in telling the story of this woman's journey, in a thoroughly compelling and moving 100 minutes of theater. This is another short run show with only six performances, so act quickly to see this fine execution of a new classic (click here for info and tickets).

"Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley" at Lyric Arts

This holiday* #TCTheater season, we are blessed with not one but two productions of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon's Pride and Prejudice fan fiction series Christmas at Pemberley. The first play in the trilogy, Miss Bennet, was first seen on local stages at the Jungle Theater five years ago, after which they co-commissioned two more plays, the latest of which, Georgiana and Kitty, is currently premiering at the Jungle. But you can also see where the story all began in Miss Bennet in a new production at Lyric Arts in Anoka. All of these plays are gems, perfectly marrying Jane Austen's legacy of female-centered stories in a man's world of property, marriage, and inheritance with modern feminist sensibilities. It's lovely to see a different take on these stories at Lyric Arts, but just as charming, funny, and heart-warming. You can visit Pemberley via Anoka Thursdays through Sundays until December 18.

"Bloomsday" at Lyric Arts

A character in Steven Dietz's play Bloomsday says something like, "a sunny day is nice, but on a rainy day the ache for the sun is nicer." This distinctly Irish sentiment is a good description of this bittersweet story of a pair of star-crossed lovers meeting across space and time. It may not be a happy ending, but the ache for these two characters to find happiness is grand. Lyric Arts' new production features a strong four-person cast and lovely design that bring us right into this charming and unconventional love story.