"Shul" by Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company at Highland Park Center Theatre

On a weekend when there was yet another deadly attack on a synagogue, I can think of no better reaction to the devastating news than to go to our local Jewish theater and support Jewish artists, Jewish stories, Jewish culture. Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company's world premiere new play Shul, another word for synagogue, is especially appropriate as it deals with an inner city synagogue in danger of closing, and even references a bullet hole in the window. It's a beautiful, funny, poignant story about a group of people trying to keep their culture, traditions, and community alive in the face of ever-changing modern times.

"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.