"Bernhardt/Hamlet" by Theatre Pro Rata at the Crane Theater

These days, it's pretty common to see women playing traditionally male roles, especially in Shakespeare, in which most of the good roles, and roles in general, are male. This is partly due to the fact that women weren't allowed on stage in Shakespeare's time, and they are now (hooray!). But even though it's common, but people still sometimes put up a stink about it. French actor Sarah Bernhardt was doing it over a hundred years ago, so one can imagine the controversy and drama surrounding that. In the new play Bernhardt/Hamlet, currently receiving it's regional premiere by Theatre Pro Rata, playwright Theresa Rebeck imagines just that, telling the story of Bernhardt rehearsing to play Hamlet, and how her friends and colleagues reacted to it. As I said in this week's episode of the Twin Cities Theater Chat podcast, Theatre Pro Rata always brings us interesting choices of plays that we probably wouldn't otherwise see, and this is a prime example. Also as always, it's well-cast and well done, for an entertaining and thought-provoking evening of theater. This funny, dramatic, historical, romantic, and relevant play continues at the Crane Theater through October 13 only.

"Samuel J. and K." at Gremlin Theatre

"A sports play written by Mat Smart? I'm in! (See also Tinker to Evers to Chance.)" I wrote this on Instagram last night, but as it turns out, Samuel J. and K. is not really a sports play. It's a play about brothers, family, betrayal, loss, and love. In the same way that Tinker to Evers to Chance (seen in a fantastic production at Artistry earlier this year) is not a sports play, but a play about family, grief, love, connection. There's something about sports that loosens people up and allows them to connect and talk about deeper things, and Playwrights' Center core writer Mat Smart uses that to great advantage in these plays. Here, two brothers (one adopted from Cameroon when he was three years old) bond over a game of basketball. Gremlin's production features two talented actors in their cozy intimate theater space, transformed into a basketball court and a hut in Cameroon by deceptively simple design.

"Jefferson Township Sparkling Junior Talent Pageant" at Park Square Theatre

This summer, Park Square Theatre is all about supporting new works of music-theater created right here in #TCTheater. Last weekend saw the closing of one remount of a locally created new original musical (the gorgeous and moving dance musical about the Bosnian War, Heaven) and the opening of another remount of a locally created new original musical. More than a remount, this iteration of Jefferson Township Sparkling Junior Talent Pageant is an expanded version of the 2017 Fringe hit that has been doubled in length, fun, and emotion. Created by uber-talented young composer/lyricist/playwright Keith Hovis, Jefferson Township is a darkly hilarious and surprisingly poignant look at a group of millennials turning 30, as seen through a super creepy small town Minnesota youth pageant. It's extremely clever, very funny, and the super talented well-balanced quartet of actors are having so much fun that it's impossible for the audience not to have fun too. Jefferson Township Sparkling Junior Talent Pageant is the perfect fun summer musical.

"My Sister in this House" by Theatre Pro Rata at the Crane Theater

The real life Papin sisters, live-in maids who killed their employers in 1930s France, have inspired several plays, including the absurd dark comedy The Maids, and the not so much a comedy play My Sister in this House. The latter is the final production in Theatre Pro Rata's 2018-2019 season, now playing at the Crane Theater. It's real dark and gritty, with a tone that borders on but doesn't quite cross over into camp. It lets us inside the lives of the would-be murderers and explores what led up to the infamous crime, namely mental illness and the unfair treatment of domestic servants. Great performances by the four-woman cast and spot-on design make for a creepy evening at the theater.

"Henry and Alice: Into the Wild" at Park Square Theatre

Three years ago, we met Henry and Alice in Sexy Laundry at Park Square Theatre, an "old married couple" with three kids who checked themselves into a swanky hotel to reconnect and spice up their relationship. They're back again in the sequel Henry and Alice: Into the Wild, this time downsizing from an expensive hotel to a camping trip due to Henry losing his job. At the time I called Sexy Laundry a "smart, funny, relevant play." But a lot has changed in three years, and a play about a rich white couple's troubles isn't so relevant anymore. Listening to a woman complain about not being able to buy Asiago cheese and having to cancel her yoga studio membership feels uncomfortable in a world with such inequality in wealth (see ≈ [almost equal to] at Pillsbury House for an excellent examination of that), at a theater in downtown St. Paul where I'm nearly always approached by someone asking for money (twice yesterday). There's still value in the play as it explores relationships and the downsizing required with economic downturns, which certainly is relatable to some people, and the winning cast makes it enjoyable to watch. I'm just not sure it's the play we need right now.