"Dead Man's Cell Phone" at Lyric Arts

In 2007, playwright Sarah Ruhl wrote a quirky, fantastical, and painfully real play about our relationships with our cell phones and with each other. A play that seems even more relevant now, 12 years later, as smart phone technology and usage has increased. Lyric Arts' production of Dead Man's Cell Phone captures this struggle between technology and connection, and entertains with a charming six-person cast and ambitious design. This odd and amusing comedy that speaks to the world we live in officially opens tonight and runs through January 27 in downtown Anoka.

Fringe Festival: "Tales at Twilight"

Day: 2

Show: 4

Title: Tales at Twilight

Category: Something different

By: Actors Alliance Project

Created by: Actors Alliance Project

Location: Bryant-Lake Bowl

Summary: Five actors and a musician tell six spooky, scary, silly, and/or funny stories.

Highlights: This is some good, old-fashioned storytelling, which is theater in its most basic form. And these are the kind of stories (some ancient legends, some written by authors) that if told by a campfire in the dark would send chills down your spine. It's pretty harmless stuff, the chill evaporates quickly in the light of day, but they're great stories well-told by the cast, all of whom take turns narrating and playing multiple characters, using different accents and physicality to serve the story best. Stories range from a Cree legend about a lost love, to a creepy place in town that kids feared, to a teenager scaring a guest, to the highlight "Taily Bone," about a man who unwisely decides to eat some strange meat. In short: this is a wonderful ensemble (Jane Burke, Emily Dooley, Jerry Gomis, Suzanne Graff, A.J. Swanson, and Chris Herzig) telling delightfully and playfully chilling stories.