The Jungle Theater Presents "King Gilgamesh & the Man of the Wild"

I don't know why someone would decide to premiere a new work of theater for a week in early January in Minnesota, but those of us who attended one of the seven performances during and after the biggest snowstorm of the season are lucky that the creators of King Gilgamesh & The Man of the Wild did just that. Seth Bockley, Ahmed Moneka, and Jesse LaVercombe (the latter familiar to Jungle audience from his performances in the beloved Christmas at Pemberley plays) have developed this work the last five years, with several workshops, some in Minnesota, and are debuting the finished product at the Jungle as part of their "Jungle Presents" series, in a nearly sold-out run. Next, they're taking it to the Under the Radar Festival in NYC, and who knows where beyond that. This mash-up of one of the oldest stories ever told with the creators' real-life stories is beautifully told, with music and movement, in a thoughtful, polished, funny, moving, and life-affirming way.

"Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley" at Jungle Theater

#TCTheater friends, I would like to visit Pemberley every year for the holidays* (or really any time of the year). For the third year in a row, Jungle Theater is presenting their own special brand of Pride and Prejudice fan fiction, in the form of delightfully modern yet still very Austen plays by the playwrighting team of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon. Their 2017 production of Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley was so successful that they co-commissioned a sequel for 2018 - The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley. This year they're remounting the 2017 production of Miss Bennet with much of the original team, plus a few delightful new additions. Jane Austen created such a rich world in Pride and Prejudice that I could envision a dozen more sequels, as we continue to visit these four loving but very different sisters in different times in their lives. (Oh wait, there are five sisters; we haven't seen Kitty yet, so she deserves her own sequel next!) This is exactly how I like my Austen - fresh and modern and feminist and charming, but still within the manners of the time. I want to live in that world, but I guess I'll settle for a visit to Pemberley once a year via the Jungle Theater.

"The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley" at Jungle Theater

Last year around this time, the Jungle Theater introduced #TCTheater to the wonderfully imagined world of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in the years after the novel's conclusion, via playwrights Lauren Gunderson and Margo Melcon. I called Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley "very reminiscent of Jane Austen, but also fresh and modern and new. It's a witty, smart, utterly charming new play that celebrates not just literal sisterhood, but women working together and supporting each other, both onstage and behind the scenes." Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen notes that they "had so much fun we co-commissioned this companion piece." I'm happy to report that The Wickhams: Christmas* at Pemberley, now playing at the Jungle as part of a rolling world premiere, is just as delightful as the first one. Friends, I want to return to Pemberley every year, at Christmas or during the heat of summer, upstairs or downstairs, starring any (or all) Bennet sister(s). The world and characters that Lauren and Margo have created is so rich and wonderful, with endless story possibilities. These plays are everything you love about Jane Austen, but with more modern sensibilities. Sheer delight!