As my 4th visit to
American Players Theatre approached (with my fellow
Twin Cities Theater Bloggers -
Minnesota Theater Love and
Ernest Goes to the Theatre), I anxiously checked the weather multiple times a day. Half of our six scheduled shows were outdoors, and it was supposed to be the rainiest weekend of the summer. But weather can change, and APT doesn't cancel for mere rain; it has to be heavy rain or storms. It ended up working out beautifully, as things sometimes do. Both of our Friday shows went on as scheduled, with just some passing rain, and only the Saturday matinee was cancelled due to storms, which was better than I hoped. That's the risk you take when you do theater outdoors, but the benefits far outweigh the risks of inclement weather. Because when the elements of Nature interact with the play, be they blaring sunshine or steady rain or a sky full of stars, it's magic. I learned this year that watching Shakespeare in the rain is a magical experience; yes it's cold and damp, but everyone is cold and damp together - the actors with their wet hair sticking to their faces and their costumes dotted with rain, the audience draped in ponchos and clutching hot chocolate from concessions. We're all in it together no matter what happens, participating in this experience of collective imagination that we call theater. This is how they did it back in Shakespeare's time, which maybe is why so many of his plays reference Nature directly or indirectly (both rained-on shows had lines about rain, which we all laughed at together). You can still experience the magic this year for the next few weeks, or
start making your plans for the best theater vacay in the Midwest in 2027; the season opens in June, with the 2027 lineup of plays to be announced later this fall.
