"A Midsummer Night's Dream" at Modern Rep

I can't remember when I've had so much fun experiencing Shakespeare. #TCTheater artist Grant Sorenson's new company Modern Rep bills the experience thusly: "Shakespeare's most overdone comedy gets a radical new production that explodes Original Practice all-male casting into something messy, sexy, and very gay. Performed by six dynamic actors, this Midsummer Night's Dream embraces the dark, twisted, and unsettling aspects of Shakespeare's original text, served up in a flamboyant and unexpectedly queer way." Mission accomplished! When you think about it, Midsummer features fairies, ample romantic banter including double entendres, a character named Bottom, an ass, and lots of talk about a hole. It was just begging to be turned into a gay fantasia! And this production delivers in the most clever and joyful way. It's definitely the sexiest Shakespeare I've ever seen, and the gayest Shakespeare I've ever seen, in the best possible way. It's a joyful celebration to begin Pride month that flies in the face of anyone who dares to say that queer people don't deserve all of the fullness and legality of life as a citizen of this country, as a resident of this planet. And as a piece of theater, this Midsummer is so modern and forward-thinking. I don't worry about the state of theater as long as there are artists making inventive, outside-the-box, wholly engaging theater in sweaty little loading docks in the North Loop (continuing through June 20).

"Salomé" at PAIKKA

Who knew there was an Oscar Wilde play that has never been professionally produced in the Twin Cities? Grant Sorenson, that's who. The actor-turned-director (he directed a couple of really great plays in the pre-pan years) moved home last year after receiving his MFA in directing from Boston University. Last fall he created a monthly play reading series called Table/Read, in which the audience doesn't know what play is being read until moments before it begins. And now he is producing and directing Salomé, hopefully the first of many unique and creative theatrical endeavors to come. Because Salomé is not just a play, at least not in the traditional sense of a stage and an audience separated by space and darkness. It's an immersive (but not interactive) experience that literally puts you right at Herod's banquet table. Which is not always a comfortable place to be, but always thoroughly captivating. With a talented eight-person cast performing literally a few feet in front of you and gorgeous 360-degree design, Salomé is not to be missed, especially if you're interested in theater that pushes the boundaries of what we think theater can be. But hurry - there are only three remaining performances and seating is limited.