"Home, I'm Darling" at Lyric Arts

Lyric Arts in Anoka is bringing us another regional premiere, this time the 2018 British play Home, I'm Darling. It's about a couple living the traditional '50s lifestyle in the modern era, seemingly happy, but it's really just a pretty facade hiding two unhappy people. It seems like the '50s model of living wasn't so great after all. With the recent popularity of the "trad wife" trend, it's a great time to examine this topic. Can you really be a feminist if you meet your husband at the door at 5:15 with a cocktail and slippers, after spending the day "cleaning behind things" and preparing dinner? Maybe, if it's your choice and that's truly what makes everyone the happiest. But maybe not so much for our characters, so they search for a middle ground that works for them. With a fantastic six-person cast and darling '50s design, Lyric's production of Home, I'm Darling is a deliciously entertaining comedy, with substance (continuing through June 21).

"Love and Baseball" at Artistry

On the day after the Minnesota Twins' All-Star center fielder Byron Buxton made history by becoming the first player to hit for the cycle* at Target Field, capping off the nominal first half of the best year of his career, I saw a play called Love and Baseball in Artistry's Black Box theater. I love baseball, and I love theater, so when the two combine it's pretty much my favorite thing. But don't worry, you don't have to love baseball to love Love and Baseball, in the same way that I love the play Colossal and the TV series Friday Night Lights despite the fact that I don't like football, and I love the play The Wolves and the TV series Ted Lasso despite knowing nothing about soccer. As all of the above exhibits, sports are a great metaphor for life, and a great framework for telling a story. In this case, the story is a love story between two people, one a baseball fan, one not so much, who have a chance encounter that changes both of their lives. It's a sweet and funny rom com that's well cast, directed, and designed, in Artistry's intimate black box space, a great two-hander that's a joy to watch even if you're one of those people who inexplicably does not appreciate the beauty of the game. As director Eric Morris writes in a note in the program, "How can you not be romantic about baseball?!" Go watch this and then tell me baseball isn't dramatic, theatrical, emotional, and wonderful. And then get your tickets to see Love and Baseball.

"God of Carnage" at Theatre in the Round

Next up in Theatre in the Round's 73rd season: the "people behaving badly" dark comedy God of Carnage. There have been several local productions of the 2009 Tony winner, most recently by Dark & Stormy in 2022. But this play that I've called "a tightly wound, intense, darkly hilarious four-person play about what happens when our baser natures come to the surface" is worth another visit. These people don't get any more likeable, if anything the reveal of their inner natures is even more vile with each passing year, but Theatre in the Round has assembled a great cast, and their in-the-round staging brings something unique. This play shows us what happens when people say the quiet part out loud, which maybe should have stayed quiet. See it now through April 28, and be prepared to laugh, cringe, and maybe even uncomfortably see yourself a little in these people.