"Big World" by TigerLion Arts at Theodore Wirth Regional Park

I love outdoor ambulatory theater. I'm not sure if there's anyone who does it besides TigerLion Arts. There's definitely no one who does it better. I first fell in love with their outdoor walking play Nature, about the life, work, and friendship of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in 2014, and have seen it every chance I get (5 times total, in different locations). Then in 2023 I saw the remount of the piece that predated Nature - The Buddha Prince, celebrating the life of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan culture. Now they're adding a new outdoor theatrical experience to their repertoire - Big World, with a workshop performance this weekend only at Theodore Wirth Regional Park on the West side of Minneapolis. This one has less of a throughline narrative story than the other two pieces, and is perhaps geared more towards children, although all of their work can truly be enjoyed by people of all ages. The theme of a group of scientists trying to save the world with love (what a concept!) is the loose structure that provides a framework and an excuse for being in Nature, being in community, and laughing at the things humans have laughed at since the beginning of time. If you're free tonight or tomorrow night, I highly recommend you head out to Theodore Wirth on this perfect spring weekend to experience the joy. And follow TigerLion Arts for updates on the future of this piece, as well as (hopefully) a return of Nature.

"The Cherry Orchard" at Jungle Theater, a Co-Production with The Moving Company

After seeing The Cherry Orchard last night at the Jungle Theater, in partnership with The Moving Company (aka MoCo), I have now seen all four of late 19th Century Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's major plays (which also include The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, and The Three Sisters). And I find that I appreciate his work more each time I see it. All four plays share a few common themes - large and complicated families, social commentary on the Russia of the day that somehow is still relevant today, and a mix of humor and sadness. Chekhov famously referred to The Cherry Orchard as a comedy, but the first director thought of it as a tragedy. In short, it's both - like life. Maybe that's the reason for my growing appreciation; Chekhov so beautifully depicts the joys and the sorrows of being human in a changing and challenging world. This production of The Cherry Orchard, with the combined talents of MoCo and the Jungle, is so lovely, so thoughtfully constructed with every attention to detail, so beautifully performed by the seven-person cast, and so gorgeously sad. See it at Jungle Theater in Uptown through November 2.

"at low tide" by The Moving Company at The Southern Theater

I love The Moving Company, but they make my job very difficult. Because mere words cannot describe the magic that they create on stage. I didn't fully understand everything that was happening on the Southern Theater stage last night, but I found myself inexplicably moved by the combination of words, silence, movement, performance, sound, and lighting. I guess that's why they call themselves The Moving Company; they move people, and isn't that what art is all about? So I can't tell you exactly what you'll see if you go see at low tide (and you should), and what you see may be different from what I saw. But I can guarantee that you will be moved, and transported into another dimension for about 80 minutes.

"Speechless" by The Moving Company at Jungle Theater

The Moving Company is remounting their 2017 original piece Speechless, although I think it's more of a reimagining than a remounting. It is once again directed by co-Artistic Director Dominique Serrand and starring co-Artistic Director Steven Epp and Producing Artistic Director Nathan Keepers, but the other three company members have changed. So while maybe the framework is the same (loosely speaking, a group of friends mourning the death of a friend), the new ensemble members bring their own talents and skills to the equation, resulting in something new and different. Truthfully, I don't remember many details about this show from seven years ago other than there were literally no words, and it was unique and inventive and moving. So it was like a new and surprising show to me, and I was able to enjoy each delightful and sometimes mysterious turn. For that reason I won't give too many details about what happens in the show, because you need to experience that yourself without any preconceptions. So head to the Jungle before November 10, let go of expectations about narrative form, and enjoy the speechless but not silent experience of Speechless.