"Much Ado About Nothing" by Gray Mallard Theater Company at Sociable Cider Werks

My favorite new #TCTheater summer tradition is Gray Mallard Theater Company's "Shakespeare in the Pub." Not quite in the pub, they perform in the parking lot outside of Sociable Cider Werks in Northeast Minneapolis, with a variety of ciders, beers, and non-alcoholic beverages available in their tap room, and a permanent food truck. But best of all, it's Shakespeare performed outdoors the way it was meant to be - fun, playful, professional, and free. Part of their mission is to remove the economic barrier to theater, they don't even have reservations, so you just show up and watch the show (but if you're able, consider making a donation to support their work and mission). For their 4th annual show (my 2nd year attending), they've chosen the original rom-com Much Ado About Nothing. They perform Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 7pm through August 3, and there's really nothing better than sitting outside on a gorgeous summer evening, sipping a beverage, and watching some great Shakespeare.

"Antigonick" by Full Circle Theater Company at Mixed Blood Theatre

Full Circle Theater often produces new work, but this spring they're doing one of the oldest plays in theater. Sophocles (or Sophokles) wrote Antigone a couple of millennia ago, as part of the Oedipus trilogy (you know, the guy who famously murdered his father and married his mother). But this new translation, by classics scholar Anne Carson, is probably unlike any Greek play you've ever seen, and in that way, Full Circle is continuing their tradition of producing new, inclusive, relevant work. In a talkback after the show I attended, director Martha B. Johnson noted that this play is the only one Anne wrote not on commission, and it began as a graphic novel. She called the translation "startling;" Full Circle co-Artistic Director Rick Shiomi called it "wild." But the playwright insists it's a translation not an adaptation, saying (quoted in the program), "Everything I've done in the translation is an attempt to convey a move or shock or darkening that happens in the original text. This doesn't always mean reproducing the words and sentences of the original in their same order; but a play is a collection of actions or doings, this is what needs to be rendered from Greek into English." Her translation makes this ancient play feel alive, using lyrical language composed in interesting ways. Full Circle takes an equally creative approach, adding movement, and the talented 12-person cast beautifully brings the vision to life. See this new old Antigonick at Mixed Blood Theatre now through June 4.

"Mary's Wondrous Body" by The Birth Play Project at Elision Playhouse

One of my favorite things about being a Twin Cities Theater Blogger is checking out a new theater company and immediately finding a new favorite (e.g. Transatlantic Love Affair, The Winding Sheet Outfit). That's what happened last night when I went to see the new original "dark comedy with music" Mary's Wondrous Body by The Birth Play Project. Led by 2020 U of M grad Madeline Wall, the company focuses on telling birth stories, which is definitely an untapped niche in theater, although something we have started to see more of lately (see Penumbra's recent play Weathering, and the MN Fringe hit Endometriosis the Musical, which wasn't about birth specifically but the larger topic of women's reproductive health). In addition to being a unique and necessary topic, their work, at least based on this one play, is thoughtful, innovative, and bold. A woman belting out songs about the joy and pain of childbirth and everything surrounding it on stage in front of an audience - yes, we need that. I've never given birth (thankfully so after seeing shows like this), but for those who have, I imagine it feels quite validating to see the experience depicted on stage with respect and raw honesty. The birthing process is a fundamental part of the human experience from the beginning of human history, so (like House of the Dragon's theme of "the childbed is our battlefield") let's get into it. (Click here for info about and to purchase tickets for Mary's Wondrous Body, continuing through December 18.)

"Evita" at Lyric Arts

Continuing with their season of showcasing women's stories, Lyric Arts presents the musical Evita, one of the most popular woman's story in music-theater. There hasn't been a local production of it in several years, so the time feels ripe to revisit this story. It's a big show for Lyric Arts to tackle, a sung-through musical with a large cast and complicated score, but they've proven that they're up to the task (this season began with a regional premiere of a new musical, and next season will too). They've enlisted a strong cast, which is notably one of the most diverse casts I've ever seen at the Anoka theater, plus a great design team. The result is a thrilling production of this 1980 multiple Tony-winning classic.