"Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope" at Penumbra Theatre

A piece of musical theater trivia that I learned several years ago is that the first Broadway musical with book, music, and lyrics written by a woman is the 1973 Tony-nominated Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope. It was written by Micki Grant, a Black woman, who also starred in the show (we would have to wait over 50 years for the next Broadway musical with book, music, and lyrics written by a woman who also starred in it - Shaina Taub's Suffs, coming to the Orpheum next month). I couldn't understand why, in 15 years of seeing pretty much everything in #TCTheater, I had never seen this show; no theater company has produced it locally in my memory, and it's never been revived on Broadway after its two-and-a-half-year original run. That glaring omission has finally been rectified with Penumbra Theatre's joy-filled production of this historically significant gem of a musical. It's playing through April 5, and if you're a fan of musical theater history, or just music and/or history in general, do not miss this show.

"The Labyrinth and the Minotaur: The Incarceration Play Project" by Wonderlust Productions at Mixed Blood Theatre

Four years in the making, Wonderlust Productions' newest piece The Labyrinth and the Minotaur: The Incarceration Play Project reimagines the myth of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth in which it is kept as the Minnesota Corrections system. For this project they collected  stories from over 230 people who live and work within this system, and the huge cast (perhaps the largest I've ever seen) includes many of these people, alongside seven professional actors. It's a really beautiful, inspiring, and thought-provoking piece about an incredibly relevant issue - this country's broken, cruel, and racist system of incarceration. This is a theater company dedicated to elevating the voices of the unheard, and there are few voices less heard than those of the incarcerated. Here they get to tell their own stories in an empowering and powerful way. Although the play is a bit too long (three hours and 15 minutes on opening night) and would benefit from some editing, it's very worthwhile and important. See it through May 22 at Mixed Blood Theatre; only five more performances remain.