"Rhinoceros" at Theatre in the Round

What a year it's been, friends! How fitting that my first #TCTheater show of 2018 is the same as one I saw in January last year, and it's just as timely and relevant as it was then (even though it was written nearly 60 years ago). My first experience with Eugene Ionesco's absurdist masterpiece Rhinoceros was 7th House Theatre's "pop up production" last year, which they intentionally premiered the night of the inauguration of the 45th president. Now a year has passed, and this absurd, funny, yet deadly serious little play, now playing at Theatre in the Round, resonates in whole new ways. Written in response to the rise of Fascism in pre-WWII Europe, Rhinoceros reminds us to be wary of large lumbering beasts running through our town and destroying everything we've worked so hard to build. Theatre in the Round's production makes great use of their in-the-round space and a wonderfully committed cast to entertain while also disturbing. As I wrote last year, "It would be terrifying if it weren't so funny. It would be funny if it weren't so terrifying."

"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" at Theatre in the Round

The longest-running theater in Minneapolis, Theatre in the Round is opening their 65th season with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the familiar story of the doctor who turns into a sociopath. An intriguing feature of this adaptation by local playwright Jeffrey Hatcher (whose adaptation work can also currently be seen in Lyric Arts' chilling Wait Until Dark) is that while Dr. Jekyll is played by one actor. his alter ego Mr. Hyde is played by four different actors who alternate and sometimes are all present on stage, sometimes along with Dr. Jekyll. This provides a unique glimpse into the fractured and frightening psyche of Jeckyll/Hyde. The story is well-told by the eight-person cast and well-staged in TRP's in-the-round space.