"Little Women" at the Guthrie Theater

Lousia May Alcott's 1868 novel Little Women has been adapted into countless movies, plays, TV series, even a Broadway musical, and our own Collide Theatrical Dance Company recently turned it into an original dance musical. Now Lauren Gunderson, one of America's most produced playwrights of recent years, with a penchant for writing female-focused historical or literary-inspired plays that are fresh, funny, and feminist, has thrown her hat into the ring. And friends, this may be my favorite Little Women adaptation yet. Gunderson (who was in the house opening night) frames her play as a story within a story, placing Alcott and her real family on stage as they transform into the March family, which allows for context and commentary on this beloved tale. Now and in the past, women and girls are hungry for stories that center us in all our complexities and messiness, because for so long we've been marginalized in stories, in history, and in our own lives. In that respect, Lousia May Alcott and Lauren Gunderson are a match made in literary theatrical heaven. The Guthrie's production features a fantastic local cast and gorgeous design, and had me in tears multiple times throughout the story. Whether you're a fan of this story or not, don't miss this fresh new take on a classic that's still respectful of the source (continuing through June 21 - I'll be going back to see it again).

"The Book of Will" by Theatre Pro Rata at the Crane Theater

We all just take for granted that Shakespeare's 30+ plays have always been available - to put on a play, to read in school, to make a parody of. But it turns out that like many playwrights from centuries past, his plays might have been lost to us forever. A theater world without Shakespeare is unimaginable, and we have his good friends and actors in his company to thank for it. And we have this season's most produced playwright Lauren Gunderson to thank for giving us this story, and Theatre Pro Rata for bringing us the regional premiere of The Book of Will. It's a compelling and dynamic tale about 17th century publishing, as shocking as that may sound, and Pro Rata gives it fine treatment, with a great cast and simple yet effective design. See it the Crane Theater through October 11, and find out how Shakespeare's First Folio came to be.

"Silent Sky" at Theatre in the Round

One of America's most produced playwrights of recent years, Lauren Gunderson is known for writing plays about women in history and/or science that are modern, feminist, funny, and moving. Silent Sky is one of her most popular - it's now receiving it's third #TCTheater production (I love it, but I'd also love to see The Half-Life of Marie Curie, or Emilie: La Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight, or any and all of her other plays). Silent Sky features little known astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, who figured out a way to measure the universe, laying the foundation for more well-known (male) scientists like Edwin Hubble. In Gunderson's hands, Henrietta is a very real and relatable woman, who wants to do work that matters, and maybe also have a little fun along the way. With a strong five-person cast and elegantly simple design, Theatre in the Round's Silent Sky is entertaining and inspirational. Who knew science could be so dramatic and emotional?! (Lauren Gunderson, that's who.)

"Toil & Trouble" at Yellow Tree Theatre

In recent years, Lauren Gunderson has become one of my favorite playwrights, with her fresh, modern, feminist plays about women in history, and her Christmas at Pemberley series, the best Pride and Prejudice fan fiction (co-written by Margo Melcon). And I'm not alone in my love for her plays; she's one of the most produced playwrights in recent years. So whenever a theater programs one of her plays, I'm all for it (I would like to request #TCTheater productions of the women-in-science plays The Half-Life of Marie Curie and Emilie: La Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight next season). But I'm not sure I would have recognized Toil & Trouble, now playing on Yellow Tree Theatre's Osseo stage, as one of her works. It might be the only one of her plays set in modern times that I've ever seen, and it's much darker than her other work that I'm familiar with. But it's still smart, funny, modern, and feminist (because women can be murderers too!). Yellow Tree's production is perfectly cast, with abundantly detailed design, and darkly hilarious. Go get your Lauren Gunderson fix in Osseo now through March 3 (and follow it up with Silent Sky at Theatre in the Round, opening soon).

"The Revolutionists" at Park Square Theatre

"Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?" This quote from Hamilton (coming to Minneapolis next week) could also describe Park Square Theatre and Prime Productions' co-production of The Revolutionists. Both pieces are a more inclusive retelling of history, both take place in the late 18th century, both feature citizens staging a revolution to make their country a better place. The Revolutionists is the story of four historical women in the French Revolution, so "who dies" is most of them (Madame Guillotine comes for us all in the end), and "who tells your story" is Lauren Gunderson, one of the most produced playwrights in the country and one of my favorites. She has a knack for writing historical women as if they were alive today, with modern language and experiences that relate directly to today's world. Her dialogue sparkles with wit and meaning, her characters are real and fully rounded people, and this fantastic four-person cast brings them to vivid life on Park Square's stage. Sadly, this will be the last play on that stage for the foreseeable future; Park Square has cancelled the remainder of their season to regroup and recover from a couple of tough years, and hopefully come back stronger next season. So don't miss this chance to see their always great work, this time made better by collaboration with Prime Productions, a company that focuses on telling stories by about women in their prime. The Revolutionists is another in a series of smart, successful, entertaining collaborations this #TCTheater season (continuing through April 16 only).

"The Revolutionists" streaming from Lyric Arts

This morning I watched my third streaming Lauren Gunderson play in a week. Last week I watched Steppingstone Theatre's I and You and Jungle Theater's collaboration on Lauren's newest play The Catostrophist (the latter available through May 2, click here for info on both). Today I had the pleasure of watching Lyric Arts's first show since January 2020 - The Revolutionists, recently filmed on their Anoka stage. Like many of Lauren's plays, it tells a fictionalized story of well-known (or should be well-known) women from history with modern language and sensibility, and is funny, smart, poignant, and relevant. If you miss live theater and/or Lyric Arts' popcorn-scented Main Street Stage, don't miss this show (available through May 2 only)!

Two Lauren Gunderson Plays: "The Catastrophist" by Jungle/Round House/Marin Theatres and "I and You " by Steppingstone Theatre

After a particularly difficult week (rising COVID cases, vaccine side effects, the continued murder of Black people by the police, mass shootings, i.e., just another week in America) I took a much-needed hiatus from my phone today and instead spent some time at my church - theater. Specifically, I streamed two plays by one of my and America's current favorite playwrights, Lauren Gunderson (she's one of the most produced living playwrights in recent years; I saw two of her plays in February 2020, just before this extended intermission began). In the last year or so of virtual theater, I've found that I love watching theater in the morning - 7am or earlier, first thing when I get up while I eat breakfast, before doing my morning zoom yoga. It's a wonderful way to start the day. I began my phone-less theater-filled day with Lauren's newest play, The Catastrophist, a Jungle Theater co-production with DC's Round House Theatre and San Francisco's Marin Theatre Company. Then, after yoga and a lovely bike ride around my neighborhood, I watched I and You over lunch, produced by Steppingstone Theatre, which has recently joined forces with Park Square Theatre. The two plays are quite different, but share similar themes as well as Lauren's smart, clever, witty dialogue and realistic characters (one of whom actually is real). Both plays are under 90 minutes and really great choices for your stay-home-stay-safe-stream-some-theater week.

"Silent Sky" by Theatre Pro Rata at the Bell Museum

'Tis the season for Lauren Gunderson's smart, funny, modern, and inspiring plays about female scientists in history, and I am here for it (keep 'em coming, #TCTheater). A week after seeing DalekoArts' lovely production of Ada and the Engine (about mathematician and computer programmer Ada Lovelace), I saw Theatre Pro Rata's production of Silent Sky (about astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, which I had seen at Lyric Arts a few years ago). It's a great play, but what makes this production truly special is that it is staged in the planetarium at the Bell Museum on the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus. Despite the fact that I got my graduate degree (in statistics, you can see why I'm so drawn to women in science plays) at the U of M, I didn't even know this museum existed (in my defense, the gorgeous new building just opened a year and a half ago). I hope to return to tour the museum sometime, but my first experience to it (through theater, natch) was a wonderful one. Being able to look up at the stars as Henrietta talked about them made the story feel so real. A truly inspired pairing of play and location by Theatre Pro Rata.

"Ada and the Engine" at DalekoArts

Lauren Gunderson currently holds the title of the most produced playwright in America (see: her Pride and Prejudice fan fiction produced annually at the Jungle). Her plays often center on female heroes, fictional or historical. It's no wonder her plays are frequently produced; this is exactly the kind of play we're hungry for right now. DalekoArts is producing the regional premiere of Ada and the Engine, a play about 19th century mathematician and arguably the world's first computer programmer Ada Lovelace. This smart, funny, poignant (spoiler alert: Ada died young), insightful play is beautifully realized by DalekoArts and 100% worth the drive to charming New Prague.

Silent Sky at Lyric Arts

Have you ever heard of Henrietta Leavitt? Neither have I. But we should have. This early 20th Century female astronomer's discoveries gave us the ability to measure the universe. The much more famous (and male) astronomer Edwin Hubble built on her work and won the Nobel Prize for his work, which Henrietta could not because she died young before the full effects of her work were seen. None of us can control "who lives, who dies, who tells your story,*" but if the history books don't tell her story, we can be happy that theater is. Lyric Arts' production of Silent Sky (which, by the way, is written by a woman, directed by a woman, and features a mostly female cast) is a beautiful tribute to this brilliant, passionate, and dedicated woman who helped to quantify the idea that there is more out there in the universe than just this world we know.

"The Taming" by Theatre Unbound at SteppingStone Theater

Women in politics. It's a pretty timely issue in this election season that may end with America's first woman president (if we're lucky and vote smart). Theatre Unbound's The Taming looks at women and politics, specifically "three powerful, ambitious, and politically motivated women: an animal-loving Democratic social media giant, a workaholic Queer Republican Senator's aide, and a Miss America-hopeful who attempts to break their divide and bring the parties together to rewrite the constitution" (per a note in the program from director Mel Day). Inspired by Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, but not bearing a whole lot of resemblance to it, there's still a whole lot of fodder for political satire, humor, and wackiness, and The Taming delivers.