"Paradise Blue" at Penumbra Theatre

In 2015, Penumbra Theatre produced Dominique Morisseau's Detroit '67, the first of her three-play series known as The Detroit Project, set in her hometown. Now almost ten years later, they're bringing us the second play in the series, Paradise Blue. In between they've produced a few other plays by Morrisseau, and we've seen the final Detroit play Skeleton Crew at Yellow Tree and the Guthrie (directed by Austene Van who was in Detroit '67). So if you're an avid #TCTheater goer, this is your long-awaited chance to complete this trilogy. But don't worry if you haven't seen any of the others; the three plays are stand-alone, set in different decades and featuring different characters and storylines. But what they have in common is the beautifully real and relevant way they explore Black culture in Detroit specifically, and in America as a whole. From the 1967 Detroit Riot, to the closing of an auto plant in the late aughts recession, and in this play - a jazz club in the late '40s. A fantastic cast and stunning design bring this powerful story to vivid life on Penumbra's stage, continuing through March 9.

American Players Theatre 2024

This year I made my second visit to American Players Theatre, the magical theater in the middle of the woods of Wisconsin. My friends at Minnesota Theater Love have been going for years, and finally convinced me to join them two years ago. I was enamored of the setting and the quality (and quantity) of work produced, and declared that "if Middle Earth had a theater, it would look like American Players Theatre," so I was happy to make the trip again after missing last year. And now I am thoroughly and irrevocably ensorcelled by the experience that is APT; I don't think I'll miss another year if I can help it. We saw five shows in three days, four of them outdoors, each better than the last. If you're a theater fan in the Midwest, put APT on your must-do list. A lovely four-hour drive from the Twin Cities through the corn fields and rolling hills of Wisconsin brings you to a two-stage, eight-show repertory theater than runs from June through September (with an additional indoor show in October). It's a gem that even the New York Times has visited - so why haven't you? This year we stayed at House on the Rock Resort which is the closest (and perfectly satisfactory) lodging to the theater at just about a mile away, but there are other hotels, B&Bs, and AirBnBs in the vicinity. Plus there are plenty of shops and restaurants in and around Spring Green to entertain you (although I do recommend making a reservation for Saturday night dinner, we visited four restaurants before we found one that could seat us). So make a long weekend of it, visit the truly bizarre funhouse that is House on the Rock (admission included if you stay at the Resort), take in the majesty of Taliesin (which I have yet to do), and enjoy some amazing theater, scenery, and cheese!

"What I Learned in Paris" at Penumbra Theatre

A few months ago, the Guthrie produced a Pearl Cleage play called Blues for an Alabama Sky, a lovely and ultimately tragic story about a group of friends living in 1930s Harlem. Now Penumbra is bringing us her play What I Learned in Paris, about a group of friends living in Atlanta in the '70s. This story is a little lighter, but not without depth. It begins on the night that Maynard Jackson was elected mayor of Atlanta, the first Black mayor in any major Southern city. Our group is filled with hope at the new world this event signals, but also aware that inequality still exists, in the areas of race and gender both. Director Lou Bellamy calls it an "insightful and often provocative romantic comedy," and this co-production with Portland Playhouse is fun to watch, while still exploring important issues that are still relevant nearly 50 years after this historic election. See What I Learned in Paris at Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul's historic Rondo neighborhood now through May 14.

"Thurgood" at Penumbra Theatre Company

Friends, if you want to be reminded of the promise of America, and have a little hope restored that this promise will one day be fulfilled, go see Thurgood at Penumbra Theatre. And you're in luck - after selling out the initial planned run (at limited capacity), they've it extended through April 10. This solo play is such an inspiring look at the icon and the human that was lawyer, activist, and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and what an important role he played in the continued fight for Civil Rights. Though it seems like we've taken a few steps back in that regard lately, with new voter suppression laws and increased hate crimes and violence against Black Americans, and other communities of color, this play reminds us what is possible. And with the recent nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, who would be the first Black female Justice, it couldn't be more timely.