"The Empathy Project" streaming from Full Circle Theater

This past weekend, Full Circle Theater Company premiered a new play they've been working on for several years. Playwright and Full Circle Core Artist Stephanie Lein Walseth interviewed about 20 people around the state about empathy. She noted in a post show discussion (which followed all four showings of the recorded zoom reading) that she first had the idea for this project prior to the 2016 election, and started interviewing people about a year ago. Out of each interview, she pulled a short story, looking for moments of surprise or something that challenged our stereotypes. The stories are woven together in a structure she compared to the docu-theater style of a Laramie Project or Yellow Face, or like a story circle. The result is incredibly moving, and is well suited to the virtual format as it focuses on one person telling a story.

"Superior Donuts" at Lyric Arts

"Loving #SuperiorDonuts @LyricArtsAnoka! Smart, funny, relevant play by #TracyLetts and great cast! And it's nice to see some diversity on the stage and in the audience. #intermissiontweets."
Twitter @cherryandspoon

Sometimes 280 characters is all you need. But I've got a few more here, so I'll expand on last night's intermission tweet. Lyric Arts' production of Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts' Superior Donuts, which premiered at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater ten years ago, is one of the best things I've seen there. I almost always enjoy my trip to Anoka to see theater at Lyric, but my biggest complaint has been the lack of diversity on the stage at this theater in the 'burbs that only recently transitioned out of being a community theater. This play is a great step in the right direction, a new-ish play by a current acclaimed American playwright. And this cast is fantastic, really bringing out the heart and humor of the piece. Friends, if you've not been to Lyric lately, now is the time to head up Highway 10 to the old movie theater on Main Street (it's not as far as you think).

Fringe Festival 2017: "ODD MAN OUT"

Day: 2

Show: 6

Title: ODD MAN OUT

Category: Drama

By: Underdog Theatre

Created by: Kory LaQuess Pullam

Location: U of M Rarig Center Arena

Summary: An intense drama about an African American family in Texas dealing with grief, infidelity, drugs, and coming out.

Highlights: If you're looking for a powerful and affecting drama at the Fringe this year - ODD MAN OUT is it. The Twin Cities Theater Bloggers chose Kory LaQuess Pullam as our favorite new artist last year, and he continues to remind us why and reaffirm our choice. As playwright and director, he's constructed a compelling story with complex characters that unfolds in under an hour, with an ending that left me wishing for an Act II to continue to explore this family and their issues as they relate to issues in society at large. Our main character is gay college freshman James (Malick Ceesay), whose complicated relationship with his father (LaMont Ridgell) is revealed in a couple of flashbacks. The main action takes place around the funeral of James' grandfather, and everyone in the family is dealing with something. James' uncle Charlie (Kennie Cotton) is avoiding child support and sleeping on his brother's couch. James' father cheats on his mother (Charla Marie Bailey), and his sister (Am'Ber Montgomery) sells drugs and isn't ashamed of it. And grandma (CiCi Cooper) is just trying to hold it all together. Add in James bringing his boyfriend home to meet the family for the first time and you have a situation ripe with conflict. And conflict there is. This excellent cast of actors mostly unknown to me all give powerful performances that brought me right into the story and made it feel almost painfully real.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.