"Rope" at Gremlin Theatre

The 1929 play Rope, which was adapted into a 1948 film by Alfred Hitchcock, is now receiving fine treatment on the Gremlin Theatre stage. Written by English playwright Patrick Hamilton (who also wrote Gas Light, which was also adapted into a film, and later become a term for psychological manipulation), it was inspired by the real life case of two college students who murdered a child in 1920s Chicago as an intellectual pursuit. In this version of the story, two university students murder a fellow student, put his body in a chest, and then hold a dinner party with food served on top of the chest, just to prove they could get away with murder. It's sickening really, but also makes for a riveting and suspenseful tale, because - spoiler alert - they don't get away with it. Watching their carefully plotted plan unravel like so much frayed rope is a thrill. A fantastic cast and spot on design chillingly bring this story to life. See it at Gremlin Theatre in Vandalia Tower in St. Paul's Midway neighborhood now through August 4.

"Hecuba" by Pangea World Theater

Last month, I had the pleasure of interviewing Pangea World Theater's General Manager Adlyn Carreras and Production Manager Suzanne Victoria Cross, along with my fellow blogger Julie from Minnesota Theater Love, for our podcast Twin Cities Theater Chat (listen here or wherever you listen to podcasts). It truly was eye-opening to learn about all of the programs that this organization offers, in addition to what we traditionally think of as theater. I found them to be incredibly thoughtful and passionate about the work of community building and lifting up diverse voices. With this as their foundation, it's no wonder that the theater they create is relevant and inclusive and has something to say about our world. Such is Hecuba, a millennia old story retold by modern day Irish playwright Marina Carr, whose By the Bog of Cats, a loose retelling of Medea, was produced by Theatre Pro Rata last year. Similar to that play, this Hecuba reimagines a mythical figure as a real, flawed, relatable woman who is trying to survive in unimaginable circumstances. The history of the world is a history of war, violence (often towards women), and genocide, and unfortunately the daily news is also littered with such stories. This mythical story about the brutality of war, set at the end of the Trojan War, is all too relevant. It's a beautifully written play, and Pangea's regional premiere production features a strong cast, effective elements of physical theater, and a sparsely beautiful design set against the gorgeous backdrop of the Southern Theater, all elements combining for a powerful and sobering experience.

"Anon(ymous)" by Full Circle Theater at Park Square Theatre

A play that was commissioned by and premiered at Children's Theatre Company in the early aughts is receiving a lyrical and haunting new production by Full Circle Theater at Park Square Theatre, a building that has been largely empty this year as Park Square works through some financial difficulties. But Anon(ymous) brings life and theater back into the space. Playwright Naomi Iizuka uses inspiration from The Odyssey to tell the story of a refugee, which is incredibly relevant right now with the growing numbers of people fleeing their homes due to war and violence. We follow one such person, an unnamed young man from an unnamed country, on his long journey home, in a story both grounded in reality and fantastical. 

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2023: "Baldwin's Last Fire"

Day: 5

Show: 20

Title: Baldwin's Last Fire

Category: MYSTERY

By: Black Lives Black Words International Project

Written by: Reginald Edmund

Location: Theatre in the Round

Summary: Historical fiction about acclaimed American author James Baldwin solving a mystery of missing children in France.

Highlights: James Baldwin solving a crime? Why not, it's Fringe! The play is cleverly written (by Reginald Edmund), weaving in the themes of Baldwin's writing as well as some of his words. We open in a garden in Paris, with James Baldwin (played by veteran theater and film actor Harry Waters Jr.) writing and narrating the story. His caregiver Park (Jake Quatt), who shares the narration duties, attempts to get him out into the city, where an African woman approaches him for help finding her missing child, one of many. Even Baldwin recognizes the ridiculousness of an American writer trying to solve a crime in France, until Park convinces him he could use his notoriety and influence to help. So begins our adventure, with the ensemble (Jacob Hellman, Matt Saxe, and Ashe Jaafaru) playing multiple characters. The creative storytelling includes a large rectangular cube made of what looks like metal pipes, but must be something much lighter, as the cast moves the structure around to represent a car, a door, a window, and any number of other ideas, draped with large pieces of colored fabric. It's a compelling story, well told, and a fun imagining of another kind of life for a well known historical figure.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Black Comedy" at Theatre in the Round

When looking at the #TCTheater schedule for the second weekend of 2020, I saw Black Comedy at Theatre in the Round and thought - what's that? I went to their website to check it out and saw the below photo of Josh Carson and Don Maloney, and my immediate thought was - yes, please! You might know Josh from his Fringe shows or his sold out annual parody A Very Die Hard Christmas, and Don from various shows at Lyric Arts (and other stages around town) including a very funny Odd Couple. Not only was I correct in my choice to see these two in a comedy, but the entire cast is fantastic in what is a classic British '60s farce of a play, with detailed and clever design to make this comedy in the dark really shine.

"Peter and Alice" by Candid Theatre Company at Fallout Arts Initiative

Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland are two of the most iconic characters in children's literature. Both were inspired by real people, Peter Llewelyn Davis and Alice Liddell, who were children befriended by the authors J.M. Barrie and Lewis Carroll. One would think they'd have a lot in common, and a lot to talk about, both living their lives under the shadow of this iconic image of childhood. History tells us they actually did meet, and playwright John Logan imagines what their conversation was like in the play Peter and Alice. Reality, memories, and imagination all mix together to tell a moving story of the joy and pain of growing up. Candid Theatre Company's wonderful and intimate production of Peter and Alice is playing at Fallout Arts Initiative in South Minneapolis through March 4.

"The Assassination of the Archduke of Austria-Hungary Franz Ferdinand" by Sheep Theater at the Southern Theater

"Warn the Duke!" calls the clairvoyant little boy in the musical Ragtime. Those who paid attention in their high school history class know that he's referring to Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungarian crown, whose assassination in 1914 started World War I. It turns out the story is a little more complicated than that, and Sheep Theater's new play The Assassination of the Archduke of Austria-Hungary Franz Ferdinand tells the story fairly historically accurately (from what Wikipedia tells me, my high school history class being a long time ago), but with modern language and humor. The result is part history lesson, part reflection on the current state of events, part tragedy, and part wacky farce. Judging by the sold out house last night, Sheep Theater (they do "original plays with an emphasis on classically epic stories that highlight the deranged confidence of humanity with sincerity and honesty"), has a loyal following, deservedly so, and might want to consider extending their runs past the usual handful of shows. This one closes tonight, sorry folks! Watch their website and Facebook page for your next opportunity to see this uniquely clever and funny company.

"Hauptmann" by Candid Theater Company at the People's Center Theater

The kidnapping of the son of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh in 1932 was headline news across the country and caused a media sensation. Eighty years later, the "crime of the century" is still a fascinating story and a bit of an unsolved mystery. Last year the History Theatre produced a fantastic musical Baby Case about the kidnapping, investigation, and media frenzy. Playwright and screenwriter John Logan (see also the multi-Tony-winner Red) wrote a play about it from the point of view of the man accused, convicted, and executed for the crime, Bruno Richard Hauptmann. Candid Theater Company's current production presents a fascinating and compelling drama with the barest of sets and costumes and a cast full of new young talent.

The focus of Hauptmann is not Mr. and Mrs. Lindbergh, whose child was stolen and murdered, but, as the title suggests, Hauptmann himself. He tells his story directly to the audience from his prison cell where he's awaiting execution. He narrates his story from his arrest two years after the crime, through the brutal interrogations, through the trial with resources and public opinion in the Lindberghs' favor, to his almost predetermined conviction. He never wavers in his insistence of his innocence, as the real Hauptmann never did. Someone needed to pay for the "crime of the century" to put the watchful nation at ease, and Hauptmann did. The possession of some of the ransom money, which he says he got from a friend, handwriting experts who testified to the similarity between his writing and the ransom notes, and wood experts who insisted that the wood from the ladder found at the scene of the crime matched wood in his attic was enough to convict him. History is undecided about whether or not Hauptmann was guilty of the crime, but this play leaves no doubt that he was the innocent victim of circumstance and the public and law enforcement's desperate need for a conviction.

Director Justin Kirkeberg tells the story efficiently with simple costumes, minimal sets (just a cot and a few chairs), and his seven-person cast, several of whom are new to the Twin Cities theater scene, with no a weak link among them. Aaron Henry plays the title character and rarely, if ever, leaves the stage as he guides the audience through the story. His Hauptmann is a sympathetic man, an average Joe caught up in a whirlwind, but who eventually shows his anger and frustration that no one believes him. The rest of the cast all play multiple characters, from nameless police and guards to the other personalities in the story. Jonathon Dull's Lindbergh is a strong and elegant man, desperate to find answers for his wife. As Mrs. Lindbergh, Kate Zehr is the picture of a grieving mother. Kevin Fanshaw plays four different witnesses, never getting up from the witness chair but managing to create four distinct personalities in a short period of time. Matt Saxe is the cruelly efficient prosecuting attorney, relentlessly badgering Hauptmann until he gets the answers he wants. Rounding out the cast is Elohim Peña as multiple characters including the judge, with a nice array of accents.

The American public has always been obsessed with true crime stories, and the Lindbergh baby kidnapping is one of its earliest obsessions. Hauptmann shows us the other side of the story, the possibly innocent man who was sacrificed to create a satisfying end to the story. Candid Theater Company's well done production of John Logan's compelling story continues through November 23 at the People's Center Theater on the U of M's West Bank campus (discount tickets available on Goldstar).


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"Crazyface" by Shadow Horse Theater at nimbus theatre

Wow, I don't know where to start with this one. Clive Barker, who is mostly known for writing and directing horror films (of which I am not generally a fan), has also written plays, including the epic mess Crazyface. Shadow Horse Theatre's ambitious production is not without redeeming qualities, including a darkly beautiful aesthetic and some fine performances, but this is a play that could use some editing. At three hours long with dozens of characters, including some who show up and then leave, never to be heard from again, it mostly just left me perplexed at what I just saw.

Set in medieval Europe, Crazyface tells the story of a fool who goes by that name. He is on the run with his mother, who loves him dearly, and the three wives of his brother, also a fool, but a much darker one. Crazyface is visited by an angel, who is really more of a devil, and because of this is not accepted by society. This was a time when people who were different than the norm weren't just bullied, they were hung. But Crazyface is actually the most sane and sympathetic character, it's everyone around him who's scary in the way that they treat him. Crazyface leaves his family to wander around the countryside, encountering many strange characters, and eventually finds himself in possession of a secret box that everyone wants (you won't believe what it contains!). The evil Mengo sends Crazyface's brother Lenny, whom he is keeping captive and torturing for some unknown reason (think Ramsey Bolton and Reek), to find and kill Crazyface. But Crazyface, who is not as foolish as he appears, survives to return to his mother. Lots of other weird stuff happens, but that's the gist of it.

Andy Schnabel as Crazyface

Andy Schnabel as Crazyface is a wonderful centering force through this strange maze, and makes this fool someone to root for and believe in. Derek Meyer is charismatic as the angel/devil on his shoulder, Matt Saxe is chilling as Mengo, and Matthew Kelly is the scariest as Lenny. Lots of other actors play lots of other characters that I had a hard time keeping track of, but they managed to, with the help of the period costumes by Barb Portinga. The simple set (by Theresa Akers) is dominated by a huge twisted tree trunk, upon which the angel perches, and a church that's shaped like a coffin.

If you're a fan of horror films and weird macabre storytelling, you might want to check this one out. Playing at nimbus theatre in Northeast Minneapolis through July 26 (discount tickets available on Goldstar).