"Roe" at Mixed Blood Theatre

I'm not sure there is a more controversial or hotly debate Supreme Court decision than the 1973 case Roe v. Wade that confirmed that the constitutional right to privacy includes a woman's right to decide whether or not to end a pregnancy. Every American has heard of this case, and every American has an opinion about it, usually a very strong one. In Lisa Loomer's brilliant new play Roe, receiving just its second production at Mixed Blood Theatre ahead of a possible Broadway premiere, she explores the life of the two women behind the case: Norma McCorvey, the originally anonymous plaintiff, and Sarah Weddington, the lawyer who successfully argued the case in front of the Supreme Court. It's a fascinating story, not just the journey to the Supreme Court, but the continuing journey since. Or rather, two intersecting journeys for these two very different but equally determined women who parted ways somewhere along the line. But this is no dry history or legal lecture, or a preachy lesson. The play is smart, funny, dynamic, and moving, telling very human and relatable stories about very real and flawed characters. The cast and creative team bring it to life flawlessly, with all elements combining in a way that makes Roe the best thing I've seen this year. It closes at the end of the month, with many performances at or near sell-out; act fast so as not to miss this important and exciting new work (click here for more info and to reserve tickets).

"How to Use a Knife" at Mixed Blood Theatre

About their newest production, Mixed Blood's Artistic Director Jack Reuler notes, "How to Use a Knife is definitive Mixed Blood: hilarious until it's not, propelled by catalytic cultural collisions, simultaneously political and theatrical, timely in America and in our own Cedar Riverside neighborhood, multi-lingual, and 90 intermissionless minutes." If you think this sounds like a recipe for a delectable and satisfying theater meal, you are absolutely correct. Will Snider's new play is a tragicomedy that takes place in a restaurant kitchen with diverse, clearly drawn, realistic characters, brilliantly brought to life by a fantastic cast, with a completely engrossing story that'll leave you wondering just who the bad guy is in this story, and maybe realizing that defining a "bad guy" isn't all that simple.

A Reading of "Minneapolis/St. Paul" at the Playwrights' Center

"Now in its 12th year, the Ruth Easton New Play Series gives selected Core Writers 20 hours with collaborators to workshop their script—to write, rewrite, experiment, and shape their work. For playwrights, this means great leaps forward for their plays. For audiences, this means a thrilling and intimate night of theater."

The Ruth Easton Series concludes at the Playwrights' Center tonight, and I was fortunate to attend all five new play readings in the season. The final reading is a full circle moment for this theater blogger - the very first reading I attended at PWC was a reading of core writer Lee Blessing's Minneapolis/St. Paul, which the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers were invited to attend and discuss with the playwright. It's hard to believe that was less than a year ago, and since then I've attended as many readings as I am able to. As Lee himself said in an interview, "There's no more useful tool a playwright has to improve a play than the chance to watch it presented to an audience of willing victims." Consider me a very willing victim for this sort of experiment. It's been so much fun to experience these five plays in development (see also December's Wink by Jen Silverman, January's queens by Martyna Majok, February's Eden Prairie 1971 by Mat Smart, and January's The Sea at the Stars by Harrison David Rivers). If you've never been to a reading at the Playwrights' Center, I highly encourage you to pay them a visit and be a part of the great work they're doing in their 45th season.

"Stage Kiss" at the Guthrie

As someone who has never worked in theater but is enamored of the whole theater world, I'm often curious about the rehearsal process and how a piece of theater is created. Sarah Ruhl has given us a peek inside that world in her play Stage Kiss, now playing on the Guthrie's Proscenium Stage. I don't know how accurate it is, but it's a pretty hilarious look at the entire process of creating a performance, from audition, to first read-through, to blocking, to dress rehearsal, all the way to opening night. The writing, as delivered by this fantastic cast, is laugh-out-loud funny and the play (which Sarah notes is "for actors") is a loving send-up of acting, theater, and love.

Stage Kiss is one of those play-within-a-play shows (actually two-plays-within-a-play), providing multiple levels and nuances for this great seven-person cast to play with under the sharp direction of Casey Stangl. As opposed to the character of the director, who doesn't seem to have a clue what he's doing in directing a 1930s flop called Last Kiss in a New Haven theater. He seems flummoxed whenever he's asked a question, and often talks about the "slippery" tone of the play, in which a wealthy married woman finds out she's dying, sends for her first love, and is reunited with him, only to watch him run away with her daughter. Complicating the rehearsal process is that the actors playing the woman and her lover are former lovers in real life, with some unresolved feelings about their relationship. The line between art and reality begin to blur as they find themselves drawn to each other, remembering why they fell in love so long ago, until they remember why they broke up. The play has some fantastical elements, as characters in the "reality" portion of the play step out to speak their feelings, or break out in song, while seeming perplexed that they're singing. There's nothing slippery about the tone of Stage Kiss, it's the humor of heightened reality.

Todd Gearhart and Stacia Rice (photo by Joan Marcus)

Six of the seven actors in this cast have multiple roles to play, both in the play world and in the "real" world, and all appear to be having a blast with the wide range of duties, from sitting bored in a rehearsal room to over-the-top acting as characters in the play-within-a-play. Stacia Rice is so funny and natural as the actress, in contrast to the delightfully exaggerated play roles. A dreamy Todd Gearhart is a great match as her lover on stage and off. Michael Booth plays the actress' husband both in the play and in the real world, like flip sides of the same coin. Grant Fletcher Prewitt (half of the great comedy duo that was last year's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern) is a scene-stealer with his genius physical comedy skills, eliciting laughter from the audience just from walking onstage in his second act getup. Cat Brindisi and Rebecca Hurd provide great support in multiple roles, both real and deliciously over-the-top. Charles Hubbell is the one member of the cast who exists only in the "real" world, as the amusingly daft director.

the cast of Stage Kiss as the cast of Last Kiss
(photo by Joan Marcus)

Devon Painter should be commended for displaying great range in her costume design, which includes cute and chic modern wear, the glamorous world of the '30s, and outrageous '70s costumes in the second act play-within-a-play (entitled I Loved You Before I Killed You, or Blurry, it's too ridiculous to be described). Todd Rosenthal's set design is also quite versatile with lots of moving pieces and startling transformations. We're taken from the bare stage and brick walls of a theater rehearsal room, to a sleek '30s living room, to a shabby '70s apartment. It's fun to watch the progression of sets and costumes in the ongoing rehearsals in the first act, beginning with street clothes and markings on the floor, slowly adding a wardrobe piece here or there, or a representative piece of furniture or two. If you've ever pored over the rehearsal photos that the Guthrie often includes in their playbills, you'll recognize the idea.

The Guthrie is a busy place this summer with the scrumptious smash hit The Music Man causing larger than usual crowds. I just hope that visitors to River City also check out the Guthrie's many other great offerings, Stage Kiss among them. While The Music Man is a heartwarming and overflowing production of a classic musical about small town America in the last century, Stage Kiss a very funny and modern new play that is an homage to the theater world we love so well (playing now through August 30).

"On Golden Pond" at The Jungle Theater

This is Bain Boehlke's last full season as Artistic Director of The Jungle Theater, which he co-founded in 1991 (he will retire next summer). For the final production of the 2014 season, he has chosen the beloved American classic On Golden Pond, which was made into an equally beloved 1981 movie starring Katherine Hepburn and real life father/daughter team Henry and Jane Fonda. In a final trifecta, Bain has directed the show, designed the set, and stars as loveable curmudgeon Norman. It's a sweet, funny, beautiful triumph. Nothing showy or flashy or over-the-top, rather a lovely and quiet exploration of relationships and life.

On Golden Pond centers on Norman (Bain Boehlke) and Ethel (Wendy Lehr), who have summered together on Golden Pond in Maine for 48 years. It's a quiet and simple life, kept busy with picking strawberries, fishing, playing Parcheesi, and talking to the loons. Their only visitor is mailman Charlie (E.J. Subkoviak), who stops in for coffee when delivering their mail by lake. Their daughter Chelsea (Jennifer Blagen), who has always had a strained relationship with Norman, shows up with her fiance Bill (Michael Booth) and his son Billy (Peder Lindell). The boy ends up staying for a month, and he and Norman become fast friends. Chelsea suspects he's like the son that Norman always wanted her to be. We witness the course of the summer, from opening up the cabin and settling in, to packing up and heading back to city life. Having just turned 80 and suffering from heart palpitations, Norman talks as if he has one foot in the grave, which annoys and frightens Ethel. When the play ends, we're not sure if they'll return to Golden Pond next summer, or if we've just witnessed Norman and Ethel's last summer on their beloved lake. But all in all they've lived a good and happy life, if not perfect, and we can be certain that they'll enjoy whatever time they have left, whether it's 10 more days or 10 more years.

Norman and Ethel (Bain Boehlke and
Wendy Lehr, photo by Michal Daniel)

Everyone in the cast does a fine job, but On Golden Pond is all about Ethel and Norman, and Wendy and Bain are perfection. Their decades of friendship and collaboration are evident in the very real and natural relationship between Norman and Ethel. Bain physically inhabits the role of Norman with a slow and deliberate gait and labored breathing, but an internal fire as he verbally challenges everyone he comes up against, while still showing occasional glimpses of vulnerability. Wendy's Ethel has the busy energy of a retired woman with things to do, who loves her family wholly. She calls Norman a nitwit and "you old poop" with great affection. Watching these two local legends (both have Ivey Lifetime Achievement Awards) is a true pleasure. I had a smile on my face throughout the show and tears in my eyes at the end.

As always at the Jungle, the set is a perfect representation of the story. The cozy cabin is packed with books, photos, tchotchkes, games, blankets, and hats, like an actual cabin that has been lived in and loved for 50 years. It's a place I'd love to spend the summer, a place that feels familiar to anyone who has a summer retreat. The costumes (by Annie Cady) are vaguely '70s, especially with the younger set, but in an unobtrusive way. Ethel and Norman's clothes look comfortable and lived-in. The sideburns, bell bottoms, and phone operator are the only things that make this seem like a period piece; otherwise it could be happening on any lake in Minnesota or elsewhere.

On Golden Pond continues through December 21, so you really have no excuse not to head to this lovely little Uptown theater to see it. It's a great example of the quality theater that the Jungle has been producing for over 20 years under Bain Boehlke's leadership, that will hopefully continue after his tenure concludes next year. But for now, take this opportunity to watch a couple of legends in a beloved American play. You won't soon forget it.

"Lake Untersee" by Workhaus Collective at Illusion Theater

Lake Untersee, a new play by local playwright Joe Waechter, is odd and beautiful, sharply realistic and wildly fantastical. It's a little bit difficult to reconcile those two sides and figure out what is actually happening, but it's probably best not to worry too much about it and just enjoy the lyricism of it all, and this well-done production by Workhaus Collective (which with I was previously unfamiliar).

Rocky (Michael Thurston)
(photo by Heidi Bohnenkamp)

On a bare stage hung with plastic tarps and one big sheet of ice, we meet Rocky (a compelling Michael Thurston, a student at St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Arts). Rocky is a typical teenager who has trouble communicating with his divorced parents. Rocky's relationship with his parents, who are too busy with their own separate lives to pay much attention to him, is very realistically drawn. Most teens and parents of teens can probably relate to this family, even though Rocky takes it to the extreme and literally grunts at his parents when he doesn't know what else to say. Perhaps not so typical is that Rocky is in love with someone, or something, that he believes is trapped under the ice in Antarctica. The letters he writes to this being he calls Charlie are just beautiful, even if I didn't understand who or what they were directed to. Maybe that doesn't matter, maybe it's just Rocky expressing feelings he wishes he had for someone.

Jason, Gale, and Phyllis (Michael Booth,
Adelin Phelps, and Jennifer Blagen)
(photo by Heidi Bohnenkamp)

Rocky's mother Phyllis (Jennifer Blagen), a writer with writer's block, can no longer handle him, so she allows him to move in with his father Jason (Michael Booth) and his new girlfriend, the artist Gale (Adelin Phelps). Gale seems to be the only adult who allows Rocky to be who he is, and doesn't put pressure on him to have a girlfriend or go to college. The adults are dealing with their own issues - career, relationships - and don't seem to notice that something is really wrong with Rocky, until he has a breakdown in a clothing store dressing room that will break your heart. It's at this point that the fantastical element of the play kicks in, as they all end up in Antarctica looking for Charlie. Or maybe it's all part of Rocky's hallucination. Either way, it's only in this world that Rocky's parents show him the unconditional love and support that he so desperately craves.

I'm not sure what this play means, or what actually happens. But the writing is beautiful, the characters and situations relatable and relevant, all well-performed by this four-person cast. Dive into Lake Untersee and see for yourself, continuing through September 29.

"Skiing on Broken Glass" at the Guthrie Theater

A hit 2010 Minnesota Fringe show is currently being remounted in a full production in the Guthrie's Dowling Studio Theater. The Guthrie's Artistic Director Joe Dowling* saw Skiing on Broken Glass at the Fringe and has worked with writer David Goldstein over the last few years to develop it into this expanded version, adding characters and developing relationships. The result is a tragically beautiful love story between two very different people who need each other. With a fantastic four-person cast of three Guthrie veterans and one welcome newcomer, this is a wonderful production of a great new play.

In the first scene of the play, we meet Mark (Michael Booth), a successful writer in his 40s still grieving the loss of his partner 12 years ago. He has "accidentally" brought home a young prostitute named Todd (David Darrow), and the two develop a relationship that progresses over the next several years (with the time displayed on the wall at the beginning of each scene). Mark offers Todd kindness when he's in trouble, and the two eventually discover that they love and need each other. Their relationship is complicated by the fact that Todd continues to work as a prostitute despite Mark's suggestion that he go back to school, as well as Mark's discomfort in introducing his new young boyfriend to his successful established friends. His good friend Edith (Michelle O'Neill, who directed the Fringe production) visits from London and tells Mark exactly what she thinks of Todd - that he's taking advantage of him and it can't possibly be love. She introduces her fiance Thomas (Bill McCallum) to Mark and Todd, which adds another layer of complication and tragedy. Even though none of their friends quite understand, these are two lonely and broken souls who need something the other can give. Even though they may not be able to stay together, they've changed each other's lives for good, and I think, for the better.

Mark and Todd in a happy moment (Michael Booth and
David Darrow, photo by Heidi Bohnenkamp)

Michelle gives a wonderful performance as the woman concerned for her friend, as does Bill as the stuffy Englishman who turns into something more sinister. But the play belongs to Michael and David as they beautifully portray this complicated relationship. Michael reveals layers of Mark as he tries to see in Todd what he wants to see, and slowly accepts who he is. The highlight of the show for me is an incredibly emotional and raw performance from David Darrow. He's a true talent, and now that he's made his debut at the Guthrie I think we'll be seeing a lot more of him on the Guthrie stages (the shirtless scenes are a great audition for the role of Spike!).

The black box studio is set up in my favorite arrangement and the one that feels the most intimate, with audience on three sides of the square stage, mimicking the Guthrie's thrust stage. I think this is my favorite of the five Michael Hoover sets I've seen in the last month - a gorgeous Frank Lloyd Wright-esque home, with a living room I'd like to live in and stairs to a second floor with multiple doors.

Skiing on Broken Glass continues through November 17 in the Guthrie studio. I really loved this play; I think it's so beautiful and heart-breaking, well-written with strong acting from the four-person cast. The playwright says it best in a note in the playbill:

Skiing on Broken Glass is about following your heart though others may judge you harshly. Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to the people we love and the relationships we pursue. And it's about the bounds of friendship and the responsibilities that come with it. 

At its most basic level, Skiing on Broken Glass is about the universal need to give and receive love, to have profound and selfless feelings for another person in the deepest recesses of our hearts. It is about love in all its forms: healing and hurting. Lost and mourned, Bought and sold. Vulnerable and irrational. Selfish and unconditional. Love as a weapon. Love as salvation.

*Read this interview with Joe Dowling for more about the development process and casting.

"Deathtrap" at the Jungle Theater

One of the highlights of the Jungle Theater's stellar 2012 season was the deliciously thrilling Dial M for Murder, about which I wrote "murder shouldn't be this fun." Three of the five members of that cast, along with the director/designer, reunite for this year's thriller Deathtrap. Dial M is a classic from the 1950s, and Deathtrap was written by Ira Levin in the late 1970s as an homage to the thriller genre of which Dial M is a prime example. It's a bit more modern feeling, less tense and more funny, and very meta. Several characters in the play are playwrights who begin to write a play describing their lives, and then continue to act in order to figure out what happens next in the play, in a life imitates art imitates life sort of way. There are several surprising plot twists and turns, including one moment so shocking that there was a cry of fear and delight throughout the audience such as I've never heard before inside a theater. The audience reaction was almost as much fun as what was going on onstage.

I really don't want to give away too much of the plot, because watching it unfold is part of the fun. Usually you can sort of tell where a play is going or how it's going to end, but watching Deathtrap, as each scene ended, I had no idea where the next scene was going, which certainly kept me alertly watching throughout the show. The play centers on once-great playwright Sidney Bruhl, who is desperate for another hit. When a student from his seminar sends him what could be that hit, he hints to his wife Myra that he just might be willing to kill the man to make that hit play his own. After all, he's written enough murder mysteries for the stage to be able to conduct one in reality (or so he thinks). Sidney invites the young playwright Clifford to his home, to his wife's dismay. The plan continues, but not in the way you might think. There's also a Dutch psychic (or as they called it in the late '70s, ESP), and a lawyer called in to settle some affairs. Oh just go see it, you'll find out what happens!

Sidney (Steve Hendrickson) and Myra (Cheryl Willis)
argue as Clifford (Michael Booth)
finds himself in a sticky situation

The cast that worked together so well on Dial M last year does so here as well. Michael Booth is once again the man plotting to kill Cheryl Willis (I hope she doesn't take it personally), and both are great to watch - Michael with his deft transformation from naive innocent to something more sinister, and Cheryl with her British accent and over-the-top histrionics  Steve Hendrickson steals the show with his very physical portrayal of Sidney, all loose exasperation and paranoid plotting. One of the biggest audience laughs came when he flopped around on a chair for many long minutes while Clifford typed away, unaware of the spectacle in front of him. Claudia Wilkins is a hoot as the concerned Dutch psychic ("I sense much pain, much pain!"), and Terry Hempleman (another Dial M vet) as the lawyer is the calm at the center of the storm, until he's not.

All of this crazy action is beautifully directed by the Jungle's Artistic Director Bain Boehlke (with fight choreography by Peter Moore, also part of the Dial M cast). Bain also designed the set of course. As usual, the intimate stage at the Jungle houses a specific, detailed, impeccable set. This time it's a carriage house that's been converted to a writer's study. The walls are covered with posters window cards from (real and fictional) Broadway plays, scripts litter the floor under a bench, and books crowd onto huge built-in shelves. But the most impressive thing is the wall of weapons that Sidney has collected from his murder plays and elsewhere. Several of them figure prominently in the plot, and all are beautifully displayed on the wall above the fireplace. The lighting (Barry Browning, who won an Ivey for lighting Dial M last year) and sound (Sean Healey) all add to the very specific sense of time and place that is so characteristic of the Jungle's work.

If you've never been to the Jungle Theater in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis... what have you been doing with your life? I cannot recommend them enough. I'm always impressed by the quality of work, beginning with the sets, that are the best in town, and continuing with every other aspect, including interesting choices of plays (this summer - Urinetown the Musical!). Deathtrap is delightfully fun and chilling, a play that pokes fun of the genre while paying homage to it, perfectly produced by the Jungle, as per usual (playing now through May 18).

"Dial M for Murder" at the Jungle Theater

I can't think of anything better to do on Valentine's Day than go to the Jungle Theater and see a play about a horribly dysfunctional, but highly entertaining, married couple.  I'd never seen the play or the 1954 Hitchcock movie version of the classic thriller Dial M for Murder, but I did recently see the 1998 remake The Perfect Murder (thanks to the Viggo Mortensen auto-record on my DVR).  So I vaguely knew what the storyline was, but I didn't realize just how delightfully it would play out on the Jungle stage. There's an undercurrent of tension and suspense throughout the whole play that's just delicious. Murder shouldn't be this fun.

The entire cast just sparkles, speaking in British accents for this London-set story.  Starting with Michael Booth as our hero/villain, Tony, a professional tennis player who married for money and develops an elaborate plot to kill his wife so he'll inherit her money.  He's smart and smooth, and thinks he has every detail worked out.  As things go wrong he continues to plot and scheme, and almost pulls it off. Cheryl Willis (aka Shirley Valentine) is the neglected wife and target of the plan, Margot.  She's so naive and trusting of her husband, even though he did a complete 180 a year ago and suddenly became the perfect husband.  Around that time she ended her affair with an American crime writer, Max (Terry Hempleman), who has just come back to town and is obviously the one who truly cares for Margot.  She thinks the three of them can be chums, and Tony decides to use that to his advantage and work Max into his plan.  He blackmails an old school friend (Peter Moore), who's already a bit of a con man and a gigolo, into doing the deed.  Fortunately Margot is tougher than she appears and is able to fight off her attacker, but is not so lucky when her husband subtly schemes to have her charged with the crime.  Gary Briggle, who says so much with just a grunt or an mmm-hmmm, is the Columbo-esque detective who can smell something's not quite right with this story, and doesn't give up until he's figured it out.  I love moments of silence in a play, when there's such expectation and anticipation of what's going to happen next, and there are several such delightfully tense moments in this production.

The play is directed by Jungle Artistic Director, Bain Boehlke, who also designed the set.  I don't know of too many directors who design their own set, but who better than the director to know just what the stage should look like?  And when you've got the talent to do both, as Bain does, it's a beautiful cohesion of story and environment.  In this case the set is a detailed London apartment, complete with tennis trophies and tea sets, and the all important turnkey.  I don't know if it's the way the theater and stage are structured, but at the Jungle I always feel like I'm looking into a very detailed and perfect little diorama that comes to life when the actors enter.

This is the first production in the Jungle Theater's 2012 season (playing now through March 18), and they're off to a fabulous start.  With The Birthday Party, Noises Off, Waiting for Godot, and In the Next Room (with some great casts already lined up), 2012 could be a very good year at the Jungle!

"The Glass Menagerie" at The Jungle Theater

Apparently it's Tennessee Williams month in Minnesota. Last month I saw his iconic play A Streetcar Named Desire at the Guthrie, and last night it was another classic, The Glass Menagerie, at The Jungle Theater. The Jungle is a lovely little intimate theater in the Uptown area of Minneapolis. I've been there a few times; the last time was for the awesome rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch two years ago. I need to go more often, because they do good work. Their upcoming season (unlike most theaters, their season runs concurrent with the calendar year) includes the Stephen Sondheim musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and I Am My Own Wife with one of my favorite actor/singers, Bradley Greenwald.

But back to the show at hand. I've seen The Glass Menagerie a few times before (most recently at the Guthrie three years ago), and I've always loved it. There's something so beautiful and tragic about Laura, who's more comfortable with her collection of little glass animals than with people, her mother, who's living in her glorious past as a debutante in the South, and her brother Tom, who's trapped between wanting to take care of them and wanting to live a life of his own. I jumped at the chance to see it again at the Jungle with this talented four-person cast, three of whom I've seen and enjoyed in other shows.

Wendy Lehr plays the mother, Mrs. Wingfield. Friends, if you have the chance to see Wendy in anything, take it. I've seen her in several things in the last few years (including as Big Edie in Grey Gardens, and stealing every scene she was in in The Full Monty), and she's always amazing. She inhabits whatever character she's playing fully, and has this great spark and stage presence that's much bigger than her petite frame. She's also hosting the Ivey Awards (Minnesota's version of the Tonys) next week, along with the Jungle's founding Artistic Director, Bain Boehlke. Her Mrs. Wingfield is equal parts charming belle of the ball, "Christian martyr," and overbearing mother, all of it entertaining.

Laura is played by Alayne Hopkins, who I've never seen before but who portrayed Laura's fragility and pain very well. Her brother Tom is played by Joshua James Campbell, who I most recently saw as the host of the cabaret show Where's My Tony? Josh was also in Grey Gardens and The Full Monty (which I believe is making a reprise at the Iveys next week). The three made for a very believable dysfunctional family. I particularly liked the chemistry between Wendy and Josh. One of my favorite scenes was when Tom and his mother were on "the terrace," aka the fire escape, wishing on the moon. He was leaning over on the railing, and she leaned over and put her head on his shoulder as she talked about how she wished her children success and happiness. It was such a sweet scene, and illustrated that she really did love and want the best for her children, even if she might not have gone about it the right way.

Of course there's one more character in the play, the gentleman caller, "the long delayed but always expected something that we live for." And can't we all relate to that? The feeling that there's something good and exciting coming, something that will make our lives better? Michael Booth (a frequent cast member at the Guthrie) plays Jim with just the right amount of charm and bravado. For those of you unfamiliar with the play, Mrs. Wingfield's main goal in life is to find a husband for her "crippled" and painfully shy daughter so that she will be taken care of, and enlists Tom to bring home a nice young man from his workplace. When the gentleman caller finally arrives, Mrs. Wingfield makes a big fuss over it and puts pressure on Laura to be pretty and perfect, which only makes her more nervous. The scene when Laura and Jim are alone together is all sweetness and awkwardness, and actually goes quite well, considering, until it's revealed that he's engaged to be married. I wish they could have seen this evening as a successful dress rehearsal for the next gentleman caller, who hopefully would be more available. But instead, Laura is devastated and Mrs. Wingfield is angry at her son for humiliating them. Tom leaves to find his fortune in the merchant marines, but can never quite leave the image of his sister behind him.

A classic play, one of America's greatest playwrights, a talented cast, a lovely intimate space - all reasons you should go see this play before it closes on October 17! As they say at the Jungle, "Epic theater, intimate space."