"Macbeth" by Wayward Theatre Company at the James J. Hill House

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's creepiest and darkest plays. Which makes it a perfect choice to produce during Halloween season, at the James J. Hill House which, while elegant during the day, is a bit creepy after hours. Wayward Theatre Company, experts at site-specific theater, is doing not only that, but also moving the audience around the house to eight different performance locations. For a three-hour play, the walking around adds interest and keeps the blood flowing. This intimate and immersive (but not interactive) show feels immediate and brings out all of the horror of this tale of unbridled greed.

"The Weir" by Wayward Theatre at Urban Growler Brewing

Sitting in a pub, drinking beer, listening to one of my favorite songs by my favorite musician Glen Hansard ("Revelate," which more accurately is by The Frames), about to watch an Irish play - this pretty much describes my ideal Tuesday night. I love Irish culture, I love beer, and I love site-specific theater. Irish playwright Conor McPherson's play The Weir is pretty much just five people sitting in a pub trading stories, and the cozy space at Urban Growler Brewing (the first woman-owned microbrewery in Minnesota!) was chosen wisely by Wayward Theatre (which has also brought us Tartuffe at the James J. Hill House and Ghost Train at the Minnesota Transportation Museum). Head to Urban Growler (off 280 and University in St. Paul), grab a beverage from the tap room (or even a pre-show dinner, from the smell of it they have great food too), head back to the pub/theater space, and settle in for some good craic.

"Ghost Train" by Wayward Theatre and Mission Theatre at the Minnesota Transportation Museum

Wayward Theatre Company, the company that recently brought us an "innovatively imagined and well executed" Tartuffe at the James J. Hill House, is now partnering with Mission Theatre Company to bring us the deliciously fun and spooky Ghost Train in another one of 19th century railroad millionaire James J. Hill's buildings. The Jackson Street Roundhouse was once a maintenance facility for the Great Northern Railway, and now houses the Minnesota Transportation Museum. Filled with old trains and displays about the long ago era of train travel, it's perhaps the coolest space in which I've ever experienced theater. Or maybe that's just my inner Sheldon Cooper talking. But there's no doubt that surrounded by all of this historic equipment and memorabilia, it's quite easy to be transported back to the 1920s by this comedy/melodrama/thriller play and its terrific cast and detailed design.

"Tartuffe" by Wayward Theatre Company at the James J Hill House

I love seeing theater in non-traditional theater spaces; it shakes me out of the usual and allows me to see theater in a different way. These days, it's becoming a necessity for the many nomadic theater companies in town to look outside the box when planning to mount a show (see also Frank Theatre's Good Person of Setzuan in an abandoned Rainbow Foods). Happily, the James J. Hill House seems to be quite amenable to hosting theatrical events; I've seen three plays there in the last six months. It's a gorgeous and historic building, and lends itself quite well to a variety of projects, from a comic opera like Marriage of Figaro, to a creepy horror tale like Bluebeard's Dollhouse, to a 17th Century French comedy. The latter can currently be seen in the grand surroundings on St. Paul's Summit Avenue (once the home of more millionaires than any other street in the country), in the form of new-to-me Wayward Theatre Company's innovatively imagined and well-executed Tartuffe. I can't help thinking the Hill family would be thrilled to know people are experiencing wonderful theater in their home.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" by Classical Actors Ensemble in Como Park

Summer. That time of the year when Minnesota's two best attributes collide - the great outdoors, and theater. And what better play to experience on a beautiful Minnesota midsummer night than Shakespeare's most beloved romantic comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream? For their annual free summer Shakespeare in the park, Classical Actors Ensemble has made this perfectly obvious choice and delivered a charming and playful rendition of this tale of fairies and fools in love. They perform every weekend through mid-July either at Lake of the Isles or various Metro area parks (I caught up with them in Como Park), so be sure to add this to your summer to-do list (see my full summer theater must-see list here). This is how Shakespeare was meant to be seen - playful, immediate, approachable, and accessible to all.

"Macbeth" by Mission Theatre Company at the Minneapolis Theater Garage

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most well-known tragedies. You know the story, it's the one about the Scottish general who receives a prophesy that he will be king, so he kills a bunch of people with the help of his wife until they both go crazy. It's a typical Shakespeare tragedy, full of battles and death and insanity. Mission Theatre Company's production is a creative interpretation of this classic, with music, drumming, and very physical performances from the cast.

At the center of the show is Michael Kelley as Macbeth, with an intense, mesmerizing, fully committed performance as he takes Macbeth from a happy and optimistic general in love with his wife, to a desperate, grief-stricken, ghost-seeing crazy person. Also good is Amy Vickroy as Lady Macbeth; the two have a real connection onstage. The prophetic "weird sisters" (played by Abby DeSanto, Anneliese Stuht, and Andrea Rose Tonsfeldt) are deliciously weird and creepy, always onstage (even as the house opens before the show), striking statue-like poses, speaking rhythmically in unison ("double double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble"). A few gender changes are done very well. Macduff is a woman (well played by Meagan Kedrowski), and (spoiler alert) it's her husband and children who are killed at their home while she's the one to avenge them and kill Macbeth. And King Duncan's daughter, not son, eventually becomes "King of Scotland" when the dust settles.

Penelope Parsons-Lord directs this capable cast in their matching hairstyles of braids and fauxhawks, and has also designed the aesthetically pleasing and functional costumes - good for running, rolling around, and fighting but still looking regal or soldier-like. And as if giving a great performance as Macbeth isn't enough, Michael Kelley has also designed the sparse but effective set in the large blank slate of a space that is the Minneapolis Theater Garage, and is responsible for the fight choreography. It's some of the most intense, brutal, realistic, intricately choreographed stage fighting I've seen, with the copious blood elegantly represented by red ribbons.

Mission Theater Company's Macbeth is a creative interpretation of a class that remains true to the story. But being Shakespeare, it's still quite long, almost three hours with intermission. I wish they had pared down the story to a more manageable two hours or so (like the Guthrie did several years ago), but maybe that's just my sleep deprivation talking. If you're a fan of the Bard, you might want to check out what they've got going on (playing through May 24).


P.S. There's also a really cool art exhibit in the lobby, so check that out if you go.