"at low tide" by The Moving Company at The Southern Theater

I love The Moving Company, but they make my job very difficult. Because mere words cannot describe the magic that they create on stage. I didn't fully understand everything that was happening on the Southern Theater stage last night, but I found myself inexplicably moved by the combination of words, silence, movement, performance, sound, and lighting. I guess that's why they call themselves The Moving Company; they move people, and isn't that what art is all about? So I can't tell you exactly what you'll see if you go see at low tide (and you should), and what you see may be different from what I saw. But I can guarantee that you will be moved, and transported into another dimension for about 80 minutes.

"Speechless" by The Moving Company at Jungle Theater

The Moving Company is remounting their 2017 original piece Speechless, although I think it's more of a reimagining than a remounting. It is once again directed by co-Artistic Director Dominique Serrand and starring co-Artistic Director Steven Epp and Producing Artistic Director Nathan Keepers, but the other three company members have changed. So while maybe the framework is the same (loosely speaking, a group of friends mourning the death of a friend), the new ensemble members bring their own talents and skills to the equation, resulting in something new and different. Truthfully, I don't remember many details about this show from seven years ago other than there were literally no words, and it was unique and inventive and moving. So it was like a new and surprising show to me, and I was able to enjoy each delightful and sometimes mysterious turn. For that reason I won't give too many details about what happens in the show, because you need to experience that yourself without any preconceptions. So head to the Jungle before November 10, let go of expectations about narrative form, and enjoy the speechless but not silent experience of Speechless.

"Say All the Truth" at the Jungle Theater, a co-production with The Moving Company

In the last couple of years, the Jungle has brought us several successful co-productions, combining their resources, audiences, and artistry with other theaters around town (including Theater Mu, Trademark Theater, and WeAreMarried). Their latest successful co-pro is Say All the Truth, an adaptation of Moliere's The Misanthrope created by The Moving Company. MoCo was birthed out of Theatre de la Jeune Lune, the Tony Award-winning company that ended in 2008. Between the two companies, they've done all of Moliere's plays, except this one. The story of a man who doesn't like people and wants to live away from society resonates particularly well right now, when that's sort of what we were all forced to do during the pandemic, and maybe some of us discovered we liked it, because people can be exhausting and infuriating. But still, the play quietly illustrates the power of and need for human connection. And like all of MoCo's work, it's mesmerizing, thoughtful, elemental, creative, and quite lovely. Say All the Truth continues through November 26, but tickets are selling well with the combined popularity of these two companies, so don't wait too long to grab yours.

"Anamnesis" by The Moving Company at the Southern Theater

Two years after their last live show (during which interval they produced a charming, funny, and profound little web series called Liberty Falls 2020), the Moving Company is back on stage where they belong. As I found my seat in the nearly full-to-capacity vaxxed and masked crowd at the Southern Theater last night, and saw the black tarp-covered object filling the space under the historic arch, I had no idea what I was in for. But after ten years of experiencing this company that is the descendent of the famed Tony-winning Theatre de la Jeune Lune, I knew it would be unique, inventive, and, yes, moving. Anamnesis is all that and more (continuing at the Southern Theater through December 4).

"Liberty Falls 2020" web series by The Moving Company

The Moving Company is remounting their absurd comedy Liberty Falls 54321 as a four-part web series called Liberty Falls 2020, and I couldn't be happier about it. We revisit the specifically odd characters from the play (last seen in early 2017) in the specifically odd year that is 2020. The first three episodes are free to view, and if you like what you see, the fourth episode can be viewed for only $6.99. The talented and hilarious original cast (plus a few welcome additions) has reunited in creative ways to bring us wonderfully silly story, not without some social commentary. Click here to watch.

"what if" by the Moving Company at the Lab Theater

The Moving Company's latest original work what if is made up of two separate and very different parts that together form a "moving," "funny," "thought-provoking" piece of theater. I use quotes because in this sort of meta, fourth wall breaking piece, the performers talk about theater, and how we talk about theater, and say just about every world I've ever used to write about theater. It's sort of about theater itself, why we do theater, why we go to the theater. And it's also about humanity, and the origins of storytelling, and the what if of imagining ourselves in someone else's shoes - both as performers and as audience members. It's a process of creating empathy, of making this very big world seems smaller, or more familiar, or more connected. Forgive me if I'm not making sense, or talking in circles, but such is this piece of new and original theater.

"The 4 Seasons" by the Moving Company at the Lab Theater

The Moving Company (which grew out of the ashes of the Tony-winning Theatre de la Jeune Lune) is back this fall with a very Moving Company kind of show. Which is to say original, profound, silly, thoughtful, delightful, sweet, surprising, and a little odd. Conceived by co-Artistic Directors Steven Epp, Nathan Keepers, and Dominique Serrand, The 4 Seasons was inspired by the idea of the four seasons, including Vivaldi's famous composition Four Seasons and Piazzolla's less famous composition Four Seasons. They also drew inspiration from Chekhov, and this quote from the Russian playwright about his work could also describe MoCo's work, and this piece in particular: "What happens onstage should be just as complicated and just as simple as things are in real life. People are sitting at a table having dinner, that's all, but at the same time their happiness is being created, or their lives are being torn apart."

"Speechless" by The Moving Company at The Lab Theater

"Words are heavy. They're like stones. If birds could talk they couldn't fly.*" This quote from my favorite TV show Northern Exposure perfectly expresses my feelings about words (anyone who's met me knows I save the bulk of my words for this blog). Words are hard. Sometimes words aren't enough to express our thoughts and feelings (as Evan Hanson sings, "words fail"). And words are open to interpretation, sometimes they come out differently than how we intended them. The Moving Company (one of my favorite #TCTheater companies in the last six years, since seeing Come Hell and High Water in 2011) has taken that idea of the inadequacy of words and extended it into a 75-minute wordless (but not entirely silent) exploration of... well... a bunch of stuff. Created by the five-person ensemble under the direction of Dominique Serrand and using movement, music, and a little how'd-they-do-that theater magic, Speechless is poignant, heart-breaking, funny, and mesmerizing.

"Refugia" by the Moving Company at the Guthrie Theater

One of my favorite theater companies, The Moving Company (an offshoot of the dearly departed Theatre de la Jeune Lune), made their Guthrie debut last weekend with Refugia, after five or so years of producing new work that is interesting, bizarre, lovely, or all of the above. Several of my fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers* saw it opening night and had some strong reactions, to say the least. Even though I mostly stayed out of the conversation, when I saw the show last night I couldn't help but look for issues. And I did find some, although I also found some really beautiful moments and a powerful and timely message. Would I have noticed these issues if not for my friends? I don't know, but I'm grateful to them for speaking their experiences honestly and opening up a conversation. A conversation that will continue with an open forum discussing representation** in theater coming up at the Guthrie (I'll post the details when they become available). In the meantime, go see the show and decide for yourself.

"Liberty Falls 54321" by The Moving Company at The Lab Theater

This weekend, The Moving Company is bringing back their "absurdly funny, surprisingly musically delicious, awkwardly cringe-worthy, and just plain ridiculous (in the best possible way)" Liberty Falls 54321, an operatic comedy. I really loved it the first time around in December of 2015 (and yes, I just quoted myself), and fortunately they've brought back the entire dream team of a cast (I think I've got my first nominee for "best comedic performance by an ensemble" for next year's TCTB Awards). The show is mostly the same show, with a few more topical jokes added referencing the recent election. Whether or not you saw it last time, Liberty Falls 54321 provides a hearty laugh in bleak times, best said by a note in the playbill: "You've got to admit, there's a lot of ugliness out there right now. So, we ask ourselves - what would Moliere do? Well, he'd look at it right in its wrong, ugly face. And make some fun out of it. Have a good old laugh at it. Yes, sometimes you just have to laugh at it all." A good old laugh indeed.

"Every Sentence is For the Birds" by the Moving Company at the Lab Theater

The Moving Company is a unique theater company in this town of over 70 theater companies. The descendant of the beloved departed Theatre de la Jeune Lune, MoCo's productions are typically original ensemble-based creations. Like the proverbial box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get with them: over-the-top ridiculous comedy, lovely achingly beautiful poignancy, or more likely, somewhere in between. Their new piece Every Sentence is For the Birds falls more towards the sublime end of the ridiculous-to-sublime spectrum that they cover. The two-person show about a scientist and her subject is both simple and profound, dealing with topics no less than the nature of science and art, and what it means to be human. Words are inadequate to describe The Moving Company's work, so you should just go see it for yourself. I guarantee it's unlike anything you will see on any other stage in town.

"Liberty Falls 54321" by The Moving Company at the Lab Theater

The Moving Company has done it again. With their newest work Liberty Falls 54321, they have yet again created a crazy brilliant original piece of theater that is absurdly funny, surprisingly musically delicious, awkwardly cringe-worthy, and just plain ridiculous (in the best possible way). The story of a 105-year-old woman's birthday celebration in a small town in Wisconsin, created by the company and directed by Dominique Serrand, is really just an excuse for these specifically defined oddball characters to gather and show off their quirks and talents, skillfully brought to life by this dream cast. If you've never experienced the unique genius that is MoCo, let Liberty Falls be your introduction.

"Love's Labour's Lost" by the Moving Company at the Lab Theater

The Moving Company's new adaptation of one of Shakespeare's earliest romantic comedies, Love's Labour's Lost, includes at least one line from each of his 37 other plays. Not being a Shakespeare expert, I only recognized a few, mostly from Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, the two plays with which I (and probably most people) am most familiar. If I didn't know that they had removed sections of the original play and replaced them with lines from other plays, I would never have known; it feels very much like one cohesive story, not at all the mash-up that it is. Which is a credit to creators Steve Epp, Nathan Keepers (both of whom also star in the play), and Dominique Serrand (who directs), who have so seamlessly woven in lines and plot points from other plays to create something entirely new and original. In typical Moving Company style, it's at times wacky, or funny, or moving, or just plain entertaining.

The original plot of Love's Labour's Lost follows a king who convinces his three companions to join him in three years of intense study, fasting, and avoiding the company of women. This only lasts until the daughter of the King of France arrives with her three comely companions, and the men forget their vows to woo the women. We follow these four love stories through the ending, which is not your typical happy ever after, but allows room for the possibility.

Other than Steve Epp and Nathan Keepers (Co-Artistic Director and Artistic Associate), the rest of the 13 person cast are all new to The Moving Company, but it doesn't feel that way. They all mesh very well in the MoCo aesthetic and bring their own skills to the table. As one of the four pairs of lovers, Emily King and Lucas Melsha have created several stunningly beautiful dances, in a sort of animalistic modern dance style. These two characters speak no words but say everything with their bodies. Jim Lichtsheidl is such a unique and gifted physical comedian, a skill that's on great display here. There's music too, with a couple of songs sung by the ensemble in gorgeous harmony (not surprising with voices like Ricardo Vazquez and Jennifer Baldwin Peden). Steve and Nathan are a couple of goofballs and work so well together after years of collaboration. Heidi Bakke as the object of their affection completes this silly trio.

Director Dominique Serrand has created an exceedingly simple set that is so lovely and evocative - just an AstroTurf-like carpet unrolled on the floor, and sheer fabric creating the green of the field and the blue of the sky, that ripple with the slightest motion. I absolutely loved the costumes (by Sonya Berlovitz), so unique and creative and perfectly suited to each character. In the first act everyone is dressed in military garb - traditional camouflaged soldiers and warrior women looks; the second act civilian costumes are beautiful but whimsical, with each pair a perfect matched set. Of particular note is the king's daughter, who goes from an armored breastplate to a lusciously full-skirted gown.

This is my 6th Moving Company show, and they never cease to surprise and delight me with their innovative and unique style of creation. Love's Labour's Lost, billed as "a fresh new riff on a very old play," covers all the bases - it's sweet and poignant, with some lovely dancing and music, and silly entertaining antics. Watch the video below to get a taste of the show, and then order your tickets here.

"Out of the Pan Into the Fire" by The Moving Company at the Lab Theater

The Moving Company is bringing back last year's hit Out of the Pan Into the Fire.* Even though I saw it last year, I was very happy to see it again. It's that kind of play that is so rich it benefits from multiple viewings, plus there have been a few tweaks and changes. Like everything that The Moving Company (a newish company that is a descendant of Theatre de la Jeune Lune) does, Out of the Pan is highly creative and inventive, marvelously acted by company members, and delightfully unique. A new original fairy tale inspired by the classics collected by the brothers Grimm, but bearing no direct resemblance to any of them, Out of the Pan Into the Fire is at times amusing, moving, poignant, odd, sad, and sweet. If you missed the show last year now is your chance to see it, and especially if you've never seen what The Moving Company can do, this is a must see for local theater lovers.

Serving as a storyteller and narrator, as well as a character within the drama, the endlessly watchable Steve Epp plays Angelo. He begins the show reading a story from a book, a story from "a time when wishing was of some use," and then takes part in that story. Angelo collects children to raise and then send off into the world, and is left with just two oddballs who've never quite left. Elsie (Christina Baldwin like I've never seen her before, but just as captivating as always) is the super smart young woman who knows everything but has experienced nothing. She's deathly afraid of leaving her safe home and going out into the world. She's a sort of awkward child-woman, dressed in rags and dorky glasses with clothespins in her hair. Her brother Thirteen is her exact opposite - dumb as a rock and afraid of nothing, because "he doesn't know enough to be afraid." In Nathan Keepers' usual physical style of character creation, Thirteen is like a big eager happy puppy dog, who only wants to be loved and be happy and play with his best friend, potato. Christina and Nathan created a beautifully doomed romantic couple two years ago in Werther and Lotte, and now with Elsie and Thirteen they have created a funny, sweet, and genuine sibling relationship. This odd little family is happy, but Angelo knows that he has to send his children out into the harsh world to complete their development as human beings. Angelo leaves so that Elsie will have to face the world and experience the heartbreak that goes along with it (for true wisdom is knowledge plus experience), and Thirteen will learn fear (which is, as Elsie tells him, dread plus reverence). They encounter the exceedingly creepy Stumpfmutter (Justin Madel), who is like something right out of the darkest German fairy tale. Growing up is hard, as these two overgrown children learn, but entirely necessary and in the end, rewarding.

Angelo (Steve Epp) plays with Thirteen (Nathan Keepers)

The world in which this story takes place is quite magical, and the set from last year's production at the Southern Theater has been transported to the Lab Theater exactly as I remember it. The Southern and the Lab are two of my favorite theater spaces in town, both with gorgeous open spaces, but the Lab feels a little more intimate and close to the action. There is so much to look at in this set, my favorite of which are the little chairs in graduated sizes, from child-sized to doll-sized. The set (designed by director Dominique Serrand) is comprised of odd spaces created by cardboard, a locker, a raised stage area, plastic garbage bags, and various other compartments. There are secret doors and windows, from which characters suddenly appear and disappear (leading to several moments of "how'd they do that?!"). Delightful and surprising things happen with the set and props; there is wind, ice, rain, feathers, blood, and dirt (without spoiling everything, there is significant clean-up that must happen between shows).

The cool thing about The Moving Company is that often the actors help in creation of the work (this one was written by Steve, Nathan, and Dominique), so that the characters are suited to the particular talents of the actors, whether it's Nathan's crazy physicality, or Christina's lovely voice (which she does use here, singing a beautiful Rilke poem in German), or Steve's great storytelling. Watching the three of them play in this strange and magical world is a joy. One that you really must experience to fully comprehend. Check them out at the Lab Theater through March 2.

*Yes, I borrowed liberally from what I wrote last year. But don't accuse me of plagiarism, I gave myself permission to use my words.

"For Sale" by The Moving Company at the Lab Theater

There's a property For Sale at 700 North 1st Street in Minneapolis. Features include: two multi-stall half-baths, 12,000 square feet of space, possible ghosts, genuine Virginia brick, one of two staircases safe for use, an intercom system (that is not as easy to use as you might think), a mail chute, an alley with a tree, and a friendly history-buff caretaker. Trusty realtor Dick Richards and his number two Margie of Dick Richards Realty (keepin' it real!) want to sell it to you! They're holding an open house several nights a week through November 24 and will be happy to walk you through the space and share some development ideas - the possibilities are endless (fitness center, nursing home, end-of-world bunker, farm-to-table restaurant, or just tear it down and build anything!). It's a steal at any price!

Such is the premise of The Moving Company's new original creation For Sale. This is a theater company whose every show I have to see. I never know what to expect (it could be sweet and lovely, or crazy and over-the-top, or a combination of the two), but I'm always entertained by what I find. For Sale falls into the crazy category; it's simply a lot of fun, and definitely unlike anything I've seen before (which is pretty much a MoCo guarantee).

who wouldn't want to buy a building from these two?

The evening is set up as described above, with the audience walked through the gorgeous space at the Lab Theater. Our guides are Dick Richards (Luverne Seifert) and Margie (Sarah Agnew). They have all sorts of things planned - a power point presentation, the pontoon of possibility, fresh-baked cookies, and musical numbers. Unfortunately things don't run as smoothly as they had planned, and we learn a little too much about Dick's personal life (hint: it's not going well). I don't want to give too much away because part of the fun is not knowing what's coming next, but I must mention a musical theater moment that is completely inexplicable, but that I absolutely loved.

This is an unconventional show, but don't be scared, it's not really interactive, you won't be asked to do anything other than walk around and point an arrow. And with the comic genius that is Luverne Seifert, and the fantastic and fully committed actor Sarah Agnew, you're in good hands. Also look for inspired appearances by Chrissy Taylor and Nathan Keepers (who also directs, and co-wrote the piece with Steve Epp).

The Lab Theater is the perfect space for this piece; I don't think it would have worked as well anywhere else. It's as bare as I've seen it, covered in plastic and with just a few items scattered around. They make great use of the space (although I was hoping to get a tour of some of the unseen parts of the building). If you've never been to the Lab before, it's worth seeing the show just to get an up close and personal look at it. If this building really were for sale and I won the lottery, I would buy it, it's a gorgeous space and I have seen much amazing theater there.

If you're looking for a fun and unconventional theatrical experience, a little wacky but highly entertaining, look no further than For Sale by The Moving Company, playing now through November 24 (and wear comfortable shoes - you will be on your feet for a good part of the show).

"Out of the Pan Into the Fire" by The Moving Company at the Southern Theater

If you're a theater fan living in the Twin Cities, you need to experience The Moving Company at least once (and like potato chips, you probably won't be able to stop at just one show). What they do is so totally unique and innovative, and completely their own style - original work with creative storytelling, sometimes perplexing, sometimes profound, always interesting. Their new production is a modern original fairy tale, inspired by the classics collected by the brothers Grimm, but bearing no direct resemblance to any of them. Out of the Pan Into the Fire is at times amusing, moving, poignant, odd, sad, and sweet.

Serving as a storyteller and narrator, as well as a character within the drama, the endlessly watchable Steve Epp plays Angelo. He begins the show reading a story from a book, a story from "a time when wishing was of some use," and then takes part in that story. Angelo collects children to raise and then send off into the world, and is left with just two oddballs who've never quite left. Elsie (Christina Baldwin like I've never seen her before, but just as captivating as always) is the super smart young woman who knows everything but has experienced nothing. She's deathly afraid of leaving her safe home and going out into the world. She's a sort of awkward child-woman, dressed in rags and dorky glasses with clothespins in her hair. Her brother Thirteen is her exact opposite - dumb as a rock and afraid of nothing, because "he doesn't know enough to be afraid." In Nathan Keepers' usual physical style of character creation, Thirteen is like a big eager happy puppy dog, who only wants to be loved and be happy and play with his best friend, potato. Christina and Nathan created a beautifully doomed romantic couple in last year's Werther and Lotte, and now with Elsie and Thirteen they have created a funny, sweet, and genuine sibling relationship. This odd little family is happy, but Angelo knows that he has to send his children out into the harsh world to complete their development as human beings. Angelo leaves so that Elsie will have to face the world and experience the heartbreak that goes along with it (for true wisdom is knowledge plus experience), and Thirteen will learn fear (which is, as Elsie tells him, dread plus reverence). Growing up is hard, as these two overgrown children learn.

The world in which this story takes place is quite magical. Upon entering the Southern Theater, I was immediately captivated by the little chairs in graduated sizes, from child-sized to doll-sized. The set (designed by director Dominique Serrand) is comprised of odd spaces created by cardboard, a locker, a raised stage area, plastic garbage bags, and various other compartments. There are secret doors and windows, from which characters suddenly appear and disappear (leading to several moments of "how'd they do that?!"). Delightful and surprising things happen with the set and props; there is wind, ice, rain, and dirt (without spoiling everything, there is significant clean-up that must happen between shows).

The cool thing about The Moving Company is that often the actors help in creation of the work (this one was written by Steve, Nathan, and Dominique), so that the characters are suited to the particular talents of the actors, whether it's Nathan's crazy physicality, or Christina's lovely voice (which she does use here), or Steve's great storytelling. Watching the three of them (along with Sam Kruger, who plays a couple of small but impactful roles) play in this strange and magical world is a joy. One that you really must experience to fully comprehend. Check them out at the Southern Theater through May 26, and in the meantime, you can contribute to their Kickstarter campaign to help fund the project.

Nathan Keepers, Steve Epp, and Christina Baldwin

"The War Within / All's Fair" by The Moving Company at the Southern Theater

Absurd. Perplexing. Wacky. Unexpected. Delightful. Those are the five words I would use to describe The Moving Company's new piece The War Within / All's Fair (a recent challenge on their Facebook page). I never quite know what to expect when I go to see a Moving Company show, and that's what I like best about them. It's always inventive and creative, a new perspective on a familiar topic. And there's no exception here in this piece created by Moving Company's co-Artistic Directors Steve Epp and Dominique Serrand, along with Artistic Associate Nathan Keepers and some lucky students at the U of M.

How can I describe The War Within / All's Fair? I think this quote from the playbill says it best: "If you're looking for a play here you won't find it. There is no overriding agenda, rather a parade of unfortunate encounters in a fictional workplace. The daily circus of the socially, economically and politically marginalized. Bits and pieces strung together, you might say, to create a more horrifying whole. Inspired by the great tradition of the buffoon, it is a world peopled by characters with little-to-no respect for anything or anyone, and even less for themselves."

From the moment the show starts you know you're in for something unique - each character makes their entrance walking across the stage, staring at the audience, finally striking some odd character-specific pose. They move around this unnamed workplace/factory/warehouse in choreographed chaos. The show is loosely structured as random scenes and interchanges between various groups of characters as they go about a day on the job. The most consistent characters leading us through are chameleon Nathan Keeper's janitor, going about his daily tasks of sweeping, vacuuming, and complaining, and the hilarious Susan Warmanen's gum-chewing, pink-wearing gossip (every workplace has one), speaking in nonsensical metaphors. Other characters include Jon Ferguson as the jerk of a boss with a neck brace, Haley Carneol as the self-described pansexual, Christian Bardin as the awkward girl with a lisp, Sam Kruger as new employee Gaush (that's pronounced Josh, not gowsh), whose lifeless body is quite brilliantly and gracefully maneuvered by Peter Lincoln Rusk, when he's not making odd sound effects. Each of these characters is a distinctly wacky creation. And they occasionally break out into song!

There's really not much else I can say - check out this absurdly entertaining show if you're looking for an unconventional and innovative evening of theater.  Playing now through June 10 at the Southern Theater.  (Check out my new favorite website Goldstar.com for half-price deals.)

"Werther and Lotte" by the Moving Company at the Lab Theater

I first saw The Moving Company last year when they created an original work called Come Hell and High Water, based on a William Faulkner novella about the 1927 Mississippi River flood.  I found it to be unique and moving and unexpected.  Their new work, Werther and Lotte, reunites two of the actors as well as the director and co-creator of that piece, Dominique Serrand.  This one is again based on a novel, set in a specific time and place in history - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther, set in late 18th century Germany.  And it's equally lovely.  What I appreciate most about The Moving Company is that they go beyond what we conventionally think of as theater, pushing the boundaries by combining music, images, movement, and ideas.  It's truly lovely and a breath of fresh air.

Werther is a man on a journey, who meets Lotte (short for Charlotte) and instantly falls in love with her, despite being warned against it.  She's engaged to another man, but they still develop a close friendship.  When Werther returns after an absence to discover that Lotte has married, he's devastated.  The whole play is an exploration of Werther's feelings of being blissfully in love, and finally realizing that it's a love that can never be returned.  Werther narrates much of the action as the play begins, with Lotte taking over and finishing the tale as Werther's madness overcomes him.

Christina Baldwin and Nathan Keepers are the only two actors in the play (other characters are represented by a chair, a jacket, or empty space), and both bring their unique talents to this creation.  Christina, as Lotte, makes it easy to see why Werther falls in love with her.  She radiates lightness and peace and joy, and her voice is, as always, gorgeous, whether she's sing a beautiful French song or a silly little made-up song in German (my name is Werther, poor me, my umbrella is small, I have no potatoes).  Nathan has a great physicality in his acting, which he uses here to express Werther's joy and frustrations - climbing on tables and chairs, swinging on a swing, scaling the wall.  Both actors have their own unique style and play together very well (I should note that both were involved in creating this piece along with Dominique Serrand).

Recorded music mixes with live music in a creative and interesting way, as Edde Hou (violin) and Matt Blake (upright bass) play along with an old phonograph.  The costumes (designed by Sonya Berlovitz) are simple but effective.  Lotte's clothing changes from light and airy in the beginning of the play, to a darker palette as the play continues and her life gets more difficult.  The set is very sparsely populated with a few tables and chairs and some odds and ends, in the beautiful cavernous space that is the Lab Theater.  Images are projected onto the brick wall of the theater, of snow, or the woods in the fall, or a babbling brook in spring, bringing nature into this sterile space.  The play ends with a beautiful image, after which there was a moment of silence from the audience as the actors came back onstage to take their bows.  I think we all knew it was the end, but didn't want it to be!

The Moving Company includes this note in the program:

Our work evolves on its feet as we explore how text, physicality, and music intertwine to tell our story.  The simple, necessary objects onstage are there, like toys in the sandbox, to spark our imagination and suggest the landscapes of our space.  By paring down to the fundamental theatricality of the story, we aim to land the production in a universe which can be in turn surreal, brutal, impassioned, and vulnerable.

To that I say - mission accomplished.  I highly recommend this show, if only to see an exploration of what theater can be.  The show officially opens tonight and runs through April 15.

My Year of Theater, 2011

What a year it has been!  In my first full year of having this blog, I made a conscious effort to see more diverse local theater.  The result is that I doubled the number of Minnesota theater events I attended, from around 40 last year to around 80 this year.  Not counting the Minnesota Fringe Festival and touring productions, I saw shows by almost 30 different local theater companies.  That's not even half of the theater companies in Minneaplis/St. Paul, so I have much more to do next year!

Here are a few of my favorite shows from this year (in alphabetical order).  Click on the title of each show to read my full thoughts at the time I saw it.

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Theater Latte Da

It's a safe bet that a Latte Da show will appear on my year end favorite list every year.  I loved this delightful musical about a bunch of misfit middle school spellers so much, I saw it twice.  Sweet and funny with a super talented young cast who perfectly embodied the eccentric kids, this was another hit from Theater Latte Da.

Cabaret, Frank Theatre

This was an unexpected highlight of the year: a classic musical by Kander and Ebb, starring one of my favorite local actors (Bradley Greenwald as the emcee) and a member of the original production (Melissa Hart as Fraulein Schneider), produced in the darling little theater on the Minnesota Centennial Showboat.  It's such a rich piece of theater, heart-breaking and wildly entertaining, and new-to-me Frank Theatre did an amazing job with it, as well as facilitating a wonderful post-show discussion on the afternoon I attended.

Come Hell and High Water, The Moving Company

Early this year, I went to Baltimore to see a friend of mine in the weird and wicked play The Homecoming, coincidentally also starring Minnesota actor Steven Epp.  I'm almost embarrassed to admit I wasn't very familiar with him at the time, having never seen a Jeune Lune show before they closed up shop.  But now I know - he's kind of brilliant.  Steven and Dominique Serrand of Jeune Lune have a new theater company, and this year they presented the original piece Come Hell and High Water, based on a William Faulkner story about a flood in New Orleans (no, not Katrina, although that's certainly brought to mind).  I don't even know how to describe it; there was music, movement, story-telling, and water.  A lot of water.  What I loved most about this show is that it was unlike anything else I've ever seen.  It's a thrill to see something so completely original.

Doubt and Man of la Mancha, Ten Thousand Things

Don't make me choose between these too amazing productions by Ten Thousand Things!  They brought their completely unique, bare-bones, intimate, authentic style of theater to these two different plays - one a short, serious exploration of child abuse in the Catholic Church, the other a beloved musical about a man with a dream.  Each with a brilliant cast (Sally Wingert and Kris Nelson in Doubt, Steven Epp leading the way in La Mancha) that shined without elaborate sets or lighting to distract from the work of bringing the story to life, I couldn't possibly pick a favorite between the two.  They were both heart-breakingly beautiful in their simplicity and truth.

Hamlet, Jungle Theater
I admit it - I have a hard time with Shakespeare.  It takes me a while to get inside the language and really feel what's going on.  But I didn't have any problems with the Jungle Theater's production of Hamlet this year.  Bain Boehlke designed the inventive set and directed the fabulous cast, led by Hugh Kennedy as a very real Hamlet.  The whole production felt utterly modern and current, including innovative use of video, while still remaining true to the original work.

Heaven, Flying Foot Forum

I really loved this original dance/music/theater piece by Joe Chvala and the Flying Foot Forum.  I had no idea what to expect walking into the Guthrie's studio theater, and was blown away by the story of an American journalist in the Bosnian War, and the way it was told through music, dance, and images.  This is what musical theater can and should be: original, relevant, inventive, moving, and full of wonderfully diverse music and dancing.  And for some inexplicable reason, this is the most viewed page on my blog, with twice as many views as the next highest page.  It makes me think that maybe they're shopping the piece around trying to find new life for it, which makes me happy.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Two Trains Running, Penumbra Theatre

2011 was the year I was introduced to August Wilson's ten-play cycle about the African American experience in the 20th century, although really it's about the American experience.  Ma Rainey is about a jazz singer in the 1920s and the musicians that play with her, and the struggles they face amidst the racism of the time.  Two Trains tells the story of the patrons and owner of a diner in a 1960s neighborhood that's disappearing.  Both are brilliant studies of life and history and characters.  And no one does it better than Penumbra Theatre, which has produced more August Wilson plays than any other theater in the country.  I look forward to next season's selection.

Pride, Pillsbury House Theatre
This might have been the most difficult play to watch this year; there were some brutally violent scenes.  But it was also very moving and meaningful and well done.  Four actors all played multiple characters and depicted the story of two gay men and the woman who loves them, in two distinct time periods - 1958 and 2008.  Tracey Maloney, Matt Guidry, and Clarence Wethern all brilliantly portrayed two different versions of the same character, one in each time period.  Subtle changes in voice, wardrobe, and carriage of the body instantly let the audience know which time period was being presented.  The play illustrated just how far we've come in 50 years, and that we still have a ways to go.

[title of show], Yellow Tree Theatre
Musical theater is my favorite thing in the world, so a musical that celebrates (and maybe pokes a little fun at) musical theater is bound to be on my list of favorites.  This musical about two guys writing a musical about two guys writing a musical is hilarious and full of musical theater references.  It was a perfect choice for the cozy intimate stage of Yellow Tree, my favorite little theater in the suburbs.  The fabulous four-person cast (Jessica Lind, Mary Fox, Andy Frye, and J.C. Lippold) had as much fun as the audience.  It also gave me a new motto: "I'd rather be nine people's favorite thing than a hundred people's ninth favorite thing."

Twisted Apples, Nautilus Music-Theater at the Fringe Festival
This was my first year attending the Minnesota Fringe Festival, and I loved it.  I saw ten shows in a little over a week (a record even for me), some funny, some moving, some weird, but all in all a wonderful sampler of the talent in the Twin Cities.  My favorite show of the Fest turned out to be one of my favorites of the year - the original music-theater piece Twisted Apples by Nautilus Music-Theater, the second of three short operas that will eventually make up a full three-act opera based on Sherwood Anderson's 1919 short story cycle Winesburg, Ohio.  Led by a gut-wrenching performance by Norah Long, it completely captivated me and brought me into the world of the little frontier town, so much so that I found the sunshine outside jarring when I left the theater.  I look forward to next year's installment.

Since it's hard for me to pick just ten, here are ten more shows I loved: 7-Shot Symphony, After Miss Julie, August: Osage County, Avenue Q, Burial at Thebes, Edge of Our Bodies, H.M.S. Pinafore, I Am My Own Wife, Little Shop of Horrors, and Wizard of Oz.


In addition to the above plays and musicals, there are a few artists whose work stood out for me this year, whom I saw multiple times in wonderfully diverse productions.

Bradley Greenwald appeared in two of my favorite shows this year, and I don't think that's a coincidence.  From the emcee in Cabaret to a German transvestite antiques collector in I Am My Own Wife, and everything in between ("everything" in this case being Hamlet's murderous uncle and a buffoonish soldier on the Way to the Forum), he's always a joy to watch.  Whether he's speaking or singing in that magnificent voice of his, in English or in German, he puts everything he's got into his performance, and I can't get enough.

Unlike my other two favorite artisits, I didn't know who Anna Sundberg was before July of this year, although I had probably seen her before.  But this fall she starred in three fantastic and diverse plays by three different theater companies, showing great range in playing a woman among immigrants in early 20th century NYC (Girl Friday's Street Scene), a very modern woman dealing with relationship issues (Walking Shadow's reasons to be pretty), and the entitled daughter of the owner of a large estate in 1940s London (Gremlin Theatre's After Miss Julie).  Oh, and she won an Ivey Award for emerging artist, so I guess I'm not the only one who took notice.

I have to admit I don't usually pay attention to the director of theater or movies.  I'm never quite sure what to attribute to the director vs. the cast or the writer.  But here's what I do know: every play or musical directed by Peter Rothstein that I've seen has been excellent theater, so he must have had something to do with it.  It's always high quality work from top to bottom, beginning with the seemingly perfect cast he assembles.  Whether it's with Ten Thousand Things (the thought-provoking Doubt, see above), The Children's Theatre (two shows that'll make you feel like a kid again, Annie and The Wizard of Oz), a joint production between the Ordway and 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle (the colorful and entertaining Guys and Dolls), or his own Theater Latte Da (the moving Song of Extinction; an original piece about immigrant music that he created with pianist Dan Chouinard, Steerage Song; and the delightful Spelling Bee), a Peter Rothstein directed show is always entertaining, or interesting, or thought-provoking, or hilarious, or heart-breaking, or moving, or all of the above.

 

Those are just a few of the things I loved this year in the rich and deep world of theater in Minnesota.  Thanks to anyone who read my blog this year, posted comments, emailed me with show suggestions, offered me free tickets to come to their show, or went to the theater with me.  It's such a joy to experience the amazing theater in this town and to get to share my experiences, thoughts, and feelings with you all.


P.S. I only made it to New York once this year, but I did pretty good.  I saw three of the best Broadway musicals of the year (The Book of Mormon, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, and Follies), and two off-Broadway shows I really enjoyed (a new production of my favorite musical RENT, and the thought-provoking two-person play Freud's Last Session).  I've already started my list of new shows I want to see, so hopefully I'll get back to NYC again soon!

"Come Hell and High Water" by The Moving Company at the Southern Theater

Come Hell and High Water is the third show of my Southern Theater season, which includes four plays I’d never heard of by small local theater companies unknown to me. Like the previous shows in the season (Theatre Novi Most’s Oldest Story in the World and Four Humors Theater’s Age of Wordsworth), Come Hell and High Water is not your typical evening at the theater. All of these shows stretch the definition of theater and play with music and movement as storytelling devices. This is what makes theater fun for me.  I never know just what to expect when I go to the Southern Theatre, but I'm always delighted and surprised by what I see.

Come Hell and High Water is a production of a new theater company called The Moving Company ("we do theatre"), founded by Steve Epp and Dominique Serrand of Theatre de la Juene Lune, which closed its doors in 2008.  Sadly, I was only just beginning to become aware of all of the amazing and varied theater companies in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area at that time, so I never saw a Jeune Lune production, for which I am now kicking myself. But hopefully a bit of their spirit lives on in this new company.  Their mission is "to create and produce new and challenging theatre that builds on the past, is grounded in the present, and looks to the future. To maintain and nourish an atmosphere for the development of new ideas."

Come Hell and High Water is an adaptation of William Faulkner’s novella Old Man. Steve Epp (who I’ve seen twice previously this year, in The Homecoming at Center Stage in Baltimore, and recently as the title character in Ten Thousand Thing’s Man of La Mancha) adapted the story and plays the old man. As the play opens, the "old man" wanders in from the street, recently released from prison in New Orleans on the brink of Hurricane Katrina.  He begins to recount his experience as a prisoner during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 (the most destructive river flood in US history).  Nathan Keepers plays his younger self, and both actors are onstage for the majority of the 90 minute show. Steve and Nathan do a wonderful job of playing one character, often completing each others sentences or speaking in unison, and adopting the same voice and mannerisms. By the end of the show I felt like they were one person.  Back in 1927, the old man is a young man in prison for attempting to rob a train. When the flood comes he’s given a boat and told to rescue a woman in a tree and a man on a roof. He never finds the man, but he rescues the very pregnant woman.  She gives birth as they float down the river to New Orleans.  It’s a transformative event in both of their lives.

This production features beautiful and eclectic music. Most of it is music of the time and place, a traditional Americana sound (which I love). Other than voices, the only instrument is a guitar played by Per Halaas.  Christina Baldwin is responsible for the music arrangement and also plays the woman in the tree. She has an incredible range, both in the notes she can sing and in the styles of music she can sing. I’ve seen her in such diverse shows as Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance at the Guthrie (one of my all-time favorite Guthrie shows) and Grey Gardens at the Ordway, in which she played Little Edie. In this show she sings everything from "Peace in the Valley” to a classical piece. The ensemble of about a dozen people, curiously dressed as a priest, a mailman, and other seemingly displaced characters, provides the musical backdrop and witnesses the story unfolding. They also play with water, at times making music with it. At the end of the show water rains down on the Southern Theater, and it’s a beautiful release.  (No need to bring an umbrella, the audience doesn't get wet. ;)

As I mentioned, there's water on set, in bins set into something like kitchen counters. There's also a refrigerator on stage, and everything has a water mark a few feet above the ground as if it had been through a flood. One of my favorite parts of the set is a sort of teeter-totter – a wooden plank balancing on a stack of sandbags. It serves as a boat for part of the story, and the convict and the pregnant woman perform a magical balancing act that looks effortless and graceful.  But I imagine that it took hours of rehearsal to get it that way!  Another unique feature of the show is a deer played by dancer Katelyn Skelley with all the skittishness and grace you'd expect in a deer.  Why there's a deer in the flood I'm not sure, but it adds another unique and beautiful element to the play.

This show is a timely piece with the recent flooding along the Mississippi River (was there ever a time when the Mississippi didn’t flood?). Come Hell and High Water uses water and floods as a way to explore themes of the past, regret, racism, hope, and hopelessness. As the old man says in the opening line of the show, “The past is never dead. It ain’t even past. It’s just there… same as a river.” This is a really beautiful production of a new work that’s inventive, surprising, moving, entertaining, and a pure pleasure to watch.