"Strange Heart: The Dream Songs of John Berryman" at Open Eye Theatre

I have to admit, I'd never heard of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet John Berryman, who taught at the University of Minnesota for much of his career. I'll also admit that I'm not a big fan of poetry, I never really read it on my own because I have a hard time making sense of it (but maybe poetry isn't supposed to make sense). That's why I love seeing poems or poetry depicted on stage, in the more familiar language of theater, or better yet, music-theater. I went to see the world premiere of Strange Heart: The Dream Songs of John Berryman at Open Eye Theatre for two reasons - Bradley Greenwald and Anna Hashizume - and I was rewarded with a very dreamlike show. Like poetry, it doesn't always make sense, it doesn't follow a straight line, it jumps around from one time or place to another. But also like poetry, it makes you feel things, even if you're not sure why. Strange Heart is odd, and funny, and silly, and heartbreakingly sad as it explores the life and work of a tortured artist, through his words put to music. You can experience this strange and lovely dream now through March 22.

"Lizzie: The Rock Musical" at Open Eye Theatre

A rock musical about the infamous Lizzie Borden, who was charged with and acquitted of killing her parents with an ax in 1892, why not?! It premiered in 2009, and Open Eye Theatre is finally bringing this super fun girl power rock musical to #TCTheater (Minneapolis Musical Theatre was planning to do it in 2020, but we know how that story goes). It's really more of a song cycle than a musical, it's almost entirely sung-through in 90 minutes or so (with an intermission, because these actors are singing their faces off and deserve a break). It feels more like a rock concert, like a visceral experience that you feel in your bones. If you sit in the front row (like I did because that's where you sit when you see a show with The Stages of MN) you'll experience fog, smoke, bright lights flashing and shining directly into your eyes, and blaring music (ear plugs available at the box office). The design, direction, and performances are just spot on for what this show should be - wild and feminist and bright and loud. But underneath all that the show deals with some serious issues of women's rights, incest, abuse, sisterhood, complex family dynamics, and love. Opening weekend is already entirely sold out, so don't wait to long too get your tickets to this show that is sure to become a phenomenon (continuing through November 8 - extended!).

"Nudge" at Open Eye Theatre

As part of their Guest Artist Series, Open Eye Theatre is hosting the long-form improv show Nudge once a month through December. I caught the show last night, before the #TCTheater season gets too busy. A small but enthusiastic crowd enjoyed one continuous story that played out in under an hour, completely made up on the spot. This talented troupe of some of our best improvisors (Tim Hellendrung, Katy Kessler, Taj Ruler, and Jen Scott performed last night, with Rita Boersma and/or Butch Roy joining them at some performances) created believable characters and situations that were funny, and awkward, and real. Since HUGE Theater closed last year, we need to go to different venues to see improv (including but not limited Strike Theater, Jungle Theater, and the Hive Collaborative), and Nudge is one that's definitely worth checking out in Open Eye's sweet intimate space in South Minneapolis. Their next show is October 20, followed by shows in November and December, with tickets just $12 in advance! Click here for all the details.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2025: "What We Wore"

Day: 8

Show: 27

Title: What We Wore

Category: Comedy / Drama / Solo Show / Storytelling / Historical content

By: Ethan Nienaber/ GJ Media

Created by: Gabi Jones

Location: Open Eye Theatre

Summary: A solo storytelling piece from a vintage clothing social media star that's about so much more than clothes.

Highlights: I went to this show for the vintage clothing, but I came away moved, inspired, and with tears in my eyes from Gabi Jones' epic storytelling that weaves together so many relevant topics. A Minnesota native with a theater degree from a California university now based in Illinois, she begins by distinguishing between her online persona @gabis_vintage, who's always perfect and polished, and herself, Gabi, who is a real human with issues and flaws just like the rest of us. This solo show is very well constructed (with direction by Ethan Nienaber) in a mix of "live videos" about a vintage piece (from her Grandma's extensive collection), like she posts on social media, combined with personal stories, photos and videos displayed on the back wall of the theater, quotes, and statistics. Behind every piece of clothing (hung on a rack and donned throughout the show) is a story, a history, and that's where the juicy stuff is. Gabi uses clothing to connect to her female ancestors, because as we know history mostly only talks about the men. She tells us stories of some of these women, and some from her own life (including an alcoholic mother and an abusive boyfriend), and talks about how as a theater student, and as a woman in this world, we're taught to look at ourselves through others' (men's) eyes instead of our own. She connects everything together with statistics (a girl after my own heart) and quotes from feminist books like The Feminine Mystique and The Second Sex (joking, after so much time online, do you all know how amazing books are?!). Sometimes when someone tries to cover so many topics (addiction, domestic abuse, the dangers of social media, the male gaze, sexual harassment, feminism) in a one-hour show, it can feel shallow or like things are getting short shrift. But that's not the case here; this show feels full and complete and satisfying. What We Wore is one of my surprise favorite shows of the festival. Her final show is today (Saturday) at 7 and it's very much worth the quick drive to Open Eye.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here. 

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2025: "Grief, It's What's For Dinner"

Day: 7

Show: 22

Title: Grief, It's What's For Dinner

Category: Comedy / Drama / Puppetry

By: Aethem Theatre

Written by: Kayla Hambek

Location: Open Eye Theatre

Summary: A funny and moving play about caregiving, loss, and finding your way through the difficulties of life with the help of friends.

Highlights: It's not the Minnesota Fringe Festival if I don't cry a few tears, so thanks to Kayla Hambek for letting me cross off that bingo square. She's written a really beautiful autobiographical show (she steps out of character at the end to tell us the real details) that's so relatable to anyone who's experienced loss or caring for an aging parent. She plays a character named Kate who (along with her dad) is caring for her mother who has early onset Alzheimer's, while also dealing with a neurodivergent sister. Her mother is still with them, but the daughters are mourning the mom they knew. She has a therapist and support group to help her through, and maybe even meets a boy. The small ensemble (Danielle Krivinchuk, Emma Paquette, Sher U-F, and Courtney Vonvett) plays everyone in Kate's life, most of them playing multiple very different roles. The use of hand puppets (to represent her inner self as a rainbow puppet, some of the support group members, and silly little musical numbers) adds a whimsy and charm to the story. Like the spoonful of sugar that makes the medicine (a story about grief) go down. Grief is a sweet, funny, relatable, and moving show.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here. 

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2025: "Final Dress"

Day: 4

Show: 13

Title: Final Dress

Category: Comedy / Improv

By: MDV Productions

Created by: Michael DallaValle & Sean Dillon

Location: Open Eye Theatre

Summary: An improvised final dress rehearsal, featuring a different "director" at every performance.

Highlights: The conceit of the show is that Michael and Sean are actors preparing to open a show, if they can find another venue after learning that the Theatre Garage is closed (RIP). In this fictional set up, Sean wrote the play, but the director, played at this performance by playwright/director John Heimbuch of Walking Shadow Theatre Company, is putting his own spin on it, in a late Sam Shepard / early David Mamet kind of way. What unfolded was a story of brotherhood with murder, adultery, and cannibalism, so that tracks. This is perhaps the most layered improv show I've ever seen, with Sean and Michael improvising lines and situations both as the actors and as the characters in this play (called The Chopping Block) that they're making up as they go. Every now and then John, the stereotypical director in a scarf and dark classes carrying a binder and making notes, would interject and ask them to do the scene again, or make suggestions on tone or line readings or positions, even calling out light cues on occasion. It's a very intricate operation, pulled off smoothly, hilariously, and sometimes cringingly. Guest directors for the final shows are Mike Fotis and Duck Washington, which should be very different shows.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here. 

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2025: "DOLLY WHO?'S HOLIDAY HORROR SHOW"

Day: 4

Show: 12

Title: DOLLY WHO?'S HOLIDAY HORROR SHOW

Category: Comedy / Dance / Horror / Improv / Original Music / Puppetry / Sci-fi / Solo Show / Storytelling / Audience participation / Kid friendly / LGBTQIA+ Content

By: Destiny Davison

Created by: Dolly Who? Productions

Location: Open Eye Theatre

Summary: A solo show combining comedy, improv, and illustration to celebrate a holiday.

Highlights: I've seen Destiny Davison in several improv shows, but never as her "Dolly Who?" persona. And she's a delight. Sweet and silly, with a unique use of her illustrations, both in the form of cute little stick puppets and illustrations that she does live. The theme of this show is "holiday horror," and she shares her love of horror movies and holidays of all kinds! The show is participatory in a non-threatening way, and she asks for our help in designing a new holiday (at the show I attended - the very appropriate "Moderately Clean Air Day"). We even help her decorate and design a new mascot, and one (un)lucky audience member gets to enjoy some holiday candy. Destiny/Dolly is really great at interacting with and reacting to the audience. In the horror portion of the show, she talks about the real-life things that are way scarier than any horror movie, which I guess is what attracts people to them. But this show is not scary; it feels comforting and familiar and communal.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here. 

"Ode to Walt Whitman" at Open Eye Theatre

While the lives of 19th Century American poet Walt Whitman and early 20th Century Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca (whose play was the basis for the musical Bernarda Alba) did not overlap chronologically, their lives and their work did overlap thematically. And in fact, Lorca wrote a poem called Ode to Walt Whitman, which was the inspiration for a puppetry play of the same name, which Open Eye Theatre has brought to their stage as part of their Guest Artist Series. The 70-minute show feels very much like a poem with puppetry and music, and like all poems, does not follow a straight-forward narrative. Rather it's a series of images and ideas that evoke emotion. This lovely, inventive, thoughtful show is playing through June 8 only.

"Witch" by Walking Shadow Theatre Company at Open Eye Theatre

The new play Witch, by Playwrights' Center affiliated writer Jen Silverman (author of The Roommate and The Moors), is an absurd and funny little play that's difficult to describe. It's a loose retelling of the 17th Century play The Witch of Edmonton, which is based on the real-life case of Elizabeth Sawyer, one of tens of thousands of women accused of and executed for being a witch in the middle ages and early modern era across Europe and the US. But the play also focuses on a wealthy landowner and his heirs, and the idea of selling one's soul to the devil, and things take many unexpected turns. The themes of women's agency, and selling your soul to gain power, make this four hundred year old story scarily relevant. Walking Shadow Theatre Company's production is well-executed in the intimate space of Open Eye Theatre, with a talented six-person cast. Witch continues through April 13 (note: "intimate" means small audience, so don't wait too long - some performances are already sold out).

"Invisible Fences" at Open Eye Theatre

There's something really special happening at Open Eye Theatre right now. They're remounting the 2023 show by Gaelynn Lea and Kevin Kling, a "musical fable" that celebrates diversity culture. And not only sharing the work of disabled artists, but creating a welcoming environment for disabled people to enjoy the arts. I saw more people of varying abilities in the sold-out audience at last night's show than I've ever seen at the theater. Which makes me wonder, what can other theaters do to make their work and their spaces not just more accessible, but more welcoming to the disabled community? But regardless of what your abilities are, Invisible Fences is an utterly charming, engaging, funny, poignant musical about friendship and accomplishing seemingly impossible goals by working together. This short run is almost sold out, so act fast to witness the magic at Open Eye Theatre.

"Sanctuary City" by Frank Theatre at Open Eye Theatre

Just about a year ago, Frank Theatre introduced the work of Polish-American Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok to #TCTheater with the play Ironbound, about which I wrote, "It's only mid-January, but I'm confident this will be one of the best plays of 2024." That statement proved to be true; Ironbound did indeed make my list of 2024 favorites, and was nominated for five Twin Cities Theater Blogger Awards (winning one). Frank was smart to go back to that well and bring us another Majok play this year. Sanctuary City is another powerful and timely drama with fantastic performances by the small cast, spot on design, and impeccable direction. See it Thursdays through Sundays at Open Eye Theatre until February 23 (note: Open Eye is a small space and some performances are already selling out, so don't wait too long to get your tickets to see what could be one of the best plays of 2025!).

"Scrooge in Rouge" at Open Eye Theatre

This holiday* season, Open Eye Theatre is remounting** Scrooge in Rouge, which premiered last year, a show I called, "a little off-kilter, in the best possible way." The three-person musical reimagines the classic A Christmas Carol in the style of English Music Hall entertainment, meaning "witty lyrics, bad puns, and naughty double-entendres." The fabulous three-person cast portrays all of the characters in this story that hews fairly closely to Dickens' original, even including many of the famous lines you'll hear across town at the Guthrie. But there are a few ridiculous diversions too, resulting in a very entertaining and fun little show. You can see this alternative (or addition) to A Christmas Carol at Open Eye in South Minneapolis through December 29.

"Moonwatchers" at Open Eye Theatre

If you miss Minnesota Fringe Festival, go see Moonwatchers at Open Eye Theatre. It premiered at the 2022 Festival but I completely missed it. It's a very Fringey show, meaning creative, inventive, and less than an hour long. Continuing the year of the U of M/Guthrie BFA kids (I call them kids because I also received a degree from the U - in the last century), two graduates of that program prove its continued worth in our community and beyond. Nigel Berkeley and Corey Farrell have created something so unique, so downright silly, and so udderly delightful (pun intended). There are only four performances left; I recommend going if you need a little break from life to just smile and laugh and be transported into another world for a little while.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2024: "Beanie Baby Divorce Play"

Day: 6

Show: 19

Title: Beanie Baby Divorce Play

Category: Comedy / Drama / Horror / Original Music / Puppetry / Storytelling / Historical content / LGBTQIA+ Content

By: Melancholics Anonymous

Created by: Rachel Ropella and Timothy Kelly

Location: Open Eye Theatre

Summary: The story of a couple fighting over their beanie babies during their divorce and ignoring their actual children, who resort to desperate measures to get their parents' attention.

Highlights: This is bizarre in Melancholics Anonymous' trademark style. The story is told by the Beanie Babies CEO in a smoking jacket ala Masterpiece Theater, reading out of a children's book. We meet the family in court, the kids bored and ignored, the parents angry and selfish. While playing, the kids make a wish that turns ugly with the appearance of a mystical evil creature. One of the kids is kidnapped, and the other fights to get her back, with the help of Princess Diana (or not). The performances by the eight-person cast (Timothy Kelly, Aerin O’Malley, Anneliese Garner, Bee Davis, Meredith Enersen, Nick Willcocks, Samantha Miller, and Claire Chenoweth in a creepily physical performance as the Beanie monster) are great and really committed to this absurdity, and the use of Beanie Babies as props, set, and costumes is truly impressive, particularly what I can only describe as a Beanie Baby tower (set and prop design by Mady Smith). It's a really weird and fun show about the dangers of consumerism and obsession, and if I wasn't emotionally invested, maybe that's OK.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here. 

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2024: "The Dumb Waiter"

Day: 3

Show: 5

Title: The Dumb Waiter

Category: Comedy / Drama / Physical Theater / Political content

By: Jackdonkey Productions

Written by: Harold Pinter

Location: Open Eye Theatre

Summary: A one-act play by British playwright Harold Pinter about two hit-men waiting to do a job.

Highlights: As I've written several times, I don't get Pinter. His plays are so bleak and often absurd, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to get out of it. But maybe because The Dumb Waiter is not a full-length play (Pinter is easier to digest in small bites?), maybe because of Jackdonkey's excellent production, this is my favorite Pinter yet. It has a Waiting for Godot feel, with these two men sitting in a bare room (per the script they're supposed to be sitting on beds but per this Fringe aesthetic they're sitting on stools with a few props in a bucket, which works well), waiting for word from their boss about their next job. They have conversations about nothing (tea and snacks), and talk about past jobs that they can't forget. Ben (Dominic Schiro) is the calmer quieter one, reading a newspaper, while Gus (Robert Wood Frank) is a bit more restless, wandering around, leaving the room to make tea or use the bathroom, filling the silence with chatter. Both actors along with the director Zach Christensen are U of M/Guthrie BFA grads and continue a summer of excellent work by the Guthrie farm team. Everything is crisp, precise, and thoughtful, with the actors, particularly Robert, performing with interesting and specific physicality. The staging, lighting (by Matthew Walsh), costumes, minimal props, and use of the trap door as the dumb waiter are all so cohesive and well done. Fringe is a great place to see new work, but it's also a great place to see excellent new interpretations of established plays, and this is one of those.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Only Ugly Guys" at Open Eye Theatre

After adapting/directing/producing a play last fall that was "unlike anything I've ever seen before" (an adaptation of the Norwegian novel Naive. Super, with a different actor performing the solo play each night), Kurt Engh returns with an original play that once again inventively uses sound, video, and technology to tell a story. In this case, it's the story of four young gay men in a modern rom com that's very funny and engaging, and well performed by this cast of new-to-me young actors. Only Ugly Guys is presented as part of Open Eye Theatre's Guest Artists Series, which has already brought us Madeleine Rowe's charmingly odd solo piece Honey, I'm Home. It's great to see this established theater host the next generation of theater makers on their sweet little stage, and the group of artists behind Only Ugly Guys makes the future of #TCTheater look bright. The short run concludes on June 30.

"Rasputin" by Four Humors Theater

Other than their participation in last year's Minnesota Fringe Festival Five-Fifths fundraiser, I haven't seen a Four Humors Theater production since before the pandemic. Which is way too long to go without seeing their uniquely clever and ridiculous original work, often adaptations of literature or history. They debuted a new work at Twin Cities Horror Festival last fall, but I missed it, so I'm happy they're remounting Rasputin at Open Eye Theatre so I could see the show my fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers raved about. It's just as smart and silly and hilarious as expected, with a bit more blood than usual for their shows. As a bonus, I caught one of two encore performances of their 2013 Minnesota Fringe hit Lolita, which made for a pretty great double-billing. They have a pretty loyal following, and lots of buzz from TCHF, so some shows in their short two-week run are already selling out. You can see Rasputin through May 18, with one final performance of Lolita following the Saturday night closing performance.

"Honey, I'm Home" at Open Eye Theatre

If walls could talk... they might sound like Madeleine Rowe in their solo show Honey, I'm Home, now playing at Open Eye Theatre as part of their Guest Artist Series. Because when Madeleine says "Honey, I'm home," they literally mean "I am a home." Over about 70 minutes, they personify a house that's been on the market for way too long, and just wants to be bought and lived in and loved, like anyone (or anything). It's a very funny, silly, odd little show that's playful and fun and participatory (in a not too scary way).

"Scrooge in Rouge" at Open Eye Theatre

Leave it to Open Eye Theatre to bring us a holiday* show that's a little off-kilter, in the best possible way. The three-person musical Scrooge in Rouge reimagines the classic A Christmas Carol in the style of English Music Hall entertainment, meaning "witty lyrics, bad puns, and naughty double-entendres." The fabulous three-person cast portrays all of the characters in this story that hews fairly closely to Dickens' original, even including many of the famous lines you'll hear across town at the Guthrie. But there are a few ridiculous diversions too, resulting in a very entertaining and fun little show. You can see this alternative (or addition) to A Christmas Carol at Open Eye in South Minneapolis through December 30.

"Life Sucks" by Girl Friday Productions and Open Eye Theatre

Girl Friday Productions holds a unique niche in #TCTheater. Specializing in large-cast classics, they typically do just one production every other year. They skipped their 2021 production due to the pandemic (although they did create a really lovely virtual winter cabaret show - still available to watch here), and now they're finally back - four years after their last production. They're also stepping out of this niche, co-producing a play with Open Eye Theatre that was written in this millennium with just a seven-person cast. But Life Sucks by Aaron Posner is loosely based on Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, so I guess it counts in the classics department. And a seven-person cast is quite large for Open Eye's stage, which is the smallest and sweetest stage in town, so the cast to square footage ratio is still quite high. Maybe it's not such a leap for them after all, and it's consistent with their past work in that it's perfectly cast, thoughtfully constructed, and epic in themes if not in size. They've just extended their run through November 12, and you would be wise not to miss this funny and profound rare offering from Girl Friday and Open Eye (click here for info and tickets).