"The Welkin" by Frank Theatre at Gremlin Theatre

My previous experience with British playwright Lucy Kirkwood is the three-person drama The Children, an intimate, personal, and political story about the fallout of a nuclear disaster, which Jungle Theater produced in 2019 shortly after it premiered on Broadway. Her 2020 play The Welkin is quite the opposite in scale, featuring a cast of 16 and set in the 18th Century. But it's similar in the way it deals with thorny issues that are both personal and political, and I can't think of a better theater company to bring us the regional premiere than Frank Theatre. It's epic in scale and length (nearly three hours) and in the way that it depicts the arduous life of women in 18th Century England, with parallels to the here and now. The cast is a veritable Who's Who of #TCTheater female actors, and watching them tell this story on Gremlin's intimate stage under Wendy Knox's expert direction is a thrill, if a bit of a dark and depressing one. So take a nap, have an afternoon coffee, and go see this astounding regional premiere production of The Welkin (continuing through March 29).

"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.

"Escaped Alone" and "Here We Go" by Frank Theatre at Gremlin Theatre

To begin their 31st season, Frank Theatre is returning to one of their favorite playwrights, Caryl Churchill. They're presenting two of the 80-year old British playwright's newer works, the short plays Escaped Alone and Here We Go. I don't know if these two plays were meant to be performed together, but they work very well with each other, dealing with similar themes of aging and death. Director Wendy Knox admits that they are "a couple of weird pieces," but I found them to be weird in a good way, a meaningful way. Odd, perplexing, surprising, funny, charming, sad, poignant, and profound are just a few of the adjectives that could be used to describe these plays. And as always, the audience is in good hands with Frank's excellent cast and design team to lead us through the weirdness to the truth of the piece.

"The Good Person of Setzuan" by Frank Theatre at an Abandoned Rainbow Foods

Yes, you read that right. Last night I saw theater at an abandoned Rainbow Foods in South Minneapolis. It was definitely the strangest place I have ever seen theater, but not the strangest place Frank Theatre has ever done theater. According to a note in the playbill from Artistic Director Wendy Knox, Frank used to do a lot of shows in a found space, until they settled into more conventional spaces like the Southern and the Ritz in recent years. Some last minute changes this year caused them to get creative again, and with the dearth of small theater spaces (just as we gained The Crane Theater, we lost Bedlam Lowertown), theaters need to get creative. Frank has made terrific use of this space in their latest production of a Brecht play - The Good Person of Setzuan. Frank + Brecht = weird, but weird in a creative, interesting, entertaining way. Although the 8 to 11:15 pm runtime was way too late and long for this morning person (can we not all just agree to start all shows at 7:30, and can't we edit super-long plays into something more manageable?), it's a very well-done, intriguing, thought-provoking, entertaining play in typical Frank style.

"Le Switch" at the Jungle Theater

Two years ago I saw Philip Dawkins' one-act play Failure: A Love Story at the Minnesota Fringe Festival, and it was one of my favorite things I've ever seen at the Fringe. In fact I called it "everything I want in theater," a perfect blend of comedy and tragedy, with tons of heart (and it made me cry perhaps more than any other theater I've seen). At the time I didn't know who Philip Dawkins was, but now I know he's a Chicago-based playwright who is a core writer with the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis. His name has come up again recently when his new play Charm (also a mix of comedy and tragedy with heart) was produced at Mixed Blood earlier this year. And now comes Le Switch, developed at the Playwrights' Center and having a rolling world premiere this year, including at the Jungle Theater. I'm happy to report that like Failure, it gave me all of the feels (although I only shed a few tears, not buckets, probably because there are no animals in this one). Like Failure, Le Switch is a funny and beautiful love story, but not just a romantic love story (although there is that, and a wonderful one). It's also a love story between a brother and a sister who are each other's only family; a love story between childhood best friends who, despite their differences, still love and support each other unconditionally; a love story between the main character and a man who was more of a father to him than his biological father ever was or could be. It's a fantastic new play and I'm excited to see where it goes next.

"Great Expectations" at Park Square Theatre

Expectations are high for Park Square Theatre's world premiere of a new adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations. Building expectations are a well-known and beloved novel, adaptation and direction by veteran local director Joel Sass, a diverse and talented cast, and the fact that Park Square has been continually raising the bar these last few years with the addition of a second stage and greater commitment to diversity of casting and programming. After attending opening night this weekend, I'm happy to report that these Great Expectations have been met with this innovative, funny, creepy, clever, suspenseful, and very well done production.

"The Night Alive" at the Jungle Theater

The Night Alive is an odd little play. Which is really no surprise - it's Irish. No offense meant, I love all things Irish, including odd little Irish plays. I'm not quite sure what to make of Irish playwright Conor McPherson's newest work The Night Alive, now playing at the Jungle Theater, other that it's funny, tragic, and wholly engaging. This tale of a bunch of misfits in a run-down house in Dublin is brought to gritty life by an endlessly watchable five-person cast speaking with lovely Irish brogues (some more authentic than others) and the Jungle's usual perfection in design. I may have left the theater a little perplexed, but definitely with something to chew on.

"The New Electric Ballroom" by Frank Theatre at the New Century Theatre

Enda Walsh seems to be a perfect match for Frank Theatre. Their mission is "to produce unique work that stretches the skill of the artists who create the work while simultaneously challenging the everyday perceptions of the audience." In other words, they do weird stuff, but weird in the best possible way, in the way that challenges the audience and encourages us to look at things in a new way, even if we don't quite understand it. Irish playwright Enda Walsh also writes weird and interesting and challenging and utterly unique plays. Hennepin Theatre Trust is marketing The New Electric Ballroom as "from the author of Once." Please don't go to this expecting to see Once; The New Electric Ballroom is most definitely not Once. Enda Walsh did not create the world or the characters in Once, he adapted a film, putting his gritty Irish stamp on it. But the worlds he creates himself are much more dark and twisted and complex. As with last year's Ivey award-winning Misterman, Frank once again does beautiful work with this weird, challenging, disturbing, completely engrossing, crazy brilliant play.

Much like in Misterman, The New Electric Ballroom features characters that are trapped in the past. More specifically, in one pivotal day in the past. Sisters Clara and Breda, in their 60s, reenact a traumatic experience they had when they were teenagers, relating all of this to their younger sister Ada, who encourages them to keep telling the story even when it's almost too painful to continue. They put on make-up and the clothes they were wearing that day as they go through the story for what seems like the thousandth time, a story that involves a long bike ride, a handsome singer, a town dance, and an event so traumatic that Clara and Breda have not left the house since. It's difficult to understand Ada's place in the story, the one sister that leaves the house to go out in the world, and why she forces them to do this repeatedly. On this one particular day, they invite the fishmonger Patsy, their one contact with the outside world, to play a part in their story. Patsy has his own issues, and a surprising connection to the story. There's a glimmer of hope for a way out of this endless cycle, but it's quickly squashed, and the sisters' sad life continues as before.

sisters Breda (Melissa Hart), Ada (Virginia Burke), and
Clara (Katherine Ferrand) contemplate eating the cake
as Patsy (Patrick Bailey) looks on (photo by Tony Nelson)

This four-person cast could not be better, nor could Wendy Knox's direction. Each actor is so immersed in their character, and each character is more than she or he seems. Katherine Ferrand is a thing of fragile and disturbed beauty as the childlike Clara. Melissa Hart is also excellent as the somewhat stronger and more together sister Breda. Virginia Burke is the sane center of this family as Ada, until we learn that she has her issues too. Irishman Patrick Bailey with his authentic accent is a delight to listen to as he tells the sisters his stories, and later reveals a deeper and darker side to Patsy. These four characters don't so much converse with each other, as recite long monologues, repeating their part of the story or talking to themselves, often not hearing what the other has said. Several passages are repeated throughout the play, creating a harshly beautiful rhythm.

This is the second play I've seen at the New Century Theatre where the stage has been built out, and I've come to see that it's a must for most plays. Even though a few rows of seating are lost, the usual wide and shallow stage often just doesn't work. In this case, Andrea Heilman has designed a shabby but neat little home on the square stage, with vintage kitchen appliances and tape players.

The New Electric Ballroom continues for only two more weekends, so get there soon if you like complex, layered, disturbing, engrossing, tragic, beautifully performed theater.


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"Cabaret" by Frank Theatre at the Minnesota Centennial Showboat

I went to see Cabaret by a theater company I'd never heard of, in a location I didn't know housed theater.  And it was one of those times when I felt so lucky to be in that room, experiencing such an amazing performance of a classic piece of musical theater, with wonderful guests for a post-show discussion.  I found out about the show from one of the many theater emails that I get, and since Cabaret is one of my favorites I looked into it.  I saw that Bradley Greenwald was playing the emcee, and that was enough to get me there.  "There" was a (permanently docked) boat on the Mississippi River in St. Paul, just across from downtown on Harriet Island.  A perfectly lovely location and theater, the original Centennial Showboat opened in celebration of Minnesota's Centennial, which as every Minnesota school child knows was in 1958.  The current showboat was built new after the original burned in a fire during reconstruction, and houses productions by the University of Minnesota and other local theaters like this one.  Frank Theatre has been around for over twenty years, and is "committed to producing unique work that stretches the skills of the artists who create the work while simultaneously challenging the everyday perceptions of the audience through the exploration of ideas and issues of social, political and/or cultural concern."  So far I like what I see, and I'll be keeping an eye out for future productions.

In typical Kander and Ebb style, Cabaret is such a layered, complex piece while still being hugely entertaining.  This production focuses more on the story rather than big splashy musical numbers, although with Bradley Greenwald in the cast the music is amazing too.  He has an unbelievable voice and can sing anything, and brings a lot of humor and depth to the role of the emcee, our guide through the story.  My favorite part of his performance is the opening number in which he sings lines in German, French, and then English.  He sings the English lines in a crass, over-exaggerated American accent that's completely fabulous.  The other star of the show is Melissa Hart, who plays Fraulein Schneider in this production but played Sally Bowles in the original 1966 Broadway and national touring production.  (Lucky for us Melissa moved to Minnesota a few years ago, so I look forward to seeing her on local stages again!)  Her history and connection to the show add a lot to the production, in addition to her amazing performance as the landlady who found love late in life, only to lose it.  Patrick Bailey is her sweet, funny suitor who doesn't want to face what's happening in Germany.

The Kit Kat Klub is filled with great performers, yet they're not too polished as one would expect in a seedy Berlin nightclub.  Fraulein Sally Bowles, "the toast of Mayfair" and star of the Klub, is played by Sara Richardson.  Not only does she have the look (cute short dark hair, smokey eyes and red cupie doll lips) and the voice, but she also has the vulnerability and strength of Sally.  Max Wojtanowicz (who has a lovely voice that I wish we got to hear more of) is the sensible, stable American writer trying to find himself in Berlin, while Sally is flighty and fluttery and scattered.  At first I thought Sally was naive, always happy and pretending not to notice what was happening around her.  But really, Sally is the realist.  She knows how hard life is, she's lived it, and she's just doing what she can to get through the day.  Max is the naive idealist who sees everything in black and white, and thinks all of their problems can be solved by taking a train to Paris.  When Sally sings the final number, "Cabaret," it's a gut-wrenching performance.

The finale of the show features a jumbled sound and look, as everything falls apart in Germany and the Kit Kat Klub.  Each of the characters sings a line or two of their song, reminding us of their journey.  The stage empties except for the emcee, who sings, "Auf Wiedersehen, A Bientot," followed by a shot and silence.  It's so sad, knowing what comes next.  Berlin has such a fascinating and tortured history.

As if all of that wasn't wonderful enough, the day wasn't over yet.  There was a post-show discussion which included director and Frank Artistic Director Wendy Knox, Melissa Hart, choregrapher Bonnie Bottoms, and her mother, Holocaust survivor Sabina Zimering.  She wrote a book about how she survived, assuming a false identity and working in Germany.  It was so humbling and such an honor to be in her presence, knowing she lived through the reality of the world that Cabaret gave us a glimpse into.  And I always love to listen to artists talk about their work, so it was a great ending to a lovely day of theater.

What I love most about Kander and Ebb is that they don't shy away from the tough stuff.  Starting with Cabaret in 1966, all the way through to their final show Scottsboro Boys which came out just last year, they deal with serious issues such as anti-Semitism in Germany and racism in America.  Issues that we like to believe are further in the past than they really are.  Kander and Ebb use the art form of musical theater to ask the difficult questions, not necessarily providing answers but encouraging the audience to wrestle with them.  It seems Frank Theatre has a similar viewpoint, which is perhaps why they chose this piece and why they do it so well.  It's only playing for one more weekend, "good lord willing and the creek don't rise" (literally!), so go see it if you can!