"Holmes and Watson" at Park Square Theatre

For the first time since 2019, Park Square Theatre's summer mystery tradition continues! (Not counting 2020's utterly delightful virtual zoom mystery play Puzzle Riddle Plot.) I'm not sure I can tell you much about Holmes and Watson without giving it away; it's one of the most surprisingly twisty tales I've seen on stage. But it's enough to know that it's well plotted, well written, deliciously acted, stunningly designed, and features one of the most beloved characters in literature, TV, and film - the epitome of the clever detective, Sherlock Holmes. Or rather, three of them. The rest you'll have to discover for yourself on Park Square's main stage in the Historic Hamm building in downtown St. Paul through August 21.

"In the Next Room" at Yellow Tree Theatre

Sarah Ruhl's funny and feminist, historical and modern play In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play had its regional premiere at the Jungle about ten years ago, and can now be seen on Yellow Tree Theatre's intimate Osseo stage. It's an unexpected title, and while, yes, the play features the vibrator (more specifically the time in history when "electric massage" was a serious medical treatment for a particular ailment of women diagnosed as "hysteria"), the play is really about relationships, medical practice, the dawn of electricity, and connections. Yellow Tree's strong cast and detailed design, combined with this smart script, make for a highly entertaining night at the theater, even if it might make you squirm in your seat a little (which is not a bad thing in theater).*

"Nature" by TigerLion Arts at Lebanon Hills Regional Park

I went for a walk today. But not just any walk, although any walk through Nature is special. It was a walk with my favorite theater experience - TigerLion Arts' outdoor walking play Nature. Seeing it for the fifth time was as moving as seeing it for the first. There are many reasons why Nature is my favorite: it's outdoors in a beautiful natural setting; you get to walk around instead of sitting in an uncomfortable theater seat; it's about as site-specific as theater can get; it combines history, philosophy, spirituality, and ecology; it has elements of physical theater and music; and it's totally immersive in the best way. One of the most wonderful and the most challenging things about theater is that you really have to stay present in the moment. Who hasn't felt their mind wander in the theater? Our lives are so busy and jam-packed that it's difficult to put all of that aside for any length of time. But when you feel the sun warm on your back, or frozen raindrops pelt your face, it very effectively brings you right back to the present and to the experience that we're all having together, right here, right now. Such is Nature, which more than just theater, is an invitation to contemplate one's own relationship with Nature by taking a journey (literally) with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau as they contemplate their relationships to Nature and each other.

"≈ [almost equal to]" at Pillsbury House Theatre

Swedish playwright Jonas Hassen Khemiri's* work makes its area debut with Pillsbury House Theatre's excellent production of the odd and oddly titled ≈ [almost equal to]. But odd in a good way, odd in that it's uniquely structured and covers many topics and doesn't always entirely make sense. In fact pre- and mid-show announcements break the fourth wall a bit and tell us what to expect (or not). According to the program, the play "is a commentary on the constraints and effects of living within a capitalist economic system." A mix of economics, sociology, and family drama, ≈ [almost equal to] will leave you questioning the very meaning of money. In a world with vast inequalities of wealth, that's a worthy thing to think about in a play that's also engaging and entertaining.

"Finding Fish" at Illusion Theater

Did you know that there's a fishing crisis in New England? Being a vegetarian who never really liked to eat or catch fish, living in land-locked Minnesota, I've never heard about this issue. I've never even thought about how environmental issues affect those making their living off the sea. But I'm thinking about it now, thanks to Carlyle Brown's new play Finding Fish, now receiving its world premiere at Illusion Theater. Rather than just being a boring recitation of facts (like "from 1991 to 2003 the cod catch fell 99%," as noted in the thick program that has tons of information and resources about environmental issues, particularly those related to water), Finding Fish combines the realism of family drama with fantastical elements to create a story that's both thought-provoking and entertaining.

"Buried Child" by Red Bird Theatre at the Southern Theater

I'm starting to think Sam Shepard is a modern-day Tennessee Williams. Both write dark and tragic family stories, Williams focusing on Southern families, while Shepard's play have a modern Western feel (in tone if not geography). Shepard's first big hit was the 1978 Off-Broadway play Buried Child, which won the Pulitzer Prize for drama. Red Bird Theatre (a company previously unknown to me) is presenting this dark and twisted masterpiece as part of Southern Theater's ARTshare program, and I loved it. I'm not sure why, but the darker and more depressing a play is, the happier it makes me. Walking out of the theater after a Sunday matinee, it just felt wrong that the sun was shining on a beautiful day, and it took me a few minutes to shake the darkness off my shoulders. But what a wonderful experience; a terrific cast and excellent production of this darkly poetic and deeply disturbing American classic.

"The Cocoanuts" at the Guthrie Theater

Not being familiar with the Marx Brothers, I didn't know what to expect from The Cocoanuts. In fact, when the Guthrie announced their season this spring, I didn't even know what it was (It's a musical? But I've never heard of it!). Turns out it's a little before my time. The 1925 Broadway musical was written for the Marx Brothers by George S. Kaufman, with music and lyrics by one of the best American songwriters, Irving Berlin. The musical was adapted into one of the first "talkies" in 1929, but has never been revived on Broadway, so I guess I can be forgiven for having never heard of it. Last year the Oregon Shakespeare Festival premiered a new adaptation of this 90-year-old musical (what the Marx Brothers have to do with Shakespeare, I don't know), and that's the production that opened at the Guthrie last weekend. The Guthrie's production features the same actors playing the three most famous Marx Brothers (but with our fabulous local actors taking over most of the rest of the roles), much of the same creative team, and a book that's been slightly tweaked to add in some Minnesota references. The result is a delightfully and ridiculously fun show that pulls out all the comedic stops to entertain the audience, the cast, and even the ushers. A good time was most definitely had by all.

"The Velocity of Autumn" at Old Log Theatre

Last spring, I was lucky enough to see Eric Coble's smart, funny, poignant, relevant new play about aging and family, The Velocity of Autumn, during it's short Broadway run. Despite earning Estelle Parsons a Tony nomination, the play didn't last long on Broadway, perhaps because the small, intimate story is better suited to Off Broadway or regional theater than the tourist-bait that Broadway has become. The Old Log Theatre was smart enough to snap up this gem and be the first to bring it to Minnesota to open their 2015-2016 season. The Old Log has really stepped up their game in the last few years, but it's still difficult for me to make the 70-mile round trip from my home in the Northeast suburbs to lovely lakeside Excelsior. But for this play, I was determined to go to my first Old Log opening night. And boy, was my determination rewarded! It was a truly remarkable experience, something I've never seen on stage before, and one that will not soon be forgotten.

The play opens on 79-year-old Alexandra (Melissa Hart), who has barricaded herself in her Brooklyn home, armed with home-made explosives. Her children are trying to remove her from her home and put her in a nursing home, so she’s refusing to let anyone inside. Her long absent youngest son Chris (Paul de Cordova) climbs a tree and into her window in the hopes of talking her down. What follows is an intense and revelatory conversation between these two people, both at a crossroads in their lives and unsure of what’s going to happen next. What Alexandra is really trying to barricade out of her life is age – the loss of herself. Chris is the one of her three children that is most like her, an artist and a free spirit, which is how she raised him. He gives her what she needs – someone to listen to her and acknowledge her fears. Chris has recently experienced a life-changing event of his own, which is why he’s decided to come home, for a chance to “do the right thing.” As they talk about their shared past, and the uncertainty of the future, they come to a bit of an understanding, although nothing is resolved for certain. It’s a clear and precise depiction of one moment in these two people’s lives, lives that existed before this moment and will continue to exist after.*

Paul de Cordova and Melissa Hart (photo credit: Old Log Theatre)

Melissa Hart is veteran Broadway and regional theater actor - she played Sally Bowles during the original run of Cabaret and received a 1970 Tony nomination for the musical Georgy - and lucky for us, she now calls Minnesota home.  I first saw her in a return to Cabaret, this time as Fraulein Schneider in Frank Theater's delectably gritty production on the Showboat four years ago, and have seen her many times since on various stages around town including Illusion and the Guthrie. Melissa as Alexandra and Paul de Cordova as her son Chris are a dream team to bring this talky two-person play to life. This play demands great listening and presence from both actors as each delivers long monologues, along with overlapping dialogue written in the way people actually talk, and Melissa's and Paul's individual and combined performances are one of the best examples of that I've ever seen at the theater.

Alexandra is continually losing parts of herself, as happens with aging, from bodily functions to words. On opening night, Melissa Hart lost her words, and read from a script for the last half of the show. But she never lost the character, and if anything, it made her performance that much more real and poignant. And Paul was right there with her the whole time, listening and responding and helping her through. The character of Alexandra is flustered and struggles for words and memories, yet has moments of crisp clarity about her life and situation. It was indescribably moving to watch Melissa truly live Alexandra's struggles and triumphs for that brief moment in time. It was the truest example of one of the most poignant lines in the play, "there's beauty and art in the coming apart." Melissa took what she was experiencing in the moment and made it serve the character and the play, that's what a pro does. I'm certain that if you go see this play (and you should), you will see a much smoother performance, but no more beautiful than the one I saw.

An important part of this play is the setting - Alexandra's beloved brownstone in Brooklyn, which is beautifully and realistically represented on the Old Log stage. While the leaves outside the Old Log are not yet changing, I attended the show on a perfect fall day and it seemed that the picturesque setting outside the theater had been brought inside. A huge tree with autumn-tinted leaves is seen behind the large window, and is sturdy enough for Chris to climb on. Tree branches and leaves also frame the stage, which contains a cluttered, homey, lived in apartment with furniture stacked against the door and dozens of Molotov cocktails surrounding the perimeter (scenic and lighting design by Erik Paulson).

Having now seen The Velocity of Autumn twice, at different theaters and with different casts, I'm even more convinced what a beautiful and timely play this is. As the Baby Boomer generation ages, we all have Alexandras in our lives, an aging and beloved parent or aunt who seems to be on the verge of not being able to take care of him or herself. It's a difficult thing to navigate and this play provides one example of one family going through it, without providing any simple answers, because there are none. As medical advances allow us to live longer and longer, we all have to deal with our own aging and that of our loved ones, and hopefully we do so with grace, kindness, and acceptance.

The Velocity of Autumn continues through October 24 and it's well worth the drive out to Excelsior to see this smart, funny, poignant, relevant, beautifully written and acted play.


*Once again, I plagiarized myself by copying the description of the play from what I wrote last year.

"The Illusion" by Theatre Pro Rata at Park Square Theatre

In Tony Kushner's The Illusion, an adaptation of a 17th Century French play, you're never quite sure if what you're watching is reality or illusion. But this is the theater, so it's all illusion anyway, isn't it? The Illusion plays with ideas of reality, theatricality, illusion, truth, perception, and imagination. Theatre Pro Rata's production, now playing at Park Square Theatre's Boss Stage as part of their "Theatres in Residence" series*, playfully dives into these themes and delivers a funny, entertaining, and engaging play.

In the opening scene of the play, we meet a man who has come to a secret cave to ask a magician about the son he kicked out years ago. For a fee, the magician obliges and shows him the life of his son acted out before him behind a line he cannot cross. Three different scenarios are presented, related but with slightly different circumstances and ever-changing names for the people involved. In the first scene we see the son in pure, young, innocent love; in the second scene he's involved in a love that makes him do desperate and perhaps unwise things; and finally, we see the son with a love that's become tired and jaded. Throughout it all, the man, the magician, and his assistant watch the stories play out. It's unclear, to them and to us, how these three are stories related and which of them is true, if any. After all, you can never really trust a magician to tell you the truth. And what would the man do with the truth anyway? Perhaps he wants to imagine his wayward son as something other than what he has actually become.

The fantastical nature of the magician's illusions are brought to life with colorful, almost cartoony, sets and costumes (which makes even more sense when the "truth" is revealed, which I won't spoil for you). Simple two-dimensional set pieces are carried on and off the bare stage by the characters in each scene, who are dressed in the flouncy skirts or knee pants we associate with 17th Century French society. Set against a backdrop of a curtain in a frame, the effect is very much that we're watching a scene play out for the viewers, who sit on one side at the back of the stage and watch the events unfold with varying reactions (set design by Sadie Ward and costume design by Mandi Johnson).

As the play went on, I became more and more convinced of the excellent casting of the actors who play father and son and who really look the part. Paul de Cordova and Michael Fell share the traits of thick dark hair, a thin face, and a lanky build. Or perhaps it's just their acting that makes me think they look alike, Paul as the father, a little older, wiser, and regretful of past mistakes, Michael as the son, full of energy and acting against his father's rejection. The two never meet (or do they?), but the two performances anchor the two sides of the story and provide a connection. As the magician, Charles Hubbell is appropriately mysterious and a bit creepy, and Tim Uren is amusing as his silent assistant who later takes part in the action. All of the actors in the revolving scenarios, including Michael, bring the stories to heightened life, and play slightly different versions of the same character in each. Abby DeSanto is the beautiful and desired lover with a will of her own, Kelsey Cramer is the mischievous maid whom you almost want to win out over her mistress, Ben Tallen is the pompous rival, and Bryan Grosso is the delightfully over-the-top comic foil.

I saw my first Theatre Pro Rata show just over a year ago, and I've been impressed by everything I've seen since then. It's all been pretty intense (the real-life hanging of a circus elephant, an adaptation of a frightening dystopian novel, and a convicted child molester trying to reintegrate into society), which I appreciate, but it's fun to see a lighter, more playful side to the company in The Illusion, while still being thought-provoking and captivating. The Illusion continues through June 28.


*Park Square Theatre's "Theatres in Residence" series also includes Sandbox Theatre, whose War with the Newts was recently seen on the Boss Stage, and Girl Friday Productions, debuting on the Boss Stage with The Matchmaker next month.

"By the Way, Meet Vera Stark" at Penumbra Theatre

In By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, now playing at Penumbra Theatre as part of their "Womansong" season, the title character is a black actress in 1930s Hollywood who gets her big break playing a loyal slave in an antebellum Southern melodrama (think Mammy in Gone with the Wind, for which Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to be nominated for and win an Academy Award). She imbues the stereotypical role with as much humanity and depth as possible, and so begins a long and successful career, until she mysteriously disappears from the spotlight. Much like Hattie, who famously said she'd rather play a maid than be one, Vera is a controversial figure because on the one hand her characters perpetuate the stereotypes seen in movies, but on the other hand she makes her characters as real as possible and has built a successful career for herself and opened doors for black actors in Hollywood. The play examines these issues in a funny, entertaining, innovative way, jumping across time and using video of Vera's first movie.

The first act of the play takes place in 1933, where we meet Hollywood starlet Gloria Mitchell and her former Vaudeville partner Vera, who works as her maid while trying to break into pictures (doesn't everyone who lives in Hollywood want to be in pictures?). Gloria is up for a role in The Belle of New Orleans, and Vera is desperate to be cast in it as well. Gloria is too preoccupied with her own life to help her friend, so Vera takes matters into her own hands when the studio head and director come to Gloria's apartment, playing into their stereotypes and getting cast. The second act jumps forward in time 70 years to a seminar about the legacy of Vera Stark in which the panel discusses her life and work while watching clips from the movie (pre-recorded video) and a 1973 talk show appearance (live reenactment) that reunites Gloria and Vera.

Norah Long as Gloria as Marie and Crystal Fox as Vera
as Tilly, in the classic "tightening the corset" scene in
The Belle of New Orleans (photo by Allen Weeks)

The play verges on camp at times as it spoofs old Hollywood and TV talk shows, which is great fun, but still manages to make the characters, especially Vera and her friend Lottie, real and grounded people. This cast is divine, they all play their role(s) to the hilt under the direction of Lou Bellamy. Crystal Fox's Vera is smart and determined, someone it's easy to root for as she goes after her dreams, and then becomes a larger than life version of herself after 40 years in movies. Norah Long is perfection as she plays several different sides of Gloria - the image of a Hollywood starlet that the studio wants her to be, the real person who swears and drinks, the selfish and thoughtless friend, and Gloria's dying Southern belle character in the movie. Greta Oglesby steals every scene she's in as Vera's friend Lottie, especially when she sings her mournful slave song to win a part. Jamila Anderson is fun as Anna Mae, who's trying to pass as Brazilian to win a man and a part, and the modern day tough-talking poet on the panel. This play really is about these four women, but the men are great too - Kevin D. West as Leroy, who befriends Vera and helps her in her quest, Peter Moore as the studio head and the Donahue-like talk show host, and Paul De Cordova as the eccentric director and a trippy '70s British rocker.

The production elements on this play are as divine as the cast. Mathew LeFebvre's gorgeous costumes span the range from glamorous '30s Hollywood, to real working women in that era, to the fabulously colorful '70s, and modern day specific types. C. Lance Brockman's versatile set easily transforms from Gloria's luscious apartment to Vera's working class apartment to a studio back lot with just a change of furniture and the flipping of panels in the walls. A really fun feature of this play is that we actually get to see the movie that's talked about so much. A quite lengthy clip of The Belle of New Orleans is played on a big screen in which the four women play roles in this deliciously melodramatic movie.

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark is a really fun, entertaining, funny, beautiful to look at play on the surface, but on a deeper level says some important, thought-provoking, and relevant things about black actors in Hollywood, then and now. And it's quite timely, coming a few weeks after the announcement of this year's Oscar nominations, which included not only the snub of the film Selma, but the first all-white group of nominated actors since 1998. Hollywood, and we its audience, still have much to learn from Vera Stark (playing through March 1).


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"Drunken City" by Dark & Stormy Productions at the Lyric at Carleton Place

New theater company Dark & Stormy Productions is really hitting their stride; they've become one of those theater companies that I rely on to never let me down. Their fourth production in just under two years continues their tradition of short, intense, real, small-cast, smartly written plays in unusual locations. Drunken City (written by Adam Bock, the same playwright as their last show, the hilarious dark comedy The Receptionist) introduces us to three recently engaged girlfriends out for a wild night in the city. The seemingly innocent good time turns into more as the three women, and the men that they meet, ponder life and relationships, and whether or not they are where they want to be in both. Spend 75 minutes with this fantastic cast (directed by Associate Artistic Director Bill McCallum, who's more often seen on stage) for a fun, entertaining, and surprisingly deep night at the theater.

As they explain to the audience in the opening scene of the play, Marnie (Sara Marsh, founder and Artistic Director), Linda (Tracey Maloney), and Melissa (Adelin Phelps) have all recently gotten engaged. They have a history of destructive nights of drinking "in the city" (Linda drinks too much), but that doesn't stop them from going back again to celebrate Marnie's bachelorette party. They predictably drink too much (Linda couldn't resist the pretty pink drinks) and run into a couple of guys from their town, Eddie (Paul de Cordova) and Frank (Kris L. Nelson). Marnie promptly begins kissing Frank, much to her friends' dismay. Marnie's not sure she wants to get married after all, and Melissa and Linda have their own reasons for insisting that she does, reasons that are more about them and their insecurities than they are about Marnie and what's right for her. The girls call their reliable friend Bob (Benjamin McGovern) to come and help them get Marnie home and away from Frank. As the six characters wander through the streets of the drunken city, we learn a little about each of them in conversations and short monologues. This is where the surprisingly deep part comes in, as their hopes, fears, and dreams about their lives and relationships echo our own.

a drunken night in the city (photo by Heidi Bohnenkamp)

It's truly a joy to watch this cast perform this smart and funny play, playing characters that seem familiar from our own lives. They're all so wonderful and funny, partly because most of them play drunk for most of the play, and do it well. But also because they bring depth to these characters and make them more than what they first appear - Sara as the runaway bride in over her head, Tracey as the woman who drinks too much to mask her deep fears about life, Adelin as the tough-talking friend who insists that Marnie's marriage work out because hers didn't, Kris as the sad-sack Frank who so sweetly listens to Marnie, Paul as Frank's hilariously mumbling friend Eddie, and Benjamin as everyone's best friend who opens up and learns a thing or two about love. All of these characters are changed by this one drunken night, for better or worse.

The play takes place in a cool, modern, brightly-colored theater space in the Lyric at Carleton Place, a new apartment complex on University in St. Paul (with free parking across the street). Make a date to spend a night with these six friends before the party ends on June 7 (drunkenness optional).

"1968: The Year that Rocked the World" by the History Theatre at the Minnesota History Center

I have to admit, I'm enamored of the late 1960s.  The music, the fashion, Woodstock, HAIR, people standing up for what they believe in.  It all seems so thrilling and, well, cool.  But the late 60s were not all love beads and peace signs.  It was a tumultuous time in our history, particularly 1968, the year that is the focus of an exhibit at the Minnesota History Center and a corresponding play by the History Theatre.  Two of our country's leaders were assassinated, the Vietnam War was at its height with hundreds of people dying every week, protests on our own soil turned deadly, and there was a dramatic and pivotal presidential election.  All of these events and more are covered in the exhibit and the play, and I learned so much more about this era that I find so appealing.

The play is comprised of seven scenes that showcase returning soldiers, the Civil Rights movement in various forms, people's reactions to the assassinations, the election, and Apollo 8.  The scenes are strung together with songs and dialogue as the cast guides us more or less chronologically through the year.  History Theatre's Artistic Director Ron Peluso structured the scenes (written by seven different playwrights) and directed the play.  Standouts in the cast include Lindsay Marcy, who plays three different characters equally well (the new wife of a soldier, a modern-day TV reporter in a clever tie-in with WCCO news, and the New Jersey mother of a future astronaut).  Randy Schmeling (who was in the first production I saw of one of my now favorite musicals, HAIR, at the Pantages in 2004) is a convincing Bobby Kennedy and a charismatic modern day astronaut visiting his family at the time of his birth in 1968, congenially interacting with the audience.  Perhaps the funniest scene (although at times scary funny) is a creative re-imagining of newly elected president Richard Nixon's experiences that year along with his friend and campaign manager John Mitchell.  Paul de Cordova and E.J. Subkoviak have an easy chemistry, and Paul does a great Nixon as well as a pretty good Johnny Carson (not surprising since he so convincingly played three different characters in last year's The Pride).  Last but not least is Karen Weber's (the witch in last year's Into the Woods) moving portrayal of Rosemary Clooney struggling with depression after the death of her friend Bobby Kennedy.

The music is great, although I would have liked more of it.  We only hear snippets of songs between scenes, when I wanted to hear the whole song.  This isn't a musical, it's a play with music.  The band is made up of students from McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul (which shares a space with the History Theatre's usual location), and they sound pretty groovy.  They start playing 10 or 15 minutes prior to showtime, so get there early if you want to hear some full song selections from this great year of music.  The play itself begins and ends with songs from HAIR, the ground-breaking musical that dealt so well with the issues of its day, which seemed quite perfect to me.

In the last week I've seen two pieces that deal with tumultuous times in American history: the fantastic musical Ragtime at Park Square Theatre, and this play.  I see a lot of similarities between the two.  In 1906 and in 1968 our country was dealing with issues of war, violence, race and gender discrimination and the fight to end it, poor people demanding to be heard.  All of things these things we're still dealing with today.  It's good to look back on our history and remember how far we've come, and how far we have yet to go.  The struggle, the journey, is not yet ended.

If you go, I would recommend getting to the History Center a few hours early to peruse the exhibit (your theater ticket gets you $2 off admission), but check the website for hours to make sure they're open.  The cafe there has good, local food (again, check the website for hours, Tuesdays seem to be a good day to go).  And if you, like me, love the 1960s aesthetic and are tempted to buy everything with a peace sign, stay away from the museum gift shop.  They have some dangerously cute stuff.

"The Pride" by Pillsbury House Theatre

I didn't know much about The Pride before I saw it.  I had seen a Pillsbury House Theatre production at the Guthrie this summer (In the Red and Brown Water) and was impressed by the play and the theater's commitment to the community.  I wanted to see something in their theater (at Chicago and 35th Street in Minneapolis), and I'd watch Tracey Maloney in anything, so I went to see The Pride.  I was blown away.  It's a great play with an important message, at times painful to watch, uniquely constructed in two different time periods, with brilliant acting by all four cast members.

The two interconnected stories feature three characters in two time periods in London: 1958 and 2008.  They're sort of the same characters (they have the same names in both time periods), but they're fundamentally different, maybe because of the culture they're living in.  With each scene the action switches from one time period to the other.  Even though the set doesn't change (except for the opening and closing of doors on a bookcase), it's obvious which time period we're in by the clothing and the way the actors carry themselves.  It's amazing to watch these actors create two such distinct and fully realized characters (not to mention the super quick costume changes).  Even their accents and way of speaking are different between the two time periods.  There's a delightful array of British accents, like watching a great show on BBCA.

Our three main characters are two gay men and a woman, and the triangle takes different forms in the two time periods due to the social norms of the time.  In 1958, Sylvia (Tracey Maloney) is married to Philip (Matt Guidry), but something is off in their marriage.  They seem happy on the surface, but Sylvia is desperate to have a child because she's afraid of being alone with Philip for the rest of their lives.  She introduces her husband to her co-worker Oliver (Clarence Wethern), suspecting, but also dreading, that they might have something in common.  They feel an instant attraction to each other, which Philip unsuccessfully tries to ignore.  They have a brief but intense affair until Philip ends it, in what may be the most realistically and painfully violent scene I've ever seen on stage.  It's a tragic exploration of what happens when people aren't allowed to live their own truth.

Fast forward to 2008 when times are different.  Philip and Oliver have been together for a year and a half, but Oliver repeatedly cheats on Philip, and Philip has finally left him.  Sylvia is Oliver's best friend who introduced the two men.  Oliver is miserable without Philip and wants him back, and Sylvia reluctantly helps him as they all prepare for London's Pride parade (hence the title).  This story is more hopeful than the earlier one.  In the second act the apartment set changes from Syliva and Phillip's 1958 flat and Oliver's 2008 home to Syliva's 2008 flat.  On prominent display is one of those photo series that spell out a word with photos of things that resemble letters, and this one spells "HOPE."  The play ends with 1958 Sylvia repeating Oliver's earlier words, that one day "it will be all right."  We're not quite at the place of total equality and acceptance of all people, but as The Pride illustrates, 2008 is closer to it than 1958.

It's an interesting juxtaposition between the two sets of characters.  In 1958 Oliver is the one who is sure of and confident in who he is, while Philip is doing everything he can to deny it and live by the standards of the day.  In 2008 Philip seems to have it all together, even a career that he loves instead of the job that the 1958 Philip is stuck in.  Oliver is the one who doesn't know how to get what he wants, and is his own worst enemy.  As I said before all of the actors do an amazing job creating their different-yet-similar characters.  Clarence Wethern is particularly impressive in his portrayal of the strong but vulnerable 1958 Oliver, and the lovable rogue of 2008, whom you can't help but root for despite his frequent mistakes.  In addition to the three main characters, three completely different secondary characters are played by Paul de Cordova, two of which are scene stealers.

The Pride, directed by Co-Artistic Director Noël Raymond, runs through October 16 at the Pillsbury House Theatre.  It's not an easy play to watch, but well worth the effort.