"Mothership" at Penumbra Theatre

All I knew about Penumbra's world premiere new play Mothership before seeing it was that it was some kind of future dystopia story. I was prepared for something dark and depressing (maybe I've seen too much of The Walking Dead universe), but it wasn't that at all. From the beginning, there is comedy and lightness in the script and in the performances. And yes, it deals with dark themes, but with a hopeful and even joyful resolution, when a group of strangers come together to save Blackness, creativity, and the world. In these days when it seems like there's nothing but grim news and serious concerns about the future on all fronts, it's a refreshing reimagining of that story - in which the worst happens, but humanity prevails. Take a ride on the Mothership at Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul's Rondo neighborhood now through October 4.

"Joe Turner's Come and Gone" at Penumbra Theatre

When I was in New York City a few months ago, I saw signs for the Broadway revival of Joe Turner's Come and Gone, with some big names attached, but I'd rather see it at Penumbra Theatre right here in St. Paul. Joe Turner was the 4th play written by August Wilson in his Pittsburgh Cycle of ten plays, each taking place in a different decade, chronicling the Black American experience throughout the 20th Century. The second play chronologically, it takes place in Pittsburgh in the 1910s, but was written in the 1980s when August Wilson was living in St. Paul, working closely with Penumbra. This is the 4th of the ten plays I've seen, all at Penumbra, and there's nowhere better to see his work than at one of his artistic homes, directed by Penumbra founder Lou Bellamy who was his close collaborator, performed by actors who have spoken his words and inhabited his characters many times. Joe Turner's Come and Gone continues at Penumbra Theatre through June 21.

"Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope" at Penumbra Theatre

A piece of musical theater trivia that I learned several years ago is that the first Broadway musical with book, music, and lyrics written by a woman is the 1973 Tony-nominated Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope. It was written by Micki Grant, a Black woman, who also starred in the show (we would have to wait over 50 years for the next Broadway musical with book, music, and lyrics written by a woman who also starred in it - Shaina Taub's Suffs, coming to the Orpheum next month). I couldn't understand why, in 15 years of seeing pretty much everything in #TCTheater, I had never seen this show; no theater company has produced it locally in my memory, and it's never been revived on Broadway after its two-and-a-half-year original run. That glaring omission has finally been rectified with Penumbra Theatre's joy-filled production of this historically significant gem of a musical. It's playing through April 5, and if you're a fan of musical theater history, or just music and/or history in general, do not miss this show.

"Marisol" at Penumbra Theatre

Although it premiered over 30 years ago, the play Marisol by Puerto Rican playwright José Rivera feels like it was written for today. It's an absurd and surreal look at a dystopian society in which, among other things, people are dragged from their beds in the middle of the night and hauled away in handcuffs. Something that is actually happening in our country right now with ICE raids in schools, business, and even homes. Theatre Coup d'Etat produced this play back in 2018, but it's even more relevant today, scarily so. Kudos to Penumbra Theatre Company for programming this play this season, in partnership with Teatro del Pueblo, even though they couldn't have known how relevant it would be today when they chose it some months ago. This play requires some effort from the audience as it's not straight-forward or even entirely sensical, but it's beautifully designed, directed, and acted by the team at Penumbra and Teatro del Pueblo. See it at Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul's historic Rondo neighborhood now through November 2.

"When We Are Found" at Penumbra Theatre Company

After producing his beautifully tragic play Sugar in Our Wounds two years ago, Penumbra Theatre commissioned playwright Donja R. Love for a different sort of play; a fable, a fantasy, "a meditation on enduring love through thee forced parting precipitated by the transatlantic slave trade" (Penumbra's President Sarah Bellamy in a note in the program). Sugar in Our Wounds tells the doomed love story of two enslaved men in the South shortly before the Emancipation Proclamation, and When We Are Found is almost like a prequel to the story, as well as a modern-day coda. Running just over an hour, it's a lyrical, fantastical, fluid celebration of unbreakable love. See it at Penumbra in St. Paul's Rondo neighborhood through May 18.

"Paradise Blue" at Penumbra Theatre

In 2015, Penumbra Theatre produced Dominique Morisseau's Detroit '67, the first of her three-play series known as The Detroit Project, set in her hometown. Now almost ten years later, they're bringing us the second play in the series, Paradise Blue. In between they've produced a few other plays by Morrisseau, and we've seen the final Detroit play Skeleton Crew at Yellow Tree and the Guthrie (directed by Austene Van who was in Detroit '67). So if you're an avid #TCTheater goer, this is your long-awaited chance to complete this trilogy. But don't worry if you haven't seen any of the others; the three plays are stand-alone, set in different decades and featuring different characters and storylines. But what they have in common is the beautifully real and relevant way they explore Black culture in Detroit specifically, and in America as a whole. From the 1967 Detroit Riot, to the closing of an auto plant in the late aughts recession, and in this play - a jazz club in the late '40s. A fantastic cast and stunning design bring this powerful story to vivid life on Penumbra's stage, continuing through March 9.

"Black Nativity" at Penumbra Theatre

A #TCTheater holiday* season really isn't complete without Penumbra Theatre's annual production of Black Nativity, the truest expression of a "joyful noise" I've ever seen. They've been doing this show in various incarnations for over 30 years, but this is only my fourth time seeing it. And it's been a few years, so I was overdue for this healing balm, especially necessary this year, with the world seemingly getting bleaker every day (and literally getting darker every day as we progress towards the Winter Solstice). The show is similar to what they've been doing the last several years, with a few changes in personnel. But it's always a source of joy and inspiration, lifting the spirits to face whatever darkness is to come as we leave the theater, just like Black churches have been doing for their congregations for centuries. Black Nativity continues through December 22.

"FLEX" at Penumbra Theatre Company

The new play FLEX, about a high school girls basketball team in the mid-90s, is receiving its area premiere at Penumbra Theatre Company. Like The Wolves (about a high school girls soccer team, which the Jungle produced twice a few years ago), it's about so much more than sports. It's about friendship, teamwork, betrayal and what it's like to be a teenage girl. It's a little lighter than what I remember The Wolves to be. While there is tragedy and difficult issues that the girls are dealing with, in the end it's a feel-good story about camaraderie and the triumph of a group when everyone works together. See it at Penumbra in St. Paul's historic Rondo neighborhood through May 19.

"Wine in the Wilderness" at Penumbra Theatre

Last weekend, I saw four plays written by women. The first three were by living playwrights (Grace McLean's musical In the Green, Lauren Gunderson's Silent Sky, and Keiko Green's world premiere Hells Canyon), and the fourth was by Alice Childress, one of the most prolific Black female playwrights of the 20th Century, who had her Broadway play debut just a few years ago - Trouble in Mind (which the Guthrie produced a few years earlier). Her plays seem to be having a resurgence in recent years, and it's about time. In 2017 Penumbra Theatre Company produced the gorgeous and devastating Wedding Band, and now they're presenting Wine in the Wilderness, about an artist painting Black women in 1960s Harlem. It's a thoughtful and thought-provoking exploration of the intersection of race and gender, as always beautifully done by Penumbra.

"Re-memori" at Penumbra Theatre

Inspired by her own life and family history, playwright Nambi E. Kelley has written this solo play about a woman dealing with generations of trauma and resilience. In a tight 75 minutes, we travel with Memori through time as she pieces together her history. It's a powerful, affecting, and engaging piece that's very fitting for Penumbra, which is not just a theater but also a Center for Racial Healing. See it at the St. Paul theater now through November 5.

"What I Learned in Paris" at Penumbra Theatre

A few months ago, the Guthrie produced a Pearl Cleage play called Blues for an Alabama Sky, a lovely and ultimately tragic story about a group of friends living in 1930s Harlem. Now Penumbra is bringing us her play What I Learned in Paris, about a group of friends living in Atlanta in the '70s. This story is a little lighter, but not without depth. It begins on the night that Maynard Jackson was elected mayor of Atlanta, the first Black mayor in any major Southern city. Our group is filled with hope at the new world this event signals, but also aware that inequality still exists, in the areas of race and gender both. Director Lou Bellamy calls it an "insightful and often provocative romantic comedy," and this co-production with Portland Playhouse is fun to watch, while still exploring important issues that are still relevant nearly 50 years after this historic election. See What I Learned in Paris at Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul's historic Rondo neighborhood now through May 14.

"Sugar in Our Wounds" at Penumbra Theatre

In the beautiful and brutal play Sugar in our Wounds, two enslaved men fall in love, finding a song of love that sings in both of them. But this is the American South, shortly before the Emancipation Proclamation, so we know how this story ends. Still, it's a beautiful story to tell, one of love in the face of great danger, that reminds us of our ugly past, and also of the beauty that those who found themselves trapped in the ugliness were able to make for themselves. Penumbra Theatre's production of this play is gorgeous in every way - the design, the true and real emotions of the actors portraying these characters, and the light that it shines on the story of "queer Black love against a backdrop of imminent freedom." See it at Penumbra Theatre through March 19.

"Weathering" at Penumbra Theatre

Prolific #TCTheater playwright Harrison David Rivers has written another beautiful and relevant story about humans. Weathering was commissioned by Penumbra as a response to the growing awareness of racial disparities in maternal health. A quick google search reveals staggering statistics around the racial disparity in infant and maternal mortality in this country - two and three times higher for Black mothers compared to White mothers. Weathering puts a human face on those statistics and lets us experience the tragedy of one family, as well as the healing that can happen within a community.

"Spittin' Seeds" at Penumbra Theatre

For two years, the artists in Penumbra Theatre's Ashe Lab Residency program have been working together to create a new work of theater/music/dance/poetry. The result is Spittin' Seeds, a 75-minute celebration of Black joy, community, culture, and resiliency. It touches on tragedy as well, but for the most part it's a magical, mystical, beautiful tapestry of song, dance, scenes, and visual delights. Including the talented cast comprised of #TCTheater veterans and young actors, it's a really lovely collaboration by all of the artists involved. See it at Penumbra through June 26 only.

"Thurgood" at Penumbra Theatre Company

Friends, if you want to be reminded of the promise of America, and have a little hope restored that this promise will one day be fulfilled, go see Thurgood at Penumbra Theatre. And you're in luck - after selling out the initial planned run (at limited capacity), they've it extended through April 10. This solo play is such an inspiring look at the icon and the human that was lawyer, activist, and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and what an important role he played in the continued fight for Civil Rights. Though it seems like we've taken a few steps back in that regard lately, with new voter suppression laws and increased hate crimes and violence against Black Americans, and other communities of color, this play reminds us what is possible. And with the recent nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, who would be the first Black female Justice, it couldn't be more timely.

"Black Nativity" at Penumbra Theatre

Another holiday* tradition is back this year - Penumbra Theatre's joyful production of Langston Hughes' Black Nativity. They've been doing this show for over 30 years now, and this version is very similar to what I saw three years ago. It's a wonderful tradition that fills the soul; recommended if you've never seen it before, or if you've seen it a dozen times. Continuing through Christmas Eve at Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul.

"The White Card" at Penumbra Theatre

"Perhaps this play might seem an odd choice, with such a [mostly white] cast, during Black History Month. But for me it is exactly the point. Rather than spend the month extolling the accomplishments of African Americans, it seems critical at this juncture of American history that we instead task white people with the fight against rising racism and bigotry in this country. That fight must be waged in living rooms and dining rooms as well as the Senate and the streets. That fight begins with critical self-examination." So notes Penumbra Theatre Artistic Director Sarah Bellamy in a note in the program for The White Card, which does exactly as she describes. The difficult conversations that arise when a black artist has dinner with white patrons of black art, who think that they're helping the cause of racial equality and justice but don't fully comprehend the problems or their place in them, are exactly the kinds of difficult conversations we need to be having right now. This is a play that white people need to see to gain some perspective and further that process of critical self-examination. It's very smartly and succinctly written, and sharply brought to life by the team at Penumbra.

"Pipeline" at Penumbra Theatre

Penumbra Theatre has produced several works by Dominique Morisseau* (including Detroit '67 and Sunset Baby), and is now bringing us one of her newest plays - Pipeline. They're all really powerful plays about the African American experience, and Pipeline deals with racial inequality in our schools, which is a very real problem here in Minnesota. The title refers to the idea that some schools, with their heavy security and overly strict rules, are preparing students of color not for college or careers or life, but for prison (see also Wyatt Cenac's Problem Areas). The playwright explores these issues through a specific story of one family, one student trying to navigate the world as a young black man, a world that in many ways was set up to fail him. The result is a really powerful and sobering, sometimes funny, and very human 90 minutes of theater. And it goes without saying that Penumbra's production is all-around excellent.

"The Brothers Paranormal" by Theater Mu and Penumbra Theatre

For the first time in their long and celebrated histories, #TCTheater's African American and Asian American theaters (Penumbra and Mu) are joining forces in the regional premiere of the new play The Brothers Paranormal. In it, an African American couple hires two Thai brothers to investigate some mysterious happenings around their house. The result is a totally captivating thriller that also deals with some pretty serious issues surrounding culture and mental health. It's a play that's both wildly entertaining, and speaks to our world today in a meaningful and thought-provoking way. And as usual with these two theaters, the production is top notch, with an excellent cast and spot on design. Don't miss this historic and fantastic #TCTheater collaboration!

"Benevolence" at Penumbra Theatre

Five years after producing The Ballad of Emmett Till, Penumbra Theatre returns to the 1955 horrific murder that became a catalyst in the Civil Rights movement with the second installment in playwright Ifa Bayeza's trilogy - Benevolence. While Ballad was about Emmett himself - his life, family, and community as well as his tragic death, Benevolence explores the lives of two couples involved in his story. The first act focuses on the white woman who accused Emmett of assaulting her, and her husband, one of his murderers who was acquitted and then later confessed. The second act focuses on a black couple whose lives were touched by violence in the wake of the trial. The playbill notes, "like the land in its time, the play is segregated." It almost feels like watching two different plays, or two one acts around the same theme. Both are, like the first part of the trilogy, devastating and engrossing, and shed more light on this important historical event and the people involved. This world premiere play continues at Penumbra through March 10.