"Indecent" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

Theater Latte Da is known for their musicals, but about once a season they do a play, with music added. They open their new season with a play that already has music as an important part of it, the 2017 Broadway play Indecent, which received its first post-Broadway production at the Guthrie Theater in 2018. Ingeniously written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel, the play tells the story of a play, the history of the world around it, and the interaction of the two. It's about so many things, among them the depiction of a lesbian romance on stage in the early 20th Century, the role of theater in the world, the rise of Nazism and the Holocaust, and the resulting decline of a language and a culture because of it.* These themes are even more relevant today than when the play premiered, with censorship, anti-Semitism, discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, and anti-immigrant sentiment on the rise. In just under two hours of uninterrupted music-theater, Indecent so beautifully tells this story and evokes a range of emotions. It's so affecting, and devastating, and inspiring, the kind of thoughtful, thought-provoking, insightful, and entertaining music-theater we have come to expect from Theater Latte Da (continuing through October 18).

"The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington" at Mixed Blood Theatre

It's been almost two years since Mixed Blood Theatre produced a mainstage play; The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington is the first play since the departure of founding Artistic Director Jack Reuler, the first under new Artistic Director Mark Valdez. To which I say: welcome back Mixed Blood! This kind of risk-taking envelope-pushing social commentary, with a focus on accessibility and diversity of voices and stories, is much needed in our community. While their last play, an original called imagine a u.s. without racism, was an inspirational fairy tale that encouraged audiences to do just that, The Trial (as I'll refer to it) is a brutal look at the racism upon which this country was built. Specifically through "the mother of America," Martha Washington. Written by James Ijames, recent Pulitzer Prize winner and Tony nominee for his play Fat Ham, The Trial is an ingenious mix of storytelling styles, using fantasy, music, and pop culture in this wild exploration of history and present. The cast and creative team do an incredible job of navigating this tricky script and challenging themes, for a wholly successful, entertaining, and thought-provoking work. See it in the old brick firehouse that is Mixed Blood Theatre in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis now through the end of the month.