"The Messenger" at Six Points Theater

I don't know when Six Points Theater decided to produce the new play The Messenger by Playwrights' Center affiliated writer Jenny Connell Davis as part of their 30th season, but it really could not come at a better or more relevant time. But let's face it, anti-Semitism has never gone away, racism has never gone away, hate has never gone away. It feels like as long as there are humans on this planet, this story will be relevant. The inter-related stories of four women are woven together in this riveting 80-minute play, centered around the true story of Holocaust survivor Georgia Gabor, who faced anti-Semitism as an 8th grade math teacher a wealthy community in California in the '80s and '90s, simply because she told her story. She believed that she survived, escaping from the Nazis three times, in order to share her story, to be a messenger. She died in 1994, but she continues to be a messenger through this wonderful and moving play, and thanks to Six Points for bringing us this message that we have to be vigilant, we have to stand up for injustices big and small wherever we see them, because it absolutely could happen here. Go see The Messenger at Six Points Theater's Highland Park space through March 23 only.

"Operation: Immigration" streaming from Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company

One of the hits of last year's Minnesota Fringe Festival was #TCTheater artist Avi Aharoni's solo show Operation: Immigration, which was the highest selling Fringe show at Mixed Blood. Now, Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company (where Avi has frequently performed) is offering an updated and filmed remount of the show as part of their 2020-2021 season, entitled "Theater Six Feet Apart." Avi and the creative team (including director Robert Dorfman, cinematographer Ryan Melling, sound designer Reid Rejsa, and lighting designer Todd M. Reemtsma) have done a great job transferring the on-stage show to a filmed production. One of the great things about the Fringe show is that Avi played very well off of the live audience, which of course is gone here. But he's still very personable as he tells the story of his twice-immigrant father, an Iranian Jew, and how delving into this story has influenced his own identity. One thing that remains true about this updated version of the show is this, that I wrote in my review last year: "This is a fascinating and inspiring immigrant story, about a man who sacrificed his whole life for his family's safety and security. But even more than that, it's a love letter from a son to a father, one that it was a privilege to witness."

"25 Questions for a Jewish Mother" by Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company at Harriet Island Target Stage

The last time I saw a play was on February 22. In fact I saw two plays that day (as I sometimes had to do to fit everything in in the good old days) - the Children's Theatre's new original play Spamtown, USA, and Theatre Pro Rata's production of Silent Sky at the Bell Museum. If someone had told me that I wouldn't see a play live and in-person for almost six months, I would not have believed them. I would have said that's impossible. But a few days after seeing those plays, I left the country to spend two weeks in paradise (aka New Zealand), and returned home to find that the world had turned upside down. We found ourselves in a global pandemic that we're still very much in, with theater being one of the first things to go, and unfortunately one of the last to return. The good news is some #TCTheater companies have gotten creative in this time (see also Park Square Theatre's delightful original Zoom play series RIDDLE PUZZLE PLOT). Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company is opening their 26th season with an outdoor, masked, socially distanced play. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to gather together again and listen to a story, simply and beautifully told. To anyone else who's craving that, go see this play! And not just because it's the only thing out there right now in terms of live theater, but also because it's a really moving, funny, relatable, heart-warming play.