"For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday" by Prime Productions at Mixed Blood Theatre

Now in their 8th season of telling stories about women in their prime (at a time when we start to become invisible in society), Prime Productions is bringing us the regional premiere of Sarah Ruhl's For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday. Playwright Sarah Ruhl wrote this play for and about her mother, Chicago theater actor Kathleen Ruhl, who, like the character Ann in the play, played Peter Pan in an Iowa production and met Mary Martin (read more about that here). In this fictionalized version of her mother's life, Sarah explores ideas of family relationships, grief, loss, religion, faith, politics, and what it means to grow up (and do we have to?). It's an engaging and relatable 90 minutes. See it at Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis' Cedar-Riverside neighborhood now through October 26.

"Eurydice" at Theatre in the Round

Theatre in the Round's fantastic 71st season continues with Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice, a modern interpretation of the classic myth of Eurydice. As the story goes, Orpheus travels to the underworld to try to save his wife Eurydice from death with a song. But that's not the way this world works. As they say in the Tony-winning musical Hadestown (which is also based on this story), it's an old song, it's a sad song, but we sing it anyway. With its themes of grief, love, and loss, it's a story that's still relevant and worth telling. Especially with this well-written script and inventive staging by director Sophie Peyton. The talented cast performs in a physical theater style like I've never seen before at Theatre in the Round. It's a beautiful and magical 90-minute song, bringing new life to this old story. Playing weekends through April 2 at the oldest theater in Minneapolis.

"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).*

"Orlando" by Theatre Pro Rata at the Crane Theater

Although based on a 1928 Virginia Woolf novel and adapted into a play around the turn of this century by Sarah Ruhl, Orlando speaks very much to this time, with its exploration of gender fluidity, and it's skewering of societal norms around gender identity and gender roles. Written in a modern narrative style, with the ensemble taking turns describing the story as it plays out, there's a playfulness to it despite the seriousness of the ideas presented. Theatre Pro Rata has assembled an excellent cast and team to bring the complex, modern, insightful story to life at the Crane Theater (through March 27, click here for info and tickets).

"Dead Man's Cell Phone" at Lyric Arts

In 2007, playwright Sarah Ruhl wrote a quirky, fantastical, and painfully real play about our relationships with our cell phones and with each other. A play that seems even more relevant now, 12 years later, as smart phone technology and usage has increased. Lyric Arts' production of Dead Man's Cell Phone captures this struggle between technology and connection, and entertains with a charming six-person cast and ambitious design. This odd and amusing comedy that speaks to the world we live in officially opens tonight and runs through January 27 in downtown Anoka.

"Melancholy Play" by Theatre Elision at the Crane Theater

"Melancholy is gazing through an open window with longing. Depression is behind a thick pane of glass." This line from the Sarah Ruhl/David Almond musical Melancholy Play explains why, perhaps, melancholy isn't such a bad place to be for a spell. There's nothing romantic about depression, of course, but melancholy can be a bittersweet feeling. I love music and stories with a touch of melancholy, that sort of wistful feeling. Somehow it feels more real than the everything-is-sunny kind of story. This musical-called-play explores that idea through the quirky character Tilly and her even more quirky friends. Theatre Elision has been bringing us new or rarely produced female-focused musicals for about a year now, and Melancholy Play is square in their wheelhouse and a lovely addition to their repertoire. But like all of their shows, it sadly plays for one weekend only. And since I'm a little late in getting this to you, you only have one more chance to see it - today!

"The Oldest Boy" at the Jungle Theater

Friends, it's really hard to go back to writing about theater when half of the country is devastated, and I happen to be in that half. But maybe now, when politics and politicians have failed us, is when we need to turn to our artists. Our playwrights, our actors, our painters, our sculptors, our dancers, our comedians, our musicians. To heal our wounds, to bring people together, to make sense of the world, to promote social justice and equality. The Oldest Boy perhaps doesn't seem on the surface to be a profound political statement Rather it's a simple story of love, faith, and non-attachment. Which perhaps is the most profound statement of all, and one that I, for one, would like to focus on today of all days. The world was a different place when I left the Jungle Theater last night than when I entered it, but for two hours but I was immersed in a world of love, learning, sacrifice, faith, and hope.

"Stage Kiss" at the Guthrie

As someone who has never worked in theater but is enamored of the whole theater world, I'm often curious about the rehearsal process and how a piece of theater is created. Sarah Ruhl has given us a peek inside that world in her play Stage Kiss, now playing on the Guthrie's Proscenium Stage. I don't know how accurate it is, but it's a pretty hilarious look at the entire process of creating a performance, from audition, to first read-through, to blocking, to dress rehearsal, all the way to opening night. The writing, as delivered by this fantastic cast, is laugh-out-loud funny and the play (which Sarah notes is "for actors") is a loving send-up of acting, theater, and love.

Stage Kiss is one of those play-within-a-play shows (actually two-plays-within-a-play), providing multiple levels and nuances for this great seven-person cast to play with under the sharp direction of Casey Stangl. As opposed to the character of the director, who doesn't seem to have a clue what he's doing in directing a 1930s flop called Last Kiss in a New Haven theater. He seems flummoxed whenever he's asked a question, and often talks about the "slippery" tone of the play, in which a wealthy married woman finds out she's dying, sends for her first love, and is reunited with him, only to watch him run away with her daughter. Complicating the rehearsal process is that the actors playing the woman and her lover are former lovers in real life, with some unresolved feelings about their relationship. The line between art and reality begin to blur as they find themselves drawn to each other, remembering why they fell in love so long ago, until they remember why they broke up. The play has some fantastical elements, as characters in the "reality" portion of the play step out to speak their feelings, or break out in song, while seeming perplexed that they're singing. There's nothing slippery about the tone of Stage Kiss, it's the humor of heightened reality.

Todd Gearhart and Stacia Rice (photo by Joan Marcus)

Six of the seven actors in this cast have multiple roles to play, both in the play world and in the "real" world, and all appear to be having a blast with the wide range of duties, from sitting bored in a rehearsal room to over-the-top acting as characters in the play-within-a-play. Stacia Rice is so funny and natural as the actress, in contrast to the delightfully exaggerated play roles. A dreamy Todd Gearhart is a great match as her lover on stage and off. Michael Booth plays the actress' husband both in the play and in the real world, like flip sides of the same coin. Grant Fletcher Prewitt (half of the great comedy duo that was last year's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern) is a scene-stealer with his genius physical comedy skills, eliciting laughter from the audience just from walking onstage in his second act getup. Cat Brindisi and Rebecca Hurd provide great support in multiple roles, both real and deliciously over-the-top. Charles Hubbell is the one member of the cast who exists only in the "real" world, as the amusingly daft director.

the cast of Stage Kiss as the cast of Last Kiss
(photo by Joan Marcus)

Devon Painter should be commended for displaying great range in her costume design, which includes cute and chic modern wear, the glamorous world of the '30s, and outrageous '70s costumes in the second act play-within-a-play (entitled I Loved You Before I Killed You, or Blurry, it's too ridiculous to be described). Todd Rosenthal's set design is also quite versatile with lots of moving pieces and startling transformations. We're taken from the bare stage and brick walls of a theater rehearsal room, to a sleek '30s living room, to a shabby '70s apartment. It's fun to watch the progression of sets and costumes in the ongoing rehearsals in the first act, beginning with street clothes and markings on the floor, slowly adding a wardrobe piece here or there, or a representative piece of furniture or two. If you've ever pored over the rehearsal photos that the Guthrie often includes in their playbills, you'll recognize the idea.

The Guthrie is a busy place this summer with the scrumptious smash hit The Music Man causing larger than usual crowds. I just hope that visitors to River City also check out the Guthrie's many other great offerings, Stage Kiss among them. While The Music Man is a heartwarming and overflowing production of a classic musical about small town America in the last century, Stage Kiss a very funny and modern new play that is an homage to the theater world we love so well (playing now through August 30).

"Dead Man's Cell Phone" at Theatre in the Round

Cell phones have become such an important part of our lives. Many of us (myself included) feel out of place if we don't have our phone in our hands or on our person, and when you look around any public space (airport, waiting room, or theater) you see people engrossed in their phones. Dead Man's Cell Phone (written by Sarah Ruhl who also penned the delightful In the Next Room) is about what happens when a woman becomes obsessed, not with her own phone, but someone else's. Now playing at the oldest theater in Minneapolis (aka Theatre in the Round), it's an odd, quirky, funny, absurd little play.

Jean is sitting in a cafe minding her own business when she hears a cell phone that won't stop ringing. She asks the phone's owner to please answer it, but when he doesn't respond, she answers it for him. Only then does she realize that the reason he isn't answering his phone is because he's dead. So begin's Jean's journey as she feels obliged to continue to answer this man's phone and speak to his friends, family, and business associates. She meets his mistress, his wife, his mother, and his brother, and helps them grieve their loss (although none of them seems that upset) as she finds out more about this man Gordon. When she eventually discovers the shady details of his business, she's in too deep to escape unscathed.

Colleen Somerville Leeman is a great choice for the lead role of Jean. She's just so personable and relatable that you can't help but go along with her as she take us on this strange journey. Charles Numrich brings the dead man alive as we find out just what kind of person he was. Andrew Troth provides contrast to that character as the brother who's always been in his shadow, in a sweet romance with Jean. Adding humor are Jan Arford as Gordon's self-centered mother and Anna Olson as his wife, with a couple of delightfully silly turns as a drunk and a figure skater.

It's always fun to see theater in Theatre in the Round because it is quite literally in the round. The audience surrounds the stage on all sides, providing many different perspectives of the show, which can be a challenge in staging. But in this show, as others I've seen, I never felt like I was at the wrong angle. The stage is bare, with a few set pieces brought on and off during scene changes, including a round table that can be cleverly separated into four pieces and put together in different ways to represent various tables (set design by Sadie Ward). During those scene changes (which are a bit long at times), light bulbs in greenish cubes provide a soft otherwordly glow (lighting design by Courtney Schmitz).

Dead Man's Cell Phone is fantastical and a bit absurd, but speaks to real-world issues of love, loss, and human connection. Turn your phone off for a few hours and check it out at Theatre in the Round, playing weekends through April 13.

"In the Next Room" at the Jungle Theater

In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play. 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, connections, and life "when the power dynamic between man and woman began to stir, but most men's hearts belonged first to invention" (from a note in the playbill). This Tony-nominated new play by Sarah Ruhl is making its regional debut, and as usual, it's perfectly executed by The Jungle Theater. Funny, smart, and sweet, with impeccable set and costume design, it's 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).

The titular "next room" refers to Dr. Givings' medical office, which, awkwardly, is just off the parlor of his beautiful Victorian home in "a prosperous spa town outside of New York City." Women visit Dr. Givings when they're feeling a little off, and he very calmly and clinically administers the therapy, as their husbands chat with Mrs. Givings or take a brisk walk around the grounds. Catherine is very curious about her husband's practice, despite his attempts to keep her away from it. The ironic thing is that the doctor who is helping many women, strangers, to feel better, is completely oblivious to his own wife's needs. She has recently given birth to a beautiful baby girl but is unable to produce enough milk to feed her, so a wet nurse is hired to feed the baby. This leaves Catherine feeling inadequate as a mother and as a woman, something her husband has little sympathy for. He just pats her on the head and says "there there." Her restlessness and dissatisfaction manifest themselves as falling in love with a male patient (it is rare, but men apparently can also suffer from "hysteria"). Eventually the Givings are able to talk to each other about how they feel and what they want and need, in their own sort of way, and begin the road to healing and connection (without the aid of electricity).

the patient and the doctor's wife "in the next room"
(Emily Gunyou Halaas and Christina Baldwin)

This is a dream cast. The capable John Middleton brings the doctor to life and hints that perhaps there is something behind his cold exterior. As I've said before, there's nothing Christina Baldwin can't do - comedy or drama, musical or straight play, or all of it combined. She's completely delightful as doctor's wife, her bubbly exterior masking the pain underneath (and she even sings a little!). Also great are Emily Gunyou Halaas as the reluctant patient who comes to depend on the therapy, and the always entertaining Bradley Greenwald as her insensitive (to say the least) husband. My new fave Austene Van (I'm super excited about her upcoming role) brings much compassion and humanity to the role of the wet nurse, who has recently lost her own baby and is now giving milk and love to a stranger's baby. Ryan Underbakke is quite charming as the artist suffering from hysteria, and Annie Enneking brings a softness to the outwardly brusque and efficient midwife assisting the doctor.

I feel I must devote an entire paragraph to the sets at the Jungle, and to this set in particular. I've come to believe that the Jungle has the best sets of any theater in town, not because they're the most fancy and elaborate (that would be the Guthrie and whatever touring Broadway production is currently in town), but because they serve the story best, and create the most distinct and specific world in which that story exists, from the sparse and barren world of Waiting for Godot, to the shabby rooming house of The Birthday Party, to the gorgeous home of the Givens juxtaposed with the cold and efficient operating theater "in the next room." Often the director also serves as set designer at the Jungle, giving a cohesive focus to the story and its environment. Although that's not the case here, the result is the same. Sarah Rasmussen beautifully directs this piece, and Bain Boehlke has created a beautiful world in which it comes to life. And the effect at the end, when the Givens go out into their winter garden, is something quite magical. In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play, really is a beautiful and touching holiday show!

And then there are the costumes, gorgeously designed by Moria Sine Clinton. Not only do they look luscious, but they're also functional, as most characters strip down to their underthings. It's quite fascinating to watch the layers come off and go back on again in a complicated but orderly manner. And yes, the underthings are just as beautiful (and yes, they use the word underthings).

In the Next Room is the final show in The Jungle Theater's 2012 season, which also included the Ivey Award-winning (for lighting) and deliciously thrilling Dial M for Murder, the bizarre Pinter play The Birthday Party, the hilarious and fast moving farce Noises Off, and the delightfully absurd Waiting for Godot. It's truly been a remarkable season. Is it possible the 2013 season could be better? With recent Broadway hit Venus in Fur (starring Anna Sundberg and Peter Christian Hansen), Deathtrap, Urinetown (a musical I love and have been dying to see again), Fool for Love, and Driving Miss Daisy starring the incomparable Wendy Lehr, the answer could be yes. Stay tuned. In the meantime, go see the perfectly delightful In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play, playing now through December 16.