"Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley" at the Jungle Theater

It's the most wonderful time of the year* - time to return to Christmas at Pemberley at the Jungle Theater. Playwrights Lauren Gunderson (one of the most produced playwrights in the country, often writing plays about women in history, particularly in STEM) and Margot Melcon have created the most delightful Jane Austen fan fiction in this series of plays based on the characters in Pride and Prejudice. The Jungle produced the first one, Miss Bennet**, in 2017 and it was such a hit that they co-commissioned a sequel, The Wickhams, which premiered the following year. After remounting Miss Bennet in 2019 and taking a break for two years for... you know, they've done it again, with another co-commission and rolling world premiere of the third (but hopefully not last) installment - Georgiana and Kitty. Each of these plays focuses on a different Bennet sister or two, but they're all similar in their sparkling dialogue that feels both period appropriate and refreshingly modern, their centering of women in the story (continuing the legacy of Jane Austen), their fleshing out of characters who didn't get much space in the original novel, and their charming romances complete with obstacles to be overcome, just like all good Austen heroines. With Georgiana and Kitty we get not one but two new Austen heroines to love and root for in their pursuit of love, art, purpose, and happiness. Every Christmas at Pemberley is sheer delight from start to finish, and I hope the Jungle makes this a 40+ year tradition (my dream is that they'll produce all three plays in rep someday and I can see them all in one wondrous epic day). You can visit Pemberley any day except Monday from now through December 23 (click here for info and tickets).

"Airness" at Park Square Theatre

Park Square Theatre finally returns from their extended intermission with a really fun and feel-good play about a national air guitar competition. It sound ridiculous, but truth is stranger than fiction - this is actually a real thing. LA-based playwright Chelsea Marcantel has set Airness within this world where people travel the country to compete with 60 seconds of playing an imaginary guitar. But like any story, it's not really about air guitar; air guitar is the backdrop against which is set this sweet and funny story of community, friendship, finding your people, and pursuing your passion. The fantastic cast embodies this lovable group of oddballs so well that you find yourself rooting for them and becoming invested in their story. With the stage appeal of a rock concert and the heart of a chosen family story, Airness is a great welcome back for Park Square (continuing through June 5).

"My Antonia" at Illusion Theater

I missed Illusion Theater's original 2010 Ivey-winning production of their adaption of Willa Cather's 1918 pioneer novel My Ántonia, written by Allison Moore with original music by Roberta Carlson. But I've seen it every chance I could since, including my third time this weekend, as it returns home after a tour through Nebraska. Willa Cather is an important writer in American literature (see the notes in the program for more on that), and this is a beautifully sparse adaptation of her most beloved novel. The 90-minute runtime, a small ensemble of six actors playing all of the characters, and minimal set design really allow the beautifully descriptive language of the novel to come through as the main storyteller. Descriptive both of place (the Nebraska prairie) and of the emotions of the people who lived there. It's really a perfect adaptation, in that it captures the wistful and nostalgic tone of the novel as Willa describes the people and place she loved so much. If you've never seen it, do yourself a favor and get to Illusion Theater's 8th floor space in the Hennepin Center for the Arts (attached to the Cowles Center) in downtown Minneapolis before this run closes on March 24.

"Twelfth Night" by Orchard Theater Collective at Calvary Baptist Church

New #TCTheater company Orchard Theater Collective, founded by a quartet of U of M/Guthrie BFA grads, has brought us some interesting and innovative shows over the past year or so. They continue that tradition with Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night, a clever choice to stage in early January when this actual holiday (aka the 12th day of Christmas) falls. And they've made it feel like a holiday. What is essentially a church basement theater has been transformed into a warm, cozy, festive space with lights and colorful decorations, as well as drinks and a lovely spread of cheese, hummus, bread, and cookies, all included in the price of admission. The intrepid cast of eight brings many more characters to life in this gender-swapping mistaken identity romantic comedy, performed on the small stage and in a square in front of it, with the audience sitting at tables on three sides. This Twelfth Night is playful and fun, an evening of pure frivolity. Fortunately this show runs a little longer than their previous shows (sometimes one weekend only); you have until January 19 to celebrate Twelfth Night with Orchard Theater Collective (click here for info and tickets).

"Preferred by Discreet Women Everywhere" by Freshwater Theatre at the Crane Theater

This fall, Freshwater Theatre is featuring new work by women artists, and they couldn't have picked a better time. In rep with a short play festival called "The Feminine Surcharge," they're presenting a collection of three short plays set in a women's bathroom. A place where many of us spend a considerable amount of time. While my visits to the restroom are usually less dramatic than these, it certainly is a place for drama, for strangers coming together, for friends having intimate conversations, for women hiding from undesirable people or events outside the bathroom door (true confession: I've been known to spend a longer time than necessary in the bathroom when events are awkward or boring or uncomfortable). Ruth Virkus' three plays under the title Preferred by Discreet Women Everywhere explore these ideas. The result is funny and real and poignant, and feminist. An all-female cast and creative team shouldn't be as rare and novel as it is, but you can witness it now through October 28 at the Crane Theater in Northeast Minneapolis.