"Bloomsday" at Lyric Arts

A character in Steven Dietz's play Bloomsday says something like, "a sunny day is nice, but on a rainy day the ache for the sun is nicer." This distinctly Irish sentiment is a good description of this bittersweet story of a pair of star-crossed lovers meeting across space and time. It may not be a happy ending, but the ache for these two characters to find happiness is grand. Lyric Arts' new production features a strong four-person cast and lovely design that bring us right into this charming and unconventional love story.

"Rocket Man" by Theatre Pro Rata at the Crane Theater

Friends, this one gave me all the feels. Theatre Pro Rata's production of Steven Dietz's play Rocket Man checked all the boxes for me. It's a little odd and unpredictable, and explores the ideas of family, science, faith, regrets, time, and life itself. And the truly wonderful and natural five-person cast, under director Stuart Gates, along with the deceptively simple design, bring it to life beautifully. But it's one of those plays I'm not quite sure how to write about. I don't want to spoil what happens, because half the fun of the play is figuring that out as it goes along. I'll try to give you a taste of it, and then if you're curious, you can go see the rest for yourself.

"Shooting Star" at Park Square Theatre

A chance meeting with an ex-lover at a snowed-in airport, the opportunity to say all the things you couldn't say when things ended 25 years ago. Such is the premise of Steven Dietz's play Shooting Star, a two-hander now playing on Park Square Theatre's Proscenium Stage. When the two hands are Sally Wingert and Mark Benninghofen*, with a premise as full of promise as this one is, you know you're in for a treat. And a treat this is - a funny, engaging, and bittersweet play that leaves you with a wistful feeling and a pleasant ache in the heart where long-ago memories are held.

It's 2006, and Elena and Reed meet at an airport in Canada in the middle of what could be the "blizzard of the century," never mind that the century is only a few years old. We learn from asides by both characters that they immediately recognize each other from a pretty serious relationship that ended 25 years ago, during the free-love '70s. Turns out love is not so free, as these two have definitely carry around some leftover baggage through the intervening years. Elena is still a bit of a free spirit, but could never find anyone better than Reed, who's now a conservative businessman with a difficult relationship with his wife and daughter. With both of their flights delayed and nowhere to go, the two are unable to avoid each other, and engage in some awkward small talk that leads to something deeper as the barriers of time come down. A trip to the airport bar means things get even more real, and Reed and Elena realize they still have a connection. But is it something worth pursing after fate has brought them together again, or is it something that's better left in the past?

Mark Benninghofen and Sally Wingert
(photo by Petronella J Ytsma)

Shooting Star is one of those real and messy love stories, perfectly encapsulating an intense and intimate experience between two people that may or may not result in "happily ever after," but is meaningful and true nonetheless (see also Once). Steven Dietz's clever choice to give both characters multiple asides in which they speak directly to the audience in a conversational way gives us insights into their thoughts, making us feel like confidantes and drawing us right into the story. Sally Wingert and Mark Benninghofen use the sharp writing to create two characters that feel very real; Elena and Reed are both flawed and very human. Mark and Sally are both incredibly natural on stage and have a beautiful chemistry that goes from prickly to familiar, bitter to loving. They're given a fantastic playground in Kit Mayer's set that is the perfect model of a cold, linear airport, familiar to travelers everywhere.

Shooting Star is a funny, tender, bittersweet gem of a play about closure, connection, and coming to terms with the past. It's a comedy with depth and heart (continuing through April 19).


*You can also see Mark Benninghofen (and James A. Williams, pictured on the bottom half of the playbill and currently appearing on Park Square's Boss Stage in The Other Place) on the big screen in the locally made movie The Public Domain, now playing at the Lagoon in Uptown.


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"Rancho Mirage" at Old Log Theater

Mirage: noun. 1) an optical effect that is sometimes seen at sea, in the desert, or over a hot pavement, that may have the appearance of a pool of water or a mirror in which distant objects are seen inverted, and that is caused by the bending or reflection of rays of light by a layer of heated air of varying density. 2) something illusory and unattainable like a mirage.

The title of the new play Rancho Mirage by Steven Dietz refers to a gated community outside an unnamed city in a desert area. But the mirage in the title also refers to the lives of three couples. All three have a secret, whether it's financial troubles or marital troubles, that is slowly revealed throughout the course of the play, until they and we realize that their lives are not what they seem, but simply a mirage. Currently receiving its regional premiere at the Old Log Theater, which is under new management and quite obviously stepping up their game, Rancho Mirage is a darkly funny look at American life, embodied by a fantastic cast of local favorites (and one former TV star). It seems that there are now two theaters in the Southwest suburbs worth the drive from my home on the opposite side of town.

The entire play takes place at a dinner party (although no actual dinner is consumed) at the seemingly beautiful and perfect home of Diane (Stacia Rice, now acting opposite her second desperate househusband) and Nick (James Denton). Their guests are Louise (Ann Michels) and Trevor (David Mann), also residents of Rancho Mirage, and Pam (Mo Perry) and Charlie (Joshua James Campbell). The pleasant and friendly conversation among this group of friends soon gets real as it's revealed that Diane and Nick are about to lose their home, Louise and Trevor are separated, and Pam and Charlie are struggling with the decision about whether or not to have children (and in fact vacillate so much between the desire to enjoy their lives without children and a sense of obligation to follow their friends into the expected role of parents, that I had a hard time figuring out who these characters really were). Secrets, mishaps, stories, and arguments all unfold as these six people are forced to face the mirage of their lives. Diane poignantly sums it up when she says, "I used to think that our life was this beautiful thing that hasn't happened yet. But there is no other thing, our life is this." The good news is that now that they see through the mirage, they can work to make their lives more real. (Another way to say this is "no day but today.") 

Joshua James Campbell, Mo Perry, James Denton,
Stacia Rice, Ann Michels, and David Mann

I know and love all of these actors (although I'm more familiar with David as a director than an actor), so I'd drive across town to see this cast in anything. Stacia just shines in everything she does (including her role in the locally filmed web series Theater People), and brings depth to the conflicted Diane. Ann is very funny as this over-the-top character, constantly waving her arms and unintentionally insulting her friends. Mo is a master of the look (keep an eye on her as her character patiently waits to be poured a glass of wine). James has grown beyond his TV role into a legitimate member of the Twin Cities theater community (if only the audience would let him, they erupted in laughter so long when he uttered the word "housewives" that it threatened to derail the story, despite the cast's best efforts to keep it on track). Josh is charming as ever as the relatively naive Charlie, and David exhibits dry wit as everyman Trevor (who just happens to have taken up sewing). The cast works and plays well together in this ensemble piece, as directed by Artistic Director R. Kent Knutson.

Rancho Mirage continues through December 7. If you live in the Southwest suburbs, there's no reason not to check out the new Old Log Theater. I found it worth the drive to the charming lake town of Excelsior to see this fantastic cast in this very funny play. Old Log's season continues with A Year with Frog and Toad; Almost, Maine; and Steel Magnolias. I will definitely be keeping my eye on them.

"Still Life with Iris" at Yellow Tree Theatre

For the past year and a half I've seen every Yellow Tree Theatre production with a group of co-workers from our nearby office.  The group changes in size and composition depending on the show and people's schedules, but we always have a good time at the theater (and the lovely and delicious Nectar Wine Bar in downtown Osseo).  After seeing Still Life with Iris this week, my friends said to me, "I can't wait to read what you write about this because I don't quite know what to make of it!"  I'm not sure I do either, but I'll do my best.

Still Life with Iris is a fantastical tale set in the fictional world of Nocturno, where the inhabitants create everything that exists in the world.  They paint spots on lady bugs, teach the wind to howl, and lift the fog.  They're the worker bees behind the universe.  And they seem quite happy to toil away every night, fulfilling that last minute storm order.  Most importantly, they must take care of their coat, for their coat is what holds in their memory.  If it rips, they start to forget things; if they take it off, they forget their entire life, everyone and everything they've ever know.  (What happens when they take a shower?  Sorry, there's no place for logic in Nocturno!) 

Our heroine Iris is chosen to go to Great Island, which is not as great as it seems.  First her mother's coat is removed so she'll forget she ever had a daughter, and then Iris' coat is removed so she won't mourn for her own life.  She's taken to Great Island to be the daughter of the Goods, who have one perfect specimen of everything.  Hence they only wear one shoe, one sleeve, one eyebrow, in a delightfully asymmetric world.  But Iris is a special girl, she knows something is off, something existed before she got to this island that she can't quite remember.  So she escapes, and is aided in her attempt by none other than 18th century composer Mozart (whom she affectionately calls Moz) and the fictional Annabel Lee, from the Edgar Allen Poe poem.  They manage to escape and find the lost memory coats, and Iris returns home to the life she loved and remembered.  If I were to try to make sense of this wild ride, I'd say that we need to actively hold on to our memories, our past.  Not just our own past but our family's past.  Like in the genealogical show Who Do You Think You Are (Fridays on NBC), in which celebrities search for their ancestors' stories, we need to remember our collective past in order to live our best present.  My great-aunt recently passed away, the last remaining member of her generation, leaving behind a treasure trove of stuff in my great-grandparents' house.  I feel like I've found a few lost buttons and threads of my coat, looking around in that beautiful, run-down, stuffy old house.

As always, the cast features wonderful members of the Yellow Tree family (for that's what it feels like).  The director, Andy Frye, has himself appeared on stage in Miracle on Christmas Lake II and [title of show].  The always captivating Mary Fox plays Iris, giving her childlike strength and wisdom and curiosity.  She's a hero we can root for.  I'm not quite sure why Mozart is there, but I'm glad he is, with his Austrian accent and oversized keyboard.  Yellow Tree newcomer Nathan Surprenant is a natural charismatic presence on stage and I look forward to seeing more of him.  Molly McLain gives a delightfully wacky performance with a Cockney accent as Annabel Lee.  Doree Du Toit plays Iris' mother; she has the role of the mourning mother down pat, having played a mother who loses her daughter in Steel Magnolias and Our Town.  Our favorite nerdy stereotypical Minnesotan couple from Christmas Lake, Carolyn Trapskin and Ryan Nelson, are reunited here as Mr. and Mrs. Good.  Their characters are just as quirky but much more evil.  I was particularly impressed with Carolyn's ability to gracefully maneuver in her dress with a long side train while wearing only one high-heeled shoe, and with her maniacal laugh.

The show has a wonderful look.  Yellow Tree regulars might do a double-take when they walk into the theater, as I did.  The stage is on the opposite side of the room, and the curtain dividing the stage from the lobby is gone, making room for the two story set with lots of stairs and doors and windows to play with (set design by Katie Phillips).  The costumes by Sarah Bahr are adorable (striped socks and colorful patchwork sweaters in Nocturno), sleek (the Goods in their stark, asymmetrical black), and whimsical (Annabel Lee's fairy-like layers).

I'm not sure how well I did in making sense of this play, but I'm not sure sense is what it's about.  It's more about the feeling that's created.  And as always at Yellow Tree, it's a good feeling.  Their next production is one of my favorite plays, The Glass Menagerie.  Unlike musicals, I don't have a lot of favorite plays (it's pretty much The Glass Menagerie and Tom Stoppard's Arcadia), so it goes without saying that I'm looking forward to it!