"Peter and the Starcatcher" at Daleko Arts

DalekoArts, a professional theater in New Prague, Minnesota on the very southern edge of the metro area, is closing out their seventh season with the multiple Tony-winning Broadway play-with-music Peter and the Starcatcher. It's a charming, quirky, innovative little play, and therefore a great choice for Daleko. This is my fourth year attending their spring musical(ish) and I continue to be impressed with the care and energy they put into the work that they do. Season 8 looks just as promising, with a walking ghost tour around historic downtown New Prague, a Scrimshaw Christmas comedy, a play about 19th Century mathematician Ada Lovelace, and the hilarious musical Spelling Bee. If you're in the mood for a theater road trip (about an hour from the cities), head south to Daleko.

"The Rink" at Daleko Arts

This was my weekend for seeing rarely produced musical theater gems. First I saw a charming production of 110 in the Shade at Theatre in the Round in Minneapolis, then I headed down to the very southern edge of the seven-county metro area to see the Kander and Ebb musical The Rink at Daleko Arts in New Prague. I found both of these musicals to be really great and I don't understand why they're not produced more, but I'm grateful for the wonderful Twin Cities (and beyond) theater community for giving me the chance to experience shows like this. On my second visit to Daleko Arts I continue to be impressed with the work that they do in the tiny Prague Theater on charming Main Street in New Prague. Part of Daleko's mission is to "help decentralize professional theatre in Minnesota," a mission that I support in theory but in practice is a bit challenging; I'd like to see all of their shows but the distance can be prohibitive. But if you live in the Southern Metro, or don't mind a road trip through some of the prettiest country in Minnesota (I may be biased because I grew up in the area), Daleko should definitely be on your radar as a destination for quality theater that includes classics, new works, and interesting unexpected choices like The Rink.

"Urinetown" by DalekoArts at the Prague Theatre

The Twin Cities theater scene is broad and deep, with over 70 professional theater companies offering a diverse array of storytelling. Most of the theater spaces are in the Cities themselves, specifically Minneapolis. But the seven-county Metro area is populous and geographically large. Why should those of us who live in the suburbs have to travel into the city to see professional theater? Fortunately there is a growing remedy to that. We have Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo, on the Northwest side of the cities, about to enter their 9th season. And even further out, we now have DalekoArts in New Prague, founded by local theater artists Ben Thietje and Amanda White "as a way to help decentralize professional theatre in Minnesota." Approximately 46 miles from Minnesota's theater mecca Minneapolis, New Prague is on the very Southern border of the seven-county Metro area. When I was growing up very near there (just outside of the tiny town of New Market) in the '70s and '80s, it was a rural area, but has since experienced tremendous growth. While it's a bit sad to see the bucolic land of my childhood overcome with housing developments and fast food restaurants, the good news is that's a lot of people to support the arts. Judging by my first visit to see their hilarious and crisp production of Urinetown, Daleko (which means "far away" in Czech) seems to be filling that role quite nicely. Southern Metro-ans - take note!