"Perfect Arrangement" by Walking Shadow Theatre at the Crane Theater

The day after seeing Lyric Arts' regional premiere of the British comedy Home, I'm Darling, about a modern day couple living the facade of the perfect '50s lifestyle, I saw Walking Shadow Theatre's production of Perfect Arrangement, about two couples in the '50s living the facade of the perfect '50s lifestyle. But this time it's hiding the fact that the two women and the two men are the actual couples, and the facade is necessary for these State Department employees to survive the Lavender Scare during the era of McCarthyism. On a set that's a neat replica of I Love Lucy, the play has a sitcom feel, perfected by the direction and performances of the talented cast, that turns into something darker when the direness of the foursome's situation is revealed. June Pride Month is a perfect time to revisit this time in queer history, when people could be fired from government jobs based on the mere suspicion of homosexuality. Perfect Arrangement plays at the Crane Theater through June 21.

"Whoosh!" at History Theatre

For the third iteration of #TCTheater artist Andrew Erskine Wheeler's solo piece Whoosh! The Civil War Mythology of Michael Hickey and His Perilous Precipitation Over St. Anthony Falls, he has partnered with History Theatre. What began as a 2022 Minnesota Fringe Festival show was expanded into an outdoor show performed very near the falls themselves, and now has been fully realized in this perfect partnership. Andrew has created several compelling solo historical Fringe shows, which are all great and succinct as they were, but it's lovely to see this one fully realized. Some Fringe shows are destined to be more - Illusion Theater often works with Transatlantic Love Affair to produce expanded versions of their Fringe shows, and Theatre in the Round supported the creators of the fantastic new original musical Endometriosis: The Musical as they expanded it into a full-length musical, producing it as part of their season last year. Whoosh! is somewhat of an anomaly for History Theatre; typically they commission, develop, and produce new works, participating in every step of development. Andrew developed Whoosh! independently, but its very Minnesotan and historical themes make it a natural fit for History Theatre, and they provided the resources and additional creative talent to help make it all that it can be. As much as I love the intimate solo storytelling nature of the original, this expanded version is just as moving and compelling, and even richer and more thrilling. Take a trip over the falls and through the history of this great state now through February 22.

"The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui" by Frank Theatre at the Ivy Building for the Arts

Frank Theatre's production of Bertolt Brecht's 1941 play The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui has been selling out for the last three weekends, with no tickets currently available for their final weekend. Turns out people are hungry for a three-hour play satirizing Chicago gangsters / 1930s Germany / 21st century America. In this 2017 adaptation by Chicago playwright Bruce Norris, the comparisons to our current political situation are not subtle, as fictional gangster Arturo Ui slowly gains control over the city of Chicago through its economic, political, and judicial systems in a way that's terrifyingly familiar. Frank Theatre, and its Artistic Director Wendy Knox, are experts at interpreting Brecht, and at holding up a mirror to our present moment, and this play may be the most timely and relevant one yet.

"Mae West and the Trial of Sex" by Walking Shadow Theatre Company at The Crane Theater

Censorship in theater is a hot topic in 2025, with many theaters losing NEA funding for doing plays that allegedly do not align with mandates from this administration. The government is trying to tell artists what kind of plays they can and cannot do, but artists will be artists, and tell the stories they want to tell, even if that has become more difficult. Nearly a hundred years ago, the New York theater scene was also facing censorship, with artists receiving jail time and fines for doing "immoral" plays, and theaters being closed for a year or more. Walking Shadow Theatre Company's new play Mae West and the Trial of Sex chronicles one such battle against censorship, in a story that feels very timely and relevant. See it at the Crane Theater in Northeast Minneapolis through June 22.

"Sanctuary City" by Frank Theatre at Open Eye Theatre

Just about a year ago, Frank Theatre introduced the work of Polish-American Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok to #TCTheater with the play Ironbound, about which I wrote, "It's only mid-January, but I'm confident this will be one of the best plays of 2024." That statement proved to be true; Ironbound did indeed make my list of 2024 favorites, and was nominated for five Twin Cities Theater Blogger Awards (winning one). Frank was smart to go back to that well and bring us another Majok play this year. Sanctuary City is another powerful and timely drama with fantastic performances by the small cast, spot on design, and impeccable direction. See it Thursdays through Sundays at Open Eye Theatre until February 23 (note: Open Eye is a small space and some performances are already selling out, so don't wait too long to get your tickets to see what could be one of the best plays of 2025!).

"The Reunion" by Trademark Theater at Gremlin Theatre

The reunion of a high school friend group, complicated relationships both current and past, a role-playing murder mystery game, and not one but two actual murder mysteries add up to a whole lot of wicked fun in Trademark Theater's world premiere new play The Reunion. Trademark focuses on developing new work, so they only do a full production maybe once a year. And when they do - you'll want to go. And then stick with them to support the development work that they do, including readings of new works and fundraiser concert events. The Reunion is smartly written, well performed by the talented seven-person cast, and features design elements that ramp up the spooky factor. See it at Gremlin Theatre in St. Paul's Midway neighborhood now through October 12.

"C.L.U.E" by Collide Theatrical Dance Company at the Southern Theater

For their 30th production, Collide Theatrical Dance Company is remounting/revising their 2015 original dance musical C.L.U., now with one letter added to be C.L.U.E. It's a parody of the classic board game (which I spent many hours playing as a kid) and the movie based on it (coincidentally, a new non-musical stage version will be at the Orpheum next week). While the mystery part may be a little thin, the dancing and performances are incredible, and the show is overall a whole lot of fun. Collide lives at the intersection of theater and dance, and as a primarily theater reviewer, it's fun to have an excuse to see some dance, especially when it tells a story in a theatrical way. Embrace the mystery and enjoy the dancing of C.L.U.E. at the Southern Theater (the best venue for dance) now through March 10.

"Ironbound" by Frank Theatre at Gremlin Theatre

Leave it to Wendy Knox to discover a new-to-#TCTheater playwright who has written (at least one) gorgeous, funny, devastating, and very human play about immigrants, poverty, classism, sexism, and so much more. Ironbound is believed to be the first of Polish-American Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok's work to be produced in the Twin Cities, and it's a stunner. As per usual, it receives top notch treatment in Frank Theatre's production, with beautifully raw and real performances from the four-person cast and an understated but effective design. It's only mid-January, but I'm confident this will be one of the best plays of 2024. It plays Thursdays through Sundays at Gremlin Theatre until February 11. Click here for info and tickets, and watch for Frank's remount of another fantastic and relevant play, Fetal, playing at their intimate studio space in late February. After a very long hiatus, it's a joy to have Frank Theatre back with two strong plays, that are probably among my favorites that I've seen them do.

"Fetal" at Frank Theatre

For their first show back from the pandemic, Frank Theatre is bringing us a world premiere new play written in reaction to the Supreme Court's 2022 decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Fetal puts a personal face (four personal faces, actually) on this issue that has long been used as a political cudgel, with little regard to how decisions and laws affect actual humans. In just 80 minutes, we go through this journey with four fictional women who represent countless real women whose choices have been taken away from them in the last year and a half. And it's a smart, thoughtful, engaging, and inspiring play, just what I've come to expect from Frank Theatre. They're performing it in their intimate (read: tiny) studio space which means seating is very limited, so make your plans and get your tickets soon. Performances continue Thursdays through Sundays until November 19, and if you attend the Sunday matinee you also get to attend one of the best post-show discussions in town, in which experts on the topics discuss how the issues of the play affect us in real life.

"Another Miracle on Christmas Lake" at Yellow Tree Theatre

It almost took a miracle for me to see Yellow Tree Theatre's annual original holiday* comedy based in the fictional and very Minnesotan town of Christmas Lake. I arrived at the theater with a group of friends on a warm and rainy December night to find that the performance had been cancelled due to a tornado warning (in Minnesota in December?! and climate change isn't a thing). The next week everyone was busy with Christmas plans, so a subset of the group rescheduled to see one of the last performances this week. Amidst a slew of show closings on Broadway and locally, this show did indeed happen! A perfect final show of 2021, closing out a less than perfect year of theater, but one that saw growth, ingenuity, and a return to some form of normal (more on that in the coming days). There are only two performances left of Another Miracle on Christmas Lake, but you can still get yourself to Osseo to see it if you act quickly. Or make plans for their two upcoming shows in 2021 which are both brilliant and rare choices - the funny, feminist, historical, and modern play In the Next Room; Or, the Vibrator Play and the musical Passing Strange.

"The Ugly One" by Walking Shadow Theatre Company at Open Eye Figure Theatre

The Ugly One (aka Der Häßliche auf Deutsch) is a funny and absurd little play that skewers our obsession with looks, in particular the concepts of "beautiful" and "ugly." Unfortunately the protagonist is an able bodied white male of average height and weight, which is the least likely person to be discriminated against because of looks. In the workplace, women are expected to wear make-up, people of color sometimes can't have natural hairstyles, older people are expected to color their hair to look younger, and people with different body shapes, sizes, or abilities face looks-based discrimination most often. Which makes the story of a man who's so ugly he's overlooked at work seem a little unlikely, but maybe that's the point. Maybe he represents how silly and unfair all looks-based discrimination is. Regardless, Walking Shadow Theatre Company's 70-minute production is well done - delightfully odd, funny, and does make one think about all of the above issues.

"Open" by Walking Shadow Theatre Company at Off-Leash Art Box

Apologies for the late notice (October was a really busy #TCTheater month), but you have just three more chances to experience a really unique and special show. Walking Shadow's production of Crystal Skillman's new play Open (this is just the second production!) is all around magical storytelling. And such a beautiful and tragic story it tells. In The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams as Tom says the stage magician "gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion." This play is definitely the latter. The playwright uses the framework of magic to tell an all too real story of a horrific hate crime. This "illusion" is beautifully realized by the entire team at Walking Shadow and #TCTheater favorite Allison Witham in her best performance to date. If you have a spare 65 minutes this weekend, I can't think of a better way to spend them than with Open (click here for info and tickets).