"Private Lives" at the Guthrie Theater

The summer of Noël Coward* continues. We started with Blithe Spirit at Theatre in the Round in June, continued with the regional premiere of the new play The Cottage written in the Noël Coward-esque style but with a more modern and feminist sensibility, closing its run at Gremlin Theatre this weekend, and now we've arrived at the Guthrie Theater's stylish production of Private Lives. This show concludes my 22nd season as a Guthrie subscriber, and I last saw it as the opener to my 5th season as a subscriber, 19 years ago. That was pre-Cherry and Spoon, so I have next to no memory of it, and this was like seeing the play for the first time. It's a hilarious comedy, with clever and biting dialogue, showcasing some pretty terrible people that are fun to laugh at. The cast is fantastic, the design is positively luscious, and the three acts fly by at a breathless pace. See it on the Guthrie thrust stage now through August 23.

Broadway at the Ordway: Tour of "A Soldier's Play" at the Fitzgerald Theater

The intense drama A Soldier's Play comes to St. Paul's Fitzgerald Theater as part of The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts' "Broadway @ the Ordway" series. The 1982 Pulitzer Prize winner for drama debuted on Broadway in January 2020 for a pandemic-shortened two-month run, but the good news is that this Roundabout Theatre Company production, helmed by acclaimed director Kenny Leon, is on tour across America. Thanks to the Ordway for bringing us this powerful and important piece, and for staging it at the Fitz, a more intimate space for a story like this, that might have gotten lost in a larger space like the Ordway's main theater. An excellent cast lead by Tony nominee Norm Lewis brings out all of the nuance in this layered script, and even though the opening night performance started 45 minutes late due to load-in delays (all other performances should start on time), it was worth the wait. Only six performances remain, click here for tickets.