"The Giver" at Open Window Theatre

I somehow have never read the popular "young adult dystopian novel" The Giver, maybe because I was no longer a young adult when it was published in 1993. It has since been adapted into a play by playwright Eric Coble (The Velocity of Autumn), now playing at Open Window Theatre in a lovely and moving production. It may be a book and a play for "young adults," but we all need to be reminded of the power of emotions, and the need to be open to feeling the pain of life in order to feel its joys. A talented cast, clear direction, and sparse design bring the novel and the emotions it evokes to life. Head to Open Window Theatre, a cozy space in a strip mall in Inver Grove Heights, through March 22 to experience this well-known story on stage.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2025: "503"

Day: 3

Show: 10

Title: 503

Category: Drama / Original Music / Physical Theater / Sci-fi / Audience participation / Literary adaptation / Political content

By: Jackdonkey Productions

Created by: Jeffrey Nolan and Zach Christensen

Location: Rarig Thrust

Summary: An adaptation of the 1921 dystopian novel We by Russian author Yevgeny Zamyatin about a totalitarian state based on numbers.

Highlights: As much as a society based on order, numbers, equations, and schedules kind of appeals to me, the world described in We, and 503, is not good. The multi-talented Jeffrey Nolan adapted and performs in this (mostly) solo show (with direction by Zach Christensen), playing all of the characters, er, numbers, in the story. In this strictly regimented world, everyone is referred to as a number; our protagonist is D-503, who is happy with his life until he meets a woman known as I-130, who shows him a different way that the world can be and convinces them to join the revolution. They need him because he designed the new spaceship Integral, which is part of their plans. D-503 is torn between his loyalty to the "One State" and his new love, especially when he hears of an operation that results in "perfect happiness" (if you're getting Severance vibes, you're not wrong). The story is clearly and succinctly told, Jeremy embodying every character and making them all distinct. The sparse set includes just a metal folding chair and a white screen for some scenes in silhouette. The daily schedule and directions for audience participation are displayed on the back wall of the theater (we become fellow numbers, stamping our feet, singing the patriotic song, and participating in the election), the visible tech person adding to the utilitarian feel. Hawken Paul provides a soundscape on violin and percussion, a short refrain announcing the beginning of each scene. He also plays a character or two towards the end of the play, which is why this isn't quite a solo piece. Like all of Jackdonkey's work, 503 is thoughtfully constructed with great attention to detail, and well executed by the cast and creative team. It's an engaging story that's not a little terrifying, showing a society with blind loyalty to the state and one ruler. (you can catch Jackdonkey's production of Shakespeare's Henry V at Theatre in the Round just after Fringe).

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here. 

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2024: "The Dumb Waiter"

Day: 3

Show: 5

Title: The Dumb Waiter

Category: Comedy / Drama / Physical Theater / Political content

By: Jackdonkey Productions

Written by: Harold Pinter

Location: Open Eye Theatre

Summary: A one-act play by British playwright Harold Pinter about two hit-men waiting to do a job.

Highlights: As I've written several times, I don't get Pinter. His plays are so bleak and often absurd, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to get out of it. But maybe because The Dumb Waiter is not a full-length play (Pinter is easier to digest in small bites?), maybe because of Jackdonkey's excellent production, this is my favorite Pinter yet. It has a Waiting for Godot feel, with these two men sitting in a bare room (per the script they're supposed to be sitting on beds but per this Fringe aesthetic they're sitting on stools with a few props in a bucket, which works well), waiting for word from their boss about their next job. They have conversations about nothing (tea and snacks), and talk about past jobs that they can't forget. Ben (Dominic Schiro) is the calmer quieter one, reading a newspaper, while Gus (Robert Wood Frank) is a bit more restless, wandering around, leaving the room to make tea or use the bathroom, filling the silence with chatter. Both actors along with the director Zach Christensen are U of M/Guthrie BFA grads and continue a summer of excellent work by the Guthrie farm team. Everything is crisp, precise, and thoughtful, with the actors, particularly Robert, performing with interesting and specific physicality. The staging, lighting (by Matthew Walsh), costumes, minimal props, and use of the trap door as the dumb waiter are all so cohesive and well done. Fringe is a great place to see new work, but it's also a great place to see excellent new interpretations of established plays, and this is one of those.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)" by Jackdonkey Productions at Phoenix Theater

William Shakespeare wrote 37(ish) plays, an astounding feat for any playwright, but especially when you consider that they're still being performed 400 years later. I'm not even the biggest Shakespeare fan, I don't seek out Shakespeare, but after being a Twin Cities Theater Blogger for 14 years and a Guthrie season subscriber for 20, I've seen about two-thirds of his plays, and some of them multiple times (over a dozen Romeo and Juliets alone!). That's a lot of hours of Shakespeare. But if you don't have time to see 37 plays (who does?), now you can see them all in under two hours! In Jackdonkey Productions' version of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), three talented actors take you through them all, well sort of. Each play at least gets a mention or a line, with a couple of them getting a bit longer treatment. The script (by Reduced Shakespeare Company) is really just a framework upon which the cast and creative team build a silly, fun, fourth-wall-breaking romp of a show. And you don't need to have seen any of Shakespeare's 37 plays to enjoy it (although if you have, you'll get a few more of the references). See it now through July 21 at Phoenix Theater in Uptown (still open despite the construction on Hennepin). Or you can catch it in Lanesboro or Stillwater the following week.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2023: "Dock Work"

Day: 9

Show: 32

Title: Dock Work

Category: DANCE - MODERN / DRAMA / PHYSICAL THEATER / HISTORICAL CONTENT /NON-VERBAL / POLITICAL CONTENT

By: Jackdonkey Productions

Directed by: Zach Christensen

Location: Rarig Thrust

Summary: A multi-media performance around unions and workers' rights using dance, music, spoken word, and scenes.

Highlights: This is definitely unlike anything else I've seen at Fringe. An experimental devised work like this is exactly what Fringe is for. Directed by Zach Christensen, performers Caiti Fallon, Tessa Dahlgree, and Sri Peck represent dock workers, and really all workers. Wearing black pants and tank top with an orange hat, they dance, perform repetitive movement like someone might do on a dock or in a factory, and perform spoken word or storytelling, alone or as a trio. They're all incredibly expressive, in their movements, facial expressions, and emotional delivery of text. The dances are accompanied by recorded music and later, a live rock band in similar costumes (Karsten Mink, Leo Lerner, and Clark Amann). The only set pieces are three stools, sometimes used as stools, other times as props, and a ball of red yarn that becomes impossibly entangled in the stools and forms a triangle for performance. The spoken pieces are poetry or stories, including the attempts at unionization at a Starbucks. With the prominent current strikes by TV and film writers and actors, it's a timely, powerful, and affecting show that explores the theme of workers' rights in an unconventional way.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Perfect Arrangement" at Theatre in the Round

Just in time for Pride Month, Theatre in the Round is bringing us the story of two gay couples in the '50s, and what they have to do be with the person they love and still have a career and acceptable public persona. What starts out as a comedy turns tragic as this Perfect Arrangement falls apart. As a time when LGBTQ+ rights are threatened, it's good to look back at history and the people who worked so hard to achieve those rights, to remember how much things have changed, and how much they haven't. But this is no dry history lesson, it's an entertaining comedy with an emotional pull that makes you feel for each of the characters as they navigate this sticky situation. A strong cast and spot-on design make this play a Perfect Arrangement indeed (playing weekends throughout June).