"Ragtime" by Morris Park Players at Edison High School

It's rare that I get a chance to see community theater, with the plethora of theater in this town (e.g., 20+ shows are opening in the next three weeks). But I happened to have a free night, so I was thrilled to check out Ragtime by Morris Park Players, a Northeast Minneapolis community theater that's been around for 70 years. I became aware of this company last year when they did Falsettos, of which I'm still waiting for a professional #TCTheater production since the recent successful revival. I was super impressed by this risky choice, and their execution of the tricky work. Their current show is perhaps even more ambitious in scope and theme. Although Ragtime is a more familiar show than Falsettos (two local productions in the last 11 years), its huge cast, intricate score, and themes of racism, immigration, class, gender, and labor rights make it a challenging show. While performances are a bit uneven and there may be a few technical issues, as to be expected with community theater, I'm once again impressed by Morris Park Player's execution of this work, the level of talent in this community, and the heart and passion they put into the show. Ragtime continues through next weekend only.

"The Closing Night Audience Q&A for ROCCO'S CRIMES" by An Alleged Theatre Company at the Phoenix Theater

If you've been to a post-show discussion, aka talkback, aka Q&A, you know that sometimes they can be really great, and sometimes they can be painfully awkward. And sometimes even both at the same time! New theater company An Alleged Theatre Company plays with that idea in their original play The Closing Night Audience Q&A for ROCCO'S CRIMES. It's a clever conceit that allows them to poke loving fun at this theater thing that we all love so well, and maybe take too seriously sometimes. The cast is delightfully committed to the earnest silliness, showing off a bit of improv skills as well. See it at Phoenix Theater in Uptown this weekend or next weekend only (don't mind the unfinished entry way - it's open!).

Broadway tour of "Hamilton" at the Orpheum Theatre

After four and a half long and eventful years, the Pulitzer Prize winning musical and cultural phenomenon Hamilton has returned to Minneapolis (rescheduled from summer 2021). I'm lucky enough to have seen it five times now, and every time I see it, it has a different resonance. From the fall of 2015 when things felt hopeful, to the night before the 2017 presidential inauguration when they did not, to now - not too long after this and every other live performance was shut down for a year and a half. Hamilton has something to say about every moment in our history and present. Senator Amy Klobuchar kicked off press night talking about the Save our Stages Act that provided aid to performing arts venues during that very long intermission, so the overwhelming feeling last night was gratitude. Gratitude that we were all able to be "in the room where it happens" - it, of course, being theater. Gratitude that Lin-Manuel Miranda's singular creation is still going strong and more relevant and amazing than ever. Hamilton is the quintessential American story told through the quintessential American art form - musical theater. While not without some continuing challenges, that art form is back, in big and small ways. And it doesn't get any bigger than Hamilton. It's the rare phenomenon that doesn't just live up to the hype, it exceeds it. And it's the rare three-hour show that doesn't seem too long; it's engaging from start to finish and never lets up its whirlwind tour through the early history of this country. Limited tickets for the month-long run are still available from the official seller here (please DO NOT purchase tickets from third party vendors), or enter the daily lottery for the chance to win $10 tickets.

"Again" by Theater Mu at Mixed Blood Theatre

"At Mu, we believe universality can only be found through specificity." I agree with Theater Mu’s Artistic Director Lily Tung Crystal. Here she’s talking about their new original musical Again, but it's true of all of their work. For 30 years, Mu has been telling specifically Asian American stories from the Asian American perspective, about universal themes of life that anyone can relate to. Again is about Hmong American women living with cancer, an experience that's all too familiar to many people. The story isn't about being Hmong, it's about being human – relationships, career crises, disease, grief – from the specific background of the artists. Despite the heaviness of the theme, I found the musical to be much lighter than I expected, really more about friendship, community, and perseverance than loss and dying. The talented four-person cast (some of whom are purportedly making their professional theater debuts, although that's hard to believe) is charming and fun to watch as they bring this story to life. See it now through April 16 at Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis' Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.

"The Revolutionists" at Park Square Theatre

"Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?" This quote from Hamilton (coming to Minneapolis next week) could also describe Park Square Theatre and Prime Productions' co-production of The Revolutionists. Both pieces are a more inclusive retelling of history, both take place in the late 18th century, both feature citizens staging a revolution to make their country a better place. The Revolutionists is the story of four historical women in the French Revolution, so "who dies" is most of them (Madame Guillotine comes for us all in the end), and "who tells your story" is Lauren Gunderson, one of the most produced playwrights in the country and one of my favorites. She has a knack for writing historical women as if they were alive today, with modern language and experiences that relate directly to today's world. Her dialogue sparkles with wit and meaning, her characters are real and fully rounded people, and this fantastic four-person cast brings them to vivid life on Park Square's stage. Sadly, this will be the last play on that stage for the foreseeable future; Park Square has cancelled the remainder of their season to regroup and recover from a couple of tough years, and hopefully come back stronger next season. So don't miss this chance to see their always great work, this time made better by collaboration with Prime Productions, a company that focuses on telling stories by about women in their prime. The Revolutionists is another in a series of smart, successful, entertaining collaborations this #TCTheater season (continuing through April 16 only).

"SKOL!" by Collide Theatrical Dance Company at the Southern Theater

For their latest original jazz dance musical, Collide Theatrical Dance Company took inspiration from a recent scholarly finding that a 1878 archeological find that was believed to be the body of a Viking warrior is in fact female remains. There is other evidence to support the existence of female Viking warriors, which you can read about here and I'm sure other scholarly sources. Or you can go see SKOL!, which is less historically accurate than it is an imaging of a strong female leader in the Viking culture and its reflections in today's world. For the first time since the pandemic, Collide is returning to live music accompanying the dancing (their last few shows have used recorded music), and for the first time in their history, they're using original music written for this story instead of covers of pop songs. It's an ambitious task, and after 10 years of creating original dance pieces, they're up for it. If you're someone who things dancing warriors is silly, this might not be the show for you. But if you see dance/music/theater as a way to express heightened emotions, the kind that are very much presence in war, love, and family drama, head to the Southern Theater in the next two weeks to see this fun collision of dance, music, and theater to tell a story of female power.

"What / Washed Ashore / Astray" at Pillsbury House Theatre

In just 80 minutes, playwright Benjamin Benne succinctly writes about the experience of the death of a beloved family member with raw honesty and simple beauty. Despite the odd structure of the title, What / Washed Ashore / Astray is a very human story, with a little room for play and magic. Having recently gone through this experience, this play hit very close to home for me, and I was wiping away tears throughout the show. But it's quite lovely to see one of the most fundamental human experiences depicted on stage in such a beautiful way. Combined with wonderful performances from three of #TCTheater's best actors, an incredibly detailed set design that places us right there in the seaside cottage, and some delightfully inventive shadow puppetry, What / Washed Ashore / Astray is a must see for anyone interested in thoughtful human dramas (continuing through April 16 at Pillsbury House Theatre in South Minneapolis).

"Wish You Were Here" at Strike Theater

"A one act improvised comedy about loss and friendship. Grief is sad. And funny. And everything else." Strike Theater's latest show, Wish You Were Here, is funny and silly, and also kind of profound in the way that it shows people grieving as a part of normal life, with nothing resolved or closed by the end of it. I discovered through Family Dinner that long-form is my favorite kind of improv, because I love watching characters and relationships develop in a satisfying way throughout the course of the evening. That's definitely true here as well; in fact I wish there were a second act because there were several relationships established that I'd like to see developed further. But as it is, Wish You Were Here is a funny and bittersweet hour of an improvised dramedy. Only two performances remain - Friday and Saturday. Click here for more info and to purchase the $5-10 tickets.

Broadway tour of "My Fair Lady" at the Ordway Center for Performing Arts

The 2018 Broadway revival of the beloved Lerner and Loewe classic My Fair Lady ran for a little over a year and was nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning Best Costume Design. The tour is back in the Twin Cities for the second time, but I missed it the first time around, so I was more than happy to spend a loverly evening at the Ordway with this luscious production. While a little dated, the musical "deals with issues of class, gender, societal expectations, and the intersection of wealth and power" (to quote myself). And this production, directed by the legendary Bartlett Sher, is fully aware of all of that, with some thorny conversations about those topics between its two main characters. I wish it were shorter (three hours is tough to sit through no matter the show), but I can't think of what I would cut because even the songs that have little to do with the plot (e.g., Eliza's dad's songs) are so much fun it's hard to imagine parting with any of them. If you haven't yet seen this new production and have a fondness for My Fair Lady, you'll definitely want to check out one of the four remaining performances (limited tickets remain).

"Bakersfield Mist" at Gremlin Theatre

Head to the Gremlin Theatre in St. Paul for Bakersfield Mist, a tight 70-minute two-hander that elicits both uproarious laughter and pin-drop silence with the revelation of real emotion. Most of the humor comes from the odd couple pairing of a trailer park dwelling bartender and an art expert from the big city, and much of the pathos comes from the fact that these are two damaged human beings who open up to each other in surprising ways. You couldn't ask for a better duo than #TCTheater vets Jen Maren and John Middleton, or a better director than Angela Timberman. The result is a really funny and entertaining dramedy that also explores themes of art, legitimacy, grief, and humanity. See it at the Gremlin now through April 2, and since it's only 70 minutes, you can make a night of it with a visit to Lake Monster Brewing (and food trucks) right next door.

"Eurydice" at Theatre in the Round

Theatre in the Round's fantastic 71st season continues with Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice, a modern interpretation of the classic myth of Eurydice. As the story goes, Orpheus travels to the underworld to try to save his wife Eurydice from death with a song. But that's not the way this world works. As they say in the Tony-winning musical Hadestown (which is also based on this story), it's an old song, it's a sad song, but we sing it anyway. With its themes of grief, love, and loss, it's a story that's still relevant and worth telling. Especially with this well-written script and inventive staging by director Sophie Peyton. The talented cast performs in a physical theater style like I've never seen before at Theatre in the Round. It's a beautiful and magical 90-minute song, bringing new life to this old story. Playing weekends through April 2 at the oldest theater in Minneapolis.

"By the Bog of Cats" by Theatre Pro Rata at the Crane Theater

Some people drink green beer, I celebrate St. Patrick's Day (and any other holiday, or just a regular day) by going to the theater. I had no idea how appropriate By the Bog of Cats would turn out to be as a St. Patty's Day observance. Written by Irish playwright Marina Carr, it's a tragically beautiful and beautifully tragic story in that specific Irish way (see also recent Oscar nominee The Banshees of Inisherin by another Irish playwright, Martin McDonagh). It's a great choice for Theatre Pro Rata, which has a penchant for making bold, interesting, unusual choices. With haunting live music, strong performances by the large and talented cast, and lovely design, it's an exploration of motherhood, grief, generational trauma, and what it means to be human. See it at the Crane Theater in Northeast Minneapolis weekends through April 2.