"Becky Shaw" at Gremlin Theatre

Just who is Becky Shaw and why does she have a play named after her? That's a good question, and even after seeing Gremlin Theatre's production I'm not sure I know. But I think maybe she's a little bit like the gentleman caller. It's not really about her, but about what she represents. She's a catalyst for change in one family's life. A family full of horrible people saying horrible things and treating each other horribly. Yes, Becky Shaw is one of those plays, one of those unlikable people plays that make you laugh but also feel guilty about laughing. If you're looking to start this new decade with positivity and light, this is not it. But if you're looking for a super dark comedy about despicable people, meet Becky Shaw!

"Luna Gale" by Underdog Theatre at the Southern Theater

Exciting new theater company Underdog Theatre, founded by rising #TCTheater star Kory LaQuess Pullam, is presenting their third work, the first one that's not an original play written by Kory. And it's a tough one. Luna Gale is a sobering look at the system that's supposed to help young people in trouble, and the ways that it fails them. It's a heart-breaking story, but not without a glimmer of hope, thanks to the caring people who work within this broken system. And this really wonderful cast makes you feel every emotion of the story, which is sometimes unpleasant, but very effective in creating empathy for these humans and the difficult situation they find themselves in. Underdog's mission is to "create art for the underserved, underrepresented, and unheard," which is beautifully accomplished here.

A Reading of "queens" at Playwrights' Center

"Now in its 12th year, the Ruth Easton New Play Series gives selected Core Writers 20 hours with collaborators to workshop their script—to write, rewrite, experiment, and shape their work. For playwrights, this means great leaps forward for their plays. For audiences, this means a thrilling and intimate night of theater."

I attended my second "thrilling and intimate night of theater" as part of the 2016-2017 series last night (see also December's Wink by Jen Silverman). It was a clear, cold, snowy, moonlit night, perfect for gathering with fellow theater-lovers and theater-makers to experience a new work of theater. And what an exciting new work Martyna Majok's queens is. Although unfinished (the 3rd act has yet to be written and was described in a few sentences), it drew me right into the world of the play and made me care about these characters. I look forward to seeing the full work onstage sometime in the coming years, but in the meantime, it was a thrill to be a part of the play development process at Playwrights' Center, something they do so well.

"Prep" at Pillsbury House Theatre

It's been quite a week. Both in the real world, with yet another tragic mass shooting at a school, and in my theater world (which sometimes feels more real to me than the real world does). I started my week in theater with the Guthrie's beautiful production of the American classic To Kill A Mockingbird, about the wrongful conviction of a black man in 1930s Alabama. I followed that up with Roger Guenveur Smith's virtuoso performance in the one-man-show he created about Rodney King, whose brutal beating by LAPD officers in the early '90s led to one of the most deadly riots in our nation's history. While both of these events take place in the past, and one is fictional, there are striking parallels to the events of today that led to the Black Lives Matter movement. So it was with a heavy heart at the state of the world that I showed up at Pillsbury House Theatre last night. Having seen Tracey Scott Wilson's Buzzer twice, I knew that her new play Prep, commissioned by Pillsbury House and written after "extensive interviews with students, parents, and residents regarding racial tension in Minneapolis," would not be easy. But I was pleased that after this week of violence and injustice in the real and theater world, this one left me with a bit of hope. Yes there's plenty of work to do, but maybe, through the kindness and attention of individual to individual, we can all get along.

Prep actually reminds me more of The Gospel of Lovingkindness, seen at Pillsbury House earlier this year, than Buzzer, in that the three characters mostly speak to the audience in monologues (often responding to recorded voices), rather than speak to each other. Even when two of them are in a scene together, they often speak to the audience about each other. This device really lets us get inside each character's head to know what they're thinking and feeling. The first character we meet is "Miss" (Jodi Kellogg), the principal of an underprivileged school in an unnamed city, who sends her children to Ivy-league-like school a few miles away. But she genuinely cares for her students and wants them to succeed. She's taken a special interest in Chris (Kory LaQuess Pullam), a good student who is struggling after the recent death of his friend in a drive-by shooting. He has some disturbing ideas about how to make a statement and spur change in the community. He tells his friend Oliver (Ryan Colbert) about it, which angers him and causes a fight, leading to events that change the three and the school for good. But not in the way that you think.

Ryan Colbert, Kory LaQuess Pullam, and Jodi Kellogg

Tracey Scott Wilson has written the play with a rhythm and rhyming scheme that makes one think of Shakespeare. These three actors are all wonderful at speaking her words lyrically, yet still making them sound like natural speech. Joseph Stanley's sparse set with chain-link fence on the back wall and two raised platforms creates a simple and colorless backdrop for the story. Director Noël Raymond guides her actors well through the rhythm of the words and the story, and lets each establish their character in their own space on the stage, until they start intermingling in space as their storylines connect.

In just over an hour, Pillsbury House Theatre's Prep tackles some heavy themes of racism and violence in a realistic yet poetic way. It doesn't offer solutions so much as a ray of hope and a way to think and talk about the issues. Playing now through October 18.

"Abe Lincoln and Uncle Tom in the White House" by Carlyle Brown and Company at the Guthrie Theater

Like the last play I saw in the Guthrie studio, the new play Abe Lincoln and Uncle Tom in the White House, written and directed by Carlyle Brown, is an imagined conversation between two men in history (or in this case, literature). On the eve of signing the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln receives a visit in his White House office from the fictional character Uncle Tom from Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, written in 1852 as a protest against slavery. Abe and Tom discuss slavery and what its end would mean, as well as issues of grief, loss, and faith. It's a fascinating new way to look at an age-old issue - the continuing effect of slavery on this country.

Although the phrase "Uncle Tom" has a negative connotation today as a submissive black man, at the time the book was published Uncle Tom was seen as "a noble hero and praiseworthy person." That is the version of Uncle Tom we see in this play, as he encourages Lincoln to sign the Proclamation, despite his doubts about what it will achieve. It feels like a real conversation between two equals who understand and respect each other. The two men are interrupted by Lincoln's grieving wife and her seamstress/confidante Elizabeth, showing Lincoln's human side as he continues to grieve his son and try to comfort his wife in her grief.

President Lincoln and Uncle Tom share a toast
(Steve Hendrickson and James A. Williams)

This four-person cast is stellar, each one well-suited to their role. Steve Hendrickson is a most excellent Lincoln; he's just how we imagine him to be, with the weight of the world on his shoulders. James A. Williams is his equal as he conveys Tom's confusion at how he ended up here, as well as his strong faith and human dignity that allow him to survive. India Gurley has the least developed role as Elizabeth, but she's there to support her friend. Last but not least, Jodi Kellogg is outstanding as the fragile Mrs. Lincoln, all raw nerves and desperation as she tries to make sense of what her life has become.

The look of the president's White House office is efficiently achieved with just a few set pieces. Three large white frame windows hang in mid-air to represent one wall, with grand white doors opposite them. Just a desk, sofa, and two chairs adorn the space along with a few rugs (set design by Joseph Stanley).

This brief look into the life of Lincoln, a president we know so well, and Uncle Tom, a fictional character we think we know so well, offers a fresh perspective and an opportunity to explore some important issues in a new way. I've never read Uncle Tom's Cabin but I'm now intrigued, and might have to pick it up sometime. In the meantime, you can visit Abe Lincoln and Uncle Tom in the White House in the Guthrie's Dowling Studio from now through April 6.

"The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds" at Gremlin Theatre

Over the last few years I've seen several gems at Gremlin Theatre (Sea Marks, After Miss Julie, A Behanding in Spokane). As of July they're moving out of their current space on University in St. Paul, and will join the other nomadic theater companies in town until they find a permanent home. Their final production in this location is the awkwardly titled 1964 play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds*, and this one is a heart-breaker. Like many of the plays I've seen at the Gremlin, I knew nothing about this play going into it, and that's often when I have the best experiences at the theater. With no expectations or preconceptions you can just let the story unfold purely, and as this one did I was overcome by the emotions of this beautiful and tragic story. This is another gem, friends, and if you've never experienced the Gremlin, now is a great time to start.

The play opens on the shabby and cluttered family home of Beatrice and her two teenage daughters. It doesn't take long to realize that this is a damaged family. Beatrice is a woman who has been beaten down by life, and her daughters have troubles of their own. But this is a play that doesn't spell out every detail of these characters lives and histories. The characters themselves are very well defined and complex, but their lives are loose sketches, with the audience left to fill in the gaps. Beatrice may be an alcoholic, and a hoarder, and is most certainly suffering from depression or some other mental illness. Beatrice's job, it seems, is something like an in-home hospice service, but the care she shows the elderly Nanny who lives with them is questionable. Elder daughter Ruth seems like a typical rebellious teenager, but we soon learn that suffers from an undefined mental or physical illness, which is spoken of in terms of "going crazy" or "going into it." She experiences seizures which are brutal to watch. Finally, there's Tillie, the one ray of light in this dark situation. She's a good student and loves science, despite the fact that her mom often keeps her home from school, with few friends other than her pet rabbit, Peter (played by an adorable live rabbit who's on stage for much of the evening).

Tillie's science project, "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds," is her sole joy, and she is chosen to compete in the science fair. Instead of being met with congratulations and enthusiasm, Tillie's mom is upset that she has to appear on stage, with everyone looking at her. Beatrice is quite a fascinating character. Most of the time she's infuriating as she belittles her daughters, but there are moments when she expresses vulnerability and sadness, and it's clear that she desperately loves her daughters. They love her too, in spite of everything, and crave her approval. They are each other's whole world, and it's a sad world. But the beautiful thing about this story is that in the midst of this hopeless situation, Tillie remains hopeful. Her mother says, "I hate the world," but remarkably Tillie loves the world, specifically the atom from which the world is built. When she talks about science, her face lights up with the beauty and wonder of it. This story had me fighting back tears for much of the evening, but in the end it's a beautiful and uplifting story.

Tillie and her mother
(Caledonia Wilson Jodi Kellogg)

I can't say enough about this cast. Directed by Ellen Fenster, they create a believable family of unique and complex individuals. Jodi Kellogg plays every layer of this difficult, infuriating, damaged, crazy mother and makes you feel many different emotions for her. Eleonore Dendy (of the U of M/Guthrie BFA program) is charming and spirited as Ruth. I don't know how old Donna Porfiri is, but as Nanny in the wig and make-up, hunched over a walker, she looks about 90 years old, and manages to convey Nanny's pain, frustration, and moments of relief without ever saying a word. Elise Sommers makes a brief but amusing appearance as a rival student (and looks a little too much like a young me for comfort!). Last but not least is the radiant young actor Caledonia Wilson as Tillie. She lights up when she talks to the audience about her science project, and is quiet and reflective with her family, her silence hiding a depth of emotion. If there were a Spotlight Showcase for high school non-musical theater students, she would most certainly be the star of the show.

The set is incredibly detailed, with clutter in every corner, dirty and shabby walls, newspapers over the windows, and old furniture and appliances. This looks like a house that has been lived in for years. The lighting nicely highlights Tillie's happy moments talking about science, as the room darkens and the spotlight illuminates her already shining face. (Set and lighting by Carl Schoenborn, currently appearing onstage in the Jungle's Urinetown.)

If you're looking for a light and fun night at the theater, or a bit of escapism, go see Urinetown. But if you're up for something emotionally challenging, heartfelt, and painfully real, this might be the play for you. Gamma Rays is playing for only two more weekends, and there are discount tickets on Goldstar. A mere $10 to see this talented cast in this heartbreaking and beautiful story - best theater deal in town.



*The play was made into a 1972 movie directed by Paul Newman and starring his wife, Joanne Woodward, and their daughter.