Minnesota Fringe Festival 2022: "The Hysterical Woman"

Day: 6

Show: 19

Title: The Hysterical Woman

Category: COMEDY / DRAMA / HISTORICAL CONTENT / LGBTQIA+ CONTENT / POLITICAL CONTENT

By: Fortune's Fool Theatre

Created by: Ariel Pinkerton

Location: Rarig Center Xperimental

Summary: A collection of new and classic stories, news pieces, and poems around the idea of the historical and continuing diagnosis/accusation of "hysteria" in women.

Highlights: This powerful and moving collection includes pieces written by cast members, female writers like Mary Oliver and Emily Dickenson, and moments in history. Performed by a five-person ensemble (Ariel Pinkerton, Linda Sue Anderson, Rachel Flynn, Destiny Davison, and Andrew Troth), each piece is a little story unto itself, some funny, some tragic, all relatable. Stories about women at the doctor's office, or a conversation with her partner, or with a coworker. And when the interaction goes well and the woman is listened to and heard, the cast interrupts with "this never happens" and provides informative background about gaslighting, sexual harassment, or medical misdiagnoses. Which is funny because it's true, and we begin to expect it. Particularly impactful is the reading of Anita Hill's testimony at the 1991 Supreme Court confirmation hearings, and a mash up of the short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" with Britney Spears's recent testimony to end her conservatorship. The staging (direction by Nicole Wilder) makes good use of the Xperimental space, and the individual pieces flow smoothly from one to the next, comprising a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. This piece illustrates the fact that the more things change, the more they stay the same. We still call women "hysterical" when we don't like what they're saying or doing, if not in so many words. 

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2019: "Size"

Day: 7

Show: 22

Title: Size

Category: COMEDY / DANCE / DRAMA / ORIGINAL MUSIC / PHYSICAL THEATER / STORYTELLING

By: Somerville Productions

Created by:  Colleen Somerville and an array of writers and bodies.

Location: Mixed Blood Theatre

Summary: Reflections, stories, sketches, and songs about the way society treats people of varying body size.

Highlights: This is a such beautiful show, and very relatable for anyone who has ever had issues with body image or food, which is pretty much every woman (and some men) who live in this country. The performers are all so honest and vulnerable in sharing their very personal stories about how they've felt shamed about their bodies at various times in their lives - in school, at work, in relationships. I thought it was going to be more about sizism in theater (which is definitely a conversation we need to having), but it was more universal than that (except for the horrible theater teacher that focused on students' looks, and Lauren Anderson's recurring story about how she was heckled onstage while performing). In a way that makes it more universal, because we've all had those moments of insecurity about our bodies. These poignant stories combined with moments of humor and music make this hour of truth-telling and affirmation of people of all shapes and sizes fly by.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"The Coward" by Walking Shadow Theatre Company at Red Eye Theater

Nick Jones' 2010 play The Coward is a spoof of that gentlemanly period in England when it was appropriate, nay necessary, to challenge a man to a duel if he in any way besmirched your honor. It's a play with a lot of men fighting, and one woman to fawn over them as they fight. Walking Shadow Theatre Company has turned this idea on its head, casting women in all the male roles and a man in the one female role. It's an interesting twist that makes these proud and silly men look even more silly, maybe because we all know women are too smart to get involved in such petty and deadly disputes. It all amounts to a lot of bloody good fun.

The young gentleman Lucidus is pressured by his father to participate in duels to defend the family honor (which, by the way, got his two older brothers killed). But Lucidus would much rather classify butterflies by their beauty or go on a pie-tasting picnic with his friends, dressed in top hats and tails. He eventually agrees to a duel, but is afraid to fight it. He goes to the town pub to hire a man to fight for him, and finds Henry, who is happy to fight as long as he can do it by his rules. I don't want to spoil the outcome of the duel, but when there's a "blood designer" and two "blood assistants" listed in the credits, it's safe to say there will be blood. And lots of it. Henry gets a taste for dueling as Lucidus, and begins challenging people all over town, much to Lucidus' dismay. The situation gets even worse when Lucidus' father discovers the ruse and decides he likes Henry better, and adopts him as his son while disowning Lucidus. Lucidus agrees to one final momentous battle to settle the matter once and for all.

Linda Sue Anderson, Briana Patnode, Suzie Juul, and
Shelby Rose Richardson (photo by Dan Norman)

This wonderful cast of women (and one man) gleefully revels in the concept and the bloodletting, under the direction of Walking Shadow's co-Artistic Director Amy Rummenie. The always excellent Briana Patnode makes Lucidus likeable despite his cowardice. Jean Wolff is strong and pompous as his stern father, and Charlotte Calvert is a delight as the duel-loving Henry. Also having great fun are Suzie Juul and Shelby Rose Richardson as Lucidus' pals, and Chase Burns, the lone man in the cast, as Lucidus' haughty love interest. Last but not least, Linda Sue Anderson is a hoot as an addled old man and Lucidus' loyal butler.

This very pretty and proper set, in shades of red and pink surrounded by a in gilt frame (designed by Eli Schlatter), becomes the backdrop for some beautifully disgusting blood flow. Let's hope they have a dry cleaner on standby for Sara Wilcox's gorgeously rich costumes.

The Coward is a silly, fun, lighthearted romp through proper English duels, highlighting just how ridiculous the concept is, with a terrific cast that appears to be having as much fun as the audience. Playing through February 28 in the Red Eye Theater.

"Rabbit Hole" at Theatre in the Round

Theatre in the Round is celebrating their 500th mainstage production with the 2006 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Rabbit Hole. It's a feat unmatched by any other theater in town, and this play is a great choice for this milestone event. Rabbit Hole is a really well-written contemporary play with just five (onstage) characters, who talk the way real people talk. The play depicts an unthinkable but unfortunately real situation - a family trying to cope with grief after the accidental death of a child. It's pretty intense, but fortunately there are some lighter humorous moments that break up the intensity, just like in life. From the cast to the direction to the set, Theatre in the Round does a fine job with this difficult work.

The story begins eight months after the death of 4-year-old Danny. Grieving parents Becca (Elena Gianetti) and Howie (Ron Ravensborg) are dealing with the tragedy in different ways (she wants to move out of the house to avoid reminders, he repeatedly watches videos of their son), and are having a hard time meeting in the middle. Becca's sister Izzy (Rachel Finch, the standout in the cast with her completely natural acting) is her polar opposite and tries to distract everyone with her colorful life. Adding some much need comic relief is their mother Nat (Linda Sue Anderson, who's a hoot), with her crazy theories about "the Kennedy curse" and other rants. The delicate family balance is disturbed when the young man responsible for the accident appears (the appealing Kenny Martin II). This feels like a very real family dealing with a very real problem, struggling, sometimes failing, but continuing to be there for each other.

The "in the round" stage looks like a real (but very neat, which is understandable given who lives there) contemporary home, complete with kitchen, dining room, living room, and a child's bedroom that looks as if he never left (set design by Peter W. Mitchell). I have a strange fascination with watching people perform real-life mundane tasks on stage, like folding laundry and washing dishes, and there's plenty of that here in this lifelike home. One of the things I love about Theatre in the Round is that you get to walk right through the set to get to your seats, which makes it seem even more real. The nature of an "in the round" theater provides an interesting staging problem, but thanks to the direction by David Coral, I never felt like I was missing out on anything, even if a character's back was to me. During the effective scene transitions, the lights dim but don't go out, as evocative and appropriate music plays. We see the characters progress from one room/scene to another, in what are not throwaway moments but rather add to building the characters.

Rabbit Hole is playing weekends now through February 3. If you haven't seen any of the previous 499 productions at Theatre in the Round, number 500 is a good place to start.

Elena Gianetti and Ron Ravensborg
as grieving parents Becca and Howie