"The Moneylender's Daughter" at Six Points Theater

Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice can be problematic, with its ant-Semitic representation of the greedy Jewish moneylender, yet it also contains the famous "Hath not a Jew eyes... if you prick us, do we not bleed" speech that argues for a shared humanity. In a post-show discussion, Six Points Theater's Artistic Director Barbara Brooks noted that she's interested in depicting the character of Shylock onstage, and how it might be different at a theater that specializes in telling Jewish stories. But since their home stage at Highland Park Community Center is small, they can't really do a large-scale Shakespeare play, so instead they're presenting the world premiere of Brooklyn-based playwright Martin Coren's sequel The Moneylender's Daughter. I've only seen The Merchant of Venice once, pre-blog in 2007 (more on that later), so I'm not that familiar with it and pretty much viewed this as a standalone play. If you do have familiarity with the original it might have a deeper meaning, but I still found it to be a fascinating and moving play dealing with issues of identity, family, and the anti-Semitism that unfortunately is still very much a part of our world.

"'Til Death Do Us Die" by The Mystery Cafe at Majestic Oaks Golf Club

Having been entertaining audiences for 35 years, The Mystery Cafe is "the longest running interactive comedy dinner theater company in Minnesota," but for some reason I've only recently heard of it. I think maybe that's because it operates outside of the typical theater model, and maybe attracts different audiences. But it employs a lot of the same great actors/ comedians/ improvisors that we see on #TCTheater stages around town, so I (and you) should definitely be aware of it. Presumably if you read this blog you love theater, but if you have someone in your life who says they don't like theater, this might be a great way to introduce them to the wide world of theatrical entertainment. It's definitely not the sit-in-a-dark-audience-completely-separate-from-what's-happening-onstage kind of theater. Instead, you're right in the middle of the action, sitting at large round tables with a group of friends and strangers, eating a three-course meal while theater happens all around you. At my table there was a family of four, and a couple from out-state Minnesota who for years has been driving into the cities to see this show. The show was nearly sold out, so they obviously have a big following. The current show 'Til Death Do Us Die is playing through February 17 at Majestic Oaks in Ham Lake, check it out for a really fun and uniquely entertaining night out. 

"Scrooge in Rouge" at Open Eye Theatre

Leave it to Open Eye Theatre to bring us a holiday* show that's a little off-kilter, in the best possible way. The three-person musical Scrooge in Rouge reimagines the classic A Christmas Carol in the style of English Music Hall entertainment, meaning "witty lyrics, bad puns, and naughty double-entendres." The fabulous three-person cast portrays all of the characters in this story that hews fairly closely to Dickens' original, even including many of the famous lines you'll hear across town at the Guthrie. But there are a few ridiculous diversions too, resulting in a very entertaining and fun little show. You can see this alternative (or addition) to A Christmas Carol at Open Eye in South Minneapolis through December 30.

"The (Almost) Complete and (Mostly) Accurate History of Alcohol" at Bryant Lake Bowl

Favorite local funny man Josh Carson and friends have put together a sketch comedy show about that great elixir and social lubricant - alcohol. Ironically, I saw the show about four weeks into a six-week break from alcohol (and caffeine), which I started as part of my marathon training. And even though an injury got me off of the marathon track, I stuck with the alcohol break just to see if I could do it (and I am still in training, if only for the much less physically demanding half marathon). It's an interesting experiment and has made me more aware of how prevalent alcohol is in our society and our social lives. It hasn't really been that hard for me, but there have certainly been days where I wanted a drink to smooth out the edges of a rough day, or just to taste a delicious concoction on a night out. This group of very funny writers and performers have taken all of these ideas, as well as stories of alcohol throughout history, and created about a dozen silly, funny, relatable sketches. You can see it at Bryant Lake Bowl (with dinner and yes, drink service before and during the show) through September 30 only (click here for info and tickets).

"Airness" at Park Square Theatre

Park Square Theatre finally returns from their extended intermission with a really fun and feel-good play about a national air guitar competition. It sound ridiculous, but truth is stranger than fiction - this is actually a real thing. LA-based playwright Chelsea Marcantel has set Airness within this world where people travel the country to compete with 60 seconds of playing an imaginary guitar. But like any story, it's not really about air guitar; air guitar is the backdrop against which is set this sweet and funny story of community, friendship, finding your people, and pursuing your passion. The fantastic cast embodies this lovable group of oddballs so well that you find yourself rooting for them and becoming invested in their story. With the stage appeal of a rock concert and the heart of a chosen family story, Airness is a great welcome back for Park Square (continuing through June 5).

"Another Miracle on Christmas Lake" at Yellow Tree Theatre

One of my favorite #TCTheater holiday* traditions is Yellow Tree Theatre's original Minnesota comedies. It all began with Miracle on Christmas Lake in their first season way back in 2008, a play written quickly under pressure by co-founder Jessica Lind Peterson, that has turned into an Osseo sensation. It ran for several years, then inspired a sequel. After a few other unrelated original holiday comedies set Up North, Yellow Tree returned to the original Miracle on Christmas Lake last year, and this year are bringing us the sequel.** Full of the quirky and very Minnesotan characters we've come to love, but with a (mostly) all new cast of talented comedians, Another Miracle on Christmas Lake is a riot. I have a group of friends and co-workers I've been bringing to Yellow Tree for almost ten years, and we all agree that with everything going on in the world and at home right now, we just needed to laugh. There's no better place for that than this show. It continues through December 29, but like I said it's a sensation and their intimate theater space sells out, so get your tickets soon.

"The Beldenville Troll" at Open Eye Figure Theatre

Open Eye Figure Theatre's The Red Shoes, created by Joel Sass, was one of my favorite shows of 2017. So when I heard they were doing a (sort of) sequel to that piece, I was all in! The Beldenville Troll shares no characters, plot points, or locations with The Red Shoes; it's more of a thematic sequel, in which they "continue our creative grafting of fairytale themes and folklore onto surprising modern settings by utilizing a creep museum of compelling artifacts, animated shadow puppets, and live performers." It's another unique and ingenious creation from Joel Sass and the team, and what I wrote about The Red Shoes also applies here: "My immediate thought at the end of the show was, 'how do people think of such things?' The Red Shoes The Beldenville Troll is something so curious and unique, odd and chilling, inventive and charming, it's thoroughly captivating from start to finish."

"The Skin of Our Teeth" by Girl Friday Productions at Park Square Theatre

It's an odd-numbered year, and that means it's time for another Girl Friday Productions large cast classic American play (they do one show every other year). I first saw them do Street Scene* at the old Minneapolis Theatre Garage in 2011 and was thoroughly impressed, and depressed that I'd have to wait another two years to see them. But two years goes by faster and faster, and now eight years later I've seen my fifth Girl Friday show, their 3rd in collaboration with Park Square Theatre. They've moved upstairs to the proscenium theater, the largest space in which I've seen them. They fill that space with a cast of 15 playing a list of characters that fills an entire page in the program, and Thornton Wilder's bizarre and profound history of humanity, the Pulitzer Prize winning The Skin of Our Teeth. The three-act two-intermission play pushes three hours, and my ability to stay awake and alert sitting in an uncomfortable theater seat, but it's worth it. There was not a little attrition at the second intermission, but trust me, you want to stay for the third act. So take a nap before the show, get a cup of coffee, carry chocolate in your purse, because the third act is where it all comes together. Thornton Wilder is not telling a story of one crazy family, he's telling a story of the whole crazy beautiful history of humanity. And there's no one better to bring it to crazy weird profound life than Girl Friday.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2018: "A Farewell to Armadillos"

Day: 4

Show: 16

Title: A Farewell to Armadillos

Category: Clowning / Comedy / Improv

By: NEPTUNE

Directed by: Christopher Kehoe

Location: Strike Theater

Summary: A clowning show with three clowns being clowns.

Highlights: I'll admit it, I have a slight fear of clowns. I think most reasonable people do. But there's nothing to fear from these clowns (although don't sit in the front row or on the aisle if, like me, you don't want to be pulled up on stage). Clowns Kaitlen Osburn, Mohamed Yabdri, and Neal Skoy do clown things as they go about their day on the job, cleaning or something. A non-clown (Autumn Sisson) interrupts to get her tape back, and ends up having a few adventures before she leaves. There are things happening with tape, and rope, and cleaning fluid. Plus spit takes and fart jokes, which are are never not funny. Not much happens in the show so that when it ended I thought, that was a short show. Nope, it was 55 minutes, it just flew by when caught up in the innocent, delightful charm of these silly (and very talented) clowns. One doesn't often get to experience clowns just being clowns, and this is a great opportunity to do so. Judging by the kids that were there past their bedtime (or mine anyway) on a Sunday night, this is one that could/should also be part of Family Fringe.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Noises Off" at Artistry

For the first time that I can remember, Artistry is staging a musical in their smaller black box space, and a play in their larger traditional theater space. It makes perfect sense when the musical is the intimate two-hander The Last Five Years, better served by a smaller space and smaller elements of production, and the play is the hilarious back-stage farce Noises Off, which requires a huge rotating set. The switch pays off, with a nearly sold out run of L5Y, and a rollicking good time in Noises Off. The utterly delightful cast, directed by Artistic Director Benjamin McGovern, plays up the ridiculousness of the script to maximum effect. And all of the theater insideriness will make me wonder what's really going on backstage when a play starts late.

"Flavio Betrayed" at Lyric Arts

A funny thing happened on the way to Anoka, or rather, in Anoka - the world premiere* of the new play Flavio Betrayed by resident director Scott Ford, based on the commedia dell'arte style popular in 16th-18th Century Italy. He has assembled a fantastic cast that plays the exaggerated and highly stylized physicality to the hilt, extending even into some pre-show bantering with the crowd. It all makes for a perfectly silly evening of theater. In the real world, there may be tragedy tomorrow (and yesterday and next week), but there is only comedy tonight at Lyric Arts!

"One Man, Two Guvnors" at Yellow Tree Theatre

About the Guthrie's 2012 production of The Servant of Two Masters I wrote, "If you don't enjoy the feeling of laughing until your face hurts, you must avoid it at all costs." The same goes for Yellow Tree Theatre's production of One Man, Two Guvnors. The 2012 Broadway hit that gave us James Corden is a 21st adaptation of the aforementioned 18th century commedia dell'arte classic. "Commedia dell'arte" is an Italian term which roughly translates as "outrageously wacky fun," which is exactly what One Man, Two Guvnors is. Reminiscent of YTT's 2014 production of the also wacky 39 Steps, which garnered them two Ivey Awards, 1M2G brings back the Ivey-winning director of that show, Anne Byrd, along with half of the Ivey-winning comedy duo, Tristan Tifft. Under Anne's expert direction, this incredibly talented cast (which also includes three of the Four Humors) take the audience on a ridiculously fun ride of crazy antics, physical humor, audience participation, delightful '60s-style music, and much hilarity. Highly recommended for those who don't mind their face hurting from too much laughter.

"Elephant's Graveyard" by Theatre Pro Rata at Nimbus Theatre

The play Elephant's Graveyard is one of those "truth is stranger than fiction" stories. In 1916, a five-ton circus elephant was hung in the town of Erwin, Tennessee after killing a man. You read that right - they hung an elephant. Theatre Pro Rata's production of the play tells the story so vividly that it's absolutely horrific. By that I don't mean that it's a bad play, on the contrary it's so good at telling this tragic story that as an animal lover, it's almost unbearable. I'm not sure I could use the word enjoyable for the experience, but it's a completely captivating and fascinating look at a bizarre historical incident with larger implications about the way that we have historically treated and continue to treat animals (and other second-class citizens) in this country.

The play is written as a series of monologues, in which circus people and townspeople take turns telling the story directly to the audience. They take us through the excitement of a circus coming to a small town, the unique lives of circus performers of that era (see also the bizarre and wonderful HBO show Carnivàle), and the horror of the hanging. It's like one long story being told by multiple people. I don't think think I've ever seen a play with so many characters in which they never talk to each other. It's an effective storytelling device and lets us get inside the heads of all of the characters to learn how they view the event, whether it's as the triumph of the American spirit, or a business failure, or the death of a true friend, or a similarity to the other lynchings happening in the South.

Emily Dussault, Ben Tallen,
and Wade A. Vaughn

This is a true ensemble piece. There's no main character (other than Mary the elephant, who looms large even though we never physically see her or any representation of her), rather each of the 13 actors and two musicians share the spotlight equally, including Wade A. Vaughn with an electric performance as the ringmaster, Neal Skoy as Mary's heartbroken trainer, and young Jillian Jacobson representing the children of Erwin.

Adding greatly to the mood of the piece is the period appropriate music by Theo Langason on guitar and Shannon Foy on percussion. The cast also occasionally adds its lovely voices to the music. Particularly noteworthy are a haunting duet between Joy Dolo's townsperson and Emily Dussault's Ballet Girl, and Ethan Bjelland's preacher song.

The story takes place on a completely bare stage, with only a bench as an occasional prop/set piece, and lights evoking a big top. This really allows the audience to focus on the descriptive language and the images it evokes in our minds. The colorful costumes also stand out in this bare environment, from the red coat of the ringmaster and the green of the ballet girl, to the more drab colors of the hardworking townspeople (costumes by Mandi Johnson).

Elephant's Graveyard is my first experience with Theatre Pro Rata, and I like what I saw. It's storytelling at its best - completely captivating and so vivid that you feel like you're actually seeing the events play out, which in this case can be painful. Playing now through March 2 at nimbus theatre.

"Noises Off" at the Jungle Theater

I've seen a lot of ridiculous shows lately (and I mean that in a good way) - Xanadu, Absolute Turkey, The War Within/All's Fair - and the Jungle Theater's Noises Off is another one. Not only is it a show within a show, it's a farce within a farce. Featuring a spectacular cast of favorites, intricately choreographed chaos, and over-the-top backstage drama, it makes for a very entertaining night at the theater.

Noises Off was written by English playwright Michael Frayn after watching one of his plays from backstage: "It was funnier from behind than in front and I thought that one day I must write a farce from behind." Six actors, one director, and two stagehands are putting on the fictional farce Nothing On. Act I shows us their final dress rehearsal, with the director watching from various parts of the audience. Act II is one month later, and the stage is turned around so that we get to see everything that happens backstage, while still hearing and catching glimpses of the onstage performance. It's a wild ride, and impossible to keep track of everything that's happening. Affairs, misunderstandings, drunkenness, tempter tantrums, and that's just backstage! Finally, in Act III the stage is turned around again and we get to see the performance, which has fallen apart. It's disastrous, painful, and hilarious.

the cast of Noises Off
as the cast and crew of Nothing On

I've never seen a playbill that has a second, fictional, playbill within it. We get to read about the cast of Nothing On, complete with bios. This fictional cast is temperamental, difficult, and possessing questionable levels of talent. Fortunately the real cast is nothing like them; they're all brilliant in their portrayal of these quirky characters. (Although to be fair, we don't know what's going on in the real backstage of the Jungle; I imagine that would be quite entertaining as well, but hopefully with less violence.) Cheryl Willis is the veteran actress and star of Nothing On, who mixes up her lines and has jealous affairs with her fellow actors. Ryan Nelson (a fave from Yellow Tree) is the actor who can't complete a sentence that's not written for him. Summer Hagen is the flighty blond whose exaggerated performance is exactly the same every time, even if everything around her changes and it no longer makes sense. The divine Bradley Greenwald, who has a seriously killer singing voice but who is equally good at playing silly, is the simple man who needs a motivation for everything his character does. Add to that the very funny E.J. Subkoviak as the exasperated director, the nimble Kimberly Richardson as the awkward stagehand, Neal Skoy as the other awkward and overworked stagehand, Stephen D'Ambrose as the revered and famous actor who's also a drunk, and last but not least, Kirby Bennett (whose Girl Friday Productions is producing a Tennessee Williams play I've never seen, Camino Real, next year), and you have one dynamite cast. Directing all this craziness is Joel Sass, who also designed the reversible set, both difficult tasks beautifully done!

If you've never visited the cozy Jungle Theater in the Lyndale/Lake area of Minneapolis, this is a good time to start. I've really enjoyed their season so far, and it looks like it's only going to get better with Waiting for Godot starring Nathan Keepers and Jim Lichtsheidl, and In the Next Room with a fabulous cast of women (and a few men). But don't wait for those shows, Noises Off is a very funny farce with a talented cast. Even though it's three acts long, you won't have any trouble staying awake for it with all the craziness going on in this fictional theater world. I've never thought about what actors do between their exits and entrances, but now I'll be imagining all kinds of crazy backstage shenanigans!

"Next Fall" at the Jungle Theater

Next Fall is one of those plays that will make you laugh, cry, and reevaluate what you think about certain issues (which happens to be my favorite kind of play!).  Directed by Joel Sass at the Jungle Theater, Next Fall tells the story of two gay men in a committed relationship whose lives change irreversibly when one of them is involved a freak tragic accident.  The play begins in the waiting room of the hospital, where Luke's friends and family have gathered as he lies unconscious in his hospital bed.  The story of Luke and Adam's relationship is told through flashbacks, which alternate with present-day scenes in the hospital.  Luke and Adam love each other and have made a life together, despite very different worldviews.  Luke is a devout Christian who believes in heaven and hell, while Adam is an atheist who can't understand how Luke can continue to believe despite what his faith has to say about homosexuality.  Somehow Luke is able to reconcile that contradiction, something his Christian friend Brandon can't accept.  But both Adam and Brandon start to rethink their opposing positions when faced with the possible loss of someone important to them.

Luke's southern Christian parents are also there in the waiting room, and neither one knows that Luke is gay and living with Adam.  Luke has always been afraid to tell them, despite Adam's urging to do so.  When it comes time for decisions to be made about Luke's care, his parents are legally responsible, and Adam has no say.  When Adam's relationship with Luke comes to light, there are some tense moments, but in the end, they realize that they all love Luke, and begin to listen to and comfort each other.

OK that sounds really depressing, but there are also quite a few humorous moments as we watch Luke and Adam's relationship unfold through flashbacks.  And Luke's eccentric mother (Maggie Bearmon Pistner) provides many humorous moments as she interacts with the others in the waiting room.  It's a "laugh through your pain" kind of show.

Garry Geiken (whom I saw recently in Latte Da's Song of Extinction) gives a funny and heart-breaking performance as Adam, and Neal Skoy (in his Twin Cities professional stage debut) is quite charming as Luke.  Stephen Yoakam (who was recently named best actor by City Pages for his performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf at the Jungle last year) allows Luke's father's deep feelings for his son to peek through his tough exterior, and has a wonderfully subtle and believable accent.

Luke is an actor, and his family and friends keep talking about his performance in the play Our Town a few years ago (which fortunately I saw recently at Yellow Tree, so I understood the reference).  The theme of Our Town is that people don't usually appreciate life to its fullest until it's over.  Next Fall has a similar theme.  It's a play about loss and regret, but also about love and togetherness and living the life you want to live.


*A note to my fellow theater-goers.  Please make sure to turn off your cell phone when you enter the theater.  And then double-check to make sure it's off.  And if you don't know how to turn off your cell phone, don't bring it into the theater!  At a crucial moment during the play, someone's cell phone went off, which totally took me out of the moment.  It was very distracting and disappointing.  I wanted to reach for my remote and rewind a few minutes and watch that scene again!  So please, friends, make sure your phones are off!  Thank you.