Velvet Swing - The Umbrella Collective

Although Women's History Month is over, Twin Cities theaters are still filled with fascinating, thought-provoking plays examining women from history. YAY!

Case in point: the ingenious and inventive Velvet Swing by Umbrella Collective at Bryant-Lake Bowl (through April 27).

Before seeing this play, my knowledge of Evelyn Nesbit was limited to her appearance in the musical Ragtime, based on the book by E.L. Doctorow.

School Girls at Jungle Theater

When: March 26-April 14

At: Jungle Theater
Running Time: 80 minutes

About:

"The reigning queen bee at Ghana’s most exclusive boarding school has her sights set on the Miss Ghana Pageant. But a new student captures the attention of the pageant recruiter—and the previously hive-minded students. Award-winning playwright Jocelyn Bioh’s buoyant and biting comedy explores the universal similarities (and glaring differences) facing teenage girls across the globe."

What We Thought:
As the subtitle suggests, School Girls, or The African Mean Girls Play shows some of the worst ways in which women (young or otherwise) can compete amongst themselves. However, the prize for these Ghanian students has real value—a chance for a more promising future. Playwright Jocelyn Bioh was inspired by the true story of the 2011 Miss Ghana Pageant, won by an American-born contestant whose Ghanian parentage was never confirmed.

A Night with Janis Joplin - Ordway

Photo by Joan Marcus

If you are looking for a night of fantastic songs from a bygone era, an amazing band and electrifying vocals, look no further than "A Night with Janis Joplin" playing at the Ordway through April 3rd. The whole evening is set up as a concert with Janis Joplin - played by the 2014 Tony Award nominee Mary Bridget Davies. It does not disappoint (unless you are looking for a traditional book musical.)

The show starts a bit slow (at it did least on opening night), but I think that is mainly because it is a bit out of the ordinary for the traditional theater-going crowd. Once Davies lets loose, she is a force to be reckoned with and she got the audience on her side, to the point of more than one mid-show standing ovation. The audience was not huge, but they were enthusiastic, and were screaming for more. More than that, the excitement felt organic and not forced. It didn't feel like "the band wants us to clap so we'll clap," nor did it feel like "we just got permission to scream in the theater, so let's do it." What it felt like was the audience wanted to clap, scream and get moving but needed a bit of guidance from the stage before letting loose. And once they let loose, the energy of the room shifted. It was great! I can only imagine the energy that would have been in a full house, or a smaller room.

Photo by Joan Marcus

The other great thing is that this was a strong female cast of amazing voices! The show is not Beautiful in that it doesn't tell the story of Janis Joplin and her life. In fact, it is a bit cleaned up and family friendly. Yes, there is swearing however there is no mention of the drug use that eventually killed Janis at the age of 27 in 1970.

What the show does is give you an audience with Janis so that you can hear a bit of her life, and her influences. It was great seeing Etta James (Tawny Dolley), Bessie Smith, Odetta (both played by Cicily Daniels), Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone (both played by Q. Smith), and a character simply named Blues Singer (the amazing Jennifer Leigh Warren). All of these characters had some influence on what Janis sang and her connection to the blues. Hearing these women, these icons of song sing...then hearing Janis's version of those same songs was fantastic. The ensemble was terrific and so versatile as they also sang some back-up vocals for Janis, and Aretha. The band was incredible as well. It was an all male band (as was Big Brother and the Holding Company) and they sounded and looked the part.

Photo by Joan Marcus

The set was simple and effective. The costumes that made the ensemble into the icons were fantastic, and Ms Davies had the look, mannerisms and the voice of Janis Joplin down to a T. Honestly, there were times that were spine-tingling because I felt I was transported back to seeing Janis live and in person (especially with the projections behind the band - totally trippy and 60's and perfect!) And if that is the experience you want, then you get your butt down to the Ordway and you have it. You will hear all the Janis songs that you want to hear, and more.

PS: I just found out that Janis played once here in the Twin Cities. She played at the Guthrie Theater on August 18, 1968. I can't imagine her at the Guthrie.

co-written - Jules, KRL

The How and the Why - Theatre Unbound at New Century Theatre

Theatre Unbound, according to their website, "delivers thought-provoking live theatre conceived and created by women, providing audiences with engaging, rarely-seen perspectives on issues that are relevant and universal."

Their new production, The How and the Why at the New Century Theatre, continues that mission. Playwright Sarah Treem has created the story of two women of different generations who relate to each other through their respective scientific research.

Zelda (Caroline Kaiser) is a respected evolutionary biologist and the author of the Grandmother Hypothesis, which suggests that menopause evolved in humans so that the elder females could help to care for their children's children. Rachel (Molly Pach) is a doctoral candidate working on her own theory to explain menstruation. Not the "how," she clarifies, as the mechanics are well understood, but the "why" - What could be the scientific reason that it happens as it does in humans?

Caroline Kaiser and Molly Pach
Photo by Richard Fleishman

I won't go into detail, though the show does. These are actual scientific theories which the playwright borrows as a jumping-off point for the characters, who explore women in science, career vs. relationship issues, family connections, and more, It is a lot of ground to cover in two hours (with an intermission), and sometimes the play feels as though it is racing to get all of its ideas presented.

Zelda is on the board of a respected scientific conference, which Rachel applied to and was not accepted. The play starts with their first meeting, and the second act happens a few weeks later, after the conference. This doesn't seem to give the women enough time to develop much of a relationship, and personal revelations seem to be dropped in at regular intervals, whether warranted by the context or not.

Treem's script treats these revelations as surprises, although for the most part, they are overly telegraphed and a bit soap-opera-ish. The idea behind the play is interesting, as is the scientific discussion, but it might have been better served to be less ambitious. Possibly, director Shelli Place and the actors could have elevated the play, but in the end I think it bogged them down.

If you are interested in the science behind the play, there is a wonderful study guide put together by Chicago's TimeLine Theatre for their 2014 production that is a good starting point for further research.