 |
BTW, our podcast host site has limited space for show notes, so here's the full list of holiday recommendations from the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers.
In Short:
It’s 1920s St. Paul, it was an easy heist, a simple score for this crew. One mistake and they are trapped in a cave that was supposed to be their hideout. Four gang members must work together before their place of refuge becomes their tomb.
Selected Cast/Creative:
Rachael Dosen, Bridget Foy, Ileri Okikiolu, Addie Ripperger play the gangsters. Directed by Denzel Belin and written by Kyle B. Dekker, Denzel Belin, and Jacob Gulliver.
Our Thoughts:
Last year, Denzel Belin wrote and directed one of our favorite shows in the Twin Cities Horror Festival: Bad Egg, a thoughtful and witty retelling of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This is the second show we've seen in the Crane studio space (the other is Lock-In), and the space has felt like a challenge in both. Last year, another TCHF favorite, Stabby Stab Stab, made great use of the space, but it's not easy.
Shadows Under Wabasha has a compelling premise. Or premises. The Wabasha caves are endlessly fascinating and, for the claustrophobic among us, particularly creepy. The gangsters and the agreement that they made with the city of St. Paul is another bit of great local history. Add in conflict between disparate characters trapped together with limited light and air and you have the makings of a great TCHF show. Strong performances by Bridget Foy and Ileri Okikiolu anchor the play, but there seems to be a little too much to successfully cover in one small TCHF play.
You Should See This If You Like:
Workplace conflict, caves, gangsters, meteorites, great menswear.
Show:
Ghost in the Machine
By:
Snikt! Bamf! Thwip!
In Short:
Artificial intelligence - true artificial intelligence - is impossible. You can't create a computer that thinks like a human brain. But what if the computer had a human brain? And what if the human wanted their brain back?
Selected Cast/Creative:
It's an intimate cast, consisting of Elora Riley, Philip D. Henry, Emma Inga, and Dawn Krosnowski.
Our Thoughts:
Well, first of all, I blame this show for the fact that snippets of songs by The Police have been running through my mind for DAYS. Our heroine, Arwyn, is obsessed with The Police and even a Police cover band. Hence the very appropriate title of this show. This is a really tight, compelling, and intimate show that follows a programming genius as she gets a mysterious invitation from a secretive company.
Compelled by a generous salary, Arwyn agrees to a job working with an advanced AI system called Phoebe. Naturally, she also investigates the company that employs her, but is not prepared for what she learns.
With the advances and potential dangers of artificial intelligence very much in the news, this is a timely story that's a little too close to reality. Tim Wick's strong script cleverly acknowledges its pop culture references. Elora Riley as Arwyn leads the excellent ensemble with an engaging, memorable performance as the cool coder girl. Although the set and special effects are minimal, this show provides some great shocks.
Don't make me send "a message in a bottle" that "every little thing [this show] does is magic" and will have you "wrapped around [its] finger." (Sorry, I couldn't resist!!)
You Should See This If You Like:
Being freaked out by AI, the idea of getting $50,000 for a job interview. Yes, please!
Show:
Overtoun
By:
Spiral Theater
In Short:
Overtoun tells the story of Scotland’s infamous “dog suicide bridge”, from whose heights dogs have inexplicably leapt to their deaths. This horror-comedy explores our need to search for meaning in the unexplainable and our terrible realizations when we do not find it.
Selected Cast/Creative:
Directed by Kevin Duong. Written and assistant directed by Kyle Munshower. Featuring Anya Naylor, Anjeline Mae Ramirez, Mar Burris, Carlyn Grande, and Alec Logeman.
Our Thoughts:
They did NOT have us at the plot description. A show about dog suicide? Yikes. HOWEVER, our dedication to seeing every show of the Twin Cities Horror Festival has absolutely paid off, cause this show is a delight.
How can a show about dog suicides be anything but grim? Here's a hint from a description of Spiral Theater from Springboard for the Arts:
"Spiral Theater aims to produce seriously silly shows that celebrate our most absurd selves, the wild possibilities of language, and the creative spirit of audiences and artists."
Mission accomplished. With one of the most polished scripts in the Festival, this show uses the strange occurrences at Overtoun Bridge to play with the tropes of murder dramas and have so much fun with language. The characterizations of the town's characters are sharp and distinct and beautifully performed. We will absolutely be keeping an eye out for future work by Spiral Theater.
Several hours after the show, I realized that the form of the play reminded me of Tom Stoppard's The Real Inspector Hound, another script that plays with tropes. But Overtoun is also absolutely original and unique and a must-see.
You Should See This If You Like:
Midsomer Murders and Police Squad!
Show:
Kin
In Short:
Newlyweds Mona and Rory are celebrating New Year’s Eve at a secluded cabin within the northwoods of Minnesota. There’s a full moon, and the wolves are howling. It’s a night devoted to change, to releasing the past and embracing the future. But are we truly able to shed our skin and begin again?
Selected Cast/Creative:
Nissa Nordland Morgan (Mona) and Tara Lucchino (Rory) play the newlyweds; Shanan Custer plays a mysterious guest to the cabin. Written by Nissa Nordland Morgan and directed by Kayla Dvorak Feld.
Our Thoughts:
Morgan has created an intriguing story of family and change. This is the second show in the Horror Festival that takes place in a secluded cabin in the woods, but unlike Dangerous Productions' Choices where the characters are genuinely threatened by what's in the woods, Kin's story takes place almost completely within the cabin. The placid domestic bliss is interrupted by a visitor (Shanan Custer in a compelling performance) who has a complicated family story to share and Mona finds herself with decisions to make. Also, there may or may not be a severed hand. (See also The Hand That Washed Ashore.)
You Should See This If You Like:
Howling at the moon
Show:
Lock-In
By:
Wizard Wax Productions
In Short:
Gabriel, a trans latinx pastor, is new to Bethel Lutheran Church. In his quest to unlock a century old mystery, he invites back the 1985 youth group for an adult lock-in.
Selected Cast/Creative:
The cast includes Jex Arzayus (who also wrote and directed), B. Johnson, Danielle Lynch, Janelle Kloth, Julie Censullo, Laura Hild, Mahmoud Hakima, Maureen Bourgeois, and Will Schroeder.
Our Thoughts:
We saw Lock-In on our second day of the Twin Cities Horror Festival. This is the first of two shows (the other is Shadows Under Wabasha) that are held in VERY INTIMATE Crane Studio space. We're loving the Crane as a lovely, intimate setting for the Twin Cities Horror Festival, but the Studio can feel a little tight. Particularly when there is a "splash zone," where select audience members are provided with plastic rain ponchos. If they've got their splash zone that well planned out, then props to SFX Designer Celeste Williams.
Lock-In is overwhelmingly packed with plot elements. We've got a youth group reunion, a mystery, an escape room, possession, an exorcism, drug addiction, spirit boards, multiple personalities, and probably more that I'm forgetting. Not to mention, we've got family relationships, first loves, Satanists, and murder. It's a lot! Some elements of this show worked very well. There was some good characterization (a standout is Janelle Kloth as the troubled Bo) and relationships, especially considering that this is writer/director/actor Jex Arzayus's first time producing a full-length play. Some of the special effects worked well and I also love the ambitiousness of the set (built by Lucas Nafziger), particularly a trick with a mirror.
Sure, it could use a little editing, a little smoothing out, but you know what this play has? Heart. When reading the program for Lock-In after seeing the show, we could not help but be incredibly charmed by Jex and their heartfelt appreciation of the cast, the crew, the TCHF, and even "my 7th-grade art students at Parkview Center School for helping make props for the play." Love the effort, love the enthusiasm, love the heart.
You Should See This If You Like:
Taking a chance on a scrappy show in an intimate space. Also, if you bring your program to Wizard Wax record/comic book store, you can get 20% off any item in the store!