Speed Dating through a Bunch of May Theater

Y'all, we've seen a LOT of plays lately. And we have fallen down on our mission to share these works with you, our loyal and devoted readership. In an attempt to win your hearts again, and to start the summer theater season with a clean slate, here is our speed dating recap of recent local theater.

Five Fifths of Jurassic Park - Minnesota Fringe benefit at Ritz Theater
How have I NEVER been to any of these shows before? I am appalled at myself and my co-blogger Jules. Here's the scoop: They pick a script, divide it into five parts and give it to five local theater companies to put their own spin on it--one night only.

This year's companies were Shanan Custer with the Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society (listen to their podcast--it is MOST fun), Lounge-asaurus Rex (who I will now be following avidly, and not just for his impeccable taste in suitwear), Wayward Theatre Company (totally new to me--yay, new discoveries!), Blackout Improv (absolutely amazingly hilarious), and Erin Sheppard Presents (always fabulous and their costumes were ON point.) So fun and such a great teaser for the Fringe (August 3-13, 2017)!

Ann Michels in Sweetland
(photo by Rick Spaulding)

Sweetland: The Musical - History Theatre
Based on the lovely movie of the same name, which was based on a short story by local author Will Weaver, and with music by Dina Maccabee, and lyrics by Laurie Flanigan Hegge, and directed by Perrin Post .. With such a lovely pedigree and as it is such a labor of love, we wanted to like it more. However, our friend Cherry and Spoon loves it deeply, so please check out what she had to say!

Red Velvet - Walking Shadow Theatre Company
A really interesting premise from a well-regarded theater company, and a new play by a female playwright of color, Lolita Chakrabarti. (Fun fact: In London and New York, her husband Adrian Lester played the leading role). How can you go wrong? Although this was a very watchable play, and featured some strong performances, we ultimately found the play lacking. Single White Fringe Geek does a great job of outlining where we felt the play fell short. And although we adore JuCoby Johnson, this role didn't feel like the right fit for him.

Next on the calendar was Medea at New Epic Theater, but that show was cancelled. As we've seen great work from them in the past, we hope they sort out their issues and return to making theater.

Nate Cheeseman, Thallis Santesteban, John Catron, and
Christian Bardin in Lone Star Spirits (photo by Dan Norman)

Lone Star Spirits - Jungle Theater
Which we saw on its LAST DAY. So not helpful to anyone, particularly since the show was GENIUS. Dang it! The play, by Josh Tobiessen, was brought to life by director Sarah Rasmussen with a terrific ensemble of Terry Hempleman, John Catron, Christian Bardin, Nate Cheeseman, and Thallis Santesteban. Set and costume designer Sarah Bahr created the perfect small-town atmosphere, and the show ran a tight 80 minutes. So glad they extended a week and we were able to see it. 

Eric Sharp in Charlie, etc
(photo from Mu Performing Arts)

Charles Francis Chan Jr.'s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery - Mu Performing Arts
Lloyd Suh's script examines and critiques Asian American stereotypes using a play-within-the play to bring unspoken assumptions into the light. Randy Reyes directs this funny, thought-provoking, and challenging piece with a wonderful cast. And the show is in the Dowling Studio at the Guthrie, so tickets are just $9! Catch it before the show closes on May 28.

Broadway Songbook: Hollywood and Broadway - Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
Though the show started a bit slowly, with songs best known as standards rather than theater music, the talented cast brings zing to songs from shows from 42nd Street to Grease to Legally Blonde. The Songbook series has been a wonderful addition to the local theater scene, and we hope it continues after James Rocco leaves the Ordway later this year.

Refugia - The Moving Company
This new work, playing on the Guthrie's McGuire Proscenium stage, aims to explore "exile, borders and the displacement of people," but we found the piece problematic, seeming to focus on white characters and stories and to underuse its few actors of color. Our friend Laura from One Girl, Two Cities wrote a wonderfully thoughtful post on this show, which has sparked an amazing amount of discussion in the local theater community.

Intimate Apparel - Ten Thousand Things Theater

Playing at Open Book through June 4, this gem of a play by Lynn Nottage is sensitively staged by Austene Van in TTT's trademark stripped-down style. The excellent cast is led by a luminous Aimee K. Bryant as a seamstress at the turn of the century who yearns for love and seems to find it by corresponding with a man working on the construction of the Panama Canal. As always, the cast is superb, and though I had seen this play when the Guthrie did it in 2005, I had forgotten what a wonderful script it is. 

Whew! Now, on to more theater-watching! Happy theater-going, friends!!

Every Sentence.... by The Moving Company at The Lab Theater

What do you expect from a show that is named "Every Sentence Is For The Birds: the journal of an encounter" and is inspired by the work of Francois Truffaut, Peter Handke, Denis Diderot and Maria Montessori? If you are me, you walk in with an open mind and absolutely no expectations. 75 mins later, you walk out with a wide-eyed look in your eyes, a sense of fascination, and questions, questions, questions that need to be researched. Personally, I LOVE shows like this. I love a show where I leave and I want to find out more about the subject, the inspiration, the writer, the actors, etc.

So, where to begin? As the website states, this show is about a brief encounter between a doctor and a "wild child" that evolves into a relationship and explores.....well, a lot. My thoughts are that it explored the building of a relationship between two people who are in a parent/child situation. Doctor Katherine (spelling is assumed) Godschild is walking in the forest and finds "O". She works with him and teaches him language, social skills, concepts, helps him grown and, to put it bluntly, civilizes him. Clearly there is more to it than that however I think that helps explain the core of the story, and why I saw it as a parent/child. Godschild (played by Suzanne Warmanen) sets the tone of the play by coming on, sitting down, and greeting the audience. The set is divided into two halves - the right half has a lab feel to it - two tables, chairs, sink towards the back wall, very white, clean, organized. The left side has two raised platforms with ramps. The back platform is covered in dirt, while the front one is covered in grass. Between these two playing areas is a nice, large, rectangular rug. Warmanen's Godschild (love the name) is so warm, inviting, smart but easy to follow. She explains her start, her inspiration. She is an anthropologist and is going to tell us about an encounter she had. Before that though she gives us background into the definitions of science and art. She explains how at one point in time both words were defined using similar words - human, skill, learning, and how they may have been seen as similar skill sets. Science now is thought of as separating, while art is thought of as joining. After this amazing, smart, and eye-opening talk, she starts the story of meeting "0".

In a walk in the forest she hears a noise. She stops, thinking it an animal, and she recognizes that it also stops. She considers that perhaps it is a "wild child" as were found in the forests at times...children that had been abandoned by their parents and grew up wild. She returns the next day at the same time, as does this noise. She sits, and the noise is quiet - as if it is also sitting. Suddenly we hear dirt falling, and shifting, and a hand is reaching out from the pile of dirt. A man appears slowly - dirty and wearing little. Godschild starts building the relationship by leaving a piece of orange - and the rest I will leave for you to see. The man is played by Nathan Keepers. Eventually we get to know him as "0."

I can honestly say that I have never seen a performance like this before. The show was conceived by Dominique Serrand (the director) and Nathan Keepers. It was written and created by the two of them and Suzanne Warmanen. We found out post show (during a quick announcement) that they started rehearsals on April 4 and opened on April 22. Watching these two amazing actors work with each other, play with each other, play off of each other - there was some incredible work done in a very short time. Nathan and Suzanne are simply incredible - Nathan in constant movement, exploring the world, learning in front of our eyes, while Suzanne is the constant bedrock, the audiences gateway into the relationship and the play, the eyes we see "0" through. This is the first work by The Moving Company that I have seen and it was so good. (I used amazing and incredible quite a bit already and so am going back to basics...with a LOT of meaning and emphasis).

Now, how is it inspired by the four names I first mentioned? That is a great question. I do not know if I have the answer but here are my thoughts. Clearly Maria Montessori is all about education and a simple, yet radical way of learning. Denis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic and writer during the Enlightenment. From the brief bit of research I did, I saw that he wrote a book called "Letter on the Blind." This book was a study on the relationship between reason and learning that takes place through just the five senses. Diderot is also quoted in the program:

"A storyteller has a personality, a point of view, standards, and passions which lead them to exaggerate or understate. Just tell it the way it is, indeed! That's something that probably doesn't even happen twice a day anywhere. Besides, is the listener any more impartial than the speaker? No. Which accounts for the fact that it scarcely happens twice in any day that people really hear what is being said to them."

The next two inspirations, I think, are more about form. Peter Handke is an Austrian writer who tends toward the avant-garde. He also wrote a work called Kaspar which dealt with a foundling who is destroyed by society. Along with Handke, the show was inspired by the work of Francois Truffaut - the French New Wave film director. Now, I have to confess that I do not know the works of Truffaut...yet. So, if you are a fan of Truffaut - let me know if you can see his inspiration in this new work by The Moving Company. Every Sentence Is For The Birds: the journal of an encounter plays at The Lab Theater till May 22nd. You have over two weeks to see it but don't wait. At 75min, no intermission, and the subject matter - you may want to give yourself enough time to see it twice. There is so much food for thought and such brilliant performances.