There was a period in December where it felt like every show I saw was the one of the best shows of the year. There was Christmas at the Local, two Christmas at Pemberley plays, and A Christmas Carol at the James J. Hill House, to name a few. Now it feels like it’s Christmas in July. I swear every show I’ve seen lately has been a must see. Theater Mu continues the streak of must see shows with their World premiere of Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay’s The Kung Fu Zombies Saga: Shaman Warrior & Cannibals. But saying it’s a must see show in this case, actually means two things. Firstly, it’s so good that you do not want to miss it. Secondly, it’s so unlike anything you’ve ever seen in a play that you have to see it for yourself. The title, doubles as plot description. It is as advertised, you may have thought there would be some bait and switch at play, there isn’t, everyone was kung fu fighting.

The play is really two stories set in the same world. Act I follows Arun, a young woman from a village in Laos, who is destined to be a Shaman like her Grandmother. Disaster strikes when sun fire rains down upon the earth creating destruction and raising the dead. Arun must reconnect with the powers she tried to deny, save her sister from the evil Mara as well as zombies and cannibals. Act II follows Sika who travels from Minnesota to Laos during this same period to bring the ashes of her parents to the village they came from. She struggles to deal with the memories of those she couldn’t save while finding a way to move on. This apocalyptic world of The Kung Fu Zombies Saga: Shaman Warrior & Cannibals is filled with metaphors, but like the best metaphors it can be enjoyed without making all of the connections. A multi-layered script from Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay deals with heavy issues but it does so indirectly dressed in the clothes of a action horror dramedy. It’s wildly entertaining while also touching on issues of mental illness, colonialism, and generation trauma caused by the still clear and present danger caused by undetonated bombs dropped on Laos by the US military.

It’s an impressive cast many of them making their Theater Mu and professional mainstage debuts. Hannah Nguyen is one of those, she plays Arun in Act I. I was impressed by her transformation from the the pre-catastrophe girl to the Shaman Warrior she has become by the end of the Act. Michelle De Joya plays Sika, the hero of Act II, the physicality and intensity she brings to the role is one of the greatest joys of this fantastic production. Other standouts include Sandy Agustin as Mae Thao (Arun’s Grandmother the Village Shaman) in Act I and as the old Woman in Act II. Soudavone Khamvongsa who in Act II plays what at first seems like an antagonist but later becomes Sika’s Ally in another amazingly physical performance. Finally, a shout out to Enormvs Munoz who plays Arun’s father in and I believe the Monkey King in Act I and Slim,. a Buddhist Monk in Act II, each character distinct, so much so that I had to consult my program to be sure I was correct in assigning him to all of those roles. Payton J. Woodson as Principal Butcher and the Buddhist Monk Loc in Act II. Woodson’s delivery in both roles is wise, but also deadpan funny, his and Munoz’s handshake routine is a showstopper.

The production is being staged in the Luminary Arts Center in Downtown Minneapolis in the North Loop area. Somehow in 4 years of blogging I had never been there, which is shocking because it’s a beautiful space, why it isn’t used more is a mystery. The space is needed as this show is epic. Director Lily Tung Crystal fills the space with Mina Kinukawa spralling set onto and around which Miko Simmons adds his brilliant projections to create a real sense of place and a larger world. I was really amazed at the scope of the entire production. I’m used to Theater Mu’s more modest productions, this felt like we were in Guthrie territory budget wise. Every aspect of the show from the lighting by Karin Olson and sound Design by Akiem Scott, which had a hip-hop crossed with a Quentin Tarantino movie vibe, worked perfectly together under Crystal’s sure handed direction. Lastly, the Fight Choreography by Allen Malicsi with assistance from Laura Anderson was off the hook. Act I was super cool with the fights much more physical and frequent than I was expecting. I was looking forward to more of the same in Act II, and then Act II began and well that’s part of where the “Holy F*cking Sh!t!!!!!” comes from in this blog title. I’ve never seen such prolonged, frequent, and well executed combat in a stage play before. Lily Tung Crystal has harnessed every tool at her disposal to create a theatrical event unlike anything I’ve seen before and that fully realizes the ambitious script by Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay.

Theater Mu’s world Premiere production of The Kung Fu Zombies Saga: Shaman Warrior & Cannibals runs through August 13th at The Luminary Arts Center. This is one of those productions that you really will regret not seeing. People who see it will be referencing it for years to come. You don’t want to be left out in the cold two years from now when someone says, “Somehow, they all know motherf*cking kung fu”, and everyone laughs except you. For more information, to purchase tickets, and to learn more about Theater Mu, which is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this season as one of the countries largest Asian American Theater companies go to https://www.theatermu.org/kfz-saga. In these days when all theater companies are struggling there are some theater companies that particularly need our support because of the unique role they play in our community. Theater Mu is one of those, one that gives a voice to an underrepresented segment of our society. They are telling stories that celebrate and expand all of our understanding of the Asian American community. It’s important, and so I encourage you, if you have the means to do so find the donation button on their website and help ensure they are around making great theater for another 30 seasons.

***checkout the latest episode of Twin Cities Theater Chat where Blogger Laura Van Zandt chats with playwright Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay and actor Michelle de Joya about the play you can find it by clicking here https://twincitiestheaterchat.buzzsprout.com/2150807/13149765

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I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can read roundups of shows by my colleagues and I on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. Follow that group, It’s a great way to see reviews for shows I don’t get to or to get another blogger’s take on one I did. We also produce the podcast Twin Cities Theater Chat!! which you can access through this link or wherever you enjoy podcasts https://twincitiestheaterchat.buzzsprout.com/ . We post biweekly longer form episodes that will focus on interviews and discussions around theater topics. There is also weekly shorter episodes in which we Bloggers tell you what we think you should get out and see as well as what we have on our schedules that we are most looking forward too.

Shane the new co-production between the Guthrie Theater and the Cincinnati Playhouse is the final play in the Guthrie’s 60th anniversary season. On paper it must have seemed like an ideal way to end the season with a bang. Unfortunately, the reality is a but more muted, like the six shooter was fitted with a silencer. A good idea bolstered by a great cast but handicapped by a script that is far too didactic and some directorial choices that alienate the audience. With all the fantastic theater in the Twin Cities it’s hard to recommend Shane, though it does have it’s good points. One of those actually is the exception to my main problem with the script. At the beginning of the performance there is what has come to be the standard land acknowledgement statement. What should have been the first step in a larger address of the historical injustice has become something that we almost stop hearing, like the safety instructions on an airplane. Within the play the characters actually discuss and correct some of the historical inaccuracies regarding the treatment of the indigenous people. That was a refreshing and effective moment that felt like knowledge being imparted to the characters and the audience.

I’m a fan of playwright Karen Zacarias, both her Native Gardens which was produced as part of Daleko Arts final season and The Book Club Play which was part of Theatre In The Round Players perfect season this year, were highly recommended. For this adaptation, Zacarias set aside the famous Alan Ladd starring film adaptation from 1953 that adapted the novel by Jack Schaefer. The correction to a more racially and culturally accurate adaptation is a welcome one. Unfortunately, Zacarias doesn’t trust those changes and the audience’s ability to make the connections, and uses the dialogue to drive home points that we’ve already grasped. The play runs 90 minutes with no intermission, which is a wonderful phrase in the theater. The plot and the runtime should make for a lean little western about a cattle baron trying to force homesteaders off their land. The title character of Shane is a mysterious man passing through, who upon meeting the Starrett family and experiencing their generosity, discovers a lifestyle that he didn’t know he longed for. When trouble comes knocking on the the Starrett family’s door, Shane decides to hang around awhile and help his new friends deal with it. The story is told in flashback by the Starrett’s son Bobby. This is another miscalculation either on the writer or the directors part. Both older Bob who is telling the story and young Bobby who is in the story are played by the same actor. It’s the technique used recently by Aaron Sorkin in his To Kill a Mockingbird adaptation, but what worked there, doesn’t work here. The difference is in the function of that choice, here it doesn’t need to be told in flashback, the commentary by the adult Bobby doesn’t add insight or humor to the story, as it did in Sorkin’s play.

Juan Arturo plays Bobby, always a difficult task for an adult to play a child and not be annoyingly childish. Arturo mostly avoids doing that, but something about the execution rather than his performance just falls flat. William DeMeritt is well cast as Shane. We sense, as does the Starrett family, that while he has been a hard man, there is a desire within him to change, to be better, to find a new way of life. When the need to fight comes, we see the vulnerability first cave him inward in resignation and then the steel creep in and the hard man he used to be is resurrected. Ricardo Chavira and Gabriela Fernandez-Coffey play Joe and Marian Starrett, they radiate goodness without being bland or one dimensional. It takes skill to make characters this well intentioned as these are interesting, but aside from Shane they were the most interesting character in the play, and I don’t mean that to say the other characters were not interesting, but to say that I really liked these characters and that was due to the sensitive and nuanced performances by Chavira and Fernandez-Coffey.

Blake Robinson’s direction was a mixed bag of creative choices, some worked, some didn’t. The opening of the play where the characters start slapping their arms and knees and stomping rhythmically, begged the question, why? It didn’t lead to anything, it felt affected and indulgent. Opening the show with an act that seems pretentious really started the show off on the wrong foot. But the unique staging of a fistfight between Shane and several other men was quite interesting. As was the staging of the final showdown. The set design by Lex Liang is cool looking but it’s also kind of pretentious. Maybe I think that the way to share this story that moved Zacarias in her youth was not to turn it into arthouse theater, but theater for the people. I write and talk alot about creating new audiences for live theater, I think it’s the single most important issue that theater companies face right now. A Western actually seems like a good way to lure some who might not normally attend the theater. Once you have them, giving them a faithful adaptation of the novel that reflects the diversity of the source material could be a powerful way to create empathy. But do it in an entertaining way, don’t get them into the theater and remind them of why they don’t go to the theater.

Shane is running through August 27th at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.guthrietheater.org/shows-and-tickets/2022-2023-season/shane/. This is a blip in the record of the Guthrie nothing more than a missed opportunity or a near miss, they will be back beginning Sept. 9th with their 61st season which is filled with must see shows.

Don’t want to miss a single review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have every post sent directly to your email. To subscribe on your computer: from the home page on the right, enter your email address and click subscribe. On your mobile device scroll to the bottom of the page and do the same. You can also follow me on Facebook, @thestagesofmn click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn. You can also read some of my reviews syndicated on the MN Playlist website https://minnesotaplaylist.com/

I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can read roundups of shows by my colleagues and I on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. Follow that group, It’s a great way to see reviews for shows I don’t get to or to get another blogger’s take on one I did. We also produce the podcast Twin Cities Theater Chat!! which you can access through this link or wherever you enjoy podcasts https://twincitiestheaterchat.buzzsprout.com/ . We post biweekly longer form episodes that will focus on interviews and discussions around theater topics. There is also weekly shorter episodes in which we Bloggers tell you what we think you should get out and see as well as what we have on our schedules that we are most looking forward too.