The Show From E/D is Funny, Dark, Light, Messy, and Everything In Between at Red Eye Theater

The Show is a performance that may confound some and exhilarate others. Is The Show, a show for everyone, well no, of course not, no show is. Is it a show that could be for most people? Yes, I think it is as long as they go in as I did with the proper expectations. This show is not a linear story, it isn’t a sketch show, it isn’t a dance recital, it isn’t a country singer showcase, and it isn’t a feminist view of gender roles in modern society. It’s all of those things filtered through abstraction. Like light shown through a prism it splinters the female experience into multiple moments that are unique. Bold, filled with music, and featuring a lighting design by Karin Olson that feels like a third performer, it’s that integral to every moment that occurs on stage. I doubt there is a woman reading this that would not identify with elements of this show, and many would identify with every moment in this show. I also think there are many men who can gain a better understanding of their fellow travelers upon this planet through seeing this show. All that is required to embrace The Show is to let go of the urge to impose a narrative upon what you are witnessing and receive each new segment as it comes. There is something that will make you laugh, hurt, smile, and feel seen and heard in every different shade and color refracted through this show’s amazing light.

Created and performed by Emily Michaels King and Debra Berger The Show premiered in 2022. I missed that production and am very grateful that it was so successful during that run that they decided to bring it back. It’s the sort of experimental and personal theater that we don’t often see. Which of course is what makes it so exciting. I love a good play and a musical, obviously, but it’s nice every now and then to go into something that’s unlike anything else. Berger and Michaels King give us glimpses of everything from their feelings when they look in the mirror, of dancing like the rest of the world isn’t there, lip synching to “the Titanic song”, and experiences that are shameful either for their behavior or for what was done to them. Are all of these moments their personal truth? maybe, maybe not, but they are truths, they are recognizable and they are to some woman, no, many womens truths. It doesn’t matter what is theirs or a friends or a family members. What matters is that these moments, these colors if you will, are seen and shared. These women are brave and talented and they don’t leave anything left in reserve, they give us everything they have and it’s beautiful.

The Show runs through April 5th at Red Eye Theater in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.edmakesart.org/

Now more than ever in the wake of the most recent election and the hailstorm of stupidity and hate it has unleashed, theater companies need you and we need them. Buy tickets to shows, go out and support work that reflects diversity and inclusiveness. Donate to your favorite theater companies, don’t wait until they are on the brink of shutting down. We all need to stand up and fight for our theaters whose funding is under attack for promoting inclusion, equality and diversity.

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