Episode 5: The Stages of MN Hits the Road in Search of the Great River Shakespeare Festival

Faithful readers, if you aren’t already faithful viewers, what are you waiting for? click here for the latest episode https://bit.ly/TSOMNEpisode5. On which The Stages of MN traveled down to Winona, MN for The Great River Shakespeare Festival (GRSF). I talked to the people behind the scenes and those on stage to give you a complete picture of the festival. I even got a lesson in Intimacy Coordination from the Artistic Director Doug Scholz-Carlson. But I didn’t do it alone I had a little help from my friend fellow Twin Cities Theater Blogger Jil Schafer of Cherry and spoon. You can read her reviews at http://www.cherryandspoon.com/

My MN Honest Reviews are of the two shows playing in the festival Romeo & Juliet and The Comedy of Errors. For info on the GRSF, those shows and to purchase tickets go to https://www.grsf.org/. We also have our customary “At a Show With…” montage of who I saw out at the Theater this week.

Special thanks this week to Chanhassen Dinner Theaters (CDT) for Sponsoring this episode. Check out all the happening out at CDT here https://chanhassendt.com/. If you are interested in sponsoring an episode you can email me at robdunkelberger@thestagesofmn.com

Follow me on Facebook / thestagesofmn and Instagram / thestagesofmn The show will also be available tomorrow in podcast form at https://robdunkelberger.podbean.com/ or wherever you enjoy podcasts

Don’t depend on a Facebook or Instagram algorithm to ensure you hear about a great show. You can subscribe and have every post from The Stages of MN sent directly to your email box. It’s the best way to ensure you don’t miss out on any of the theater action. 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.

I’ve officially launched The Stages of MN YouTube Channel which you can view by clicking on this link. https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN. Check out the intro videos and the weekly episodes. Subscribe to the channel so you’ll always know when a new episode has dropped. Think I may have steered you wrong on a show? Well, I’m also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can read review roundups of shows by m’colleagues and I when you follow us on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers.

Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B the World of Sherlock Holmes Modernized & Gender Swapped

Kathryn Cesarz & Mary Margaret Hughes Photo by Dan Norman

Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B by Kate Hamill, the most produced playwright in the country for the 2024-2025 theater season, is a gender swapped modern take on Sherlock Holmes. Hamill’s works are usually adaptations of classic stories often created with an eye towards creating great roles for female identifying actors. Many of her plays center on female driven stories with her multiple Jane Austen adaptations as well as others with strong female protagonists like The Scarlet Letter and Little Women. Here she has taken one of the great characters of Western literatureand crafted it into a delightfully comedic retelling that gives women a chance to step into the iconic roles of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. (not a Dr.) Watson. I’m a huge Sherlock Holmes fan and will more or less see anything that features that character. The wonderful thing about being a Sherlockian is there has been so many books, stage, and screen adaptations that one finds it nearly impossible to be a slave to canon. In fact, the Guinness World Records lists Holmes as the most portrayed human literary character in film and television history. So a gender swapped modern retelling like this, for me, is just another fun way to explore a favorite hero. If the play had been bad, I would criticize it but not for daring to make Holmes and Watson female or for bringing the story into the 21st century. Thankfully the script is smart and fun without making fun of the characters.

The play adapts three of the classic Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle A Study in Scarlet, A Scandal in Bohemia, and The Final Problem. Along with the now female Holmes and Watson we see several other famous characters from Doyle’s stories, Irene Adler, Lestrade, and Mrs. Hudson, all of whom retain their original gender. Aside from the gender changes and modernization, the play takes place in a post pandemic London, the biggest change comes in the relationship between Holmes and Watson. As in A Study in Scarlet, the play opens with the meeting of the iconic pair as Watson looks for lodgings in London. But here, Holmes is so difficult that Watson spends most of the first half of Act 1 trying not to move into the flat while Mrs. Hudson tries to convince her to stay as she has a hard time getting anyone to room with Holmes. Holmes is played with a controlled but manic energy and air of emotional detachment by Kathryn Cesarz that allows for broad comedy while also capturing the essence of the character. Mary Margaret Hughes plays Watson who gets woozy around blood, the unknown cause of which provides Sherlock with a side mystery to try and unravel throughout the play. The cast is rounded out by Lindsey Fry and Jesse March. Fry plays an array of characters from the frazzled and put upon Mrs. Hudson to the seductive and entrancing Irene Adler, whichever role there’s no denying that see demands our attention whenever she’s on stage. March plays the Narrator, Lestrade and a few other characters, he’s very good in every role, but some of my favorite moments of his come during the Scene changes.

Traci Ledford directs the show upon David Markson’s set which is a marvel of versatility. The locations change several times throughout the show and while the scene changes do take a little while, it’s played for laughs and becomes an entertaining aspect of the play. We see actors and stage hands waiting impatiently for someone to come and left the other end of a couch. The actors smiling at the audience as they wheel the door they just walked through to another area of the stage so they can enter another room through that door. Sometimes they ham up the moving of something with a few dance steps. Ledford finds smart and funny ways to add splashes of comedy to every aspect of the production and Markson’s set contains many surprises. Jesse March does triple duty as Sound Designer and Fight Choreographer, which features some very slapstick swordplay and slaps.

Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B runs through July 6th at the Historic Auditorium of St. Croix Falls in St. Croix Falls, WI. Granted this is a little out of my jurisdiction being in WI, but I assure you the review is legal, I filed all of the appropriate paperwork for the excursion. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.festivaltheatre.org/ms-holmes–ms-watson-apt-2b.html

Necessity requires that going forward in order to produce a weekly YouTube show and podcast that reviews will become shorter. There are only so many hours in a day, but I have no intention of abandoning the blog version. Faithful readers, you have year after year grown The Stages of MN audience. While I hope you will become viewers or listeners as well, there will always be things here that cannot be found there. This will be the place for longer reviews, though slightly shorter than before, as well as Reviews of more shows than can be covered on the YouTube and Podcast versions. Essentially there will be some overlap, but each format will have unique content.

Legally Blonde: The Musical Lightens the Stage at the Ordway Center for Permorming Arts in St. Paul

The Cast of Legally Blonde: The Musical Photos by Jason Niedle

Legally Blonde: The Musical is based on the 2001 non-musical comedy film starring Reese Witherspoon. I have never seen the film or its sequels, but after seeing the musical, I’m sort of interested in checking it out. The musical clearly has a strong following based on the number of people I saw standing in the Rush line before the show and the amount of pink in the audience. You can always tell a show that has a strong fan base by what the audience is wearing, and this definitely felt like the musical version of a Star Wars convention. While not a huge fan of the trend of turning popular movies into musicals, I have to say this one, is one of the more enjoyable examples of the phenomenon. I will say that one thing we don’t need from a comedy film turned Broadway musical is an overture. Though brief, it immediately had me thinking, do the creators not know what this is? As escapist fare and a fun way to relive a favorite film, Legally Blonde: The Musical works. But an overture? This isn’t Leonard Bernstein, Puccini, or even Andrew Lloyd Webber. For the most part the songs are serviceable, light but forgettable . There are some that are quite fun like “There! Right There!” where a legal team tries to determine if a witness is gay or just European, analyzing his every move and statement.

For those unfamiliar with the film, like myself, it tells the story of Elle Woods who is dumped by her boyfriend Warner on the night she expected him to propose. He is off to Harvard Law School and doesn’t see her as serious enough to be his wife with the future he has planned for himself. Elle is crushed but after wallowing for a bit she decides that she’ll go to Harvard as well and prove to Warner that she can be serious too. After starting out on the wrong foot and being mocked by her fellow students for her appearance Elle decides that what she needs is to become a brunette like Warner’s new girlfriend, Vivienne. She goes to a nearby hair salon where she meets beautician Paulette, who convinces her not to dye her hair and in doing so becomes her friend and confidant. Elle learns with the help of the teaching assistant, Emmett, how to apply herself to the course work. When the class gets the opportunity to assist their teacher Professor Callahan on a high profile murder case, Elle impresses everyone with her unique ideas and approach to law.

The cast is good, though the songs don’t require anything too challenging for solid musical theater actors. Stand outs are Elle herself Kathryn Brunner who keeps a role that could be a complete eye roller from becoming anything other than someone we are rooting for from the start. Michael Thomas Grant is lovable as Emmett, whom we quickly see will be the person Elle should end up with. Anthea Neri-Best as Paulette is also a lot of fun. She dreams of meeting an Irishman, when she does, the fo-Riverdance routine is a highlight. But hands down my favorite performance was that of Little Ricky who plays Elle’s dog Bruiser. When he first runs on stage the whole audience “awes” and I’m not ashamed to say I was among them. Sadly he only makes three or four brief appearances but he rightly gets a featured spot in the curtain call. He doesn’t even do anything that elaborate, but what he does do he nails and frankly to be honest he so damn cute!

Fans of the movie or the musical will have a great time with Legally Blonde: The Musical, as will theatergoers like me who enjoy a pure fun musical from time to time even if they don’t know the source material. This isn’t Les Miz, Rent, Hamilton, or even The Prom, but it is better than most movie to musical adaptations and while it doesn’t amount to much but a fun night out, sometimes that’s enough. Legally Blonde: The Musical runs through June 15th at the Ordway Center for Performing Arts. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://ordway.org/events/legally-blonde/

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. In short, theaters are being threatened for sharing stories that reflect our countries cultural and racial diversity.

Don’t depend on a Facebook or Instagram algorithm to insure you hear about a great show. You can subscribe and have every post from The Stages of MN sent directly to your email box. It’s the best way to ensure you don’t miss out on any of the theater action. 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.

Think I may have steered you wrong on a show? Well, I’m also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can read review roundups of shows by m’colleagues and I when you follow us on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. New things are in the work! Click here to go to The Stages of MN YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN. Right now there is just a short introductory video, but there will be much more coming this summer. For now, check out the intro video and subscribe to the channel so that when we fully launch you’ll be the first to know!

Mae West and the Trial of Sex Provides a History Lesson for the Future at the Crane Theater

Mae West and the Trial of Sex chronicles the legal battle between Mae West and the powers of censorship in the early part of the 20th century. Nearly 100 years ago the theater community of New York City and by extension the country was dealt a legal blow that amounted to censorship. Today the theater community is under attack again. Like that trial so many years ago, what is said to be the cause for these actions and what the true result of the them being taken are completely different. It all amounts to the same thing, silencing the voices of the minority. The Sex trial

prosecuted West, her producers and cast for performing a work that could contribute to the correuption of minors and others it was really about preventing another show being produced by West called The Drag. The Drag featured a cast of twenty female impersonators which William Randolph Hearst, the basis for Citizen Kane, wanted to crush due to it’s portrayal of homosexuality and cross dressing. I wish I could say it never ceases to amaze me how little we have progressed, or perhaps have regressed compared to 100 years ago. The result led to what amounted to a legal ban on the portrayal of queer characters in theater until the late 1960’s.

John Heimbuch’s new play drawn from the historical records shows the absurdity and injustice that abounds when powerful rich white people decide they want something. Laws no longer matter, rules are rewritten, the “haves” get what they want and the “have-nots” lose the last thing they have, their voice. The story is told by an exceptional group of seven performers, most of whom must play more than a half a dozen roles each. They are led by Emily A. Grodzik who plays Mae West very effectively, we get a glimpse of the real West at the close of the show so those who are not familiar with the stars work can see how well Grodzik captures her. I can’t honestly say that any member of the ensemble is better than any of the others, they all find a unique voice for each of their characters, some are brief one or two lines bits that create laughs, others are more rounded out, but all are exactly what they need to be in any given moment. So rather than single any out let me just list the entire brilliant ensemble. Jack Bechard, Neal Beckman, Kelsey Laurel Cramer, Kayla Dvorak Feld, Samuel Osborne-Huerta, and Joe Swanson.

The show is directed by The Stages of MN favorite Allison Vincent. The story flashes between scenes and settings so quickly, it would create deadly long scene changes were Vincent to have gone the realistic route. Instead, the play is staged with a wink to the audience acknowledging that this is a play and so characters wheel set pieces in to center stage from the side where they sit until needed, costume changes are made in split seconds in view of the audience. This contributes to the humor at times but most importantly keeps the show clipping along. The production team including Sarah Bahr as Set Designer, Mandi Johnson as Costume Designer, Tony Stoeri as Lighting Designer, Thomas Speltz as Composer and Sound Designer, and Bobbie Smith as Props Designer all contribute to creating this theatrical world.

Mae West and the Trial of Sex is another show that retells the past through the lens of the present. Something I expect the current Administration to outlaw shortly. It’s a cautionary tale, but one told with a lot of humor. Mae West and the Trial of Sex from Walking Shadow Theatre Company runs through 6/22/25 at the Crane Theater in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://walkingshadow.org/mae-west-and-the-trial-of-sex/

Significant Other Speaks Truth through humor at Lyric Arts in Anoka

Emily Hensley, Eva Gemlo, Lyreshia Ghostlon-Green, and Noah Hynick Photo by Molly Weibel

Significant Other by Joshua Harmon is a play I saw performed in my first year as a Theater Blogger. That is to say I remember seeing it, remember thinking it was funny, but that’s about it. As I watched it play out at Lyric Arts the structure of the show came back to me but not the details. So the jokes felt fresh and no ones performance was competing against a previous interpretation. Lyric Arts leading man and 2024 Twin Cities Theater Blogger Award Winner for Favorite Emerging Artist, Noah Hynick, absolutely owns the role of Jordan. A late 20’s gay man living in New York City who is feeling more and more alone as his circle of friends begin to get married and have families. This is not an unusual situation in any circle of friends, and while the play really only explores it from Jordan’s perspective, there is frequently a reverse feeling for those who have paired off, they can also miss hanging out with friends who are unattached. When you have kids it can be even more of an adjustment, the difference being that instead of living in that state 24/7, it really only draws your attention occasionally, when you hear about some exciting night out. My point is that Harmon’s script will ring true whether your the last one standing single or were the first to pair off, we can all relate to some degree. It would be interesting to see Harmon write a follow up in say 20 years as the characters become empty nesters, which is accompanied by some similar feelings I can assure you.

Hynick gives a hilariously neurotic performance as Jordan, but he grounds it in an emotional rawness that connects with the audience. We laugh at him, with him, and out of our own recognition of that awkward uncertainty that most humans struggle with at some points. Whether he’s sweetly bending the ear of his Grandmother Helene or his best friend Laura, every moment feels grounded in character. Helene is played wonderfully by Miriam Monasch. The role is so well written to begin with, where we witness Jordan having a variation on the same conversation each week with his Grandma. The humor of which is matched with a feelings of genuine love that comes from those moments with our childhood heroes, which is what Grandparents are in many ways. The loom large in our childhood memories, making us the center of their worlds for these brief moments. Their weekly walk down memory lane of the picture of Jordan that is still her favorite and the stories that go along with it. There is so much truth in those scenes, the humor of repeating the same thing over and over but at the center, the sense that it’s really about the love between them. The entire cast is great but I do want to quickly acknowledge the other stand out in the cast which is Eva Gemlo as Laura. Jordan and Laura have an arguement towards the end of the show and Gemlo brings it all to that scene. Yes this is Jordan’s story, but she makes him and the audience acknowledge that everything isn’t about him. It’s one of the scenes that really raises this script to the next level, we understand what Jordan is feeling, but just because it’s his story doesn’t mean the world in which it takes place revolves around him. Gemlo’s Laura, doesn’t choose to just humor the protagonist, she stands up for her right to have her wedding be about her. I think it will be telling how each audience member responds to that scene, I think the narcissists in the audience will side with Jordan. But I’d also be curious to see if there are divides along generational lines as well. Everything Jordan is feeling is valid, but there is a time and place for sharing those feelings, and sometimes we just need to keep them to ourselves in the moment, recognize that a painful day for us, is one of the most important and special days of another persons life, and allow them to enjoy that time.

This production is directed by Max Wojtanowicz with care. He allows his actors to find their characters and trusts that the humor will work all the better for it. Michaela Lochen’s set design is very interesting, we have window frames along the back wall giving us a feel of NYC neighborhood streets. When the characters look at a painting or a picture on the wall they look out at the audience but along the back wall of the stage we get a visualization of what they are looking at. Lucas Granholm has some very effective lighting cues. I especially liked when Jordan keeps opening his computer to see the photo of a man he has a crush on, as he lifts the screen of his laptop open Granholm has a light come up on another area of the stage and we see the character there posed like the photo he’s looking at.

Significant Other is an insightful and very funny play that will delight mature audiences. This is not a play for anyone under say 16 years of age, and frankly I don’t think many under the age of 20 will have much of a chance of understanding it’s subtler truths. It’s also a really brave choice for Lyric Arts to produce and I hope audiences will reward the risk by embracing it and telling their friends to go see it. Significant Other runs through June 22nd at Lyric Arts in Anoka. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.lyricarts.org/significant-other

No Sisters Completes a Unique and Rewarding Theatrical Experience

**Marci Lucht, Derek “Duck” Washington** Photo by Alex Wohlhueter

No Sisters is a companion play to Chekhov’s Three Sisters written by Aaron Posner. It is designed to be performed simultaneously in separate spaces in the same facility as Seven of the Actors in Three Sisters also play their characters in No Sisters. It’s amazing how precisely they are timed so that they reach the end of each act at the same time, they reach intermission at the same time and they finish at exactly the same time. The setting for No Sisters is listed as an existential greenroom and I don’t think I could say it any better. The seven characters that carry between the two plays are Andrei, the brother of the three sisters; his wife Natasha; Baron, who is in love with the youngest sister Irina; Vasily Solyony, Baron’s best friend who is very strange and also in love with Irina; Alexey Fedotik, a young soldier who also loves Irina; Fydor Kulygin, who is married to the middle sister Masha; and Anfisa, the elderly Nanny who has worked for Andrei’s family for 30 years. The Actors play the roles straight in Three Sisters but in No Sisters, while they do stay in character, they are also aware that they are in a play. It’s all fairly meta, slightly participatory, very funny, but also provides a deeper insight into some major characters and other lesser ones. Posner’s play also makes room for a more positive outlook on life. The character Alexey Fedotik rejects the opinions of his elders and espouses his belief that people are capable of change. Played by Jonathan Edwards who so joyfully delivers a speech with shining optimism that he got a rare mid-scene applause from the audience.

As with Three sisters, probably because it’s the same actors, there isn’t a weak performance in the entire cast. As noted in my Three Sisters review Duck Washington and Sean Dillon are great as Andrei and Baron. Here they get to add greater depth to their characters and fill in motivations and backstory. Jeremy Motz gets to really go full scary about to go postal with the character of Vasily Solyony, he not only addresses the audience directly but actually criticizes and shows distain for us. As they used to say in the early days of 20th Century Russia, “that’s so Vasily of him”. Motz is funny, but also intense and truly a little scary, it’s a great performance driven by an underlying current of volatility. Meri Golden plays the elderly Nanny Anfisa, and she gets to do so much more than we see in Three Sisters. We get greater insight into her relationship with Andrei and we even get to see her face her younger self via a video with May Heinecke playing a young Anfisa. There is a wonderful lesson contained in that video scene, one that contains as an important a message as Edwards’ speech as Alexey. The two performers that already had nice juicy roles in Three Sisters get the opportunity to clarify and deepen their characters. They are Marci Lucht as Natasha and Matt Wall as Fyodor Kulygin. As much as I enjoyed Lucht’s performance in Three Sisters, this one tops it. At times she is a complete bitch and then at others she becomes so incredibly emotionally open and vulnerable, it’s a revelation. Wall’s character in Three Sisters is pitiable, but in No Sisters the character is revealed to have more intelligence, and depth. While in the other play he is amusingly boring, in this play he is genuinely fascinating.

If you can only see one, see Three Sisters. And if you do want to see both, which I highly recommend, I encourage you to see Three Sisters first for the most rewarding experience. But book early, because of the space available in the theater lobby, there are not as many tickets to No Sisters. In fact some performances have already sold out. I went into No Sisters expecting it to be good, how could it not with this cast, but was also prepared for a decent sized dip in quality between the plays. And there is no denying that Three Sisters is the better individual play. For one thing it can stand on it’s own better than No Sisters could. But while Posner’s play is not the Masterpiece that Chekhov’s is, it is very good, very very good. Smartly it isn’t trying to do what Chekhov’s play is doing, it’s something entirely new that comments on the original play, in fact could not exist without it, but does so in a fresh and non traditional way. Julie K. Phillips’ direction is as perfect for this play as Carin Bratlie Wethern’s was for Three Sisters.

This is the sort of theatrical situation that doesn’t happen very often and so it’s important to jump on it while you can. Three Sisters and No Sisters runs through May 24th at the Crane Theater in North Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatreprorata.org/2025-season

Three Sisters, Tremendously Entertaining First Night of a Very Unique Two Night Theatrical Event

Nissa Nordland and Sam Landman Photo by Alex Wohlhueter

Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov the famed Russian playwright, not to be confused with the character Pavel Chekov, most recently played by Anton Yelchin in the Star Trek franchise, is one of those plays I’ve been waiting eagerly to see. In today’s world of diminishing audiences the classics can feel like a tough sell. It’s dark days and people want to be entertained, they hear Chekhov and think Russian play almost a 125 years old, it’s got to be good for you and boring as hell. Well it turns out it’s entertaining as hell, laugh out loud funny, and honestly probably not all that good for you. At least not if you’re experiencing any sort of existential dread. My approach to life is more along the lines of the character in the play Fydor Kulygin, I just try and be happy, accept the bad things but focus on the good. So I nod knowingly at the philosophical masturbation engaged in by most of the characters and laugh wholeheartedly at the moments when their basic humanity shines through, whether it be their annoyance with each other as everyone is with the character of Natasha or the romantic yearnings of Masha and Alexander. One can’t help but wonder at realities tendency to imitate art, if there is in fact a reality, which Dr. Chebutykin has come to believe there isn’t

I know I’m throwing around a lot of names you don’t know, but this is a Russian play told in four acts. To try and get into a plot synopsis of any depth would equate to the review equivalent of War and Peace. Magnificent, but something neither of us have the time or patience for I’m sure. So I’d rather use whatever goodwill you bring to this review and share the experience with you rather than the plot. First off let me assure you that you can see Three Sisters on it’s own and leave the theater completely satisfied, in fact more than satisfied as my plus one for the evening, my son Alexander said, “That might be the best thing I’ve seen”. Thing of course being live theater performance. While I can’t make that claim, it is, as Dr. Chebutykin might say, really fucking good. What is unique about this production from Theatre Pro Rata is that while one audience is in the main stage at the Crane Theater enjoying Three Sisters another audience is in the lobby of the theater seeing a play by Aaron Posner titled No Sisters. The plays are designed so that actors from one play can exit a scene in one space in time to make their entrance in the other. The intermissions are even timed so that as the lights dimmed on Act II and we began to clap we could hear the the audience in the lobby doing the same. I’ll be seeing No Sisters on Saturday evening and while I was already looking forward to it, now, having seen Three Sisters, Saturday night feels like Christmas morning, it can’t get her soon enough. This is the sort of theatrical situation that doesn’t happen very often and so it’s important to jump on it while you can. I believe some performances are already close to or have sold out and since it requires two nights to get the full effect, you’ll want to make plans now.

This is the part of the review where I single out a couple of my favorite performances and also if necessary comment on some less effective ones. The problem with this, formula if you will, is it doesn’t make allowances for cases like this, where everyone in the play is so good you don’t know who to single out. That’s fine if it’s a cast of four or five but this show has fourteen actors. Even if I eliminate the the four that have fairly smallish roles that still leaves ten, far too many to cover in depth. And so let me say this, Nissa Nordland, Sam Landman, and Duck Washignton are already on my must see list, and they earn their spot on that list again without a doubt. Trust me they’re brilliant, moving on, Sean Dillon, whom I always erroneously just associate with Improv, is sincere and creates an extremely funny and likable character. Kayla Hambek and Brettina Davis who play the other two sisters along with Nordland are excellent. Davis as the youngest sister conveys the most optimistic outlook at the opening, making her coming to an understanding of reality all the more heartbreaking. Hambek’s finest moment is her silent indignation at her sister-in-law’s lack of compassion. David Coral, gives a very good performance as the Dr. especially well done was his drunk scene. Jeremy Motz, gives a wonderfully weird performance as Vasily Solyony who is a very odd soldier. Marci Lucht plays a character no one really seems to like, but she does it in such a hysterically funny way, that while we dislike her character we love every moment she’s on stage. Matt Wall plays Fyodor Kulygin, the ever optimist, he conveys the characters tedium in a way that allows us to laugh at him with the other characters without actually being tedious to us, and in fact gaining our sympathy. The cast is rounded out nicely by Jonathan Edwards, Phi Hamens Nelson, Meri Golden, and Margaux Daniel, their roles are fairly small here but I assume I’ll have more to say about them after Saturday’s performance of No Sisters.

So what puts this play in the running for “That might be the best thing I’ve seen” status? Well certainly it begins with Chekhov’s play. Wikipedia lists the play as a drama, but the Directors note in the program says that Chekhov insisted Three Sisters was a comedy. It’s so funny it’s hard to see how anyone could think otherwise. But that’s what makes Carin Bratlie Wethern’s direction so sublime. This could be directed and performed in a very serious manner, Wethern’s decision to honor Chekhov’s intentions makes for a richer theatrical experience. There are still lost dreams and the unhappiness of day to day life that many of the characters espouse, but they do it in a way that also reflects our own sense of sarcasm and defiance. Wethern understands that getting a laugh doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice ideas or emotional depth. It’s through humor that most of us learn to deal with the unpleasantness of life. She has also wisely put together a cast who know comedy and that the best comedy comes from character and the ways in which people respond to each other. I know this is already getting long and you are scanning ahead to see if you want to stop reading yet or not, but I have to mention a couple of the technical crew just briefly. MJ Leffler’s set design is really well imagined, I loved the windows that exist in space allowing us to see out into the garden through nonexistent walls. Also the Lighting and Sound Designers, Emmet Kowler and Jacob M. Davis if only so I can acknowledge the very effective work that occurs during intermission, look to the ceiling when you go and you’ll see what I mean.

Three Sisters and No Sisters runs through May 24th at the Crane Theater in North Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatreprorata.org/2025-season