Pride & Prejudice Rocks Out At Theatre in the Round

Erika Sasseville, Eva Gemlo, Maya Vagle, Stephanie Kahle, Davin Grandstaff Photo by Tom Taintor

Wouldn’t you know it, as soon as I make the commitment to see less shows, I see one that I want to go back and see again. When I talk about pointing people towards shows that will make them want to see more theater, this is what I’m talking about. Playwright Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Pride & Prejudice condenses and changes some details but, in the most faithful was possible. What remains untouched is the spirit of Jane Austen’s novel which was written over 200 years ago but feels as if it was written only yesterday. Those unfamiliar with Austen’s works might feel as though it has been completely modernized and Miss Elizabeth Bennett may feel like a character out of time but that is simply because Austen’s writing, especially in terms of female characters, was ahead of it’s time. Director and co-Sound Designer Penelope Parsons-Lord injects the play with a healthy dose of bold and unabashed energy, utilizing pop songs with confidence. It’s the sort of staging that feels like a risk that paid off, resulting in a show that made you want to get up and join the dancing. Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a musical version of the story. The music takes place between scenes and during various Balls for the most part.

All the pop songs in the world won’t elevate a show without strong performances. Pride & Prejudice has a great cast including several new to me Actors. First and foremost without a strong Lizzy Bennett you’re lost. This production, my first stage show of Pride & Prejudice, though I’ve seen several screen adaptation, features what might possibly be my favorite Lizzy. Eva Gemlo’s performance as Lizzy is sublime, the perfection of which cannot be overstated. It’s a performance perfectly attuned to Theater in the Round’s intimate space. Relying as much on subtle facial expressions and body language as it does on line readings. Gemlo projects Lizzy’s intelligence, wit, and independent spirit while also inviting the audience into her inner feelings, key to building that moment of vicarious joy one feels when Austen’s characters finally realize and find their love. The entire cast is strong including Luke Langfeldt who gets the duality of Mr Darcy. It’s key that we find him as arrogant as Lizzy does in the beginning, and equally as key that we buy the characters growth and are excited by the change in their feelings towards each other. With a knowing nod to the famous Colin Firth performance, he gets his own dripping wet shirt scene. There are some great comic performances, that bring out the playwright and Directors comedic flourishes. Mary Lofreddo plays Miss de Bourgh whose face we never see but whose expressive black rubber gloved hands look like something out of a horror film. Michael Hundevad plays Mr. Bingley as if he were a puppy dog, an aspect played up with a ball as his favorite prop. But the standout of the supporting Actors is Stephanie Kahle as Mary Bennett. Kahle’s expressive eyes are fixed in a hard stare, creating a sense of uneasiness in the her fellow characters whom she is constantly startling. Much humor is derived from Kahle’s unpredictable and often clueless behavior as Mary.

Theatre in the Round’s production of Pride & Prejudice is a high-spirited and fast paced comedy with heart. Fans of Austen’s work will be thrilled by the production which ramps up the humor without losing a bit of the heart that is so crucial to Austen’s work. It’s also a great gateway show to people who don’t normally attend theater or think they wouldn’t enjoy a Jane Austen adaptation. This will shatter an audiences own prejudices about what a romantic play set in the early 1800’s will look like. I strongly encourage the bringing of teenagers and young adults who maybe haven’t been exposed to theater. This is the kind of show that often leads to regular theater attendance. Pride & Prejudice runs through October 5th at Theatre in the Round Players in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatreintheround.org/prideandprejudice/

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‘Til Death: A Marriage Musical from Bucket Brigade Theater at Art House North in St. Paul

Nathan Cousins, Jeremiah Gamble, Damian Leverett, Anna Leverett, Vanessa Gamble, and Stephanie Cousins. Photo by Bonni Allen

‘Til Death: A Marriage Musical has been returning to the Twin Cities stages for 13 years but this was my first time taking it in. It was also my first time at it’s venue Art House North which is located in what used to be a church and has now become a quaint and cozy artists space. I loved the space and I love the show. I can see why people come back to it every February. No, not because it’s so romantic but because it’s about real love. In long term relationships romance fades, I wouldn’t say it disappears but it definitely takes some rather long naps. Romance isn’t synonymous with love anymore than sex is, they are aspects of a loving relationship, but love is more concrete than romance and less tangible than sex. Love is being together through thick and thin for better or worse. On my third marriage as I am, I don’t subscribe to the theory of one love and I don’t believe that true love never dies. Love changes, it grows and it withers, but the message of this show is that whether you are newlyweds or fifteen years into your marriage, love takes work, understanding, and forgiveness. ‘Til Death brings two such couples together, one on the verge of divorce and one on their wedding day. It’s a comedy that contains a lot of truths about what marriage really is, it’s completing each others sentences in Elvish but it’s also getting annoyed at your partner’s chewing.

Written by and starring Jeremiah and Vanessa Gamble who play Ethan and Olivia the couple who have been married for 15 years but are currently separated. The newlyweds Leslie and Freddie are played alternately by two other married couples. The night I attended Leslie and Freddie were played by Damian and Anna Leverett, at alternate performances the roles are played by Nathan and Stephanie Cousins. The cast is a lot of fun. I identified with Ethan and Olivia more, due to my age and personal history, but I have a son newly engaged and another in the throws of a year long relationship, and so there was a lot in Leslie and Freddie’s story that rang true to me as well. Plus to be honest, I do remember being young and in love and… sickening I’m sure. All of the cast does a tremendous job, the Gamble’s I’m sure draw on their more than a quarter of a century together to bring a grounding reality to what is essentially a fun and engaging musical. Special mention has to go to Vanessa Gamble who has a fantastic voice, all are great, but she is really something. I love that they cast the show with married couples, first of all what a great way to make sure you get to spend Valentine’s Day together doing something you love. Secondly, real couples bring a history and a comfort to the roles that can allow them to inhabit the roles in a unique way, not better necessarily, but in a different way.

The accompaniment on piano from Jill Dawe is immediate and perfectly balanced with the vocals which is kind of amazing given the space of the venue. The set which I don’t know whom to credit to, perhaps Dalen O’Connell who is listed in the program as T.D., and Carpenter, perfectly uses the allowed space giving us the appearance at least of a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom, and two bedrooms, which if you knew the dimensions of the stage you would appreciate what a feat of ingenuity that is. Craig Johnson who directs, stages the action in a way that helps us make sense of the space and make the characters movements feel natural, when they are nearly on top of each other. I also really like the touches of slow motion which are staged to hilarious effect and pulled off brilliantly by the cast. As an added treat, the audience is served free cupcakes and coffee at intermission from Brake Bread, those cupcakes melt in your mouth.

‘Til Death: A Marriage Musical runs through February 15th at Art House North in St. Paul. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.bucketbrigadetheater.com/shows/til-death/

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The Heart Sellers is Surprisingly Warm and Touching at the Guthrie Theater

Juyeon Song and Jenna Agbayani Photo by Dan Norman

The Heart Sellers by Lloyd Suh tells the story of two women who are recent immigrants to the US in 1973. But what it’s about is the journey of friendship, or more pointedly the birth of friendship. My wife commented as we made our way out of the theater how universal friendship between women is. Suh tells what seems like a very specific story about two women, Jane and Luna, who are strangers in a strange land. Both friendless and yearning to connect to someone. The play opens as they arrive at Luna’s apartment after having struck up a conversation at the grocery store. Both of their husbands are doing their medical residency and since it is Thanksgiving and they are foreign, they get to work the holiday. Jane and Luna are drawn to each other, as so many of us are to new friends, by what we have in common. When they arrive their interactions betray their uncertainty, Luna talks incessantly, nervously trying to make this new acquaintance feel at home. Jane is quiet and timid at first, overwhelmed by Luna’s nervous energy. It’s the awkward dance we all know when we feel a connection but are unsure how to nurture it without smothering it. Over the course of the evening the women will open up, a couple of bottles of wine, as well as to each other.

Jenna Agbayani as Luna and Juyeon Song as Jane let the trust and connection between the characters blossom slowly and believably throughout the evening. They share information about their days alone while their husbands are at work. Looking for more links between them, they tell about their families back home, what they dream of doing. Slowly they both relax, Luna talks less and Jane more. Agbayani and Song who played the roles previously opposite each other are exquisite in their nuanced portrayal of two women for whom the common language is foreign to them. But the need to connect is as my wife put it, universal. They get pulled along through uncertainty and discomfort by a shared need to engage, to find someone to break them from their isolation. They find humor in the smallest bits of dialogue and a deeper bond in their shared fears developes. And while part of the play is certainly about their specific situations as new immigrant housewives in 1970’s America, it’s really a story of the beginning of a friendship. By the end, one imagines that if we were able to follow these characters into the future to the end of their lives they would still be sitting on a couch next to each other having been witness to each other’s lives. We feel as though we are privileged to be a part of the beginning of something beautiful. Agbayani and Song create such vivid characters that they go on in our minds long after we have left the theater. We want to spend more time with them, to feel along with them the building of the community that these two women are destined to birth.

May Adrales directs The Heart Sellers with such a light touch that everything seems completely unscripted, from every line of dialogue to every move in the blocking. The costumes by Junghyun Georgia Lee are perfect extensions of the characters, Luna, who is more outgoing is dressed like a 1970’s woman, in clothes that have a little more character to them. Jane is more reserved and her dress could have been worn by a woman in any decade, it’s conservative and reflects a simple but graceful taste. The Set Design by Wilson Chin is intricately detailed and grounds the entire productions in a way that enhances our sense that these characters are real people. I also want to mention in conjunction with the Set Design the Sound Designer/Composer Fabian Obispo and Lighting Designer Kat C. Zhou. As the play opens Obispo’s music comes up in synch with the lights in the windows of the apartment buildings that make up the backdrop of the stage, it’s a moment that echoes the birth of a new day, a very zen moment for me. Zhou also had a nice lighting queue when Luna turns on the TV and we see the old Blueish white glow that used to shine on the faces of black and white TV viewers.

The Heart Sellers runs about 90 minutes with no intermission and this is one of the few times that I wish a play was longer. I didn’t want to leave these characters, I felt as though I had been a part of a new friendship coming into existence and I didn’t want that feeling to end. The Heart Sellers runs through January 25th at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.guthrietheater.org/shows-and-tickets/2024-2025-season/the-heart-sellers/

Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley at Lyric Arts is Like They Caught Joy in a Bottle and Sprayed the Audience With it.

Morgan Kempton and the cast of Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley Photo by Molly Weibel

Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson & Margot Melcon is the third and final entry in the Christmas at Pemberley cycle of plays that revisits the Bennet family from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The other two plays Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley and The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley were performed in 2022 and 2023 at Lyric Arts. Now if you didn’t see the previous plays I can assure you that you will not be lost. They are designed to be seen as individual plays, seeing the others allows you to see how they all fit together, but is entirely unnecessary. That said if you can see the others anywhere now or in the future do so! I love all three of these plays and will see them again and again. When you see as many plays as I do in a year the ones you saw last Christmas become fairly hazy. I saw Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley at the Jungle Theater in 2022 and loved it loved the cast, this production just obliterated any memory I had of it. The cast of this production is astonishingly great. There isn’t a look or a line reading, whether it be comedic or heartfelt, that isn’t done to perfection! Whatever magic Jane Austen had, she has passed on to Lauren Gunderson & Margot Melcon because I get the same tears of boundless joy whether I’m experiencing Austen’s works or theirs. They capture the exact same emotional response, which is a swell of overwhelming happiness.

This story focuses on Georgiana Darcy, Mr. Darcy’s younger sister, and Kitty Bennet, Lizzy Darcy’s youngest sister. It’s their turn to find and possibly lose love. The two girls have become the best of friends and spend much of their time together. For Georgiana, love comes in the person of Henry Grey whom she has only met once after a piano recital but has been corresponding with via letters for almost a year and has invited him to visit on Christmas. They both have fallen in love with each other through their letters and a shared passion for music. When they finally meet again at Pemberley, they are both so shy it will require their friends and family to get them to come out and tell each other how they feel. Accompanying Henry is his friend Thomas O’Brien who is instantly smitten with Kitty. So now we have the two pairs of lovers and in true Austen form, there will be letters that reveal secrets, arranged engagements, and meddlesome siblings. The hazards are many, not the least of which is Mr. Darcy who by the end of Act I will have seemingly torpedoed the match between Henry and Georgiana. Act II takes place about six years later on another Christmas and I’ll be damned if I didn’t want to stand up and shout “It’s a Christmas Miracle!” at the end. There was always a message in the script about gender equality and the reality of the lives of women at that time in history, but it feels even more timely and urgent than it did just two years ago.

I know what a third of you are saying, “it’s a chick play”. First of all, I don’t think you should say that, I know what you mean, but it sounds kinda derogatory. Secondly, no it isn’t. Steel Magnolias is a chick play, a very good one by the way. But Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley is a universal play, it is concerned with love, that is an emotion that all genders have experience of. So mothers, girlfriends, and wives don’t be afraid to take the men in your lives to this, and men don’t be put off by Jane Austen or showing an emotion now and then. I promise you will laugh, you may cry, and in the end you will not regret the two hours you spent in the theater. In fact this is the kind of show that will have you asking next year “So is anyone doing one of those Christmas at Pemberley again this year? I’d go with you if you wanted to go.” While we are on the topic of next year, though maybe this is a two year away thing. Some theater company, the Jungle Theater or Park Square perhaps needs to make the bold decision to produce the entire trilogy in Rep. That would be amazing, let’s get to work on that shall we? While we are planning that I’d like to suggest that you sign up Marci Lucht to direct it as she did and absolutely phenomenal job with this production at Lyric Arts. There is an interlude at the opening of Act II that acts as a dialogue free exploration into the minds of the characters, showing through movement a combination of what is in the characters hearts and the passage of those six years. It’s inspired bit that I don’t think is scripted, but that was beautiful in execution, like the set had come alive and we are watching a ballet of pillars.

I’ve already praised the entire cast so I’ll try not to go on too long and mention everyone, but I have to make a few remarks. Morgan Kempton and Waverly Ann McCollum play Georgiana and Kitty respectively and you couldn’t ask for better leads. Kempton, uses her characters quiet demeanor in the first act to express her uncertainty and then modifies the same quality in Act II to show an inner strength determination. McCollum shows Kitty to be insightful and energetic, her leaps over the bench in Act I showcase her energy and youthfulness and get a nice laugh. Grace Klapak who is returning to the role of Lydia perfectly plays the least endearing character Austen ever created. Klapak is spot on in her portrayal, she carries herself perfectly, slouching when bored pumping herself up when she wants to be noticed. She knows exactly how far to take it so we understand everyone’s annoyance with her, without actually becoming annoying to us, but rather coaxing laughs from us with her characters unpleasant characteristics. Noah Hynick, frankly I don’t think I’ve ever seen Hynick be anything but perfect in a role. I’m not sure how Lyric Arts seems to have him under exclusive contract, after a performance like this I ask myself again, why isn’t this guy cast in everything at the Guthrie. He is as gifted in his gestures and reactions as he is in his line reading choices. The first time I can remember coming across Mr. Hynick was in 2022 when he appeared in Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley at Lyric Arts and since it feels like he’s been in most of Lyric Arts productions, his timing is unerring, and it’s time to officially add him to the must see list, though he was already there to be honest. William Edson plays Mr. Grey which was the one role I can clearly remember from the Jungle Theater production. It was the first time I really took note of Dustin Bronson because he was amazing, I can’t say that Edson was better, but I can say he was as good! Lastly, I loved seeing Faith Winship as Elizabeth Darcy, she made a strong impression last year in a couple of shows, The Marvelous Wonderettes and She Loves Me, I hope to see more of her soon.

Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley runs through December 22nd at Lyric Arts in Anoka. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.lyricarts.org/georgiana-and-kitty

Helen, Ten Thousand Things, Need I Say More?

Liv Kemp, John Jamison II, And George Keller Photo by Tom Wallace

Helen, the latest production by Ten Thousand Things (TTT) and the last under the purview of exiting Artistic Director Marcela Lorca, ends soon. I was able to squeeze in a late run performance but if you are going to catch this one you’ll want to act fast as the final performance is November 10th. That being said
I’m going to keep this short and sweet. My experience with Greek tragedy isn’t abundant, my first exposure was in Jr. High seeing something at the old Guthrie Theater, this would have been mid 1980’s, my second was actually Helen during my first year of college at NDSU either Fall 1991 or Spring 1992. Both of those were amazing looking productions, but If I remember correctly they put me to sleep. I’d say two out of three Greek tragedies have put me to sleep. I bring that up to point out that in my limited experience, and as is the case with Shakespeare, TTT is how you want to experience it.

They have a way of making centuries old works feel fresh and invigorating. Surely the adapters of Euripides classic John Barton and Kenneth Cavander have something to do with that, but I’ve seen enough TTT productions now to know they bring their own source of magic to the works. Marcela Lorca directs the play and choreographed the movement. She leaves the companies helm on a high note and we hope that the new incoming Artistic Director will be able to carry on with the extraordinary quality of TTT work. Working here with Composer and Music Director JD Steele, they have added an element of soul to that of the traditional Greek Chorus, which usually jarringly taking us out of the play. Here it makes the narrative sing. George Keller is fantastic as Helen but then everyone in every TTT production I’ve ever seen has been amazing. So just a couple of others to single out and then I’ll let you click on the link and see if you can score tickets for one of the last remaining shows. Lynnea Doublette, John Jamison II, and Bradley Greenwald all play a named role but also form the chorus, they all bring something special to their characters but also shine vocally.

For more information about Helen and to purchase tickets go to https://tenthousandthings.org/helen/

On Beckett, Bill Irwin’s One Man Exploration at Guthrie Theater, Fascinating & Funny in Equal Parts

Bill Irwin in the Irish Repertory Theatre production of “On Beckett.” Photo by Craig Schwartz.

On Beckett conceived and performed by Tony Award-winning actor Bill Irwin is a one man touring production playing at the Guthrie of An Irish Repertory Theatre Production by Octopus Theatricals. I love how these little connections happen in life, just yesterday in the mail I received an imported blu-ray of The Saphead which was silent comedian Buster Keaton’s first starring role in a feature film as an actor. Now it isn’t one of Buster’s own films he was simply cast in an adaptation of a hit Broadway play. How is this a connection? Well, what doesn’t get a mention in the show was that Beckett has 13 film and TV directing credits. His first was a short film titled Film which starred Buster Keaton and was released in the US on January 8th 1966, Keaton died on February 1st 1966. It’s also hard not to see an influence in Bill Irwin’s clowning of the great silent comedians like Keaton and Chaplin. While slapstick in nature, Keaton’s humor always had a more philosophical edge as opposed to Chaplins sentimental and political shadings. Which is all just by way of reminding you, faithful readers, that I love silent comedians. Also, that if you share my love, you should be aware that this show had a delightful amount of physical clowning that scratches that itch nicely. But also to show that there is a link between Keatons work and Becketts and that Bill Irwin, is the perfect man to illustrate that connection.

Irwin’s show is a series of readings from Beckett’s work followed by his thoughts and observations on them. What’s interesting is that he reveals as much about the art and craft of acting in his observations as he does about Beckett and his work. Based on tonight’s performance the conclusion is that Beckett is not entirely knowable, the meaning is in the eye of the interpreter. Which is exactly what Irwin explores in his discussion of the pieces he performs and recollections of stagings he’s been a part of. The performances are funny and challenging in the best possible way. The writing is very very dense, strangely I have had little exposure to Beckett’s work. To my knowledge since I began blogging no one has produced one of his plays in town, or if they did it flew under my radar. I’ve read more about Beckett than I’ve read Beckett. It seems from the sample I got tonight, that he is a writer worth having a lifetime relationship with as one does with Shakespeare. A writer that you can find new meaning is with each performance and at different ages. I’m very glad to have had this primer on Beckett from Irwin, he has piqued my curiosity. In addition watching Irwin’s clowning routines was its own some kind of wonderful. What a wonderful evening though much to short at only 80 to 85 minutes, but as the old saying goes leave them wanting more. Well, I for one want more and intend to look for it in the work of Beckett and if I ever get a chance to see Bill Irwin clowning around again, I’ll be front row center, he is a truly gifted physical artist.

The show seems to be very simply presented a black stage and not a lot in the way of set pieces or costumes aside from a podium and a few pairs of baggy pants and some bowler hats. It’s a testament to the skill of everyone involved that it appears so simple because truth be told everything, especially the Lighting design by Michael Gottlieb, is very specific and much more complex than it appears.On Beckett runs through March 24th at the Guthrie Theater in downtown Minneapolis for more information and to purchase tickets go https://www.guthrietheater.org/shows-and-tickets/2023-2024-season/on-beckett/

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