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On Friday night I finally had a chance to catch Walking Shadow's closing production of the season, The Transdimensional Couriers Union. An original script by company member John Heimbuch, Couriers is an ambitious go at a rarity in theater: science-fiction. I'm not sure why sci-fi is so rare in the theater (perhaps as the gentleman seated next to me pointed out, it so easily becomes camp), but as something of a time travel aficionado I was instantly intrigued. In Couriers time travel takes place with the Impulse Device which, like cell phones, needs to find a receiver at the destination point to function, limiting its use from the years 2012 (when the system goes online) to 2589 when an unknown event causes the network to go down. (Here Heimbuch keeps one foot firmly grounded in actual physics, as current theoretical methods of time travel do in fact limit travel to the period of time the proposed device is running.)

The story begins with Sophie (Melissa Anne Murphy) and Peter (Sid Solomon), a couple just starting their day when the Impulse Device is released and the sudden ability of anyone to return to the past and rewrite history wreaks havoc upon the world's original timeline (referred to as Iteration 1). Enter the Couriers Union: using the Impulse technology they rebuild and maintain causality allowing the rest of the world to go about their normal lives and still enjoy the benefits the Impulse Device provides. The plot follows Sophie and Peter as they are pulled apart by future versions of themselves as pawns in their own schemes. Peter helps Renee (part of the original research team that developed the Device, played by Anna Sundberg) found the Couriers Union, while Sophie ends up with Quentin and his Enforcers, who work for Duinn Tech, the company who developed the Device and wants to take back control of the network from the Couriers Union.

Despite the frequent time travel Heimbuch keeps the non-linear storyline remarkably coherent. A projection onstage tells us the date and location for each scene (a definite necessity), and with that as an aid I was rarely lost as to where (and when) characters were coming from or going to when they popped in or out of a scene, courtesy of their Impulse Device. What starts as a scattering of myriad dots does grow into a definite picture by the end as all of the pieces of each character's timeline become clear. This is a story where the pieces need to ultimately come together and Heimbuch does so deftly.

I felt however that in taking such care with the structure and making it comprehensible, the characters and story themselves were lost in the shuffle. For me all of the characters came across as flat, and I never quite understood what was driving them. The performances too felt wooden (and having seen several of the actors in other productions I know they are capable of better). Sophie and Peter were supposedly driven to repair time to restore their relationship, but I never felt that either really cared that deeply about the other. There were some nice, sweet moments with Eleanor Morgan (Jean Wolff) and Dr. Savien Mercure (Alan Sorenson) as we learn how their relationship began, beginning the sequence of events that lead to the Impulse Device, but this subplot was sadly underdeveloped. Sorenson's Dr. Mercure, the scientist behind the Device, was the best performance of the night, which made me wish we could have seen more of him.

On the technical side Andrea Heilman's scenic design was perfect, supplemented by E. Amy Hill's costumes, Paul Epton's lighting, and Michael Croswell's wonderful sound design. The set was kept simple, mostly two rolling (and internally-lit) tables (nice touch to the futuristic atmosphere) that could be rearranged to represent different locations in space. "Time travel" was accomplished with a few simple touches of lights and sound: when a character is jumping in or out the lights dim and the rest of the actors freeze, giving the time-traveling actor a moment to enter or exit. Strategically placed lights with specific colors (yes, I did notice the subtle difference in the two networks) and sound effects finished the effect. Once complete, the lights return to normal and the action resumed. The simplicity of the effect was perfect, although I did wish it could have been accomplished more quickly. Because of the non-linear nature of the show scenes were often short, which meant that scene changes were frequent. Even keeping things simple, changing the set pieces often required a lengthy pause. I'm not sure how that particular problem could be solved, but it significantly slowed down the pacing and contributed quite a bit to the 2 1/2 hour or so run time (with intermission).

All in all I did enjoy the show, as I always love to see a well-crafted time travel story come together, but the show doesn't rise to the level of last year's brilliant sci-fi production, Robots vs. Fake Robots (still one of my favorite Walking Shadow offerings). The Transdimensional Couriers Union runs through May 29th at the People's Center Theatre in Minneapolis. 3 out of 5 stars.

This afternoon I went to see The Royal Family at Lakeshore Players. Loosely based on the Barrymore family, this 1920's comedy chronicles the misadventures of the Cavendish family, from Uncle Bertie's latest attempt to get back on the stage to latest scandal of black sheep Tony Cavendish. It is a chaotic family, with everyone coming and going at every moment, although at times the nearly three hour show suffered from slow pacing. In the end though director Joe Hendren brings us along for a fun roller coaster ride with a family we are secretly glad we don't have to spend Thanksgiving with.

Karen Rene-Peterson as Julie Cavendish helps anchor the family and the cast, as the current leading lady of the family she has to help keep everyone else's life together while trying to keep a handle on her own. She aptly portrays a woman at a crossroads as Julie looks back on her life wondering if she took the path she truly wanted or the one simply expected of her. Syd Stephen and Jan Arford as Uncle Bertie and Aunt Kitty play wonderfully off each other as the bickering couple trying to recapture their former glory. Christopher Kidder does a nice job as the fun-loving, wild son of the family, and James Crews stands out as Oscar Wolfe who has the unenviable job of trying to manage the Cavendish family's affairs. Miranda Mewes also gives a strong performance as Gwen, youngest of the family, whose conflict between the family name and her own desires mirrors her mother's own struggle.

Beyond the comedic surface of the play lies the question of what causes some of us to choose the artistic life, despite all of the trials that such a life brings with it. Julie and Gwen both struggle with this question, with part of them wanting nothing more than to quit the stage and lead a "normal" life. However, in trying to do so they discover that when something is your passion it has a way of drawing you back, however impractical it may seem. Despite the the chaos of the life she lives, in the end Julie seems to realize that the life she has led is the life that has made her truly happy. From my own experience, this is indeed what brings so many of us back to the theater time and time again, despite all of the work involved. Somewhere in the middle of memorizing lines and the long nights of rehearsals, we realize that coming together and creating this ephemeral work on the stage is what brings us joy.

Lastly, Technical Director Dennis Joslyn works his magic once again with a beautiful set that makes you wonder just how he managed to fit it on such a small stage. The Royal Family continues for three more weekends, performing Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through March 28th. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Last night Walking Shadow Theatre Company opened their second production this season: Mojo by Jez Butterworth and directed by company member Amy Rummenie. Set in 1950's Soho as Rock and Roll is growing in popularity, the play centers around the staff of the Atlantic nightclub who believe they've found the next big Rock and Roll star and are eager to get a piece of the pie. After a hit concert starring their find, Silver Johnny, they think their fortunes made, but it all goes south when the nightclub owner is sawed in half and Silver Johnny disappears, all courtesy of the local mob boss, and the rest of the nightclub staff holes up in the club waiting to see what the fallout will be.

I've mentioned before that the scripts Walking Shadow chooses can be hit or miss for me, though the production value is always top notch. Mojo wasn't the best script they've chosen, but overall I thought it was a fun piece. The play had a nice rhythm to it, even if the characters spend most of their time waiting for a hit that never comes. It also could stand for about 20-30 minutes of trimming; at almost 3 hours (including an intermission) the play was long for what the story was, despite the actors' great pacing. (And due to the excessive language, it's definitely not one to take the kids too.)

But whatever you think of the script itself, this was a production that belonged to the actors. The strong cast kept the play moving swiftly along, a must for a script that is mostly talk. A weaker cast would have quickly become bogged down in the text, but such was not the case here. Skyler Nowinski was my favorite, with his quirky portrayal of Potts who schemes and dreams of riches in the wake of his great find. He is wonderfully complemented by Joey Ford's delightfully good-natured and none-to-bright Sweets who is mostly along for the ride. Ryan Parker Knox provides a nice counterpoint to this humorous pair as the straight-faced number two who must figure out how they can survive the night in the wake of his boss' murder. Mark Benzel does a nice job as well as the awkward Skinny who tries desperately to fit in while escaping the harassment of the sadistic Baby (Anthony Sarnicki). Kudos must also go to the cast for dealing with the the unexpected seventh cast member: a bat who flew around for about 20 minutes during the second act. They persevered despite its repeated interruptions and it certainly made for a nice humorous break. (There are some experiences you just can't get except in live theater.) I have to also call out the great scene design by Steve Kath. I wasn't so impressed during act one, just a simple room on one side of stage... until I realized during intermission that once it and the curtains were removed there was an entirely different set for the downstairs of the club behind it!

So all in all a solid production. Shows continue through February 27th at the Red Eye Theater in Minneapolis with a Pay-What-You-Can performance this Monday night (shows at 7:30 PM, except for Sundays which are a 3:00 PM). 4 out of 5 stars.

Yesterday afternoon, before heading off to my own performance, Kelly and I went to see The Mousetrap at Lyric Arts. I've seen the play a couple of times before (including the long-running production in London), but not for many years and Kelly hadn't see it at all. It's the first time I've seen Lyric's space. It's a great theater and the beautiful set fit in perfectly (I wasn't always sure where the set ended and the theater itself began). Overall this cast of 8 was strong. Rachel Weber was a highlight with her reserved and inscrutable Miss Casewell, as was Ron Tolliver with his genial Major Metcalf. Joe Hendren gave a solid performance as Sergeant Trotter as he tries to unravel the mystery despite the lack of cooperation among the guests. Mary Kay Fortier-Spalding was also a delight with her hard-to-please Miss Boyle. Allie Munson was nice, if busy, as Molly Ralston and she made a good pairing with Toby Rust as her husband Giles. I found Tim Gage's Christopher Wren a little over the top, and Keith Wynecoop's Paravicini was sadly lacking any sense of mystery.


While a long production (a good 2 1/2 hours or so, including intermission) it did not feel slow-paced and Christie's wonderful script keeps the audience engaged throughout. The show runs for one last weekend (January 28 - 31) with evening shows on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Definitely a good opportunity to catch a classic. 4 out of 5 stars.

Yesterday afternoon I went with Kelly and my family to see Stuart Little at Lakeshore Players. After doing the holiday show the last two years it was difficult to forgo auditions this year in order to audition for Doubt (which did work out well, to be fair), and so I was certainly not going to miss the show. Claudia directed for the third year in a row, and I knew a good number of the cast, nearly half, which included many of the Greenies from last year plus a few others that I've worked with before. My two little nieces (5 and 3) came, it was the younger's first play, and they loved it! It is a cute, sweet story (though more episodic than I expected having only seen the movie) and the young actor playing Stuart did a fine job. It was a large cast, over 20, of mostly young performers and it is always fun to see kids on stage for the first time. Anne Westcott, one of the handful of adults, was a highlight as the devious cat Snowbell out to get both Stuart the mouse and the bird Margalo. Justin Baker, one of the kids in the cast, also had nice moments as the dog that Stuart keeps having to run from, and his older sister Jenna Baker was perfect as Margalo. The pacing of the play suffered a little from the episodic nature of the script, but on the whole it kept the attention of the mostly young audience (and from what I heard was loved by the school groups who came last week). Stuart Little closes this afternoon (the holiday show always has a short run) but Lakeshore always picks fun, family-friendly shows for this slot and so I recommend hitting the holiday show this time next year (rumor is it will be A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, which should be fun). And of course Doubt is coming up next at Lakeshore which will be a show not to be missed (shameless plug). 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

On Monday night I went to see Corleone at Gremlin Theatre. I had missed this show at the MN Fringe a few years ago, due to its extreme popularity, and so I wanted to make sure to catch it this time around. The general premise of the script is "What if Shakespeare had written 'The Godfather'?" The script, written (and here directed) by David Mann, is certainly a fun romp through such a possibility. It has a very Shakespearean feel to the language, throwing in many a Shakespeare reference for good measure (i.e. "Michael, remember me!" says the ghost of his brother Sonnie). Mann also changes elements to better fit Shakespeare's era, using daggers rather than guns, and the result is a piece that you could well believe came from Shakespeare's time if it were not the reference to modern-day places such as Hollywood and New Jersey. For the most part I didn't feel left out not having actually seen The Godfather, although I thought the play could have been more streamlined. It was sometimes difficult to keep track of the many minor characters (not helped by most actors portraying several roles) and some episodes felt unconnected to the rest of the plot. But on the whole the adaptation was nicely done and good fun.


The show had a solid cast all around. One of highlights for me in the cast was Ryan Lindberg (who I've seen in multiple Walking Shadow productions), who nicely carried Michael's arc from being disconnected with the family business to taking over as the new Godfather. I also enjoyed Garry Geikan's charming performance as the villain Sollozzo and Peter Christian Hansen's energetic and fun-loving Sonny, the roguish son of the Godfather. I was also impressed by Tamatha Miller's set design which I thought both simple and elegant. All in all it was a fun show and a good time. The show runs through December 13th, so plenty of opportunities to catch it (and a good reason to stop by Gremlin's space if you haven't seen it yet). Four out of five stars.

Last night Kelly and I attended the opening night of Neil LaBute's Some Girl(s) which opens Walking Shadow's new season. I tend to be skeptical when I hear about some new playwright who won this award or that, or has been produced at some big New York theater. These things have ceased to impress me. Write a good script and then I will be impressed. After all, that's what really counts. I say this not to put down anyone's accomplishments, but to help explain that when I say I think Neil LaBute is an extremely talented playwright, this is not praise I often give.


Walking Shadow produced LaBute's Fat Pig a couple of years ago and I think it is still perhaps the best script that they have done. I am a big fan of Walking Shadow. They always give great production value, but for me the scripts they pick can be hit or miss. Last season's Amazons and Their Men, for example, was a well-done production of an only so-so script (which read to me like an early draft that needed much more depth). And the less said about the script to Caligula, the better. (I should add here that I loved Robots vs. Fake Robots, script and production alike.) But when I saw they were to do another LaBute script I was extremely excited, and I can honestly say LaBute has proved himself in my eyes to not be a one-hit wonder.


Some Girl(s) takes place in four scenes, each set in a different hotel room in a different city (and Kelly and I both delighted in the small touches the "maids" did during the scene changes to make each room slightly different, with different pillows on the bed, a different painting, the paper in a different place, and so on). In each scene the main character, Guy, meets with a different woman from his past (and later makes it clear that there have been many more), as he prepares himself for his upcoming wedding. On the surface Guy seeks to make amends for the wrongs he has done to these women, though he clearly has no idea about how to really go about doing so. The women differ greatly, from the high school sweetheart-turned-mother, to the older woman he had an affair with several years ago, to the alternative-sometimes-drug-addict. In the end Guy's motives for these reconnections become more murky and we are left unsure of how sincere he truly was. Clarence Wethern's portrayal makes Guy feel charming and likable, when he's not spurting out something guaranteed to insult any woman with a pulse. Wethern gives a wonderful performance, oozing good intentions, and aptly portraying Guy's inability to figure out how to connect to these different woman. And it is clear that Guy never really knew. Each of the woman gives a strong performance as well, particularly Anna Sundberg's fun-loving Tyler who seems to be the only one who feels at all charitable towards her ex-boyfriend and get, at least a little, why he is revisiting the past. And in a production such as this where everything seems to flow so seamlessly together, credit must go out to the director, here Brian Balcom who created a very natural-feeling atmosphere throughout. The set too was excellently done (courtesy of designer Steve Kath), and all the technical elements again reflect Walking Shadow's high production standards.


The script keeps things moving at a nice pace (although without an intermission and running at close to 2 hours I did find myself a little restless towards the end of the final scene). LaBute has a nice knack for writing very natural-sounding dialogue, replete with hesitations and rambling sentences, without taking these to a too-realistic extreme. And the play gives plenty of food for thought later, as Guy's actions in the last scene shed some new light on everything that has gone before. Is he a nice guy, if shallow, who just doesn't understand relationships? Or is he a manipulator who is using his own past purely for personal gain? Well, you have plenty of time to decide for yourself. Some Girl(s) continues tonight and runs through December 5th at the Pillsbury House Theater in Minneapolis. (Monday the 23rd is pay-what-you-can night.) So five out of five stars for a solid production all around. My advice? Spring for the Walking Shadow season ticket to also enjoy their productions this season of Jez Butterworth's Mojo in February and company member John Heimbuch's new work The Transdimensional Couriers Union in May.

On Saturday, after finally getting a little sleep following my all-night writing session, I took some time to relax. It was funny knowing that while my piece of the festival was finished, back at the space actors and directors had just gotten started taking these 6 scripts and bringing them to life. I helped Kelly clean around the house, we went out to Tea (I did not do any writing), and all the while the actors and directors blocked, memorized, rehearsed, and (in the case of my play!) worked on such things as juggling and stage combat. A little after 7 PM on Saturday Kelly and I returned to the theater which was all ready for the world premier of half a dozen shows that hadn't existed 24-hours earlier. That alone is, I think, extremely cool. So, here what the pieces that emerged from this marathon of creativity, keeping in mind that this was a 24-hour festival and as such none of the plays were expected to be 100% perfect and polished:

The Duck by Brady Bergeson, directed by Joe Hendren
My favorite of the plays outside my own, a husband and wife encounter a man at the bus stop who, as it turns out, is a duck. The woman accepts his duckness (is that a word?), while the husband sees just a man with a green umbrella (the duck's plumage, of course). It was funny and clever and my kind of absurdism. It also contained my favorite line of the night: the frank revelation, "I'm a duck."

Circus of Fate by T. James Belich, directed by Janan Terpstra
Is it self-serving to review your own play? I was, to be sure, a little nervous when it came time for my play. When I woke up Saturday morning and my play came flooding back, I had a moment of self-doubt about the piece. What had I been thinking? Would any of it actually work??? So I was very pleased to see what my director and cast had accomplished with an admittedly peculiar script. Loosely based on the Trojan War, my play featured the juggler, clown and prophet Cassandra as she tried to warn Diana off a perilous course. Becka Linder, who played Cassandra, was absolutely excellent and brought a wonderful quirky tone to the character I hadn't pictured. I love it when an actor does something completely unexpected with a character which turns out to be perfect. The parts I was not sure about? They worked. The audience? They laughed (despite a darker ending). I was quite pleased.

Jen Dobray by Geoff Herbach, directed by Laurie Swigart
Where The Duck was my kind of absurdism, this one sadly was not. A boy's Polish mother decides to leave him, making the Bagel Lady his new mother. The Bagel Lady gives the boy things to eat that are not bagels, or even edible. The boy's step-sister calls him Pumpkin Head. Everyone is happy at the end. This play had its moments, and funny ones, but in the end I was left wondering, "Huh?" The actors did an excellent job of selling the parts they were given and so it wasn't a bad play, but certainly for the concept it went on a little long.

Lovely Day by Josiah Laubenstein, directed by Alissa Blaeser
A much put-upon wife has to deal with both her husband and sister-in-law (who has moved in) who demand everything and give nothing and are far too much alike. A nice relationship piece which left you wanting to throttle the husband and sister as much as the wife did. Good and solid.

Here Today, Tomorrow, Next Week, Next Year... by David Hanzal, directed by Kate Elise
A highly successful Jeopardy contestant (think a female Ken Jennings) falls in love with the producer's assistant. I know David from Lakeshore's last 10-minute festival where he directed the Old West play I was in, and it was in fact David who recommended me to Heritage for this festival, so I feel a little bad that I just couldn't get myself to like this play. I was never quite sure where it was going, and I thought it lacked in any real conflict. Kudos to David for trying to condense a long-term relationship between the characters (the time span is over a couple of years) into 10 minutes, but the ending lacked punch as I didn't really believe the struggle of the main characters to get there.

Divorce Sweater by Stephanie Wilbur-Ash, directed by Stephen Moore
A story of a husband and wife on the rocks, who each visits their respective (and divorced) parent for consolation after leaving their spouse. The advice they get is not what they expect: the parents seem thrilled to induct them into the world of the divorcee, even giving each the family divorce sweater. In the end the husband and wife run out the door, and presumably back to each other. This, I think, was a solid script underneath that suffered from the time limits of the festival, as the actors were not 100% solid in their lines, many of which required split-second delivery to work as intended. It would certainly benefit from a longer rehearsal period for the performers to get the character nuances and timing down. As such it felt a little flat, but I think that was more due to the challenges of putting something together in 24 hours rather than anything else.



So, there it is. The product of over 30 artists in a 24-hour window. The beauty of it is that everyone threw themselves into it and no one was afraid to take chances. I hope I wasn't too hard on the other performers or writers above, given the extreme limitations imposed. I see a festival like this as similar to the Fringe: the point is to try something new, and while not everything is going to succeed, it will all be new and different.

Last night I was invited to attend the preview for Brighton Beach Memoirs at Lakeshore Players (which opens any minute now). It's a Neil Simon piece, but if you're expecting the laugh-a-minute comedy of Fools or The Odd Couple be advised that this is a drama, but a great one. It's the first in a trilogy that is loosely based on Simon's own life and as such the family drama really rings true. Previews can often be a bit rocky due to last-minute technical glitches and the like, but not here. The cast was clearly ready for an audience. They were solid all around, from teenage Eugene who offers commentary on his life straight to the audience, with a tinge of the always-blamed-for-everything child, to the nervous but ultimately strong widowed Aunt Blanche (and as I only knew a couple people in the cast and they didn't yet have programs I'll have to stick mostly to character names). Kate is fantastic as the overbearing guilt-is-my-most-powerful-tool mother, and Jack (Jim) as the overworked father trying to keep a roof over this extended family's head. Stanley (D. W. Surine) was nice as the older brother, trying yet not always succeeding at sharing the responsibility of supporting everyone, and Nora was excellent as Blanche's defiant daughter who deep down just misses both her dead father and distant mother. Lastly, Laurie (played by my Greenie daughter Ali) was wonderful as the delicate daughter who has learned to work her "illness" to her advantage. In a play like this that depends on us believing the relationships between these characters the strong acting was key and the whole cast delivers, though I thought that Blanche (who has the biggest character arc in the show) and Laurie were the standouts.


Clearly the cast benefited from strong direction by Brian Sherman, and the set that somehow packs an entire house on stage (and if you know the Lakeshore stage you'll know that's quite a feat) adds to the intimacy of this production. The show runs through October 4th, with 8 PM performances on Friday and Saturdays and 2 PM shows on Sundays (yes, that's right, I actually reviews a show before it's closed). I highly recommend this one, though be aware the subject matter and language are PG-13. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

With the flurry of Fringe there were a handful of shows I didn't get around to reviewing, so here's a brief recap:

Agamemnon: A valiant effort at updating the Greek tragedy, but unfortunately the script doesn't quite come through and the sock puppets are woefully underused. 3 out of 5 stars

Tragedy of You: Joseph Scrimshaw's latest effort is delightful, weaving improv about a random audience member into a 5-act Shakespearean tragedy, replete with humor and Shakespeare references. 5 out of 5 stars.

Every Pastie* Tells A Story: This is the first time I've caught one of Nancy Donoval's shows, and I'm glad I didn't miss this one. Nancy is a wonderful storyteller and weaves a delightful tale of college theater in Wisconsin and her encounter with a New York director. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Curse of Yig: Tim Uren returns to Lovecraft with this creepy snake tale. Time Uren's performance is spot on, though Amy Schweickhardt's performance for me fell flat. The script also suffered at times from being too literal an adaptation, but all in all a fun story. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Two Bowls of Cereal and some Bacon: First-time Fringe producer Mahmoud Hakima brings a touching tale of childhood friendship contrasted with family turmoil. Both genuine and tragic, if this production is any indication Mahmoud will soon become a Fringe staple. Truly wonderful. 5 out of 5 stars.