Review of Tribes at The Guthrie Theater

Quote of the Day:  Two quotes from Helen Keller
Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.

Literature is my utopia. Here I am not disenfranchised. No barrier of the senses shuts me out from the sweet, gracious discourses of my book friends. They talk to me without embarrassment or awkwardness. 

The cast of the Guthrie Theater's production of Tribes, by Nina Raine. Directed by Wendy C. Goldberg, set design by Alexander Dodge, costume design by Anne Kennedy and lighting design by Josh Epstein. October 5 - November 10, 2013 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

Tribes, written by British playwright Nina Raine, is a contemporary play set in North London about family, love, and living with different abilities. The above photo shows the entire cast. Mom, Dad, three kids, Daniel, Ruth, and Billy, and Billy's girlfriend, Sylvia. Naturally, they are sitting at the table, having dinner with Sylvia for the first time, and the drama ensues. Billy is the only deaf person in a hearing family. His mom, Beth, taught him how to speak and lip read. He doesn't sign to communicate. Sylvia is a hearing child born to deaf parents. In her family, it is genetic, and she watched her sister go from hearing to deaf. She is now becoming deaf and already knows how to sign very well because she grew up signing with her parents. She doesn't lip read very well. It is amazing to watch Billy's and Sylvia's worlds coming together and how his family reacts. 

This play, which is so much about communication, shows how hard it is for people to communicate with each other, no matter what language they're trying to use. The cast (family) is literally surrounded by words. The set looks like the inside of a library. Books line the walls from floor to ceiling. The parents are writers and readers. Daniel is working on his thesis. Ruth is trying to interpret the French lyrics to an opera song that she is learning. Billy is learning sign language, and Sylvia is learning to lip read and to adjust to another way of living and communicating.

Interestingly, the language that some of the characters use is crude, which could shut out and offend some audience members. And, yet, what is not spoken packs an even more powerful punch. While I wouldn't be comfortable watching this show with anyone younger than a high school student, I think that all ages can relate to trying to fit into all kinds of dynamics and worlds around them. In my favorite scene from the play, Sylvia admits that she can no longer hear the nuances of music. It is all becoming noise to her. Then, she sits down at the piano and begins to play. The family surrounds her, shutting out Billy, and as she strikes each chord, the books around them light up. It was fascinating to watch. It's like her music connected with other ways of communicating, and it made me think how one art form inspires another. Maybe, as one way of communicating disappears, another appears.

Tribes is a play for anyone who has ever felt misunderstood. It is about dysfunctional love, and how we all have barriers and ways of coping and loving and living. It is playing at the Guthrie Theater, October 5 - November 10, 2013. This cast is phenomenal in bringing Nina Raine's story to life. These six people: John McGinty, Sally Wingert, Tracey Maloney, Stephen Schnetzer, Hugh Kennedy, and Anna Reichert, really seem like a family with all its quirks and ways of loving each other and pushing each other away. The Guthrie has done well to bring this contemporary play by a female playwright to its stage and a new story for its audiences to enjoy and find a connection. Well done.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  What barriers have you had to overcome?

Review of Pride and Prejudice at The Guthrie Theater

Quote of the Day:  I think Jane Austen would love this production of her novel, (Pride and Prejudice). Reflection on watching the show from Pat, one of the ladies who accompanied me to The Guthrie Theater. She is a long time fan of Jane Austin.

Christine Weber (Jane Bennet), Juan Rivera Lebron, Aeysha Kinnunen (Lydia Bennet) and Emanuel Ardeleanu in the Guthrie Theater's production of Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, adapted by Simon Reade. Directed by Joe Dowling, set design by Alexander Dodge, costume design by Mathew J. LeFebvre and lighting design by Philip S. Rosenberg. July 12, 2013 - August 31, 2013 on the Wurtele Thrust Stage at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

Ivy Beech (Kitty Bennet), Ashley Rose Montondo (Elizabeth Bennet), Christine Weber (Jane Bennet), Suzanne Warmanen (Mrs. Bennet) and Aeysha Kinnunen (Lydia Bennet) in the Guthrie Theater's production of Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, adapted by Simon Reade. Directed by Joe Dowling, set design by Alexander Dodge, costume design by Mathew J. LeFebvre and lighting design by Philip S. Rosenberg. July 12, 2013 - August 31, 2013 on the Wurtele Thrust Stage at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

 

Oh, to be able to write the kind of classic novel that lives on through the centuries, made into plays and movies, remakes, copycats, and modern adaptions! That is what happened to Jane Austen's most popular novel Pride and Prejudice. Audience members who are lifelong fans, like Pat in the above quote, come expecting their beloved characters to come to life. They hope to see them embodied in the actors and their story played out the way they saw it in their heads while reading the book. The creative genius of the Guthrie Theater does just that. The audience was riveted to the stage, laughing often, sighing occasionally, and completely taken in by the performance.

 

If you are expecting stuffy shirts and straight lines, you will get it only in the costumes and décor. Then, you will get the delightful contrast of high humor, sassy characters, and endearing relationships. You feel like you are part of that sisterly bond, friendship mixed with annoyance, and utter loyalty to one another. We want to be strong like Elizabeth and turn our backs on ridiculous social norms and expectations. We want to know that our fathers love us more than money and status and would say, like Elizabeth's father says to her, "I could not have parted with you for anyone less worthy."

 

My friends have already been asking me, "How was the show?" I think they want to know that Mr. Darcy is both arrogant and handsome. They want to hear that Sister Bingley is snooty and mean, and that Lady Catherine is just as awful as they imagine. (The actress and her costume reminded me of Malificent from Disney's Sleeping Beauty.) They need to hear that Mother Bennet is as hysterical as anyone they've ever met (loved Suzanne Warmanen's portrayal of Mrs. Bennet). And, above all, they need to know that Elizabeth is both beautiful and strong, someone we admire. She is!

 

The set was amazing. The inner circle spun, and an outer circle created movement that gave us a sense of moving from place to place or time passing. We had perspective from within and without. The music, the dancing, the colors, the costumes, all were a delight. The show is full of humor and fun, not at all stuffy or boring, and it offers a few surprises, even for the actors (wink).

 

Six of us women from the Brainerd lakes area rode together to the show. We all give it two thumbs up. We had a wonderful time and will be dreaming about it and talking about it for a long time.

 

Pride and Prejudice is playing at The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, July 6 - August 31, 2013. Sunday's performance was sold out, so don't wait to call for tickets! This is the show to see this summer!

 

Trivia question: Do you know what Jane Austen's original title was for Pride and Prejudice? Which title do you prefer?

 

Go. Create. Inspire!

 

Journaling Prompt:  What favorite story would you like to see played out on stage or in the movies? What books/stories do you keep going back to over and over?

Review of Clybourne Park at The Guthrie Theater

Quote of the Day:  Isn't it nice to know that everyone has their own place (in society). line from the character Karl Lindner in Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris

We just need to find out what each other likes to eat. Bev, Act 1 of Clybourne Park.

Humans are territorial. I think this was Steve's line in Act 2.

I'm not resistant to change, as long as it's for the better. Karl Lindner

Clybourne Park, Act 1, setting 1959

 

Shá Cage (Francine), Ansa Akyea (Albert), Jim Lichtscheidl (Karl), Kathryn Meisle (Bev) and Emily Gunyou Halaas (Betsy) in the Guthrie Theater's production of Clybourne Park, by Bruce Norris. Directed by Lisa Peterson, set design by Rachel Hauck, costume design by David Zinn and lighting design by Mark Barton. June 1, 2013 - August 4, 2013 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

 

Bruce Norris was inspired by Lorraine Hansberry's play, A Raisin in the Sun, which was made into a movie in 1961. As a young white male growing up in the South, he was stunned to see a play/movie where all the main characters were black, and the only white character was the villain, Karl Lindner. Years later, the playwright who hails from Houston, Texas, wrote about what was happening on the other side of town. He focused on the family who was moving out of their house in Clybourne Park, Bev and Russ, and gave them their own story.

 

Kathryn Meisle (Bev) and Bill McCallum (Russ) in the Guthrie Theater's production of Clybourne Park, by Bruce Norris. Directed by Lisa Peterson, set design by Rachel Hauck, costume design by David Zinn and lighting design by Mark Barton. June 1, 2013 - August 4, 2013 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

 

The couple is dealing with their own pain and need for change. This house and neighborhood hold too many memories, and they decide to sell and move on. Karl, and other neighbors, don't like this change. They're worried about how it will start a snowball of change, and not for the better. Act 1, set in 1959, shows us how deep-seated prejudices and stereotypes go. So much so, that your neighbor might try to convince you to not sell your home to folks who are different. He might even go to their home and encourage them to reconsider the move. None of it will stop people from doing what they need to do, nor will it stop the world from changing, hopefully, for the better.

Ansa Akyea (Kevin) and Shá Cage (Lena)

Act 2, 2009, Clybourne Park

 

Jump ahead to 2009, same house, same neighborhood, some things have changed, and some things never will. Neighbors are still trying to tell each other what they can and can't do with their property. Now, they hold "civilized" meetings and hold back on their racist words...or do they?

 

Bill McCallum (Dan), Jim Lichtscheidl (Steve) and Emily Gunyou Halaas (Lindsey)

 

 

When Bev and Russ move out of this house in 1959, they try to bury the past, in the form of the above trunk. In 2009, it is rediscovered. All the memories, the events, and the souls that occupied this home, continue to float through the rooms. You can't bury the past and hope to forget it. It has become part of who you are, where you live, and your community.

 

 Ansa Akyea (Kevin), Emily Gunyou Halaas (Lindsey) and Jim Lichtscheidl (Steve) in the Guthrie Theater's production of Clybourne Park, by Bruce Norris. Directed by Lisa Peterson, set design by Rachel Hauck, costume design by David Zinn and lighting design by Mark Barton. June 1, 2013 - August 4, 2013 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

 

The actors do an amazing job of bringing real emotion to life during this play. They show how hurt we are by each other, our prejudices, and the acts of those who have paved the way, for better and for worse. I've often wondered what stories an old house could tell. Playwright Bruce Norris must wonder the same thing and gives us one story of one house which is fiction, yet so real.

 

Clybourne Park is playing at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, June 1 through August 4, 2013. Recommended for a more mature audience due to strong, possibly offensive, language.

 

Go. Create. Inspire!

 

Journaling Prompt:  What would be buried in your old trunk? Does your home have a story?

 

Open a Review of Nice Fish at the Guthrie in Minneapolis, MN

Quote of the Month: Open the window in the center of your chest and let the spirits fly in and out. Rumi
(My theme for this year's A to Z Challenge is Open.)

Millie and Willie Cottonpoly, a sock puppet creation, are here to tell you their story during the April A to Z Blogging Challenge. This is a slightly unconventional review since I'm in the middle of the A to Z challenge and Millie and Willie have taken over blogging. Today is R day. R is for Review of Nice Fish at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, MN. They did enjoy the show, which in itself is unconventional as it is told for the most part through poetry. Take it away Mr. and Mrs. Cottonpoly.

Millie and Willie Cottonpoly throw caution to the wind and ride the winter storm from Brainerd to Minneapolis to view and review, Nice Fish, written by Mark Rylance, Louis Jenkins, and friends.

 

Millie:  Uff, Willie, wasn't that a hoot?

 

Willie:  I felt like I was out on the ice with them fellers.

 

Millie:  I know. I've done my own share of philosophizing, staring into that hole. Wasn't it funny when Ron dropped his cellphone into the water? I wonder how many of those things are at the bottom of the lakes of Minnesota.

 

Willie:  How do you even work those contraptions?

 

Millie:  Some people like to have all the latest gadgets and technology, even out on the ice, like that character Erik.

 

Willie:  I'm a simple man, like Ron. All's I need is a sturdy rod, fresh bait, and a good sandwich.

 

Millie:  That bit about the bologna sandwich made me giggle.

 

Willie:  I thought Freya, also called Flo or Blossom, was enchanting.

 

Millie:  mmm hmmm. I think your eyes lit up even more when Wayne rode in on that old snowmobile.

 

Willie:  Snow Jet one lunger. They roared her to life with one pull, just like my old one, Millie. She was sweet.

 

Millie:  Yes, well. The actors were stunning, especially the main characters Erik, played by Jim Lichtscheidl, and the playwright himself Mark Rylance who was charming as the never in a hurry, keep it simple, Ron.

 

Willie:  (humming a polka) That music got my toe tapping. The minute I walked in, I felt like I was back in my home town.  The Norwegian fiddler, singer, and dancing were pretty good, too, you know.

 

Millie:  If you're from Minnesota, you will connect to many things in this play. If you're not, you'll get a sampling of the folks who live up here and what they think about while out fishin'. Good fun for the whole family.

 

Willie:  I thought Freya was enchanting.

 

Millie:  (rolls eyes) I'm going to take a nap, now, so I'm fresh for tonight's review of The Broadway Songbook at the Ordway.  I sure hope the roads have improved and we don't get another six inches of snow tonight!

 

Millie, The Biker Chef, and Willie attended Nice Fish with reviewer Mary Aalgaard.

 

Willie and Millie are ready for their audition at The Guthrie.

Don't you think they look great in this line-up of fine actors?

 

******************

 

Go. Create. Inspire!

 

Journaling Prompt:  What are some unique things about the people and places where you live? Any fun sayings?

 

Nice Fish is playing at The Guthrie through May 18. Click over there for more info, photos of the show, tickets and show times!

 

Buzzer, a Review

Quote of the Day:  People use humor to deflect their true emotions. A line used several times in the play Buzzer written by Tracey Scott Wilson, Produced by Pillsbury House Theatre and performed at the Dowling Studio at The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, MN.

Pillsbury House Theatre production of Buzzer

Featuring: Sara A. Richardson as Suzy, Namir Smallwood as Jackson, Hugh Kennedy as Don
Production: Marion McClinton - Director; Tracey Scott Wilson - Playwright; Noel Raymond - Producer; Faye M. Price - Producer; Elizabeth R MacNally - Stage Manager; Mike Wangen - Lighting Designer; Dean Holzman - Set Designer/Builder; Kellie Larson - Prop Designer; Clare Brauch - Costume Designer; C. Andrew Mayer- Original Sound Designer; e.g. bailey, Assistant Director; Katherine Horowitz, Sound Designer; Heidi Batz Rogers, Fight Choreographer
Photo © Michal Daniel, 2013

Buzzer is a contemporary play set in urban America. It has mature themes and adult language and pulls you in from the opening sentence. The characters feel like people you already know and as you're watching, you feel like you are inside the apartment ready to join in on the conversation. I give the director, Marion McClinton, credit for how well the characters interact with each other and the audience. The way they turn towards us, look out as if we are another character, or open up so we can really feel what they are feeling is what pulls you into their story. The actors do an amazing job of creating the tension around their situation.

Photo by Michal Daniel

 

Rarely do you see a show where you are pulled in so completely that you lose yourself in the performance. You forget that you're at a play and you are mentally interacting with the people on stage. My sister said that when Hugh Kennedy walked on stage as Don, she felt like she knew him. He never seemed like he was acting, but that he was Don, living the life of a recovering alcoholic, trying to find his way, working the program, and fighting so many obstacles.

 

This is a story about relationships, trust, and fear. It makes you ponder the question: Are our fears founded on experience and instint? When is the truth too painful to be spoken out loud?

 

I could go on to analyze this incredible performance and story, but I'm afraid I might give too much away. This is a story that needs to be experienced. You have until March 3, 2013, to see this show at The Dowling Studio at The Guthrie Theater. It is a performance that will stick with you and get you thinking about how you act and interact with each other, what pulls us in and and out of relationships, and how we live.

 

Go. Create. Inspire!

 

Journaling Prompt:  What are your fears in your relationships?

Review of Long Day's Journey into Night at The Guthrie

Quote of the Day:  From deep personal pain comes great literature and art. My own observations as I watched A Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill, currently playing at The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, January 12 - February 23, 2013.

John Skelley (Edmund Tyrone) and Helen Carey (Mary Cavan Tyrone) in the Guthrie Theater's production of Long Day's Journey into Night, by Eugene O'Neill. Directed Joe Dowling, set design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by Ann Hould-Ward and lighting design by Christopher Akerlind. January 12, 2013 - February 23, 2013 on the Wurtele Thrust Stage at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

 

Eugene O'Neill won his fourth Pulitzer Prize for this play which was produced posthumously. He asked that it not be produced until 25 years after his death because of its autobiographical nature, but Stockholm's Royal Dramatic Theatre didn't wait that long. They produced it in 1956, just three years after O'Neill's death.

 

This is a heavy drama. The "Tyrone" family is a mess. At first, they try to pretend that "It's all good." That persistent cough and loss of appetite, "It's just a summer cold." Oh, and if you drink more than your dad thinks you should out of his whiskey bottle, just add a little water to bring the liquid back up to the mark, "He'll never notice. He'll be too sauced himself." And, mom drifting away, thumping around at night, and missing a few beats here and there, well that's just due to loss of sleep because dad snores and Jamie snores and she's worried about Edmund's cough.

 

The Tyrone family is in denial at the beginning of the play. As the day progresses and the addictions become more apparent, so does the reality that they're trying to avoid.

 

Helen Carey who plays the mom Mary Cavan Tyrone is amazing. From the moment she walked onto the set, I knew she was Mary Tyrone. I felt her anguish. I never once thought of her as an actor portraying a character. She was Mary Tyrone, gripped by personal tragedy and depression, coping with abuse of perscription drugs (turns out to be morphine), and drifting further and further away from her family.

 

I don't know if it was due to the directing, the costuming, or the role interpretation, but James Tyrone never came across as a retired and frustrated actor. He seemed more like a crabby, old businessman who was as tight with his money as he was with his affection. The boys were swallowed up by their own illnesses, alcoholism and "Consumption" (tuberculosis), and angry at their father and disappointed in their mother.

 

The entire show is played out in a day, from the brighter lights at breakfast to the dimness of evening. Mary Tyrone comes out in the morning with the loveliest yellow skirt, still trying to keep grounded in the family. In the second act, she wears blue literally and figuratively and succumbs to her need to escape into her drugs, until the end when she emerges from the attic in a ghostly white dress. We know that she is but a spector of herself and floats out of the present and back to a time when she thought she was happy.

 

If you like realist dramas and the works of writers of the early 1900's, you will appreciate this play. It felt a bit long to me. Although I know that on the Thrust stage we can expect to look at the actors' backs from time to time, I felt like the staging of the scenes had the actors turned away from us too much (and I was in the center seating). This would be a great show for a college class to watch and discuss characters, personal pain, storytelling, and what works on a stage with today's audience.

 

A Long Day's Journey into Night is playing on the Wurtele Thrust Stage at The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis through February 23, 2013.

 

Go. Create. Inspire!

 

Journaling Prompt:  Have you ever watched a show where you wanted to offer some help to the characters in the end? I was ready to look up where the nearest AA meeting was, or suggest family counseling.

 

Review of A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie

Quote of the Day: We are travelers together on the road to the grave. We are not on separate journeys. Fred to his uncle Ebenezer Scrooge, trying to convince him to stop being so selfish and miserly and look at other people as equals.

J.C. Cutler (Ebenezer Scrooge) in the Guthrie Theater's production of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol, adapted by Crispin Whittell and directed by Joe Chvala with set design by Walt Spangler, costume design by Mathew J. LeFebvre and lighting design by Christopher Akerlind. November 13 - December 29, 2012, on the Wurtele Thrust Stage at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis. Photos by Michael Brosilow

The holidays are a time for traditions. We eat special food, watch favorite movies, decorate, and exchange gifts. We also attend events, church services, performances and make an effort to spend time with people we love. A Christmas Carol has been a tradition at The Guthrie Theater for 38 years. I wonder if anyone out there has attended a performance every year? Are there people who work for the Guthrie who have been part of every production? I know that some of the actors have been in several productions. This year, J.C. Cutler is again playing Ebenezer Scrooge. I think he's fantastic. He shows us the mean, miserly Scrooge at the beginning who wants to isolate himself and pushes everyone away. He narrates his life for the ghosts, and audience, as they take him through his past, present and future until we see the transformed Scrooge filled with gratitude for life, generosity of spirit, and a need to share his abundance and feel alive.

At the stroke of one, you will be visited by three ghosts.

 

It doesn't take long for something to become a tradition. You can start one this year, try it out, if it feels right, do it again next year, and boom, you have a new tradition. This is our second year attending A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie, and I love our new tradation. Last year, I attended it with my four boys. This year, I brought three of the boys (oldest is away at college), my sister Joy, my cousin Angie, and the Biker Chef. We all had a blast. While we were eating at the Level 5 cafe at the Guthrie, Joy asked, "What's your favorite thing about the holidays?" We got some great answers, the food, the decorations, being with family, the gifts, watching other people open gifts that you gave them. And, now, for me, one of my favorites is attending traditional holiday shows with family and friends. One of my boys just said, "I want to see that play again." Yay. We have a new tradition.

Joy said she enjoyed this newer version of A Christmas Carol by playwright Crispin Whittell. It brings out elements of the story that she hadn't seen before and offers some surprises. Last year, was the first time I'd seen the production at the Guthrie and I was mesmerized by all the theatrics. The production team pulls out all the stops for this show using trap doors, zip lines, special effects and dramatic music. Of course, the costumes and set are stunning.

This year, I focused more on the story. Scrooge is a wounded little boy. He felt abandoned and abused as a child and had no fond memories of Christmas, or any other day. The holidays became a time where he was reminded just how alone he is in this world. He represents all the people who dread the holidays, people who are grieving or experiencing any kind of loss. It becomes a day that they just have to get through. It is not a day of love and cheer and happy family togetherness. Like Scrooge, though, we can turn that thinking around. By examining our past, present and future, we can focus on what is good and what can be better if we chose to make it so. Scrooge gets the chance to walk that journey with three spiritual guides who don't hold back on the realism, showing him this is where you've come from, where you are now, and where you're heading unless you change your selfish ways. You can live in the misery of your past, or you can turn it around, make new traditions and embrace life, yours and the others who are on the the journey to the grave with you.

Scrooge, in his new-found generosity, provides the Christmas feast.

 

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

 

 

The girls and I agreed that the best costume was on Mrs. Fezziwig, played with delightful energy by Suzanne Warmanen. The Fezziwig scenes are the most colorful and cheerful, but the boys noted that as the years passed, the celebration became more subdued as Scrooge became more obsessed with his business.

A Christmas Carol is being played at the Wurtele Thrust Stage at the Guthrie Theater through December 29, 2012.

Go. Create. Inspire!
And, start a new tradition.

Journaling Prompt:  Describe a family tradition that you've carried over from childhood, or started yourself.

Review of Appomattox at The Guthrie Theater

Quote of the Day:  No lie can live forever. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Appomattox by Christopher Hampton is a play in two acts, currently playing at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. The first half of the play is set during the American Civil War with all the main players of the time, President Abraham Lincoln, Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, and their wives, generals, soldiers and slaves. The battle is raging to end slavery, save the union, and end oppression.

The second half of the play is set 100 years later during the Civil Rights movement with all the main players of the times, President Lyndon B. Johnson, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Governor George Wallace, J. Edgar Hoover, Lee Harvey Oswald and Edgar Ray Killen, and citizens who march, protest, and die.  The battle rages on to end oppression through desegration of schools, elimination of Jim Crow laws, and voting equality.

I expected this show to be filled with strong scenes of war, racism, and fight for justice. I prepared myself for an intense night of theater where history would come alive. I got glimpses of it. For the most part, though, it was all exposition. If I wasn't leaning forward, trying to catch all the lengthy dialogue, I was sitting back, wondering how late it was getting. The show runs two hours and 55 minutes, on a good night. We did not get a good night. The stage "broke" towards the end of Act I, and they halted the action. They pulled the curtain and gave us an early intermission. After we finally saw that scene, we wondered if they couldn't have acted around the set moving glitch and finished Act I. But, who knows. It might have messed up all sorts of blocking and prop/set moving. Either way, it added at least 35 minutes to an already long night. Since we had over two hours drive back north when it was done, and I'd brought my 14-year-old son, I was cringing. He had been interested in seeing this play. He's interested in history and politics and has dreams of becoming a lawyer. He said the show was hard to follow and was annoyed with President Johnson, calling him obnoxious. He said, "After the stage broke, I kind of wanted to go home because I wasn't following it very well." Although, we agreed that the second Act was better.

The play consists of scenes pulled out of history. What I like is that Hampton brings us into the intimate settings and conversations of those main players. We see their struggles with decisions about the wars, Civil and Vietnam, and the people who fought them, and why. We see them trying to make the right decision regarding people of other races. We see them as flawed human beings who were placed in positions of power.  I really liked the scene between Generals Grant and Lee. They show great respect for each other and compassion for the soldiers. Grant knows that in order to heal the nation, he needs to show the Confederate soldiers that they can go back to their farms and businesses with their horses and their dignity. Lee says something like, oh, we could pull back and hide in the hills and continue this fight through gorilla warfare, but for how long? And, to what end? Our men are starving, now. What will they do? So, they sign their treaty at Appomattox, hoping for a peace-filled future.

Act 2 starts out with a video clip of President John F. Kennedy on television stating that it is time to end oppression and give full freedom for voting, education, and job opportunities for all people, black, white or otherwise. At the same time, we see Lee Harvey Oswald spewing out obscenities towards the president and his N-loving ways. (We heard the N-word and the F-word many times in this play.)

The language is harsh in this play, coming from some hate-filled people, as well as those trying to sound powerful. I expected intense drama, scenes acted out that would cause an emotional reaction. What I got was more exposition and a telling of what happened. This play lacks action. Maybe they were trying too hard to make it look good and forgot to give the actors power to tell the story through their characters. Moving the set pieces off and on, while the actors rode on them, limited the action even more. We heard about Lincoln's death. We heard about Kennedy's assassination. We heard about the killings of the civil rights workers. In the final scene, we had to listen to two hard-hearted bigots talk of their killings and how they didn't even see them as crimes, even though they were in jail for committing them. It leaves you with a bleak picture of human beings, especially Americans, who live and die with hate. That no matter how many wars are fought, marches made, or laws enforced, hate lives on.

I did have a few favorites scenes, however. One was when the slaves learned that they'd been freed. They walked on singing the Battle Hymn of the Republic, "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord." They saw President Lincoln, called him "Father Abraham" and kissed his hand in gratitude.

 

Photos from the Guthrie media page.

 

The other scene that really drew me in was when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is speaking to a crowd before the March from Selma to Montgomery. The actor Shawn Hamilton became Dr. King. I felt the energy in the room rise. I had goosebumps on my arms all the way down to my toes, and we clapped along with the cast when he was done saying, "No lie can live forever. Truth crushed down to earth will rise again. We shall overcome...Mine eyes have seen the glory!" Oh, ya. I caught the connection. The battle rages, and we will march on. It is worth going to the show to see that performance in person.

 

 

I also enjoyed performances by Harry Groener as both President Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon B. Johnson, and Mark Benninghofen was excellent as General Grant and Nicholas Katzenbach, Johnson's attorney general. He actually had some stage movement and his face and body language helped to tell the story.

 

The female characters are horribly under-represented. They seem like just extensions of their husbands and have few lines. Perhaps Hamilton is trying to show how voiceless women were then. Even President Lincoln blows off the idea of women's right to vote. I'd like to see a play about Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Sojourner Truth. I love her famous line, "Ain't I a woman." Hampton touched on that for about one second of his play.

 

Appomattox is playing at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis through November 11, 2012. Go to their website for more information. Also to note, tickets are now on sale for A Christmas Carol, a great play for the family, but not the youngest ones. Appomattox is definitely for an older audience, as is Tales from Hollywood, which I enjoyed much more.

 

Go. Create. Inspire!

 

Journaling Prompt:  What main players from history would you like to see come to life on stage?

Review of Tales from Hollywood at The Guthrie

Quote of the Day:  How was it we were so lucky? Something else I keep seeing in my dreams, all those queues, all those queues of desperate people outside the Consulates in Marseilles. Waiting all day and then turned away. Why didn't that happen to us? I mean, what's so special about writers? Heinrich Mann, act 2, scene 9, in Tales from Hollywood by Christopher Hampton.

May 10, 1933, Joseph Goebbels, Nazi minister of propaganda, attends book burnings at the University of Berlin. Book burnings in other university cities follow. Works by Thomas Mann, Heinrich Mann, and Bertolt Brecht are among those burned. from the program about Tales from Hollywood.

Photo from The Guthrie Theater Multimedia page Lee Sellars as Odon von Horvath, Allison Daugherty as Nelly Mann, and Keir Dullea as Heinrich Mann

For every person in nearly every part of the world who lived and fought to survive during World War II, they have a story to tell. Christopher Hampton draws from his own experiences as a non-American writer in Hollywood  in the 1960's-70's to go inside the hearts and heads of famous writers of the 1930's and 1940's and bring to light the struggle to survive as exiles, men without a country, needing to use their language to create, to connect, and to offer hope, and yet feeling so hopeless as they are silenced and sent away.

What is so special about writers? Their work is burned and banned. They're stripped of dignity and home and made to live like refugees, and yet, they survive, even thrive. The very act of trying to destroy their work and crush their spirits only adds interest and meaning to their words. People both admire and fear writers and the power of their words.

In Tales from Hollywood the exiled writers who fled Nazi Germany form a community in Los Angelos. They're trying to write in a foreign country using a foreign language with foreign ideals and concepts. And, all the while they're trying to make sense of this cruel world and eek out an existence. Bertolt Brecht questions why he is writing for the screen when he is a playwright in a medium where there is no interaction with the audience. In an interesting use of light and sound, the creative team at The Guthrie projects scenes from the play onto screens as the backdrop. So, here we have a play with elements of cinema. (See photo above as an example.) Camera crew were placed in pivotal points of the stage as part of the show. It was like watching a documentary being made with Odon von Horvath as the narrator.

I connected most with the American female playwright, Helen Schwartz (played by Julia Coffey), who is Jewish and has relatives in Germany. At first, she seems distant from what is happening in Europe, but as her relationship deepens with Odon, she learns more and tries to make a difference. She is independent and successful.

The most tragic character, though, is Nelly Mann, married to Heinrich Mann. She struggles with her identity and her relationship with her husband. Maybe she used him, or they used each other, to get out of Germany. Maybe their relationship was more friendship than romance. Maybe Nelly had so many demons that she couldn't live in the light. Allison Daugherty plays Nelly with style and courage. I was mesmorized by her portrayal of this character who seems so broken. Daugherty gives us a glimpse of how complicated Nelly's story is and how her soul is so filled with demons. I give her a personal standing ovation.

Ethan McSweeny has directed an outstanding show that is full of humor, surprises, and fantastic visual and sound elements. The Biker Chef accompanied me to this production. He said he connected with the show because of his personal history of German heritage and interest in military and stories of World War II. He said he'd recommend it to friends. It's a show that makes you laugh, ponder, hold your breath at moments of surprise or worry, and sigh. It contains adult themes, nudity, strong language, smoking, use of strobe lights, and is recommended for a mature audience.

Go to Tales from Hollywood page at The Guthrie Theater for more photos and video clips. It is playing at the Wurtele Thrust stage through October 27, 2012.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Have you ever felt silenced by a person or institution? Do you read banned books?

Review of The Brothers Size at the Guthrie

Quote of the Day:  You're my brother. No matter where you are, you're my brother. Ogun Size, the older Size brother to Oshoosi

Playing at the Guthrie Theatre Studio in Minneapolis through September 29.

I watched this contemporary, real life drama, on Saturday night at the Guthrie Theatre Studio with a sell-out audience. The woman behind me was telling her friend how thrilled she was to see all the support for this show and that many people in the audience were other actors. I was excited to see this play because it's about brothers, relationships, and what makes us feel trapped, and what makes us feel free. This is not your typical play-it-safe, stick to the classics written by white men plays that the Guthrie usually puts on its mainstage. This is a modern play with characters who live in communities where everyone struggles to survive. Relationships are not easily defined, and you don't always know who you can trust.

This is a three character play, accompanied by a drummer. Ahanti Young sat on the stage as we entered, drumming out the rhythms of life, drawing us in, setting the mood. The low thump on the djembe seems to echo a heartbeat of dread. The rattles, shakes, and finger thrumming build tension and mystique, and I was ready to focus on the set and the characters before they came out. I wanted the audience to be quiet even beofore the lights dimmed and Young's fingers increased their intensity on the drums.

Oshoosi Size, the younger brother, has recently been released from prison and is staying with his older brother Ogun. Ogun has felt responsible for his younger brother since Oshoosi was in his mother's womb. When they were growing up, people in their community told him to be a good role model. When their mother died, he took on the role of parent. When his brother returned from prison, Ogun took on the role of personal parole officer and reformer. He wasn't about to let Oshoosi "mess" up again. He wasn't going to let him sleep in, slog around, and get tangled up with the wrong people. He also wasn't allowing him to forget his wrongs or his jail time and that he owed it to his brother to live a productive life.

Oshoosi wants freedom to live his own life, to be free from the physical prison he was in and start new relationships and build his own life. He begins to realize how imprisoned he is by his brother's need to protect and control and by the friend he made in prison, Elegba. We see the pull and tug of his loyalties.

Ogun is imprisoned by his sense of uber-responsibility. He was never a carefree kid. He had to take care of everything, including his younger brother. In a scene between the brothers, Oshoosi confronts him on this, telling him if he can't loosen those chains, he'll turn to stone. Ogun has a nightmare about loosing his brother to the influence of his friend.

The friend, Elegba, is imprisoned by his own desires to rebel and control his surroundings. He keeps pulling Oshoosi back into his world. He wants to wrap his influence around him like a rope and keep him close.

As we watch this struggle to find freedom and escape real and imagined prisons, the drums beat on. Sometimes as tiny dings at a moment of truth. Sometimes as hard thuds after words that can never be taken back, or actions that can't be undone. Thud, like a judge's gavel, or a rattle like the sound of a snake.

This is an intense show with intense language. We're watching brothers interact in the privacy of their own home, with the intrusion of a "friend." There are real life consquences to their words and actions. This is a show for older teens and adults. It's a show for anyone who struggles with relationships and which ones imprison us and which ones set us free.

The Brothers Size written by Tarell Alvin McCraney and directed by Marion McClinton is a Pillsbury House Theatre production, performed at the Guthrie Theatre Studio. It runs through September 29. It's a show you won't soon forget.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Have you ever had to end a relationship that felt like a prison?

Review of The Sunshine Boys at the Guthrie

Quote of the Day:  As an actor, no one could touch him. As a human being, no one would want to. - Sunshine Boys character Willy Clark, commenting on his comedic partner Al Lewis.

I attended this one with the Biker Chef.

The comedic team of Lewis and Clark were once the hit of Vaudeville, the times before radio and television, when people had to leave their houses to find entertainment. Comedy was quick, witty, and full of sight gags. The costumes alone caused a chuckle. So, what happened to the legendary Lewis & Clark? They split up after an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, and haven't seen or spoken to each other in 11 years.

As any touring group knows, what appears to click on stage, often clashes off stage. Personalities collide. Entertainers wrestle for creative control. Personal habits and relationships cause conflict. So, it is with Lewis & Clark. (see the above quote) They worked together for years, spitting in each other's faces, arguing about the lines and the delivery, but in the end admiring the other for his talents. The truth is, they need each other, and neither one is willing to admit it. In an attempt at a revival of the act, we are shown what it means to work as a team. Peter Michael Goetz (Clark) and Raye Birk (Lewis) are that kind of brilliant team as they bring to life Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys.

I was drawn into the story of these two aging actors, how entertainment changed during their careers, and what elements are needed for good comedy. What made us laugh during this show? The writer, of course, needs to provide good material, the set-up. Some jokes happen within a few lines. Others are set up early in the show and get the biggest laugh when it's brought back at the end. The actors need great comedic timing and play off each other, as well as play to the audience. They need to give us a chance to laugh without making it seem like they're expecting our response. The audience loves it when we know something that another character doesn't know, and we anticipate the reaction. Also, we respond with increasing laughter to repetition. We are so easy, as audience, to laugh at a recurring joke or physical schtick, like the locks on the door, or the rearranging of furniture, or the look on the "doctor's" face when the curvey nurse bends over. The actors need to be willing to play the fool, while pointing out the folly in all of us.

The Sunshine Boys is playing at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis through September 2. Click on the link to watch video clips, see photos, and for ticket information. It's both a look at entertainment of the past, and an enjoyable evening in the present.

In the show, Lewis & Clark try to explain to Clark's nephew what words are funny. They say, "Words that start with K, or have a K sound in them, are funny. Cookies is funny." Before the old boys start their rehearsal, they talk about crackers. Clark says, "I only have Graham, (something) and coconut." Notice how I remembered coconut crackers? Try saying it out loud. Does it give you a little chuckle?

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Make a list of funny words or phrases. Use humor in your writing, in your art, and in your life. It really is the best medicine.

The Biker Chef and I had fun on our first trip to the Metro together, and our first show at the Guthrie together. More on our Metro adventure later this week. Here's a teaser; We ate at this pub. Do you know where it is, or the name of the place?

I had good comedic timing in snapping this photo.

You can imagine what these two bartenders were discussing.

Review of Anytown at the Guthrie

Quote of the Day:  The song changes over time. It changes depending on who you're singing it to. The song changes. This is one of the quotes that flashed on the backdrop as the dancers were performing Anytown at the Guthrie, running through Sunday, June 24. I wish they had printed the quotes in the program along with descriptions of the songs and what the dancers were trying to tell us through their movements. Go to The Guthrie multimedia page for a rehearsal video clip.

The Guthrie Theater presents a Shapiro & Smith Dance production of Anytown, Thursday, June 21 - Sunday, June 24. Pictured: Kari Mosel and company. Photo credit: V. Paul Virtucio

Anytown is a dance performance by the Shapiro & Smith Dance Company using the music of Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band members Patti Scialfa and Soozie Tyrell. It tells stories of American life, the working class, the hardships, the relationships, the emotions of a lifetime.

The Guthrie Theater presents a Shapiro & Smith Dance production of Anytown, Thursday, June 21 - Sunday, June 24. Pictured: Kari Mosel and company. Photo credit: V. Paul Virtucio

Some images were clear to me. I felt the need and longing from Human Touch (opening number), the family conflict in Square Dance, the turmoil and conflicting emotions of When You're Young in the City, and the sexual tension in The Big Muddy. Other images and movements went right past me, I'm sure. I regretted not having a background in dance - for my lack of interpretation skills, as well as an envy of the dancers. They are beautiful and athletic. They look strong and powerful out there, so confident. I can't take my eyes off of them and wonder how many hours of training it must take to be so skilled and poised for an entire show like this.

The Guthrie Theater presents a Shapiro & Smith Dance production of Anytown, Thursday, June 21 - Sunday, June 24. Pictured: Maggie Bergeron and company. Photo credit: V. Paul Virtucio

I loved the staging of Maria's Bed, with the company sitting all proper like they're in church, sweet costumes, hats, jazzy movements, and the dancer in the back on the bed and moved towards the front, like we're one way in public and another in private.

My favorite number was St. Genevieve because it is about a river, how it flows and floods, and like life, you can't really move away from it. The choreography truly looked like a flowing river. And, the final numbers with Laura Selle Virtucio dancing solo, then the company joining her for Born in the U.S.A. and Glory Days were fantastic.

I know I missed some of the meaning and some of the story, and my techie son admits to not understanding much of it, but I chose to sit back and just watch and feel the emotions that the songs and dancers created. That was worth the drive to the cities from my home in Brainerd on a gorgeous summer night. As we left the city, just a hint of light was still on the horizon, golden and hopeful, and as we were heading north, flashes of lightning gave us a preview of the Fourth of July.

And, I had one more date with my oldest son, the HS graduate, who will be heading off on his own adventures, soon. He expanded his horizons just a bit more with this trip to the city.

He tried Thai food for the first time at Kindee near the Guthrie.

His was a milder noodle dish.

I had spicy red curry. Hoo! it heated up my mouth, but I cooled it off with that delicious iced coffee.

We both enjoyed the fried calamari, lightly breaded with just the right amount of spice in the dipping sauce.

(Thanks to our waitress Michelle for the great recommendations.)

Dare to expand your horizons. There is so much of life to taste and see.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Go out and try something new, a food, an artform, or even a drive down a new road. What have you discovered?