Every year is unique when you work in the theatre world. For me, 2016 was a bittersweet year. I saw fewer shows in the past 365 days than I have in any year since 2011. I was only in the audience for 50 performances this year. That’s down from 3 times that last year. However, that was the result of working on more shows myself, and that’s a good thing. My own theatre company is one of the many that closed up shop this year. So, it’s on to new things with the new year. But first, let’s take time to reflect, and celebrate the five best shows that I saw in 2016!
#1
Show: “Byhalia, Mississippi”
Company: The New Colony and Definition Theatre
Venue: The Den Theatre
TEN WORD SUMMARY: How, when, and why do you choose to forgive someone?
RATING: d20 — “One Of The Best”
My first top-rated show of 2016 never fell out of the top spot. No matter what other crap went down in 2016, the year started out really strong and with a lot of promise. I don’t have much new to say about this piece that I didn’t already say in my original review, so I’ll just quote a bit of that piece here: “Back when I was in grad school for playwriting, one of my professors maintained that no matter what else was true about your script, none of it mattered without the characters. Well drawn characters can tell just about any story and make it moving. Addressing issues makes something a platform, creating characters makes it a play. Linder would have aced that professor’s class. His characters are real people. They have real problems. They have real feelings. They speak in very real cadences that bring the viewer into the world of the play. This is a really well-crafted work.” With this play, The New Colony and Definition Theatre tackled many of the issues that came to the fore in the political landscape of our presidential election. He wrote a play about working class whites, upwardly mobile blacks, the tensions between races and classes, and how all societally held beliefs and attitudes are built and defined (and hopefully changed) at a personal level. When we eventually look back on the career of Evan Linder, this play will be studied as his masterwork.
#2
Show: “[Trans]formation”
Company: Nothing Without a Company & The Living Canvas
Venue: Collaboraction Studio
TEN WORD SUMMARY: Gender is not defined by genitalia despite actors being naked.
RATING: d20 — “One Of The Best”
I can safely say that not enough people saw this show. Even had they sold out every night, that statement would still be true. Nothing Without a Company and The Living Canvas put six completely naked transgendered and/or non-binary actors on stage and through powerfully emotional monologues, thoughtful songs, and intellectually challenging concept pieces, they led the audience to more or less ignore the genitalia bared in front of them. The characters, the tales, the vibrantly colored projections all came together to create an evening of perception-altering art that changed those who saw it. I came away enriched, informed, entertained, and fundamentally changed. I can pin-point about five plays in my life that have shaken-up what I consider theatre to be. Director Gaby Labotka has grabbed hold of my preconceptions and given them a good rattling.
#3
Show: “The Misanthrope”
Company: Piccolo Theatre
Venue: Piccolo Theatre
TEN WORD SUMMARY: A Moliere translation for a new generation. This play matters.
RATING: d20 — “One Of The Best”
If one had to pick a French playwright to be declared that language’s equivalent to Shakespeare, one would have to say Moliere. And yet, in translation, his pieces often feel dated and less universal than the works of the Bard. So, I was pleasantly surprised by Piccolo’s new translation of “The Misanthrope”. This was an artfully executed piece that was updated to a modern setting. The manners of the French court were swapped out for the proclivities of modern show business. But, the essence of what was being said remained the same. The script even remained in verse. It was perfect for this time and place. We all identified with the characters in a way that just isn’t possible to do when seeing an older translation still set in the 1600s. One of my first professional jobs 20 years ago was on a production of “The Misanthrope”. It wasn’t until Piccolo’s production of Martin Crimp’s literal and cultural translation that I truly felt I understood the work at its more basic level. Ben Muller’s portrayal of Alceste was dynamic and director Michael D. Graham’s overall approach to the work focused on every single detail. Each movement, each light or sound cue, every item placed on the set was important. One strategically placed bowl of Skittles still makes me want to go to the lobby to buy a box right now.
#4
Show: “The Drawer Boy”
Company: Redtwist Theatre
Venue: Redtwist Theatre
TEN WORD SUMMARY: We each live in a myth of memory. But whose?
RATING: d20 — “One Of The Best”
I’m pretty sure I could watch Adam Bitterman and Brian Parry act together all year long and be happy. To see those two bring to life the older gentleman farmers in “The Drawer Boy” was a special treat. Now, this play isn’t new, and it is a solid part of the contemporary canon, but I’d never seen the play prior to this production. It is a touching piece that delves into the issues of creating memories, about what is truth, and what damage we do to ourselves and others. It pack an emotional wallop. But, it clearly only rises to the level of brilliant when treated appropriately. Redtwist could not have treated this script better. The play wasn’t something to be viewed, but experienced. The total incorporation of all the design elements and a clear directorial vision brought everything together in a way that immersed the audience in a theatrical event, not a play. There is no way I could have spent an hour and a half on a Canadian farm a year prior to my birth, but earlier this year I did just that. I’m glad that I did.
#5
Show: “Naperville”
Company: Theater Wit
Venue: Theater Wit
TEN WORD SUMMARY: If Hell is other people, then so might be Heaven.
RATING: d20 — “One Of The Best”
I spent my formative years in an exceptionally affluent suburb of the Twin Cities. Naperville (the city) has much in common with my childhood stomping grounds. So it was that I attended this show expecting something that lampooned the nonsense of a society that places far too much value upon material wealth and the attitudes of entitlement that accompany evident affluenza. Mat Smart’s script is one part character study, one part slice-of-life comedy, mixed with a dash of philosophic nostalgia. That’s a recipe that results in a play that touches on the pride of those who come from a certain place, but also the doubt that comes from feeling out of place in one’s own community. At its core, the play doesn’t make fun of anyone. The humor comes from the very real situations and the human need for identity and companionship in both good times and bad. Joe Schermoly’s set still amazes me in its complexity, utility, and beauty: not something I’d expect to say about what is really a realistic interior. With this work, Abby Pierce reinforced her place at the top of my list of my favorite actors in town. She didn’t carry this show, because she didn’t have to. The whole cast was stellar. But, she did bring unexpected depth to a character that had to be done just right in order to make this play work. All in all, this play was far better and far more than I was expecting.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: “Good Person of Szechwan” (COR Theatre); “Rent” (Theo Ubique Productions); “Firebringer” (StarKid Productions); “Dream Girls” (Porchlight Music Theatre); and “The Lion in Winter” (Promethean Theatre Ensemble).