The Divorce Revolution

By Alison DeNio; directed by David Coral
Presented at Valencia’s Academy Theatre, Winona, MN

The Divorce Revolution played to a small but enthusiastic audience in the black box space at Valencia Academy last night. The play has several objectives. One of them is to increase people’s awareness that there are possibilities of life after divorce—to rewrite the narrative about divorce, as DeNio writes—not just for the adults, but for the Children involved as well. Another objective is to present a strong, work of theater. And this play meets both of these objectives.

DeNio, left, and Hamilton during a rehearsal for Divorce Revolution.

The finely-written and inventive script provides a nested narrative that is able to tell a complex story in a short space, using an honesty that allows the audience to see both the humor and the possible tragedy in the all-too-human failings in marriage and in separation.

The story is a fictionalized telling of the marriage and divorce of DeNio and her parenting partner Wes Hamilton. Hamilton was involved in the writing and production and plays himself across from DeNio. While a good number of the audience members know DeNio and Hamilton, I’m convinced that this play will hold up nicely as a play as it moves on to locations beyond Winona.

Along with DeNio’s script, the production benefits from a number of talented managers and designers, headed by director David Coral. Coral just finished his second season with GRSF and a prominent role in the Commonweal’s Ibsen offering, Enemy of the People this past spring.

Tonight is the last scheduled performance in Winona, and while the play is likely to see more productions here later on, I highly recommend seeing this one tonight if you can.

For more information onThe Divorce Revolution, visit www.divorce-revolution.com/.
The Divorce Revolution plays Saturday, August 6, 2011 at Valencia Academy, Winona, MN, 7:00 p.m.
It runs 1 hour, with a panel discussion after a short intermission.

Sylvia

A.R. Gurney, Dir. By Alan Bailey
Commonweal Theatre (July 11, 2011)

The premise of A.R. Gurney’s Sylvia is pretty simple: A middle-aged man whose kids have moved off to college and whose job has lost its purpose and whose wife has filled her life with a new profession finds a stray dog in Central Park and falls terribly in love with it, placing stress on the relationship with his wife.

It’s always dangerous to bring either kids or animals on stage because the audience can move into the oh cute mode. In fact, when a picture of a real dog is displayed at the end of the play, the audience gives a collective “oh cute.” But Sylvia largely stays above this emotive realm by representing Sylvia as a human being, not a person in a dog suit.

Adrienne Sweeney and Phil Losacker in the Commonweal’s Sylvia
(Photo by Jason Underferth as seen in American Theatre)

Adrienne Sweeney handles the role of the stray dog, and it is her performance that makes the play stay on the right side of the oh cute line. Sweeney plays the role on two feet and largely as a human being. Yet, she offers enough subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) moves that anyone who has spent any time with animals would see her as a dog. In fact, by the end of the play, Sweeney has become the dog. When that picture of the real dog is displayed at the final scene of the play, I think the audience is a little surprised to see an actual dog and not Sweeney in the portrait.

Sylvia speaks, in English. In fact, the dog has the first lines of the play. If having an animal on stage risks pushing a play over the edge, an anthropomorphic animal—a Snoopy or Garfield—could doom a play. But somehow, Sweeney and her surrogate family, Greg (played by Phil Losacker) and Kate (played by Laura Depta the night I saw the play) are able to keep the conceit working: Sweeney is still the dog. The play’s notes suggest Gurney’s strategy for the talking dog: the dog speaks largely what the people around her expect her to say and sometimes what the people around her are thinking. While this may not always be the case, the talking dog motif works because the dog does seem to reflect what the people feel and what people expect the dog to feel. And this seems to be one of Gurney’s main observations: people interact with their pets with a both a frankness and affection that is therapeutic.

This therapeutic effectiveness of pet ownership is contrasted with the three advice-offering characters that Scott Dixon plays in Sylvia. (This seems to be a recurrent talent of Scott Dixon—playing a large number of the supporting characters in a play. I’m not sure if this is written into the play as it was in Jeffery Hatcher’s adaptation of Turn of the Screw last fall or if this is a Commonweal invention. But it is fun to watch). Dixon plays the recurring role of Tom, a New York tough who is strangely in touch with the complex relationship between man and dog and husband and wife. (Tom’s dog is named Buster, a much safer name for a man’s dog than the gendered Sylvia, he warns.) In each appearance, Tom has read another pop psychology book and has another insight into the relationship between a man and his wife and a man and his dog. Greg seems to find Tom’s insights helpful, but mostly his accidental meetings with Tom give Greg the opportunity to talk openly about his relationship with his dog. Tom’s thinking certainly is more substantial than the other two characters Dixon plays: Kate’s former college classmate and self-proclaimed expert on New York society and Kate’s androgynous and self-obsessed therapist, Leslie.

While Dixon plays these two cross-dressing roles effectively and to many of the play’s biggest laughs, these two characters move the play outside of what an audience can accept as real. This is a bit of irony: the anthropomorphic dog plays like realism while the socialite driven to the scotch decanter by an over-friendly dog plays like a bad sitcom; the pet seems a living character while the therapist languishes as a caricature.

The strength of Gurney’s play, and the strength of this production, lies with the ability to make Sweeney’s character feel like a living character—a dog. A human playing a dog is certainly a comedic element, but I find it a satisfyingly comedic element rich in its subtly and physicality. I’m not as satisfied with the play’s willingness to embrace the cheap laugh, the laugh that seems to be the staple of all too many summer comedies. Of course, this type of comedy wouldn’t be used if it did not resonate with play-goers. On the way out of the theater, people were talking about Sylvia, about their own pets, but mostly about Dixon’s portrayal of Leslie the therapist. One fellow patron declared that his favorite character in the play was the therapist.

Sylvia plays in repertory with Little Shop of Horrors through August 19.
Visit the Commonweal for schedules and tickets: Commonweal Theatre (www.commonwealtheatre.org)

Sylvia

By A.R. Gurney; directed by Alan Bailey
Commonweal Theatre

The Commonweal Theatre Company opens A.R. Gurney’s comedy Sylvia, Saturday, May 21. The title character is a stray dog that meets Greg, a middle-aged financial trader in the midst of questioning where his career and his life have taken him. This chance meeting with Sylvia turns Greg’s entire world upside-down. This outrageous comedy challenges everything we think we know about love, sex, relationships, and the meaning of life.

Sylvia’s director, Alan Bailey says, “What sets Sylvia apart and makes it memorable and fun is that an actress plays Sylvia, a poodle-lab mix. But this isn’t an attempt at a faithful recreation of a dog, but an artist using her human body and voice and expressions to convey Sylvia as a full-realized character in the play.” [For commentary on the success of this “fully-realized character,” check out Sylvia’s trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnVne6JgYAQ

Phil Losacker (Greg) and Kirby Bennett (Kate). Photo by Jason Underferth.

Pet-lovers will undoubtedly recognize how powerful a force for change “Sylvia” proves to be in this play. “Without question, pets have the ability to change our lives,” Bailey adds. “If you invite your pet to truly be a member of your family - and increasingly, many of us invite pets into our homes to fill larger and more meaningful roles - then they absolutely become friends and confidantes and combatants.”

The love triangle in Sylvia features Twin Cities acting duo Phil Losacker and Kirby Bennett as Greg and his much-irked wife Kate with Commonweal Resident Artist Adrienne Sweeney as the titular Sylvia, who provides sudden competition with Kate for Greg’s time and affection. The cast is joined by Commonweal Resident Artist Scott Dixon playing triple roles of a fellow dog-lover in the park, an old college friend of Kate’s, and a marriage counselor.

Sylvia plays in Repertory with Enemey of the People through June 10 and with Little Shop of Horrors through August 19.
Visit the Commonweal for schedules and tickets: Commonweal Theatre

I am Ann Frank

May 20, 21, 27, and 28
Libretto by Enid Futterman; Music by Michael Cohen; Stage direction and design by Ben Krywosz
Nautilus Music-Theater (at the Jon Hassler Theater, Plainview)

Nautilus Music-Theater’s Ivey award-winning production of I Am Anne Frank opens this weekend at the Jon Hassler Theater for a four-night run. This musical adaption of Anne Frank’s famous diary, according to the producers, is the story of a young girl standing tip-toe on the edge of her future during a time of hatred and intolerance. The play combines spoken excerpts from Anne’s diary with songs that reveal the power of her inner life. Fully faithful to its source material, Anne’s famous chronicle of two Jewish families secreted in a cramped garret in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation is still as suspenseful and moving as ever. Her writing is propelled by an undying faith in the goodness of people. This heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting story stirs our deepest emotions as it insists upon honoring the endurance of the human spirit. Vanessa Gamble portrays Anne Frank in this production.

New York critics called Futterman and Cohen’s work “A moving, poignant, and in every sense tasteful piece of musical theatre... beautiful, flawless... this is what theater is all about.” Nautilus’ production earned rave reviews from critics and audiences alike when it premiered in 2006. The production won a coveted Ivey award, which noted that “the impressive artistic contributions of the talented cast, combined with the matchless vision of the directors, made Nautilus production of I Am Anne Frank a stunning collaboration of fine acting, sharp stage direction, effective lighting, and gorgeous music—a wonderful blend of music and acting, and an innovative way of telling an important story.”

Visit the Jon Hassler Theater online for schedules and tickets: www.jonhasslertheater.org
Phone the Jon Hassler Theater at 507-534-2900.

14thAnnual Ibsen Festival

Featuring Jeffery Hatcher’s adaption of Ibsen’s Enemy of the People at the Commonweal

The Ibsen festival marks both spring and the beginning of the area’s professional theater season. The centerpiece of the weekend will be the Commonweal’s production of Ibsen’s Enemy of the People. This will mark the second Ibsen play adapted by playwright Jeffery Hatcher. Last year’s Commonweal season featured Hatcher’s first run at Ibsen with John Gabriel Borkman as well as Hatcher’s take on Turn of the Screw. Scott Dixon Directs the Ibsen classic.

The weekend is full of food and cultural events. Below is a partial listing of events. For a full listing, download the festival brocure.

Weekend Highlights:

Friday April 15

Film
Troubled Waters: A Mississippi River Story
7:30 pm; Free Will Donation; St. Mane Theatre
Presented by the Lanesboro Arts Center with support from Lanesboro Local, the film traces the development of America’s heartland and its effect on the legendary river. The film offers fresh ideas and concrete solutions to the river’s troubles. Following the film there will be a discussion with sustainable agricultural specialist Loni Kemp. For more information visit www.lanesboroarts.org.

Theatre
An Enemy of the People
7:30 pm; Commonweal Theatre
Newly discovered health springs offer prosperity to a struggling town, until a local doctor realizes the waters are dangerously polluted. How far will a community go to turn a blind eye when the truth will bring about their personal ruin? This final preview performance features a post-show discussion. Reservations recommended.

Saturday, April 16

Book Signing
11:00 am to 3:00 pm; Lanesboro Local Publisher and author Deb Nelson Gourley was raised on her family’s ancestral Norwegian farm in Amherst, Minnesota. The author of Astri My Astri, Deb takes inspiration for her stories from her Norwegian ancestors.

Lecture
For the Love of Lakes
Darby Nelson
11:00 am; FREE; Commonweal Theatre
Minnesota – the land of 10,000 Lakes! But there is much more to a lake than meets the eye. With Thoreau’s ghost over his shoulder, Darby Nelson (President of Conservation Minnesota) explores the natural history of lakes and our relationship with these alluring bodies of water that are so much a part of our lives.

Artist Demonstration: Debra Ganglehoff
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm; Lanesboro Arts Center
Taking her inspiration from the beauty in nature, fiber artist Debra Gangelhoff works with felting, appliqué, and stitchery to make beautiful, useful items for the home.

Lecture
Ibsen Our Contemporary
Richard Hornby
1:00 pm; FREE; Commonweal Theatre
Chair of the Theater Department at the University of California at Riverside and theatre critic for the Hudson Review, Professor Hornby will discuss the challenges and opportunities of staging Ibsen for contemporary audiences.

Panel Discussion and Script Signing
Adapting and Staging Ibsen
4:00 pm; FREE; Commonweal Theatre
The Commonweal has commissioned Jeffrey Hatcher — one of America’s premiere playwrights — to adapt five plays from Ibsen’s canon, including An Enemy of the People. Join Jeffrey, director Scott Dixon and Interim Executive Director Hal Cropp as they discuss the many facets that go into creating a contemporary adaptation of a text more than a century old. Immediately following the panel discussion Jeffrey Hatcher will be signing copies of his script.

The Luther Jazz Quintet
6:30 pm; FREE; Commonweal Theatre Events Hall
Plan to arrive early for the show and enjoy an improvisational jazz concert featuring Tom Bourcier and inspired by the themes found in An Enemy of the People.

Theatre
An Enemy of the People
7:30 pm; $30; Commonweal Theatre
Join us for the opening performance of this world-premiere adaptation and stay for a celebration with the cast and crew after the show. Reservations recommended.

Sunday, April 17

Film
Troubled Waters: A Mississippi River Story
11:00 am; FREE; Commonweal Theatre

Theatre
An Enemy of the People
1:30 pm; $30; Commonweal Theatre

Visit the Commonweal for schedules and tickets: Commonweal Theatre

Arsenic and Old Lace

By Joseph Kesselring, Directed by Judee Brone
Fountain City River Players

Fountain City, Wisconsin’s community theater troupe will stage their annual spring comedy with a production of Arsenic and Old Lace.

Fountain City Auditorium
42 North Main Street
Fountain City, Wisconsin

Tickets can be purchased at Waumandee State Bank or Kwik Trip in Fountain City, at Midtown Food or Hardt's Music in Winona, or a half hour before each performance at the door. Call (608) 685-7481 to reserve tickets.

Metamorphoses

By Mary Zimmerman, directed by Daniel Stock
Commonweal Apprentice Company

The Commonweal Theatre Company is in the middle of its 2010-11 Apprentice Company performance: Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman. The play runs March 24 - April 3.

The Apprentice Program, now in its third year, has earned a reputation for bringing exciting and fresh theatre to the Commonweal stage each spring. This year’s offering, Metamorphoses, is a modern adaptation of ten Greek myths. Through vibrant storytelling, the play explores universal themes including the struggle between mortals and the divine, the inevitability of change, and the redemptive power of love.

Originally mounted in Chicago in 1998, Zimmerman’s production electrified the theatre world and subsequently transferred to Broadway, where it was heralded as ”deeply affecting” by Time magazine. ”As the director,” says Daniel Stock, “I am interested in this play because these stories still fascinate us, over two millennia after they were first conceived. I believe we can better control our future by learning from our past. These stories continue to capture and illuminate timeless gifts: being human and being alive.”

The Apprentice Company features Brennan Kelleher, Claire Kenning, Michael van Schoick, Jessie Sherman and Daniel Stock—all seen on the Commonweal mainstage during the 2010 season—and introduces newcomer, Rachel Kuhnle.

The innovative set design can be considered its own character, featuring a 9’ x 9’ pool of water on the stage. The set, sound, costumes and props are designed by the Commonweal Apprentice Company. Company member, Jason Underferth will design the lights.

The 10-month Apprenticeship affords recent graduates a transition into the professional theatre world, providing keen insight into the Artist/Administrator model through regular artistic opportunities and focused time in the areas of Marketing, Development and Production. The apprenticeship culminates in a capstone project that is produced, directed, designed and performed by the Apprentice Company with the resources of the Commonweal and the guidance of the staff.

Metamorphoses has a limited run of 8 shows. All performances are at the Commonweal Theatre in downtown Lanesboro. Tickets are $20.

Metaporphoses runs Thursdays through Sundays, March 24 - April 3
Visit the Commonweal for schedules and tickets: Commonweal Theatre

Great River Shakespeare Festival Preview

GRSF will unveil their 2011 season with a reception at Signatures Events Center in Winona.

The Preview event features music by Heart Strings Harp Circle light refreshments, cash bar, and raffle prizes. GRSF merchandise will be on sale, and attendees will be able to order tickets and purchase gift certificates for the 2011 season productions. Reservations are recommended but not required (507-474-7900, ext. 118). A $5.00 donation is suggested. The Signatures Event Center is at 22852 County Road 17 in Winona.

For more information go to grsf.org

Land Stewardship Project presenting one-act play

The Land Stewardship Project has been presenting Doug Nopar’s one act play, Look Who’s Knockin’, at churches, conferences, theaters and other venues throughout Southeastern Minnesota this winter and spring. The play follows a farm couple wrestling with what will happen to their farm after they retire. The play is intended to foster discussion about land ethics and how the next generation of farmers will be able to get started in farming.

Doug Nopar, the Policy Program Organizer for The Land Stewardship Project, is a long time rural organizer as well as the founder of Winona’s Youth Action Theatre. He created the play from numerous interviews and stories from and about new and retiring farmers. Look Who’s Knockin’ is directed by local farmer and regional actor Eva Barr and features a small rotating cast of actors familiar to Southeast Minnesota playgoers.

Upcoming performances include

April 8: The Crossings at Carnegie, Zumbrota, Minn., 7:30 p.m.; 320 E. Avenue, Zumbrota
April 10: Theatre du Mississippi, Masonic Temple, Winona, Minn., 2 p.m.; 251 Main St., Winona

Tickets are $5. For more information, contact Doug Nopar at 507-523-3366 or dnopar@landstewardshipproject.org, or go to LandStewardshipProject.org.