Theater News

Minneapolis/St. Paul Spotlight: March 2009

Sun City

Franchelle Stewart Dorn in 
A Raisin in the Sun
(© Peter Jennings)
Franchelle Stewart Dorn in

A Raisin in the Sun
(© Peter Jennings)

This March, the Guthrie presents Penumbra Theatre and their production of Lorraine Hansberry’s classic play, A Raisin in the Sun (March 12-April 11). 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of the play, centered on a working class black family that moves into an all-white neighborhood. Also at the Guthrie is Marina Carr’s By the Bog of Cats (March 12-April 5), a loose retelling of Medea set in rural Ireland.


Ordway Center for the Performing Arts presents two big Broadway Musicals, both starting on St. Patrick’s Day: The Color Purple (March 17-29) is the musical version of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer prize winning novel and Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed film. Grey Gardens (March 17-May 17) is based on the 1975 documentary of the same name, about the lives of Edith and “Little” Edie Bouvier Beale, aunt and cousin respectively of Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis, who lived reclusive lives in a decaying mansion on Long Island. Meanwhile, Broadway hits Movin’ Out (March 6-8) and Rent (March 25-29) both come to the Orpheum Theatre. Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles (March 22) also makes a brief stop at the Orpheum for only two performances.


Theater Latte Da uniquely blends musical theater with trapeze and aerial choreography in an evening of one-act musicals called Passage of Dreams (Southern Theater, March 21-April 5). Minneapolis Musical Theater offers the Marsha Norman/Lucy Simon musical The Secret Garden (Illusion Theater, March 13-29). Based on Frances Hodgeson Burnett’s 1909 novel, the musical won three Tony Awards in 1991.


The Jungle Theater presents a 90-minute adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment (March 27 – May 3), featuring just three actors. Mu Performing Arts and Stages Theatre Company present a joint production of Baseball Saved Us (Mixed Blood Theatre, March 13-April 4), about a young Japanese-American boy dealing with internment during World War II through his devotion to America’s national pastime. Those looking for lighter fare will also find it at Mixed Blood Theatre in Rick Najera’s Sweet 15 (March 13-22). This comedy follows a Latino father who wants to throw his daughter the ultimate Quinceañera, even though she’s already twenty-five. Sweet 15 is performed in a mix of English and Spanish, and includes English supertitles.


The Children’s Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Iqbal (March 3-29). Based on the true life story of Iqbal Masih, this play is about a child worker in a Pakistani carpet factory who dares to rebel. Meanwhile, In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre offers Beneath the Surface (March 6-8), an investigation of contemporary water issues. Finally, SteppingStone Theatre presents Streetcar (March 12 – 29), an original children’s musical set in St. Paul circa 1890.