by ERIKA SASSEVILLE
Photo Credit: Lydia Frank
Fresh off their successful run of Breach at the 2025 Minnesota Fringe Festival, Third Space Theatre is furthering their reputation of crafting fast-paced and gripping theatre built to make you think with Plano by Will Arbery, now playing through Sunday, January 18th at Mixed Blood Theatre. From the very first seconds of the play, the show grabs you by the nose and drags you headlong into the abyss. If you’ve ever been impressed with the breakneck speed of the dialogue in shows like Gilmore Girls or The West Wing, you’re sure to be blown away by this production and it’s actors. Directed by Alex Church and Em Adam Rosenberg with startling specificity and care, Plano is an absurdist exploration of family, identity, trauma, and the lies we all tell ourselves. There is one more weekend of shows, and you will not want to miss it.
Like with many absurdist plays, describing the plot is complicated and given the delightful plot twists of this play, I won’t be giving too long of a summary. The basic story follows three sisters, Anne (Stephanie Kahle), Genevieve (Hannah Leatherbarrow), and Isabel (Mariabella Sorini) as they drift through their lives in northern Texas. It depicts the fraught relationships with the men in their lives, and how every character’s own insecurities, fears, repressed desires, and hidden wounds impact their personal existence and that of those around them. Plano is masterfully written and performed with technical precision by each and every actor. Whether they’re promising to talk about something later (“It’s later!”) or cheerfully trauma-dumping, you’re sure to laugh throughout the tightly-packed 85 min runtime.
In a show where nobody says exactly what they mean, every single actor shows you exactly what they want you to see. Kahle, Leatherbarrow, and Sorini glide through the lightning fast dialogue with ease, each embodying familiar sororal archetypes that will make anyone with a sister feel seen (attacked?) Leatherbarrow’s sharp wit and delivery are deeply relatable and anyone who has been around or through a divorce will instantly recognize Genevieve’s struggle to co-parent while feeling trapped in her own circumstances. Isabel’s dedication and desperation to cling to her faith reflect the experiences of anyone who grew up in a deeply religious household, and Sorini’s sweetness and vulnerability are always charming and heartbreaking in equal measure. Kahle’s performance as the eldest child, Anne, flows seamlessly from desperately seeking love, to soul-crushing loneliness, to cold-blooded slug killer, to heart-broken daughter, and more. Jennifer D’Lynn absolutely smashes her role as Mary – the girls’ mother – in the short time she is on stage. The cracking veneer of Mary’s maternal control and religious fervor perfectly encapsulate the generational trauma that has wrapped itself around the sisters, and D’Lynn uses every second of her short stage time to showcase her ability to emotionally shift gears with the technique of an F1 driver.
Now onto the men in their lives: Ben Qualley is pitch perfect as the manchild brother-in-law/husband, Steve; Samuel Osborne-Huerta gives their all as Anne’s distant, absent, and Plano-obsessed husband and father to “Javier Greg” (which may win my personal award for Favorite Name of an Unseen Child in a Play); and Michael Hundevad is ever-present as the Faceless Ghost, lingering around the set and within the action from before the house lights even go down. Hundevad shows off his prowess as a dancer, Qualley flexes his comedy chops, and Osborne-Huerta gives a long monologue so staggeringly quick and precise that it had me shaking my head in awe.
Directors Alex Church and Em Adam Rosenberg clearly set up their actors for success by carefully crafting the staging to allow the actors to showcase their many talents. Rosenberg’s choreography in the brief dance features interspersed between scenes of non-stop dialogue, perfectly balance the speed of the language with moments of slow physical connection, stillness, music, and silence. The set design of a front porch by Olivia von Edeskuty is gorgeously simple, but packed with features that allow the actors to execute ridiculously subtle sleight of hand tricks with their props, voices, and even their own bodies. The lighting design by designer Jackson Funke and lighting assistant Joshua Fisher smoothly follows the actors through their reveries and extended mental collapse, with beautifully timed outbursts of color and style.
At every step of the way, Plano explores the deeply existential experience of every human adult by forcing us to ask ourselves: What do we wish we could be? What have we convinced ourselves we need to be? And what are we afraid that we have become? Plano has its final performances on Thursday, January 15th-Saturday, January 17th at 7:30pm and Sunday, January 18th at 2:00pm at Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis. You simply must experience a Plano.
All tickets are Pay What You Can starting at $0 to ensure that anyone who wishes to see the show is able to.
Creative Team: Producer/Co-Director | Alex Church*, Co-Director/Choreographer | Em Adam Rosenberg*, Stage Manager/Set Designer | Olivia von Edeskuty, Assistant Stage Manager | Aren Sondrol, Sound Designer | Sam Faye King, Lighting Designer | Jackson Funke, Mask/Poster Designer | Robert McGrady, Marketing Coordinator | Naomi Brecht, Production Assistant | Gabbie Johnson, Lighting Assistant | Joshua Fisher
*TST Company Member
ABOUT THE SHOW: Runtime: 85 minutes, no intermission. Content Warnings: Strong language, violence, racism, allusions to domestic and sexual assault.
TST IS PARTNERING WITH TUBMAN: 10% of ticket sales will be donated to Tubman. For nearly 50 years, Tubman has helped people of all ages, gender identities, and cultural backgrounds who face relationship violence, trafficking, homelessness, addiction, mental health challenges, or other trauma. Throughout the Twin Cities, Tubman provides safe shelter, legal services, counseling, youth programming, and community education. Each year, we help about 18,000 people in Hennepin, Ramsey, and Washington counties and the surrounding area, get the support and information they need to experience safety, hope, and healing. To get help, call 612-825-0000. To give help, call 612-825-3333, or visit http://www.tubman.org to learn more. A Talkback with Tubman will be held in the theatre after the performance on Friday, January 16th.
PRE-SHOW ACTIVITIES:
A free community meal will be served after the show on Thursday, January 15, catered by Baba’s Hummus House & Mana’eesh Bakery
There will be pre-show music in the theater performed by Em Adam Rosenberg on the following dates. Arrive early and enjoy some tunes related to the show! Saturday, January 17th and Sunday, January 18th
ABOUT THE VENUE: The Alan Page Auditorium at Mixed Blood Theatre is AEA accessible.
There is a paid lot across the street and street parking available near the theatre. Email thirdspaceth@gmail.com with any questions.
Aisle Say - Twin Cities 