by SOPHIE KERMAN As the opening to the MORPHOLOGIES Queer Performance Festival, Scott Turner Schofield‘s Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps is a perfect balance of art and storytelling. The three companies organizing MORPHOLOGIES – Pangea World Theater, 20% Theatre Company, and RARE Productions – have spent the last two years putting together the festival, which aims to celebrate…
by MELANIE BOWMAN When the question of marriage equality arises, solemnity prevails. The seriousness of the issue generally excludes comedy, though derision is never far from the discussion. Better (or) Worse, presented by the Freshwater Theatre Company, takes on marriage as an institution with seriousness, realism, laughter, and hope. The play is a series of short scenes…
by SOPHIE KERMAN Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” were certainly ground-breaking in 1996, but the contemporary conversation about gender – and all the many fluid forms it may take – makes Ensler’s focus seem a bit narrow. After all, some people have no particular affinity towards their vagina, while others ardently wish that they had…
by SOPHIE KERMAN Memorial Day weekend might officially kick off the wedding season for most of the population, but for same-sex couples in most states, all those weddings are just a reminder of one way that their love can not be legally recognized. And despite all of the political rhetoric about rights and principles,…
by SOPHIE KERMAN You’ve got to wonder what happened at the birthday party when Russ King first took on the persona of Miss Richfield 1981, a beauty queen from the town “where butter is a spice and gravy is a beverage.” Like those shamelessly gravy-drinking suburbanites, Miss Richfield doesn’t hold back and has some serious…
by SOPHIE KERMAN When going to see a play about a group of teenagers out to expose a sex scandal involving a teacher, what do you expect to see? A heartwarming tale about finding social acceptance in surprising places? Or a sad story about the fallout of a traumatic and coercive relationship? No matter what your…
by SOPHIE KERMAN There are some plays that are so heartfelt that you root for their success before the actors even open their mouths. This is even more true when there are important political and ideological reasons for the play to be written and produced – in this case, creating theater that represents gender identities…
Aisle Say - Twin Cities 