Shannon Fitzgerald here with Episode #18 of the Underground Arts Club, a newsletter for the readers of Minneapolis Voices. The club is a recommendation, not a review. My goal is to introduce you to all of the Twin Cities art that you haven't yet discovered.
The Must-See
The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov
I first read The Cherry Orchard in early high school, and the list of quotes I highlighted in my copy read pretty dark for a 13 year old. But it’s a dark and thoughtful play, once again poignant in our current time.
From the website:
Set in a world teetering on the edge of transformation, Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard follows a family confronting and evading the traumas of the past and the realities of the present.
With a contemporary lens and the dynamic creative team behind SAY ALL THE TRUTH, this fresh, devised adaptation by The Moving Company invites audiences to consider the perils of refusing to acknowledge the shifting landscape of our present moment.
A new adaptation of Chekhov’s classic for today
Website: https://www.jungletheater.org/the-cherry-orchard
Who: Jungle Theater and The Moving Company
When: October 4-November 2
Where: Jungle Theater
Note on ticket pricing: The Jungle Theater has adopted Pay As You Are pricing, developed by Theater Mu. The point of this model is to keep theater accessible for as many people as possible while also asking those who would pay full price somewhere else to cover the full value of the production. Read up on the way it works when you buy your tickets, and know that I’m a big fan.
Things to know
- Parking: There’s a paid parking lot behind the theater, and surrounding street parking. It can sometimes be a tough place to park, so I’d recommend getting there a little early.
- Dining: moto-i is just across the street. Hopefully it gets cold enough for hot sake and ramen, with an order of miso popcorn to go.
- Accessibility: Info can be found here, including dates for open captions, ASL interpretation, and Audio Description
The Discovery
Theater Criticism: The Record of One’s Own Soul
Jungle Theater is offering a Theater Criticism course in the weeks surrounding The Cherry Orchard, and I have to admit I’m both intrigued and a little intimidated. I’m a theater promoter, not a critic (check out the intro to all of these episodes), but how do you pass up a course titled “The Record of One’s Own Soul?” Hopefully I’ll see you there.
Tuesday evenings from October 14-November 18
$75 pays for the course, including a ticket to The Cherry Orchard.
Field Notes
More than a couple of my favorite theater memories are set at the Jungle Theater, including but not limited to my own pandemic-era wedding. It’s an intimate (only 150 seats) space, with plush red velvet seats and a true proscenium. My favorite seat (in almost any theater, but especially here) is the center seat in the back row, where I can watch the whole show while also spying on the audience members experiencing it.
One show stands out above anything else I’ve ever seen. The Jungle produced Ride the Cyclone in 2019, a dark and hilarious musical about a group of high school choir members who die on a roller coaster ride and are given the opportunity to win their lives back by telling their story through song (I know, and you just have to see it). The technical feats that the Jungle team accomplished for that production linger in my brain and make me curse the transience that is theater. If I could go back in time to any moment, seeing this show again would definitely be on the list.
