Dramas & Classics WATCH ON THE RHINE | Sept. 30–Nov. 5, 2017 Guthrie Theater (818 South 2nd St., Minneapolis, MN) By Lillian Hellman. Directed by Lisa Peterson. This classic political thriller, set in Washington D.C. in 1940, tells the story of Fanny Farrelly and her Romanian houseguest, who is a Nazi supporter. The houseguest threatens to expose Fanny’s German son-in-law to the German Embassy for his involvement in the anti-Nazi German resistance. $15-$77 | guthrietheater.org | 612.377.2224 PICNIC | Oct. 11–14, 2017 Normandale Community College (9700 France Ave. S, Bloomington, MN) By William Inge. A handsome drifter with a troubled past stirs up suppressed emotions, especially among the women, when he shows up in a small, peaceful town on Labor Day weekend. This play was the winner of the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was made into a film in 1955. Tickets TBA | normandale.edu/community/theatre | 952.487.7462 ELECTRA | Oct. 13–Nov. 5, 2017 Ten Thousand Things Open Book | Oct. 13–15 & 26–29, Nov. 2–5 (1011 Washington Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN) Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center | Oct. 19–22, 2017 (788 E 7th St, Saint Paul, MN) By Euripides. Guest Directed by Rebecca Novick. Ever since her mother killed her father, Electra’s life has gone from bad to worse. Now, she’s plotting revenge with the help of a mysterious stranger, the neighborhood wives and an old friend, and hoping a little payback will turn things around. $30 | tenthousandthings.org | 612.203.9502 Theatre in the Round (245 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis, MN theatreintheround.org | 612.333.3010 SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER | Oct. 13–Nov. 5, 2017 By Tennessee Williams. A wealthy widow mourning the sudden death of her only son, Sebastian, hopes to silence her niece Catherine who witnessed his violent death. Her plan? To have Catherine committed to an asylum where the doctors will “cut” those memories out of Catherine’s brain forever. $15-$24 AND THEN THERE WERE NONE | Nov. 17–Dec. 17, 2017 See Murder, Mystery & Horror section. BERTOLT BRECHT Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director known for his antibourgeois beliefs. During the rise of the Nazis, Brecht left Germany and resided in various Scandinavian countries from 1933 until he emigrated to America in 1941. During this time, Brecht wrote several famous plays reflecting his opposition to Nazis and fascists including: Mother Courage and her Children, Life of Galileo, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, and The Caucasian Chalk Circle. (See two of these plays below.) As a result, his books were banned and burned and his citizenship revoked in Germany. Brecht believed that the theatre should not strive to make its audience identify with the characters on stage, but instead should allow the audience to watch performances with a critical detachment. THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE | Oct. 6–14, 2017 Lex-Ham Community Theatre, Wellstone Ctr. (179 Robie St. E, Saint Paul, MN) Using the “play within a play” device, Brecht’s story is set in the Soviet Union at the end of WWII. A parable about a peasant girl who raises another mother’s child is told to help resolve a dispute between the communes. Tickets TBA | lexhamarts.org | 651.644.3366 18 | Exploring Theatre www.tctosca.com THE RESISTIBLE RISE OF ARTURO UI Nov. 9–19, 2017 Augsburg College Tjornhom-Nelson Theater (2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, MN) This 1941 “parable play” about a ruthless Chicago mobster is an allegory of the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany during the ‘30s. $5-$8 | augsburg.edu | 612.330.1257
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