by Christine Sarkes
The Language Archive, a production of Theatre Pro Rata, playing at The Crane Theater through May 4, is a very funny, yet poignant and well-acted stage experience, particularly for those who worship the written and spoken word. Playwright Julia Cho and director Nicole Marie Wilder have captured the awkwardness of marital life and the all-to-human inability to express and describe emotions, even for experts who study and dissect language. This is the second production I’ve reviewed by this company, and I’ve been impressed by the high-quality acting and clever stage designs. Patrons enter to see pages from books hung vertically as a backdrop with stacks of books serving delightfully as decoration and furniture for the players.
The play centers on the troubled marriage between linguist George (Joe Swanson) and Mary (Megan Kim), George’s passionate study of living and dying languages, his lovelorn assistant Emma (Eva Gemlo) and their study subjects Alta (Wini Froelich) and her husband Resten (Nick Menzhuber). George and Mary struggle mightily to communicate with each other, with Mary resorting to cryptic, strategically hidden notes and tears. George confesses his struggle to understand and empathize with human behavior with this speech: “There are sixty-nine hundred languages in the world. More than half are expected to die within the next century. In fact, it’s estimated that every two weeks, a language dies. I don’t know about you, but this statistic moves me far more than any statistic on how many animals die or people die in a given time, in a given place. Because when we say a language dies, we are talking about a whole world, a whole way of life. It is the death of imagination, of memory.” Swanson delivers this and other touching speeches with passion and nerdy confusion. Gemlo plays Emma with a sweet devotion and nuanced emotions.
Comic-relief scene stealers Froelich and Menzhuber are really funny as hicks-from-the-sticks from a fictional country who agree to have their conversations studied. In a twist, the couple argues in heavily accented English because it ‘works better for anger’ and expresses love in their vaguely Nordic/Slavic native language. Froelich is also very funny as the German professor who is teaching Emma the artificial language Esperanto. I hope to see more of her on Twin Cities stages. Equally, I look forward to reviewing future productions of this small and talented company.
The Language Archive written by Julia Cho, directed by Nicole Marie Wilder, with stage management by Clara Costello, set design by MJ Leffler, lighting design by Emmet Kowler, sound design by Topher Pirkl, costume design by Mandi Johnson, props design by Jenny Moeller, and dialect coaching by Gillian Constable. Playing at The Crane Theater: 2303 Kennedy Street NE, Minneapolis through May 4. Tickets for all Theatre Pro Rata productions are $16 – $61 (sliding scale) and must be purchased in advance:
theatreprorata.org/box-office/.
Aisle Say - Twin Cities 