Death Tax

The Pillsbury Production of Death Tax: Living On By ADAM SCHENCK and BECKY HALAT Imagine a world where instead of death being the great equalizer, one can live on—“be preserved”—if one has the money to maintain care. Lucas Hnath’s script offers a somewhat frightening look at the future of elder care, showing the awkward discussions…

Mercy Killers

by SOPHIE KERMAN Testimonial theatre, particularly when created for a political purpose, is fraught with danger. Actors run the ethical risks of co-opting someone else’s story, as well as the theatrical risks of not being able to do that story justice. And then there is the challenge of avoiding heavy-handedness when it comes to the play’s…

The Ivey Awards

by SOPHIE KERMAN Aside from honoring the Twin Cities’ most hard-working and talented theater professionals, the Ivey Awards also provides reviewers and theater fans with a chance to see how they did. What must-see shows did we miss this year? And did we agree with the Ivey committee’s choices? Here is a list of this year’s…

Eurydice

by SOPHIE KERMAN In Sarah Ruhl‘s take on the classic myth of Eurydice, there are many ways to cross between loss and forgetting. Letters find their way to and from the underworld, where a chorus of stones silently fights the speech and song that bring memory back into dark places. An elevator transports the dead to their…

The Brothers Size

by SOPHIE KERMAN Contemporary theatre has a wide range of potential – to break new artistic ground, to offer pointed social commentary, to provide audiences a window into the lives of others. The Brothers Size, performed in the Guthrie Theater’s Dowling Studio, tries to do all three. But while the play’s vague nods to Yoruba-inspired mythology¹ do…