“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.”

- George, The Language Archive 

George is a man consumed with preserving and documenting the dying languages of far-flung cultures. Closer to home, though, language is failing him. He doesn’t know what to say to his wife, Mary, to keep her from leaving him, and he doesn’t recognize the deep feelings that his lab assistant, Emma, has for him.

Performing At:

The Crane Theater
2303 Kennedy St. NE #120
Minneapolis, MN 55413

Directions

Tickets:

$16-$61, Sliding Scale
Tickets must be purchased online in advance

Covid policy Details here.

Performances Dates:

Thursday, April 18, at 7:30pm. Preview
Friday, April 19, at 7:30 pm. Opening Night
Saturday, April 20, at 7:30pm.
Monday, April 22, at 7:30pm. Pay What You Can Performance
Friday, April 26, at 7:30pm.
Saturday, April 27, at 7:30pm.
Sunday, April 28, at 2:00pm. Matinee; Masks Required*
Monday, April 29, at 7:30 pm. Pay What You Can Performance
Friday, May 3, at 7:30pm.
Saturday, May 4, at 2:00pm. Matinee
Saturday, May 4, at 7:30pm. Closing

*Masks optional for audience at all other performances

“The Language Archive… is a very funny, yet poignant and well-acted stage experience”

Aisle Say — Twin Cities 

Promotional Support provided by Alliance Française

Mark Twain wrote: “There are five kinds of actresses: bad actresses, fair actresses, good actresses, great actresses –
and then there is Sarah Bernhardt.”

It’s 1899 in Paris, and Sarah Bernhardt is a critically acclaimed actress with a daring spirit.  She’s triumphed in multiple theatrical roles, and the critics adore her.  When she takes on Shakespeare’s Hamlet as Hamlet, she grapples with the text written for this character as she goes through her creative process.  She struggles against societal norms of the day as she determinedly persists in creating her own version of Hamlet played by a woman.  This is a story of fierce persistence in the face of resistance to progress.

Performing At:

The Crane Theater
2303 Kennedy St. NE #120
Minneapolis, MN 55413

Directions

Please note: This production contains flashing light sequences which may affect photosensitive audience members.

Tickets:

$16-$61, Sliding Scale
Tickets must be purchased online in advance

Covid policy Details here.

Performances Dates:

Thursday, September 28, at 7:30pm. Preview
Friday, September 29, at 7:30 pm. Opening Night
Saturday, September 30, at 7:30pm.
Monday, October 2, at 7:30pm. Pay What You Can Performance
Friday, October 6, at 7:30pm.
Saturday, October 7, at 7:30pm.
Sunday, October 8, at 2:00pm. Matinee; Masks Required*
Monday, October 9, at 7:30 pm. Pay What You Can Performance
Friday, October 13, at 7:30pm.
Saturday, October 14, at 2:00pm. Matinee
Saturday, October 14, at 7:30pm.

*Masks optional for audience at all other performances

Promotional Support provided by the Trylon Cinema 

Bring home a piece of the show and enjoy a gorgeous, canvas painted reproduction of a theatrical poster of Sarah Bernhardt by Alphonse Mucha painted by our talented set designer, Sadie Ward.

Written by Marina Carr and loosely based on Euripides’ tragedy Medea, this is the prophetic tale of Hester Swane, who attempts to come to terms with a lifetime of abandonment in a world where all her loved ones have discarded her. 

Performing At:

The Crane Theater
2303 Kennedy St. NE #120
Minneapolis, MN 55413

Directions

Please note: water-based theatrical fog is used in this production.

Tickets:

$16-$61, Sliding Scale
Tickets must be purchased online in advance

Covid policy Details here.

Performances Dates:

Thursday, March 16, at 7:30pm. Preview
Friday, March 17, at 7:30 pm. Opening Night
Saturday, March 18, at 7:30pm. ASL
Sunday, March 19, at 7:30pm. Audio Description, Masks Required*
Friday, March 24, at 7:30pm.
Saturday, March 25, at 7:30pm.
Sunday, March 26, at 7:30pm. Masks Required*
Monday, March 27, at 7:30 pm. Pay What You Can Performance
Friday, March 31, at 7:30pm.
Saturday, April 1, at 7:30pm.
**CANCELED ** Sunday, April 2, at 3:00pm. Closing Matinee, Masks Required*

*Masks optional for audience at all other performances

PLEASE NOTE:
This production uses water-based theatrical haze throughout the performance

Following our productions of 44 Plays for 44 Presidents, (2012) and the remounted and updated 45 Plays for 45 Presidents (2016), we have a ‘hot off the press’ and unpublished 46 Plays for America’s First Ladies. The show is 46 short plays (dramas, comedies, even mini-musicals) about each of the First Ladies, from Martha Washington to Jill Biden. It’s simultaneously historical, poignant, educational, silly, and inspiring.

Performing At:

The Crane Theater
2303 Kennedy St. NE #120
Minneapolis, MN 55413

Directions

Tickets:

$16-$61, Sliding Scale
Tickets must be purchased online in advance
MASKS REQUIRED FOR ALL IN ATTENDANCE
In addition, proof of COVID-19 vaccination ‑OR- a recent negative test are required for entry.
Details here.

Performances Dates:

Saturday, Oct 1, at 7:30 pm. Opening Night.
Sunday, Oct 2, at 7:30pm. ASL/ Audio Description
Monday, Oct 3, at 7:30pm. Pay What You Can
Friday, Oct 7, at 7:30pm.
Saturday, Oct 8, at 7:30pm.
Sunday, Oct 9, at 7:30pm.
Friday, Oct 14, at 7:30pm.
Saturday, Oct 15, at 7:30pm.
Sunday, Oct 16, at 3:00pm. Closing Matinee.

The self, completely altered

In a magical dream of history, Orlando lives from Renaissance England to the twentieth century. His life starts as a charismatic nobleman, a favorite of Queen Elizabeth, and the lover of a Russian princess. Heartbreak and hunger for adventure lead Orlando to Constantinople where a night of debauchery sparks a transformation: Orlando is transformed into a woman and continues her adventures through several more centuries of challenges and passions. Sarah Ruhl’s adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel is sexy and surprising, blithe and earnest as it artfully plays with the attributes of gender, sexuality, identity, and freedom.

Performing At:

The Crane Theater
2303 Kennedy St. NE #120
Minneapolis, MN 55413

Directions

Take 35W to the Stinson Blvd exit, go south to Summer Street NE and turn right. The Kennedy Building (where the theater is located) will be on your left, go just past it and turn left onto McKinley Place NE. The entrance to the parking lot will be on your left, just north of the building. Enter the theater using yellow the door that faces the parking lot.

Tickets:

$16-$61, Sliding Scale
Tickets must be purchased online in advance
Click here to purchase tickets

MASKS REQUIRED FOR ALL IN ATTENDANCE
In addition, proof of COVID-19 vaccination ‑OR- a recent negative test are required for entry.
Details here.

Performances Dates:

Saturday, March 12, at 7:30 pm. Opening Night.
Sunday, March 13, at 7:30pm. ASL/Audio Description
Monday, March 14, at 7:30pm. Pay What You Can.
Friday, March 18, at 7:30pm.
Saturday, March 19, at 7:30pm.
Sunday, March 20, at 7:30pm.
Friday, March 25, at 7:30pm.
Saturday, March 26, at 7:30pm.
Sunday, March 27, at 3:00pm. Closing Matinee.

 

They’ve got what it takes.

If you could invite anyone from history to a dinner party, who would be at your table?

Marlene has just taken over the Top Girls Employment Agency and she is celebrating.
Set within Margaret Thatcher’s Britain of the early ‘80s, Top Girls manifests the evolving complexities of modern feminism and tackles the question of what it takes for women to succeed.

It’s all just a little bit of history repeating…

Performing at:

The Crane Theater
2303 Kennedy St. NE #120
Minneapolis, MN 55413

Directions

Take 35W to the Stinson Blvd exit, go south to Summer Street NE and turn right. The Kennedy Building (where the theater is located) will be on your left, go just past it and turn left onto McKinley Place NE. The entrance to the parking lot will be on your left, just north of the building. Enter the theater using yellow the door that faces the parking lot.

Tickets:

$16-$61, Sliding Scale
Tickets must be purchased online in advance

MASKS REQUIRED FOR ALL IN ATTENDANCE
In addition, proof of COVID-19 vaccination ‑OR- a recent negative test are required for entry.
Details here.

Performances Dates:

Saturday, November 6, at 7:30 pm. Opening Night.
Sunday, November 7, at 7:30pm.
Monday, November 8, at 7:30pm. Pay What You Can.
Friday, November 12, at 7:30pm.
Saturday, November 13, at 7:30pm.
Sunday, November 14, at 7:30pm.
Friday, November 19, at 7:30pm.
Saturday, November 20, at 7:30pm.
Sunday, November 21, at 3:00pm. Closing Matinee.

SPECIAL THANKS

Unholy Matrimony

Lady Happy, a wealthy heiress, rejects societal pressure to take a husband by building a cloistered utopia for unmarried women. The ladies are quite pleased to live free from the threat of marriage. The lords are quite perturbed to be kept out of the fun. And poor Madam Mediator has her hands full trying to keep the estate solvent. Will Lady Happy’s “principles of pleasure” be able to withstand the scrutiny of Princess Principle or the rising cost of flowers? 

Whoever said money can’t buy happiness, didn’t have enough money to try. 

This is a rollicking new adaptation by Heather Meyer, creator of Women’s History Month: The Historical Comedybration (with fabulous prizes) and numerous past Fringe shows. The original 1668 play was written by “Mad Madge” aka Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle (or as she called herself: “the thrice noble, illustrious, and excellent princess, the duchess of Newcastle, Margaret Cavendish”), gets a 21st century facelift for a frothy, face-paced, feminist romp.

Part of the Minnesota Fringe Festival

Performing at:

Wood Lake Nature Center Amphitheater
6710 Lake Shore Dr S
Richfield, MN 55423

Directions

35W Exit 10 for Co. Rd 53 (W 66th St.)
East on W 66th St.
Right (South) on Lakeshore Drive S.
Enter the nature center on the right.
Park and then follow signs to amphitheater

Tickets:

Must be purchased in advance

www.MinnesotaFringe.org
$10 with a $3 reservation fee
Fringe buttons ($5 in advance: https://www.minnesotafringe.org/fringebuttons)

Performances Dates:

August 5th — 8th and 11th — 15th

All shows begin at 7:00 PM as part of the Minnesota Fringe Festival

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.