Christina Baldwin News

What did our critic think of DINNER FOR ONE at Jungle Theater?

Jungle Theater and Trademark Theater will co-present the World Premiere of 5 to be staged at The Jungle Theater March 11 - April 16, 2023. Written and performed by Jungle Artist Cohort, JuCoby Johnson (playwright/actor) - and directed by H. Adam Harris, the bold drama set in the fictional world of Babylon, GA features the acting talents of Isabella Dawis, Aaron Todd Douglas, Eric Hagen, and Dana Lee Thompson.

Northern Stage has announced the 2021 recipients of the BOLD Theater Women's Leadership Circle grant, which marks its fourth year with two new inductees into its unprecedented $3.5 million grant funded by the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation to support and promote women+ artistic directors and their associates in professional theaters across the United States.

Northern Stage announced the 2021 recipients of the BOLD Theater Women’s Leadership Circle grant, which marks its 4th year with 2 new inductees into its unprecedented $3.5 million grant funded by the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation to support and promote women+ artistic directors and their associates in professional theaters across the United States.

The Helen Gurley Brown Foundation and Northern Stage announce the second cohort of the BOLD Theater Women's Leadership Circle, a $3 million grant to support women+ leadership and artistry in the American theater. The cohort will be funded beginning June 1, 2021 and will build upon the extraordinary success of the BOLD Circle network.

Music Director Osmo Vänskä and the Grammy Award-winning Minnesota Orchestra today announced plans for the ensemble's 2020-21 season.

If the idea of an update to one of the world's most groundbreaking plays makes you dubious, because you think it will be a stodgy yawner or because you believe classics should not be messed with, or if you know little about Ibsen's most famous play, and so think you'll be too clueless to get this one, be reassured: the Jungle's production of A DOLL'S HOUSE PART 2 is both accessible and riveting.

This holiday season, the Jungle Theater presents THE WICKHAMS: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY, a companion to last year's wildly popular Miss Bennet - both continuations of Jane Austen's beloved novel, Pride and Prejudice. Starring Angela Timberman as the adored housekeeper Mrs. Reynolds, the play's action takes place in the cozy warmth of the Pemberley kitchen where the servants are bustling with holiday preparations. Directed by Christina Baldwin, this co-commission, co-world premiere (with Chicago's Northlight Theater and the Bay Area's Marin Theatre Company) runs December 1-30 at the Lyn-Lake neighborhood theater, located at 2951 Lyndale Ave. S. in Minneapolis. 

For the opening of her third season as Artistic Director at Minneapolis' spunky Jungle Theater, Sarah Rasmussen and her team commissioned a new adaptation of LITTLE WOMEN from Kate Hamill in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the novel's publication. Kate Hamill is an actor who has, of late, gained notice for her skillful adaptations of classic novels for the stage (several Austen works, Vanity Fair, etc.), to the point that she was one of the 10 most frequently produced playwrights in the US last season.

The Jungle Theater opens its 2018-19 Season with its first-ever commission: The world premiere of Kate Hamill's adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. The production coincides with the 150th anniversary of the publication of Little Women, 'the groundbreaking novel that changed everything' (Little Women 150). Jungle Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen directs this beloved classic saturated with a contemporary air, running September 15-October 21 at the Lyn-Lake neighborhood theater, located at 2951 Lyndale Ave. S. in Minneapolis. 

The Jungle Theater opens its 2018-19 Season with its first-ever commission: The world premiere of Kate Hamill's adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. The production coincides with the 150th anniversary of the publication of Little Women, 'the groundbreaking novel that changed everything' (Little Women 150). Jungle Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen directs this beloved classic saturated with a contemporary air, running September 15-October 21 at the Lyn-Lake neighborhood theater, located at 2951 Lyndale Ave. S. in Minneapolis. 

HAND TO GOD is a little like AVENUE Q, but with less singing, more frequent cursing, and more graphic simulated puppet sex. The 2015 Tony nominee for best play is having its regional premiere in a fantastic production at Jungle Theater, and if you don't mind being a little uncomfortable at the theater (you shouldn't, it's good for you), it's well worth braving the construction, traffic, and parking headaches that come with a trip to Uptown to see this funny, irreverent, and sad little play.

The Jungle Theater's 2018 summer show is a Jungle coup - the Twin Cities premiere of the rowdy, award-winning Broadway hit, HAND TO GOD, opening July 21. One of the most produced plays of 2016-17, Hand to God features a mild-mannered teen and his spectacularly foul-mouthed puppet in a fast-paced comedic exploration of the fragile nature of faith, morality and the ties that bind. Directed by Jungle Resident Director Christina Baldwin, the "darkly delightful" play (NY Times) runs through August 19 at the Lyn-Lake neighborhood theater, located at 2951 Lyndale Ave. S. in Minneapolis. 

Michelle Hensley, retiring Artistic Director and Founder of Ten Thousand Things, is a gift. A gift to theater, a gift to Minnesota, a gift to the world. She taught us a new way to do theater, a new way to experience theater, one that considers who the audience can and should be, which is everyone. Read her book ALL THE LIGHTS ON if you want to know more about it, or go see her beautiful swan song THE GOOD PERSON OF SZECHWAN, which is also the first play that TTT ever did nearly 30 years ago when Michelle started it in California. We've been lucky enough to have TTT as a vital part of the #TCTheater community for 25 years, a tradition that will continue after Michelle's retirement under the leadership of new Artistic Director Marcela Lorca. One can only hope that all of the artists and audience members she's worked with and influenced in those years will continue on this tradition of inclusive, accessible, imaginative theater that is unlike anything else.

'History is something that we can and should improve upon' sings the modern Major General in an added lyric in this cleverly refreshed production of the Gilbert & Sullivan classic. The laugh-out-loud show remains faithful to the original while integrating historical asides and contemporary political memes, all with a knowing wink at the audience, which had a roaring good time on opening night.

The 2017-18 Ruth Easton New Play Series at the Playwrights' Center continues March 5 and 6 with Core Writer Meg Miroshnik's new play 'Quiver.' The readings begin at 7 p.m. at the Playwrights' Center, located at 2301 E. Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis. They are free, but reservations are recommended and can be made at pwcenter.org.

Park Square continues its 43rd season on the Proscenium Stage with a new adaptation of Gilbert & Sullivan's operatic romp The Pirates of Penzance. Inspired by a true story, director Doug Scholz-Carlson has reimagined the perennial favorite that puts the composer themselves smack in the middle of their own farce. The pair's lush score includes some of their most famous songs, including I am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General and Poor Wand'ring One. The production stars local favorites Bradley Greenwald* as the Pirate King and Christina Baldwin* as the Major General.

Writing a sequel to one of the most beloved novels in English literature is a daunting and risky task. Audiences have such attachment to the original, and it could go wrong in so many ways. But playwrights Lauren Gunderson and Margo Melcon have gotten it so, so right in their theatrical sequel to Jane Austen's novel PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. In a sparkling new production at Jungle Theater, MISS BENNET: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY is very reminiscent of Jane Austen, but also fresh and modern and new. It's a witty, smart, utterly charming new play that celebrates not just literal sisterhood, but women working together and supporting each other, both onstage and behind the scenes. I can think of nothing we need more at this moment in time.

To close the 2017 Season, the Jungle presents its first holiday show - Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley - by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, directed by Christina Baldwin. Opening on November 18, this enchanting romance reunites Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice characters at the Darcy home for the holidays.