Tracey Maloney News

Watch as Scene Shop Supervisor Jesse Delaney as he breaks down the complex build process happening in the scene shop for the History Plays: RICHARD II, HENRY IV and HENRY V at the Guthrie Theatre. 

Enjoy a first look into Shakespeare's History Plays and hear from Artistic Director Joseph Haj on the significance of this epic production and the chance to revisit rotating repertory. RICHARD II, HENRY IV and HENRY V make their historic return to the Guthrie stage for the first time in over 30 years beginning March 23.

Guthrie Theater will present a rotating repertory of Shakespeare's History Plays. Dive into the rich tapestry of historical dramas on stage.

History Theatre at Home presents History Theatre Radio Hour's All the Way with LBJ.

Briskly written and dynamically staged, this world premiere tells a complicated, true, little known story with wit and economy. From the early days of commercial airlines, stewardesses were hired based on looks, required to pass weekly weight checks, forbidden to wear glasses or marry, and fired automatically when they reached age 32. They were also not allowed to apply for the higher paying bursar jobs. Though it took decades, literally, a stewardess named Mary Pat Laffey got all that to change, persisting with a lawsuit under Equal Employment statutes that derive directly from the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

As previously announced, Mixed Blood Theatre Company will produce ROE before it begins the journey to Broadway. The Broadway run is expected to be produced by Daryl Roth. No dates or details have been announced.

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. 

The Playwrights' Center's annual PlayLabs new play festival runs Monday, October 23, through Sunday, October 29, 2017. The featured playwrights are Jason Gray Platt ('Take Care'), Jen Silverman ('In the Time of the Volcano') and Alice Tuan ('A Humbling in St. Paul'), all Core Writers at the Center.

Swedish playwright Jonas Hassen Khemiri's* work makes its area debut with Pillsbury House Theatre's excellent production of the odd and oddly titled ALMOST EQUAL TO . But odd in a good way, odd in that it's uniquely structured and covers many topics and doesn't always entirely make sense. In fact pre- and mid-show announcements break the fourth wall a bit and tell us what to expect (or not). According to the program, the play 'is a commentary on the constraints and effects of living within a capitalist economic system.' A mix of economics, sociology, and family drama, ALMOST EQUAL TO will leave you questioning the very meaning of money. In a world with vast inequalities of wealth, that's a worthy thing to think about in a play that's also engaging and entertaining.

Park Square continues its 2016-2017 season on the Proscenium Stage with David Hare's acclaimed romantic drama Amy's View, directed by Gary Gisselman. A generational play about the lifelong tension between a strong mother and her loving daughter, Amy's View mixes love, death, and the theatre in ways both rich and original. This modern classic shows how even the smallest events can set in motion a chain reaction that can dramatically change lives forever.

Medea. Even if, like me, you've never seen or read the play, we all know the story of the mother who kills her children. Worst mother ever, right? But maybe, as they say on CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND, the situation is a bit more nuanced than that. Maybe there's more to the story, maybe other people in the story see it differently. Playwright Michael Elyanow (see also the beautiful play with music LULLABY) wanted to explore the story from the children's viewpoint. He writes in the playbill, 'I started writing THE CHILDREN as a response play where somebody does take action to defend those kids. In the writing, the piece revealed itself to be a fever dream, a time-traveling mystery, a fish-out-of-water comedy, a theatrical event with a perception shift in every scene until we get at what the play is ultimately, singularly about: trauma survival.' That's about as good of a description as I could imagine. THE CHILDREN is not an easy play to categorize, but it is a wonderful one to experience for 80 minutes. It'll challenge your perception of Medea, as well as your perception of time and space.

Since 2006, the Workhaus Collective provided Minneapolis-based, nationally-emerging playwrights the opportunity to lead the productions of their most innovative, commercially-challenging ideas. In 10 years, the Collective produced 25 new, critically acclaimed plays, many of which continued on to other theaters around the world. After its final production of 2016, the Workhaus Collective is voluntarily ceasing operation without debt.

The Twin Cities area is well known as a great theater town, so it is a fitting home to one of the nation's most celebrated new play festivals. The 32nd annual PlayLabs festival runs October 12-18 at the Playwrights' Center, a 44-year-old organization that is one of just a handful of play development centers in the country.   

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Connecticut, Maine, Sydney and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include BEDROOM FARCE at Westport, MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET at Ogunquit, and THE ALIENS in Sydney, just to name a few.

With their sixth production in the three-year life of the company, Dark & Stormy once again delivers a short, intense, well-acted and directed play in an unconventional space. But EXTREMITIES has none of the dark humor that could be found in some of their past shows. It's all violence and drama and complex moral questions. This 1982 Broadway play turned 1986 movie starring Farrah Fawcett explores the weighty themes of sexual violence, power, and justice. There's no clear winner in this story, no obvious right and wrong, just a lot of grey area, where most of us live. Each of these four characters, beautifully portrayed by this excellent cast, is at times sympathetic and at times infuriating in their words and choices. More than 30 years after it was written, EXTREMITIES is as relevant and topical as ever.

Dark & Stormy Productions today announces the producers, venue, and partners for its upcoming production of Extremities by William Mastrosimone. Previously, Dark & Stormy has presented Outside Providence by Edward Allan Baker, Speed-the-Plow by David Mamet, The Receptionist by Adam Bock, The Drunken City by Adam Bock, and The Hothouse by Harold Pinter. Extremities will be the first production of Dark & Stormy's 2015 season.

Dark & Stormy Productions today announces the producers, venue, and partners for its upcoming production of Extremities by William Mastrosimone. Previously, Dark & Stormy has presented Outside Providence by Edward Allan Baker, Speed-the-Plow by David Mamet, The Receptionist by Adam Bock, The Drunken City by Adam Bock, and The Hothouse by Harold Pinter. Extremities will be the first production of Dark & Stormy's 2015 season.

Charles Dickens' novella A CHRISTMAS CAROL has become a staple of holiday traditions. It shouldn't be surprising, then, that this classic story can currently be seen on multiple stages in the Twin Cities. The biggest of these is the Guthrie Theater; this is the 40th year that the Guthrie has produced A CHRISTMAS CAROL. I think it's safe to say this is one of their most popular shows every year, with many families incorporating it into their annual traditions. Lyric Arts is also producing the show on their Main Street Stage in Anoka. I was lucky enough to see these two different interpretations of this classic story on back-to-back nights. And while I do have a clear favorite between the two, it's really unfair to compare them too closely. Both are entertaining and creative interpretations of Charles Dickens' heartwarming story about the rich-in-money poor-in-friends businessman who learns through the visitation of four ghosts that it's better to be kind than rich.