One Fan Show

Hello, fall. And more importantly, hello to the fall theater season! I especially miss City Pages and Vita.mn this time of year. I lived for the weekend mornings when I would pore over their fall arts issues while sipping a latte at Dinkytown’s Espresso Royale (R.I.P.) and compile a mental checklist of the theater I had to see. Those alt weeklies are no more (go subscribe to Racket!), but the Star Tribune, which started (and then shut down) the latter and bought (and then shut down) the former, still has a fall arts issue in print. As a Sunday-subscriber household, I at least had that to look forward to this year. Then the paper arrived.

Open up the cover of the special preview section and you’ll find the first page has this bummer of a headline: “Unadventurous Twin Cities fall theater lineup is heavy on classics.” (This headline is currently only in print, as they changed it online.) The writer laments that Minnesota theatergoers will mostly be served up “comfort food” this fall in the form of “familiar classics,” with the theater scene on the whole “[pulling] back on its ambition.” 

Theatre Elision, which was not included in the roundup, wasted no time offering a rebuttal. On social media, the company wrote, “If you narrow your scope enough, you’ll fill the narrative you want to tell. But take a look around. There are a lot of us here, and we are adventurous.” They also shared nine shows they believe fit the bill of adventurous theater, only one of which is mentioned in the Star Tribune’s feature. And yes, they included their own production of Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812.

Their post inspired me to write about the shows I’m most looking forward to this fall, but in a slightly different way. After reading the Star Tribune story, what struck me is that many of the productions the writer cherry-picks as evidence of “caution” among theatermakers are actually the opposite. Most of the shows cited are in truth creative risks masquerading as safe bets — but to understand that, you need to probe deeper than the titles of the plays and musicals.

To help you figure out which theater tickets to snap up now, and to prove that our local theatrical landscape is as adventurous as ever, here’s my take on why four shows the Star Tribune calls “comfort food” are secretly subversive, plus thoughts on six other intrepid productions I’d personally recommend.

Secretly Subversive Shows to See This Fall

A Doll’s House at the Guthrie

This Henrik Ibsen play is not only older than My Fair Lady (1956), it’s older than Pygmalion (1913), the play on which it is based. So what does this story from 1879 about a housewife butting up against a patriarchal cage have to offer us in 2025? Plenty, especially as this production is of a new English-language version by Amy Herzog which premiered on Broadway in 2023. In his review of that production, New York Times Theater Critic Jesse Green wrote, “Herzog’s dialogue, pruning the social floweriness and conversational whorls of Ibsen’s naturalism, gets right to the point of every line, leaving the text raw and red, as if exfoliated.” Whether you’ve seen A Doll’s House a dozen times or zero, this reinvigorated version is an essential experience this fall. — Playing Sept. 17 to Oct. 12

The Cherry Orchard at the Jungle Theater

In 2023, when local theater troupe the Moving Company presented a fresh adaptation of Molière’s The Misanthrope at the Jungle, this same Star Tribune writer said it “deconstructs the French original and reconstructs it into something relevant for today.” That’s what they’re up to again with Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, about a family of Russian aristocrats grappling with personal and societal upheaval at the turn of the 20th century, with the Jungle noting this co-production will offer “a contemporary lens.” — Playing Oct. 4 to Nov. 2

Purple Rain at the State Theatre

This world premiere stage adaptation of Prince’s album and film Purple Rain is the theatrical event of the season, not least because it is hoping to continue on to Broadway after this engagement. But I can understand if you view it cynically — it’s essentially a double IP play: a jukebox musical and screen adaptation in one. Taking Prince out of the picture for a moment, this musical is daring on its own creative terms thanks to the team they’ve assembled: the book is by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, who just won the Pulitzer for his play Purpose; the director is Lileana Blain-Cruz, who is currently resident director at Lincoln Center Theater in New York and made quite a splash at the Met Opera in 2024; and Prince’s role of The Kid will be played by Kris Kollins in his professional acting debut (!). If that’s not a bold choice, I don’t know what is. — Playing Oct. 16 to Nov. 16

My Fair Lady at Theater Latté Da

This Lerner and Loewe musical is no hidden gem, but it is a huge surprise to see it on the roster for Theater Latté Da, which has built its reputation on ambitious and offbeat shows, regional premieres, and brand new work. The theater’s new artistic director Justin Lucero made his directing debut last season with Cinderella, which was the first Rogers and Hammerstein show Latté Da had ever staged; My Fair Lady will be their first Lerner and Loewe show, so it’s clear Lucero is determined to reinvent musical theater classics in his company’s inventive image. (Here’s hoping they do Carousel next season.) I was disappointed with Cinderella, but I found his take on Sondheim and Lapine’s Passion to be revelatory — so will Lucero’s My Fair Lady soar or stumble? You’ll have to buy a ticket to find out. I’m encouraged by the casting of James A. Williams as Henry Higgins. Have you ever seen a Black actor in the role of the uptight British professor who’s on a mission to pass Eliza Doolittle off as a lady? What about an actor who was a founding member of Penumbra Theatre Company and originated roles created by August Wilson? I haven’t, but I’m thrilled by the prospect. — Playing Nov. 12 to Dec. 28

Other Under-the-Radar Productions I Recommend 

A Lesson in Love at Pillsbury House + Theatre

Tired of the forgettable romantic comedies coming out of Hollywood? This world premiere stage rom-com is set in real time and written by Nubia Monks, who frequent theatergoers may have seen acting on stage at the Guthrie, Latté Da, Penumbra, and elsewhere. Make it a double feature and see Monks in the Pulitzer-winning Primary Trust at the Guthrie, which overlaps with this run. — Playing Sept. 24 to Oct. 19

Lizzie: The Rock Musical at Open Eye Theatre

A punk-rock take on the legendary (alleged) axe murderer Lizzie Borden during Halloween season? Just because The Rocky Horror Picture Show is turning 50 this year doesn’t mean you can’t make room in your life for another seasonally appropriate spooky musical. — Playing Oct. 9 to Nov. 2

I and You at St. Croix Festival Theatre

Anyone who’s asked me for a theater recommendation in the last year has heard me gush about a company not actually in Minnesota, but close enough: St. Croix Festival Theatre across the border in Wisconsin, only about an hour’s drive from Minneapolis when traffic is light. A perfect mini road trip during fall foliage season, this theater (in the gorgeous, recently restored Historic Auditorium) is staging an oft-produced two-hander in I and You, about a homebound teenage girl with a severe illness whose charismatic classmate shows up out of the blue with a school assignment. The play may not be the most groundbreaking choice, but the full trip out to St. Croix Falls will be a day to remember. — Playing Oct. 11 to 26

White Rabbit Red Rabbit at Lyric Arts

I love going into a show blind. The possibility of being gobsmacked by the material, the performances, the staging is part of what makes live theater unlike any other art form. In this solo play, surprise is guaranteed: the conceit from writer Nassim Soleimanpour is that there is no preparation. The actor walks on stage in front of the audience, opens a sealed envelope, and performs the script for the first time. Lyric Arts lined up 11 performers brave enough to tackle this. You can’t go wrong with any of them, but I’d get a ticket for Noah Hynick on October 18. — Playing Oct. 17 to Nov. 2

The Last Yiddish Speaker by Six Points Theater

What if the insurrectionists of January 6th had succeeded? Deborah Zoe Laufer’s play doesn’t just ask that question, it answers it: the story follows a Jewish father and daughter in 2029 who must hide their true identities in a country that has become a Christian Nationalist state. Local legend Sally Wingert stars in this unflinching dystopian drama. — Playing Oct. 25 to Nov. 9

Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 by Theatre Elision

If Purple Rain wasn’t running this fall I’d call this musical the theatrical event of the season. Theatre Elision is staging the Twin Cities premiere of this Dave Malloy show, which is the definition of adventurous: a musically daring interpretation of classic literature (“an electropop opera based on a slice of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace”) that carries a precedent of lavish productions (the various New York stagings, up to and including Broadway, plunked audiences down in an immersive club setting). Theatre Elision is more than up for the challenge. — Playing Oct. 30 to Nov. 22