Welcome to One Show to See This Week, a weekly newsletter where I recommend the one play or musical you should see in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in the next seven days, because I believe live theater should be part of your routine. My inbox is always open, as are my DMs. Glad you’re here!
Not a subscriber yet? Sign up below. You’ll get a confirmation email. If you don’t see it, check your spam folder.
It’s been two weeks since Renee Good was killed in cold blood in broad daylight by an ICE agent. It’s been two weeks since Donald Trump, JD Vance, and Kristi Noem lied to you, me, and the rest of the country about that clear-as-day murder. Two weeks since they told us not to believe what we saw with our own eyes: that she was not a threat. She was just a mom standing up for her community, and for that she was shot dead, then called a “fucking bitch.”
Since that time, ICE has only ramped up its campaign of terror across the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota.
They say they came here to keep us safe, but instead they’ve arrested and brutalized U.S. citizens who have done nothing wrong, tear-gassed a family (including a six-month-old baby) whose only crime was driving in the wrong place at the wrong time, ripped immigrant parents who have no criminal records away from their young children, harassed and intimidated countless people just because they’re not white, and attacked Minnesotans across the state simply because they were expressing their constitutional right to observe and document the clearly illegal tactics of these masked abusers.
I could go on.
You might be wondering why I’m writing about this in my weekly theater newsletter. The answer is simple: Now is the time for every Minnesotan to use their platform to stand up for our community.
ICE is not making us safer. They’re actively making our state less safe. They are, as evidenced by their own actions, not here to solve crime or fight fraud. If they were, they would do it in a safe, orderly, and professional manner. They would work with our local police departments and state officials — the same people who have been successfully fighting crime and fraud in recent years, with the receipts to prove it. If ICE were here for our safety, they wouldn’t shoot a mom of three in the head for no reason. No, ICE is here for one reason and one reason only: because Donald Trump wants to make an example out of a state that voted against him and elects leaders that speak out against his hateful regime.
Normally, I use this newsletter to recommend one local theater production to see in the coming week. Today, I’m urging you to carve out time for another reason. This Friday, January 23, unions, faith leaders, community organizations, and other groups are coming together for “ICE Out of Minnesota: A Day of Truth & Freedom,” a general strike that is asking people to commit to no work, no school, and no shopping. Here’s the website with full details. If you’re in the area, there’s also a march and protest in downtown Minneapolis starting at 2 p.m. Here’s the Facebook page with details for that.
It’s going to be brutally cold on Friday, but I will still be bundling up and marching in Minneapolis. I hope to see you there. But even if you can’t make it, I hope you participate in the strike. I have a 9-to-5 job, but I’m making it work. This moment is too important to stay silent, too important to sit out.
The health, safety, and vibrancy of our theater community is just one of the endless reasons why ICE needs to leave Minnesota. It may be far from the most important reason, but theater is what I write about here, and it deserves to be mentioned. When we have armed thugs roaming our streets who harass, attack, and arrest law-abiding Minnesotans, our theaters suffer. Theatermakers, staff, and volunteers may not feel safe going to work. Audiences may not feel safe going to the theater. All this cruelty comes at a time when the Trump administration is actively slashing funding for the arts (except, apparently, for “art” that takes place in buildings with his name on them).
So beyond participating in “ICE Out Minnesota,” I have one more request: If you feel safe enough to do so, go to the theater this week. Bring a friend, or two, or three. Support the Minnesotans who continue to make art in this dark time. We need our theaters now more than ever — not as an entertaining distraction, but as places for us to gather together in person so that we can dream, imagine, and fill up our inner wells of hope.
Here are a few productions in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area I recommend you support in the coming week:
- How to Catch Creation at Theatre in the Round (Minneapolis)
- Theater Mu’s New Eyes Festival at Playwrights’ Center (St. Paul)
- The Picture of Dorian Gray (Reading) at Mixed Blood Theatre on Monday night (Minneapolis)
Stay safe, stay strong, and I hope I’ll see you downtown on Friday.
Alex
Leave a comment