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!
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One Action to Take This Week:
Since I checked in last week with a note on the general strike across the state, ICE has murdered another Minnesotan: Alex Pretti. And once again, the federal government has lied about it, as The Minnesota Star Tribune and others have broken down in minute detail. It’s too much to bear. We can’t go on like this. But that doesn’t mean we’re helpless.
Until ICE is out of Minnesota, I’m changing the format of this theater newsletter to include one action to take every week, as well as the normal recommendation for one theatrical production to see. We have to stand up for Alex, Renee, and others killed, beaten, and abducted by ICE. We also have to stand up for our community, a directive Minnesotans have been following in countless selfless ways. As this is a theater newsletter, I’m compelled to share one additional ask: those of us who love the arts can’t let this occupying force crush our local theaters.
I created this newsletter to promote our theater scene, which I love. To do that right now, we both need to get ICE out and, for those of us who feel safe to do so, get ourselves in seats. As we saw with the Jungle Theater’s recent decision to scrap the rest of their season, our theaters are struggling. I hope you’ll make a conscious effort to support them.
So, onto the action of the week: call your senators. Both of them, every day this week. There’s a vote later this week that could give ICE an additional $10 billion (that’s on top of the $75 billion Congress gave through Trump’s “big beautiful bill”). Some senators have signaled they won’t vote for a bill that would give ICE more funding, but it’s not guaranteed. I’m calling Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith and asking for these four things:
- Most importantly: No more funding for ICE through the DHS bill.
- ICE out of MN. All of them.
- Further action against ICE: rescind current funding, abolition.
- Impeach Kristi Noem.
There are other people and organizations out there with different call scripts, but this is what I’m asking for. I urge you to at least call and talk about blocking new ICE funding.
If you’ve never called your legislator before, good news: it’s easy! For Senator Klobuchar, head to her website here and call her metro office or D.C. office. For Senator Smith, scroll down on this page to “Office Locations” and call the St. Paul or D.C. office. Don’t email! Call directly! It’s best to talk to someone, but if it sends you to voicemail, leave one and tell them your name and the city you’re calling from so they know you’re a constituent. If you’re reading this outside of Minnesota, calling your senators is even more important!
Now, onto the local production…
One Show to See This Week:
How to Catch Creation
Theatre in the Round, 245 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55454
January 16 – February 8
Theatre in the Round canceled two performances last weekend, the first on Friday to support the cast, crew, and staff members who participated in the general strike (kudos to them), and the second on Saturday in the wake of Alex Pretti’s killing.
This week, consider grabbing some friends and picking up a few tickets to their current play, How to Catch Creation, written by Christina Anderson (who folks may know as one of the book writers for the short-lived Broadway musical Paradise Square).
The story jumps through time, from the 1960s to 2014, and follows a group of black creatives whose lives intersect in unexpected ways, including Griffin, a writer who spent years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit; Tami, an art professor whose own spark of creativity has dwindled; Stokes, a painter whose applications to grad school return rejection after rejection; and Riley, a computer programmer whose real passion is music.
Here’s the cast talking about the show and offering a sneak peek into the production:
Stay safe, stay strong, and I’ll see you here next week.
Alex
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