Critic’s Picks: Theater

A View from the Bridge is not Arthur Miller’s most famous play (that honor probably belongs to Death of a Salesman), but its themes and characters still resonate. Bridge is the story of an Italian–American dockworker who falls in love with his niece and the fallout that ensues. The play is typical Miller and has a dénouement worthy of Greek tragedy. Ethan McSweeny directs. Sept. 13–Nov. 9. Guthrie Thrust Stage

Jon Ferguson, the critically praised physical theater director of such new work as Or the White Whale (based on the seemingly unstageable Moby Dick) and the tragically comic Please Don’t Blow Up Mr. Boban, brings his considerable talents to an adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. It’s no coincidence that this brutal story about well-intentioned public policy gone wrong coincides with the election. Actor John Katron collaborates. Oct. 31–Nov. 16 The Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Ave. S., Mpls, 612-340-1725

Jungle Theater’s artistic director Bain Boehlke has a flair for Mamet—and if it’s a shrewdly reflexive play about acting, even better. Mamet’s dark comedy A Life in the Theatre offers the audience a glimpse into the actor’s fragile psyche. Ten years ago, the Jungle did the play with Richard Ooms and Jim Lichtscheidl. This time around, in an act of life imitating art that imitates life, Boehlke himself plays the more experienced actor who passes the torch to an unsuspecting youngster. Sept. 19–Oct. 26. 2951 Lyndale Ave. S., Mpls., 612-822-7063

Wicked is Broadway’s biggest blockbuster since The Producers, and if you didn’t see it when it came through two years ago, now’s your chance. The musical takes place in Oz when Dorothy was a mere dot, and follows the lives of two girls—one green, fiery, and misunderstood, the other beautiful and popular—who later morph into the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch, respectively. Nicknames, however, can be deceiving. Scoop up these tickets ASAP—2006’s tour sold out in record time. Nov. 5–Dec. 7. Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Ave., Mpls., 612-673-0404

An all-female cast, courtesy of Ten Thousand Things Theater Company, plunges into Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night under the direction of Michelle Hensley. The gender experiment counterbalances the company’s 2007 all-male production of Richard III, which brought a new perspective to the king’s ferocity. The stellar cast—which features Sally Wingert, Sonja Parks, Barbara Kingsley, Maggie Chestovich, and Isabell Monk—deserves your utmost attention. Oct. 2–Nov. 2. multiple venues

Theatre Unbound primarily focuses on women’s stories, but that doesn’t mean their plays shy away from the darker, more twisted side of things. Paula Vogel’s incisive masterpiece How I Learned to Drive is one such play. Written in the 1990s when certain taboo topics had yet to be explored onstage, this Pulitzer Prize winner is a surprisingly funny, yet devastating tale of incest—and survival Nov. 7–23. Wellstone Center, 179 E. Robie St., St. Paul

Mu Performing Arts is one of the nation’s premier Asian American theater companies, and its growing national reputation certainly does the Twin Cities proud. This fall’s collection of new plays, Under the Porcelain Mask: Asian American Women Speak Out!, features two one-acts by emerging female playwrights May Lee Yang and Sun Mee Chomet. Their works, Sia(b) and Asiamnesia, respectively, will be presented at the Playwrights’ Center. Sept. 13–Oct. 5. 2301 Franklin Ave. E., Mpls., 612-824-4804

Theatre Pro Rata has a great reputation among small-theater cognoscenti, and Killer Joe should win it new devotees. Killer Joe is about a thug who’s hired by a family to kill the mother for her life insurance—but he won’t do the job until he’s paid, and the family can’t pay until they get the booty. By Tracy Lett, winner of a Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize for August: Osage County—the unflinching depiction of the scum of the earth is entertaining, disturbing, and unforgettable. Oct. 4–19. The Gremlin Theater, 509 Sibley St., St. Paul, 651-228-7008

Park Square Theatre’s offerings include two vastly different plays from iconic modern American playwrights. First up is Wendy Wasserstein’s The Sisters Rosensweig, followed by John Patrick Shanley’s Defiance. Rosensweig is an affectionate glimpse into the lives of three adult sisters contrasted against a teenager’s revolutionary spirit. Defiance takes on race relations and rigidity in the military. It’s the second part (after Shanley’s Pulitzer Prize– winner, Doubt) of an anticipated trilogy. Sept. 12–Oct. 5 and Oct. 17–Nov. 9. 20 W. 7th Pl., St. Paul, 651-291-7005

Mixed Blood Theatre brings us two intriguing shows: Lisa Loomer’s Distracted and Jason Grote’s 1001. Distracted’s hot-potato subject matter explores the causes of ADHD. (Genetics? Bad parenting? Drug companies’ marketing departments?) 1001 weaves together tales from Arabian Nights and a cyber relationship that blossoms into the real world right before 9/11. It’s a phantasmagorical play that suggests a world where anything seems possible. Sept. 25–Oct. 19 and Oct. 30–Nov. 23. 1501 S. 4th St., Mpls., 612-338-0937

Open Eye Figure Theatre attracts the best of the best, from puppeteers to storytellers to performance artists and modern dance. In September, Kevin Kling and Loren Niemi, along with Open Eye founder Michael Sommers, celebrate twenty-five years of experimental storytelling in Tickled Pink with Bad Jazz. This trio of veterans will not disappoint. Sept. 12–28. 506 E. 24th St., Mpls., 612-874-6338

Throughout the past thirteen years, Pangea World Theater’s progressive artistic directors have staged superlative productions by playwrights such as Athol Fugard, as well as numerous original works focusing on, for example, South Asian mythology and political disparity. Upcoming: The Illegals, a company-created piece about shifting Lake Street demographics and immigration, and Strange Voyage, a fantastical epic based on the true story of Frank Falconhead’s race around the world. Sept. 25–Oct. 5. 711 W. Lake St., Mpls., 612-822-0015

Walking Shadow Theatre Company and playwright Jordan Harrison—who revels in antiquated nouns, anthropomorphized props, and other creative ephemera—are well matched. The company specializes in regional premieres of peculiar plays, and Harrison’s Amazons and Their Men fits the bill. It’s about a woman (basically a fictionalized Leni Riefenstahl) who makes films for a fascist government. When she begins work on a new film, her actors start disappearing. Oct. 17–Nov. 1. Pillsbury House Theatre, 3501 Chicago Ave., Mpls., 612-825-0459

This fall, In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre is featuring a visiting artists series cosponsored by the Twin Cities Puppeteers. On October 24–25, puppeteer and political satirist Paul Zaloom presents one show for kids, Beakman Live!, based on the Emmy-winning TV show Beakman’s World, and a bawdier, more irreverent show for adults, The Tiny Jumbo Jolly Grim Show, with acclaimed puppeteer Lynn Jeffries. On November 14, Heather Henson, daughter of Muppet creator Jim Henson, presents Handmade Puppet Dreams, a selection of short puppet films, and Laura Heit performs miniature shows inside matchboxes that are simulcast onto a large screen. 1500 E. Lake St., Mpls., 612-721-2535