Premieres-A-Plenty

Kirby
When: Oct. 11–Nov. 4
Where: Minnesota History Theatre, 30 E. 10th St., St. Paul, 651-292-4323

In the 1991 World Series, Kirby Puckett hit a walk-off homer, forced a seventh game, led the Twins to victory, and secured his place in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Later in life, however, Puckett’s public image was tarnished when his private demons began to catch up with him.

Playwright Syl Jones, who wrote Kirby for the History Theatre, was as inspired by Puckett’s flaws as he was by his legendary talent. “I met Kirby once, [when] he participated in a video I produced about making good choices for kids,” Jones recalls. “It was obvious that although he was charismatic and treated everyone with great respect, he spoke in clichés and used these to control the media’s image of him. We never knew the real Kirby or his demons until later.”

Redshirts
When: Sept. 6–30
Where: Penumbra Theatre, 270 N. Kent St.,St. Paul, 651-224-3180

Every year, some sort of college sports scandal seems to make headlines. Athletes get charged with cheating or sexual abuse, and indicted players—guilty or not—may be suspended or kicked off the team. These are the problems that plague the characters in Redshirts, a world premiere coproduction between Penumbra Theatre and Bethesda, Maryland’s Round House Theatre.

Trying
When: Sept. 14–Oct. 7
Where: Park Square Theatre, 20 W. 7th Place, St. Paul, 651-291-7005

Few remember the name, but Francis Biddle was the attorney general under FDR who, notoriously, authorized Japanese internment camps during World War II. 

Trying, written by Joanna McClelland Glass, Biddle’s secretary, tells the story of the unlikely relationship that developed between herself and the aging Biddle. In this area premiere, the venerable Richard Ooms presides as Biddle.