Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays began as a series of benefits in L.A., continued Off-Broadway last fall, and is now being produced in theaters across the country. Nine playwrights contributed to the work, and their collective body of work is impressive, including some plays I’ve seen recently: I Am My Own Wife (Doug Wright), Compleat Female Stage Beauty, What’s the Word For (both Jeffrey Hatcher), reasons to be pretty (Neil LaBute). Wendy Knox of the innovative Frank Theatre Iowa (of all places)
for a hometown wedding and coming to terms with the gravity of
what they’re about to do. A New York
mother pressures her single gay son to find a husband, because all of her
friends' gay kids are getting married now that it’s legal. A heterosexual couple
amusingly deals with the possibility that the husband is gay and worry that
their son may follow in his father’s footsteps. A crazy woman begins hearing
voices in her head and feels that her traditional suburban lifestyle is being
threatened. A man delivers a heart-wrenching eulogy for his partner of 40
years. And finally, a happy couple celebrate their union with all of their friends.
About that talented cast of six. Jim Lichtsheidl (recently seen in the delightful fairy tale
Vasa Lisa with Ten Thousand Things) is always a delight to watch, especially
when he gets to play several characters in one piece. Shanan Custer brings her
very funny style to stories both serious and ridiculous (the aforementioned
crazy woman, in a hilarious monologue). Shawn Hamilton
(Ragtime and Avenue Q) and Aimee K Bryant (Hairspray at the Chan) unfortunately don’t get
to sing, but they do play a hypocritical evangelical couple determined to stay together
despite her husband’s indiscretions and scandals. Mark Rhein is the man whose wife tells
him he has a “gay sense of humor,” and in the most moving vignette, talks about
his 40-year love story. Last but not least, Laura B. Adams is strong and funny as the Jewish mother and a woman planning a wedding, something she never thought she'd do.
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| Mark Rhein and Jim Lichtsheidl |
Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays is playing at
the newest of the Hennepin theaters – the New Century Theatre in City Center
in downtown Minneapolis .
It’s the first time I’ve been there and I quite like the space, which includes
little cocktail tables among the seats in the audience, reminiscent of Hennepin Stages (Hey
City Theater) down the street. The plays are staged very simply staged, with a row of chairs on the stage and a few tables to the sides. The actors occasionally hold scripts; its more like a reading than a fully staged production.
I very much recommend this show (it runs for two more weekends). It’s an entertaining evening of theater that tells universal human stories, and it might get you thinking and talking about the subject of marriage equality. Which is something that we as Minnesotans need to think and talk about in light of the upcoming vote on the Marriage Amendment. For more information on that check out Minnesotans United for All Families.
I very much recommend this show (it runs for two more weekends). It’s an entertaining evening of theater that tells universal human stories, and it might get you thinking and talking about the subject of marriage equality. Which is something that we as Minnesotans need to think and talk about in light of the upcoming vote on the Marriage Amendment. For more information on that check out Minnesotans United for All Families.
