"Fifty Boxes of Earth" by Theater Mu at Park Square Theatre

The world premiere new play Fifty Boxes of Earth tells the story of a nonbinary immigrant who moves into a community and begins to plant a magical garden to establish literal and figurative roots. Theater Mu could not have known just how timely and important this story would be when they planned it as part of their season, with Trans Rights being threatened and immigrants being deported seemingly with no cause. This story puts a very human face on the immigrant or outsider experience, using magical realism, dance, puppetry, and some theater magic to evoke emotion. See it at Park Square Theatre in downtown St. Paul through March 16 only.

The story begins with our protagonist, known only as Q, arriving to claim her plot in the community garden. Their relationship with the garden manager Jon gets off to a rocky start, with him yelling at them to get out, until realizing this is the person who emailed to register for this plot. It only goes downhill from there, with Jon carelessly misgendering Q, and taking extreme measures when he finds out Q has brought dirt from their unnamed home country to plant their garden (although I agree with him on that, there are reasons you can't transport dirt from one ecosystem to another). Q befriends Jon's 11-year-old daughter Mina, who prefers to go by her last name Harker, which is another cause for tension. Jon and Harker seem to be alone in the world and have a tight bond, and he doesn't appreciate anyone else influencing his daughter. The relationship escalates from uncomfortable to actively antagonistic, and Q is forced to move on, but not without planting some seeds in Harker.

Jon (Alex Galick) and Q (Che'Li, photo by Rich Ryan)

Mu's website notes that Fifty Boxes of Earth is Queens-based playwright Ankita Raturi's "creative response to Bram Stoker's Dracula," but I really don't see it; maybe I'm not familiar enough with the original story. But the play does have some wonderful moments of magical realism in the way that the gardens grow literally before our eyes. Q plants everyday objects, like paper or bracelets, and in a few hours a strange and interesting plant grows out of the soil. The storytelling also uses dance in an interesting way, with a five-person ensemble (Eliana Durnbaugh, Kiko Laureano, Mars Niemi, Alyssa Taiber, and Taylor West) performing dances and movement and aiding in the magical plant transformations. They're like a wordless Greek Chorus, always present, commenting on and forwarding the action of the story with movement.

the father/daughter garden (Alex Galick and Mina Moua)
(photo by Rich Ryan)

With direction by kt shorb, choreography by Ananya Chatterjea, and puppet design by Oanh Vu and Andrew Young, the multi-disciplinary piece flows smoothly and cohesively between scenes with dialogue, wordless movement scenes, and plant puppetry. The plant puppets range in scale from small seedlings that sprout, to giant flowers manipulated by the entire ensemble. (And this story once again reminds us: don't feed the plants!) Che'Li is endearing as Q, engendering much empathy for the character and truthfully portraying all of the emotions of their experience. The character of Jon is a bit of a two-dimensional villain, and not even Alex Galick can him likeable, evolving from an annoying busybody into a threatening and destructive force (this was one of those plays where I expected someone to boo him at curtain call). Last but not least, 14-year-old Mina Moua is precocious and adorable as Harker.

don't feed the plant! (photo by Rich Ryan)

Park Square's main stage has been believably transformed into a garden, with a large plant bed front and center, and wooden stairs to a bridge that spans the stage, containing some elevated beds. The plant beds are filled with a substance that looks like real dirt, but doesn't make as much of a mess. The plants, which grow and change, range from realistic-looking tomato plants to a fantastical paper flower. Keep your eyes on the trellises and crates behind the bridge, where more magic happens (scenic design by Mina Kinukawa).

Fifty Boxes of Earth is a new take on an old story - that of the immigrant or outsider who comes into a community, hoping to contribute and be welcomed, and is instead feared, otherized, and constantly obstructed.