In what is perhaps the most provocative choice of its season, Theatre in the Round Players present the area premiere of 2 by Romulus Linney. The production, helmed by director G. J. Clayburn, will run Jan. 5-28.
Set in 1945 Germany at the onset of the Nuremberg Trials, Linney's play focuses on the accused Hermann Goering, Hitler's "No. 2," who helped build the Third Reich. The remorseless Nazi claims the atrocities he helped inflict were a natural consequence of human conflict.
Following the Jan. 7 matinee performance, there will be a discussion with guest speakers Stephen Feinstein, director of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and John Cound, professor emeritus of the University of Minnesota Law School.
For tickets to shows at the TRP, 245 Cedar Ave in Minneapolis, call the box office at (612) 333-3010 or enter TRP's URL, www.theatreintheround.org..
* Now in their 49th year, the Theatre in the Round Players continue their 2000-2001 season, which boasts five area premieres. The season started with Impossible Marriageby Pulitzer Prize-winner Beth Henley, Shivaree by William Mastrosimone and Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan. Richardson and Berney's Dark of the Moon and Alan Ayckbourn's Absurd Person Singular followed.
Following 2, the comedy Lettice and Lovage by Peter Shaffer (Amadeus and Equus) will run Feb. 9-Mar. 4. Linda Paulsen directs the play in which a British tour guide who embellishes so much that she gets fired, but, because of her romantic world view, befriends the woman who fired her.
Shakespeare's shipwreck saga is marooned at TRP from March 16-April 15. The Tempest, about the usurped Duke of Milan, Prospero and his daughter Miranda is presented under the direction of Craig Johnson.
The final area premiere of the season comes with Off the Map, April 27-May 20. The play by Joan Ackermann centers on a New Mexican native who as a young girl lived off the land and hoped for a miracle. Her answer comes in the form of a displaced IRS agent. Directed by Lynn Musgrave.
Closing the millennial season will be the George Bernard Shaw classic Candida. The comedy about a Victorian love triangle between a reverend, his wife, and a poet, runs from June 1-24.
Theatre in the Round Players was founded in 1952, with three other theatres in the Twin Cities: The Old Log in Excelsior and, the Edythe Bush and the Group Theatre in St. Paul. Today, the Minnesota area has over 150 theatre groups, and some major theaters including the Guthrie, the Childrens Theatre, and TRP. Next year will be their 50th season.
The play-by-play lineup for the TRP is as follows:
• 2 by Linney, January 5-28
• Lettice and Lovage by Shaffer, Feb. 9-March 4
• The Tempest by Shakespeare, March 16-April 15
• Off the Map by J. Ackermann, April 27-May 20
• Candida by Shaw, June 1-24
— by Ernio Hernandez
