The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

Hitchcock Blonde by Terry Johnson, currently playing at the Jungle Theater, isn't what you would call a critical darling. I didn't read any of the other reviews before I went to see it, but I read them afterward, and they have the same complaints I did. The script is sprawling and overlong, in part because Johnson is obviously a playwright who has fallen madly in love with his own dialogue. Lines that could be short and sharp are long and blunted as a result.

 

SPECIAL EVENT
Silver + Gold

From now until August 31st, Hedwig and the Angry Inch will be playing at the Jungle Theater. Featuring a cast of local talent, including Jairus Abts as Hedwig and Ann Michels as her husband Yitzhak, the production is most comfortable during the music numbers and flounders some during monologues. Though shrill and sluggish at times, it builds toward an emotionally fulfilling conclusion.

Every morning, I get up all bleary and I pour my coffee and I sit down with my laptop and I tell my little stories. Character, plot, narrative, theme. I think I have a handle on these things. Most days, I feel competent.

Then I read or see something like The Syringa Tree, which is playing at the Jungle Theater until March 9, and everything I know about how to construct a story seems hopelessly naive.