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I go back and forth between the world of music and the world of literature. That’s simply who I have been my entire life. This past weekend was a wonderful celebration of local theater. Some productions have now ended, others continue for one more week, and more are preparing to open in the next couple of weeks. Treat yourself to a theatrical experience in Duluth; you will be pleased that you did.
This past Saturday afternoon I decided to visit the fountain of youth - locally know as the Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA). No apologies are necessary for acting whatever age you are comfortable with in the presence of a few dozen like-minded individuals between the ages of six and eighty-six. ‘The Cat in the Hat,’ published by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisl) in 1957(!), was transformed into a play by the National Theatre of Great Britain, and is still going strong fifty-eight years later. Cheryl Skafte - as Sally - is frustrated because of having to spend a rainy day inside the house while her parents are at work.
The Cat in the (Red-Striped) Hat - in the person of Lacy Habdas - shows up to bring ultimate creativity into an otherwise boring situation. Best of all, the Cat in the Hat knows well enough to completely clean up all the messy disaster before departing in the presence of Mom coming home. Would you tell your mother all that happened during this amazing day? Both Skafte and Habdas were clearly enjoying themselves, engaging the ageless audience, and sharing the very responsible text of Dr. Seuss. The Cat in the Hat will be on-stage through Sunday, 31 May, in case you haven’t seen it yet.
Friday night I joined the very full house for the Wise Fool Shakespeare production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The production has now closed, but what a powerful tribute to Shakespeare it was!  As literary scholar Harold Bloom writes, “Nothing by Shakespeare before A Midsummer Night’s Dream [1596] is its equal, and in some respects nothing by him afterward surpasses it.”
Director Chani Ninneman brought Will Shakespeare to life on Friday night as if he had written this play last week, and we were watching the first production, right here in Duluth, MN. By the end of the play, three weddings had taken place, and a re-creation of a tragic love story by the guildsmen in town - weavers, barrel-makers, joiners, carpenters - had entertained the young couples as well as the live audience.
While Theseus (Todd Larson) and Hippolyta(Emily Parr) host the evening’s activities, Oberon(Luke Moravec) and Titania(Julie Venhuizen) get caught up in the muddle. Titania falls in love with the ass-transformed character of Nick Bottom(Mike Pederson), but by the time the night is over, all correctness has been restored, the lovers are together, and the guildsmen are quite pleased at their tragic performance.
The performance by Pederson was totally worth the price of admission. Again, from the perspective of Harold Bloom, “Bottom is a triumphant early instance of Shakespeare’s invention of the human.” Pederson was really alive on Friday night, and his interaction with the audience, with his colleagues, and with his own very innocent character was Shakespeare at his best. The audience was extremely responsive throughout the evening, leaving no question that Will Shakespeare is as alive and well as he has ever been. Both Dr. Seuss and Will Shakespeare are sources of the fountain of youth. I hope you indulge yourself often.