Restless Viking

2 days ago

Da Viking and Poppins wandered into Farmers Alley Theatre last night for "My Mother and the Michigan/Ohio War" and I came out seriously impressed.

On paper, this thing had every opportunity to go horribly wrong.

Michigan vs. Ohio. Football jokes. Midwestern stereotypes. A history lesson about the Toledo War. All ingredients that have been cooked many, many times before.

Instead, the writing took all of that familiar material and turned it into something remarkably immersive.... a story about grief, family, myth, memory and the histories we tell about ourselves.

Then, just for good measure, it ended by parodying the whole historical event through Broadway’s Hamilton. 😂

And the acting was terrific.

The standout for me was the broken fourth wall. The lead actress moved effortlessly between the script and the audience, adapting to whatever people gave her. It wasn't canned audience participation. She listened, responded, improvised and somehow folded everything right back into the character and story.

Seamlessly.

For a few minutes you realize you're watching something that exists only that night.

Tomorrow's audience may see the same play, but they'll never see quite the performance we did.

That's live theater. That's the best kind of live theater. Large productions should be jealous of what this theater has accomplished.

Farmers Alley is a small room using Equity actors, and they don't screw around.

Great writing. Great acting. Some genuinely flawless improv. A terrific snack bar and people that remember you.

Da Viking approves. ⚔️🎭 ... See MoreSee Less