When We are Married

Simply put I don’t go out and enjoy all that life has to offer. One thing I could use a little more of is the some exposure to the arts. We are lucky in that Minneapolis has one of the greatest art scenes in the country. Boasting many museums, theaters, music venues, and anything else you could want only New York, Chicago, or maybe LA could compete. Recently one theater the Orpheum built a new 3 stage building along the river. It is a strange blue and yellow building that has a skyway jutting out that goes nowhere and yellow towers the size of chimneys sticking out of the roof. It also sports a large vertical marquee that scrolls the names and dates of upcoming or current shows. Are the theaters is a large park with circular sidewalks and curvy hills that provide a nice place to lay in the grass and see the river. All of this on the edge of down town close to the center of the city.

The building has been open for a couple of seasons and only recently did we get to a show there. A wonderful British show called “When we are Married”. RG received the tickets for being a volunteer for the local ALS society and we went the other night. I enjoyed it quite a bit. The inside of the theater is almost as strange as the out. The main lobby is kind of narrow with white walls the ticket counter is toward the back and it is a little disorientating. Once you go up a two story escalator there are some hallways to roam with leather chairs facing out so you can see the view through yellow tinted windows. Most of the second floor is taken up by a bar and restaurant that is open to everyone whether attending a show or not. On one side of the building one can walk out onto the skyway to nowhere to an observation deck that gives a great view of the river. Though I suspect it is usually windy there.

Once inside one of the theaters the presentation is quite cozy. The seating wraps around 3 sides of the stage and the walls are painted warm reds, yellows, and oranges. It is a very comfortable setting. There is a main floor and a balcony. We were sitting on the left side of the stage midway back on the first floor. At first I thought the view was going to be to the actors backs but this was not the case. They made sure to constantly move around facing all sides of the stage so the entire audience was addressed.

The show itself was great. I didn’t know any of the actors but they did a great job. The story is placed about the turn of last century, around 1900. It is about 3 established society couples. I won’t give too much away but the men are muckie-mucks in the church and want to fire the new organist who is seen out late at night with a woman! When they confront him he delivers a bombshell that the 3 men are not actually married because the priest who married all three of them was not licensed. This does not go over well because it would mean they had spent the last 30 years living in sin. The rest of the show goes on to explore their various lives and relationships through various conversation about what they should do about their situations. Of course the wives find out and the plot takes off from there. It is a great piece of British comedy and I would easily go see it again. My single complaint, having just spent 10 months in Britain, was how bad the actor’s “British” accents were. They sounded more Irish than northern English. Other than that it was a great show and we had a great night out.