John and Abigail, my critically-acclaimed Fringe show, is returning for a limited engagement as a South High Theater Alumni Event from October 23rd to October 26th. For this encore performance, Sarah Martin is reprising her role as Abigail Adams and I’ll once again star as John Adams. Proceeds from the event will contribute to the South High Theater program.

South High School in Minneapolis, MN has a really amazing theater program run by a woman by the name of Louise Bormann. She believes that students learn best when they are (a) allowed to do something meaningful and (b) asked to do something challenging. When it comes to theater, that means putting on difficult plays and allowing students to take part in every part of the production: Acting, directing, lighting, sound design, set building, costuming — if there’s a job you can do in theater, you can do it as a student at South High.

There have been years when South High Theater put on more than eight shows in a single year. This year, they’re only doing six: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, the musical Cabaret, August Wilson’s Seven Guitars, an undetermined project directed by a senior in the spring, and the 17th Annual Student Written and Directed One Acts.

The result of Louise’s dedication and belief in the capabilities of her students have been routinely excellent high school productions of challenging theatrical pieces: Not just shows which are “good for high school students”, but shows which are just flat-out worth watching.

The success of the program can be seen not only in the hundreds of students it benefits every year, but also in the success stories it has produced: Not only have local theatrical stars like Emily Gunyou Halaas and Nathan Keepers (Theater de la Jeune Leune) emerged from the program, but also Hollywood stars like Josh Hartnett (30 Days of Night) and Rachel Leigh Cook (Nancy Drew).

I attended South High School as part of the class of 1998. My first role in theater was Demetrius in the 1994 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Later that year the first play I ever wrote — a modern adaptation of Faust — was produced as part of the Student Written and Directed One Acts. The next year I was honored to star as Cyrano in Cyrano de Bergerac and was the assistant director for West Side Story. These were seminal experiences which changed the direction of my life and continue to shape my life on a day-to-day basis. They genuinely made me a better person and more talented artist.

So I’m really excited and truly honored to have the opportunity to put on this encore performance of John and Abigail and give a little something back from the theater program which has given me so much.

October 23rd thru 26th – 7:00 pm
South High’s Skybox Theater
3131 19th Ave. South
Minneapolis, MN
Reservations: 612-719-1994

Cast – Crew
Poster – Production Photos
Buy the Script!

As the result of random conversational tangents, I found myself wandering through the Lost Play of Shakespeare as described on Wikipedia. This random intellectual sampling has reminded me of why I find so much of the scholarship surrounding Elizabethan theater so amusing.

For example, here’s a quote from the discussion of The Puritan:

The play clearly dates from the year 1606. The text contains an allusion to an almanac that specifies July 15 as a Tuesday, which was true only of 1606 in the first decade of the 17th century.

Stop for a moment and think about the bare thread of logic which is being employed here. Consider that other possibilities include: The author had an out of date almanac. The author made a mistake. The author just didn’t care and referred to July 15th as a Tuesday because he needed it to be a Tuesday or because “Tuesday” fit the scansion and “Saturday” didn’t.

Now, in this particular case, there is supplementary evidence which clearly suggests that the play was written at some point during the first decade of the 17th century (and no later than 1607 when it was published). My point is that, when trying to date the composition and performance of Elizabethan plays, scholars are working in a near-vacuum when it comes to reliable information. Thus they scramble for any potential tidbit of correlation like a desperate man trying to find a wisp of oxygen.

This is probably made all the worse because the field of Shakespearean scholarship has been so thoroughly masticated over the last four centuries that there is little room for fresh insight. In such an environment, the need to secure tenure creates a tendency for over-reaching convolutions and the resulting navel-gazing simply makes matters worse.

Here’s another example, this time from a discussion on the authorship of Sir Thomas More:

Consider one example of what attracted attention to the style of Hand D.

First, from Sir Thomas More, Addition IIc, 84-7:

For other ruffians, as their fancies wrought,
With self same hand, self reasons, and self right,
Would shark on you, and men like ravenous fishes
Would feed on one another.

Next, from Coriolanus, I,i,184-8:

What’s the matter?
What in these several places of the city
You cry against the noble Senate, who
(Under the gods) keep you in awe, which else
Would feed on one another?

These are two passages with completely different subjects, contents, and structure (one is a question and the other is a statement). But they have five words in common, and thus they are offered as “evidence” that Shakespeare must have written it. Using this type of “logic” one can demonstrate quite aptly that J.R.R. Tolkien is responsible for The Sword of Shannara, The Dark is Rising, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

It’s also entertaining to watch scholars try to “prove” authorship by comparing plot structures. As if the similarities between Lethal Weapon, 48 Hrs, and The Hard Way demonstrate that all buddy cop films were written by the same guy.

In general, when Shakespearean scholars say things like “clearly” or “obviously” what they really mean is “I have no evidence that this is true, and it’s not even particularly logical to think it the most likely explanation, but I’m hoping that you won’t notice”.

But this is likely to get me started on Hamlet. And we should be here all night if that were the case.

Production photos from John & Abigail are now available. You can see them here. Only two more shows remain: Saturday at 4 pm and Sunday at 2 pm (both at the Bryant-Lake Bowl in Minneapolis, MN). We’ve been getting some fabulous reviews. A few sample quotes:

“Alexander cuts a fine figure as John… he smolders…” – Fringe Audience Review

“This play… is full of insight and charm.” – Fringe Audience Review

“I found myself being drawn into the letters of two remarkable people and the sacrifices they made…” – Fringe Audience Review

“Patriotic Minimalism: John and Abigail does what Fringe shows do best…” – Fringe Audience Review

I also highly recommend Killer Smile, written by Steve Moulds and directed by Brian Balcom. This is quite possibly the best show in this year’s Fringe (my own work of towering genius excepted, of course… >ahem<) and there’s only show left (Sunday at 4 pm). So what you should do is come and see John & Abigail at 2 pm and then drive a half mile or so down Lyndale Ave. to the Theater Garage and catch Killer Smile at 4 pm.

EDIT: The production photos were taken by Marci Tiesel. Ms. Tiesel is also available for weddings, birthdays, and other celebrations. She can be reached at 612-743-4634.

Adapted from the Letters of John and Abigail Adams

Friday, August 3rd – 6 pm
Sunday, August 5th – 10 pm
Wednesday, August 8th – 6 pm
Saturday, August 11th – 4 pm
Sunday, August 12th – 2 pm

Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater
810 West Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN
Uptown Tix – 651-209-6799

John and Abigail opens tonight at the Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater in Minneapolis, MN as part of the Minnesota Fringe Festival. I both wrote the play (adapting it from the original letters of John Adams and his wife Abigail) and star in it (as John Adams).

When you come to see the show, don’t be afraid to introduce yourself. Please be aware, however, that — due to the tight schedule constraints of the Fringe Festival — my crew and I only have 20 minutes to completely vacate the theatre and make way for the next performance. So you might have to hang around for a bit until we’ve finished scurrying around.

Hope to see you there!

As some of you may already be aware, the 35W Interstate bridge across the Mississippi in Minneapolis collapsed last night at around 6 o’clock p.m. I am posting this around 1 a.m. to let everyone know that I am safe, and — as far as I can tell — everyone I know in the area is safe. I have, however, been forced to turn off my phone, because I am exhausted and I must sleep. Thank you for your concern, however. And my own thoughts and best wishes lie with all those who are still awake tonight with doubt or fear or grief in their hearts.

The reason I’m so exhausted at the moment? We finished the tech period for John & Abigail today. With the exception of mending a few buttons on our costumes and tucking away a few other odds and ends, we are as ready as we’ll ever for our opening at 6 p.m., August 3rd at the Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater (810 West Lake Street). We’re essentially taking tomorrow off to give everyone involved a chance to recuperate and rest, so that we can explode onto the stage Friday night with the best play you’ll see at this year’s Minnesota Fringe Festival.