Mission Statement

“Theatre Arlo wants you to want me.”

Macbeth: TVGR posters

Character posters for Macbeth: The Video Game Remix.

Macbeth: The Video Game Remix

Macbeth: the Video Game Remix

l to r: Duck Washington, Tim Uren, Dawn Malicsi (photo by Craig VanDerSchaegen)

Macbeth: The Video Game Remix

Written by Tim Uren (10,000 Comic Books) and Bill Stiteler (THACO)

Shakspeare’s classic tale of treachery and bloody destiny, warped into a world of group raids, power ups, and multiplayer quests. The tale of a n00b destined to be king… if he can ever make it out of first level.

Scotland is pwnd.

Macbeth: TVGR is being performed at the Bryant Lake Bowl. Tickets are $12 ($10 with a 2009 Fringe Button) on:

Sunday, March 7 at 7:00pm
Saturday, March 13 at 7:00pm
Sunday, March 14 at 7:00pm
Saturday, March 20 at 7:00pm
Sunday, March 21 at 7:00pm

Two Show Announcements

First! Theatre Arlo is proud to announce the dates for our next production:

Macbeth: The Video Game Remix

Written by Tim Uren (10,000 Comic Books) and Bill Stiteler (THACO)

Shakspeare’s classic tale of treachery and bloody destiny, warped into a world of group raids, power ups, and multiplayer quests. The tale of a n00b destined to be king… if he can ever make it out of first level.

Scotland is pwnd.

Macbeth: TVGR is being performed at the Bryant Lake Bowl. Tickets are $12 ($10 with a 2009 Fringe Button) on:

Sunday, March 7 at 7:00pm
Saturday, March 13 at 7:00pm
Sunday, March 14 at 7:00pm
Saturday, March 20 at 7:00pm
Sunday, March 21 at 7:00pm

Our second big announcement is that we’ve filed our Fringe application. It totally violates our raison d’etre, but it’s also a fantastic play:

The Two Gentlemen of Lebowski

by Adam Bertocci
taking inspiration from Mr. William Shakspeare
and the Brother Coen

What if the Bard had written The Big Lebowski? The cult classic film translated into the story of The Knave and his friend at ninepins, Sir Walter.

We’ll be on pins and needles until the Fringe Lottery, and will post an update once we (hopefully) get the good news.

Thanks all!

Well, that wraps up our second production in three months–four months since we officially started work on Arlo. Christmas Carol was an unqualified success, and we are already at work on the script for our next show: MacBeth: the Video Game Remix.

So as I sit at The Local, some thoughts on Arlo at the closing of the year.

  1. The “remix” concept (all credit to M. Foster for that one) was tremendously freeing in term of what we were allowed to do. The initial idea was to do the plays straight, but the white water rapids of both time and budgeting caused us to have to reconfigure that plan. It’s freed us to do commentary on the plays themselves.
  2. The $50 budget has been a huge stumbling block which we’ve overcome largely by ignoring it. We’ve borrowed a lot of props and costumes, but when your show has a cake and runs for six weeks, you’re going to have to buy more than one cake. So we may have to revise our budget upwards if we want to be honest.
  3. The audience response and general reaction to the concept have been sincerely inspiring.

And so we shall return in March with our next show, as well as an appearance at the Fringe Festival (ping pong balls willing). Again, thanks to everyone who’s made Arlo possible: the audiences, the staff at the Bryant Lake Bowl, and especially Matthew, who didn’t realize I was kidding.

AV Club’s holiday guide

We rated a nod in the AV Club’s roundup of Twin Cities holiday shows:

If you were more interested in MTV than The Golden Girls in the ’80s, or your current TV-watching habits don’t include the Lifetime network, do yourself a favor and get to know Blanche, Dorothy, Rose, and Sophia. Those old broads were funny, like your grandmother around the holidays when she’s had one or two drinks and starts telling dirty jokes. This culture-meets-kitsch mashup isn’t the first foray into Golden Girls territory for director Matthew Foster; several years ago he re-wrote Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya to include the gray-haired quartet. In the Dickens remix, three classic episodes will get wrapped up in sweet nostalgia, ribaldry, and lots of cheesecake.

Added Show!

We’ve added an additional performance for A Christmas Carol: The Golden Girls Remix!

Thursday, December 17 at 9:30 pm at the Bryant Lake Bowl. (It’ll be appearing on the BLB website shortly)

Golden Girls Gone Wild

Jay Gabler gives us some kind words in his TC Daily Planet Review:

Given the material and its tone, this seems almost absurd to write, but from its debut production—an übergay version of The Importance of Being Earnest—to this sophomore show, Theatre Arlo is actually demonstrating real artistic growth. I recommended the first show to anyone who found the premise “the least bit amusing,” and I think I can safely go further this time: even if you’re not the least bit amused by the premise of setting A Christmas Carol in the Golden Girls’ Florida home, you’ll likely still be amused by the result. And if the notion does tickle your fancy, you should definitely go; the only way you’ll be disappointed is if the show sells out and you can’t get in.

Houses for both performances were full, so if you want to see the show, why not make a reservation now?

The snarky, mixed-up holiday fare your funny bones crave

Metromix’s Annie DeSouza gives us a shout-out:

I’m putting a hold on my Pre-Thanksgiving Christmas Ban for 2009. I’m typically 100% against Christmas things before Thanksgiving, but this month’s calendar seemed to be full of them. Besides, even though this event started last week, it’s occuring weekly on Sundays until December 20, 2009 so it’s not all pre-Thanksgiving.

I’m talking about A Christmas Carol but not the one you’re used to. If you want the real thing, go to the Guthrie and they’ll take splendid care of you there. If you want something a little on the strange side, the Bryant Lake Bowl Theater can be counted upon for the snarky, mixed-up holiday fare your funny bones crave.

See you on Sunday!

The Girls

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Anna Olson, Courtney McLean, Kevin McLaughlin, and Lacey Piotter. Photo by Craig VanDerSchaegen.

At Rehearsal

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Rehearsal for A Christmas Carol: The Golden Girls Remix. Kevin McLaughlin, Courtney McLean, Sharon Stiteler.