We’re proud of our accomplishments. Since 2004, Girl Friday Productions has been creating vibrant theatre in the Twin Cities. Take a look at what we’ve done!
Played July 7-30, 2011, at the Minneapolis Theatre Garage
Directed by Craig Johnson
Cast: Byron Adams, Indira Addington, Ellen Apel, Laurel Armstrong, Kirby Bennett, David Beukema, Brian Columbus, Gary DuBreuil, Shelby Flannery, Mary Fox, Wini Froelich, Joel Grothe, Dan Hopman, Jillian Jacobson, Eric Knutson, Katherine Kupiecki, Sam Landman, Bob Malos, John Middleton, Anna Olson, Naveh Shavit-Lonstein, Collan Simmons, Anna Sundberg, Nathan Surprenant, Logan Verdoorn and Amanda Whisner
Elmer Rice’s 1929 Pulitzer Prize-winning Street Scene is a rich collage of the universal dramas and dreams of New York City tenement dwellers. Surprisingly relevant for today, this rarely produced masterpiece explores the comedy and tragedy of daily life through the experiences of several working class families, many of them new immigrants. Twenty-six actors and one dog tackled nearly 60 roles in this detailed slice of life. Teeming with humanity, Street Scene offered a bold ensemble exploration of American society.
“Neighbor argues with neighbor about the proper allocation of economic resources among the rich and the poor. Racial epithets are hurled at immigrants, who are regarded with suspicion. To consider marriage outside of its traditional boundaries is to pick a fight. Domestic discord turns murderous and bloody.
Sounds like the front page of today's newspaper, right? But these tensions have been part of America's national dialogue for decades. Evidence of that sad fact comes in Girl Friday Production's effective, evocative and prescient staging of ‘Street Scene.’”
—Dominic Papatola, Pioneer Press
Street Scene was selected by the Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, and Lavender Magazine as one of the Top Ten shows of 2011. Director Craig Johnson received a Twin Cities Ivey Award honoring his direction of the show, and leading lady Anna Sundberg received the Ivey Award for Emerging Artist recognizing her work in Street Scene and many other productions.
This production was made possible, in part, by funds provided by the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council through an appropriation by the Minnesota Legislature.
Played July 2-25, 2009 at Minneapolis Theatre Garage
Directed by Benjamin McGovern
Cast: Kirby Bennett, Joel Grothe, Alayne Hopkins, Sam Landman, Anna Lawrence, Courtney McLean, John Middleton, Ian Miller, George Muellner, Mike Rylander, Anna Sundberg, Julie Barnes Weaver, and Amanda Whisner
Through the adventures of one American family, The Skin of Our Teeth examines the cyclical nature of human existence. The Antrobus family, their maid Sabina and a host of other characters prevail over a series of catastrophes.
“A luminous production of Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer-winning 1942 play about a family battling terrible odds holds up beautifully.”
—Lisa Brock, StarTribune
This production was made possible, in part, by funds provided by the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council through an appropriation by the Minnesota Legislature.
Played July 6-28, 2007 at the Minneapolis Theatre Garage
Directed by Craig Johnson
Cast: Whistler Allen, Kirby Bennett, Shelby Flannery, Jenny Hollingsworth-Kathman, Ryan Kathman, Sam Landman, Bob Malos, John Middleton, Ian Miller, Laura Respess Salveson, Collan Simmons, Heather Stone, M. Scott Taulman, and Julie Barnes Weaver
“Our Town is not… a picture of life in a New Hampshire village; or a speculation about the conditions of life after death. It is an attempt to find a value above all price for the smallest events in our daily life...”
—Thornton Wilder
“Girl Friday Productions blends the unconventional with the familiar to produce a cozy, truly lovely staging that is sweet but not sugary, sincere but not cloying, clear-eyed without being cynical, and tender without being maudlin.”
—Dominic Papatola, Pioneer Press
Played July 15-30, 2005 at the Cedar Riverside People’s Center Theater
Directed by Natalie Diem
Cast: Kirby Bennett, Alayne Hopkins, Ben Kernan, Sam Landman, Bob Malos, and Edwin Strout
A “comic tragedy in seven courses” celebrating the joys of cooking, sex, bullfighting and the collected works of Ernest Hemingway.
“This is a fine first step for Girl Friday Productions, and we look forward to their next course.”
—Graydon Royce, StarTribune
Our archives of photos of previous productions will be available soon. In the meantime, visit our Facebook page for photos of past productions and a behind-the-scenes look at our rehearsal process.
Pioneer Press “10 Productions That Made a Difference in 2011”
“Practice makes perfect, right? Unless, of course, you're Girl Friday Productions, which offers one production every other year. It's almost always worth the wait, as a July staging of Elmer Rice's rarely seen Street Scene demonstrated. Director Craig Johnson—who netted an Ivey Award for his directorial efforts—marshaled his enormous cast of 26 actors (and one dog) magnificently, rendering the show's kaleidoscopic and still resonant themes crisply. Sharply observed and sentimental without being maudlin, Johnson and his company created a world so palpable that one could almost feel the oppressive heat radiating off the pavement. Girl Friday's work model is an idiosyncratic one, but its periodic presence on the local theater scene has become an important one both for artists and audiences.”
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