KEEPIN' IT REAL & More Set for Illusion Theatre 50th Anniversary 2024-25 Season

ILLUSION THEATER celebrates 50 years of creating illuminating theater with a bold season of new plays and special performances! ILLUSION honors the past as we celebrate the present to make way for the future. For five decades ILLUSION has been producing new works by living artists that speak about the most personal and pressing social issues of our times. Under the visionary leadership of Michael Robins and Bonnie Morris, now joined by Tree O'Halloran, ILLUSION has been at the forefront of creating and producing transformative theater. Michael Robins said, "We reached out to artists who have been part of our success over the years to bring new works, world premieres to this 50th anniversary season." Tree O'Halloran adds, "We invite you to join ILLUSION to celebrate this milestone season," Bonnie Morris continues, "It is a celebration of our mission and our Twin Cities artistic community."

ILLUSION THEATER is proud to announce the 50th anniversary season beginning September 2024 and extending through October 2025. The regular season of performances is presented at the Center for Performing Arts (3754 Pleasant Avenue South, Minneapolis) unless noted otherwise.

September 20 - October 6, 2024:

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Gay Man written and performed by Patrick Scully. Patrick comes from Minnesota, his career as a dancer has taken him around the world and as a gay artist-activist he has confronted homophobia, advocated for sexuality education, and promoted love and understanding. He has been a leader in and advocate of LGBTQ+ rights and arts in our community. For 30 years he ran Patrick's Cabaret, a stage for radical fringe performers. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Gay Man begins in Patrick's high school in the 1960's then to his journey of discovery through his school, college years, and into his early professional life in the arts. Patrick weaves his own story into the larger story of the victories and defeats of LGBTQ+ individuals, not only in Minneapolis/St. Paul but across the country. Michael Robins says, "We first met Patrick in 1977 when as a member of the dance company Contactworks, he choreographed our signature production of Virginia Woolf's Orlando, Orlando. Our paths have overlapped over the years, and we are excited to present this first work in what Patrick envisions as Somewhere Along the Rainbow, an autobiographical series of his decades as an artist and activist." Portrait of the Artist as a Young Gay Man is directed by Michael Robins, with movement by Blake Nellis and lighting collaboration by Garvin Jellison. 

November 15 - November 24, 2024:

In This Moment... Now hosted by T. Mychael Rambo, Aimee K. Bryant, and Ryan Bynum at the Lowry Theater in St. Paul. Ryan Bynum's original song, "I'm so proud and blessed to be...In This Moment...Now" kickstarts the show as T. Mychael and Aimee lead an ensemble of African American performers in poetry, spoken word, dance, and song. This is the third edition of In This Moment...NOW having been presented originally in 2020 as a response to the murder of George Floyd. In This Moment...Now is a powerful, joyful performance of the full range of feelings of what it means to be African American in these times, in this community, now. T. Mychael Rambo and Aimee K. Bryant are much loved performers who have appeared on ILLUSION stages for many years, in many shows, and in many events.

December 6 - 22, 2024:

Miss Richfield 1981 's Holiday Pro'grum - Phony Baloney. This year Miss R will explain, as only she can, Artificial Intelligence in Phony Baloney, Keeping it Real in an Artificial World. According to Miss Richfield 1981, "Don't let my show's title fool you, I am staying as genuine as my Sanka! But many things around us are not real! So, in my new show, I explore all things artificial, like flowers, toupees, and mayonnaise." ILLUSION once again puts out the red carpet for Miss Richfield 1981's Holiday Show -- her 26th year with ILLUSION! Russ King, the man behind Miss Richfield 1981, came up with this brazen and beloved character while he worked at the Minnesota Aids Project (MAP) in the 90's. Michael Robins was on the MAP Board and offered Russ a spot in ILLUSION's Fresh Ink Series to try this character out. Miss R has gone on from our stage to become a national treasure. Phony Baloney is written by Russ King and performed by Miss Richfield 1981 herself!

February 21 - March 9, 2025:

Groucho Marx Meets T.S. Eliot by Jeffrey Hatcher with additional material by Evan Hatcher. Groucho Marx and T.S. Eliot met once in 1964 over dinner in London. Groucho, who starred in Animal Crackers, Duck Soup, A Night at the Opera, and You Bet Your Life, was a pen pal with T.S. Eliot, the author of The Waste Land, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Cocktail Party, and Murder in the Cathedral. Be a Rufus T. Firefly on the wall as they discuss poetry, vaudeville, war, wives, Gilbert and Sullivan, Shakespeare and Freud's jokes, and their relation to the unconscious. In 1994 ILLUSION produced Jeffrey Hatcher's Three Viewings, which has gone on to be produced around the country and overseas. Since that first outing with Jeffrey, ILLUSION has commissioned/produced eleven of his plays including No Strings (1996), his adaptation of Henry James's Turn of the Screw (1998), Good N' Plenty (2001), Murderers (2005), Mercy of a Storm (2003), Mrs. Mannerly (2008), What's the Word For (2012), Jeffrey Hatcher's Hamlet (2014), A Night in Olympus (2016), and Netherland (2019). In 2024 Jeffrey was named "one of the most produced playwrights in America." Groucho Marx Meets T.S. Eliot is directed by Michael Robins and stars Jim Cunningham as Groucho and John Middleton as T. S. Eliot.

March 28 - April 13, 2025:

Transatlantic Love Affair presents Red and the Mother Wild a tale of what lies beyond the bounds of our cultivated lives. Inspired by the themes and hidden corners of Red Riding Hood, the piece weaves revisioning of the TLA 2011 Fringe show, Red Resurrected, with new material developed as part of Illusion's 2024 Fresh Ink Series. Journey with us into the deep dark woods, where wolves are not what they seem, and the wild has something to teach us all. TLA brings their lush, dreamlike, physical theater to depict grief, personal freedom, and wildness. TLA and ILLUSION have had a long relationship beginning in 2012 when TLA presented Ballad of the Pale Fisherman in ILLUSION's Lights UP! Series. Other works with ILLUSION include Red Resurrected (2013), Ash Land (2014), emilie / eurydice (2015), 105 Proof (2016), The Privateer (2017), The Devout (2019), These Old Shoes (2014 and 2023).

April 25 - May 4, 2025:

Scarecrow on Fire written by Kevin Kling. Kevin imagines a twist to the story of The Wizard of Oz, as only he can. Dorothy is back in Kansas with a cyclone in her head, she's in trouble and calls for help. Can the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion find their way from Oz to Kansas? With the all-star cast of Dan Chouinard as the Tinman, Stephen Yoakam as the Lion, Simone Perrin as Dorothy, and Kevin as the Scarecrow, these four plunge into one adventure after another and still arrive at the realization that, "Home. There really is no place like it." Kevin Kling was one of the first playwrights ILLUSION engaged for collaboration. He first performed his solo work 21A in ILLUSION's studio warehouse (1984). Kevin played a collection of eight unforgettable characters on the Minneapolis to St. Paul bus route giving the play its name. ILLUSION produced his Lloyd's Prayer twice, in 1989 with Kevin playing the Raccoon Boy and Michael Sommers playing Lloyd and later in 2002 with Nathan Christopher playing the Raccoon Boy and Zach Curtis as Lloyd. Kevin has performed at LIVE at Lyndale Gardens for each of the four years of this free outdoor series. This 50th year Kevin offers Scarecrow On Fire directed by Michael Robins with Kevin Kling, Dan Chouinard, Simone Perrin, and Stephen Yoakam, with music from the House of Mercy band.

June 2025:

Fresh Ink. Dedicated to generating new work, Bonnie and Michael established the Fresh Ink Series in 1987 as a part of ILLUSION's season to have time and space for artists to try out new work. Fresh Ink gives artists a platform and resources to advance new work in a workshop setting and then, most importantly, share the work with an audience. Fresh Ink demonstrates ILLUSION's commitment to developing new works in American theater.

July & August 2025:

ILLUSION. OUTSIDE. Live at Lyndale Gardens. ILLUSION's 5th summer season of programming free joyful music, theater, and entertainment at the Amphitheater in Lyndale Gardens, 6400 Lyndale Avenue South, Richfield. Colleen Carey, whose Cornerstone Group has sponsored the events at the Amphitheater, said, "We built the Amphitheater at Lyndale Gardens purposefully to have a community gathering space. We are thrilled to have ILLUSION THEATER again program this Summer Series in our Lyndale Gardens Amphitheater."

September 2025:

Nobody, No Time by ILLUSION Mellon Playwright in Residence, Carlyle Brown, is inspired by the life of Bert Williams, the famous and popular Vaudeville Negro entertainer. He was the headliner in the Ziegfeld Follies and at the beginning of the twentieth century he was one of the top recording artists in the world. He performed in black face and built his career and legacy on the exploitation of Negro stereotypes. W.C. Fields called him the funniest and the saddest man he ever knew. Nobody, No Time is a new play with music that looks inside the most talented, complex and conflicted figure of the Vaudeville era. As the Mellon Playwright in Residence, Carlyle has been a part of Illusion's leadership team since 2020. Nobody, No Time will be the fourth play Carlyle has written since he began his Mellon residence with Illusion.

Spring 2025:

KEEPIN' IT REAL In addition to the development of new plays, ILLUSION is known for its groundbreaking educational work serving Twin Cities and greater Minnesota youth for over 40 years. KEEPIN' IT REAL will once again tour Twin Cities area schools in March, with in-house performances at CFPA. This interactive performance piece was originally created from stories of older teens who wanted to tell their truths to incoming freshmen -so the younger students could avoid the "dramas" the older students had experienced. Each year the show changes based on the concerns of current teens. Most recently, ILLUSION included scenes that touch on the anxiety and depression teens have been feeling since the pandemic. Students' responses, "Thank you, this is the first time these topics have been discussed." "I know people who are going through what happens in the play." "Some days you just need a break." "Keep your head up, even if life brings you down." KEEPIN' IT REAL was developed by ILLUSION's Education Team - Producing Director Bonnie Morris, Director of Education Karen Gundlach, Content Specialist Kathy Anlauf, and ILLUSION's team of Teaching Artists.

ILLUSION - 50 years!

Bonnie and Michael each participated in the social and political changes that occurred throughout the late '60s and early '70s,- including the Civil Rights Movement, protests against the Vietnam War, the Women's Rights Movement, Sexual Experimentation, and the Gay Rights movement. Theater itself was changing. Theaters around the world were used to bring awareness, provoke dialogue, and promote change. Bonnie and Michael saw many of these revolutionary theatrical works here in the United States, France, England, and Germany. They saw how artists played a role in all aspects of life in these countries, how companies created work collaboratively, how performances were held in non-traditional spaces, how the works invited audience participation, and how theaters were telling stories that hadn't been seen on stage before. All of this foment fired the imagination of Bonnie and Michael as they developed ILLUSION THEATER.

In 1974 Michael Robins was in Paris studying classical dance and physical theater. For Michael, "the name for the theater came to me while I was in France, the word 'illusion' in French is more about the illusions we cling to about life - and less about visual tricks or physical gestures." Bonnie Morris adds, "The name led us to our mission -- to create theater that illuminates the illusions, myths and realities of our times and catalyzes personal and social change." Michael continues, "Throughout the years our work has looked at long-held illusions, inviting audiences to examine their own ideas, perceptions, conceptions to see what is real behind the illusion. We produce plays that illuminate, entertain, and invite audiences to imagine new realities.

Photo credit: Lauren B Photography 

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