Tricks, Treats

One of the ways I feel lucky living in Minneapolis is our vibrant theater scene (and our much touted statistic: second only to NYC in the US for theater seats per capita). It's surprising and wonderful that a town this size can support theater sufficiently diverse to span umpteen touring shows, the works of the Guthrie (its refined productions and its celebrity stars), lots of long-lived community theaters and the grassroots, participatory theater of In the Heart of the Beast and Bedlam Theater's Barebones Halloween show.

Powderhorn Park's May Day festival has long been a high holiday for me. The Barebones Halloween show at Hidden Falls has fast become one. A bit of a May-Day-does-Halloween affair (with significant overlap of dramatis personae and creative talent), it often features the adjacent Mississippi as an important character. This year was no exception, a tale inspired by Huck Finn with one of the most endearing Mark Twain performances I ever expect I'll see. Not to mention some terrific, enormous puppets...



...and musicians...



The fact that it was also unseasonably warm for the evening (thanks, greenhouse gases!) didn't hurt, either. (Truth be told, I kind of liked suffering through in years past, when the free hot apple cider at the end of the performance helped thaw the fingers and hands, long numbed by late autumn chill.) Family friendly, homegrown and non-commercial. What's not to like?

Speaking of family friendly, I got to spend part of the holiday with my nephew, watching him demonstrate new tricks on the sit-n-spin in his butterfly costume. His interactions with kids seeking candy (as well as some rather, um, mature trick-or-treaters) at the door was a great treat, indeed.