Just A Peck 0027 // 2025: Favorite Theater Experiences

Just A Peck

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JOURNAL

I got to see so many good friends this week, but I neglected to take any photos. So here is a photo from the morning where I had to kill two hours in town between meetings, and I spent it cozied up at Dovetail reading Italo Calvino.

Reading at dovetail

I was the big winner at poker night. The rest of the players were really happy for me.

Poker night winnings

What I watched this week:

  • Dante's Inferno (1911). The first feature film to be shown in one screening in the United States, the world's first blockbuster, some impressive special effects, and more banana hammocks than Spring Breakers.
  • Fifty Million Years Ago (1925). A pretty incredible stop motion short with some laughably bad science.
  • The Old Dark House (1932). An unfocused, unfunny James Whale "comedy" from the early 30s.
  • If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (2025). Really great. Rose Byrne gives the performance of the year.
  • Johnny Mnemonic (1995). Ridiculous minidisc futurism in a campy adaptation of a semi-famous Gibson short story.
  • The Secret Agent (2025). One of the best films of the year. Wagner Moura is incredible. "It was a time of great mischief."

What I’m reading this week:

  • FINISHED: The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus. Read and discussed with friends. Literary philosophy, poses a question with potential and draws a juvenile conclusion.
  • FINISHED: We Who Are About To... by Joanna Russ. Holy smokes, this was great. A short sci-fi novel about a group of stranded, ill-equiped explorers. Strong, fascinating voice. Part of a Library of America collection that is now on my wishlist.
  • FINISHED: Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. A reread for me. Still magical. It's informative which different set of cities resonate with me as I reread this at different times in my life.
  • FINISHED: Monica by Daniel Clowes. A new Clowes graphic novel with a series of interconnected narratives that tell the life story of the titular character. Bonkers.
  • Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, (audiobook) Parker
  • Clay's Ark, Butler
  • Muybridge, Delisle
  • Middlemarch, Eliot
  • Hollywood: The Oral History, Bassinger, Wasson

MEMORIES

Five Years Ago:

I was helping my friend Robert shoot a commercial for his Pandemic-era business, Gumbo Boi.

Gumbo Boi Commercial

Twenty Years Ago:

I was spending time in the waiting area, watching Kaylee during her ballet lessons.

Ballet lessons

2025: FAVORITE THEATER EXPERIENCES

I saw a ton of exceptional theater again this year. My favorites are always those that I was involved in, of course, but excluding those, here are my favorites from the year in the order that I saw them:

Production photo
I started the year in Chicago seeing Fool For Love at Steppenwolf. Sam Shepard at Steppenwolf is a special kind of magic. The scenic design was incredible.
Production photo
Two Crows in Spring Green did a production of Caryl Churchill's play A Number. It rarely gets produced and was starring two of my favorite performers. Worth the trip. A fantastic production.
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Since I was already in southern Wisconsin for A Number, I decided to extend my trip a little and catch a few shows in Milwaukee. The Rep had a production of a new play called The Craic which was set in a Dingle Pub during a session. Some incredible musician-actors in this one.
Production photo
The Underground in Duluth produced Every Brilliant Thing, a play that I love, in the extremely intimate Lab space. But my friend Kayla's astonishing performance is what made this one so special.
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I loved the Duluth Playhouse production of Home, I'm Darling. (Also, that handpainted wallpaper deserves special recognition.)
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The Effect at the Jungle was outstanding.
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I'm not generally a "musicals" guy, but seeing my friends crush it in Waitress was a joy. (Special shout out to the unbelievable prop pies which I've mentioned before.)
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Midsummer at the Guthrie was good, but probably wouldn't have made this list if not for a feat of musical magic that I'm still stunned by.
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The Barber and the Unnamed Prince at APT was a world premiere and had been renamed and restructured only a few weeks before we saw it, but it was still a very strong debut.
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APT's production of Noel Coward's Fallen Angels was hilarious.
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APT's Midsummer used two actors to play Puck, communicating in a mix of spoken word and sign. It will be hard not to think of Puck this way in the future.
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In a very strong year for APT (seriously, some incredible APT productions didn't make the cut here), Tribes was my favorite. A play about language and communication. What is said, unsaid, and heard. How we define, or refuse to define, ourselves and others. Brilliant.
Production photo
We ended the year back down in Spring Green for APT's shoulder season show, The 39 Steps. Another play that I love, with a cast that I love, produced by a theater company that I love, shared with people that I love. It feels appropriately representational for my theater experiences as a whole last year.

Here’s to more great theater in 2026!

MY FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of the intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty;
to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better
whether by a healthy child,a garden patch,
or a redeemed social condition;
to know that one life has breathed easier
because you lived here.
This is to have succeeded."

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

That’s it for this week. Stay safe, friends. Thanks for reading!

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