Monday isn't dark this week at the theater

By Ed Huyck Mon., Dec. 5 2011 at 7:19 AM

Categories: Theater

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Image courtesy the Loring Theater

Mondays are usually a quiet day in the theater world, with most of the houses dark for the day off. This Monday, however, there are a number of interesting one-night-only pieces for audiences.

The 7-Shot Symphony

The most exciting happening may be the one-show return of The 7-Shot Symphony, Live Action Set's mash-up of the Wild West and the legends of Europe and the ancient world. In it, several classic tales -- from Odin and the Norse gods, to Gilgamesh, to Orpheus in the Underworld -- get merged with a cast dressed in long coats and Stetsons.

The piece also sports Live Action Set's signature physical theater (topped off here with the use of finger guns) which enthralled audiences back in March, earned plenty of enthusiastic notices from the critics, and an Ivey Award for overall excellence.

Home Below Zero

Over at the Playwrights' Center, Dan Dietz's latest work, Home Below Zero, receives a staged reading. The new work examines the relationship between a United States soldier and an Iraqi, Khaled, who bond over heavy metal music. Now Khaled has traveled to Minnesota to look for his friend, but finds complications and lingering resentment along the way, once again bridged by the power of music.

The reading is directed by Hayley Finn, and features Bobak Bakhtiari, Dustin Bronson, Peter Christian Hansen, Terry Hempleman, and Anna Sundberg. Joseph Scrimshaw will provide the blast beats and other hard rock stylings on the drums.

Tales From the Charred Underbelly of the Yule Log

On a more seasonal note, Kevin Kling brings back Tales From the Charred Underbelly of the Yule Log to the Guthrie Theater. Kling's signature stories have long made him a local favorite, and his take on the holiday traditions of his very Midwestern family (he grew up in Osseo) resonate with all types of audiences. He'll be joined by a number of special guests for the program, including Simone Perrin, Dan Chouinard, Peter Ostroushko, and the Brass Messengers.