July 23, 2021 at 5:20 a.m.
Barbara Brooks is the founder and artistic director of Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company (Courtesy of Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company)
By KATHY BERDAN | kberdan@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press
Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company has a new name and a new season. The St. Paul theater company, founded by Barbara Brooks in 1995, is now Six Points Theater.
“We’re excited to introduce our new name that embraces the vitality of our mission and history while looking forward to our future,” producing artistic director Brooks said in a news release.
Brooks calls the change “a very long process” that started at a theater board meeting about three years ago. The theater was nearing the end of a strategic plan and looking forward. Audience development was one of the main goals, Brooks said, adding that the theater’s audience skews older. There were focus groups. Actors, audiences and stakeholders were interviewed. Though the name and logo have changed, “our mission has not changed,” Brooks said. “The work we do has not changed.
“Our work is very firmly Jewish.”
Six Points Theater’s 2021-22 season includes a drama that explores family and truth, a seriocomedy about survival and a new-play reading festival. A world premiere holiday production (commissioned by the theater and featuring music) and more outdoor performances of its summer sold-out one-woman show featuring Sally Wingert, “A Pickle.” The holiday show and “A Pickle” are add-ons for the three-show subscription season.
Here’s the new season:
Sally Wingert plays a woman whose kosher pickles were rejected in State Fair competitions, in “A Pickle.” (Courtesy of Sarah Whiting)
“A Pickle” — July 28-Aug. 15. When her kosher pickles are rejected as entries in the Minnesota State Fair – two years in a row – Doris sets out to enlighten the world about the cloudy brine and its place in Jewish tradition. Based on a true story, this show will be at outdoor locations, but the others will be at the theater’s home at Highland Park Community Center Theater, 1978 Ford Parkway, St. Paul.
“The People’s Violin” — Oct. 23-Nov. 14. After he receives a grant to make a documentary about his famous father, who is a Jewish author and therapist for Holocaust survivors, a filmmaker discovers a mysterious violin and the family’s unspoken history.
“Chanukah in the Dark” — Dec. 5-21. When a storm cuts power, 10-year-old Max learns that Chanukah is about much more than presents and food. This is a world premiere with original songs commissioned by Six Points Theater.
New Play Reading Festival — Feb. 23-March 13. Three new plays will be presented in onstage readings.
“Two Jews Walk Into a War” — April 30-May 22. Against a backdrop of explosions and bullets, the last two Jews living in Kabul must reconcile their theological differences and work together. Six Points says: “Inspired by true events, this play balances Borscht Belt humor and poignancy in a touching look at cultural continuity.”
For ticket information (subscription tickets range from $96-$74 depending on the day of the performance, with student tickets at $36) and the add-on shows, call 651-647-4315 or go to sixpointstheater.org.