Frank announces it’s 18th season!!

Frank is thrilled to announce our 18th season: the first locally produced version of THE EXONERATED by Jessica Blank and Eric Jensen; the Twin Cities’ premiere of THE PILLOWMAN by Martin McDonagh on the heels of its sensational reception in New York and London; and a totally Frank version of Bertolt Brecht's PUNTILA AND HIS HIRED MAN MATTI.

Frank was THRILLED to secure the rights to present the Twin Cities’ premiere of Martin McDonagh’s THE PILLOWMAN, following its sensational success in New York and London. Veering from the macabre to the hysterical, this viciously funny and disturbingly gruesome thriller hinges on a writer in a totalitarian state who is brought in for questioning when the plot lines of his stories bear an uncanny similarity to real-life crimes that have been committed in the community. The winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play and two Tony Awards, THE PILLOWMAN takes on some of today’s most potent issues – from censorship and the power of the state to freedom of speech and the rights of the individual.

Written while he was in exile in Finland, PUNTILA is a ribald comedy that also turns the idea of capitalism on its head. Frank Theatre’s production of MR. PUNTILA AND HIS HIRED MAN MATTI features a cast led by Grant Richey (as Mr. Puntila), Carson Lee as his hired man “Matti,” Emily Zimmer as his daughter “Eva,” Patrick Bailey as the “Attaché,” and an ensemble that includes Maria Asp, Jake Endres, Celeste Taylor, Jennifer Phillips, Aaron Coker, and others. Frank Artistic Director Wendy Knox directs the production, with musical direction by Jake Endres, set design by John Bueche, costuming by Kathy Kohl, and lighting is by Michael Wangen.

MR. PUNTILA AND HIS HIRED MAN MATTI revolves around a wealth landowner, Mr.
Puntila, who is humane, caring and generous when he is inebriated, but when he suffers his “attacks of sobriety” becomes mean, petty and selfish. His hired man, Matti, navigates his through various adventures, in the end, proving that he is the intelligent one. PUNTILA echoes Charlie Chaplin’s The Tramp and the Millionaire in City Lights. With it’s broad humor, and the way in which the play turns issues of class upside down. A bawdy comedy
subtitled “A People’s Play,” PUNTILA was based on a story by Finnish writer Hella Wuolijoki, whom Brecht met while living in exile in Finland.