Director's Notes • Press Reaction

Director's Notes:

"It's a strange thing, desire. Makes you do things for no other reason than a mighty feelinâ you can't put your finger on says you got to do it. Strange." -Simone, Alchemy of Desire

Such might be said as to why Frank Theatre presents this piece. The compelling relationships between passion and grief, life and death, spirituality and mysticism, seems to come to my mind almost cyclically at this time of year, and have been reflected in Frank's work for the past three season. Last fall, we staged THE AMERICA PLAY, which explored a world interconnected by death, history, and spirits. Two years ago, we presented DESCRIPTION OF A PICTURE, EXPLOSION OF A MEMORY, which drew from the Mexican celebration Dias de los Muertos. Each of these works echoed the sentiment that the living must take care of the dead in order for the dead to take care of the living, and incorporated a belief that the living and the dead are not so far apart as some might think. This fall, we are pleased to return to the theme with Caridad Svich's perspective on the subject. Something just said we gotta do it. Maybe it was the ghosts. Maybe it was the cigar-smokinâ gals.

Many thanks to all who helped to get this piece on the stage, particularly the cast and crew of folks who have put their hearts and souls into the project. Also, a whopping personal thanks to the Ladies Auxiliary of Frank Theatre, these gals and guys without whose enthusiasm, love, support and spunk, "Frank" would be just another guy who sells plumbing on Washington Avenue.

Wendy Knox, Artistic Director

Press Reaction:

"If the cold weather has got you down, you might consider submerging your spiritual self in the sultry, spicy world that director Wendy Knox has created inside the Minneapolis Theater Garage. Frank Theatre's production of playwright Caridad Svich's ALCHEMY OF DESIRE/DEAD MAN'S BLUES is nothing if not steamy. Knox and set designer Steve Rohde deserve credit for transforming the notoriously cavernous Theatre Garage into a lush and lurid jungle that feels real and unreal at once. Ultimately, in a wonderful, surprisingly light punch-line conclusion, Svich allows the audience to see a ray of hope cutting through the dense forest. Where one journey ends, another is always beginning."

Carolyn Petrie, Minnesota Women's Press