This week in theater: 'Nice Fish' casts first line at Guthrie

Just in time for spring, the ice fishing comedy "Nice Fish" settles in for a six-week run at the Guthrie Theater's McGuire Proscenium Stage in Minneapolis.

The creation of two-time Tony Award-winning actor Mark Rylance in collaboration with Duluth poet Louis Jenkins (whose work is a staple on "A Prairie Home Companion"), the world premiere play is about two men who have gone ice fishing on the last day of the season, as the ice is melting and DNR is watching.

The production, which runs through May 18, has three preview performances Tuesday through Thursday, and the premiere is Friday.

Also premiering Friday is the Minnesota Opera production of "Turnadot," which runs through April 21 at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul. Check back for local reviews of the play later this week.

Staged in other cities, the production has critics buzzing. The reviewer for the Naples News (Fla.) said, "The story line of “Turandot” gives me nausea. The characters give me hives. But the music thrills me."

The Arts Tribune in Sarasota, Fla., says while the production is "garish and over-the-top ... those content to let the lush score, a magnificent orchestra and the strongest cast of singers yet heard on this stage to stand on their own with Puccini’s tale of the ice princess Turandot and her conquering suitor Calaf will be elated."

Just as Jackie Robinson baseball drama "42" makes its debut in movie theaters this weekend, ending its run this Sunday at the Children's Theater Company in Minneapolis is the Robinson-themed baseball fantasy drama “Jackie and Me.”

Dominic P. Papatola in his review for the Pioneer Press, said while he couldn't call "Jackie and Me" a “feel-good play, given its subject matter,” audience members “might come out with a new sense of history — and maybe a refreshed sense of hope.”

Lisa Brock in her Star Tribune review of the show called "Jackie and Me" an "engaging production" and an "insightful look at America’s game and what a very different game it used to be."