Yellow Fever by R.A. Shiomi is a detective mystery set in Vancouver, Canada in the early 1970's. It has all the elements of a great film noir style detective show. Private Detective Sam Shikaze is called upon to help solve the disappearance of Miss Lilly from the annual Cherry Blossom festival. The characters are lively and colorful and all work smootly to carry the plot along. Soulful jazz slides us from scene to scene as Detective Shikaze narrates the story, and the supporting cast brings the actions and emotions to life.

"Buzzer" written by Tracey Scott Wilson and directed by Marion McClinton is a Pillsbury House production currently playing at the Dowling Studio at The Guthrie Theater. "Buzzer" is a contemporary play set in urban America. It has mature themes and adult language and pulls you in from the opening sentence. The characters feel like people you already know and as you're watching, you feel like you are inside the apartment ready to join in on the conversation. I give the director, Marion McClinton, credit for how well the characters interact with each other and the audience.

From deep personal pain comes great literature and art. My own observations as I watched "A Long Day's Journey into Night" by Eugene O'Neill, currently playing at The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, January 12 - February 23, 2013.

"A Christmas Carol" has been a tradition at The Guthrie Theater for 38 years. I wonder if anyone out there has attended a performance every year? Are there people who work for the Guthrie who have been part of every production? I know that some of the actors have been in several productions. This year, J.C. Cutler is again playing Ebenezer Scrooge. I think he's fantastic.

Attending holiday performances is becoming part of my family's tradition. To read more of my review and see photos of the production, go to my writer's blog, Play off the Page, www.maryaalgaard.blogspot.com.

In "Tales from Hollywood" the exiled writers who fled Nazi Germany form a community in Los Angelos. They're trying to write in a foreign country using a foreign language with foreign ideals and concepts. And, all the while they're trying to make sense of this cruel world and eek out an existence. Bertolt Brecht questions why he is writing for the screen when he is a playwright in a medium where there is no interaction with the audience. In an interesting use of light and sound, the creative team at The Guthrie Theater projects scenes from the play onto screens as the backdrop.

In the play "Hay Fever" by Noel Coward, playing now through April 22 at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, the quirky Bliss family has a lovely cottage in the English countryside and each of the four members has invited a special guest for the weekend, but didn't tell anyone else until just before they all arrive. The family members are all eccentric, artistic types who are extremely self-absorbed, especially the mother Judith, played by the amazing comedic star Harriet Harris (Bebe Glazer from "Frazier", his conniving agent).

My favorite part about watching "Charley's Aunt" at The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis was hearing the giggles from the kids in the audience. This show is full of physical comedy, quirky characters, and funny lines. The costumes and set are colorful and bring you to another time and place.