OnStage: 'The Lady with All the Answers'

Actor Cathleen Fuller slips into the skin of Esther Pauline Friedman Lederer, aka Ann Landers, for this solo show at the History Theatre in St. Paul.

Last update: April 3, 2008 - 2:26 PM

Opening Saturday: Actor Cathleen Fuller slips into the skin of Esther Pauline Friedman Lederer, aka Ann Landers, for this solo show at the History Theatre in St. Paul. David Rambo, a writer for the "CSI" series, penned the piece, which finds Ann at a crisis point when her marriage fails in 1975. A woman who made her living dispensing advice now has to solve her own problems, and the introspection casts Ann back across her life's experiences. Suzy Messerole directed Fuller in the show. (8 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., 7:30 p.m. Thu; History Theatre, 30 E. 10th St., St. Paul; $20-$30, 651-292-4323 or www.historytheatre.com)

GRAYDON ROYCE

'THE PIANO TUNER'

Opening Thursday: Often sweet, sometimes disturbing and nearly always poignant, the original dance-theater-music works dreamed up by the artistic collaborators of Live Action Set are as much an adventure in theatergoing as poetic revelations about the human condition. The troupe's new work, "The Piano Tuner," was reportedly inspired by plunks and plucks emanating from the Southern Theater's own piano under the assured hands of a master tuner. The collaborators found drama in the discord, and created a piece that examines how a community of dissonant individuals retunes itself into harmony. Expect the brilliant physical comedy of Megan Odell, the intrepid clowning of Galen Treuer and Noah Bremer, and the cool elegance of Vanessa Voskuil to reveal the unexpected. (8 p.m. Thu., next Fri. & April 12, 7 p.m. April 13, Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Av. S., Mpls. $18. 612-340-1725.)

CAMILLE LEFEVRE