Playwright Justin Tanner bares his soul in Minnesota, his gripping and revelatory monologue which is now streaming online in a production directed by Lisa James.
Tanner, known for his campy, extremely funny plays, shows a darker side here, as it turns out he was locked in an abusive marriage for several years. His husband, whom he met while in AA—the man was actually his sponsor---lapsed back into alcoholism and made his life a hell. On top of that, the pandemic struck and Tanner was forced to isolate with a man he was beginning to fear and despise. He gave in to drugs and booze himself, lost weight, found it hard to write, and spent his time bingeing on trashy TV.
How he slowly and bravely pulled himself out of that depression and began to build a new life is conveyed by Tanner in a strikingly honest and vivid way. He may not be the most polished monologist you’ve ever encountered, but he can’t be faulted for his use of language, his remarkable lucidity. And with the help of director Lisa James, he brings his plight to life in swift, telling bursts punctuated with his charismatic facial expressions.
Tanner’s 72-minute monologue takes place over several clearly delineated time zones and changes of setting (though the bucolic backdrop remains constant). The months he spent on a friend’s Minnesota farm, far from his rehabilitating husband and the pressures of big-city life, were healing and life-giving. Slowly, he overcomes his urge to give up and begins to write again. At 56, he finds himself starting over, “fumbling in the dark till a light shines in the distance and I move toward it.”
