Hells Canyon - Theater Mu at the Jungle

Photo: Rich Ryan

Hells Canyon, written by Keiko Green and directed by Katie Bradley, just had its World Premiere at the Jungle Theater. The Twin Cities knows Katie Bradley from any number of shows she has done on stage, but this was my first time seeing a show she directed. It was so good seeing another side of her artistic work. The direction of the play was deft and clear, focused on telling this wild story with this great group of actors.

The story is about a group of friends who are gathering together, after a significant time apart, at a remote cabin in Hells Canyon in Oregon. We discover that most of the group were in a band together, and one of the purposes of getting together was for some big news to be revealed. First one in this gorgeous two bedroom, two bathroom cabin is Ariel (Kaitlyn Cheng). She picked the location and cabin, and she is clearly pregnant. Joining her is her brother Tommy (Gregory Yang), her ex Doug (Ryan Colbert), and Claire and Ben. We soon realize that Ariel is carrying twins for Claire (Becca Claire Hart), and Ben (Matt Lytle). We also come to find out that everyone but Ariel were in a band together. As they settle down into the cabin there is concern about Ariels health, and the babies. They are right to be concerned...but they might be concerned about the wrong thing. Yes, this is a horror play and things are about to get spooky.

Photo: Rich Ryan

I won't tell you much else about the story as I don't want to give anything away. Green has written a great script that works as horror, but also brings in racism, economic privilege, as well as Chinese traditions and the history of Hells Canyon. The writing feels real, and the play is very well structured in that it easily transitions between subjects while continuing the story. The cast was fantastic navigating the true life feeling of the dialogue and really helped tell a compelling story while also trusting the script and direction. All this while keeping the audience on the edge of their seat. Speaking of, I would recommend sitting about halfway back and towards the center. There were some visuals that I couldn't see because I was too close, and on the end of an aisle. The show was spooky, and there may have been a jump scare or two. So much fun! The whole work is about 90min long, no intermission. Get settled, sit back, and enjoy the ride.