The 1990’s
The 1990’s were marked by higher production values, flourishing work, and increasingly daring approaches to theatre. King of the Kosher Grocers, produced in a converted grocery store on Minneapolis’ Northside, ran for four months and was produced across the country. The True History of Coca-Cola in Mexico was another original work that had a national presence after its Mixed Blood premiere. Four more shows were added to the touring repertoire, which peaked in 1997. EnterTRaining became the fourth major component of Mixed Blood programming.
* denotes world premiere
** denotes regional premiere
^ denotes touring production
1990
Wall of Water* by Sherri Kramer
I Don’t Need No Stinking Badges by Luis Valdez
Other People’s Money by Jerry Sterner
A…My Name Is Alice by Julie Boyd
Mixed Blood is presented with Actors’ Equity Association’s first Rosetta LeNoire Award for “celebrating the universality of the human experience on the American stage.”
Daughters of Africa* by Syl Jones becomes Mixed Blood’s fifth show in its touring repertoire.
Mixed Blood co-produces The Mystery of Irma Vep with The Attic Theater in Detroit.
1991
La Nona by Roberto Cossa
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (adapted by Frank Galati)
Throwing Bones* by Michael Erickson
A…My Name Is Alice by Julie Boyd
Daughters of Africa^ by Syl Jones
Jack Reuler is named Macalester College’s “Distinguished Citizen”.
Mixed Blood co-produces A…My Name Is Alice and The Grapes of Wrath with The Ordway, with Don Cheadle as Tom Joad.
Mixed Blood tours Three-Part Harmony to Jacksonville, Phoenix, and Rochester, sponsored by the Mayo Clinic.
1992
Cincinnati Man* by Syl Jones
Black Belts* by Jevetta Steele and Jack Reuler
King of the Kosher Grocers* by Joe Minjares
Road To Nirvana by Arthur Kopit
The Boys Next Door by Tom Griffin
Eastern Parade*^ by Rick Shiomi
Jack Reuler receives the Minneapolis Award from the Minneapolis City Council.
King of the Kosher Grocers is produced in an abandoned supermarket at Broadway and Penn in North Minneapolis.
Eastern Parade becomes the sixth show in Mixed Blood’s touring repertoire.
Don Cheadle directs Cincinnati Man.
1993
Snowflake Avalanche by Y York
A…My Name Is Still Alice by Julie Boyd
GunPlay* by Syl Jones
Jack Reuler receives the Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award from Minneapolis Community College.
A…My Name Is Still Alice runs for nine months.
1994
Hundreds of Sisters and One Big Brother* by Deb Swisher
Oleanna by David Mamet
Keely and Du by Jane Martin
Black Belts, Too* by Jevetta Steele and Jack Reuler
Minnecanos becomes Mixed Blood’s eighth show in its touring repertoire
1995
They’re Coming To Make It Brighter by Kent Broadhurst
True History of Coca-Cola in Mexico* by Aldo Velasco and Patrick Scott
Fires In The Mirror by Anna Deveare Smith
Mixed Blood is awarded Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission’s award for outstanding achievement in human rights.
1996
¡Ayuda!* by Michael Weller
Santos y Santos by Octavio Solis
Colorblind* by Robert Jones
Black Belts Again* by Jevetta Steele and Jack Reuler
Mixed Blood receives Minneapolis Foundation’s Diversity Award
1997
Birth of the Boom by Thomas Jones II
Good News About Third World Shoes* by Aldo Velasco and Patrick Scott
Radio Mambo by Culture Clash
Minnecanos* by Joe Minjares
Mixed Blood receives Dream Keeper Award from Minnesota Council on Black Minnesotans
Mixed Blood co-produces Birth of the Boom with City Theatre (Pittsburgh).
1998
Gene Pool by Christi Stewart-Brown
Maria!MariaMariaMaria!* by Lisa Loomer
Black No More* by Syl Jones
Mixed Blood becomes a founding member of the National New Plays Network.
Mixed Blood co-produces of the World Premiere of Syl Jones’ Black No More with the Guthrie Theater and Arena Stage (Washington, D.C.)
Playwright-In-Residence Syl Jones wins Roger Stevens Award.
1999
La Verdadera Historia de Coca-Cola en México by Aldo Velasco and Patrick Scott
Vices* by Everett Bradley & Ilene Reid
Boy by Diana Son
Black Eagle*^ by Warren Bowles
American Theater Critics Association names Black No More finalist as best new American play.
Mixed Blood’s first annual production presented in Spanish and English by a bi-lingual cast (La Verdadera Historia de Coca-Cola en Mexico).
Black Eagle by Warren C. Bowles becomes the ninth show in Mixed Blood’s touring repertoire.
