Quote of the Day: At first glance, Gorgons feels delightfully outrageous. It is sharp, funny, campy, and unapologetically theatrical. The insults fly, the egos clash, and the drama is delicious. But beneath the laughter lies something much more familiar and, perhaps, more unsettling. Austene Van, Artistic Director of Yellow Tree Theatre and director of Gorgons by Don Nigro, on stage at Yellow Tree Theatre through June 21, 2026. 

Christina Baldwin and Jamie White Jachimiec in Gorgons at Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo, MN, thru 6/21/26. Photo: Alex Clark

This absurd comedy filled with clever zingers, one-liners, and attacks both verbal and physical is a terrific two-hander performed by two outstanding Twin Cities actors. Christina Baldwin plays Mildred (a character similar to Bette Davis), and Jamie White Jachimiec plays Ruth (a character similar to Joan Crawford). Playwright Don Nigro has fun with the legendary actors and their equally legendary feud. Pitting two women against each other makes for captivating press and stage comedy! 

Christina Baldwin and Jamie White Jachimiec in Gorgons at Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo, MN, thru 6/21/26. Photo: Alex Clark

While watching Gorgons, I was impressed by the timing of each line and zinger, the actions and reactions of the actors to each other, and the dynamic energy of this theatrical production. Because we’re all up close and intimate in the smaller space of Yellow Tree Theatre, we can see every side-eye, eye role, and withering look. That quick change of expression when an actor goes from playing a character (the movie that’s being filmed in the play) and switching to the annoyed person who loathes their scene mate. So many of those moments made me chuckle. Nigro is a skilled writer and offers up a punchline on every page. 

Also, watching Gorgons made me think about the public battles that we witness every day on talk shows, newscasts, and social media. It’s grand fun and great press to get people worked up, and audiences eat that up like deep fried Twinkies at the State Fair – doused in caramel sauce. So, I thought, maybe much of that was just theatrics. Were those two legendary actors really so hateful towards each other? What were they really like behind dressing room doors? Could they even have had feelings for each other? The world will never know.

Christina Baldwin and Jamie White Jachimiec in Gorgons at Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo, MN, thru 6/21/26. Photo: Alex Clark

Bits of their lives are revealed, however, as we watch them interact. We see which insults strike the hardest blow – not being there for their children, loves gained and lost, affairs with each other’s partners, fear of their own aging and slipping into obscurity. It’s a play that makes you look at how women are portrayed and the pressures put upon them to look right, sound right, stay in the right age range, or disappear. 

This is a fun one. Go for the comic relief, stay for the witty dialogue, marvel in the on stage antics, and take with you themes that go deeper than a scratch wound.

Christina Baldwin in Gorgons at Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo, MN, thru 6/21/26. Photo: Alex Clark

So many elements have to work together to make this play successful. First of all, the playwright Don Nigro who gives us this witty script with razor-edge dialogue and action. Next, the tremendous directorial skills of Austene Van who can see beyond the page and pull out the heart of a story, even one that first appears to be simple, campy fun. The outstanding actors, Baldwin and Jachimiec, whom I’ve already raved about. Quite a bit of on stage violence happens in this play, and it calls for skilled Fight Director Annie Enneking to offer her expertise. Fascinating set that mimics a film set and dressing rooms by Sarah Brandner. Gothic lighting by Alex Clark. Awesome classic horror film music and sound design by Jeff Bailey. Costume and wig design by Zamora Simmons, and Technical direction by Brady Whitcomb.

You can see Gorgons at the Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo, MN through June 21, 2026. 

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt: Write about a famous Hollywood actor that you admired. Whatever happened to their career?