A Different Kind of Play: All the Leading Men and Women are 70 or Older

Have you seen any plays where the leading actor or actress is over 70? I can’t think of any.The Mixed Blood Theater in Minneapolis is changing that.Minneapolis Star Tribune entertainment writer Graydon Royce calls Mixed Blood’s ‘Exit Strategy’ a theatrical Ocean’s 11 … a classic risk/reward scheme as a means out of a dump (In this case, the dump is the type of senior housing that makes us cringe.)The mean age of the three actors is just shy of 76. Exit Strategy producer and writer Bill Semans, 71, wrote and directed ‘Herman USA,’ a film from a few years ago about a small Minnesota town full of bachelors who advertised their availability and drew women from 37 states and four nations. I love his quote in Graydon’s story:

‘I hope this is the best thing I’ve ever done. And if it’s not, I’ll keep trying.’