Taylor West, Eliana Durnbaugh, Che'Li, Mars Niemi, and Alyssa Taiber Photo by Rich Ryan

The titular fifty boxes of earth are crates of soil brought by Q (Che'Li), a nonbinary refugee from an unspecified distant country who has resettled in a western community–unnamed, but feeling distinctly American–to start a new life. Q takes possession of a community garden plot, intent on using the earth carried across the ocean from their homeland, rather than topsoil available at the local hardware store where the garden's chairperson, Jon Harker (Alex Galick), has arranged for a 15% discount. Q's reason is that their own soil is needed to plant seeds (also from their homeland) and establish their native roots in this new land. Only then will Q send for their son, Kai, and their aging mother to join them.

At the onset, gardener Jon seems like a good guy with progressive leanings–into community gardening, his long hair worn in a ponytail, and welcoming toward Q. However, he becomes increasingly suspicious of Q's insistence on using imported soil, questioning its safety and legality, and leery of the unknown (to him) plants in Q's garden. Jon chastises Q for sleeping on the earth in their garden plot–Q claims it is because their apartment is not yet ready for occupancy and, after all, Jon told them they had 24-hour access to the garden. When Q tells Jon that their homeland has been scorched and made uninhabitable by his people, we begin to understand the nature of the chasm between the two.

Jon's biggest cause of alarm, though, is when his outgoing 11-year-old daughter Mina (Mina Moua) befriends Q, taking an interest in their plants and practices, and even establishing a pen-pal correspondence with Kai. Mina prefers to be called by her last name, Harker, not so odd a gambit for an 11-year-old. Jon insists on using her given name, but Q wants to honor the girl's sense of identity and calls her Harker, which exacerbates Jon's list of grievances against the newcomer.

Q's garden grows before our eyes, using wondrously designed and fabricated puppets that form flowers, leafy plants, and vines. These are incorporated into sinuously graceful dance movements performed by a sublime ensemble of five dancers. Ananya Chatterjea, a native of Kolkata, India but based in Minneapolis, has created choreography using her namesake dance company's signature movement vocabulary, called Yorchhã. Yorchh deconstructs and re-assembles Odissi (a classical Indian dance form), Chhau (drawn from martial movement and folk traditions), and Vinyasa Yoga (fluid, as opposed to Hatha, or posed, yoga). The dance works with the remarkable puppetry and as a sort of physically embodied chorus. The astonishing results are seamlessly integrated into Fifty Boxes of Earth' narrative.

This narrative has been described as a reworking of Bram Stoker's Dracula–you may already have noticed Raturi's use of the names Jon Harker (Stoker's vampire hunter) and Mina, who was Jon Harker's fiancée. Seeing Q retire for the night on an earthen bed does suggest Dracula's retiring into his coffin. However, Q is not an enemy here. The conflict comes from Q being perceived as a threat by others who cannot grasp the logic of ways that are not innately harmful, merely different. When the play comes to a moment of blood-letting (presented without any on-stage gore), the interloper Q, unlike Dracula, does not draw the blood of an innocent, though that innocent is affected by Q's action. To be frank, I am not sure if the Dracula metaphor adds to the meaning and through-message imbedded in Fifty Boxes of Earth, as the play so richly presents a number of issues on its own steam.

The cast is phenomenal. Che'Li beautifully portrays Q as a character that melds both feminine and masculine qualities, gentleness and strength, representing a holistic, non-binary life force, in contrast to Galick's superb performance as Jon, who has the guise of a sensitive male but who sees difference as danger, and is unable to address conflict without descending into stereotypical male aggression and arrogance. Moua, a young actor only three years older than the character she plays, is quite wonderful in conveying a child-like openness to the variety of ways life presents herself, a tenacious love for the father she adores like a god, and a conviction, untested by harsh life-lessons, that one should always do what is fair and right. The five-member ensemble of dancers are each worthy of praise: Eliana Durnbaugh, Kiko Laureano, Mars Niemi, Alyssa Taiber, and Taylor West.

Mina Kinukawa's set design creates the feel of an urban community garden, with a curving wooden stairway and a bridge that effectively provide for the needs of the narrative. Khamphian Van's costumes are spot-on for Jon and Mina/Harker, present Q with a sense of being of two worlds–east and west, feminine and masculine, and drape the ensemble in fluid, colorful garments that meld into the choreography. Katherine Horowitz's sound design furnishes environmental noises, such as a rainstorm, while her musical scoring, heavy on guitar and percussion, gives Fifty Boxes of Earth an evocative underscoring of sighs, moans and yowls. Karin Olson has lit the show with precision to show the flow of time, shifts in mood, and movement through the onstage space.

Given the specificity of the direction, choreography, and design work, Fifty Boxes of Earth may not be easy to transport to other venues, unless the same creative team went with it. However, it would be interesting to see how well the play could succeed in different hands. It is a strong, highly theatrical piece, and its message of making space in our world for those who are different has never been more vital. For those who can get to Theater Mu's current production at Park Square Theatre, it comes with the highest of recommendations.

Fifty Boxes of Earth, presented by Theater Mu, runs through March 14, 2025, at Park Square Theatre, 20 West Seventh Place, Saint Paul MN. For tickets and information, please visit theatermu.org or call 651-789-1012.

Playwright: Ankita Raturi; Director: KT Shorb; Choreographer: Ananya Chatterjea; Assistant Director: Michelle de Joya; Puppet Designers and Builders: Oanh Vu and Andrew Young; Scenic Design: Mina Kinukawa; Costume Design: Khamphian Vang; Lighting Design: Karin Olson; Sound Design and Composer: Katherine Horowitz; Properties Design: Rebecca Jo Malmstöm; Intimacy Director: Alli St. John; Technical Directors: Erin C. Gustafson and Austine Stiers; Production Manager: Rachael Rhodes; Stage Manager: Keara Lavandowska; Assistant Stage Manager: Q'Ori Goerdt.

Cast: Che'Li (Q), Eliana Durnbaugh (ensemble), Alex Galick (Jon Harker), Kiko Laureano (ensemble), Mina Moua (Mina Harker) Mars Niemi (ensemble), Alyssa Taiber (ensemble), Taylor West (ensemble).