Best of
the Twin Cities
Playing a monster — a strong, well-rounded monster that you understand as you are repelled — is a tough task. Plenty of actors are content to chew the scenery, scream about how evil they are, and call it a day. Adam Whisner didn't take the easy way out when he played the lead in Theatre Pro Rata's The Woodsman. His character was a real monster: a child molester recently out of prison who still feels the old urges. Whisner (aided by Steven Fechter's tight script and Eric Hoover's deft direction) forced us to understand what made this man tick, whether we wanted to or not. This isn't a one-time triumph for Whisner. Earlier in the year, he tackled Will, a conflicted evangelical Christian toiling away at a craft store, in Loudmouth Collective's A Bright New Boise. Here was someone most people in the audience thought of as the "other" — and one whose views they most likely did not agree with — but Whisner still connected us to his character.
