Boats on a River

Burgeoning talent Julie Marie Myatt is obsessed with sex. Seldom lewd and always complex, the stories from this playwright favor feminine perspectives on this basic human need. That preoccupation has benefited all lovers of contemporary theater, as evidenced by last year’s Guthrie production of Myatt’s The Sex Habits of American Women. In Boats on a River, she explores Southeast Asia’s sex-tourism industry and the Western aid workers who feel compelled to challenge it. This bare-bones production is part of the Guthrie’s “Construction Zone” new play program, but Myatt’s script is likely to be as compelling as anything on the theater’s main stage. 2301 Franklin Ave. E., Minneapolis; 612-377-2224; www.guthrietheater.org