Broadway buddies Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad, who originated the roles of Elder Price and Cunningham, respectively, in
The Book of Mormon 15 years ago (which I was lucky enough to see), recently reunited on Broadway in a two-person musical comedy called
Gutenberg! The Musical!, receiving its Broadway premiere almost 20 years after it debuted. The buddy comedy was the perfect vehicle for these two individual talents with undeniable chemistry, and now, two years after that short Broadway run closed, Theater Latte Da is bringing us, if not the regional premiere, the first #TCTheater production since this Broadway hit. It's the kind of thing I expect from Theater Latte Da - something new and inventive that you just can't see anywhere else. Artistic Director Justin Lucero saw
Gutenberg on Broadway shortly after he was hired by Theater Latte Da, and immediately decided that they were going to do the show someday (proving once again that he was the perfect choice to replace founding Artistic Director Peter Rothstein). They have done just that, and also made the smart decision to hire Tyler Michaels King to direct, and cast the perfect physical comedy duo.
Gutenberg! The Musical! is a super silly and hilarious ode to the musical theater form that we love so much, and that Theater Latte Da does so well.
It's playing through May 3, so if you need a laugh (and who doesn't these days?), head to the Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis.
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| Dominic Schiro and Tom Reed (photo by Dan Norman) |
Similar to [title of show], Gutenberg is a musical about two guys writing a musical. But in this case they're not writing it about themselves, they're writing it about
Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press (note that this musical was conceived before Lin-Manuel Miranda showed the world that you can make a modern, relevant, and highly entertaining musical about a historical figure). The conceit of the show is that the creators Doug and Bud (stand-ins for the actual creators Anthony King and Scott Brown) have spent all of their money to rent the Ritz Theater and put on a staged reading of their musical for an audience full of producers, in hopes someone with give them a Broadway Contract. The show begins when the music director (hilariously played by Jason Hansen) awkwardly introduces Doug and Bud, and they begin to tell us about themselves and their show. Then they jump into it, performing scenes and songs, jumping back out to explain bits to the audience, or to have a conversation between themselves. The show-within-the-show tells the story of Gutenberg as historical fiction (meaning "fiction that's true"), adding in a love interest, an enemy, and dance breaks. It's ridiculous and hilarious, but Doug and Bud are so endearingly in love with the show (and such dear friends) that you almost think it might work! And every night, they are indeed offered a Broadway Contract by a big time Broadway Producer (and why not? because honestly, there have been a lot worse inspirations for musicals!).
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Tom Reed and Dominic Schiro and their many hats
(photo by Dan Norman) |
Tyler Michaels King employs his background in comedy, improv, and physical theater in directing (and choreographing) this show, which is a madcap romp that never drags. Tom Reed and Dominic Schiro are both so great at playing both the authors Doug (Andrew Rannells) and Bud (Josh Gad), respectively, and also all the very many other characters in what is supposed to be a large cast musical. Tom's experience at Brave New Workshop is evident in his goofy characterizations of everyone from Gutenberg to his love interest, and relative newcomer Dominic goes toe-to-toe with him, and is particularly delightful in his interplay with the audience, looking people in the eye with a wink or a nod. Because the audience is a part of this show, they know we're there and play directly to us. The different characters are identified by a yellow trucker hat labeled with a character name or description, which was a part of the original show and the Broadway production. This show has a dizzying number of hats that Tom and Dominic expertly flip between, often wearing multiple in a stack, or holding one in each hand and going back and forth between characters. It's beautifully choreographed chaos.
Not a lot of set design is required, since this show takes place in a theater, and the Ritz is one of our most well-preserved historical theaters. But of course, a lot of thoughtful design goes into creating the minimalist look. The stage is open to the back walls, with what appears to be set pieces from other shows scattered about. Gutenberg uses not much more than a large wooden table on wheels, a stool, and a cardboard box. The lighting goes from house lights up, to subtle theater lighting, to wild disco party lighting that Doug and Bud think is so cool! They're dressed professionally in jackets and ties, and there really is no costuming for the characters they play other than the hats. (Scenic design by Sarah Bahr, costume design by Zamora Simmons-Stiles, lighting design by Grant E. Merges, sound design by Peter Morrow, props design by Madelaine Foster.)
The score is full of clever and silly comedy songs that spoof all of the common musical theater types of songs - the 11 o'clock number, an "I want" song, a charm song - that they guys explain to us more or less correctly. The aforementioned Jason Hansen doesn't just play the "music director," he is the music director, leading the three-piece onstage band that also creates some wacky sound effects to accompany the wacky action.
A silly, fun, musical comedy seen for the first time in the Twin Cities (at least in recent memory), done by a company that is serious about doing "theater musically," even when it's a comedy. What's not to love?
