"Shanty Boys of Pine County" by Bucket Brigade at Art House North

A year and a half ago, Bucket Brigade brought us an original docu-musical about the Great Hinckley Fire of 1894, entitled Survivors of the Fire. It was a thoroughly gripping tale that shared the real stories and words of survivors, from books, journals, or articles of the time, combined with music of the period. I loved it so much I traveled to the Hinckley Fire Museum last Labor Day with some of my fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers to watch a shorter version of piece, tour the museum, and visit the burial site and memorial. During his research for Survivors, Bucket Brigade Co-Founder and playwright Jermiah Gamble, who lived in Hinckley as a child, ran across the story of one fire survivor who later published a collection of traditional songs of the North Woods, and was inspired to write another original musical filled with these songs. Shanty Boys of Pine County is a sort of companion piece to Survivors of the Fire, but without the death and trauma. Instead, it shares the music and culture of the 19th Century logging camps in the North Woods in 70 minutes of songs, stories, and laughter. Check it out through May 9 at the charming former church known as Art House North in St. Paul's 7th Street neighborhood, with free cookies and coffee in the cute basement lobby. Or visit the Hinckley Fire Museum this Memorial Day Weekend to watch a shorter version of the piece and tour the museum - for free!

Jeremiah Gamble wrote the play, and worked with musician and music historian Brian Miller (who recently provided the music for Whoosh! at the History Theatre) to compile the perfect song list of over a dozen traditional songs sung by the lumberjacks of Northern Minnesota in the late 19th Century. Jeremiah is joined by Nathan Cousins as the two main storytellers, playing immigrants from Ireland and Scotland, respectively, who travel to Minnesota to work in the logging camps. They tell us about their lives working at the camps during the winter months (the better to transport logs over frozen ground), and farming or doing odd jobs in the off times. Life in the camp was hard work over long hours, but this piece emphasizes the camaraderie amongst this group of men from various parts of the world, and specifically the way they entertained themselves and found common ground through music.

Shanty Boys Jeff Zupfer, Nathan Cousins, and Jeremiah Gamble
(photo courtesy of Bucket Brigade)

Directed by Jeff Miller, the play feels immersive and inclusive, as if we're all at a storytelling session, even invited to sing along at times, and join in on a toast. The storytellers walk up and down the aisles, the story all around us. They're joined by two musicians on stage, Jeff Zupfer and Eric Thurstin, who play guitar, mandolin, fiddle, accordion, and bodhrán, for an authentic and traditional sound to the music (with music direction by Michael Pearce Donley, who also provided arrangements along with Jeremiah, Jeff, and Eric). The performers are blissfully unmiked in the intimate Art House space, and the sound is gorgeous. And as great as it is to hear these traditional instruments, the most memorable musical moments are the a capella harmonies achieved by this group. 

The wood-focused simple and rustic set design (I swear I even could smell the cut wood when I walked into the space) consists of a dozen or more cut logs, as well as raw wood planks, constantly rearranged as Nathan and Jeremiah climb on and over them, yielding their ax handles (without blades). Wood siding adorns the walls, with a couple of period props, like tin cups used for beans or something stronger, as well as strings of twinkling lights in the sanctuary space, to complete the look (scenic design by Jeremiah Gamble and Dalen O'Connell, lighting design by Shannon Ellion). Denim pants tucked into wool socks and boots, with button down shirts, suspenders, and jackets, look like they could have been worn in the logging camps, but also wouldn't look that out of place today.

Shanty Boys as a follow-up to Survivors of the Fire is bit ironic, considering that the practices of the logging industry, which we see now were not sustainable or kind to the environment, in part caused the Hinckley Fire, which resulted in over 400 human lives lost and over 200,000 acres burned. Not to mention the fact that this land, these trees, were stolen from the Native people who have lived here for countless generations. But the logging camps are an important part of our history, and helped to make Minnesota what it is. This piece pays tribute to the hardworking shanty boys, many of them immigrants, who helped to provide the needed lumber to build Minnesota and surrounding states. (I recommend a visit to the Forest History Center in Grand Rapids, where you can tour a replica of a logging camp, to learn more about this history.) In particular this show highlights the legacy of music, brought from the Old Country, that this piece, and musicians like Brian Miller, are keeping alive.