I haven't been to Stages Theatre Company in ages; I don't have any children in my life to bring to a show at the children's theater, and I live on the opposite side of the city from Hopkins. But as a lifelong Twins fan (I have the game on as I write this*), I'm not going to miss a new musical about one of my (and all of Minnesota's) favorite Twins, 2024 Hall of Fame inductee
Joe Mauer! A St. Paul native, Joe played 15 seasons for his hometown team, and I was fortunate to be at his final game in 2018, when he donned the catcher's gear for one last time, to the crowd's delight. Joe Mauer was a special player and racked up many awards and accolades in his career, culminating in being voted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. But as this musical, based on a book by local sports broadcaster Joe Schmidt, shows us, Joe was also a special human. The book and musical show us a young Joe, who befriended a blind classmate in high school, when other kids were ignoring or bullying him (as kids often do).
The Right Thing to Do depicts a world of kindness, of community, of kids being kids, supporting each other in their differences and uniqueness. With a 60-minute runtime, it's perfect for kids, especially baseball fans, with lots of fun Twins and baseball nuggets.
The Right Thing to Do continues at Stages Theatre in Hopkins through May 10, with lots of matinees available.
The story starts when Joe is in elementary school, and his dad suggests he try batting left-handed, because "when you try something different, it might lead to something great." This becomes a refrain of the show, and Joe first employs it when he picks an unathletic girl named Andy to be on his team in the neighborhood baseball game. He teaches Andy baseball, she teaches him how to draw. We jump forward to the high school years at Cretin-Durham Hall, and Joe is already a star (he famously only struck out once in high school). He chafes at all the attention he receives, and maybe that's part of why he reaches out to a kid sitting by himself at lunch (there are few rooms more terrifying than a high school cafeteria, I still have nightmares). It turns out Mike is a big baseball fan, and a walking encyclopedia of sports facts. Joe invites him to sit with him and his friends, because "when you try something different, it might lead to something great." Especially when it means showing a little human kindness and understanding.
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Mike (Noah Durand) and Joe (Charlie Gold)
(photo by Amy Rondeau Photography) |
The book was adapted into a musical by Michael Mahler, and directed by Stages' Artistic Director Sandy Boren-Barrett. There are a half-dozen or so cute fun songs, about baseball, doing the right thing, and being a kid. I'm always amazed and impressed by the youth talent in this town, and this show is no exception (I hope a lot of these kids attend
Chanhassen Dinner Theatre's open casting call for Annie tomorrow!). The two Joes, Baron Heinz and Charlie Gold, both look the part and act the part of the genial jock. Sakhile Mazwi and Airon Manson are both great as the young and teen Andys, but the real stars of the show are the two blind actors who play young and teen Mike - Reid Soltis and Noah Durand - embodying his heart and humanity. All of the kids in the cast are so alive and present in the storytelling, as kids often are. The young cast is so stinkin' cute, the teen cast so... teen! And there are some fun character traits that allow us to draw parallels between the young and less-young versions. The lone grown-up in the cast, JC Lippold plays Joe's supportive but firm dad, and also serves as music director (with the cast singing to a recorded music track).
The show opens with video of Joe's Hall of Fame speech, and throughout the show we get a few additional videos of a toddler Joe swinging the bat, and an interview with the real Mike. The set is comprised of a few benches moved around to be dugout benches or cafeteria tables, with some baseball and other memorabilia hung on the back wall. Costumes mimic the Catholic high school uniforms, and I particularly love the varied costumes during the song about "finding your thing," from doctor to ballerina; to say baseball is Joe Mauer's "thing" is the understatement of the century! (Set design by Joe Stanley, costume design by Samantha Fromm Haddow, projection design by Brady Whitcomb.)
I don't get to Stages often, but I'm always impressed by their sweet, earnest, good-hearted shows. The Right Thing to Do is just that, and if you have a young (or old) baseball lover in your life, treat them to this show.
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Joe Mauer dons his catcher's gear and waves to the crowd
in his final game at Target Field, September 30, 2018 |
*Despite a 9th inning rally, the Twins won!
