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Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Musical Mondays at LUSH, May 2026

I hadn't been to Musical Mondays at LUSH in almost a year, but when they used a photo of the Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture as the May show image, Cherry and Spoon had to go! And I'm so glad I did. I love this monthly cabaret series started by BFFs Max Wojtanowicz and Sheena Janson some 12 years ago, and would attend every month if I weren't so busy seeing 4-5 shows a week in this busy #TCTheater season. But take it from me, if you're ever free on the first Monday of the month, head to LUSH in Northeast Minneapolis for what is always an amazing display of talent and a fun community event. Max is always an amiable host (before and after cocktails), the bartenders always have a strong pour (food also available before and during the show), the band is always solid on a variety of music styles, and the cast of performers always blows me away, whether or not I've ever seen them before. It's so fun to see performers in this environment where they can sing whatever they want to, whatever means something to them, maybe from some show they'd never be cast in; we get to know the person behind the characters they play. Most of the songs are recognizable (to musical theater nerds), but also include some deep cuts, and the song list is always posted on Musical Monday's Facebook page after the show in case there were a few you didn't recognize. So make plans for the next Musical Mondays on June 1, bring a script or two you want to get rid of in the Script Swap, and get there before the doors open at 6:30 to get a seat in the always crowded room.

Here's a list of this month's amazing performers and where you can see them next:
They were accompanied by a three-piece band:
  • Bob Kelly (keyboard and music director) - music directing a new musical for which he wrote the music, Confessions of a Gay Priest: A Memoir of Sex, Love, Abuse, and Scandal in the Catholic Seminary, at the new works festival at New York Theatre Barn, also available for streaming (and hopefully coming to #TCTheater soon!)
  • Kyle Baker (bass) - playing in the Come From Away band at the Guthrie Theater, opening in June (I got a sneak peek of the show and it's going to be amazing!)
  • Beth Varela (drums) - playing around town including with the band Rebel Queens
Here's the playlist (I require at least one song from RENT at every Musical Mondays I attend):
  • Opening (Songs for a New World) - all
  • Neverland (Finding Neverland) - Josiah
  • Donny Novitski (Bandstand) - Jon Michael
  • Everybody Loves Louis (Sunday in the Park with George) - Camryn
  • First Date Last Night (Dogfight) - Kaia and Josiah
  • Azure Te (Five Guys Named Moe) - Dante
  • Flowers (Hadestown) - Kaia
  • Maybe This Time (Cabaret) - Bella
  • What You Own (Rent) - Dante and Jon Michael
  • Sister’s Pickle (Amélie) - Bella
  • All This Time (The Last Ship) - Josiah
  • If I Were a Bell (Guys and Dolls) - Kaia
  • Nowadays/Hot Honey Rag (Chicago) - Bella and Camryn
  • It All Fades Away (The Bridges of Madison County) - Dante
  • Where Do You Belong (Mean Girls) - Jon Michael
  • Hopelessly Devoted (Grease) - Camryn
  • Unruly Heart (The Prom) - all
Musical Mondays typically includes a preview of a currently running or upcoming show, and this month we were treated to Suzie Juul singing a song from Ten Thousand Things' The Most Happy Fella, now playing at various locations through June 7 (accompanied by music director Isabella Dawis).

Musical Mondays is donation-based (all money going to the artists), and for every $5 you throw in the pot you can enter your name for a drawing to win free tickets to any number of shows around town. This year, lucky winners are going to see these upcoming shows:

photo credit: @cherryandspoon Instagram