"Three Houses" at Theatre Elision

Theatre Elision is in their Dave Malloy era, and it suits them. The NYC-based composer/ lyricist/ playwright is most well-known for his 2017 Broadway musical Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, for which he was nominated for three Tonys. And more recently, his a capella musical Octet is being adapted into a film, by none other than Lin-Manuel Miranda. But Elision, which has a knack for finding music-theater gems and bringing them to #TCTheater, often fresh off their initial runs Off-Broadway or elsewhere, has been on the Dave Malloy train since their first season. They produced his song cycle Ghost Quartet in the fall of 2017, and it was so popular they've done it almost every year since, including this summer outdoors by the river at Fort Snelling. Last fall they brought us the regional premiere of Comet, the biggest show they've ever done, that sold out virtually the entire run, and are remounting it in the spring. They've also announced that they will be doing Octet next fall, but first, it's Dave Malloy's Three Houses, a musical about three people in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's very Dave Malloy, meaning mostly sung-through, with clever and funny lyrics that pull in lots of different references, intricate and unexpected melodies, and gorgeous harmonies. At this point Theatre Elision's creative team and cast (many of them returnees) are experts at interpreting his work, and Three Houses builds on the experience and success of Ghost Quartet and Comet, for another unique, entertaining, and moving theatrical experience (continuing through November 7). 

The 90-minute musical is set up like an open mic night at a bar (although I doubt there's ever been an open mic night that's this good). One by one, three people get up to the mic to tell their story (maybe with a little liquid courage), each of which begins with the lockdown, after they had just broken up with someone, and escaped... somewhere. Then they step away from the mic and their story comes to life, with the help of the ensemble and a few choice props and set pieces. This piece is really like three mini-musicals, each about a half hour long and playing out like a stream-of-consciousness story with no applause break. Susan (Christine Wade) takes up residence in her recently deceased grandmother's house in Latvia, and learns about the woman she barely knew by going through her books and other treasures. Sadie (Sydney Lin) escapes to an aunt's house in New Mexico and recreates her grandparents' home in painstaking detail in a virtual reality game. Beckett (Emily Hensley) holes up in a basement apartment in Brooklyn, haunted by Irish grandparents. I'm not sure any of these three coping measures are the healthiest way to deal with a global pandemic, but we all did what we had to do to make it through, and come out on the other side to tell our stories.

Sydney Lin, Emily Hensley, and Christine Wade
(photo by Jolie Morehouse Olson)

Elision's resident director/designer Lindsay Fitzgerald once again takes those duties here. The show flows well from story to story, each distinct but of the same overall style. The cast (which also includes Kyler Chase as the bartender/wolf, and Phinehas Bynum and Annie Schiferl as grandparents and other various characters in the story) is fantastic, singing gorgeously and also conveying the complicated and familiar emotions of that time in our shared history. They're accompanied by a four-piece on-stage orchestra led by resident music director Harrison Wade on keys, as always making the tricky score sound effortless.

The set is dominated by a very realistic bar, fully stocked and papered with photos and postcards. For the Latvia story, a half dozen birch trees are released from the ceiling to stand around the set. The Brooklyn apartment hermitage is represented by Amazon boxes with bricks painted on the side. Sadie sits in a big comfy chair to play her video game, while the cast dons animal ears and walks in this odd sort of way that I guess is supposed to represent the virtual world. I don't play video games, but judging by the copious laughter of recognition in the crowd, they got it right.

Get on the Dave Malloy train with Theatre Elision - it's a fun ride, and music-theater unlike you'll see anywhere else. Three Houses is playing now through November 7 at Elision Playhouse in Crystal, Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 runs April 22 through May 15 (tickets already on sale), and Octet arrives in the fall of 2027 (info and tickets for all shows here).