"Sometimes There's Wine" at Park Square Theatre

Coffee and wine. Both are social elixirs. Both provide a reason to get together and share conversation, laughter, and tears. The brilliant #TCTheater comedy duo Shanan Custer and Carolyn Pool have chosen these two beverages around which to create their Ivey Award* winning sketch comedy show 2 Sugars, Room for Cream and its follow-up, Sometimes There's Wine.** Both originated as Minnesota Fringe Festival shows (under an hour in length) before being developed into full-length shows. Sometimes There's Wine was a hit at the 2016 Fringe, and the full length version is premiering at Park Square Theatre to open their 2018-2019 season. Carolyn and Shanan are two of the funniest women people in #TCTheater, and have such a great and comfortable rapport with each other that it easily translates to the audience, bringing us into their circle. After the show my friend said to me, I want to have a glass of wine with them! But in a way we already did. Seeing this show feels like having a glass of wine with your best friends, who just happen to be super talented, smart, funny, real, relatable, charming, and disarming. Go have a glass of wine with Shanan and Carolyn through October 14 at Park Square's second stage in the basement of the Historic*** Hamm Building in downtown St. Paul!

Fringe Festival 2016: "Sometimes There's Wine"

Day: 8

Show: 36

Title: Sometimes There's Wine

Category: Comedy

By: Shanan Custer and Carolyn Pool

Created by: Shanan Custer and Carolyn Pool

Location: Theatre in the Round

Summary: A follow-up to the Ivey-winning 2 Sugars, Room for Cream, but this time with wine.

Highlights: I love 2 Sugars, Room for Cream so much that I saw it three times. This show is more of the same, which is funny, smart, observational comedy by two of the funniest women in the Twin Cities. Much like coffee, wine is something that people drink to help get them through social occasions. Like weddings, work functions you don't really want to go to, or a long layover at the airport. Toting a glass of wine around the stage, Shanan and Carolyn are funny, natural, charming, and very personable as they portray several different women, with a few recurring characters. I could watch these two every day, so I hope they continue to develop Sometimes There's Wine and that we'll see it again.

Warning: the performance I attended sold out, so you might want to make reservations in advance or get to the theater early.

"Murder for Two" at Park Square Theatre

I do not advocate murder, unless it's of the fictional and musical variety. Then I'm all for it, especially when it's as delicious as Theater Latte Da's brilliant production of the Sondheim classic Sweeney Todd, as darkly hilarious as History Theatre's new original musical Glensheen, or as just plain fun as Park Square Theatre's Murder for Two, now playing on the Andy Boss stage. This two-person musical/comedy/mystery is funny, entertaining, and impressive to watch with its multitude of characters seen and unseen, and musical tricks by these two multi-talented performers.

In this delightfully silly murder mystery caper, Nic Delcambre is local cop Marcus who tries to solve the murder so he can make detective, and Andrea Wollenberg is everyone else. She is the wife of the victim, a murder mystery novelist who was shot in the forehead at his surprise party, as well as all of the guests at the party, including a ballerina, a grad student studying criminology, a bickering couple, a psychiatrist, a fireman, and a boys choir. They're all suspects, and Marcus interviews each of them in turn, with Andrea deftly transforming herself with a simple accessory, a change in voice, and a new physicality. It's quite a feat, and she pulls it off beautifully. The two actors seem very comfortable and playful with each other and the audience, ad libbing on occasion and making sure everyone is having a good time. And we are.

Nic Delcambre and Andrea Wollenberg

Oh, and did I mention that they both play the piano masterfully? And sing beautifully (or not, depending on the character)? Accompanying themselves and/or each other, playing together or separately or seamlessly switching in between, it's another challenging piece of the puzzle that is this crazy good show. Director Randy Reyes and his team (including Music Director Stephen Houtz) have intricately choreographed the show, executed in such a way that it looks easy breezy, which takes an incredible amount of skill, concentration, and practice.

For an extra treat, I saw the show on a "2 Sugar Tuesday." Those of you who've seen the charming and poignant Ivey-winning show 2 Sugars, Room for Cream, written and performed by Shanan Custer and Carolyn Pool (aka the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler of the Twin Cities), know just what a treat this is. In a new program, Shanan and Carolyn play hostess for one performance of many of the shows at Park Square this season. A mere $20 dollars gets you a ticket to the show, a pre- and post-show performance/ discussion/chat with the 2 Sugars ladies, and a free drink! Just look for the "T" on the calendar on each show's page on Park Square's website. Last night before the show Carolyn and Shanan told us a few things about the show and performers, and asked for questions from the audience. After the show, they facilitated a discussion with the uber-talented performers. All while being funny and charming and silly. It's a great deal, and a fun way to bookend an already fun show!

So, to review, go see Murder for Two for a delightfully silly murder romp performed by two nimble actor/singer/pianists/comedians. Then when the next show opens at Park Square, go to the "2 Sugar Tuesday" performance for a fun and unique theater experience. Got it?

"2 Sugars, Room for Cream" at Park Square Theatre

Next Sunday, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, two of the funniest women in America, will host the Golden Globes. Until then, we have Shanan Custer and Carolyn Pool, two of the funniest women in the Twin Cities, presiding over a delightful evening of comedy, friendship, and coffee. Their 2008 Fringe hit 2 Sugars, Room for Cream has gone through many incarnations, including stints at the New Century Theatre in 2012 and the Jerome Hill Theater in 2013, won an Ivey Award, and has now landed on Park Square Theatre's new Andy Boss thrust stage. Even though this is the third time I've seen it and many of the scenes and characters are familiar to me, it still makes me laugh until I cry, and marvel at the universality of life experiences, and the thing that binds us all together - coffee. From bad church basement coffee to the gourmet stuff at fancy coffee shops, it's a running theme in many of our lives and helps us get through the day, and the long cold winter. This show is a celebration of that, but more so a celebration of friendship and laughter.

2 Sugars, Room for Cream, written and performed by Shanan and Carolyn under the direction of Matt Sciple, is a sketch comedy made up of a dozen or so short vignettes all centered around coffee. Two women bonding over books at a coffee shop, sisters at a funeral, employees on a coffee break, two women who didn't like each other so much 20 years ago reconnecting at their high school reunion, a picky customer at a diner, a worried new mom being comforted by a stranger on a park bench, all of it happens over coffee. The funeral and reunion stories are revisited several times throughout the show, with the funeral story providing some of the more poignant moments as the sisters laugh, drink (something stronger than coffee), and cry through the big issues of life and death. While most scenes are two-character scenes, each woman also gets a solo scene, Shanan as a frazzled mom constructing an all too honest Christmas letter, and Carolyn as a woman recording a video for her unborn daughter encouraging her to be strong, confident, and smart.

After years of performing and fine-tuning the show, Carolyn and Shanan have developed a comfort level with each other and the material. They both come across as genuine in their characterizations and in their easy chemistry with each other. While the show is scripted, there does seem to be some room to play a little within the confines of the script. And there are a few musical moments as well, as the two duet on wistful, funny, original songs.

The set (designed by Sadie Ward) is just darling and much more elaborate than previous versions of the show. A coffee cart holds all the necessary refreshments in various forms, the chairs at the table are trimmed in pink, as is the bench in the back, and either side of the stage holds pink shelves littered with things our characters (and/or actors) like. Photos of inspirational women like Tina and Amy, Mindy, Lucy, Rosemary, and Barbra are mixed in with tchotchkes, Girl Scout cookies, and so many things I wanted to wander by and peruse the shelves for a good long while.

2 Sugars, Room for Cream is only playing for three short weeks, through January 18*. If you've never seen these two smart and hilarious women before, do yourself a favor and head on down to St. Paul, grab a cup of coffee, and lose yourself in laughter. And if you have seen them before, you don't need me to tell you how fabulous this show is and worthy of a second (third, fourth...) viewing!

*As seen in the bottom half of the above program, the Andy Boss stage will next be home to another completely delightful and unique show, Trick Boxing, in which husband and wife dance team Brian Sostek and Megan McClellan play multiple characters and tell a charming story using dance, puppets, and other innovative theatrical tricks. Last seen locally at the Guthrie in 2012.


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

Park Square Theatre's Season 2014-2015 Announcement

I had a great St. Paul theater day this past Sunday. In between seeing two powerful plays at the History Theatre (The Things They Carried and Lonely Soldiers: Women at War in Iraq), I stopped in at Park Square Theatre for their new season announcement. They have an exciting and ambitious new season planned, which includes opening a second stage, named for one of the theater's biggest supporters, Andy Boss, who passed away last week.

Park Square will put on 19 productions on the two stages, a crazy number of shows for one theater in one season. This new space in St. Paul is coming at a great time, since we recently lost the Ordway's McKnight Theatre on the other side of Rice Park. The new stage will house both Park Square productions and productions by other theater companies. In particular, Park Square has a three-year partnership with three nomadic theater companies - Theatre Pro Rata, Sandbox Theatre, and Girl Friday Productions.

After mingling in the lobby (or in my case, local theater celebrity spotting) with free drinks and food, the crowd moved into the theater where Artistic Director Richard Cook and Managing Director Michael-jon Pease led an informal discussion of the upcoming season, allowing the audience (mostly made up of artists and season subscribers) to ask questions. But first - a performance from the truly innovative and delightful Trick Boxing by Sossy Mechanics, a show so good I cannot wait to see it again on the Boss stage early next year.

A few other shows I'm looking forward to next season:

• The Color Purple: I saw the Broadway touring production several years ago and wept like I never have before or since at the theater. Alice Walker's story is so moving in book and movie format, and adding music just pushes the emotions over the top. I cannot wait to see it with an all-local cast, and if I were in charge of casting, I'd choose Brittany Bradford as Celie and Austene Van as Shug Avery.
• Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders: The brilliant and hilarious playwright Jeffrey Hatcher is adapting this novel by Larry Millett which re-imagines Sherlock Holmes in Minnesota. I'm not sure what this means for the whole is Benedict Cumberbatch coming to Minnesota controversy, but it's sure to be good fun.
• Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol: A returning favorite in which one actor plays all of the roles in A Christmas Carol. I can only hope that the one actor is again Jim Lichtsheidl, master of transformation.

Most of the other shows I'm not familiar with, but I look forward to discovering. Finally, the discussion ended with another excerpt from an upcoming show, the very funny, silly, and poignant 2 Sugars, Room for Cream. In this new scene, writer/performers Carolyn Pool and Shanan Custer worked out a custody arrangement for the Ivey they won last year. This is a show I will gladly go see a third time.

And that's it. Some good stuff is happening in St. Paul. You can see the full list of shows on their website, where you will also find info about the various season ticket packages. I wish them much success with this new venture. See you in St. Paul!

"2 Sugars, Room for Cream" at the Jerome Hill Theater

Coffee - it's the elixir of life, the glue that holds our society together. OK maybe that's overstating it a bit, but there's no question that coffee plays an important part in our work and social lives. Many important life events include the drinking of coffee - funerals, weddings, reunions, first meetings. How would we get through the work day without a coffee break? Such is the premise of the delightful sketch comedy show 2 Sugars, Room for Cream. In a series of short scenes, some of which are related, writers and performers Shanan Custer and Carolyn Pool explore the nature of life and relationships through encounters over coffee. The result is a funny, poignant, real, engaging, and completely delightful show. In fact, it's so delightful that it keeps returning after starting as a Fringe show several years ago. And Ivey voters agree - the show recently won an Ivey Award for last year's incarnation at Hennepin Theatre Trust's New Century Theatre. Even though I saw that production, I couldn't resist the chance to see it again (and yes, I am going to plagiarize myself).

Shanan and Carolyn are quite charismatic and funny together, with great chemistry whether they're playing sisters, friends who haven't seen each other in twenty years, or people who have just met. They create different characters just by putting on a different sweater or jacket (what Stacy and Clinton would call a "completer piece"). The show opens and closes with one of the two scenarios that are visited multiple times - two sisters at their Uncle Jimmy's funeral drinking bad church basement coffee. They discuss their family and their lives, as the celebration moves to one of the sisters' homes and the coffee makes way for 2 Gingers whiskey, and the next morning, more coffee is needed. The other scenario with multiple scenes is a high school reunion, where two women meet, with one of them clearly remembering their relationship while the other does not. Again, coffee turns into drinking in the car and flirting with former classmates, which turns into hanging out at an all-night Denny's. Other skits include a diner waitress and her needy customer, two new friends discussing how Twilight is damaging to young women (thank you!), a frazzled new mom crying about her baby's tiny head, a period piece set in the '40s, a college professor introducing her class, bosses and their assistants (separately) on a coffee break at work, and a woman recording a touching video for her unborn daughter about how she's going to raise her to be confident and proud of herself. Coffee-themed songs play during scene changes (many of which I know from this CD), and Carolyn and Shanan also sing a few original songs (written by Peter Moore and Drew Jansen).

Shanan and Carolyn are so natural on stage, and are obviously having such a great time, that the audience can't help but enjoy themselves as well. If you're looking for something to do this weekend post-turkey, check out the great deal on tickets at Goldstar and go see some original, creative, wonderfully entertaining and fulfilling theater at the Jerome Hill Theater in the gorgeous 180 East 5th Street building in downtown St. Paul.

Shanan Custer and Carolyn Pool

"2 Sugars, Room for Cream" at the New Century Theatre

Coffee. Ahhh, coffee. People who love coffee really love coffee. I count myself among them. There's just something about the aroma, the feel of the warm cup in your hand, the deep and dark taste of it, that's so satisfying. In many ways our culture is built around coffee shops. "Want to get coffee?" is a common way of getting together, whether it's getting to know a new friend or catching up with an old one. The two-woman show 2 Sugars, Room for Cream explores this idea in a series of short skits. It began as a Fringe Fest show a few years ago and has been expanded into a full-length show, currently running at the New Century Theatre (set up with cabaret tables for an informal coffee shop feel). It's funny, silly, poignant, and with such a wide range of stories that everyone is sure to find something to relate too.

The two women in question are Carolyn Pool and Shanan Custer, who co-wrote and co-star in the show (with direction by Peter Moore). Shanan was the hilarious host of this year's Ivey Awards, but the last time I saw Carolyn it was in a much darker show - the twisted family drama August: Osage County. Nevertheless, the two are quite charismatic and funny together, with a great chemistry whether they're playing sisters, friends who haven't seen each other in twenty years, or people who have just met. The show opens and closes with one of the two scenarios that are visited multiple times - two sisters at their Uncle Jimmy's funeral drinking bad church basement coffee. They discuss their family and their lives, as the celebration moves to one of the sisters' homes and the coffee makes way for 2 Gingers whiskey, and the next morning, more coffee is needed. The other scenario with multiple scenes is a high school reunion, where two women meet, with one of them clearly remembering their relationship while the other does not. Again, coffee turns into drinking in the car and flirting with former classmates, which turns into hanging out at an all-night Denny's. Other skits include two new friends discussing how Twilight is damaging to young women (thank you!), a frazzled new mom crying about her baby's tiny head, a period piece set in the '40s, a college professor introducing her class, bosses and their assistants (separately) on a coffee break at work, and a woman recording a touching video for her unborn daughter about how she's going to raise her to be confident and proud of herself. Carolyn and Shanan also sing a few songs for us in 1940s girl group style (original lyrics written by Shanan and Peter Moore, with music by Drew Jansen).

Shanan Custer and Carolyn Pool attend a reunion

2 Sugars, Room for Cream is a thoroughly entertaining evening featuring two talented writers and performers. Together they create dozens of different characters, just by changing their sweater and shoes (some of them quite fabulous) over basic black dresses. Grab a cup of coffee and a friend or two, and head downtown to the New Century Theatre between now and November 11 (tip: half-price ticket deal on Goldstar.com). It's quite delightful (and it was the perfect antidote do the deliciously creepy Turn of the Screw I saw previously that day).