"Annie" at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

After more than 20 years, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres returns to the feel-good musical Annie that showcases the power of "little girls." And one of those little girls from their first production of the show in 1983, Tamara Kangas Erickson, is now co-owner and Artistic Director of the theater, and director/choreographer of this show, proving that there really is no limit to what "little girls" can do when they grow up and change the world. Or at least, I hope they will. And that's one thing Annie has in abundance - hope. The belief that we can make the world a better place by believing it can be better, by working together, by standing up for what's right, and maybe by singing a song together. This nearly 50-year-old show (it'll return to Broadway for its 50th anniversary next year), set nearly 100 years ago, is eerily resonant with today's world, with the increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots, average Americans unable to afford to feed their families, and a dissatisfaction with the powers-that-be who don't seem to care about the plight of the people. Annie inspired the president to come up with a New Deal to help pull the country out of the depression; "A New Deal for Christmas" is the optimistic finale of the show. Things feel a little less hopeful today, but maybe we'll get a new deal for Christmas too, if we believe like Annie does (and #vote). In the meantime, head West to Chanhassen to experience a healthy dose of optimism, delivered to us by a ridiculously talented cast, creative team, and staff, who also deliver dinner, drinks, and dessert to your table as you enjoy the show (continuing through February 27).

"My Ántonia" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

Back in 2010 (the birth year of Cherry and Spoon), Illusion Theater won two Ivey Awards (remember the Ivey Awards, Minnesota's own Tony Awards?) for their adaptation of Willa Cather's novel My Ántonia, one for playwright Allison Moore and one for Kate Guentzel, who played the title character. I didn't see it that year, but lucky for me Illusion continued to produce the show every few years, and even toured it around the Midwest and into Cather's Nebraska. I've seen it three times, most recently in 2019, and loved it more each time I saw it, calling the sparse 90-minute six-person play with music "a perfect adaptation, in that it captures the wistful and nostalgic tone of the novel as Willa describes the people and place she loved so much." I was excited and a little trepidatious when two years ago Theater Latte Da announced that a new musical adaptation of My Ántonia would be part of their NEXT new play development series. I saw the reading of the musical in development that summer and was reassured that the tone of the novel was maintained (unlike the recent musical adaptation of The Great Gatsby, which turned it into a romcom). And now after seeing the full production, even though I'll always have a special place in my heart for Illusion's play that made me fall in love with this story, I love seeing another version of it that fills out the story with more life and music. With a talented cast twice the size of the play, a lovely indie folk score that I wish I could download and listen to on repeat, and sparse design that evokes the achingly beautiful prairies that surround us, Theater Latte Da has brought us another beautiful adaptation of this classic American story (continuing through July 12).

A Preview (and Review) of Park Square Theatre's LAB Series

UPDATE: I have now seen all four of the shows and all are fantastic, each very creative and unique. Scroll down for more thoughts, and head to Park Square today or tomorrow to see the last two shows (the first two are no longer playing).

Park Square has a new program to foster the work of local artists, and I'm here for it: "The Park Square LAB Series provides Minnesota-based theater artists, companies, and early- to mid-career creators the opportunity to stage their work at Park Square Theatre - without the barrier of rental fees. The LAB Series program offers theatre makers of all backgrounds the chance to take artistic risks. Whether artists choose to develop ambitious new work, restage and/or reimagine a previous production, or a bit of both, Park Square aims to provide the space and encouragement for artists to flourish." I love the idea of an artist lab, where they get to experiment, try new things, and see what works and what doesn't. And I have experienced the depth and breadth of our local artist community, so I love that Park Square is supporting them in this way. They will be presenting the work of four artists over two weekends, two this weekend and two next weekend (three performances each), and the artists they have lined up for their inaugural lab are an impressive list! Read a little more about the shows and artists below and check back for my thoughts after I see the shows this weekend and next. You can find more information and purchase tickets to one or both shows on Park Square's website.

"Strange Heart: The Dream Songs of John Berryman" at Open Eye Theatre

I have to admit, I'd never heard of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet John Berryman, who taught at the University of Minnesota for much of his career. I'll also admit that I'm not a big fan of poetry, I never really read it on my own because I have a hard time making sense of it (but maybe poetry isn't supposed to make sense). That's why I love seeing poems or poetry depicted on stage, in the more familiar language of theater, or better yet, music-theater. I went to see the world premiere of Strange Heart: The Dream Songs of John Berryman at Open Eye Theatre for two reasons - Bradley Greenwald and Anna Hashizume - and I was rewarded with a very dreamlike show. Like poetry, it doesn't always make sense, it doesn't follow a straight line, it jumps around from one time or place to another. But also like poetry, it makes you feel things, even if you're not sure why. Strange Heart is odd, and funny, and silly, and heartbreakingly sad as it explores the life and work of a tortured artist, through his words put to music. You can experience this strange and lovely dream now through March 22.

"My Fair Lady" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

My Fair Lady is a classic musical that stands the test of time, and doesn't feel dated due to its evergreen themes of class and gender dynamics, especially with more attention given to Eliza's perspective in recent years. It may seem like an odd choice for Theater Latte Da, that usually choses more rare or edgy works. But like last year's Cinderella, they put their own unique spin on a beloved classic that isn't drastically different, but makes it feel fresh and modern. Everything about this production is perfectly loverly - a superstar local cast, luscious costumes, ingenious set design, and a gorgeous rendering of the beloved score with just two pianos and 11 human voices. It's playing through the end of the year so you really have no excuse not to see this yummy production of a classic that deserves the title.

Reading of "The Antipodes" by Table/Read at PAIKKA

After two years at Boston University earning his MFA in Directing, #TCTheater artist Grant Sorenson is back in town and jumping right in making good things. He has plans for a new theater company (which will hopefully continue the great and interesting work of Arrow Theater), but for now, Grant has introduced a new and exciting monthly theater event - one-night-only readings of new plays, fittingly called Table/Read. That in itself is a really cool idea, but what makes this series truly unique is that the name of the play is not announced until the moment the reading begins. We always go into the theater knowing something about the work, even if it's just the title and playwright. But often the promotional materials, social media, and/or the program have information on what the play is about - a short plot summary, character descriptions, or even just the location and time period of the story. It's extremely rare to watch a performance and know absolutely nothing about what's going to happen. And that's exciting! The first monthly Table/Read did not disappoint, with an excellent choice of play read by a powerhouse cast of nine of #TCTheater's best actors that gave fully realized performances despite having just one zoom rehearsal. And it was preceded by drinks and conversation in the lovely courtyard outside PAIKKA, an event space in Vandalia Towers. But I won't get too attached to that; each reading will take place at a different non-traditional space. Follow Table/Read on Instagram or watch their website for details on the next monthly reading. And for artists - check out the artist nights, intended to be a place where artists can connect.

"Grease" at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

I'd been looking forward to the opening night of Grease at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres for weeks, months even. It's always the best press night in town - free food and drinks, a welcoming and celebratory atmosphere, the bloggers are seated at a table together, and it's always a high quality production - and Grease is a classic and always fun show. But everything changed two days before opening when it was announced that Michael Brindisi, longtime Artistic Director and co-owner since 2010, died suddenly after a brief illness. It's a devastating loss for his family (including wife Michelle Barber, daughter Cat Brindisi, and son-in-law David Darrow, all of whom are talented and beloved members of the #TCTheater community in their own right), the people he's worked alongside of for decades, artists he's mentored and to whom he's given life-changing opportunities, and those of us in the larger community who know him mostly through his work. But it's eerily fitting that he died doing what he loved - directing a musical that meant so much to him, that started his career when he was cast in a tour in the 70s. And it also felt appropriate that while that grief and shock is fresh in all of our minds and hearts, we were able to gather in a room and be together, laugh together, cry together, celebrate his life and legacy together. Grease is scheduled to run through early October, followed by a remount of White Christmas which he directed just previous to this show, so whatever the future of Chanhassen Dinner Theatres looks like, his work will live on on that stage for the next year through these shows, and forever in the community that he created and the culture he fostered (which by all accounts is welcoming and respectful and supportive) and the artists he inspired. I can't imagine what it was like for the cast to go on and perform this show the night that they heard their leader was gone, and the next night, and the next. But rest assured that this cast is giving their whole hearts, souls, gorgeous voices, comedic chops, and hand-jiving bodies to this show to make their leader proud, and I know he is.

"I Am Betty" at History Theatre

Last year History Theatre premiered a new musical that inspired me to write: "I am Betty. You are Betty. We're all Betty!" Apparently I was not the only audience member so affected; they've brought the show back for a month-long remount, with most of the original cast and creative team reassembled (hence much of this post is borrowed from my previous review). I Am Betty tells the story of American women in the 20th Century through the lens of Betty Crocker, as playwright Cristina Luzarraga noted in a talkback I attended last year. As you may or may not know, Betty Crocker was not a real person; she was a fictional persona created for marketing purposes by the Washburn-Crosby Company (later General Mills). But many women worked behind the scenes to make Betty, and the company, successful. This musical tells their stories, and through them, the history of women in America. Written and directed by women, the show features nine incredibly talented female performers playing all of the facets of Betty for a really fun, informative, and inspiring show. See it at the History Theatre in downtown St. Paul now through December 29.

"Johnny Skeeky; or, The Remedy for Everything" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

I'm not sure what I expected from the new work of music-theater Johnny Skeeky; or, The Remedy for Everything, based on Puccini's one-act comic opera Gianni Schicchi, but it wasn't... that. #TCTheater legends Bradley Greenwald and Steven Epp have adapted the story about a wealthy man's family fighting over his will (with additional inspiration from Succession and Arrested Development) and written new English lyrics for the music. The result is the most ridiculous and delightful opera I've ever seen. If it can even be called an opera anymore; there's much more dialogue than operas typically contain. But whatever you call it, it's simply a joy to watch this outrageously talented cast sing this gorgeous music with modern, silly, and even sometimes crude words. It's a 100-minute wild romp of an opera. You have plenty of time to get to the Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis and see it before it closes in early July. And if you like music, comedy, and creativity - you definitely should.

"Lend Me a Tenor" by Expressions Community Theater at Lakeville Arts Center

Last weekend, I went from the sublime to the ridiculous - in a good way! After spending the day at Guthrie Theater for the opening of their sublime triumph of three of Shakespeare's History Plays performed in rep, I headed out to my old home town Lakeville for Expressions Community Theater's production of Ken Ludwig's ridiculous and hilarious farce Lend Me a Tenor. I usually don't have time to see community theater, but Expressions performs in my childhood church, next door to the elementary school I attended, both of which have been converted into Lakeville Arts Center. After watching professional theater artists from around the country in an epic creation, it was also great to watch community theater actors working just as hard to create a fun (if less epic) afternoon at the theater. Moral of the story: check out your local community theater to see what they're doing, and support their work, or even get involved in a production. Our strong community theater scene feeds our professional theaters, and vice versa, and that's what makes #TCTheater great. And if you're in the South Metro, you have one more weekend to see this delightfully ridiculous play.

"I Am Betty" at the History Theatre

I am Betty. You are Betty. We're all Betty! History Theatre's new original musical I Am Betty tells the story of American women in the 20th Century through the lens of Betty Crocker, as playwright Cristina Luzarraga noted in a talkback I attended. As you may or may not know, Betty Crocker was not a real person; she was a fictional persona created for marketing purposes by the Washburn-Crosby Company (later General Mills). But many women worked behind the scenes to make Betty, and the company, successful. This musical tells their stories, and through them, the history of women in America. Written and directed by women, the show features nine incredibly talented female performers playing all of the facets of Betty for a really fun, informative, and inspiring show. See it at the History Theatre in downtown St. Paul now through December 23, and enter here to win two tickets from the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers!

"Into the Woods" at the Guthrie Theater

Six years after their stunning production of Sunday in the Park with George, the Guthrie Theater is returning to Sondheim with Into the Woods. It's probably his most frequently produced work; I've seen it eight times now, all local productions in the last 12 years. Based on familiar fairy tales, it's also perhaps the most accessible. But once you're drawn in by the familiar stories, you find that it's surprisingly complex, with themes of good and evil, right and wrong, the consequences of choices, self-interest vs. the common good, and what happens when the fairy tale subsides to reality. It also contains some of Sondheim's most playfully clever lyrics ("while her withers wither with her") and singable melodies (the most famous songs being "Children Will Listen" and "No One is Alone"). For this production, the Guthrie has enlisted Sarna Lapine as director, niece of book writer and original director James Lapine, who obviously has a deep connection to the piece. Her direction is smart, clear, and playful, and the mostly local cast is a joy to watch. Whether you've gone Into the Woods a dozen times, or this is your first time, this production makes it well worth another journey.

"Musical Mondays" at LUSH, March 2023

Great news, my musical theater loving friends: Musical Mondays is back at LUSH Lounge and Theater in Northeast Minneapolis! After a nearly three-year pandemic-induced hiatus, this fabulous monthly showcase of #TCTheater talent returned in December of 2022. I finally was able to attend this past Monday, the 83rd Musical Mondays since BFFs Max Wojtanowicz and Sheena Janson started it some ten years ago, and the 18th I've attended. It felt so great to be back in LUSH's spacious event space (remodeled a year or two prior to the pandemic) in a room full of music, love, and friendship. There's a real atmosphere of fun and camaraderie at these events, amongst the cast and the crowd (a great place to spot local "celebrities"). But of course, the focus is the music, and it's spectacular. Every casting director in town should attend these shows to find some new talent, especially the next one, on April 10, that will feature "fresh faces" (new to MM and/or to #TCTheater). And if you're just a music-theater lover like me, it's a great place to go hear some showtunes, both familiar and new, fantastically performed by our local talent.

"Hello Dolly!" at the Ritz Theater by Theater Latte Da

Put on your Sunday clothes and head to the Ritz Theater for Theater Latte Da's absolutely joyous production of Hello Dolly! They've set the classic musical in a racially diverse world, which is not untrue to the world of late 19th Century New York, it's just one we don't often see. They've also stripped the typically huge cast and orchestra down to about a third of the size. Though the costumes are scrumptious and the design is charming, there are no trains or trolleys driving across the stage, as seen in the recent Broadway revival and tour. But what this show lacks in size it makes up for in heart and gumption. It's a wonderful new take on a classic that lets the original story and beloved score shine. Hello Dolly! plays Wednesdays through Sundays until March 19, but don't wait too long to get tickets - this one will sell out.

"Fire in the New World" by Full Circle Theater Company at Park Square Theatre

Rick Shiomi, founder of Theater Mu and current co-Artistic Director of Full Circle Theater Company, returns to the Japanese-Canadian noir detective world of post-WW II Vancouver in his new play Fire in the New World. The first play in what is now a trilogy, Yellow Fever, is set in 1973 and premiered in 1982, and was produced by Mu in 2013 as part of Rick's last season as Artistic Director. It was followed by the prequel Rosie's Cafe, set in 1951. Fire in the New World takes place between these two, in 1963, but don't worry if you haven't seen the other plays, it stands on its own (although it would be great fun to see the three plays in rep). Once again, private eye Sam Shikaze battles crime, gentrification, and racism with the help of his friends. See it at Park Square Theatre through November 6.

"Twelve Angry Women" by Theater Latte Da at Crooners Supper Club

Theater Latte Da is just over halfway through their seven-week run of the world premiere new musical adaptation of Twelve Angry Men, the classic American rumination on justice and civil discourse. If you haven't seen it yet, get your tickets before they're gone (read my full review of this "adaptation done right" here). Last week, #TCTheater artist and musical theater history aficionado Max Wojtanowicz presented one of his "Pin Spot Series" edutainment shows about the making of this musical in particular, and what goes into making a new musical in general (watch for more of this series during Latte Da's upcoming 25th season). And this weekend only, Theater Latte Da is presenting a companion cabaret show at Crooners entitled Twelve Angry Women, compensating for the fact that the author's estate did not allow them to change the gender of the characters. Although it was planned months ago, this show couldn't come at a better time; women have arguably never had more reason to be angry than they do now, when the Supreme Courts is rolling back our rights 50 years. This show is both a healthy release of that anger, and a beacon of hope that we're still here, we're still fighting, and we'll get through this together. Get your tickets for one of the two remaining shows here.

"Puttin' on the Ritz" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

After 611 long dark days, Theater Latte Da is finally back performing again in their Northeast Minneapolis home, the Ritz Theater. They opened their 24th season last weekend with a special cabaret concert for subscribers (and me!) and it was such a joyous celebration. I've missed Theater Latte Da's brand of music-theater so much, and am thrilled that they're finally back. The first official show of the season is a remount of their gorgeous annual holiday show All is Calm (seen on PBS stations around the country last year), to be followed by La Boheme in January, nearly two years after the production was shut down after just a few preview performances. Next spring we'll see the area premiere of the 1992 multiple Tony-nominated musical Jelly's Last Jam, and the season will conclude with the world premiere of a new musical adaptation of the classic play Twelve Angry Men, which Latte Da has been developing for several years. Click here for info on their season and to purchase season tickets, or individual tickets for the first two shows, and read on for highlights of last weekend's Puttin' on the Ritz.

"LOG JAM! A Paul Bunyan Musical Spectacular" by Open Eye Theatre on the Bakken Museum's green rooftop

My second outdoor* theatrical production this year (and hence only the second show I've seen live in 2021) is Open Eye Theatre's delightful new original musical LOG JAM! A Paul Bunyan Musical Spectacular, performed on the beautiful green rooftop of the Bakken Museum** overlooking Bde Maka Ska. The scheduled opening night turned out to be a cold and rainy spring day, but the actual opening night one day later was a gorgeous, sunny, cool evening. In just over an hour this group of talented performers, including many familiar faces I've greatly missed seeing in the last 15 months without theater, told a sweet and silly story about Minnesota legend Paul Bunyan, and I smiled through the entire show. Fun, safe, and accessible, great for kids and grown-ups alike, LOG JAM is another exciting step in the return of our vital performing arts community (continuing through June 20).

"In the Midst of Things: In Medias Res" streaming from An Opera Theatre

One fun thing about this virtual theater era is that you can discover new companies that you haven't been able to see before, since they're now easily accessible in your own home. Such as the new opera company called simply An Opera Theatre. I love their mission statement: "to produce socially-relevant works, in order to break down the barriers of the classical art form, and bring communities together," and this: "We hope to promote work for working artists in Minnesota. And it doesn't just stop at opera! AOT believes in fusing multiple art forms to create tantalizing theater events for a diverse artistic community." They've created a new original 15-minute opera that they've been sharing with schools around the area, and will be available to the public May 28 - June 6 on their Facebook page and website. I got to see a sneak peek of In the Midst of Things: In Medias Res; it's really great, and left me wanting more!

I Listen to Podcasts Now!

I don't know about you, but this global pandemic has left me with a lot more time on my hands. I used to spend 20-30 hours a week at the theater, driving to the theater, writing about theater, scheduling theater, reading about theater. One of the things I'm doing to help fill those empty hours is listen to podcasts. And because I'm me, many of them have something to do with local theater. Here are the ones I'm listening to; please add your suggestions in the comments below!