"Joyful Noise" by Bucket Brigade at Art House North

The play with music Joyful Noise tells the story of the creation of Handel's Messiah, "one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music." Who knew there was so much scandal and controversy in the creation of this beloved work which, even if you don't think you know it, you will recognize. Affairs, censorship, rivalries, disagreements between the creators, all threatened to derail this project. Playwright Tim Slover has compiled these stories into some funny and entertaining historical fiction, brought to life but a great cast at Bucket Brigade, even if it does feel a bit too long (the free coffee at intermission helps). See it at the charming and intimate Art House North through May 10.

"'Til Death" by Bucket Brigade at Art House North

Bucket Brigade's original "marriage musical" 'Til Death returns for its 13th season! This was my 5th time seeing the show (counting a virtual version during the pandemic), and I was happy to spend a little time with old friends. Written by Bucket Brigade's married co-founders Vanessa and Jeremiah Gamble, and starring them and another married couple of #TCTheater artists (Anna and Damian Leverett whom I saw, alternating with Stephanie and Nathan Cousins) it's silly and sweet, over-the-top yet grounded in the reality of relationships. And while it would be (and has been) a perfect 90-minute-no-intermission show if not for the intermission, when they give me a cupcake and host a mini-concert* during said intermission, I'll allow it. 'Til Death plays Fridays and Saturdays through February 15 (plus one Monday night pay-as-you're-able performance featuring the full cast) at the charming and cozy Art House North in St. Paul's West 7th neighborhood, with two great restaurants within walking distance - Mucci's Italian and A-Side Public House (tip: make reservations).

"Survivors of the Fire" by Bucket Brigade at Art House North

I love a new original historical musical, and Bucket Brigade's Survivors of the Fire is a good one. The stories of the survivors of the Great Hinckley Fire of 1894 are told in a compelling way using songs (mostly hymns and traditional songs), physical theater, and storytelling. It's only 75 minutes long but it feels epic, like we've gone on this journey from booming lumber town, to the unimaginable terror of a firestorm with a four-mile high wall of fire and temperatures of 2000 degrees, to the grief of loss and hope of rebuilding that came after. The seven-person cast embodies the real people who survived the fire, and their acts of humanity and heroism. Their performances, along with a four-person band playing well-chosen songs, and the spot-on sound and lighting design, combine to create a visceral experience of the fire and the people who lived through it. A musical brings the story to life in a way a museum or book never could (although I will now be visiting the museum and reading a book to learn more). Experience it yourself at the charming Art House North in St. Paul's West 7th neighborhood, weekends through October 12 (pro tip: make a reservation if you want to go to one of the trendy nearby restaurants).

"The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord" by Bucket Brigade at Art House North

My favorite kind of play is a two-hander - just two people sitting in a room talking. The awkwardly titled The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord one-ups that model - it's just three people sitting in a room talking. Specifically, three historical figures, great writers and thinkers, who are discussing deeply philosophical issues. But despite the deep issues discussed, it's actually a very funny and light-hearted play. Deep thoughts, humor, great performances, 95 minutes no intermission, a cozy and intimate space, and free cookies and coffee before the show - what more could you ask for? See Bucket Brigade's production of this smart, funny, thought-provoking, and engaging play now through October 14 at Art House North in St. Paul's West 7th neighborhood.

"'Til Death" by Bucket Brigade at Art House North

For over ten years, Bucket Brigade has been presenting their original "marriage musical" 'Til Death around this time of the year (including a virtual version during the pandemic). It's an endearing little show about love, life, and relationships, both the challenges and the rewards. With the added feature that the two married couples in the show are played by two real-life married couples, adding a level of realism. Creators Vanessa and Jeremiah Gamble play the long-married couple, and two couples take turns playing the young newlyweds - Anna and Damian Leverett, and Stephanie and Nathan Cousins (I saw the Leveretts, with Anna's pregnancy adding a fun twist). They've brought in a new director this year, Craig Johnson, for a fresh eye, but the show remains largely unchanged, except for one improvement - they've removed the intermission, which makes it a perfect 90-minute show. Get there early to find street parking on the icy St. Paul streets, to eat a delicious cupcake from local bakery Bake Bread (included in the price of admission), and to enjoy a pre-show concert of love songs.

"'Til Death" by Bucket Brigade at Art House North

In 2012, Bucket Brigade premiered their new original musical 'Til Death. The funny yet poignant examination of marriage has become an annual event, with creators Vanessa and Jeremiah Gamble playing a separated couple on their 15th anniversary, and a #TCTheater married couple playing the honeymooners they encounter at a secluded cabin in the mountains. This is my second time seeing the show in the charming renovated church known as Art House North in St. Paul's 7th Street neighborhood. It's very funny (a little more over the top than I remember), and relatable even if you're not among the good and crazy married people. And even though it would play nicely as an intermissionless 90-minute musical, the delicious cupcakes and coffee served at intermission (included in the price of admission) in the cute church basement lobby, accompanied by live music, makes for a festive evening.

"Life Goes On" by Bucket Brigade at Art House North

New original musicals are my favorite thing, and a thing that's becoming more rare in the age of movie adaptations and jukebox musicals on Broadway. Fortunately we can look to #TCTheater for the remedy, including local company Bucket Brigade. They seem to love new original musicals as much as I do; they've created several, the most recent being Life Goes On, now playing at the charming Art House North in St. Paul's West 7th neighborhood. It's a beautiful story of grief, forgiveness, connection, love, and family. Told in 90 minutes with a cast of six and a three-piece band in a former church space, it's an intimate experience that's engaging and moving, and if you've lost someone (who hasn't?), could also be painful and/or cathartic. As I've been saying a lot lately, #bringtissues (maybe it's just me!) when you go to see this lovely and real new musical.

"Kingdom Undone" by Bucket Brigade at Art House North

"Tale as old as time" may be a lyric from Beauty and the Beast (now receiving beautiful treatment on the main stage at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres), but the story of Jesus is truly a tale as old as time. Quite literally, as the life and death of Jesus is the event against which we in the Western part of the world measure time. It's a powerful story of love and sacrifice, one that has inspired world-changing movements, both good and bad. Bucket Brigade (whose founders Jeremiah and Vanessa Gamble also helm Theater for the Thirsty) is bringing back their modern, passionate, musical take on the passion play.  I saw Kingdom Undone at the Southern Theater three years ago and was moved by the story. This year's version features some cast changes and a new venue - Bucket Brigade's home theater space Art House North. The story feels less epic than it did at the Southern, but more intimate, as characters make frequent use of the aisles so that the music and story surround you in the former church space. I'm not sure if the play would appeal to people not from a Christian background, but for those who are, it offers a moving and modern take on the familiar tale.

"'Til Death" by Bucket Brigade at Art House North

On the heels of seeing a new original locally created musical about dating, I went to see a new original locally created musical about marriage. It must be (almost) February. But even though 'Til Death is written by a married couple, stars two married couples, and is directed/music directed by a married couple, you don't have to be married to enjoy it. It's a charming, silly, funny, and at times poignant musical comedy about life and relationships.

Vanessa and Jeremiah Gamble are co-Artistic Directors of Bucket Brigade, and co-wrote 'Til Death as a way to "take an inward look at our own struggles of trying to practice forgiveness and live out a committed relationship."

"The Cubicle" by Bucket Brigade at Art House North

I've spent the better part of the last 16 years working in a cubicle, until I lucked into a job that allows me to work from home most of the time. I don't miss the daily grind of fighting traffic, making small talk with coworkers, and worst of all - spending the majority of your waking hours sitting in a small sterile box. The new-ish theater company Bucket Brigade is reprising their 2005 Fringe show The Cubicle (the company may be new to the scene but the players are not) at their new home Art House North - an old church in St. Paul's West End neighborhood that has been converted to a theater and art space. While the show pokes fun at the office life, it also goes a little deeper than just jokes about coffee and deadlines. It's part office comedy, part existential crisis, and part physical and dance-like representation of the daily grind.

The Cubicle was created and is performed by Jeremiah Gamble (Bucket Brigade Artistic Director) and Corey Mills, with direction by Matthew Greseth. Jeremiah and Corey play two employees of Gigasoft Software, a giant software company started by a man named Bill Jobs. The stage is bare except for two three-sided cubicles on wheels, which they cleverly arrange to represent not just cubicles, but also cars, an elevator, treadmills, a stroller, and even a pulpit. It's like an office ballet, and it's obvious that the two actors have spend a lot of time with this piece in the easy and graceful way they move around the space with cubicles and chairs.

Corey Mills and Jeremiah Gamble

All of the rituals of office life are parodied as we follow these two characters through one week of their work lives. Monday progresses to Fridays and the routines (and employees) become increasingly harried and rushed. We also begin to peek inside the lives of these two "work friends," whose conversations never go much deeper than "how's the family?" and "fine." They both have more going on in their out-of-the-office lives that they're reluctant to share over coffee in the break room. One is dealing with a strained marriage, the other with a sick father and a brother in prison. We follow each of them into their individual lives, and meet some of the people in their lives (both actors play multiple characters, differentiated by a small change in wardrobe, an accent, or a different physicality). Events culminate on the weekend, and at least one of our characters learns that perhaps life is more than just traffic and coffee breaks.

One of the fun things about the show is the inventiveness they use to represent the different parts of daily life, which is enhanced by Jeremiah's sound design (complete with elevator music and daily announcements) and Courtney Schmitz's lighting design (I was impressed with the flexibility and variety achieved in this non-traditional theater space). This office world is so engrossing that the intermission only servers to interrupt the flow, and doesn't seem necessary with the short running time.

Unfortunately, I got to this one late - it closes this Saturday! If you're looking for something to do tonight or tomorrow, head to this unique St. Paul theater space to see an inventive, funny, and poignant little play about life inside and outside the office. (See the Bucket Brigade website for more info.)

"Sweet Land" Presented by Buffalo Gal Productions and Cardinal Theatricals at Art House North

I've seen several readings of new work this year, including The History Theatre's Raw Stages festival and Theater Latte Da's NEXT: New Musicals in the Making. They've all been so creative and interesting and diverse, but I think my favorite is Sweet Land, a new musical based on the lovely little Minnesota-made movie. It's a simple but beautiful story about early 20th Century immigrants making a life on Minnesota farmland, full of humor, heart, and nostalgia for a time gone by. Creators of the musical Perrin Post (book), Laurie Flanigan Hegge (book and lyrics), and Dina Maccabee (music) have done a wonderful job retaining what was so special about the film while adding music that feels organic to the story. It was presented last Sunday by a cast of talented local actor/singer/musicians as it continues in the development process. More than any other new work I've seen this year, I hope to see Sweet Land in a full production sometime soon.

If you've never seen the 2005 movie Sweet Land, you should go directly to Netflix or Blockbuster or however you get your movies and watch it! Filmed near Montevideo, MN and including cameos by local actors (including the Stephens D'Ambrose, Pelinski, and Yoakam), it's the quintessential Minnesota story of Norwegian and German immigrants forging a life on the farm, with all the difficulties and rewards that entails. In this particular story, Norwegian immigrant Olaf Torvik needs a wife, so his family in Norway send him one. When Inge arrives, Olaf is surprised to find out that she is actually German, which is not well accepted by the community so soon after WWI - Germans are the enemy and she could could be a spy. The pastor refuses to marry the couple, and Inge is forced to stay at the neighbors farm with Frandsen, his wife Brownie, and their many children. It doesn't take long for Inge to get fed up with this crowded living arrangement and long for a space of her own, so she makes her way across the field to Olaf's farm and take up residence there, helping him with the farm. Despite the fact that Olaf sleeps in the barn, this arrangement is frowned upon and the couple is shunned by the community, until their hard work, perseverance, and generosity slowly win everyone over. They are accepted and allowed to live their life together as man and wife and an important part of the community.

The creators of the musical have stayed true to the plot of the movie, with many of my favorite moments and lines represented or even turned into song. The good-natured Frandsen calls Inge "ducky" and she doesn't quite understand, which has been turned into a fun light-hearted song. At the end of the movie, after living and working together for so long, Inge declares that she and Olaf are already married without any ceremony or legal documents necessary, which has become a beautifully moving ballad. The moment when Olaf first really looks at Inge through the camera lens, the auction, Olaf's declaration that "farming and banking don't mix," the threshing scenes, Inge's rebellious bath, all of these are songs. They really did take all of the best and most memorable moments in the movie and turn them into songs, which is really the best way to make a musical. The music is all wonderfully Americana, with a couple of guitars, a fiddle, an upright bass, and an accordion in the band (directed by Matt Riehle). The intention for the full production is for the band members to double as ensemble members, playing some of the smaller roles and joining in on the singing. This is similar to the new musical Once, also an adaptation of a sweet and simple but lovely movie, in which the musicians are also the ensemble; perhaps this multiple Tony winner has defined and allowed for a new type of musical. A musical like this one in which there is no differentiation between actor, singer, and musician, with a style of music that strays far from "Broadway" into territories of folk, country, and Americana.

With only about twenty hours of rehearsal, this amazing cast, directed by Andrew Rasmussen, has managed to bring this piece and these characters and songs to life in such a way that it's not difficult to imagine a full production. Ann Michels is the perfect Inge, with the spark and strength and humor of the character, while also showing her vulnerable longing side. Robert Berdahl is also wonderful as Olaf, a typical Norwegian farmer hiding his feelings deep down inside but allowing them to come to the surface at pivotal moments. As Frandsen and his wife Brownie, Bradley Greenwald and Tinia Moulder bring heart and humor. Rounding out the ensemble are Tod Peterson as the pastor and Cat Brindisi and Brian Sostek as all other characters. This is truly a top-notch cast and I hope they all continue in future productions of this piece.

Sweet Land is such a special little movie, a small story but one that's so moving and timeless and beautiful. It's a piece of our history as Minnesotans, one that I, as a descendant of German immigrant farmers, feel a special connection to. The musical is everything I hoped it would be, retaining what was so special about the movie and its wistful, funny, romantic tone, and only adding to it with the wonderful new original music of the Americana style that I love so well. I am confident we will see this again. Visit the Sweet Land musical website or become a fan of their Facebook page for more information about the piece, future productions, and how you can help with the next phase of development.