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.

"Little Women" by Collide Theatrical Dance Company at Luminary Arts Center

Louisa May Alcott's beloved 19th Century novel Little Women has been adapted countless times on stage and screen. There are TV miniseries, multiple movies, and several stage adaptations (including by two of America's most produced playwrights, Kate Hamill, commissioned by Jungle Theater, and Lauren Gunderson, coming to the Guthrie this spring). There's even a (not very successful) musical! It seems we just can't get enough of this story of four very different but ultimately loving sisters as they forge their own paths in life. And now we have a new adaptation to add to the list - Collide Theatrical Dance Company's dance piece. Collide has been creating original dance musicals for 13 years, sometimes adaptations, sometimes original stories, always gorgeously choreographed and performed, telling a story theatrically with few words. For their Little Women adaptation, director/ creator/ choreographer Regina Peluso has chosen to give Jo all of the narration and dialogue duties, with the bulk of the story told through dance, which works remarkably well since Jo is the writer telling her family's story. This Little Women is beautiful storytelling that conveys all of the emotions of Alcott's novel. And as it turns out, even (or maybe especially) when this story is told primarily through movement and dance, it still makes me cry. Only six performances remain through this Sunday, so head to Luminary Arts Center in Minneapolis' North Loop neighborhood to spend a little time with the March sisters in a whole new way.

Reading of "John Proctor is the Villain" by Table/Read at Aster House

I attended the inaugural Table/Read event last August, #TCTheater artist Grant Sorenson's new series in which a group of talented local actors read a play. The fun part is - the play is not announced until literally seconds before the reading begins. Grant has chosen plays that we have not seen here in the Twin Cities before, so it's a great way to be exposed to new plays that may not be produced here, at least anytime soon. And it's so rare that I go to the theater not knowing anything about what I'm about to see, even the title, that it's a fun surprise. Table/Read happens monthly, but I'm so busy during the theater season that I typically need my Monday nights off, so I haven't been able to go back until this month, when things are still a little quiet as we come back from holiday break. I picked a good night to attend Table/Read; the play was the buzzy recent Tony-nominated play John Proctor is the Villain by Kimberly Belflower, soon to be adapted into a film. Visit Table/Read's website or follow them on social media for news of February's event. And don't miss Grant directing the first #TCTheater professional production of Oscar Wilde's Salomé in February.

"Bonnie and Clyde" by Collide Theatrical Dance Company at Luminary Arts Center

Collide Theatrical Dance Company begins their 11th season with a new original jazz dance musical about the notorious 1930s outlaw couple Bonnie and Clyde. Collide uses dance to tell a narrative story in a theatrical way, which gives me an excuse to watch dance (which I usually don't have time to do). As always, the dancing in this show is fantastic (it's a great week for '30s-themed dance shows, see also Some Like It Hot). And while this version of the story might be a little too sympathetic towards these criminals and killers (I don't think their guns went off "accidentally" over a dozen times), it has some interesting things to say about celebrity culture and our glamorization of violence. But mostly, it's just really great dancing. Bonnie and Clyde plays Thursdays through Sundays (plus one Wednesday matinee) until November 3 at the Luminary Arts Center.