"Shanty Boys of Pine County" by Bucket Brigade at Art House North

A year and a half ago, Bucket Brigade brought us an original docu-musical about the Great Hinckley Fire of 1894, entitled Survivors of the Fire. It was a thoroughly gripping tale that shared the real stories and words of survivors, from books, journals, or articles of the time, combined with music of the period. I loved it so much I traveled to the Hinckley Fire Museum last Labor Day with some of my fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers to watch a shorter version of piece, tour the museum, and visit the burial site and memorial. During his research for Survivors, Bucket Brigade Co-Founder and playwright Jermiah Gamble, who lived in Hinckley as a child, ran across the story of one fire survivor who later published a collection of traditional songs of the North Woods, and was inspired to write another original musical filled with these songs. Shanty Boys of Pine County is a sort of companion piece to Survivors of the Fire, but without the death and trauma. Instead, it shares the music and culture of the 19th Century logging camps in the North Woods in 70 minutes of songs, stories, and laughter. Check it out through May 9 at the charming former church known as Art House North in St. Paul's 7th Street neighborhood, with free cookies and coffee in the cute basement lobby. Or visit the Hinckley Fire Museum this Memorial Day Weekend to watch a shorter version of the piece and tour the museum - for free!

"Whoosh!" at History Theatre

For the third iteration of #TCTheater artist Andrew Erskine Wheeler's solo piece Whoosh! The Civil War Mythology of Michael Hickey and His Perilous Precipitation Over St. Anthony Falls, he has partnered with History Theatre. What began as a 2022 Minnesota Fringe Festival show was expanded into an outdoor show performed very near the falls themselves, and now has been fully realized in this perfect partnership. Andrew has created several compelling solo historical Fringe shows, which are all great and succinct as they were, but it's lovely to see this one fully realized. Some Fringe shows are destined to be more - Illusion Theater often works with Transatlantic Love Affair to produce expanded versions of their Fringe shows, and Theatre in the Round supported the creators of the fantastic new original musical Endometriosis: The Musical as they expanded it into a full-length musical, producing it as part of their season last year. Whoosh! is somewhat of an anomaly for History Theatre; typically they commission, develop, and produce new works, participating in every step of development. Andrew developed Whoosh! independently, but its very Minnesotan and historical themes make it a natural fit for History Theatre, and they provided the resources and additional creative talent to help make it all that it can be. As much as I love the intimate solo storytelling nature of the original, this expanded version is just as moving and compelling, and even richer and more thrilling. Take a trip over the falls and through the history of this great state now through February 22.