"Dancing with Giants" at Illusion Theater

I'll admit it. Before I was a theater geek, I was a TV geek. I grew up watching TV, and my best friends were characters on TV shows. I'm still a TV geek, and I still consider TV characters* my friends. So when I heard that an actor from two of my favorite current shows was doing a play in Minneapolis, I didn't even care what or where the play was. I was going to see Rebecca Bunch's mother / Deanna (who's Deanna?) no matter what. As it turns out, Tovah Feldshuh has some ties to the #TCTheater community, having studied and worked at the University of Minnesota and the Guthrie back in the day. Her brother, playwright/director David Feldshuh, has an even deeper connection, specifically with Illusion Theater, which is premiering his new play Dancing with Giants. I'm happy to report that not only is Tovah a delight live on stage, but this is also an entertaining, educational, funny, and sobering play. It's obviously a labor of love for the Feldshuh family, and Minneapolis/St. Paul theater-goers are lucky to be able to experience it first.

"Irving Berlin's White Christmas" at the Ordway Center

There's no denying that 2016 has been a less than stellar year, but inside the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, it's nothin' but blue skies! You may be concerned about the state of our nation, or our world, you may be worried about what the next year will bring on a national or personal level, you may be feeling grief, or loss, or confusion, but the Ordway's scrumptious production of everyone's favorite Christmas-movie-turned-stage-musical will make you forget all of that, at least for a few hours. There are two things art can do in times of crisis - it can provide a welcome escape from the stresses of the world, or it provide commentary, conversation, questioning about the world. Both are needed, and as long as we have plenty of the latter (and we do - see this, or this, or this), there is room for pure escapism that thrills and enthralls with its familiar beloved music, gorgeous set and costumes, and fantastic performances by a large and mostly local cast. This is exactly what the Ordway's White Christmas does. So if you're worried and you can't sleep, go see this show, and when you go home you will fall asleep counting your blessings. And then get up and get back to work.

"The Fantasticks" at Nautilus Music-Theater

It may be spring (almost) outside, but inside Nautilus Music-Theater's tiny studio space in Lowertown St. Paul, it's most definitely September. The kind of September "where grass is green and grain is yellow," and "no one weeps except the willow." A lovely hopeful youthful September that slowly fades into a wiser, darker, and nostalgic December. While Nautilus is primarily dedicated to developing new works of music-theater, with their newest full production (which are few and far between, their last one was almost three years ago), they are presenting a new take on the longest running musical in the world. 56 years ago, The Fantasticks was just the kind of piece that Nautilus would have developed, supported, and produced - an inventive piece of music-theater storytelling that pushes the envelope of what the genre can do. While that glow of newness and inventiveness has somewhat faded over the years, Nautilus is bringing it back in a new way with age-conscious and gender-conscious casting, and by presenting the piece as it originally was - in an intimate small-scale setting that allows the simple beauty and humor of the piece to shine. With limited seating and only 12 performances, make plans soon for this rare opportunity to see this classic musical performed by some of the Twin Cities best theater artists up close and personal.

"Sweet Land" at the Lundstrum Center for Performing Arts

I've been following the progress of the new musical Sweet Land, based on the Minnesota made movie of the same name, since the first reading I attended last spring.* If you've seen the movie, you know what a beautiful, sweet, funny, simple, honest story this is. Creators Perrin Post (book), Laurie Flanigan Hegge (book and lyrics), and Dina Maccabee (music) have done a wonderful job adapting Sweet Land and retaining that wistful, nostalgic, romantic tone, only enhancing it with the addition of music. But their work isn't done yet. With an Artist Initiative grant from the MN State Arts Board, they've continued to develop the work in recent months, culminating in a week-long workshop with actors and musicians and a public staged reading. Songs have been cut and added, but perhaps the biggest change is the addition of movement, created by my favorite local dancing pair Megan McClellan and Brian Sostek. Another addition is orchestration and music direction by Robert Elhai (who was nominated for a Tony for a little show called The Lion King). The reading was very much a work in progress (they would occasionally stop, explain, and set up the next segment), but it's quite obvious even at this phase that this musical is a unique and special gem. I cannot wait until it is polished into a full production that I'm certain will be thrilling!

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 better yet - 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. In this year's reading, they moved closer to the intention for the full production, with band members doubling 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.

Much of last year's cast returns, with a few changes/additions in the 7-person cast and 5-person band (who are really also part of the cast). Ann Michels is once again the perfect Inge (and in fact is the muse for this piece), with the spark and strength and humor of the character, while also showing her vulnerable longing side. Robert Berdahl returns as her Olaf, a typical Norwegian farmer hiding his feelings deep down inside but allowing them to come to the surface at pivotal moments. Tinia Moulder once again brings heart and humor to the role of Brownie, this time with Jon Andrew Hegge as comic relief Frandsen. New ensemble members include Michael Gruber, Holly Schroeder, and Jefferson Slinkard, and doing double duty as band and ensemble were Matt Riehle, Kellie Rae Nitz, Mathias Becker, Ben Wagner, and Sarah Burk. (It should be noted that these busy performers took time off of their "day job" to do this - Ann is in the middle of a many months long run as the Chan's Mary Poppins, Robert, Tinia, and Michael are in the Guthrie's scrumptious production of The Music Man, and Jon, Jefferson, and Mathias can be seen at the Old Log in Best Little Whorehouse in Texas).

Some of the scenes in this year's reading included movement, with minimal and efficiently used props consisting of suitcases, trunks, old chairs, and a child's wagon. Highlights of these scenes include the baseball/church social/dance scene, which very specifically created the world of the play, and a small taste of the church/threshing scene that only whet the appetite for more. At the end, Brian and Megan also presented an option for the opening of Act II, in which Olaf and Inge wordlessly become closer through shared living and working. This piece is so rich, with so much potential, it's just a matter of figuring out the best way to tell this lovely little story. And I have faith that they will do so.

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 a full production, hopefully in the not too distant future. 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.


*Much of this post is copied from what I wrote about last year's reading.

"Trick Boxing" at Park Square Theatre

Husband and wife dancing duo Brian Sostek and Megan McClellan, aka Sossy Mechanics, has been touring their original dance/theater piece Trick Boxing for over ten years, performing it hundreds of times around the world. The years of experience have turned it into something flawlessly polished, but have not worn off the fresh and innovative feeling when viewing it, whether for the first, second (in my case, I saw it at the Guthrie a few years ago), or, one assumes, hundredth time. The original story centers on a boxing manager and the men he trains. Brian and Megan use every tool in their theater, dance, and storytelling toolboxes to tell this story in a delightfully charming way.

The storyteller guiding us through this little tale (set in the 1930s or 40s) is a gambler and boxing manager named Buck. He discovers a young immigrant who's fast on his feet and decides to turn him into a boxer and use him in a scheme. While training for his first match, Dancing Danny David wanders into a dancehall and meets Bella, whose brother Rocky was previously trained/used by Buck. She decides to help Danny get out from under Buck's thumb.

Megan McClellan dodges a punch from Brian Sostek
(photo by V. Paul Virtusio)

The two actor/dancers play about a dozen different characters in the story, with nothing more than a change of voice, accent, and body stance to distinguish them. Megan primarily plays the dancehall dancer with a heart of gold and Jersey accent. Brian plays Buck, Danny, Rocky, a scary evil gambler, the bookie, and several other people, each one a specific and distinct character. He often is on stage alone, having conversations with himself, the movement and words of one character flowing seamlessly into the other. It’s amazing to watch him switch back and forth between two characters, you can almost see the two sides simultaneously (like Stephen Colbert’s "Formidable Opponent," but without the benefit of a split screen). Scenes include a boxing training video, a radio spot, and the most graceful game of hopscotch I've ever seen (new for this incarnation of the show). In perhaps the most amusing scenes of the play, the boxing matches are represented by dolls in a tiny ring, with Brian voicing and moving the dolls as well as doing the play-by-play. But above all, there's the dancing. Whether it's Bella training her brother, or a demonstration of boxing moves, or Danny and Bella at the dancehall, it's truly a delight to see - fast and graceful and light and just gorgeous.

On certain nights, the show is followed by “Special Features” like you might find on a DVD, only live and interactive. Brian and Megan share deleted scenes, bloopers, history of the show, and adventures on the road as prompted by the audience. It sheds greater insight into the development of the show and the lives of this charming couple.

I love the art of dance, but I don't get the chance to see it very often due to my busy theater schedule. So I'm thrilled whenever dance makes its way into my theater world. It's a joyous experience to watch these two so effortlessly dance light-footed and light-hearted across the stage with each other, while telling this amusing and entertaining story. Trick Boxing continues at Park Square's Andy Boss stage through February 8.

"The Seven" by Ten Thousand Things at Open Book

Friends, I know I rave about Ten Thousand Things often on this blog, but I'm telling you, The Seven is crazy good. It's unlike anything I've ever experienced. Using an adaptation by Will Power, they've taken an ancient Greek tragedy and reinvented it as something entirely modern, fresh, relatable, energetic, contemporary, and understandable. The New York Times review of the 2006 premiere at NY Theater Workshop referred to it as "a hip-hop musical comedy-tragedy." This cast of eight includes some of the top talent in this town, and they all bring it. There's really no choice but to do so; in the small fully lit space at Open Book with minimal sets and costumes, there's nothing to hide behind. What you see is what you get, and in this case, what you get is awesome.

Artistic Director Michelle Hensley introduces the show, as she always does, and sets the stage for those of us unfamiliar with the story. The original play, Seven Against Thebes, tells the story of Oedipus' sons, upon whom he levied a curse - that they would kill each other. Despite their best intentions to avoid the curse, they of course fulfill it, as always happens in Greek tragedies. The Seven also shows us Oedipus, explaining his own curse (that he would kill his father and marry his mother) and bestowing it upon his sons after they cast him out, and later appearing to them to encourage them in falling victim to it. It's a universal tale of family, war, power, fear, and destiny.

The cast is comprised of eight talented actor/singer/rappers (most of whom I've seen in theaters around town), directed by Sarah Rasmussen, fresh off the completely delightful In the Next Room at the Jungle. We are guided through the story by the narrator/DJ, mixing tunes and tales, played by the fabulous Aimee K. Bryant. Bruce A. Young is strong and powerful as Kind Oedipus, with a scary turn as one of the Seven who wage war against Thebes. As his sons, H. Adam Harris and Kinaundrae Lee give their all, vocally, physically, and emotionally, as the loving brothers who unthinkably turn against each other. One tough and kingly, the other a nature-loving poet, but both sons of the cursed family. The excellent Greek chorus consists of Katie Bradley, Brian Sostek, Ricardo Vazquez, and Joetta Wright, who also play the worried people of Thebes and the titular Seven, a parade of superheroes. Particularly impressive is Ricardo (see also Next to Normal), who possesses a voice that was made for musical theater, ringing out across the room with no amplification necessary. He also has a pretty cool fight scene with himself.

Even though hip-hop and rap are not my favorite musical genres, the music here is fantastic (directed, as always, by Peter Vitale, who also accompanies on percussion). Fast raps are combined with more pop sounding tunes, much of it a capella, all ably performed by the talented cast. The costumes (by Annie Cady) are simple but effective, modern mixed with classic (and to-die-for green gloves worn by the chorus to represent nature).

I don't know how Ten Thousand Things does it. In a fully lit room with minimal sets and costumes, you're more aware that this is just pretend, but somehow, because of their particular brand of genius, it's so easy to be carried away into their world, and never want to leave. I was so engrossed in the world created in that room, that when it was over and I walked outside, I forgot for a moment where I was and what I was supposed to do next. Reality is jarring when you realize that what you truly believed was reality for a short space in time was only make-believe. That's theater at its best, and that's what Ten Thousand Things consistently does. Three more weekends of paid public performances remain (in addition to their usual schedule of performing in prisons, schools, and community centers). Go see it.

"Trick Boxing" by Sossy Mechanics at the Guthrie

The last production I saw at the Guthrie's Dowling Studio was a dance piece about swimming. And now - a dance piece about boxing*. Both shows feature the grace and dance-like movements found in sport. But Trick Boxing, by husband and wife duo Brian Sostek and Megan McClellan, aka Sossy Mechanics, is about more than just boxing. It's a delightful love story told through theater, dance, and puppets.

The storyteller guiding us through this little tale (set in the 1930s or 40s) is a gambler and boxing manager named Buck. He discovers a young immigrant who's fast on his feet and decides to turn him into a boxer and use him in a scheme. While training for his first match, Dancing Danny David wanders into a dancehall and meets Bella, the sister of a boxer previously used by Buck. She decides to help Danny get out from under Buck's thumb.

The two actor/dancers play about a dozen different characters in the story, with nothing more than a change of accent and body stance to distinguish them. Brian plays Buck, Danny, Bella's brother, a scary evil gambler, the bookie, and several other characters. He often is on stage alone, having conversations with himself, the movement and words of one character flowing seamlessly into the other. In perhaps the most amusing scenes of the play, the boxing matches are represented by puppets in a tiny ring, with Brian doing the play-by-play. And then there's the dancing. Whether it's Bella training her brother, or a demonstration of boxing moves, or Danny and Bella at the dancehall, it's truly a delight to see.

I've seen Brian and Megan dance once before, and I've seen Brian in several things as an actor, but I've never before witnessed the full extent of their talent. It's a true pleasure watching artists tell stories using their own unique gifts, and I love the Guthrie for supporting artists and helping them do what they do, while making it easily accessible to theater-goes. You should take advantage of that while you can and go see the show, playing now through September 2. While Swimming with My Mother made me want to go swimming, Trick Boxing makes me want to take swing dance lessons!


*I received one complementary ticket to Trick Boxing as part of the Guthrie's "Blogger Night."

"The Burial at Thebes" at the Guthrie Theater

The Burial at Thebes is a typical Greek tragedy - someone defies the will of the gods and their life falls apart as everyone they love dies.  But what's not so typical is the musical accompaniment that adds to the story.  This is a Greek chorus that actually sings!  Combined with powerful performances by the entire cast, it's a wonderful and jam-packed 90 minutes of theater.

The Burial at Thebes is a translation of Sophocles' Antigone by Irish poet Seamus Haeney.  In Greek mythology, Antigone is a daughter of Oedipus (you remember him - the one who killed his father and married his mother).  So it's fair to say her life was doomed from the start.  When her brother is killed as an enemy of the state, King Creon (her uncle) declares that his body cannot be buried in the traditional way.  Feeling that she must obey the laws of the underworld rather than the laws of the mortal world, Antigone defies the King and attempts to give her brother a proper burial, knowing that it means her own death.  Creon will not back down and insists that she be put to death.  He realizes too late that he chose wrong, and is unable to prevent the tragic events that befall everyone he loves.

This is a large and talented cast in a show with a relatively short running time, which means the audience is treated to little gems of performances throughout the play, from Brian Sostek's comic relief as the guard who delivers the news to Creon that someone has broken his decree, to Greta Oglesby as the prophet with creepy unseeing eyes and a powerful voice, to Sun Mee Chomet as the doomed heroine, to Regina Marie Williams' brief appearance as the grief-stricken mother Eurydice.  And through it all Stephen Yoakam gives a powerful leading performance as Creon, transforming from a strong, confident, unyielding ruler to a grieving and remorseful father and husband.

On top of the great acting performances, or rather intermeshed with them, is some amazing music (composed by J.D. Steele of the fabulous Steele family, with piano accompaniment by his brother Billy and percussion by Marc Anderson).  The incomparable Robert Robinson leads the Greek chorus that sings and speaks with equal melodious beauty.  Every time Robert opens his mouth it's a "lift up your hands" kind of moment; add to that the beautiful harmonies created by Lee Mark Nelson, Richard Ooms, T. Mychael Rambo, and Joe Nathan Thomas, and you have some powerful music that really heightens the emotion of the play.  An imposing set of towering walls and flowing dramatic costumes add to the overall effect.

What more can I say, it was another amazing evening of theater, music, emotion, and drama at the Guthrie Theater.