"Merrily We Roll Along" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

Stephen Sondheim was 91 when he died last November, but it still felt too soon, like there was still more he could do and write and say. But the good news is he left us an incredible body of work, songs and musicals and stories that will never die, as long as there are companies like Theater Latte Da to perform them (which many seem more eager to do in the wake of his recent passing, the Guthrie will produce Into the Woods next summer). Latte Da teased us with a couple of Sondheim cabarets at Crooners earlier this year, and is now opening their 25th season with the lesser produced Merrily We Roll Along. The 1981 Broadway flop was reworked a few times, and has gained popularity over the years*. I knew nothing about it before seeing the show, but I knew that I was in good hands with Theater Latte Da, my favorite interpreters of Sondheim's work. Seeing this production it's hard to imagine why it wasn't an instant hit, but I guess the show took a while to find itself, similar to its characters. The unique backwards storytelling is interesting and challenging and fun, as the pieces fall into place in this story of three friends trying to make it in show business, while still holding on to what matters. As per usual with Theater Latte Da, it's an all-around impeccable production that made me fall in love with this piece and want to see and listen to it over and over again.

"Celebrating Sondheim, Act I" by Theater Latte Da at Crooners Supper Club

A memory popped up on Facebook this morning from 12 years ago: "Stephen Sondheim is a genius. I saw him tonight in a sort of Q&A, and I felt like I should have been taking notes. It was like taking a class in musical theater from one of the masters of the form." Even though I didn't take notes, I did write down what I remembered afterwards, and later that year when I started Cherry and Spoon, I posted it (you can read it here). This is a timely memory because last night I had the pleasure of watching a Sondheim cabaret by my favorite interpreters of his work, Theater Latte Da. 

"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.

Ghostlight Series: "Music to Our Eyes: Designers Sing Out" streaming from Theater Latte Da

The final virtual cabaret in Theater Latte Da's excellent "Ghostlight Series" has now been released, with all five available to view through August 31. Music to Our Eyes: Designers Sing Out is a beautiful conclusion to what has been an in-depth look at artists and what music, theater, and performance means in our lives. Every one of the stories of these four designers brought tears to my eyes as they talked about their art. If you've been to a Theater Latte Da show, particularly in the last five or so years in their new home, the Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis, you know how important design is in their storytelling. Whether it's the wacky carnival world of Assassins, or the "seedy elegance" of Chicago, or the multi-level train station of Once, the set, costume, hair, prop, lighting, and sound design in a Latte Da show is extremely detailed, specific, and thoughtful. It's about time these designers, with such familiar names from reading programs but whose faces we rarely see, get their time in the spotlight.

"Bernarda Alba" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

Theater Latte Da's area premiere of Bernarda Alba is unlike anything I've seen. The musical adaptation of the play The House of Bernarda Alba by Spanish playwright and poet Federico Garcia Lorca premiered in 2006, but the play was written in 1936 and first performed in 1945. It tells the story of a widow and her five adult daughters, who are suffering under their mother's strict control of their lives and bodies. The score is complex, haunting, and gorgeous, and the depiction of the lack of freedom and limited roles of women in society is sobering and not unfamiliar. Bernarda Alba feels different than a typical musical; when I attended opening night there was no applause during the show, partly because it doesn't follow the usual structure of clearly differentiated songs and dialogue with scripted applause breaks, and partly because it felt like we were under a spell we didn't want to break. It's a complicated piece,* and cast and creative team pull it off beautifully.

"Chicago" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

Women in prison, treated unfairly, not given adequate legal representation, having to pay prison staff for favors, immigrant women not provided with a translator, society's glamorizing of crime but disregard for and mistreatment of criminals. No, I'm not talking about the Netflix hit series Orange is the New Black, which just concluded its brilliant seven-season run. I'm talking about the Kander/Ebb/Fosse/Verdon*/Reinking creation, the 1975 musical Chicago whose 1996 revival was even more successful and is still playing on Broadway. This ahead-of-its time musical, about crime, celebrity, and the justice system, only gets more relevant as the years pass, which is perhaps the reason for its long lasting success. Typically a show that is still running on Broadway and touring (it most recently came to Minneapolis last year) is not available for regional productions. But somehow Theater Latte Da snagged the rights and has created their own unique take on this classic. The cast is absolute perfection, the Ritz Theater (which opened in the same era in which the show is set) has never looked more gorgeous and detailed, and this Peter Rothstein directed production brings out all of the glitz, humor, and biting social commentary of the piece, while putting the audience right in the middle of the action. It's absolutely thrilling.

"A Little Night Music" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

Theater Latte Da's production of A Little Night Music is pure loveliness from the moment the cast steps onstage behind a sheer curtain, warming their voices and waltzing in old fashioned undergarments, to when that same curtain falls at the completion of the story and the youngest cast member steps out gazing in wonder. As everything created by Peter Rothestein and company, it's thoughtful, detailed, well cast, beautifully staged, and musically gorgeous. Sondheim's 1973 Tony-winning musical is a charming, smart, and funny story about the perils of love and the phases of life, bringing to mind the Shakespeare quote "Lord, what fools these mortals be." And you'd be a fool to miss it.

"Once" by Theater Latte Da at Ritz Theater

Ever since it became available for regional productions a few years ago, I've been (im)patiently waiting for a #TCTheater company to do Once, the eight-time Tony winning musical based on the Irish indie film that won an Oscar for best song. My (im)patience has finally been rewarded with a production by my favorite company of theater musically that is, in a word, grand. Theater Latte Da used to have a series called "Broadway Re-imagined," but the cool thing about Once is that the original production on Broadway was already re-imagined, at least in terms of what you usually see on a Broadway stage. It's a small intimate story lacking the traditional (clichéd) happy ending; it features folk-rock music; and there is no separate orchestra, rather the ensemble also functions as the band in one cohesive celebration of music, love, joy, and pain. So very Irish. Still, Latte Da has managed to put their own unique spin on it and cast 13 multi-talented local performers to create something truly special that will make your heart ache in the best possible way.

"Sister Act" at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

Amazing things can happen when women stand together and raise their voices, something we've witnessed recently with all of the sexual harassment and assault experiences that have been coming forward. On the musical theater front, when the women standing together are some of the most talented in #TCTheater, and they're raising their voices in the joyous musical adaptation of the movie Sister Act, it's a very amazing thing. Chanhassen Dinner Theatres is bringing back their smash hit from 2015 with mostly the same cast, but while the show might be the same, the world is a much different place than it was two years ago. This beautiful story of sisterhood, friendship, community, and standing up together and raising your voices for joy, love, and faith, may be needed more now than it ever was.

"Children and Art" - A Cabaret Performance by the Cast of the Guthrie's "Sunday in the Park with George" at Lush

In what was essentially a very special episode of "Musical Mondays," the sublime cast of the Guthrie's Sunday in the Park with George (now playing through August 20) gathered at Lush on Monday night for a cabaret performance. Hosted by cast member Max Wojtanowicz (who also co-hosts the usual "Musical Mondays at Hell's Kitchen" on the first Monday of every month), the theme was "Children and Art," and the proceeds of the night went to an organization called Project Success. Partnering with the Guthrie and other theaters in town, Project Success provides support and activities (including theater and the arts) for young people in order to "motivate and inspire them to dream about the future, help them take steps to get there, and give them the tools the need to achieve their goals." A worthy cause, and a wonderful celebration of music.

"Sunday in the Park with George" at the Guthrie Theater

Of late, the Guthrie Theater has had a tradition of producing a classic crowd-pleasing musical every summer (most recently: South Pacific, The Music Man, and My Fair Lady). But inexplicably, they have never produced a musical by the great Stephen Sondheim on the main stage. Perhaps it's because Sondheim is not easy, to do or to watch; not as readily familiar and accessible as the classics of the '50s. But Sondheim is the Shakespeare of musicals, and it's about time the Guthrie remedied this gross oversight. They do so in splendid fashion this summer with their stunning production of what is perhaps the musical theater master's greatest masterpiece, Sunday in the Park with George, directed masterfully by Artistic Director Joseph Haj. Sondheim and frequent collaborator James Lapine first joined forces on this piece that won them a Pulitzer Prize, getting their inspiration from the 19th century painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat, one of the leaders of the Impressionist movement. Artists being inspired by the work of another artist who lived a century earlier to create art about art. It's pretty meta, and no surprise that it's a favorite among musical theater artists. The Guthrie has assembled a sparkling cast and created a gorgeous design that brings this work of art about art itself to brilliant life.

"Ragtime" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

Theater Latte Da is opening their 19th season (and their first season in their new home, the Ritz Theater in NE Minneapolis, where they have been in residence for a few years but only recently purchased) with a Tony-winning musical written nearly 20 years ago, set 110 years in the past, that is perhaps the most timely and relevant musical for the America we're living in now. Ragtime (book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens) deals with the two biggest social issues of the day - anti-immigrant sentiment and racism (not to mention issues of class and gender). Based on the 1975 novel by E.L. Doctorow, Ragtime explores the tension that arose from the clash of cultures in New York City in the early 20th Century. When viewed through the lens of the present time, in which black men are repeatedly killed for no reason other than the color of their skin, the clothing they're wearing, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and businesses in our own small towns put up signs that say "no Muslims allowed," this already powerful story, beautifully told through words, characters, and music, becomes even more meaningful and important. Director Peter Rothstein and his incomparable team of actors, singers, musicians, and designers have brought this story to life in a way that's aesthetically pleasing, highly entertaining and engaging, and most importantly, clearly delineates the parallels with our own world.

"Let's Get Down and Thirty" at Lush Bar featuring a reading of "For Tonight"

One of the very first things that I wrote about when I started Cherry and Spoon back in the summer of 2010 was a very fun and entertaining cabaret/comedy show called Where's My Tony?, created, written, and hosted by Whitney Rhodes and Josh Campbell. I've enjoyed watching both of them over the last five and a half years wherever their careers took them, and I was thrilled to watch Whitney host a show of her own this past Monday. Every year, she very generously uses her birthday celebration to raise money for a cause she cares about. This year for her 30th birthday, the money raised went to Mixed Blood Theatre, where she currently works as the Development Manager. Mixed Blood is celebrating their 40th birthday this year, so it seems quite appropriate to celebrate these two milestones with a great evening of beloved and new musical theater.

"Sister Act" at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

While I was off in NYC seeing a bunch of Broadway musicals last week, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres opened a new show. I missed the Sister Act press night (the best press night in town), but they kindly let me attend last night - on my birthday! (I can now cross the Chan emcee wishing me a happy birthday off my bucket list.) Director Michael Brindisi has once again brought us a polished production, and one that's a lot of fun and also has a beautiful heart, I enjoyed it as much as anything I saw on Broadway last week. This is a relatively short run for the Chan (just four months), so make your plans now so you don't miss this wonderful and heart-warming musical. If you need more reasons to see it, I've got ten - read on.

"Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" at the Old Log Theatre

Having opened in 1940, The Old Log Theatre is the oldest theater in Minnesota. But it's also a long drive out to Excelsior, so I don't get there as often as I'd like. They've stepped up their game in the last few years, pulling in top area talent, adding a new restaurant, and remodeling the lobby. There were a number of shows this season I wanted to see, but just wasn't able to work the 70-mile round trip into my busy theater schedule. So I was happy that I finally made it out there this weekend for their fun and energetic production of the charmingly corny 1978 Broadway musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (later made into a movie starring Dolly Parton* and Burt Reynolds).

The title pretty much tells you what this show is about. But you may not know that it's based on the story of a real life Texas brothel known as the Chicken Ranch (during the Depression the Madam would accept chickens as payment) that was largely tolerated by law enforcement and government until a TV reporter investigated and demanded it be shut down. In the musical version, Miss Mona (a strong performance by Julia Cook) runs the Ranch with a strict set of rules and presides over her girls, most of whom seem happy to be there, although some have dreams of a better life. Ed Earl (an excellent Jefferson Slinkard) is the sheriff and her sometimes beau, and is torn when given orders to shut the Ranch down after it's exposed by the TV star reporter Melvin Thorpe (a very funny Jon Andrew Hegge in a Colonel Sanders wig). It's a sad ending as the girls all move on, but there's plenty of fun to be had before that with cheerleaders, football players, and a general hoedown atmosphere.

Miss Mona (Julie Cook), Jewel (Whitney Rhodes), and the girls

This is one of those musicals where many supporting characters get one song, and everyone in the large and talented cast steps up. Highlights include Whitney Rhodes as Jewel singing "Twenty-Four Hours of Lovin'," Maisie Twesme's lovely "Doatsy Mae," Britta Ollman and the girls singing my favorite song in the show, the poignant "Hard Candy Christmas," and John Paul Gamoke's brief but memorable appearance as the Governor in the hilarious and all too true song "The Sidestep." All of the songs have a twangy Country-Western sound (which I happen to love, as I did the great old Country songs played before the show and during intermission). John Lynn directs the band behind a screen at the back of the stage.

the boys high-stepping it

With Regina Peluso as the choreographer you know there are going to be some fantastic dance numbers, especially with several members of her company (Collide Theatrical Dance Company) in the ensemble. The group numbers are lots of fun and well performed by the cast. As you would expect of a musical set in a whorehouse, there is a bevy of scantily clad women, but the boys have a shirtless singing and dancing number, which is only fair. ;) Sara Wilcox's costume design takes advantage of the '70s era (I love a jumpsuit!) and gives each character a distinct personality.

The Texas accents are so much fun to listen to. I don't know how accurate they are to reality, but they sound like the Southern accents you hear on TV (in fact the entire show is almost like an episode of Dukes of Hazzard). Greg Eiden is especially good at it in his dual roles as a senator and a diner patron, milking every line for laughs, and getting them.

If you live in the East metro like I do, Excelsior is a bit of a hike, but it's worth it to see the work that Old Log is doing, and this fun summer musical in particular. I recommend heading over to the charming lake town in the afternoon to avoid traffic (if such a thing is possible in this busy summer construction season), checking out the shops or sitting by the lake, and dining at one of the many area restaurants (I had yummy vegetarian sushi at Yumi's Sushi Bar) before seeing the show. It's a great idea for a staycation and checking out another beautiful part of the Twin Cities metro area.

The Old Log has an interesting line-up for next season, and I'm particularly excited that they're producing the regional premiere of the smart, funny, poignant two-person play The Velocity of Autumn, which I saw last year during it's too-short Broadway run. Starring Melissa Hart as a 79-year-old woman who has barricaded herself in her Brooklyn home and Paul de Cordova as her son who climbs in the window to try to talk her down, it's definitely going to be worth the drive.


*I was seriously derailed in writing this blog when I went down a black whole of Dolly Parton youtube videos, starting with "Hard Candy Christmas" and ending with the best country duet of all time, "Islands in the Stream."

"Into the Woods" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

I first saw the Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical fairy tale mash up Into the Woods four years ago, and have seen it several times since then, including the recent star-studded movie. Every time I see it I like it more. I think Sondheim is like Shakespeare in that it has a very specific rhythm and cadence to it that takes a minute to get used to, but the more time you spend with it, the richer and deeper it becomes. Such has been my experience with Into the Woods, so I was primed to love my favorite theater company Theater Latte Da's production of it. But it has exceeded my expectations, and even Sondheim newbies will be enthralled by this brilliant staging of a brilliantly written musical. Latte Da has pared down this big Broadway musical to something that feels intimate and innovative, using a small cast and orchestra, and inventive and thoughtful choices in every detail of the production. This, my friends, is Broadway re-imagined, or at least how I would like to see Broadway re-imagined. Simply put, it's sublime.

Where better to set Into the Woods than in Germany, birthplace of fairy tales as we know them? And why not make it a beer garden for extra fun and specificity? The stage is set the moment you walk into the lobby of the charming Ritz Theater, where a sign reading "Theater Latte Da präsentiert Ab in den Wald" hangs over the concession stand, which sells delicious Bauhaus beer and pretzels, or as the German nerd in me likes to say, Bier und Bretzeln (yes, I was the one on Opening Night wearing the Austrian hat I bought in Salzburg 20 years ago when I studied abroad there). The stage itself has been laid bare with no walls or backdrops; you can see the whole stage area, back to the unfinished walls. There is no backstage, everything happens in front of you, including costume changes and sound effects, which are cleverly created by the cast. Trees are constructed by what looks like wooden fencing spiraling to the sky, and after the giant comes through, half of the trees fall creating obstacles that each character maneuvers in their own specific way, athletically, carefully, or clumsily (set design by Kate Sutton-Johnson). All prop pieces look organic to the scene, including chandeliers made of antlers and the most adorable cow, constructed from an old-fashioned buggy with a wooden pail for a head and a piece of rope for a tail, and a little bit of imagination (properties design by Benjamin Olsen). Actors walk out on stage RENT-like with the house lights still up, and then begin to tell the story, making the audience feel like we're all in this together.

the beautiful cast of Into the Woods(photo by Heidi Bohnenkamp)

Director Peter Rothstein has made a genius decision to cast just 10 actors in these 20 roles, and once again has chosen the perfect actors for each part, with clever pairings of characters to an actor. It's such a delight to watch the über-talented David Darrow transform from the hard-working earnest baker to a pompous and shallow prince in a matter of seconds as he doffs one hat and dons another behind a tree; or the young star-in-the-making Brandon Brooks kill Jack's mother as the steward in one scene and mourn her as Jack in the next; or Peter Middlecamp go from the evil stepmother to the charming prince and back again several times within one scene (not to mention his deliciously devilish wolf, Hollywood - you can keep Johnny Depp, I'll take Peter Middlecamp any day). Dan Hopman is a wonderful narrator and emcee, slightly detached and observing, until he's forced into the story. Britta Ollmann only has one role to play, Cinderella, but she does it beautifully. Kendall Anne Thompson and Shinah Brashears are excellent as the stepsisters as well as the witch's sheltered and absurdly long-haired daughter Rapunzel and the fearless and spirited Little Red, respectively. Kate Beahen is warm and human as the Baker's wife, and also climbs inside a tree to voice Cinderella's mother. Elisa Pluhar brings to life both Jack's exasperated mother and Little Red's doomed Granny. Last but certainly not least, Greta Oglesby is a commanding voice and presence as the witch, in both of her forms.

But this is Sondheim, so let's talk about the music. Music Director Jason Hansen on piano leads just two other musicians (on cello and wind instruments) in this sparse three-piece orchestra that, despite being a significantly trimmed down orchestration, leaves nothing to be desired. The ten singers all sound gorgeous, alone and in delicious harmony. There's not one false note, moment, or performance in the entire show. Listening to David and Peter duet as the pompous princes complaining about their women is the opposite of "Agony," in fact it's a highlight in a show that's one highlight after another. The "No One is Alone" quartet is poignant and beautiful, as is Greta's rendition of perhaps the most well-known song, "Children Will Listen." And any song that has all 10 cast members on stage singing and moving at the same time is the best. In fact, the cast never leaves the stage (no backstage, remember?), and simply sit in a chair on the side of the stage when not in the scene. Costume changes happen in full view of the audience, which seems to say "hey, we're putting on a show," and invites us to use our imagination to play along.

Speaking of costumes, Samantha Haddow's costumes beautifully suit the theme, with the aforementioned hats, lederhosen, peasant gowns, and most importantly, pieces that can easily be added or removed and instantly define the character.

Theater Latte Da's inventive and sublime interpretation of Into the Woods continues through March 29. If you're a fan of music-theater, it's a must see.


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"The Last Five Years" by Flip Theatre Company at the Minneapolis Theatre Garage

The Last Five Years is a two-person musical by acclaimed composer Jason Robert Brown* that had it's off-Broadway debut in 2002. It's come to the forefront again this year with an off-Broadway revival and an impending movie. It also happens to be one of the favorite musicals of my blogger friend Bartley, aka The Playbill Collector, so I was eager to see the local production of the show by one of the newest theater companies in town, Flip Theatre Company, founded by actor Ben Bakken and director John Lynn (who directs this piece). I went into it knowing next to nothing about the show and never having heard the music, which is often a great way to experience a musical. I really enjoyed it - it's a beautiful score, with a sad love story (my favorite kind), two great performers, and a very well done production.

The Last Five Years tells the story of a relationship in a unique way. Cathy beings at the ending of this intense five-year relationship, when the two have decided to go their separate ways, and song by song works back to the beginning. Jamie starts at the beginning, when their love is fresh and new, and works his way through the hard times to the end. They meet in the middle at their engagement/wedding, and for one brief moment we see couple on the same page, together and happy. Otherwise it's a one-sided story, with the other person either off-stage or sitting quietly in the shadows, simply a prop but not reacting. It's an interesting and innovative way to tell a story. But because the two never really interact, I had a hard time really feeling their connection or understanding why and how it was broken.

Britta Ollmann (Cathy) and Bobby Gardner (Jamie)
(photo by Heidi Bohnenkamp)

I'm thrilled to see the return of Britta Ollmann to the Twin Cities stage. She was in one of my favorite shows of 2010, Violet, and when she sang I was taken right back there to that show.  Britta is so appealing with a strong, gorgeous, clear voice. She sings with emotion that cuts right to the heart, whether sad or happy or trying to convince herself that she's happy, so I easily sided with Cathy in the break-up. Bobby Gardner also sounds great as Jamie but I found his character less sympathetic (a newly married man complaining about all the beautiful women hitting on him is not going to garner sympathy from female audience members), but he almost won me over with the heartbreaking "Nobody Needs to Know." I've never heard any of these songs before but they're great - emotional or funny, hopeful or despairing. I think I need to listen to the score a few more times to truly appreciate them.

The music sounds great with the fabulous five-piece band directed with energy and precision by Jason Hansen, as always. But I wish the actors weren't miked. Maybe there are technical reasons involving the band that require them to be miked, but in the small space of the Garage with an intimate show like this, the story might be better served with no amplification. It's so rare that a musical is unmiked, but I find there's a much greater emotional impact when there's no amplification to come between the story and the audience (see Ordinary Days by Nautilus Music-Theater, which admittedly is a smaller space with just a piano accompaniment).

They've made great use of the space at the Theatre Garage, which has become one of my favorite places to see theater. The on-stage band is separated from the action by a bunch of empty frames hanging in mid-air. Two city stoops with doors are converted into a pier or a mantel, and various other set pieces are brought in for certain scenes. There are a lot of moving pieces but it's done relatively smoothly, keeping the momentum going through the scenes. The fast and frequent wardrobe changes (costumes by Suzanna Schneider) help to convey the progression of time.

This is a promising debut by Flip Theatre, and I look forward to their next venture. I hope they continue to do small, intimate, lesser-known musicals with a high-quality production, like The Last Five Years. This is a short run - just two weekends - so get there fast if you're interested (discount tickets available on Goldstar).


*This summer, the Guthrie commissioned musical theater composer Jason Robert Brown to write a song for their 50th anniversary. "Hamlet 3.2" was performed at the Gala Performance by Brian D'Arcy James and an ensemble of local talent, and it was fantastic.