"Immortal" by Trademark Theater at Camp Bar

The latest creation from new #TCTheater company Trademark Theater is a solo show created and performed by its Artistic Director Tyler Michaels King. Immortal has been in development for a while, and for the last three weeks Tyler and his collaborators workshopped the project, culminating in a one-night only performance at Camp Bar last night. Hopefully this is not the last we see of the aging crooner F. Amos Lee, and he'll make his return in some form or another in the coming years.

"A Hunting Shack Christmas" by Actors' Theater of Minnesota at Camp Bar

If you didn't get tickets to Yellow Tree Theatre's annual delightfully wacky and very Minnesotan original holiday play tradition this year (limited tickets for the original Miracle on Christmas Lake available), you're in luck! Actors' Theater of Minnesota is producing another Jessica Lind Peterson penned Minnesota Christmas comedy, A Hunting Shack Christmas, at Camp Bar in St. Paul. The play premiered at Yellow Tree in 2014, and in this production John Haynes reprises his role from that show, and also directs. In the casual space at Camp with an exuberant cast, it's great fun, with lots of local humor, and a little bit of heart too (click here for info and tickets).

"Miracle on Christmas Lake" by Actors' Theater of Minnesota at Camp Bar

I'm a big fan of Yellow Tree Theatre in general and their four original and very Minnesotan Christmas* plays in particular (see also: A Gone Fishin' Christmas, no seriously go see it, playing now through the end of the year). So I jumped at the chance to see another theater company, Actors Theater of Minnesota, perform the play that started it all - A Miracle on Christmas Lake. Written by Yellow Tree co-founder Jessica Lind Peterson, it's inspired by the real life predicament they faced when they lost the rights to the show they were planning to do and had to come up with something in a short amount of time. This wacky, sweet, ridiculous little play chock full of Minnesota references and stereotypes was the result, and it's great fun to see another company's take on it in the intimate space of Camp Bar.

"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" by Zenith City Horror at Camp Bar

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is one of my favorite musicals. I've seen it several times, and it's always so epic and beautiful and inspiring (you can read all of the many words I've written about it here). I can think of no better way to celebrate my 44th birthday (a day early) than with one of my heroes, who has taught and continues to teach me to be misfit myself, and hold my wig high while doing so. The best part of getting older is being more comfortable in your own skin and caring less and less about what the world thinks of it. And that's what the beautifully flawed human we call Hedwig represents. Zenith City Horror has brought their fantastic version of the show from Duluth to Camp Bar in downtown St. Paul, go see it if you need a little more Hedwig in your life (and who doesn't?!).

"The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical" by Minneapolis Musical Theatre at Camp Bar

And now for something entirely ridiculous (in a good way). There is a lot that's sugary sweet about Christmas, and Christmas-themed theater in Minnesota (of which there is much from which to choose). But none of it exists in Minneapolis Musical Theatre's contribution to the holiday theater scene - The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical. It's pure campy and irreverent fun. This is a sequel to The Great American Trailer Park Musical, which MMT did in 2009 (and played Off-Broadway in 2005). If you saw the original, you will recognize some familiar characters (and even one returning cast member). But if you didn't, no matter, it stands on its own in all its trailer trash glory. The songs are catchy and fun, director Ryan McGuire Grimes sets the perfect campy tone, and the terrific six-person cast completely commits to the stereotypical characters and nonsensical plot. Appropriately performed in St. Paul's Camp Bar, with readily available alcohol, it's great escapist fun (at least until that one reference towards the end that will sober you up right quick).

"110 in the Shade" by Second Fiddle Productions at Camp Bar

Second Fiddle Productions, the company that brings us one-night-only staged readings of rarely produced musicals, closed their third season with the 1963 musical 110 in the Shade. I became aware of them in the middle of their second season, and now I don't miss a show. It's great for my musical theater education - for a musical theater geek, there are a lot of old shows I don't know, especially if they're not often done. It's also a great opportunity to watch some of the Twin Cities finest music-theater talent tackle something they might not otherwise have the opportunity to. Assuming they get the grant money and donations to keep this relatively simple operation going, they'll be back in 2017 with three more musicals I've never heard of! Watch their Facebook page for details.

"Chess" by Second Fiddle Productions at Camp Bar

If you're a fan of musical theater, you need to be aware of Second Fiddle Productions. Now in their third season, Second Fiddle does one-night-only staged readings of rarely produced musicals. Musicals that may be difficult to produce for whatever reason, or maybe the book is problematic. Musicals that musical theater nerds love, with beautiful scores that often aren't heard live, but should be.

"A New Brain" by Second Fiddle Productions at Camp Bar

I'm a musical theater nerd. But I'm not the kind of musical theater nerd that listens to cast albums of shows I've never seen. I guess for me, musicals are more about seeing the story as it plays out before me, and then I often buy the cast recording to relive that experience. So when it comes to musicals that are beloved in the musical theater community but rarely performed, for whatever reason, I typically have not heard them. That's where Second Fiddle Productions (and Artistic Director Ruthie Baker) come in. Now in their third season, Second Fiddle produces readings of rare musicals using some of the Twin Cities finest music-theater talent.

"Confessions of a Prairie Bitch" by Alison Arngrim (aka Nellie Oleson) at Camp Bar

As a little girl growing up in Minnesota, I wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder. I loved the Little House on the Prairie books and especially the TV show; it was my favorite show as a kid and I've seen every episode multiple times. Laura was my hero - I wanted her life, I wished my parents were more like Ma and Pa, and I thought Almanzo was dreamy. And of course, I hated Laura's nemesis, that mean old Nellie Oleson. But it was very much a "love to hate" feeling. What would Little House be without Nellie? Boring. Alison Arngrim, Nellie's portrayer, has made a career out of being the mean girl (aka "prairie bitch"), and what choice did she have? She will forever be known as Nellie, so why not embrace it and have fun with it? It's quite obvious from her show at the Camp Bar in St. Paul this week that she does, and so does the audience.

Alison has long been a stand-up comedian, and decided a few years ago to include her Little House experiences in her act, to much success. She published the book version of Confessions of a Prairie Bitch in 2010 (which I haven't read yet but will soon), and has been touring with her stand-up act for a few years. She told many great stories about her years working on the show and dealing with the fame that came with it, as well as her crazy life growing up in Hollywood. As the daughter of Liberace's manager and the voice of Casper the Friendly Ghost, she grew up among lots of famous and interesting people. Alison also answered questions from the audience, and did a hilarious bit listing the 10 most commonly asked questions (Was the hair real? Are you and Melissa Gilbert friends? What was Michael Landon really like? Is Albert gay?) and later answered them in rapid-fire succession (It was a wig, Yes, Awesome, How should I know what Albert's into?). Along with the stories were video clips, including a hilarious montage of baby Carrie's incoherent rambling, and Alison's favorite scene - rolling down the hill in the wheelchair.

A few interesting tidbits:

• Michael Landon was always in control of the Little House set (he was a producer, director, and star of the show).  He worked everybody hard and demanded professionalism from everyone, even the child actors, and they all loved him for it. Alison noted that anytime Charles was injured, it was always his ribs that were broken so he would have to take his shirt off. Michael knew who was watching the show and what they wanted to see. It sounds like he was an interesting mix between a man who liked fast cars and drinking and was married three times, and a talented and driven man who created one of the best loved family shows in the history of TV. Alison said he was always very good to the fans, and often reminded her that she was working for them. Not him, not the network, the fans. I think that's a key to his success and I wish more TV executives today had that attitude! It was obvious that Alison has a great deal of admiration for him. As do I. I had the opportunity to meet his youngest daughter, three-time Emmy-winner Jen Landon, a few years ago, and I'm afraid I gushed a bit about how much I love her father. I felt like I was in the presence of TV royalty. (You can currently see Jen on the best soap on TV - The Young and the Restless.)
• Someone asked Alison about Little House the Musical (which premiered at the Guthrie in 2008 before embarking on a nationwide tour, and which I loved so much I saw it three times), and she said she would have loved to have played Mrs. Oleson opposite Melissa Gilbert's Mrs. Ingalls, except that there was no Mrs. Oleson in the play. She also noted that the Laura/Nellie song was just like Elphaba/Glinda in Wicked, which I also observed at the time. It's the one that that bugged me about the musical, that Nellie was a copy of Glinda. But come to think of it, maybe Glinda was a copy of Nellie. Isn't Nellie Oleson the prototype for every "bitch" role in TV/movies/theater?
• Alison and Melissa Gilbert (Laura) are good friends to this day, and didn't get along with Melissa Sue Anderson (Mary) at the time. She complained about her character going blind, and Alison thought - have you read the books? Alison visited Melissa at Dancing with the Stars to support her, and when asked if she'd consider doing the show, responded that at the age of 50, she wasn't so sure she wanted to stand on her head and let everyone see her panties. Alison said most of the cast is still in contact and supports one another in their various endeavors.
• Alison recently appeared at "Laurapalooza" in Mankato, which was fun and a little scary. Some people she met romanticize the time period depicted in the show and books, and asked her "wouldn't you love to live in the 1800s?" Alison's response is a hearty NO - they didn't have antibiotics in the 1800s, or appletinis or botox! But she was very excited about the "What would Nellie do?" shirts and other memorabilia available at Laurapalooza.

I'm so glad I went to see Confessions of a Prairie Bitch. To see an actor from a show that I've loved virtually all my life is a rare treat. That she's so funny and real about it is even better. And it was even a bit inspirational. Alison shared that by being labeled a "bitch" at an early age, she was freed from the expectations of being "likable," and she could just be herself. It's not always a bad thing to be a bitch, it's often a label that society gives to strong and independent women. As they say in the movie Doloris Claibourne, sometimes being a bitch is the only thing a woman has to hold on to. Alison Arngrim is doing a great job of holding on to being a bitch, and entertaining and inspiring audiences along the way.