Minnesota Fringe Festival 2021: "Turnabout Musical"

Day: 4

Show: 11

Performance Type: In Person

Location: Phoenix Theater (inddoors, masks required)

Length: 2 hours 15 minutes

Title: Turnabout Musical

By: Albino Squirrel Productions

Summary: A "fan-written parody" musical based on the Ace Attorney video game series.

Highlights: I'm old and uncool, so I don't even know what a video game series is, much less where to find it or how to play (watch?) it. But it seems to have a built in fan base; the young women behind me were talking about the different characters, scenes, and songs as if they knew all about it. Even though that wasn't the case for me, I found it to be a fun and entertaining show. In a world where trials last at most three days and are decided by a judge because of an increase in crime (scary thought), underdog defense attorney Phoenix Wright (Christian LaBissoniere) works to free the innocent. The musical is a series of trials, each one lasting a few scenes/songs, often featuring defendants we met in an earlier episode. Since I did not see the runtime hidden on the "more information" tab on the show page and assumed it was 60-ish minutes like Fringe shows typically are, I had to leave halfway through the second act to get to my next scheduled show. But I got the gist of the accusation-trial-Phoenix wins formula. The huge and talented cast delightfully ham it up playing these broad crime characters, and do a good job with the score, singing unmiked to a recorded track. I would have preferred a trimmed down 60-minute version that adheres to the spirit of the Fringe Festival, but it's a great effort on a novel idea.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Mary Poppins" at Artistry

Artistry's Mary Poppins may be just the thing you need right now. That is, an escape from reality into the magical world of everyone's favorite nanny, filled with talking dogs, moving statues, high-flying kites, and fantastic dance numbers. Watching the show is, indeed, a jolly holiday as Artistry's large and talented cast brings the beloved movie to life with unstoppable energy. This is my third time seeing the 2004 stage adaptation of the 1964 classic movie and P.L. Travers' series of books, with book by Julian Fellowes (creator of Downton Abbey) and about a half dozen new songs added. I still think it's a bit long and bloated, with several scenes, songs, and characters that could be cut to make the runtime more child (and me) friendly than the current nearly 3 hours (which of course is no fault of Artistry, they have to work with the piece as written). But on the whole it's a heart-warming and smile-inducing show filled with moments of magic and delight for any age.

"Follies" at Artistry

Artistry's production of Stephen Sondheim's 1971 musical Follies, the final show of their 2017-2018 season, opened two weeks ago, but the Great April Blizzard of '18 caused them to cancel several shows on their opening weekend. I finally had the opportunity to see it this weekend, and it was worth the wait! Having seen the 2011 Broadway revival, I knew what a gorgeous, but complicated, musical Follies is (does Sondheim write any other kind?). During my two-week delay in seeing the show I've been listening to the 2011 recording, so I was primed and ready for this show, and I loved every minute of it. Music Director Anita Ruth's 21-piece pit orchestra, Director Benjamin McGovern's large and talented cast (which includes three Equity actors, perhaps the most I've seen in a single show at Artistry), plus the dazzling design do justice to Sondheim and book writer James Goldman's complicated and beautiful musical. Congratulations to Artistry for tackling tricky Sondheim and pulling it off beautifully!

"Musical Mondays" at LUSH, April 2018

I know it's hard to believe today with all of the snow, but it's April! And with the beginning of a new month comes the fabulous monthly cabaret series Musical Mondays at LUSH! It's the 57th installment of this series, and as co-host Max Wojtanowicz noted, they're not running out of talented performers; the talent pool in this town is that deep. This month, six performers sang songs from Tony Award-winning musicals or performances. Because of that I knew most of the shows referenced, but as always there were a few surprises/educational moments. And of course, many entertaining, funny, and thrilling musical moments.

"The Music Man" at Artistry

The Music Man is a classic of the American musical theater canon, and one that's held up fairly well with no uncomfortable racism and relatively little sexism (why does it still have to be a "boys' band?"). And Meredith Wilson's score is a winner, ranging from what might be the first musical theater rap song to gorgeous romantic duets. Artistry excels at these sorts of musical theater classics, so it's no surprise that their new production is a charmer. This also seems to be the sort of show that appeals to their core audience, judging by the fact that the entire run is already sold out. I would say that if you're looking for a good old-fashioned heart-warming, foot-stamping, enjoyable musical, head down to Bloomington. Except that you're pretty much out of luck for this run (call the box office to see if they've got anything left). Make plans to enjoy the rest of their 2017-2018 (which began with a bang in the form of an inventive and super-cool Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which I'm guessing did not appeal to their core audience quite as much). I'm most looking forward to the final show of this season, the much more infrequently produced Sondheim masterpiece Follies.