"Swimming with My Mother" by CoisCéim Dance Theatre at the Guthrie Studio Theater

I need to start going to more dance productions. My schedule is pretty busy with plays and musicals, and I don't know as much about the world of dance, but whenever I do go to a dance performance I always enjoy it. Such as the show currently playing at the Guthrie Theater's 9th floor Dowling Studio -  Swimming with My Mother. Dancer and choreographer David Bolger (who so brilliantly choreographed last summer's blockbuster musical H.M.S. Pinafore at the Guthrie that he won an Ivey Award for it) choreographed this piece and performs it with his 78-year-old mother Madge. It's completely lovely and enchanting, a beautiful, sweet, and touching exploration of the parent-child relationship.

David, co-founder of the dance company CoisCéim Dance Theatre (from the Irish word for footstep), originally created this piece for the Dublin Dance Festival in 2010. He was asked to create a solo piece for himself, but instead he chose to bring his "Ma" along. Featuring voiceovers of Madge telling stories about her life - her father teaching her to swim in the Irish sea, and then teaching her children to swim on that same beach - Madge and David express their relationship and their love of swimming and dance (respectively) through movement. At times they appear to be swimming, or underwater; later David convinces his reluctant mother to dance with him to Nat King Cole's "It's Only a Paper Moon:"

It's only a paper moon

Sailing over a cardboard sea

But it wouldn't be make-believe

If you believed in me.

There is something magical about swimming, particularly in a natural body of water. I recently spent a week at a small, private lake near Brainerd and spent hours in the water every day. There's something very comforting about swimming in a lake, like you're a part of nature. And swimming is a little like dancing; it's impossible not to be graceful in the water - it slows down your movements and smooths them out. Swimming with My Mother beautifully illustrates this. As someone said on the elevator after the show, "It makes you want to go swimming, doesn't it?" Madge is a lifelong swimmer and swimming teacher, and still swims five days a week. That love of swimming is apparent in the piece, intermingled with her love for her children, and theirs for her.

Madge and David Bolger "swimming"

If you're a fan of dance, or swimming, or even if you're not, Swimming with My Mother is worth checking out. The hour-long performance concludes with a screening of David and Madge's 6-minute film Deep End Dance, in which they dance underwater in the very pool where Madge taught David to swim. It's a lovely and beautiful thing to witness.

The 2011 Ivey Awards at the State Theater

For the love.  That was the theme of this year's Ivey Awards, and nothing could sum up this evening better than that simple statement.  I look forward to the awards every year because it's such a beautiful celebration of the theater community in Minneapolis/St. Paul.  Plus, it's also the best people-watching of the year (not counting the State Fair, which is beautiful in its own way).  This year was another fantastic night showcasing several of my favorite shows of this past year, and possibly of the upcoming year as well.

The hosts of the show were a father and son team of local actors.  Seth Numrich is currently starring on Broadway in the hit play War Horse, and his father, Charles Numrich, is an actor in the local theater scene.  They were charming hosts.  The running gag was that they were working on the "opening banter" scene, trying to "find themselves in the piece," and Seth kept giving his father notes about how to better play himself.  In addition to the hosts a number of local celebrities and representatives from the awards' sponsors presented the awards, including the Twin Cities' most beautiful news anchors, Frank Vascellero and Amelia Santaniello, as well as puppet supercouple Princeton and Kate Monster.

The opening number was a mash-up of four of my favorite musicals of this year, as well as one that just opened that I'm dying to see: the Children's Theatre's delightful Annie, the wickedly funny and sweet Avenue Q at Mixed Blood, the hilariously goofy A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the Jungle, the Guthrie's luscious production of HMS Pinafore, and Hairspray currently playing at the Chan.  It was a salute to costumes and the people who make them happen.  Characters from each show wandered onto the stage, which was populated with backstage theater people.  They each sang a song from their show, only with alternate lyrics appropriate to the Iveys.  It was really surreal and fun to see all these characters from diverse shows interacting.  As usual Miss Hannigan (Angela Timberman) stole the show, and the sailor from the Pinafore (Aleks Knezevich) ended up with no pants.

The Ivey Awards aren't like most awards shows you see on TV; there are no set categories or nominees, they just honor wonderful accomplishments wherever and however they appear.  This year they awarded eight people or productions, in addition to the emerging artist and lifetime achievement awards.  The honorees are:

1. Peter Hansen for his performance in Burn This at the Gremlin Theatre.
2. Live Action Set for their production of the new and inventive "physical theater" piece The 7-Shot Symphony (the cast of which was backstage at the time preparing for their performance later in the show).
3. Gary Rue for musical direction of Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story at the History Theatre.
4. Ben Bakken for his performance in the title role of the Chanhassen's Jesus Christ Superstar.
5. David Bolger for the amazing choreography in the Guthrie's H.M.S. Pinafore (I saw this show twice but could have watched the dance numbers a hundred times without tiring of them).
6. Craig Johnson for his direction of Girl Friday Production's Street Scene (which never felt crowded or uncomfortable despite the huge cast in the small space).
7. Dennis Spears for his performance as Nat King Cole in Penumbra Theatre's I Wish You Love.
8. Ten Thousand Things for their incredible production of Doubt, A Parable (although I'm not sure how voters chose between this and their other two incredible productions last season, Life's a Dream and Man of La Mancha).

Of these eight productions, I saw five (numbers 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8), which is a pretty good percentage.  (Although technically I did not see Ben Bakken's award-winning performance; he had the night off when I saw Jesus Christ Superstar (slacker).  But that's not my fault so I'm still giving myself credit for it!)  Considering I only saw one of the awarded productions last year, I'd say that's quite an improvement.  It was my goal this year to see more "obscure" productions (meaning not at one of the big theaters in town), and see more theater companies that I'd never seen before.  I definitely met my goal, although I still missed a lot.

In addition to these awards, the Iveys also gave the "Emerging Artist" award to Anna Sundberg, whom I recently saw in Street Scene and look forward to seeing again soon.  This year's "Lifetime Achievement" award went to Bain Boehlke, Artistic Director of the Jungle Theater.  He was presented the award by last year's winner Wendy Lehr, his friend and frequent collaborator.  I've really been enjoying my season pass at the Jungle this year, and couldn't be happier for Bain!

A usual, the musical performances were the highlight of the show.  We saw excerpts from one upcoming show, three past shows, and one show that's currently running.  The upcoming show is one I'm very much looking forward to - Park Square Theatre's Ragtime, which opens in January (tickets are already on sale and I've got mine!).  Coalhouse Walker and Sarah sang the beautiful and hopeful song "Wheels of a Dream."  One past show that I unfortunately missed is Ivey honoree Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story at the History Theatre - great songs and a fun performance.  Mu Performing Arts reprised "Suddenly Seymour" from their wonderful production of Little Shop of Horrors this spring.  Sadly, Audrey II did not make an appearance.  Another Ivey honoree, Live Action Set, presented an excerpt from their opera of sound and movement, The 7-Shot Symphony.  The final performance of the night was a great choice for the closing number - Cardinal Theatrical's production of The Rocky Horror Show, currently playing at the Lab Theater (I'm seeing it this week).  The number began with an introduction from the show's narrator, former WCCO-TV news anchor Don Shelby like you've never seen him before - in heels (he quipped that's what was under the desk).  The cast sang "Whatever Happened to Saturday Night," led by Jamecia Bennett as Eddie.  Judging by this performance, it's going to be a fun, energetic, crazy show!

There was one other performance at the awards last night, featuring young local talent.  Ryan McCartan is a recent high school graduate who has won several national awards in musical theater.  He sang "Someone to Fall Back On," and he's truly amazing.  He has a gorgeous voice and also put a lot of emotion into the song.  I hope to see him on local stages before he becomes a big star.

They finally found a way to make announcing the list of sponsors entertaining.  Local comedic actor Shanan Custer announced each sponsor, and two actors acted out each one.  It was fast and funny, and made a segment that usually drags feel like a legitimate a part of the show.

And with that, another year of theater has come and gone.  I've seen some really amazing shows, and discovered some great new (to me) theater companies.  And it only seems to be getting better.  If you're reading this blog I probably don't have to tell you this, but I will: go see some local theater!  If you need suggestions, check out my "Upcoming Shows" to the right.  If you have suggestions for me, please let me know.  There's more brilliant theater out there than one person can possibly see (believe me, I've tried).

Happy theater-going!

"H.M.S. Pinafore" at the Guthrie Theater

My favorite production that I've seen at the Guthrie in the past eight seasons of being a subscriber is the Gilbert and Sullivan musical (or opera) Pirates of Penzance, in the spring of 2004.  It was the final show of my first season as a subscriber, and I loved it so much I immediately bought a ticket to see it again.  It exemplified everything that's good about the Guthrie - a huge cast comprised of local and national talent, beautiful choregraphy and direction, gorgeous sets and costumes, all-around high quality entertainment.  So when I saw another Gilbert and Sullivan show on the schedule for this season, my expectations were high.  I attended the opening night* of the show, and I was not disappointed.  I'm not sure it eclipses my memory of Pirates, but it came close and was reminiscent of that show that I loved so much.

I saw a production of H.M.S. Pinafore about five years ago at Theatre in the Round, so I was somewhat familiar with it, although since that was before my days of blogging I don't remember a whole lot about it.  I know that the music has been changed and "modernized" for this production, but I'm no expert on Gilbert and Sullivan so I can't really speak to that, other than I enjoyed what I heard.  The fantastic orchestra is onstage (Andrew Cooke is the musical director and arranger), which is fun to see because the orchestra is usually not visible in the thrust theater.  The set is the deck of a beautiful ship.  And the costumes, like in Pirates, made me drool.  The women wear gorgeous dresses that are all bright colors and flounces and bustles and ruffles.  And the hats!  Of course costumes mean little when the substance isn't there, but that's not a problem in this case.

The plot of Pinafore is similar to Pirates: star-crossed lovers who come from different classes, singing and dancing seamen (in this case sailors in the Queen's navy), a woman with a secret about our hero's birth, and an appearance by the venerable Barbara Bryne as Queen Victoria.  The earnest lovers Ralph (a lowly sailor) and Josephine (the captain's daughter) are played by Aleks Knezevich and Heather Lindell, both of whom have gorgeous voices that are a pleasure to listen to.  The woman with the secret is called "Little Buttercup," and comes on the boat to sell trinkets to the sailors.  The versatile Christina Baldwin, most recently seen in The Moving Company's original piece Come Hell and High Water, is quite amusing in this role.  Equally amusing is Robert O. Berdahl as the buffoonish captain who's never sick at sea and never swears.  Well, hardly ever.  His crew salutes him while snickering behind his back, for which he abuses them.  Josephine is betrothed to the ruler of the Queen's navy - Sir Joseph (Peter Thomson, also hilarious), who is accompanied by "his sisters and his cousins and his aunts" (the wearers of the aforementioned gorgeous dresses).  There are a dozen sailors on deck who perform many wonderful dances (choreographed by David Bolger).  The most impressive is a show-stopping tap dance in the second act.  I love a good tap dance, especially when performed by dancing sailors!

I had never been to an opening night at the Guthrie before (my season tickets are usually later in the show's run), so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  At the end of the performance, director Joe Dowling (Artistic Director of the Guthrie) came onstage to talk a little about the show as well as the 5th anniversary of the new Guthrie building.  There was much applause for the show as well as for the Guthrie, and what it means to this community.  After the performance there was a champagne reception in the lobby, although I didn't see too many actors in attendance (it is a little hard to recognize them out of wardrobe).  All in all it was a wonderful evening at the theater, one of many I've had in this beautiful building.  H.M.S. Pinafore is playing all summer, and it's great summer blockbuster entertainment.

*I received two complimentary tickets from the Guthrie to attend the opening night of this show.  Since I have season tickets I would have seen it anyway, but this gave me the opportunity to see it earlier in its run and tell you all about it earlier.  I'm looking forward to seeing it again with my season ticket next month, and seeing how the show has grown (as well as possibly catching some of those one-liners I might have missed).

Update: it was even better the second time around!  Everyone seemed more comfortable in their roles, and therefore they were able to have even more fun with the material.  This is such a fun, high-energy show, I don't think I would ever tire of watching it.