One of the most fun parts about being an independent theater blogger is getting to see theater by many different companies in many different venues. I've seen work by over 60 local theater companies (click here for the full list), but there are still some that I've never seen. Last weekend I saw one of these theater companies I'd never seen before (although it was founded 15 years ago) in a location I'd never been to. Candid Theater Company's new play Dogwood, written and directed by Founders Seraphina Nova and Justin M. Kirkeberg, respectively, is a dysfunctional family drama, complete with secrets, illness, affairs, arguments, dark humor, and love.
The Dogwoods are a family living in suburban Milwaukee. Dad is retired and spends most of the day in a fog watching his "programs," while Mom flutters around pretending everything is OK. Daughter Evelyn lives just down the street and has put her own life on hold to take care of her parents (or is she using them as an excuse not to live a fuller life?). Rachel and Nathaniel have moved away, and their trips home are becoming fewer and farther between. They all congregate at the family home for Dad's favorite holiday, Independence Day. Rachel brings her assistant instead of her husband, and Nat arrives without his much talked about but never seen fiance. Secrets come out and old grievances come back around as this not-so-happy family finds themselves under the same roof again. After the holiday is over, not much has changed, except perhaps a better awareness of the situation.
James Napoleon Stone, Katherine Preble, and Angela Walberg
as the Dogwood siblings
The cast does a fine job with the material and feels like a comfortable family. Angela Walberg is painfully sympathetic as the responsible daughter Evelyn, and along with James Napoleon Stone and Katherin Preble form a believable sibling trio. As the parents, David Roberts and Meri Golden are excellent, David poignantly playing the extremes of a dead-eyed stare and an anger and frustration at the situation he finds himself in, and Meri is all motherly love and concern hiding a deeper pain. And kudos to the talented Michael Terrell Brown who just joined the cast a few days before opening and seems like he's been with the group all along. This play does not have a happy ending, as there is an impression that things will only get worse, especially for Evelyn as she's left to care for her parents after her siblings leave. In the end I wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to take away from the play, other than frustration that this poor girl is destined to live a lonely life caring for her aging parents while her siblings enjoy their independent lives hundreds of miles away.
The new-to-me venue is The People's Center Theater. It's a nice intimate space on the third floor of the People's Center Health Services' Cedar Riverside Clinic. The set looks like a typical lived-in Midwestern home, with blankets on the couch and tchotchkes on the shelf. At one point during a heated scene the table broke, and the cast dealt with it so well I thought it was part of the script.
Dogwood is a compelling and entertaining dark family drama. If, like me, you're unfamiliar with Candid Theater, check it out to take a chance on something new (discount tickets available on Goldstar).
If you see one Christmas-themed theatrical event this year, let it be All is Calm. Unlike most Christmas shows, there is not a red and green banner, brightly wrapped present, or figgy pudding in sight. It does not present the usual frenetic cheery energy associated with the holiday. Instead it is quiet and lovely, joyous and melancholy, celebrating a remarkable event when soldiers put down their weapons and shared the spirit of peace across enemy lines for one brief and beautiful moment. Created by Peter Rothstein and presented annually by Theater Latte Da and Hennepin Theatre Trust, All is Calm tells the story of the 1914 Christmas Truce during the first year of WWI, in which soldiers along both sides of the trenches on the Western Front stopped fighting and met in no man's land to exchange photos and stories, bury the dead, play football, and sing carols. This story is told simply on a bare stage with only some wooden platforms and crates as set pieces, with three actors bringing to life the words from actual letters, articles, and other historical documents, illuminated by songs performed by the marvelous nine-man a capella vocal ensemble Cantus. It's a perfect marriage of music and storytelling, not the story of specific people or characters, but rather the story of peace in the midst of war. What better representation of the spirit of the season?
The piece runs a short 75-minutes, a seamless flow from beginning to end. The songs are structured to tell the story of young men enthusiastically heading off to war, experiencing the fear and drudgery that is the reality of war, finding a brief reprieve one snowy Christmas day, and then being reluctantly forced back to reality as the cease-fire ends. Traditional British, French, and German Christmas carols like "Good King Wenceslas," "Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella," and "Es ist ein Ros entsprungen" (one of my favorites), are combined with war songs both spirited and somber. The songs are perfectly chosen to evoke the feeling at each point in the story, and complement the words spoken by the actors sporting a wide variety of accents (Matt Rein, David Roberts, and Alan Sorenson).
If you've never seen Cantus before, you are in for a treat. They are nine gorgeous voices perfectly blended in multi-layered harmony so beautiful, it's tempting to just close your eyes and let it wash over you (purchase music here, including the soundtrack of All is Calm). But the men of Cantus are not just singers here, they're actors as well as they play the parts of soldiers. Actors and singers are dressed alike in warm black layers, adding hats and gloves as the weary night continues. They fill the space in beautifully staged movement, sometimes standing at attention, sometimes laughing and joking and shaking hands.
All is Calm is one of those shows that induces a trance-like state, aided by the fact that it's constructed with no applause breaks. The cycle of song - applause - song - applause can break the flow of the story, and there's none of that here. Just one long swell of music, words, and emotion. When the show was over, the trance continued as I walked out into the dark night with snow softly falling, the strains of "peace on earth" reverberating in my ears, the lovely and bittersweet feeling of the show remaining with me. This is the third time I've seen the show, and I think I love it more each time I see it. Only four performances remain, two today and two tomorrow. Take a break from the frantic holiday season to soak in the peace and beauty of All is Calm.
I've seen six Christmas-themed theater productions in the last month and a half, and Theater Latte Da's annual holiday production All is Calm* comes closest to what I think is and should be the spirit of this midwinter holiday season: a celebration of our shared humanity, that transcends any perceived difference of nationality, ethnicity, religion, class, or political belief. All is Calm tells the true story of the WWI Christmas day truce, through songs and soldiers' own words. If these soldiers who were sent to kill each other could put aside their differences, share in each other's joy, and make peace for one day, it gives me hope that a larger peace is possible. This quote that arrived in my inbox today seems most appropriate: "If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility" (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow).
Now in it's 5th year, All is Calm was created by Latte Da's Artistic Director Peter Rothstein and the nine-man vocal ensemble Cantus. It begins with a few traditional Christmas carols, sung in stunning harmonies. Then the theater part of the piece begins as the actors (Matt Rein, David Roberts, and Alan Sorenson) come onstage and being speaking the words of witnesses to the event, taken from letters, journals, and other historical sources from that day in 1914. Songs and words are seamlessly woven together in one cohesive piece that continues without intermission or interruption throughout the arc of the story. We begin with "The Optimistic Departure," when young men across Europe were excited to go on an adventure they were sure would be over soon. Then comes "The Grim Reality" as the difficulties and death of battle set in. The high point is the quiet celebration of "Christmas" and the blessed "Truce," as the fighting stops and men from both sides enter "no man's land" to share stories and play games. Finally, in "The Return to Battle," the war continues as if the truce never happened, and in fact it was never repeated in such a large scale, as the war continued for another long four years.
the cast of All is Calm with the men of Cantus
All is Calm is a perfect example of what Theater Latte Da does best - weave together music and theater in an interesting and innovate way to tell a story. It's what Peter calls "intelligent musical theater," which is my favorite thing in the world. His creation is beautifully brought to life by this talented combination of actors and musicians. The three actors really embody the different men whose words are spoken, in a variety of accents. The men of Cantus, who have come from all over the country to sing together, not only sound gorgeous, but they're pretty good actors too as they become the soldiers in their joy and grief. This is truly a beautiful, moving, transfixing experience. Because of the seamlessness of the piece there is no room for applause. The audience was holding it in, which is perhaps why there was an almost immediate and deserving standing ovation as soon as the music ceased.
All is Calm is playing now through Saturday at Hennepin Theatre Trust's beautifully restored Pantages Theatre. If you go, be sure to check out the WWI exhibit upstairs, on loan from the Minnesota Military Museum in Little Falls. This is the second time I've seen this show, and it's one that only gets better with repeated viewing. This is my last theater experience of over 100 that I've had this year (look for my 2012 favorites to be posted around New Year's), and I can't think of a better way to end this amazing year of theater.**
soldiers of the London Rifle Brigade pose with
German Saxons of the 104th and 106th regiments on
Christmas day, 1914. Imperial War Museum, London.
*I received two complementary tickets to opening night of All is Calm.
**I can't think of a better way to begin another amazing year of theater than going back to the Pantages to see another Latte Da production, Aida, featuring one of my favorite scores, and what could possibly be the best love triangle in all of musical theater!
One sign of a good musical is when the audience leaves the theater singing, humming, and whistling the songs from the show* which they've never heard before. Such was the case when I attended** the new, original, and very Minnesotan musical Deal! The Musical by Tyrol Hills Music. Not only are the songs catchy and hummable, but the story is heart-warming and wickedly funny, and it rings true to anyone who grew up in this state. It's a little like a Garrison Keillor story come to life, and in my opinion Garrison Keillor is an American treasure, so that's a very good thing.
Deal! The Musical was written by local playwrights Jerry Seifert and Tom Broadbent, who also wrote the music. I gather from a note in the playbill, as well as the appearance of the name Broadbent in the real newspaper clippings that are displayed between scenes along with old photos, that this is at least a semi-autobiographical show for Tom. The story takes place over a ten-year span in the late 1950s and 1960s in the town of Stacy MN, not too far north of the Twin Cities on I35. Art and Elsie have just moved into town, having hit a snag in their dream to own their own farm. Elsie's newly widowed friend Pearl along with Art's brother Oscar and his "pal" Millie come over to the house to play poker every week, where much is discussed. Art and Elsie's two daughters grow up over the course of the play - from proms and first loves to babies and illness. Life changes and grows, and the only thing that stays the same is the weekly poker game that brings this family together.
This capable cast (directed by Josh Campbell) is led by real life husband and wife team Jon Hegge and Laurie Flanigan-Hegge as Art and Elsie. Laurie has a beautiful voice that's featured in several songs, and Jon gives a nuanced performance as the head of the family who's struggling with not being able to provide as he had hoped, especially after an accident leaves him unable to work. He sings about feeling useless, and finding inspiration in his hero, Twins great Harmon Killebrew (as a lifelong Twins fan, any musical that includes a song called "Harmon Killebrew" is definitely one for me!). David Roberts' Oscar is a bit of a drunk and a loveable jerk, but we get to see a more vulnerable side when he sings about "The Lost and Found Tavern." Aly Westberg and Max Wojtanowicz share a couple of lovely duets as one of the daughters and her beau, who grow from an awkward prom couple to a married couple facing very real problems. The scene-stealer of the show is Kim Kivens (who was also great in Spelling Bee last fall) as the boozy, bawdy Millie, tottering on her high heels and constantly skiping off to the bathroom after uttering another cute euphemism ("time to tinkle!" "I feel a rain delay coming on!"). Millie's a cutesy, funny character, but Kim gives her depth (especially in the lovely "Lord's Prayer") and makes the audience root for her.
Don't let the ads you might have seen fool you - Deal! The Musical is not a flashy Vegas musical; it's a sweet and funny Minnesota story about a family in a small town and people that will seem familiar to you. Yes, they cram a lot of hardships and romances into two and a half hours, so that some of them get short shrift, but that's forgivable when the overall show is this satisfying. Check it out at the Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis (free parking across the street!), and you'll see a lovely little story set in a small Minnesota town, where the women are strong, the men are good-looking, and the children are above average.
*I woke up morning after the show singing "Deal, dammit, deal, dammit, deal dammit deal!" And here's the song that I heard people humming and whistling at intermission, echoing what I was hearing in my own head:
**I received one complementary ticket to see Deal! The Musical.
