"Funny Girl" Broadway Tour at the Orpheum Theatre

The long overdue first Broadway revival of Funny Girl (which made Barbra Streisand a star in the '60s) has finally arrived in Minneapolis - for one short week only! I'd never seen it on stage before (I don't recall a #TCTheater production in my blog-memory), and while I have seen the movie, I'm not that familiar with it, or the music. I was blown away by the score, the dancing (setting a story in the Follies allows for some great dance numbers apropos of nothing), and the positively radiant performance of Katerina McCrimmon as Fanny Brice. Head to downtown Minneapolis to see this fabulous new production of a little done classic while you can! (Click here for the official ticket purchasing site, which also include info about the student/educator rush tickets.)

NYC Theater Trip 2022: "The Minutes" at Studio 54

Show*: 1

Title: The Minutes

Location: Studio 54

Written By: Tracy Letts

Summary: A small town city council meeting turns ugly when truths about the town's past are revealed, but not accepted by the people in power.

Highlights: Tracy Letts wrote and stars in this 90-minute very funny and real little play that you think is one thing, until it turns into another. The writing, direction (by Anna D. Shapiro), and performances by this fantastic cast (also including Jessie Mueller, Noah Reid of Schitt's Creek, Blair Brown, and scene stealer Austin Pendleton) are full of little details that define these specific characters and fill out the world in the town of Big Cherry, USA. Combined with a detailed and realistic set (designed by David Zinn), from the water stains on the ceiling, to the rolling snack cart, to the ambiguous mural, it feels like we're eavesdropping on a real meeting. The trouble arises when the newest council member returns from a week away, only to hear that something big happened last week resulting in one of the members being ousted from the council. The titular meeting minutes are not available, but he keeps digging until finally they're produced, revealing an argument about the annual heritage festival. The ousted member had produced the statement of an indigenous person that contradicts the local legend about the hero who saved the town from the "Sioux uprising" (which might sound familiar to those of us in Minnesotan, and really anywhere in the US). The mayor will not accept this, and goes to extreme lengths to make sure his version of history is the one that stands ("who lives, who dies, who tells your story"). What starts as an odd and funny little character study of a town and its residents (think Parks and Recreation) turns into a not so subtle statement about the true history of this country. 

*Once again, I'm using an abbreviated Fringe-style summary for my NYC 2022 trip, since I am in the greatest city in the world with much more exciting things to do than write! Click here to see all of my Broadway-related blog posts.

"The Humans" Broadway Tour at the Orpheum Theatre

The aptly titled Tony Award-winning Broadway play The Humans is currently touring the country, stopping at Minneapolis' Orpheum Theatre for one week only. It's one of those plays where nothing really happens in the 90-ish intermissionless minutes, with the story playing out in real time. But in the nothing really happening, volumes are spoken about humanity. Playwright Stephen Karem (whose Sons of the Prophet was produced at Park Square Theatre two years ago) has written a play that sounds so realistic, with characters talking over each other just like in real life (which means sometimes you miss a line or two, just like in real life). It's truly a play about what it means to be human, with all the challenges and joy that entails.

"Fun Home" at Circle in the Square on Broadway

The new original musical Fun Home made history this year as the first musical created by a team of women (music by Jeanine Tesori, book and lyrics by Lisa Kron) to win the Tony. It's about time, right? But that's not a reason to go see it. Well, it's not the only reason. The reason to see Fun Home is that it's a tragic and funny true story beautifully told through music and cleverly constructed as a memory play, with multiple timepoints intermingling to create a whole and complete picture of a life. That life is Alison Bechdel, cartoonist and author, upon whose autobiographical graphic novel the musical is based. This story that is part coming of age, part family drama, part self-discovery, part coming to terms with the past, feels so real, raw, and intimate. The day after seeing Hamilton and thinking "look what we can do" at the grand scale of it all, Fun Home made me think "look what we can do" on the other end of the spectrum. That is, tell a small, intimate, specific yet universal story through music and theater.

As the story unfolds, we watch a present-day Alison writing her novel, a memoir of her life. Her memories come alive in front of her as she observes, comments, and sometimes interacts with them. She sees her child self, growing up in a seemingly happy family in the '70s with an actress mother and a teacher/funeral home director father. But something is off that young Alison can't quite grasp, and current Alison struggles to understand as she writes her book. Alison also sees her college age self realizing she's gay and coming out to her parents, only to find out that her father, too, is gay, living in the closet and causing complications and heartaches for his family (and himself) through all of the secrets and lies. This is not a happy-go-lucky kind of musical, but one that has moments of humor and moments of grief, sometimes inseparable, like life.

Watching this musical is almost like reading the graphic novel upon which it is based (which I just ordered), as present-day Alison paints a picture of her life for the audience - all the good, bad, and ugly of growing up in a loving yet complicated family. As they say, the more specific something is, the more universal it is. And this story, which is specifically Alison's, is universal in its themes of belonging, growing up, trying to figure out who you are, changing relationships with parents, and remembering the past and accepting it while not letting it define you. In the latter point Fun Home reminds me one of Jeanine Tesori's other musicals, Violet (one of my favorites) - an intimate and personal story of a woman coming to terms with her past and her complicated relationship with her father, told beautifully and poignantly with a small cast and orchestra.

the cast of Fun Home

Six or so months after opening, the original cast is mostly intact, except that the child understudy Gabriella Pizzolo (one of those kids that was born for the stage) has taken over as young Alison. She fits right in with this wonderfully cohesive cast that brings this story to life in such a very real way, especially the three actors playing Alison at various ages - Beth Malone, Emily Skeggs, and Gabriella, like three phases of a single life experience. Playing Alison's father earned Michael Cerveris won a Tony Award, and it's obvious why he won for his performance of this complicated and conflicted man as he alternately infuriates and engenders empathy. The rest of the nine-person cast are all wonderful in their roles, adult and child alike.

The in-the-round staging of Circle in the Square is perfect for this show as the scenes transition quickly and seamlessly across distance and decades, set pieces gracefully sliding on and off stage or disappearing into the floor. Director Sam Gold utilizes the space well. The one-level arena-like seating means that even if you're sitting in the back row, as I was, you feel like you're watching this story from within. As a band geek, I enjoyed watching the wonderful six-person on-stage band (with the percussionist seemingly backstage somewhere), under the direction of Chris Fenwick. And any child of the '70s will recognize and love/hate the bellbottoms and turtleneck sweaters (scenic and costume design by David Zinn).

The best theater is that which comes from a place of truth, and this story is painfully, beautifully true. Thank you Alison for sharing your story with us, and Jeanine and Lisa for bringing it to life in the way that speaks most clearly to me - musical theater. (Order tickets here, or get them at the TKTS booth like I did.)


Read more of my Broadway reviews here.