"Come From Away" at Phipps Center for the Arts

My 8th time seeing Come From Away, the 3rd time in as many months, and it still gets me. Maybe even more so this time, because I saw it on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, a date and a tragedy that some of us are old enough to never forget, even if we wanted to. But as they say, Come From Away is not a 9/11 musical, it's a 9/12 musical, celebrating the good people of Gander, Newfoundland who welcomed in 7000 strangers to their town of 9000, when the US airspace was suddenly closed to any incoming flights, and treated them like family. Just one example of the many acts of kindness and outpourings of humanity that always follow tragedies like 9/11. For this production, I crossed state lines for my first visit to Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, WI, and was impressed by what I found across the river. Not just a theater or a performance space, but a true center for the arts with art galleries, classes, and more. The people of Hudson are lucky to have the Phipps, and I'm glad I finally made it there. And the Phipps is lucky and/or smart to have gotten to produce Come From Away, the most produced play of the 2025-2026 season, at this time. If you haven't tired of the show yet (I could never, it's a practically perfect musical), or somehow missed it this year, check out Phipps' beautiful production of this moving (and surprisingly funny) story, with the largest cast I've seen, before it closes on September 27 (Come From Away will also be playing at Ashland Productions in October, GREAT Theatre in St. Cloud this winter, and Lakeshore Players Theatre next spring).

"Ride the Cyclone" at Lyric Arts

Everything is so awful right now, with ICE terrorizing our neighborhoods, schools, and business, that I don't know if I should keep doing this, or why it matters. But then I see something like Lyric Arts' production of the rarely done cult hit musical Ride the Cyclone, and am reminded that joy still matters, community still matters, gratitude for life still matters. This bizarro story of a group of teenagers killed in a freak roller coaster accident, and given one chance to return to life, ends on a note that brought tears to my eyes, as it reminds us to look around and appreciate what we have. Even if, especially if, everything is awful. I mostly feel helpless* and hopeless these days, and honestly it's hard to shut out the constant feeling of anxiety and worry even when sitting in the theater, but through all the noise, Ride the Cyclone reminded me that there's something bigger than this awful moment we're currently in. And it's also just super funny and wild and entertaining, and wholly unique and original, with a fantastically talented young cast (many of whom you may never have heard of). See it at Lyric Arts in Anoka through February 8.