"Right, Wrong, or Bomb! A Dating Musical" by Backyard to Broadway Productions at Illusion Theater

"The protagonist, Jill, professionally successful but socially awkward, finds herself in a state of perpetual singleness." Upon reading this description of the new original musical Right, Wrong, or Bomb! A Dating Musical, I was afraid someone had written a musical about me. But after seeing it last night, I was reassured that it's not really about me, because this Jill, unlike the musical Jill, is focused on more than just finding a man. Still, the musical has moments that ring true about the pressure that society, friends, and family put on us to find a mate, and the strange way that many people go about it in the internet age. There's nothing too deep or revelatory here, but Right, Wrong, or Bomb! is a fun, funny, and entertaining musical with a pleasing score and wonderful heartfelt performances.

"The Laramie Project" at Lyric Arts

I believe in the power of theater to change the world, and The Laramie Project is a great example of that. Shortly after the brutal murder of a young gay man named Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming, a theater company led by playwright Moises Kaufman went to Laramie and conducted over 200 interviews with the townspeople. In the midst of a media frenzy, they gave these people a voice, people who knew Matthew personally during his life or were affected by his death. They listened to them and told their story, as simple and profound as that. The result is a play called The Laramie Project, compiled from interviews, company members' journal entrees, and news reports. The play is not just about Matthew's life and death, and this unspeakable hate crime that sparked a national debate, but it also examines the anatomy of a town, a town that's just like any other town in America. It doesn't offer answers or reasons why, but it sheds light on what happened, allows these people's truths to be known and heard, and begins a dialogue that may eventually lead to healing. I believe that is the best that theater can be and do. Lyric Arts' new production, beautifully directed by Robert Neu and featuring a talented cast of 12 playing over 60 roles, does this story and the project justice. It's a story that continues to need to be heard.

Rather than a reenactment of events, the play is structured as a series of monologues, taken from actual interviews with the real people of Laramie. The theater company members also serve as characters in the play and as narrators, introducing each speaker. All of these interviews put together provide a narrative of events, as well as illustrate life in Laramie, a typical American college town, before and after the tragedy. The simple and bare sloped stage with 12 chairs allows space for the story to be told, as the actors move themselves and their chairs around the space in different formations.

the cast of The Laramie Project

There's not a lot of interaction between the characters, but the play still manages to give us several fully developed characters that we begin to care about. I hesitate to call out anyone in this beautiful cast because they all do a remarkable job creating several characters each, differentiated by a scarf, hat or glasses, or the tone of voice. But if I must mention a few, I will say that I was particularly moved by Ty Hudson as the charismatic bartender and one of the last people to see Matthew alive, Beth King as the strong but sensitive police officer first called to the scene of the crime, Corey Okonek as a friendly limo driver and Matthew's father, Emily Picardi as Matthew's spunky friend turned political activist Romaine Patterson, Jarome Smith as an enthusiastic theater student who was deeply affected by Matthew's story, and Debbie Swanson as two different college professors.

My first experience with The Laramie Project was a staged reading in October of 2008, the 10th anniversary of Matthew's death, directed by Peter Rothstein and featuring T.R. Knight and a cast of local talents. Matthew's mother Judy, who has turned her personal tragedy into a career in activism and righting the wrongs that lead to Matthew's death (including the passage of The Matthew Shepard Act in 2009), was in attendance that night. So I was fully aware what a powerful and important piece of theater this is, and I couldn't be more pleased that a community theater in Anoka is tackling this project and doing such a beautiful job. With the exception of some candlelight choreography at the end that went on a bit too long for me, the whole production is extremely well-done, from the simple set to the subtle intricacies of the costume changes to the sound and lighting setting the scene.

Two quotes from the people of Laramie stick with me. One is by Romaine, who said that the people of Laramie (and, I think, this country) need to own this tragedy and not just ignore it or pretend it didn't happen. Another character said about the perpetrators, "we don't grow children like that here, but obviously we do grow children like that here." At its best, theater can give us a forum to understand and explore the most difficult and important issues of our time, and that's what this play does. I highly recommend that people get out and see this important work of theater (playing at Lyric Arts now through Sept. 22); trust me, it's worth the drive to Anoka (discount tickets available on Goldstar).

"Cabaret" at the Lyric Arts Main Street Stage

One of my favorite shows last year was Frank Theatre's Cabaret, starring Bradley Greenwald and Melissa Hart (from the original Broadway production of the show). So when I attended a production at Lyric Arts Main Street Stage* in Anoka, I tried to put that out of mind, knowing that it was unfair to compare the two. But I was really impressed by the production. All of the leads are great in their roles, the Kit Kat girls are fantastic, the set is interesting and effective, and Cabaret is in my opinion one of the best musicals ever written. I love that it's wildly entertaining and fun and sexy, but also has an undercurrent of desperation just below the frivolity on the surface. Lyric Arts does a great job with both parts in their production running now through August 5.

Cabaret takes place in pre-WWII Berlin, just before the rise of the Nazis. It's the end of the relatively calm period in Germany between the World Wars, just before everything falls apart. And that's the desperation you can feel throughout the piece, that sense that something awful is coming, which the characters in Cabaret choose to deal with by living life as fully and as presently as they can, epitomized by Sally Bowles. She's the star of the Kit Kat Klub, living from day-to-day, man-to-man, painting her fingernails green because "I think it's pretty." She meets Cliff, an American writer, and they live happily together for a short time before the darkness that's brewing in Berlin starts to become apparent. He wants them to return to America, but Sally isn't a housewife in the suburbs kind of girl. She chooses to remain in her beloved Berlin, for better or worse.

Highlights of this production include:

• A fearless and animated performance by Max Malanaphy as the Emcee.
• Eric Brandhorst as the earnest Cliff, who sounds beautiful (and sings a lovely song I've never heard before "Don't Go").
• Katie Hahn as Sally Bowles is fierce and funny, and her final number "Cabaret" is the sad, desperate, determined cry of life that it should be.
• Debbie Swanson and Kristo Sween are just charming as the late in life couple who bond over "a pineapple."
• The set (by Brian Proball) features two levels (with the band upstairs), a fireman's pole put to good use by the actors, and cabaret tables both upstairs and down.
• The choreography (by Jon Michael Stiff) is inventive and interesting and fun, ably performed by the Kit Kat girls.
• The costumes (by Lisa Mangone) are really cool and make everyone look fabulous.

As a resident of the Northeast suburbs, I've been wanting to check out this Anoka theater for a while now. It's a nice little theater (and they sell popcorn in the lobby!), and this was a great first show for me. A few of the shows on their 2012-2013 season appeal to me so I'm sure I'll be making the trip again. Cabaret is definitely worth it, especially if you live on the Northern side of the Cities. I love the idea of a true community theater in the suburbs, so you don't always have to drive into the city to see great theater, and Lyric Arts definitely fits the bill.

the Emcee surrounded by the Kit Kat girls

*I received one complementary ticket to see Cabaret.