"Church Basement Ladies: A Second Helping" by Rags to Rags Productions at Plymouth Playhouse

Almost one year to the date and I'm back in the basement. The literal basement beneath a Ramada Inn where Plymouth Playhouse is located, and the theatrical basement that is the setting for the Minnesota-grown musical comedy franchise known as Church Basement Ladies. The first musical in what was to become a series premiered in 2005 at the Plymouth Playhouse, written by Jim Stowell and Jessica Zuelhlke based on the book Growing Up Lutheran by Janet Letnes Martin and Suzann Nelson, with music and lyrics by Drew Jansen. That was before my time as a theater blogger, and somehow I also missed out on the eight sequels, all penned by original cast member Greta Grosch, with Dennis Curley joining the songwriting team. Lucky for me, Rags to Rags Productions began what I hope is a full series rewatch last year, so I was able to jump in on the ground floor, or basement, as it were. After seeing the original The Church Basement Ladies last year, I wrote "this musical comedy is very broad, very corny, very Minnesotan, and whole lot of fun.... and I hope to visit the basement again!" My hopes were realized; this year they're doing the second show in the series, aptly titled A Second Helping. Because it is exactly that - a second helping of the humor, the heart, the bad puns, the physical comedy, and the Minnesota references. You can see it now through August 23, but don't worry if you haven't seen the first one, you'll have no trouble jumping into the story and falling in love with these charmingly quirky (and familiar) characters.

"Church Basement Ladies" by Rags to Rags Productions at Plymouth Playhouse

How is it that I've been a theater blogger in Minnesota for 15 years and have never seen a show from the Minnesota musical comedy institution that is Church Basement Ladies? I have no excuse, other than possibly geography (the shows have primarily performed in Plymouth and Burnsville, neither a great location for me), and that it's produced by a production company (Troupe America and/or Rags to Rags Productions) rather than one of the many theaters I frequent. Whatever the reason for this omission, it has been remedied, and I have now been indoctrinated into the basement. After eight sequels, the original Church Basement Ladies has returned to its original venue, Plymouth Playhouse underneath a Ramada Inn off 494, to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The three original ladies of the basement are still with the show, which works like a well-oiled machine at this point. This musical comedy is very broad, very corny, very Minnesotan, and whole lot of fun. This incarnation of Church Basement Ladies continues through August 24, after which they're sure to pop again somewhere, and I hope to visit the basement again!

"Country Roads: The Music of John Denver" at Plymouth Playhouse

Shortly into Country Roads: The Music of John Denver, creator and host Dennis Curley tell us a story about his aunts and uncles sitting around the living room laughing, telling stories, and singing songs of the great singer/songwriters of the '60s and '70s, including John Denver. Dennis has successfully recreated that experience on the stage of the Plymouth Playhouse. He's not trying to imitate John Denver, or tell John Denver's life story, he's simply singing the songs that he loves and sharing what this music means to him, his friends and family, and the audience. There's really no theater here; it's a casual concert of one John Denver fan (and his awesome band) singing to a roomful of John Denver fans, who are encouraged to sing along. If you're a fan of John Denver, Country Roads is a must-see to experience all of that John Denver goodness. If you're not a fan of John Denver, well, you're missing out on some great music!

"Steerage Song" by Theater Latte Da at the Lab Theater

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe
     free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost
     to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

These words (by poet Emma Lazarus) were engraved on a plaque inside the Statue of Liberty in 1903, at the height of immigration to the United States. But soon that welcoming sentiment began to change, culminating in the passage of the National Origins Act in 1924, severely limiting immigration, especially from "undesirable" areas such as Southern and Eastern Europe. Steerage Song, a music-theater piece created by Peter Rothstein and Dan Chouinard, explores these historical themes of immigration through authentic music and text of the time. A semi-staged version of it was first presented two years ago. Much of the cast returns in this fully staged production, with slight changes to text and songs. The result is a truly beautiful expression of ideas at the very heart of America. The (perhaps not so) surprising thing is that the arguments being made against immigration today were also being made 100 years ago, making this piece not just a historical reflection but also extremely relevant to the present.

Peter (who also directs the piece) and Dan (music director) have collected dozens of songs from the American immigrant experience between 1840 and 1924, from various languages and cultures through Europe. They have tied the songs together using text from newspaper articles, speeches, and other historical documents, and constructed them into eight parts representing the journey of the immigrants: The Call; Bidding Farewell; The Voyage; A Sonnet in the Harbor; Ellis Island; The Lower East Side; By the People, For the People; and The Golden Door Closes. The nine ensemble members portray the mostly nameless immigrants as they leave their homelands and find a new life in America. The one character we follow throughout this journey is perhaps the most successful immigrant musician from this period, a 5-year-old Russian Jewish immigrant named Israel Beilin who became one of America's most beloved songwriters, Irving Berlin. Through his and others' stories we witness the courage of the millions of people who left everything behind to come to America and make a better life for themselves and their families, and in doing so made America richer too.

Dan Chouinard and his accordian
lead the cast of Steerage Song

The fantastic nine-person cast includes six from the original production two years ago. All sing beautifully in various languages or accented English (my linguist friend was impressed with the use of language and accents), as well as expressing the emotions of the characters. The ensemble includes: Sasha Andreev (always excellent), Erin Capello (with a voice like a dream), Dennis Curley (evoking tears with his sad Irish ballad), Megan Fischer (little Annie is all grown up and can hold her own among these talented professionals), Alec Fisher (another talented youngster who fits right in), Bradley Greenwald (one of my absolute favorites, any day I get to listen to him sing in German is a good day), Jennifer Grimm (with an emotional delivery of "Bring Me Your Tired, Your Poor," set to music by Irving Berlin), Jay Hornbacher (the talented veteran of the group), and Natalie Nowytski (a natural fit for this piece, she sings in over 40 languages and has studied Eastern European styles of singing). Multi-talented musician Dan Chouinard (I've seen him perform many times and he rarely uses sheet music at the piano) does a great job leading the five-piece band playing various instruments and creating the varied musical styles of the immigrants.

waving goodbye to the homeland

The Lab Theater is a great open space in which to create a world of imagination, put to great use by set designer John Clark Donahue. A stage has been built to resemble a ship, with a wooden plank floor, raised balcony in the back for the band, masts, a rope ladder, and bannisters on the sides. In the second act this ship transforms into the Lower East Side, with laundry hung between the masts and carts rolling up and down the street. Long poles are used as the railing of the ship or form lines at Ellis Island; planks serve as work spaces or lecterns. On either side of the stage are great racks of clothing, with hats, shawls, coats, scarves, and various other pieces that help define and differentiate the many characters in the piece (costume design by Jeffrey Stolz).

It's no secret that Theater Latte Da is my favorite theater company. Musical theater is my favorite art form, and Latte Da does it in an innovative and forward-thinking way. In fact, their tagline this year is "we don't do musical theater, we do theater musically." The thing that elevates Theater Latte Da above many other theaters in town is the impeccable attention to detail, on great display in Steerage Song. Every aspect of the production is of the highest quality: sets, costumes, sound design (actors are miked but in an unobtrusive way), casting, staging, the playbill, lighting, video projections, the use of props, and the talent level of the performers. Nothing is overlooked and it all adds up to a thoroughly enjoyable evening of theater. Playing now through October 20 at the Lab Theater.

"Beautiful Thing" by Theater Latte Da at the Lab Theater

Make your own kind of music

Sing your own special song
Make your own kind of music
Even if nobody else sings along

This song by the 1960s group The Mamas & the Papas closes Theatre Latte Da's production of the play with music, Beautiful Thing.  It's a beautiful and hopeful ending to the show and really gets to the heart of what it's all about. 

Beautiful Thing tells the story of two teenage boys in a working-class neighborhood of London who fall in love.  Jamie lives with his single mother who works at a pub, and is struggling to fit in with his peers who think he's "weird;" even his own mother tells him that.  Ste lives next door with his abusive alcoholic father, and sometimes takes refuge at Jamie's place when things get too bad at home.  On the other side of Jamie lives Leah, who has been kicked out of school and spends all her time listening to and singing along with the music of Mama Cass.  She's a bit of a jerk, but it soon becomes apparent that she's lonely and struggling to find her place in the world, just like the boys are.  And when Jamie and Ste find their place in the world through each other, it truly is a beautiful thing.  Jamie's mother is upset when she finds out about the boys' relationship, but comes to accept it.  She may not be the best mother (at one point literally rolling around on the ground with her son as they fight), but she loves her son and does the best she can for him.  We never see Ste's family, but from the way they're talked about it's hard to believe they'd be very accepting.  I like to believe he somehow escaped from their orbit.

Beautiful Thing reminds me a little bit of the movie Billy Elliot (later turned into a stage musical): a young boy from a working class family in England finding himself in an unconventional way.  But while Billy falls in love with dancing and his own artistic expression, Jamie falls in love with Ste, and is able to figure out who he is through that love.

Because this is Theater Latte Da, there is music in this play, and the music conveys what mere words cannot.  Erin Schwab embodies Mama Cass and walks through the scenes, singing and bringing to life the songs in Leah's head, accompanied by the fabulous band hidden below the set.  Before seeing this show I was only marginally familiar with The Mamas & the Papas, and even less so with Mama Cass.  She is a fascinating character herself, and yet another incredible voice who left this earth way too early (she died at the age of 32).  I'm enamored of the sound and the look of the 1960s, so it's not too surprising that I just downloaded the soundtrack from the 1996 movie version of Beautiful Thing (plus a few additional songs that weren't included).  Here's a way that Theater Latte Da could improve (something I thought impossible) - offer downloads of songs from their shows.  I would definitely buy a soundtrack of this show featuring the songs of Mama Cass in Erin Schwab's fabulous voice (with Dennis Curley's lovely harmonies).

As with all Latte Da shows, this show is perfectly cast.  (And they all do such a great job with the working-class London accent that I really had to pay attention to catch what they were saying, not to mention learning new words such as slag and knackered.)  Steven Lee Johnson (a student with the esteemed U of M/Guthrie program) and David Darrow* (who recently moved here from NYC, where he won an Innovative Theatre Award) are perfect as the young lovers Jamie and Ste, believable and natural and sympathetic.  Anna Sundberg (one of my favorite artists of 2011) is, as usual, fully committed to creating a distinct and layered character.  Jennifer Blagen gives depth to Jamie's tough-talking mother, and Dan Hopman is charming as her boyfriend of the moment, who's also pretty nice to the kids.

This is the first Theater Latte Da production not directed by Artistic Director Peter Rothstein; he handed the reigns over to Jeremy B. Cohen.  I also don't remember a show without Denise Prosek as musical director (Dennis Curley takes the baton here).  And if I hadn't known it, I would never have guessed it was anyone other than Peter and Denise pulling the strings (I think that's the biggest compliment I can give).  The set (by Michael Hoover) is really cool (and smells of new construction).  It consists of the outside of three side-by-site flats, elevated to allow room for the band below, with some scenes occurring on the floor in front.  The Lab Theater is such a great space.  Big and open, allowing for any number of diverse worlds to be created within it (I'll next be seeing The Moving Company's new work Werther and Lotte there).

This play was written almost 20 years ago, but is still timely with the recent rash of gay bullying, and the impending vote on the Minnesota Marriage Amendment.  Jamie and Ste's relationship is like any other young love - unsure, passionate, hesitant, sweet, and true.  Maybe I'm dense, but I just don't see how that could be a threat to anyone.  Theater Latte Da has allowed students and their parents to see this show for free, as a way to facilitate conversations and healing.  That is most definitely a beautiful thing.

Check out this video trailer for the show.  And then order your tickets here (playing now through March 18).

Beautiful Thing trailer from Theater Latte Da on Vimeo.



*I have been looking forward to Theater Latte Da's final show of the season, Spring Awakening, since their season was announced last summer.  I think it's one of the best new musicals of the last decade, and I'm really excited to see what Peter Rothstein and Co. do with it.  David Darrow (Ste) will make an excellent Melchior, opposite Cat Brindisi (who sang "Mama, Mama, Mama" so beautifully in Spelling Bee last year that I can easily imagine her singing "Mama Who Bore Me") as Wendla, with the very talented Tyler Michaels (aka Snoopy in You're a Good Man Charlie Brown) as my favorite character Moritz.  Definitely a show not to be missed.



Celebrity Sighting
I believe that was Reid Harmsen working in the lobby of the Lab Theater.  Reid has appeared at the Lab as Brad in The Rocky Horror Show, and as my favorite character Mark in RENT.  Update: it was indeed Reid; I saw him again a few weeks later and introduced myself.  He said he reads my blog all the time and was very sweet.  It was so nice to talk to him and I look forward to seeing him onstage sometime soon!

"Steerage Song" by Theater Latte Da at the Fitzgerald Theater

Steerage Song is a new concert/theater piece created by Theater Latte Da's Artistic Director Peter Rothstein and local pianist/accordionist extraordinaire Dan Chouinard.  I'm familiar with Peter through his work with Latte Da and many other theaters in town, and I was introduced to Dan by the late, great MPR Morning Show (the spirit of which lives on in MPR's Radio Heartland).  When I heard those two names attached to this piece, I knew it would be good, and I wasn't wrong.

Steerage Song is about the immigrant experience, focusing on immigration from Europe between 1840 and 1924 (when laws were passed significantly limiting immigration to this country).  The structure of the piece is similar to Latte Da's annual Christmas show All is Calm about the WWI Christmas Truce: a series of songs about the experience connected by historical text describing the events as well as the feelings of those involved.  Dan and Peter have collected over 40 songs relating to the immigrant experience.  The songs come from 20 countries and are sung in 18 languages.  They're arranged into six parts, covering the decision to leave home, through arrival in Ellis Island, to making a new life in the Lower East Side (next time you visit NYC, make sure to visit Ellis Island as well as the Tenement Museum to see how immigrants lived 100+ years ago).  The first half of the show features mostly mournful songs of leaving (I was particularly moved by the Irish "Emigrant's Letter").  As Dan said in the post-show discussion, it's slim pickings trying to find happy songs about leaving your home forever.  ;)  The second half of the show focuses on one of the most famous musician immigrants of this time - songwriter Irving Berlin (aka Israel Beilin from Russia).

In addition to assembling interesting, funny, touching songs, Dan and Peter have also assembled a talented group of singers and musicians.  The 11 singer/actors include several who have appeared on this blog before: Sasha Andreev, Erin Capello, Dennis Curley, and Natalie Nowytski (click on the tags at the bottom of this post to find out where).  All of the singer/actors were wonderful in their own way, singing and speaking in accented English or foreign languages.  I was particularly impressed by the two young boys Braxton Baker and Jake Ingbar, who held their own with all the "professionals."  The four talented musicians were led by Dan Chouinard (on piano, accordion, and tuba!) and included the great fiddle/mandolin player and composer Peter Ostroushko (another frequent guest on the Morning Show).  All of this adds up to a wonderful evening of music!

As a collector of playbills/programs (you may have noticed that every post on this blog includes a scan of the playbill), I have to note that the program for Steerage Song is itself is a work of art.  It looks like an old photo album.  The text is printed in old fashioned font against a background of sepia-toned photographs of immigrants.  It's really quite beautiful.  The show also featured projections of these photographs onto the brick wall at the back of the stage at the Fitz, as well as text describing the songs being sung or quotes being spoken.

Even though this is a period piece, the themes are quite relevant today.  The struggles facing immigrants and the reaction of those observing and legislating immigration are similar to what they were 150 years ago.  Perhaps remembering our own immigrant history (except for those of Native American descent, all Americans are descended from immigrants) will inspire us to be a have a little more compassion for those immigrating today.

"Twin Cities Theatre Artists Support Japan" at the Ordway McKnight Theatre

The Ordway took their fun and colorful production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on tour to Tokyo, Japan earlier this year, and a few days after their arrival, the earthquake hit.  The experience obviously affected the cast and crew greatly, which inspired them to pull together much of the top musical theater talent in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area (including many of my favorites) to perform in a benefit concert at the Ordway's McKnight Theatre last night.  It was a wonderful evening of music and entertainment that raised money for the Red Cross.  (And it almost made up for the Guthrie not doing their annual Cabaret show this year.)

The evening began with Joseph castmember Brian Kim singing "Something's Coming" from West Side Story.  Next, local actor Linda Kelsey gave us a few sobering facts about the earthquake and its continuing repercussions, and introduced the evening's hosts, Kimberly Wells and Kristine Kvanli from ShopNBC.  The singers were accompanied by four talented pianists: Mindy Eschedor, Denise Prosek (Music Director of Theater Latte Da), Gregory Theisen, and George Maurer (more about him later).

Back to the performances.  Dennis Curley from local theater company Table Salt Productions sang a very funny song about a dinner party that got a little out of control, "I Should Have Said No."  Jennifer Eckes sang about her love of bald men in "I Want Them."  The next performance featured a delightful dance number by Brian Sostek and Megan McClellan of Sossy Mechanics, preceeded by a cute little voice from the audience crying, "Mommy!  Daddy!"

Local director Austene Van introduced her performance by saying that she usually stays behind the scenes, but was recently encouraged to share her voice with an audience.  It became clear a few seconds into the performance that she was joking, as she sang in a very over-exaggerated style with a very dramatic dancer behind her.  Very funny.

The next singer, however, was no joke.  I recently saw Melissa Hart in Frank Theatre's fabulous production of Cabaret.  A Broadway veteran, she was also involved in the original Broadway production of Cabaret.  She sang "Make Someone Happy," and her years of experience shone through in the way she emoted through the performance and sang to the audience.  Lucky for us, she now calls the Twin Cities home.

Joel Liestman was part of the Joseph cast and one of the people behind getting this event together.  He performed a comic ode to his lawn.  Next, Michael Gruber and one of my favorite Chanhassan regulars Tony Vierling performed "Moses Supposes" from Singing in the Rain (which Tony starred in a few years ago at the Chan).  In addition to some tongue-twisting lyrics, the performance included some pretty impressive tap-dancing.

The penultimate performance of the first act was by another one of my favorites, Bradley Greenwald.  He was brilliant as the emcee in Frank Theatre's Cabaret, among many other performances.  He sang the opening number from The Music Man, you know, the one that sounds like a train and includes the line "but he doesn't know the territory!"  It's super fast and contains a ton of lyrics, and was masterfully performed (although I'm glad I wasn't sitting in the front row at that point ;).  I'm pretty sure there's nothing Bradley can't do.

The first act ended with the always thrilling Mu Daiko.  A Japanese drumming group that's part of Mu Performing Arts, their presence seemed appropriate to the theme of the evening and was an entertaining and rousing combination of percussion and choreography.

The second act began with a performance of "Any Dream Will Do" by the cast of Joseph.  Another one of my favorites, from Theater Latte Da, the Chanhassan, and other theaters, Randy Schmeling, sang the lead (I also happened to be sitting next to Randy's biggest fan - his mom).  Connie Kunkle joined him, as did much of the cast, including a few children.

Ann Michels, who's been in too many amazing shows to mention, sang a beautiful song called "Christmas Lullaby."  She was accompanied on the piano by George Maurer, with whom she frequently performs as part of the George Maurer Jazz Group.  George later performed an original solo piece called "Purple Muppets," which combined classic rock, TV theme songs, and classical piano pieces.  In a very funny intro to this song, he said he wrote it as therapy for his "pianist's envy."  I have a few of his CDs but have never seen him live; I'm thinking now I need to make sure that happens soon.

James Rocco proved that he's not just the man behind the scenes as the Artistic Director of the Ordway when he sang a fast, jazzy song called "Cloudburst."  Connie Kunkle came back to center stage to sing "I've Got No Strings."

I just adore Jim Lichtscheidl; he never fails to crack me up.  He's currently appearing as Captain Bluntschli in Arms and the Man at the Guthrie, but he's recently made a name for himself by playing multiple characters in one piece.  He's brilliant at differentiating the characters through the tone of his voice and the carriage of his body.  Now I know he can do it in dance too!  He performed a hilarious dance/comedy routine in which his partner dropped out at the last minute, leaving him a "Dear Jim" letter which he sheepishly read on stage.  He then proceeded to do both parts of the dance, holding a dress on a hanger in front of him when he was doing the female part.  Brilliantly entertaining, as usual.

I had just seen Regina Marie Williams the day before in Ten Thousand Things' delightful Man of La Mancha, in which she plays the prostitute Aldonza, aka the lady Dulcinea.  She's wonderful in that role, and last night sang a beautiful, jazzy rendition of "Come Rain or Come Shine."  Erin Schwab followed that with a wacky performance of "Somebody to Love" (because nothing puts you in the mood to give like a hootenanny Queen song).  She had the audience help her out with the chorus, which I was able to do because I knew the song from Glee (my window into the world of popular music).  In addition to being very funny, she has a killer voice too.

The next performance featured my favorite local actor, Dieter Bierbrauer, in a performance from his recent Off-Broadway show Power Balladz.  His co-star from the 2009 Lab Theater version of the 80s jukebox musical, Randy Schmeling, joined him for "Wanted, Dead or Alive" (one of the few 80s songs I know despite never being featured on Glee).  They gave a very hammy, sincere performance of the song with dramatic poses and facial expressions.  But they both have outstanding voices individually that blend together beautifully, so even though they were playing it for laughs, it sounded gorgeous and rich.

The final individual performance of the night was given by Tokyo native Momoko Tanno.  It was very moving to hear her talk about her home and family, and then sing a Japanese song which translated to "My Country Home."  It made the recent tragedy seem a little more real.

Finally, all of the performers joined Jen Burleigh-Bentz and Jake Endres singing "You'll Never Walk Alone."  It was just thrilling to hear all of those amazing voices blend together in this inspirational song.  Which brings me to the business portion of the evening.  The Japanese people need our help.  If you're like me and you've been meaning to make a contribution to the Red Cross, but just haven't gotten around to it, maybe this will serve as a good reminder, as it did for me.  If so, you can go to the Red Cross website and click on "Donate Now" in the upper right-hand corner.  You can then check "Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami" if that's where you want your donation to go.

Thanks to all of the artists and behind-the-scenes people who donated their time to bring this wonderful evening to reality and raise money for a good cause.  I only wish more people had been there to see it!