2026 Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona

Last weekend I went on my favorite Minnesota theater vacay - Great River Shakespeare Festival in lovely riverside Winona! But my 8th visit to Minnesota's only Shakespeare festival is even more exciting this year. It's the first time I've attended opening weekend, and it's not just any opening weekend, it's the opening of their new space in the historic Masonic Temple, known as The ARC. After a couple of decades of performing in Winona State University's theater, they now have their own space with everything and everyone under one roof - office space, design and costume shop, rehearsal space, and the theater itself. My fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (Minnesota Theater Love and The Stages of Minnesota) and I were thrilled to celebrate this milestone with them, and of course enjoy some great Shakespeare that is, as always at GRSF, clear, accessible, playful, inventive, and engaging. The festival continues through July 27, with performances Wednesdays through Sundays, typically with two shows on Fridays and Saturdays, so it's possible to drive down for the day (a lovely two-hour drive along the river) and see both shows. Or stay one night, or two, or extend your stay to enjoy the many recreational offerings in Winona (a fantastic art museum, incredible hiking in the river bluffs, great restaurants, cute shops). My favorite place to stay is Carriage House B&B, just down the street from The ARC and within walking distance of downtown. Or if you're looking for a luxury boutique hotel experience, check out the brand new Hotel 44 North right on the river. GRSF is a special place, and this is an exciting time for them as they embark on a new chapter in a new home that they can tailor to meet the needs of the company and the community, which includes both local residents and everyone who attends a show or event at GRSF.

2025 Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona

It's summer, and that means it's time for my favorite theater vacay in Minnesota - Great River Shakespeare Festival in lovely riverside Winona. For over 20 years, GRSF has been producing excellent theater, primarily but not exclusively Shakespeare, within a festival that includes community engagement events, making it all feel like a fun, welcoming, theater camp. With two shows performing in rep with an acting company of nine, you could make the two-hour drive down along the river and see both shows in one day (Friday or Saturday), or stay in Winona one night and get back home to continue your weekend, or stay several nights and enjoy all of the nature and activities that are to be found in Winona. This was my 7th year attending the festival and it was once again a fun, relaxing, engaging weekend. Now in the post-season pre-Fringe lull in #TCTheater is a great time to get out of town, enjoy summer in Minnesota, and experience theater in the festival setting! Shows continue for two more week/ends, so make your plans now!

2024 Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona

Last weekend was my favorite Minnesota theater vacay of the year - the Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona. I first attended the festival in 2018 with some of my Twin Cities Theater Blogger friends, and have been back every year since (not counting 2020 - the year that doesn't count), with those same friends, or different friends, or sometimes by myself. This is a smallest festival since I've been attending - only two shows with a company of nine actors, compared to twice that size pre-pan, but what's not smaller is the quality of the theater, the thought and care put into it by the entire team, and the community feeling of being at the festival. Two shows is better than none, and it makes it even easier to see everything in a short weekend trip. Or extend the trip by a few days and enjoy the lovely city of Winona, about a two-hour drive from the Twin Cities, with its ample opportunities for hiking, water sports, museums, shopping, restaurants, and other activities. The festival continues through July 28, so make your plans now for a quintessential Minnesota theater vacation!

2023 Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona

I just returned from a whirlwind 28 hours in Winona attending the Great River Shakespeare Festival (GRSF) for the 5th time. It's become a summer tradition for me and some of my fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), and one that I hope will never end. Seeing multiple plays in rep performed by a company of talented actors from around the country in one weekend, in a location away from your home and daily life, allows for a unique and immersive theater experience, and one that's unique in the state of Minnesota. Winona is such a lovely town with plenty of other activities that we vowed to stay longer next year so we could enjoy the many restaurants and shops (which are often closed on Sunday), outdoor activities, museums, and more. GRSF is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and for more on the history, present, and future of the festival listen to the 4th episode of TCTB's new podcast "Twin Cities Theater Chat," in which we interview Artistic Director Doug Scholz-Carlson and Co-Associate Artistic Director Melissa Maxwell (available here or wherever you listen to podcasts). GRSF runs through the end of July, so you still have time to plan a mini-vacay and enjoy all that the festival, and the city of Winona, has to offer.

2022 Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona

For the first time in three long years, Great River Shakespeare Festival is back inside the DuFresne Performing Arts Center on the Winona State University Campus. After their 2020 season was cancelled due the pandemic, they produced a wonderful and entirely outdoor festival in 2021 in a lovely space right on the river. But this feels like a return to festivals of old, complete with other events like discussions, ice cream socials, and pre-show entertainment. I never went to theater camp (although I did go to band camp), but GRSF feels like what theater camp might be like - an immersive theater experience with other theater nerds, plus fun summer activities. It continues for three more weekends and is just an easy and gorgeous two-hour drive from the Twin Cities, with lots to do in Winona including shopping, eating and drinking, arts and culture, and various outdoor activities. You can find all of the relevant information and purchase tickets on their website.

2021 Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona

A true sign that our performing arts are back and stronger than ever, Great River Shakespeare Festival returns for its 17th season this summer, after taking a hiatus in 2020. It's a bit of an abbreviated festival this year, with only three shows instead of the usual four, all performed outdoors*, and no in-person additional events, conversations, or presentations. But it's still such a hopeful indicator that normal life is returning. I saw all three shows on a rare Minnesota July weekend that saw high temps only in the '70s, and it could not have been better. In a way, doing Shakespeare outdoors on the banks of the Great River is what this festival always should have been (although I don't think anyone will complain about a return to climate-controlled bug-free theater next year). And as we've seen so many theater companies do in the last 16 months or so, GRSF has taken the limitations presented to them in this situation and creatively used them to better the work. Perhaps even more so this year than ever before, a weekend vacation to beautiful riverside Winona (just a two-hour drive from the Twin Cities) to see some great theater is a wonderful idea for a getaway**.

2019 Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona

Last weekend I attended the Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona for the second year in a row. I had such a great time with my fellow bloggers from Minnesota Theater Love and Twin Cities Stages last year that we decided to go again this year. If you're looking for a fun Minnesota theater vacation, GRSF is it. Winona is a charming river town that's just a two-hour drive from the Twin Cities, with lots of hotels, restaurants, shops, outdoor activities, and an impressive art museum. And for those of us who love theater, there's truly nothing better that getting away from daily obligations to immerse yourself in theater for a few days. Especially when the theater is so well done, so thoughtful, so inclusive, and so engaging, like it is at GRSF. I don't recall another theater experience where the Managing (Aaron Young) and Artistic (Doug Scholz-Carlson) Directors of the theater can be seen mingling with the audience before, during, and after every performance, and where there are so many opportunities to interact with the artists through various programs and events. It really feels like a fun, festive, community event celebrating theater (mostly but not exclusively written by the Bard). Ticket prices are quite reasonable, with four-show passes ranging from $85 to $140 ($21 to $35 per show). The festival runs through August 4, so you still have time to visit this year. See the GRSF website for all the details, and check out VisitWinona.com for all of the other activities available (if you can tear yourself away from the theater).

Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona

Last weekend I took a road trip to Winona with my fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers, Laura from Twin Cities Stages and Julie and Carol from Minnesota Theater Love. It was my first visit to the Great River Shakespeare Festival, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary season this year. I had a great experience, and it will definitely not be my last trip to Winona. Not only is the theater entertaining, engaging, relevant, and well done, but the festival is well organized and provides many other opportunities for entertainment and engagement throughout the charming river town of Winona. A theater festival is a pretty unique experience in the state of Minnesota, one I didn't even realize I was missing. GRSF runs through August 5 so there's still time for a road trip theater vacation this summer. What's better than that?!

"Pirates of Penzance" at Park Square Theatre

Park Square Theatre's new production of the Gilbert and Sullivan classic comic operetta The Pirates of Penzance, re-imagined by director Doug Scholz-Carlson, music director Denise Prosek, and this dreamy nine-person cast, is indeed a divine emollient. But it's not just pure escapist silliness. G&S, in addition to writing hilariously clever and gorgeously melodic pieces, also included more than a little social and political commentary in their work. Amidst all the humor and fun lies some insightful questioning of the society and politics of Victorian England. So it is entirely appropriate, then, that this 2018 production has been updated to include some current social and political commentary, and some of the dated concepts of the piece have been modernized. The result is a supremely entertaining musical that's refreshingly modern, while still respectful of the source, and even providing some historical context around the 1879 NYC premiere. I've been in love with The Pirates of Penzance since first seeing it at the Guthrie 14 years ago, then discovering the glorious Kevin Kline-ness of the early '80s Broadway production and movie. I've now found whole new ways to love it.

"The Liar" at Park Square Theatre

Playwright David Ives' adaptation of the 17th Century French farce The Liar, now playing at Park Square Theater, is a like a Shakespearean mistaken identity comedy (two women are mistaken for each other, and there are twins) mixed with a bit of Jane Austen (it's all about who marries whom and what they can offer), told with a sort of Spamalot wackiness, but instead of music there is rhyme. Sure the plot is sort of sexist (a man woos a woman he barely knows, then quickly switches to another woman he barely knows, and the women only care about getting married), but that blow is somewhat softened by the casting of a woman in as the most offending man, the titular liar. And the silly plot is just a frame upon which to hang the clever and beautiful pentameters and the hilarious performances by this fantastic eight-person cast.

"The Snow Queen" at Park Square Theatre

Inside Park Square Theatre on 7th Place in lovely downtown St. Paul, magic is happening. It's the magic of storytelling, something that has been happening for ages on this planet. Friends sitting around a campfire, telling stories of good and evil, trials, and friendship, with words, music, dance, puppets, tears, and laughter. This musical adaptation of the Hans Christian Anderson story The Snow Queen is something truly unique and special. It's so charming, whimsical, funny, creative, and yes, magical. But with a creative team that includes Doug Scholz-Carlson (director), Denise Prosek (music director), and Jim Lichtsheidl (choreographer), I would expect nothing less. They have assembled a terrific eight-person cast of actor/singer/ musicians (half of whom are new to me) to bring this charming fairy tale to life in an innovative and inspired way.

"Ordinary Days" at Nautilus Music-Theater

Warning: this is one of those gushing posts. I apologize in advance.

The new musical Ordinary Days is everything I want musical theater to be - original, authentic, relevant, moving, and compelling. In these days when the trend of movies-turned-into-musicals is getting out of control, Ordinary Days gives me hope for the future of musical theater. As long as up-and-coming musical theater composers like Adam Gwon continue to write and get their work produced (on Broadway, off-Broadway, regional theater, in a garage, wherever), and theater companies like Nautilus Music-Theater continue to seek out and foster new work such as this, I think we'll be OK.

Ordinary Days, which premiered off-Broadway in 2009, is "two love stories in 21 parts." With virtually no spoken dialogue, four very real characters and their lives and relationships are introduced through song. We get to know and love these characters as they express themselves to us and each other with music. Jason (Doug Sholz-Carlson) is moving in with his girlfriend Claire (Kersten Rodau), but something is holding her back from letting him in. Aspiring artist Warren (Max Wojtanowicz) and frustrated grad student Deb (Jill Anna Ponasik) have a "meet cute" moment, but not in the way you expect. We watch these two relationships change and grow and intersect through a series of vignettes about "ordinary days" - getting coffee, going to a museum, moving boxes. The fifth character is New York City, the greatest city in the world. The characters walk down Broadway, visit the Met, ride in a taxi or on a train, view the city from their balcony. If it sounds simple, it is, but it's also beautiful and profound, funny and touching, amusing and heart-breaking.

I don't have the words to describe how much I love the score. The songs are conversational and get right to the heart of the sentiment, even when the words describe coffee or the rain or wine. I was surprised that I recognized one of the songs, "Favorite Places." I remember loving the song when Randy Schmeling sang it at Latte Da in the Park a few years ago; it's a really beautiful and unique love song. The first thing I did when I got home from today's matinee is look to see if a cast recording exists, which it happily does (available on iTunes). I'm sure I'll be listening to it obsessively for the next few weeks.

Nautilus is producing this piece in their new space, which is just downstairs from their old space in St. Paul's artsy Lowertown neighborhood. I love listening to music in small intimate spaces (just 40 seats) with no amplification, nothing between the audience and the voices, especially when the voices are as good as these four! Kersten has an incredibly powerful voice that effortlessly fills up the space, but can also pull it back and make me cry in the tender moments. Max is one of those actors I'd watch in anything because he makes everything better with his commitment and his believability in the moment. Doug sounds beautiful on my now favorite song and is so convincing as Jason, who only wants Claire to love him as much as he loves her. Jill is perfect as the woman with the perfect plan for a life she doesn't want. And the four of them together, accompanied by musical director Mindy Eschedor on piano, create a beautiful sound in that space.

Director Ben Krywosz describes it best in the note in the playbill, "Ordinary Days dances elegantly between two extremes: the desire we all have to 'only connect,' and the possibility that we might find the sacred in the secular, discovering there is magic in the mundane." This piece is anything but mundane, but there is much magic in it. It's one of those shows that fills me up and stays with me as I leave the theater, and hopefully, for days to come. If you want to see what the future of musical theater looks like, go see Ordinary Days. Fortunately there are 11 remaining performances over the next two weekends, I hope each one of them sells out (and at just $25 a ticket, it's much cheaper than Wicked).

"Johnny Baseball" at Park Square Theatre

New original musical theater is my favorite thing in the world (and something that's in short supply in these days of jukebox musicals and movie adaptations). Baseball is another one of my favorite things, so combining these two things makes me a happy baseball/theater fan. Johnny Baseball is a new musical by brothers Robert and Willie Reale (music and lyrics, respectively, who were in attendance opening night) and Richard Dresser (book). It premiered at American Repertory Theatre in Boston in 2010 and has gone through a few workshops before it's current incarnation at Park Square Theatre. While it's not the perfect musical (yet), it has some really great songs and scenes, and has the potential to be a great and successful musical. I'm not certain it could every play on Broadway; this love song to the Boston Red Sox might not be well received in Yankee territory. (On the other hand, we all know Broadway is for tourists, so it might be OK!) But the current version is highly enjoyable for baseball and musical theater fans alike, with a fantastic cast and clever and interesting staging, direction, and choreography.

Johnny Baseball mixes fact and fiction. The fact is that the Red Sox went 86 years without a World Series win. While the real reasons for that are complicated and varied (and in my opinion can mostly be attributed to the fact that baseball is a funny game, and sometimes things just don't go your way), one popular theory is that the Red Sox were cursed because they sold their star player, Babe Ruth, to the Yankees in 1920, beginning a streak of Yankee dominance in World Series (that I as a Twins fan find frustrating and unfair, but don't get me started about the Damn Yankees!). Johnny Baseball proposes an alternate theory to the so-called "Curse of the Bambino." While this theory is just as preposterous, it works well as the conceit of the show (except for the fact that this curse happened in 1948, which doesn't explain the first 30 years). We begin with modern-day Red Sox fans agonizing over a game (specifically, game 4 of the 2004 ALCS), when an old man in a Yankees hat begins to tell a story. We then flash back to the 1918 Red Sox season, when a fictional rookie pitcher named Johnny O'Brien joins real life star Babe Ruth. Johnny meets and falls in love with "colored girl" singer Daisy, and things don't go well for them, as to be expected in 1918. We continue on through history to Babe's death in 1948 and later, as Johnny and Daisy (and, presumably, the entire Red Sox nation) experience the consequences of their relationship. It's really a tragic story of love lost and talent wasted, but the tone of the show is mostly hopeful and happy.

Red Sox fans agonize over Game 4

The show is incredibly well-cast, down to every last member of the ensemble (way too many to mention here, but a few standouts include Sarah Gibson, who looks and sounds so perfect in these period roles, like the ones she's played with Skylark Opera, and Max Wojtanowicz, always charismatic and a joy to watch). In fact, I found the ensemble numbers to be the strongest moments in the show - really fun and clever songs celebrating the joy and heartache of being a baseball fan. The leads are up to the task as well. I've seen Timotha Lanae playing supporting characters in various things around town, so it's nice to see her in the spotlight here as the strong-willed blues singer Daisy, and she takes to it very well. Josh Campbell is sweet and sincere as the naive young rookie who becomes known as Johnny Baseball, and nicely transforms into a more jaded and lived-in version of the character in the second act, 30 years later. Timotha and Josh's voices blend beautifully on such numbers as the sweet "I Thought About You." Zach Curtis is a scene stealer as the confident and lascivious Babe, and again later as powerful and eccentric Red Sox owner Yawkey. Also of note is Rudolph Searles III, who has a lovely voice as Tim, a pivotal character in the "curse."

Johnny throws a pitch as the ladies watch

In addition to the cast, the staging, direction, and choreography are all also top-notch. The set (by the always excellent set designer Michael Hoover) consists of red wooden wheeled platforms of varying heights that are moved around to represent bleachers, a bed, or a pitcher's mound. Big screens adorn the stage that display historical photos or images that serve as set backdrops. The actors move around this world with ease, and the choreography is so ingrained into the story that I'm not sure where the direction (by Doug Scholz-Carlson) ends and the choreography (by Jim Lichtsheidl) begins. This is not the typical musical theater choreography, with bold and precise big dance numbers, but is something more loose and organic, whether it's drunken men swaying and singing (the hilariously entertaining "Brotherhood of Bastards") or fans suffering and celebrating through a ball game. I didn't know Jim was a choreographer, but he's long been one of my favorite actors because of the specific and thoughtful physicality he brings to every one of his performances, so it really shouldn't be surprising that he's transferred that physical way of inhabiting a character to this cast. Along with the choreography, the representation of baseball itself is interesting and innovative. The pitcher throws into the audience, while the catcher receives the pitch on the other side of the stage from the audience, just one of several delightful representations of the movement of the ball. And the period costumes (MaryBeth Gagner) are gorgeous.

Everything about the baseball part of this show is fantastic and spot-on, from the opening number "Eight-Six Years" (we're going on 22 years without a championship here in Minnesota so I feel the pain!), to the love/hate relationship with a handsome opposing player in "Not Rivera," to the desperate pleas of baseball fans in "One More Run" (both feelings to which I can relate), to the beautiful and poetic ode to the magic of baseball in Johnny's song "All I Have to Do." "See You in the Big Leagues" is a fun and catchy song, and Daisy's nightclub number "Color Me Blue" is wonderfully bluesy. However, the non-baseball parts of the show could perhaps benefit from a little more development. The lackluster love song "Mr. Moon" is a little too "Somewhere Out There" (Timotha and Josh deserve a better song), and while the staging of the love song "God Wouldn't Mind" is cute, the words are less cute than creepy. I also didn't love the penultimate number "Errors" (Sondheim did it better in "No One Is Alone"/"Children Will Listen"). But with a few more tweaks the creators could have a really successful show on their hands, wherever they take it next. I'm thrilled to have gotten the chance to experience this new work.

Most of all, this show speaks directly to my baseball-loving heart and makes me anxious for the end of the long off-season. Only 29 days until the first Twins Spring Training game! Until then, head to downtown St. Paul between now and Feb. 10 to experience the joy, frustration, and community that comes with the love of the game. (Or head over to the good old HHH Metrodome this weekend for TwinsFest 2013 to meet some of the players before they head down to Fort Myers, as well as great players from Twins baseball history, like Tony O, Rod Carew, and one of my personal faves from the glory days of the late 80s, Frankie V). Let's play ball!

"Hamlet" at the Jungle Theater

I have a season pass to the Jungle Theater this year for the first time.  And I have to admit, when I saw Hamlet on the list of shows, I wasn't overly excited as I've seen it a few times.  But I've never seen Hamlet like this.  It's a truly inventive production that manages to make it feel current without changing any of the language or meaning of the piece. 

From the moment you walk into the intimate theater space at the Jungle, you know you're in for a truly unique Shakespeare experience.  Modern rock music is playing, and images and words are flashing across the screens onstage.  The action opens, not on a castle rooftop, but in the basement surveillance room, with a bored security guard flashing through security camera images of the floors of the castle.  It's through these cameras that the king's ghost is seen.  Hamlet's friend Horatio and one of the guards hop in the elevator to confront him while the other guard watches, as the action seamlessly moves from the stage to the pre-taped video.  It's an ingenious idea and flawlessly executed.  The use of images and videos appears in various parts of the play, as Hamlet scrolls through photos on his cell phone and the images are projected on screen, and later, as the queen watches the action of a party on a TV screen.  Yes, this is a modern-day Hamlet.  In addition to cell phones and TVs, characters also use laptops and iPads.  The costumes are modern, ranging from classic and refined (as in the queen's gorgeous wardrobe), to a more youthful and edgy look on Hamlet and his young friends.  The set (designed by Bain Boehlke, who also directed) is brilliant.  In addition to all of the audio-visual devices, it consists of huge columns that are moved around the stage to represent different areas of the castle.  The settings are as varied as a busy airport bar, the dark basement of the castle, and an airy breakfast room.  In between scenes, as the set is being changed, the time and setting of the scene are flashed on the screen, guiding the audience through the action.  This may sound like a lot of stuff going on that could distract from the story, but I found that it really enhanced it and drew me in.

I've seen Hugh Kennedy in a number of productions at the Guthrie and I've always liked him.  He's a very natural actor and has great charisma and stage presence.  But I've never seen him in a lead role like this (although I'm not sure there is another lead role like Hamlet).  His Hamlet is real and raw, tortured and crazy, lost and vulnerable.  You can feel his pain at the loss of his father and the changes it's brought to his life.  The words sound so natural coming out of Hugh's mouth, and Shakespearean language does not always sound natural.  He really made this play come alive for me.  I sometimes have difficulty concentrating on three plus hours of Shakespeare, but Hugh's performance, along with the inventive set design and contemporary setting, made it easy.

Bradley Greenwald (one of my favorite actors from the musical theater world) is deliciously smarmy and evil as Claudius, Hamlet's uncle and his father's murderer.  His voice is melodious even when merely speaking.  Michelle Barber is regal as Hamlet's newly widowed, newly wed mother Gertrude, who aches for her son and can't understand why he isn't as happy as she is with the new way of things.  The scene near the end of the play in which Hamlet visits Gertrude's room is particularly poignant and heartbreaking.  It's so nice to see Michelle outside of the Chanhassen (where she's a regular) and see what else she can do.  Gary Briggle (who was so wonderful in my favorite Fringe show this year, Twisted Apples) is also excellent as the King's councillor Polonius, and Erin Mae Johnson is a sufficiently crazy Ophelia.  I was happy to see Doug Scholz-Carlson from one of my favorite original musical theater pieces this year, Heaven.  He plays Ophelia's brother and Polonius' son, and has a wonderful fight/death scene at the end.

Hamlet is playing into October.  If you like your Shakespeare contemporary, real, and a little bit shook up, but still true to the original, you should check it out.  I probably don't need to warn anyone that it's not a short play; with three acts and two intermissions, it's well over the three hour mark.  I wouldn't recommend hanging out at a campfire until the wee hours of the morning a few nights before you see it (although the dollar Dunn Brothers coffee in the lobby helps).  Make sure you're well rested, fed, and watered.  You'll want to be alert for this one.

"Heaven" by the Flying Foot Forum at the Guthrie Theater

It was a last minute decision to see Heaven yesterday.  I had heard about this dance/music/theater piece about an American photographer in the Bosnian war and was intrigued.  So when I found myself with a free Sunday afternoon, I decided to do what I most love to do on a Sunday afternoon - see a matinee.  It turned out to be one of the best decisions I've made recently; I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to see this amazing, intense, beautiful show!

Heaven is a production by the dance company Flying Foot Forum, directed by Artistic Director Joe Chvala (pronounced koala, as the lovely woman sitting next to me who knew Joe as a child told me).  They specialize in a style of dance called "percussive dance," and while the dancing is definitely an integral part of the storytelling, I wasn't expecting Heaven to be as much of a classic musical theater piece as it is.  The music (written by Chan Poling) is of various styles, ranging from traditional music of Eastern Europe, to a classic musical theater love song.  I found the score to be inventive, original, moving, and memorable; if there were a soundtrack available, I would buy it!

But let me start at the beginning.  The Guthrie website warned audience members to be in their seats 15 minutes before the show started for the "pre-show entertainment."  The stage is set up as a cafe, and while the wonderful band (directed by Jake Endres and featuring the amazing vocals of Natalie Nowytski) plays traditional music, people start filtering into the cafe, greeting each other, talking, laughing, dancing.  It feels like a welcoming neighborhood sort of place; I wish this place were real and I were a part of it.  Then the dancing starts to get more aggressive, and like in the school dance scene in West Side Story, dancing turns into fighting turns into dancing again.  The proprietor of the establishment (played by Joe Chvala) breaks up the fight, and welcomes the audience to "Cafe Heaven," where "all are welcome."  But be careful, because the sentiment "all are welcome" also applies to "Cafe Hell" across the street.  And as the story unfolds, it becomes clear just how short a journey it is from one place to the other.

The protagonist of the story is Peter Adamson, an American photographer (played by the wonderful Doug Scholz-Carlson, who is so good I'm surprise I haven't seen him in anything before).  Peter is in Bosnia to serve as a witness to the atrocities of war, hoping he can somehow change the world.  After three years he's become jaded and convinced that no one can do anything to help.  A few days before shipping out, he meets a man named Faruk and agrees to go on one last mission to help him find his wife.  The experiences he has on the journey and the people he meets prove to be life-changing, in more ways than one.  He gets the one shot that lands him the front page of the New York Times, that might possibly bring awareness and an end to the senseless killing.  But he's conflicted about his success because he knows that there's much more behind the photograph.  In the end, he finds he can't leave this place and its people behind.

This is mostly an ensemble piece, and what a talented ensemble!  Most of the actors play multiple roles from soldiers to citizens and everything in between.  Joe Chvala and Sherwin Resurreccion serve as narrators and guides through much of the action, and display the percussive dance style to great effect.  The lovely-voiced Laurel Armstrong (whom I recently saw in Into the Woods at the Bloomington Civic Theatre, which Joe Chvala also directed) plays Lejla, a woman that Peter meets along the way (the afore-mentioned love song).  Eric Webster is the hardened and bitter soldier Faruk who wants nothing more than to live a life in peace, reunited with his wife.  All of the dancers are amazing, expressing the frustration and pain and hopefulness of the people through their dance.  It's quite impressive what that many dancers can do in such a small space as the Dowling Studio!

Another interesting feature of this piece is the use of images.  Often when Peter takes a photograph, that photograph is projected onto the backdrop of the set, giving the audience a chance to see the world through Peter's lens.

This is the kind of musical I wish were prevalent on Broadway today, instead of umpteen movie and TV show adaptations and jukebox musicals.  Original musical theater that uses music and movement to tell an interesting, relevant, meaningful, entertaining story, and to help us make sense of the world we live in.  That's what musical theater can, and should, do.  And when that happens, there's nothing better.