"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!

"A Servant's Christmas" at History Theatre

For longtime History Theatre Artistic Director Ron Peluso's final show, he chose an old favorite - A Servant's Christmas. It premiered in 1980 and ran for over a dozen years. Early in his 27-year reign Ron had the idea to turn this stalwart play into a musical, and hired composer/ lyricist Drew Jansen to work with playwright John Fenn to add music to this story of servants in a grand house on Summit Avenue around the turn of the last century. The result is a lovely musical about a found family and the atypical way they celebrate the holiday* season, which can include many different traditions. The cast is chock full of fantastic singers, who also bring out all of the emotions of this story of love and longing. See A Servant's Christmas at the History Theatre in downtown St. Paul through December 18.

"2 Sugars, Room for Cream" at the Jerome Hill Theater

Coffee - it's the elixir of life, the glue that holds our society together. OK maybe that's overstating it a bit, but there's no question that coffee plays an important part in our work and social lives. Many important life events include the drinking of coffee - funerals, weddings, reunions, first meetings. How would we get through the work day without a coffee break? Such is the premise of the delightful sketch comedy show 2 Sugars, Room for Cream. In a series of short scenes, some of which are related, writers and performers Shanan Custer and Carolyn Pool explore the nature of life and relationships through encounters over coffee. The result is a funny, poignant, real, engaging, and completely delightful show. In fact, it's so delightful that it keeps returning after starting as a Fringe show several years ago. And Ivey voters agree - the show recently won an Ivey Award for last year's incarnation at Hennepin Theatre Trust's New Century Theatre. Even though I saw that production, I couldn't resist the chance to see it again (and yes, I am going to plagiarize myself).

Shanan and Carolyn are quite charismatic and funny together, with great chemistry whether they're playing sisters, friends who haven't seen each other in twenty years, or people who have just met. They create different characters just by putting on a different sweater or jacket (what Stacy and Clinton would call a "completer piece"). The show opens and closes with one of the two scenarios that are visited multiple times - two sisters at their Uncle Jimmy's funeral drinking bad church basement coffee. They discuss their family and their lives, as the celebration moves to one of the sisters' homes and the coffee makes way for 2 Gingers whiskey, and the next morning, more coffee is needed. The other scenario with multiple scenes is a high school reunion, where two women meet, with one of them clearly remembering their relationship while the other does not. Again, coffee turns into drinking in the car and flirting with former classmates, which turns into hanging out at an all-night Denny's. Other skits include a diner waitress and her needy customer, two new friends discussing how Twilight is damaging to young women (thank you!), a frazzled new mom crying about her baby's tiny head, a period piece set in the '40s, a college professor introducing her class, bosses and their assistants (separately) on a coffee break at work, and a woman recording a touching video for her unborn daughter about how she's going to raise her to be confident and proud of herself. Coffee-themed songs play during scene changes (many of which I know from this CD), and Carolyn and Shanan also sing a few original songs (written by Peter Moore and Drew Jansen).

Shanan and Carolyn are so natural on stage, and are obviously having such a great time, that the audience can't help but enjoy themselves as well. If you're looking for something to do this weekend post-turkey, check out the great deal on tickets at Goldstar and go see some original, creative, wonderfully entertaining and fulfilling theater at the Jerome Hill Theater in the gorgeous 180 East 5th Street building in downtown St. Paul.

Shanan Custer and Carolyn Pool

"2 Sugars, Room for Cream" at the New Century Theatre

Coffee. Ahhh, coffee. People who love coffee really love coffee. I count myself among them. There's just something about the aroma, the feel of the warm cup in your hand, the deep and dark taste of it, that's so satisfying. In many ways our culture is built around coffee shops. "Want to get coffee?" is a common way of getting together, whether it's getting to know a new friend or catching up with an old one. The two-woman show 2 Sugars, Room for Cream explores this idea in a series of short skits. It began as a Fringe Fest show a few years ago and has been expanded into a full-length show, currently running at the New Century Theatre (set up with cabaret tables for an informal coffee shop feel). It's funny, silly, poignant, and with such a wide range of stories that everyone is sure to find something to relate too.

The two women in question are Carolyn Pool and Shanan Custer, who co-wrote and co-star in the show (with direction by Peter Moore). Shanan was the hilarious host of this year's Ivey Awards, but the last time I saw Carolyn it was in a much darker show - the twisted family drama August: Osage County. Nevertheless, the two are quite charismatic and funny together, with a great chemistry whether they're playing sisters, friends who haven't seen each other in twenty years, or people who have just met. The show opens and closes with one of the two scenarios that are visited multiple times - two sisters at their Uncle Jimmy's funeral drinking bad church basement coffee. They discuss their family and their lives, as the celebration moves to one of the sisters' homes and the coffee makes way for 2 Gingers whiskey, and the next morning, more coffee is needed. The other scenario with multiple scenes is a high school reunion, where two women meet, with one of them clearly remembering their relationship while the other does not. Again, coffee turns into drinking in the car and flirting with former classmates, which turns into hanging out at an all-night Denny's. Other skits include two new friends discussing how Twilight is damaging to young women (thank you!), a frazzled new mom crying about her baby's tiny head, a period piece set in the '40s, a college professor introducing her class, bosses and their assistants (separately) on a coffee break at work, and a woman recording a touching video for her unborn daughter about how she's going to raise her to be confident and proud of herself. Carolyn and Shanan also sing a few songs for us in 1940s girl group style (original lyrics written by Shanan and Peter Moore, with music by Drew Jansen).

Shanan Custer and Carolyn Pool attend a reunion

2 Sugars, Room for Cream is a thoroughly entertaining evening featuring two talented writers and performers. Together they create dozens of different characters, just by changing their sweater and shoes (some of them quite fabulous) over basic black dresses. Grab a cup of coffee and a friend or two, and head downtown to the New Century Theatre between now and November 11 (tip: half-price ticket deal on Goldstar.com). It's quite delightful (and it was the perfect antidote do the deliciously creepy Turn of the Screw I saw previously that day).