"Footloose" at Artistry

Artistry is opening their 2019-2020 season with the musical adaptation of the hit 1984 movie Footloose. I've seen it once before, at the Chanhassen pre-blog, which means I remember nothing about it. As a musical it's pretty weak, but there is still plenty to enjoy about it, including the talented young cast. The other musicals in Artistry's season (in addition to the classic play Our Town) are ones I'm more excited about - the rarely done A New Brain and Mame, and the regional premiere of The Bridges of Madison County (which, despite being a movie/book adaptation, features a flawlessly stunning score by Jason Robert Brown). In the meantime, you can enjoy some fun '80s tunes in Bloomington this summer.

Fringe Festival: "A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant"

Day: 4

Show: 11

Title: A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pagean

Category: Musical theater

By: The Catalysts

Written by: Alex Timbers and Kyle Jarrow

Location: New Century Theatre

Summary: Seven precocious children tell the story of L. Ron Hubbard and how he founded the Church of Scientology, in pageant form.

Highlights: These kids are so stinkin' cute, with their expressive faces and adorably awkward dance moves, playing adults and reciting long technical speeches while still remaining childlike. And I learned much about the origins and beliefs of Scientology, which is fascinating and terrifying. An angel narrator (an appealing Jillian Jacobson, a rising star) tells us of L. Ron's (a confident and charismatic Ethan Davenport) rise from humble birth, to science fiction novelist and Hollywood screenwriter, to WWII soldier, to founder of a new "science" he called Dianetics and a Church to promote its methods, to a defendant on trial with celebrities as witnesses (watch for the littlest cast member as John Travolta). The show is adorable and funny, and more than a little scary. Like Book of Mormon it exposes the truth about a religion in a satirical musical way, but unlike Book of Mormon it did not leave me with a warm and fuzzy feeling about faith. Go see the cutest and most talented kids in the Fringe (and kudos to director Whitney Rhodes for corralling this raw young talent into a cohesive show) .