"Fruit Fly: The Musical" at Illusion Theater

Have you ever imagined your life as a musical? Lifelong BFFs Max and Sheena have done more than imagine it - they've written it! And since in addition to being best friends, Max Wojtanowicz and Sheena Janson are both super talented music-theater artists* (you may know Max from the Children's Theatre and Sheena from numerous production with Mu Performing Arts), the result is a musical that's not only fun and entertaining, but also brutally honest and from the heart. Fruit Fly: The Musical began as a hit Fringe show in 2012 and has had several workshops and readings since, and is now a full-fledged show at Illusion Theater. Each time I see it, it has a bit more depth, but always retains the beautiful, poignant, hilarious, endearing heart that is this real life friendship.

Max and Sheena have been friends for 20 years, which means they met when they were babies. Just a couple of musical-theater-loving kids in the St. Cloud area, singing and acting on stage and off. The story of their friendship plays out on stage and in song in a somewhat fictionalized way, paralleled with gross science facts about actual fruit flies, not the gay man/straight woman kind. We learn that Max hated Sheena when they first met (there's proof!), Sheena asked Max out (and was gently rebuffed) in high school, their moms thought they were perfect for each other, Max told Sheena he was gay before he told his family, the friendship went through growing pains in the post-college years when Sheena started spending time with her new boyfriend and Max got jealous. But these two just can't quit each other, and the real Max and Sheena's love and respect for each other, as well as their easy, natural, charming chemistry, shines through their characters.

Max and Sheena as Max and Sheena
(photo by Lauren B Photograpy)

Fruit Fly is very meta in a [title of show] sort of way. Max and Sheena are playing themselves but not exactly, portraying their story but not exactly, and it's hard to tell where the real people end and the characters begin. The whole play has a "we're putting on a show, how exciting!" sort of attitude, and at various points they break out of the show to comment on it. It gets pretty intense near the end as their true thoughts and feelings are laid bare, and it feels so real and raw there's a brief moment of "wait, this is scripted, right?"

The show includes 7 or 8 songs, mostly duets but with solos for both Sheena and Max, who both perform the songs with much heart and vocal talent. The fun, clever, fast lyrics** combine well with Michael Gruber's catchy tunes and interesting melodies to create a strong score that stands on its own (dare I hope for a cast recording?). Music director and piano accompanist Jill Dawe has a playful musical repartee with the cast, who are not miked (hooray!). The musical theater references abound in this show about two musical-theater-loving friends. The cast keeps a tally of Sondheim references on the onstage white board, which also adorably diagrams out the scenes and songs in the show.

The best kind of theater is theater that comes from a place of truth, as this show most definitely does. It takes courage to spill your deepest secrets and intimacies of a relationship on stage, but it makes for theater that's so rewarding for the audience, and, I imagine, the creators. Like the aforementioned [title of show], this new musical is a piece that could play on stages around the country with any two actors with the right chemistry. But of course Max and Sheena are the best and most honest Max and Sheena. If you're a fan of musical theater, you really must go see this show that's a love letter to good friends and musicals. Playing now through April 11 at Illusion Theater in downtown Minneapolis (be sure to check out the discount tickets on Goldstar).



*To see more of Max and Sheena's talent and adorableness, check out their monthly cabaret series Musical Mondays at Hell's Kitchen, in which they and their super talented friends sing songs around a different theme each month.
**Listen to Sheena and Max talk about the process of writing a musical about their life on Twin Cities Song Story and Twin Cities Hit Show.


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"Fruit Fly: The Musical" at Illusion Theater

One of my favorite shows at last year's Fringe Festival was Fruit Fly: The Musical, an original and auto-biographical musical about the lifelong friendship between a gay man and a straight woman, written by and starring real-life best friends Max Wojtanowicz and Sheena Janson (with music by Michael Gruber and direction by Nikki Swoboda). I found it to be funny, sweet, and refreshingly genuine. An updated version of the piece was presented last weekend as part of Illusion Theater's new works series called "Fresh Ink" (the series continues this weekend with playwright Jeffrey Hatcher's one-man Hamlet, starring himself). A few changes have been made - Theater Latte Da's Peter Rothstein came on board as a director (which always makes everything better), new scenes and songs have been added, and the part of Sheena Janson is now being played by Cat Brindisi. Despite the changes, it's just as fresh, funny, real, and poignant as I remember it. With clever lyrics, catchy tunes, and an honest and heartfelt story of friendship that everyone can relate to, I think the piece has much more life to it. In a way, casting someone else as one of the original creator/characters proves that the piece works on its own (and if I were casting someone to play me in a musical, I'd pick Cat too!). I see this as a [title of show] - a musical based on the creators' real lives, with the creators playing themselves (or perhaps more theatrical versions of themselves), but that still maintains all its wonderful qualities when other actors are cast as these characters.

fruit and fly: Max Wojtanowicz (as himself)
and Cat Brindisi (as Sheena Janson)

Max and Sheena (played by Cat, who smoothly steps in as if she'd been there all along) tell the story of their friendship, from their first meeting in the 5th grade, to the awkward high school years when Sheena's advances are rebuffed, to when Max finally tells Sheena (before his family) that he's gay, to Max's jealousy when Sheena starts spending more time with her boyfriend and less with him. It's incredibly honest and genuine as they reenact some of their most awkward, momentous, and poignant moments on stage for everyone to see. In song! And such great songs - really fast and clever lyrics, with great melodies and catchy hooks. There's the title song (a list song that recites many silly pairs of things), a duet by Max and Sheena's moms who think they're perfect for each other, my personal favorite, "Drinking on a Thursday" (any song that mentions Liz Lemon is a winner in my book), and half a dozen other songs, both solos and duets.

The Fringe version of Fruit Fly was presented in the round, with the main set piece being a round cubby-holed seat-belted table from which various props were pulled. The new version was staged more like a reading, with music stands added to the same table. But rather than ignore the music stands and pretend they're not there, the team cleverly incorporated them as props. Despite being a workshop of a new work, it ran very smoothly. I think it's perfectly delightful and endearing.

I fully expect to see another (even better) version of Fruit Fly: The Musical at some point in the future (and maybe even get the soundtrack to sing along to in my car). Until that time, there's a new Fringe musical by the Fruit Fly team, with the deliciously awkward title of Shelly Bachberg Presents: How Helen Keller and Anne Frank Freed the Slaves: The Musical, playing at the New Century Theatre the first week of August.

Fringe Festival 2012: Fruit Fly: The Musical

Day: 2

Show: 7

Title: Fruit Fly: The Musical

By: The Jansonowicz Players

Created by: Sheena Janson, Max Wojtanowicz, Michael Gruber, and Nikki Swoboda

Location: Rarig Arena

Summary: An original and auto-biographical musical about the lifelong friendship between a gay man and a straight woman. The show starts out in the present ("it's the opening night of our musical!"), and Max and Sheena reminisce about meeting as children and flashback to several important moments in their friendship. Through it all, they're always together, singing.

Highlights: My favorite Fringe show of my second day attending the festival is this adorable little musical (my favorite from Day One also featured Max Wojtanowicz, coincidence?). I've seen Max and Sheena separately in several shows over the last year or so (Sheena had just done her last show as the Baker's Wife in Into the Woods that very afternoon), and I very much enjoy both of them. So I was delighted to find out that they're friends in real life who have written a musical together about their friendship. And now I love them even more! Their performances are very natural and heart-felt; their love and respect for (and sometimes annoyance with) each other really shines through. It's a beautiful thing to tell the story of your life so openly and truly, and in song is even better! And the songs are really quite good, very catchy and fun with some great harmonies (music and additional lyrics by Michael Gruber). This is totally my kind of show, and if you also like sweet, funny, touching, and heart-warming musicals, this is one show you have to see.

Read more of my fringe fest reflections...