Broadway tour of "Kimberly Akimbo" at the Orpheum Theatre

Somehow I missed seeing the 2023 Tony-winning best musical Kimberly Akimbo on Broadway, so I'm thrilled that it finally made its way to Minneapolis for one short week. I went into the show knowing almost nothing about it (which is rare for me), other than it was about a teenage girl with a disease that caused her to age rapidly. As the show unfolded, every moment was a delightful surprise. This is not a big splashy huge-cast over-the-top kind of musical. It's a small intimate story that's told well, with complex, distinct, relatable characters, and music that perfectly expresses the emotions of the story. Truth be told, that's my favorite kind of musical. It's similar to a Next to Normal or Fun Home in scope, but much lighter in tone, although it does deal with some heavy themes as our Kimberly deals with turning 16, the average life expectancy of someone with her (unnamed) disease. But it's also really funny, sweet, and touching, with fun, catchy, singable songs. It's the kind of musical that will lend itself well to regional productions, and I look forward to that, but in the meantime, don't miss this opportunity to see this well-deserved Tony winner live and in person - through July 13 only!

"Fun Home" at Renegade Theater Company

The 2015 Tony winner* for best musical, Fun Home, has been available for regional productions for a few years, and I've been anxiously waiting to see which of our many amazing regional theaters in Minnesota would be the first to produce it. I never guessed it would be Renegade Theater Company in Duluth. But I should have, this intrepid company in Minnesota's favorite vacation spot is the perfect fit with their intimate performance space, interesting and risky choices, and the surprisingly deep music-theater talent pool in Duluth. Whether or not #TCTheater companies are prevented from getting the rights to Fun Home because Renegade is doing it, I don't know. I only know that, according to Artistic Director Mary Fox in the post-show talk back, Renegade has been interested in doing this piece since they heard about it, so they asked, and were granted the rights. And I'm so glad they did, and I'm so grateful I was able to drive up to Duluth to see it on their sold-out closing weekend, because Renegade has beautifully brought to life this new, modern, funny, moving, gorgeous musical in a powerful and intimate way.

"Fun Home" Broadway Tour at the Orpheum Theatre

The 2015 Tony winner for best musical, Fun Home, is on tour and is stopping at Minneapolis' Orpheum Theatre this week. I was lucky enough to see this funny and heart-wrenching modern musical on Broadway last fall with most of the original cast intact. And now we here in the Twin Cities are lucky to see it with a fantastic new cast (including Kate Shindle, Abby Corrigan, and Alessandra Baldacchino as the Alisons large to small, and Robert Petkoff and Susan Moniz as the parents) and a slightly modified set design and direction (it played in a much smaller in the round house on Broadway and has been adapted to fit a large proscenium theater like the Orpheum). If you're a fan of music-theater, I highly recommend you head to Minneapolis this cold and snowy weekend to see what the future of the art form looks like: an intimate, real, raw story about life, death, love, and loss told with a small cast and a smart and beautiful score. You can read all my thoughts about the musical here, and keep reading below for a conversation with my fellow bloggers Laura at Twin Cities Stages and Jules and Carol at Minnesota Theater Love.

"Shrek: The Musical" at Lyric Arts

"Fairy tales should really be updated." So sings Shrek in the 2008 musical adaptation of the smash hit 2001 movie. And that's exactly what the creators of the movie and the musical (playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, who also wrote Rabbit Hole, Good People, and Fuddy Meers, and composer Jeanine Tesori, who is also responsible for one of my favorite musicals Violet, opening soon at Yellow Tree Theatre) have done. Lyric Arts' joyful and colorful new production is my third go-round with Shrek: The Musical, for which I have much affection despite it being a blockbuster movie adaptation. The musical retains and builds on the funny, clever, irreverent tone of the movie, adding a diverse collection of songs. This updated fairy tale for the modern age is well done by Lyric Arts with a fantastic cast, bright and colorful set and costume design, and a joyfully irreverent spirit.

"Fun Home" at Circle in the Square on Broadway

The new original musical Fun Home made history this year as the first musical created by a team of women (music by Jeanine Tesori, book and lyrics by Lisa Kron) to win the Tony. It's about time, right? But that's not a reason to go see it. Well, it's not the only reason. The reason to see Fun Home is that it's a tragic and funny true story beautifully told through music and cleverly constructed as a memory play, with multiple timepoints intermingling to create a whole and complete picture of a life. That life is Alison Bechdel, cartoonist and author, upon whose autobiographical graphic novel the musical is based. This story that is part coming of age, part family drama, part self-discovery, part coming to terms with the past, feels so real, raw, and intimate. The day after seeing Hamilton and thinking "look what we can do" at the grand scale of it all, Fun Home made me think "look what we can do" on the other end of the spectrum. That is, tell a small, intimate, specific yet universal story through music and theater.

As the story unfolds, we watch a present-day Alison writing her novel, a memoir of her life. Her memories come alive in front of her as she observes, comments, and sometimes interacts with them. She sees her child self, growing up in a seemingly happy family in the '70s with an actress mother and a teacher/funeral home director father. But something is off that young Alison can't quite grasp, and current Alison struggles to understand as she writes her book. Alison also sees her college age self realizing she's gay and coming out to her parents, only to find out that her father, too, is gay, living in the closet and causing complications and heartaches for his family (and himself) through all of the secrets and lies. This is not a happy-go-lucky kind of musical, but one that has moments of humor and moments of grief, sometimes inseparable, like life.

Watching this musical is almost like reading the graphic novel upon which it is based (which I just ordered), as present-day Alison paints a picture of her life for the audience - all the good, bad, and ugly of growing up in a loving yet complicated family. As they say, the more specific something is, the more universal it is. And this story, which is specifically Alison's, is universal in its themes of belonging, growing up, trying to figure out who you are, changing relationships with parents, and remembering the past and accepting it while not letting it define you. In the latter point Fun Home reminds me one of Jeanine Tesori's other musicals, Violet (one of my favorites) - an intimate and personal story of a woman coming to terms with her past and her complicated relationship with her father, told beautifully and poignantly with a small cast and orchestra.

the cast of Fun Home

Six or so months after opening, the original cast is mostly intact, except that the child understudy Gabriella Pizzolo (one of those kids that was born for the stage) has taken over as young Alison. She fits right in with this wonderfully cohesive cast that brings this story to life in such a very real way, especially the three actors playing Alison at various ages - Beth Malone, Emily Skeggs, and Gabriella, like three phases of a single life experience. Playing Alison's father earned Michael Cerveris won a Tony Award, and it's obvious why he won for his performance of this complicated and conflicted man as he alternately infuriates and engenders empathy. The rest of the nine-person cast are all wonderful in their roles, adult and child alike.

The in-the-round staging of Circle in the Square is perfect for this show as the scenes transition quickly and seamlessly across distance and decades, set pieces gracefully sliding on and off stage or disappearing into the floor. Director Sam Gold utilizes the space well. The one-level arena-like seating means that even if you're sitting in the back row, as I was, you feel like you're watching this story from within. As a band geek, I enjoyed watching the wonderful six-person on-stage band (with the percussionist seemingly backstage somewhere), under the direction of Chris Fenwick. And any child of the '70s will recognize and love/hate the bellbottoms and turtleneck sweaters (scenic and costume design by David Zinn).

The best theater is that which comes from a place of truth, and this story is painfully, beautifully true. Thank you Alison for sharing your story with us, and Jeanine and Lisa for bringing it to life in the way that speaks most clearly to me - musical theater. (Order tickets here, or get them at the TKTS booth like I did.)


Read more of my Broadway reviews here.

"Violet" at North Hennepin Community College

I was given a tip that I should check out the theater department at North Hennepin Community College, a group I didn't even know about it despite working at an office just a few blocks away from their Brooklyn Park campus for five years. When I heard that their current production was the lovely and moving musical Violet, I was in! I fell in love with this piece when I saw Theater Latte Da's simply beautiful production five years ago. This is one of those productions that stands out very clearly in my memory, despite the fact that it was before I started blogging (I started Cherry and Spoon a few months later, and included Violet in my favorites list at the end of the year). This Jeanine Tesori/Brian Crawley musical premiered Off-Broadway in 1997 and just last year made it to Broadway starring Sutton Foster and Joshua Henry, with just a few changes*. I was lucky enough to see that production, coincidentally exactly one year ago. While there are a few bumps in the NHCC production, I enjoyed it very much, and the bottom line is it brought out all the feelings in me that this gorgeous score and poignant story always does.

Based on a short story, Violet is about a young woman on a journey across the South in 1964, from her home in the mountains of North Carolina to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she hopes that a TV preacher can heal the scar she received in a childhood accident. Growing up with this disfiguring facial scar has made Violet tough and independent, and she's not afraid to look people in the eye and tell them what she thinks, even if they're unable to return her gaze. She befriends several people on the long bus trip, including a couple of soldiers named Monty and Flick. While journeying to what she hopes is a new beginning, she remembers her past journeys, and we see flashbacks of the young Violet. The two realities merge when Violet meets the preacher, doesn't find what she hoped she would, and is forced to face her past on her own. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, she has to go an epic journey to learn that she had the power all along to heal herself.**

Jeanine Tesori's score combines sounds of the South and the '60s - gospel, bluegrass, country-western, Memphis, and Appalachian mountain music - sounds that I happen to love. The eight-piece onstage band, directed by Michael McDeid, sounds great, and the 11-person cast really shines in the beautiful harmonies of the group numbers. But the star of the show is Jenny Reierson as Violet, who brings out every emotion of Violet's journey with her lovely voice and natural onstage presence. I fully expect to see her on local stages after she graduates from NHCC. Other highlights in the cast include the charming 13-year-old Grace Annabella Anderson as young Violet; Zarah Nesser, who brings humor and poignancy to the role of the "old lady" on the bus; and Josh Groban look-alike John Naumann as Violet's tough and tender father.

Moral of the story - check out what's going on at the theater department of your local college. This is the training ground for our rich theater community, and you might just see some stars in the making. Just the fact that director Mike Ricci chose the little-known gem Violet, rather than yet another production of Guys and Dolls or Oklahoma, shows me that NHCC is taking risks and challenging themselves, which I applaud.


*You can read my thoughts about the changes from the Off-Broadway to Broadway versions (which is the version that NHCC is doing), including the one ill-advised song swap, here.
**This paragraph is borrowed from my review of the Broadway production of Violet last year.

"Shrek: The Musical" at Children's Theatre Company

I don't go to the Children's Theatre often, but when I do I always have a great time watching the show as well as watching the children in the audience watch the show. For a seasoned (one might say obsessive) theater-goer like me, it's a different dynamic when there are so many little ones in the audience. They're so present and vocal about their reactions, whether it's joy or surprise or laughter. Such is the case with Shrek: The Musical. This is a blockbuster-movie-turned-musical done well, with book and lyrics by playwright David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole, Good People, Fuddy Meers) and music by composer Jeanine Tesori (who also wrote one of my favorite musicals Violet, now playing on Broadway). I liked it more than I expected to when I saw it on tour a few years ago. For this local production, the Children's Theatre Company has put together a dream team that includes the Theater Latte Da trio of director Peter Rothstein, music director Denise Prosek, and choreographer Michael Matthew Ferrell, as well as a top-notch cast of adults and children. Shrek is a funny and heart-warming story that turns the traditional fairy tale on its head - "true love" is not only for pretty and proper princesses and their handsome knights, but can be just as strong and beautiful between two crass and flatulent ogres. True beauty is simply being yourself.

After being kicked out by his parents at age 7, as is the ogre way, Shrek is living a solo life on his swamp, telling himself he's happy away from the "Big, Bright, Beautiful World." The swamp is soon invaded by a bunch of fairy tale characters, from Pinocchio to the Big Bad Wolf, who were banished from the city of Duloc by the evil Lord Farquaad. Shrek heads to Duloc to try to remedy the situation, and picks up Donkey along the way, his new best friend and a constant source of annoyance. The vertically challenged Farquaad takes the opportunity to send Shrek on a task that he's unwilling to do himself - rescue Princess Fiona from her tower so that he can marry her and become King. Fiona has been waiting all her life for a knight to rescue her, just like in the fairy tales. She's somewhat disappointed when her rescuer is an ogre, but is reassured when they tell her they're taking her to a Lord in a castle. Along the way something unexpected happens - Shrek and Fiona realize they have a lot in common, from their unhappy childhoods (leading to the charming song "I Think I Got You Beat") to their talent in making bodily noises. But secrets, miscommunication, and expectations lead Fiona to go through with the wedding, until Shrek comes to stop it by telling her the truth about his feelings for her and the man she's about to marry. And these two crazy ogres and their wonderfully freakish friends live happily ever after.

Fiona and Shrek (Autumn Ness and Reed Sigmund)

This fantastic cast is led by Reed Sigmund as Shrek and Autumn Ness as Fiona, both so funny and full of life, with great chemistry (not surprising since they're married in real life). Ansa Akyea is gleefully charming as Donkey, and Adam Qualls is deliciously evil as Lord Farquaad. One of my favorite characters in this piece is the dragon, who becomes a sympathetic character through the powerful voice of Lauren Davis as she laments that no one has ever come to rescue her, raised high on some magnificent contraption with huge flowing wings. Which brings me to the other star of this show - the costumes by Rich Hamson (who is also responsible for the delightful under-the-sea world at the Chanhassen). The costumes are ridiculous in a good way - bright and colorful and fantastical, and there are a lot of them. I could not get over the fast and frequent costume changes by the ensemble members; for example, Rachel Weber goes from a villager to a Little Pig to a tap-dancing Duloc guard to part of the dragon to a blind mouse to ogre Fiona and back again. These many crazy costumes and the warm green world with set pieces and flowers rising from holes in the floor are a feast for the eyes (set design by Kate Sutton-Johnson).

Shrek: The Musical is great good fun for cast and audience, adults and children. Check it out before it closes on June 15.

"Violet" by the Roundabout Theatre Company at American Airlines Theatre on Broadway

I fell in love with the musical Violet four years ago after seeing Theater Latte Da's beautiful production in the Guthrie Studio. Produced on a sparse stage with a small cast and three-piece band, I found it to be so beautiful, raw, poignant, and relatable, that I went back and saw it again. It's one of my most listened to soundtracks, and is definitely in my list of top ten, maybe even top five, musicals (a list which I have yet to officially compile). So I was beyond thrilled to year that Violet would be having its Broadway premiere (after premiering Off-Broadway in 1997) during my annual trip to NYC, with an official opening on April 20. Since apparently the world, or at least the tourists cramming into Times Square,  has yet to discover the wonder that is Violet, it was easy to get good seats at TKTS for the Saturday matinee. Despite the differences from the last production I saw - more elaborate set, larger band and cast, and a new song, it's still that same beautiful piece of original music-theater that so moves me.

Based on a short story, Violet is about a young woman on a journey across the South in 1964, from her home in the mountains of North Carolina to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she hopes that a TV preacher can heal the scar she received in a childhood accident. Growing up with this disfiguring facial scar has made Violet tough and independent, and she's not afraid to look people in the eye and tell them what she thinks, even if they're unable to return her gaze. She befriends several people on the long bus trip, including a couple of soldiers named Monty and Flick. While journeying to what she hopes is a new beginning, she remembers her past journeys, and we see flashbacks of the young Violet. The two realities merge when Violet meets the preacher, doesn't find what she hoped she would, and is forced to face her past on her own. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, she has to go an epic journey to learn that she had the power all along to heal herself.

The strong cast is led by Sutton Foster as Violet, with a voice perfectly suited to this bluegrass/country/folk score and the combination of vulnerability and strength that Violet needs. Also strong are Colin Donnell and one of my Broadway faves Joshua Henry (he appeared in Scottsboro Boys at the Guthrie) as her suitors Monty and Flick. Emerson Steele is wonderful as the young Violet, mirroring Sutton's portrayal of the adult Violet but with her own spirit. Standouts in the ensemble include Ben Davis as the preacher and several other characters, and Broadway vet Annie Golden, stealing scenes as an old lady on the bus and a hotel hooker.

The score, written by Jeanine Tesori with lyrics by Brian Crawley, is a combination of Appalachian mountain music, country, folk, Memphis, and gospel, played by the onstage band that includes fiddle, banjo, and steel guitar. Which happens to be my favorite kind of music - another reason I love this piece. The songlist is exactly the same as the Off-Broadway version, with one exception: Monty's song "You're Different," in which Monty explains what he likes about Violet - that she's different from other girls, has been replaced with a new song called "Last Time I Came to Memphis," which is basically an ode to one-night stands. I neither understand nor approve of this choice, but fortunately all of my other favorites are still there - the country ballad "Who'll Be the One," the fun poker song "Luck of the Draw," the lovely "Lay Down Your Head," Flick's anthem "Let It Sing," and the most poignant moment in the show, adult Violet's confrontation with her father, "That's What I Could Do."

What I love most about Violet is that it's such a universal story. Everyone has a scar or a wound from their past that they need to heal. A repeated theme in the music is "look at me," which is what Violet most wants (and what everyone wants) - someone to look at her, see the real her, and love her for it. This is such a rich piece, dealing with issues of race, gender, celebrity worship, focus on appearance, forgiveness, family. It's so wonderful to see an original musical on Broadway (this is a great season for original musicals after a bit of a dearth), I hope it's successful and I know it will receive many Tony nominations this spring.

"Shrek: The Musical" at the Orpheum

I'm not a fan of the current trend on Broadway of turning movies into musicals, so Shrek was never high on my list of shows to see.  But it's part of this year's Broadway touring season at the Orpheum, which also included several shows that I did want to see (Rock of Ages, Billy Elliot, and the upcoming HAIR and West Side Story).  I bought the season package, and didn't have very high expectations about Shrek.  So of course I was pleasantly surprised, as is usually the case.  This little movie-musical has pretty good theater credentials with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire (Pulitzer Prize winner for his play Rabbit Hole, which he recently adapted into a movie starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart) and music by Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Caroline or Change, and one of my favorite shows of 2010, Violet).  I found it to be charming and clever at times with some great songs and a fabulous cast.  It's a lot of fun, doesn't take itself too seriously, and has a great message for the many kids in the audience.

I'm sure everyone is familiar with the plot: ogre meets girl, ogre loses girl, ogre wins girl who really is an ogre herself, with many mishaps and much silliness along the way.  Eric Petersen is somewhere inside the Shrek costume and make-up and has a big strong voice and a charming presence.  But the star of Shrek in my opinion is Princess Fiona (Haven Burton).  She's not your typical fairy tale princess - crass and impatient and opinionated.  And that's why I like her.  Haven has a beautiful voice and natural presence on stage, especially in the charming "Morning Person" and "I Know It's Today," which she sings with two younger versions of herself.  Fiona and Shrek's chemistry is especially evident in the song "I Think I Got You Beat," in which they compare their difficult childhoods (kicked out of the house, locked in a tower).  Alan Mingo, Jr. has a really amazing and effortless voice coming out of a silly donkey's body, and David F.M. Vaughn gives an impressive performance on his knees as the vertically challenged Lord Farquaad.  It's actually quite fascinating to watch the choreography as he dances on his knees, short little fake legs hanging in front and a flowing cape to cover his real legs.  Another bit of choreography I enjoyed was that the misfit fairy tale characters, lead by Pinocchio (Blakely Slaybaugh).  Not only does he speak and sing in a high falsetto, a feat in itself, but the choreography really makes him look like a puppet.  When Pinocchio leads the fairy tale misfits in "Let Your Freak Flag Fly," it's impossible not to smile and cheer them on.  But I think my favorite character was the dragon who's guarding Fiona's tower; a large puppet manipulated by four ensemble members and gorgeously voiced by Carrie Compere.  In the song "Forever," she laments that everyone comes to save the princess and considers her just an obstacle in their way.  No one wants her.  She kills all of the knights except four, whom she keeps locked up as her backup singers.  Again, really interesting and beautiful choreography in the way the dragon puppet really comes to life and has a personality all her own.

I'm still stumped by how they do the Fiona transformation at the end - from human to ogre.  I was sure they had brought in another actress in full ogre make-up, but no one else came out at the curtain call.  I don't recall Fiona being offstage; I don't know how they got her in that get-up so fast!  Theater magic, I guess.  The show ends in the same way the movie does - with all of the characters (including an impossibly cute gingerbread man) singing the Monkees' "I'm A Believer."  Shrek is one of those shows that leaves you dancing and singing as you go out into the cold Minnesota night.

Shrek is a fairy tale for modern times; one where Prince Charming doesn't always show up to rescue the Princess.  And sometimes when he does, he's on ogre or a really short jerk.  And "beautiful isn't always pretty."  I guess if you're going to turn a blockbuster movie into a musical, that's not such a bad one to pick.