Showing posts with label Jen Caprio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jen Caprio. Show all posts

Friday, June 27, 2025

"Cabaret" at the Guthrie Theater

"What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play. Life is a cabaret, old chum, come to the cabaret!" Truer words have never been sung, and they have never been more true than now. With our world getting weirder and scarier every day, who doesn't need to "leave their troubles outside" every now and then? But Kander and Ebb's brilliant musical Cabaret is a subversive little thing. It lures you in with fun and sexy songs and dances, and then slowly, ever so slowly, it reminds you that it's not so easy to forget your troubles. They're still there, even when we're not thinking about them, and maybe they've even gotten worse when we weren't looking, when we were dancing. This musical cautionary tale about the rise of fascism in 1930s Germany, which the Guthrie had originally scheduled for the summer of 2020 before a global pandemic shuttered all theaters, has never felt more relevant than it does right now in the summer of 2025. The Guthrie's stunning new production of Cabaret is perfectly marvelous and utterly devastating, and it's the #TCTheater event of the summer. Do not miss it! The Kit Kat Klub remains open for business (until it tragically shuts its doors every night) through August 24.

Thursday, February 29, 2024

"Clue" on tour at the Orpheum Theatre

A newish 90-minute non-musical stage adaptation of the cult classic 1985 movie Clue is going on tour, and it's premiering right here in Minneapolis! I'm not a particular fan of this movie, in fact I watched it for the first time just last week (#research). I found the movie to be quite delightful, and the play even more so. First of all, I love a 90-minute show at the Orpheum Theatre, when you don't have to sit through a 20-minute intermission (or worse yet stand in line for the bathroom for 20 minutes), or stay up past 11pm (#morningperson). Secondly, it's a really fun mystery with lots of wordplay, clever nods to the popular board game, and hilarious physical comedy. The 90 minutes are jam-packed with laughs, the mystery part taking a back seat to the entertainment factor. If you're looking for a different kind of tour that's non-musical, short and sweet, and a fun time, check out the premiere of Clue through March 3 only, after which it will embark on a tour across the country.

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

"West Side Story" at the Guthrie Theater

I grew up watching West Side Story. I've seen the movie dozens of times, listened to the music hundreds of times, and seen it on stage a handful of times (including the Ordway's gorgeous production last year). But I've never seen a West Side Story like the one currently on stage at the big blue building on the river. The Guthrie's West Side Story, directed by Artistic Director Joseph Haj and featuring new original choreography Maija Garcia (both children of immigrants), feels like it was made for today's world. A toppled over Lady Liberty dominates the set, and the musical's themes of institutionalized racism, prejudice towards immigrants, senseless violence, and hate born out of fear have never felt so relevant. It's still that timeless story of star-crossed lovers,* set to Leonard Bernstein's familiar, beloved, and gorgeous score, but with a cast that looks, moves, and feels like America today, for better or worse.