"Skeleton Crew" at the Guthrie Theater

Just before the pandemic, Yellow Tree Theatre partnered with New Dawn Theatre to produce the regional premiere of Dominique Morisseau's Skeleton Crew, the final installment in her trilogy of plays known as The Detriot Project (which includes Detroit '67, produced by Penumbra in 2015). Since then, the play premiered on Broadway, receiving three Tony nominations and one win (for Phylicia Rashad). Now it's back in the Twin Cities, on the Guthrie's proscenium stage, with the same director as the Yellow Tree/New Dawn production (Austene Van, founding Artistic Director of New Dawn, who has since become the Artistic Director of Yellow Tree), as well as some of the same cast and design team. It's basically the 2020 production on a bigger stage and with a bigger scale. And this is a play deserving of a second look, and of a wider audience, as it tells a very human and relatable story of blue collar workers struggling to stay afloat during the recession of the late aughts. See this powerful and moving play, that's also funny and entertaining, now through June 9.

"Chicago" Broadway tour at the Orpheum Theatre

I have to admit, when I saw Chicago on the 2017-2018 Hennepin Theatre Trust tour schedule, I was not excited. It's made the rounds many times in the last 20 years, and I'd rather see something new (like The Band's Visit, please!). But as the date rolled around, I realized I hadn't seen Chicago in six years. And since the 1996 revival is currently the second longest running musical on Broadway, it's not likely to be released for regional productions anytime soon, so the tour is my only chance to see it. I went to opening night, and I loved every minute of it. It's been a long time since I've even listed to the score, so I forgot what an all-around brilliant show this is. The clever and jazzy score by the genius team of John Kander and Fred Ebb, Bob Fosse's iconic and positively thrilling choreography (reinterpreted by Ann Reinking for the 1996 revival, in which she also played Roxie), the ever more timely book (by Ebb and Fosse) that shines a harsh light on our culture's obsession with violence and celebrity, the incorporation of the 14-person onstage band into the story, and the seemingly endless supply of gorgeous and talented actor/dancer/singers who can not just inhabit these now familiar characters, but make them their own. If it's been a while since you, too, have seen Chicago, or you have (gasp!) never seen it, now (meaning this week only) is the time. Chicago never gets old.