"I Am Betty" at History Theatre

Last year History Theatre premiered a new musical that inspired me to write: "I am Betty. You are Betty. We're all Betty!" Apparently I was not the only audience member so affected; they've brought the show back for a month-long remount, with most of the original cast and creative team reassembled (hence much of this post is borrowed from my previous review). I Am Betty tells the story of American women in the 20th Century through the lens of Betty Crocker, as playwright Cristina Luzarraga noted in a talkback I attended last year. As you may or may not know, Betty Crocker was not a real person; she was a fictional persona created for marketing purposes by the Washburn-Crosby Company (later General Mills). But many women worked behind the scenes to make Betty, and the company, successful. This musical tells their stories, and through them, the history of women in America. Written and directed by women, the show features nine incredibly talented female performers playing all of the facets of Betty for a really fun, informative, and inspiring show. See it at the History Theatre in downtown St. Paul now through December 29.

"I Am Betty" at the History Theatre

I am Betty. You are Betty. We're all Betty! History Theatre's new original musical I Am Betty tells the story of American women in the 20th Century through the lens of Betty Crocker, as playwright Cristina Luzarraga noted in a talkback I attended. As you may or may not know, Betty Crocker was not a real person; she was a fictional persona created for marketing purposes by the Washburn-Crosby Company (later General Mills). But many women worked behind the scenes to make Betty, and the company, successful. This musical tells their stories, and through them, the history of women in America. Written and directed by women, the show features nine incredibly talented female performers playing all of the facets of Betty for a really fun, informative, and inspiring show. See it at the History Theatre in downtown St. Paul now through December 23, and enter here to win two tickets from the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers!

"Musical Mondays" at LUSH, March 2023

Great news, my musical theater loving friends: Musical Mondays is back at LUSH Lounge and Theater in Northeast Minneapolis! After a nearly three-year pandemic-induced hiatus, this fabulous monthly showcase of #TCTheater talent returned in December of 2022. I finally was able to attend this past Monday, the 83rd Musical Mondays since BFFs Max Wojtanowicz and Sheena Janson started it some ten years ago, and the 18th I've attended. It felt so great to be back in LUSH's spacious event space (remodeled a year or two prior to the pandemic) in a room full of music, love, and friendship. There's a real atmosphere of fun and camaraderie at these events, amongst the cast and the crowd (a great place to spot local "celebrities"). But of course, the focus is the music, and it's spectacular. Every casting director in town should attend these shows to find some new talent, especially the next one, on April 10, that will feature "fresh faces" (new to MM and/or to #TCTheater). And if you're just a music-theater lover like me, it's a great place to go hear some showtunes, both familiar and new, fantastically performed by our local talent.

"Holidate" at Yellow Tree Theatre

Yellow Tree Theatre is doing something a little different this holiday* season. From the beginning, Yellow Tree has produced an original holiday Minnesota comedy written by co-founder Jessica Peterson, both in the popular Miracle on Christmas Lake series and other stand-alone plays. Taking a break from that this year, they're producing another original holiday show, this one written by new Artistic Director Austene Van for Park Square Theatre in 2011. There may be fewer Minnesota references and goofy characters, but it's still a festive, fun, and heart-warming show. Plus, there's music, lots of great music! So make yourself a Holidate with Yellow Tree Theatre in charming downtown Osseo this year (continuing through December 30).

"The California Songbook: Unplugged" at Lakeshore Players Theatre

During his 13-year tenure as Artistic Director of the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, James Rocco created the "Broadway Songbook" series, with over a dozen edutainment cabarets combining fantastic performances by local talent with musical theater history, focused on different composers, eras, or topics. After James left the Ordway in 2017, they started the "Ordway Cabaret" series under Kelli Foster Warder, that was a more personal look at how various facets of Broadway inspired local performers. Now that Kelli has left the Ordway for other roles (see her brilliant Jelly's Last Jam at Theater Latte Da), it remains to be seen what the Ordway will do next. But the good news is that James Rocco's "Broadway Songbook" is back, retitled "The Songbook Experience." After omicron forced the cancellation of a January Songbook focused on the late great Stephen Sondheim (a show which will hopefully return later this year), they're finally on the Lakeshore Players Theatre stage with The California Songbook: Unplugged, not exactly Broadway, but still great music history edutainment. There's one final show this afternoon with a few seats remaining.

"Puttin' on the Ritz" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

After 611 long dark days, Theater Latte Da is finally back performing again in their Northeast Minneapolis home, the Ritz Theater. They opened their 24th season last weekend with a special cabaret concert for subscribers (and me!) and it was such a joyous celebration. I've missed Theater Latte Da's brand of music-theater so much, and am thrilled that they're finally back. The first official show of the season is a remount of their gorgeous annual holiday show All is Calm (seen on PBS stations around the country last year), to be followed by La Boheme in January, nearly two years after the production was shut down after just a few preview performances. Next spring we'll see the area premiere of the 1992 multiple Tony-nominated musical Jelly's Last Jam, and the season will conclude with the world premiere of a new musical adaptation of the classic play Twelve Angry Men, which Latte Da has been developing for several years. Click here for info on their season and to purchase season tickets, or individual tickets for the first two shows, and read on for highlights of last weekend's Puttin' on the Ritz.

"Jennifer Grimm Sings Judy Garland" at The Belvedere at Crooners Supper Club

My third show at Crooners Supper Club's new tented outdoor venue The Belvedere (after attending opening weekend with Jamecia Bennett in April, and seeing my favorite local band Storyhill a few weeks ago) was "Jennifer Grimm Sings Judy Garland." I've seen Jennifer in a number of theater productions around town, but I hadn't yet had the pleasure of watching an entire show of her. She's a natural entertainer with a uniquely gorgeous voice, and put on a really fun night of music. This was the premiere of her Judy Garland show, and she's doing it again at Crooners on July 23, and a Christmas version at Plymouth Playhouse this holiday season, so be on the lookout for more #JennySingsJudy.

Ghostlight Series: "Heroic Acts of Music" streaming from Theater Latte Da

The third installment of Theater Latte Da's fantastic virtual cabaret series called "The Ghostlight Series" is now available! The five-part series began with the powerful and moving Twelve Blocks From Where I Live, Regina Marie Williams's response to the murder of George Floyd in photos and song. Next was Re-Cast, which gave some of our favorites the chance to sing a song from a role they would never be cast in. And now we have Heroic Acts of Music, honoring 20th Century musicians (and others) who used music for protest or support in difficult and dangerous times. All three shows are available to watch now and as many times as you want through August with the purchase of a season pass. These gorgeously filmed and edited 30-minute shows with fantastic performances from some of #TCTheater's best are worth every penny, helping to bridge the gap until we can gather in person again to share stories and music (hopefully very soon!).

"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at Artistry

When I heard Artistry was opening their 2017-2018 season with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, I thought, "Why?" Why are they doing this frequently produced show now, and why do I need to see it again when I've seen it so many times (the Chanhassen alone did it seven times in three years, or was it the other way around?). But I did go, and I'm thrilled that I did because this is a Joseph and a Joseph unlike any I've ever seen before. The familiar score and story are seen through a new and different lens. Direction, choreography, staging, set, costumes, music, casting, and performance all contribute to the most inventive production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat I've ever seen. It's pretty far out, and if you're an Andrew Lloyd Webber traditionalist, you may not be pleased. But I dug it. Read on to find out why I did, and why you might too.

"Million Dollar Quartet" at Old Log Theatre

Carl Perkins, "the king of rockabilly." Jerry Lee Lewis, "rock and roll's first great wild man." Johnny Cash, "one of the best-selling musicians of all time." Elvis Presley, simply "the king." In 1956, these four men were in their 20s and at the early stages of their influential and prolific careers. They came together for one night at Sun Records in Memphis for a jam session, which was recorded and released as the Million Dollar Quartet. So of course, this story had to be made into a musical. Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux did just that; the musical Million Dollar Quartet opened on Broadway in 2010. It only ran for a year, but found success on tour and regionally, as such crowd-pleasing jukebox musicals do. Despite a fairly thin book, it's a great show, precisely because we all know and love these songs and these singers. Even if we weren't alive in 1956, these four artists and their music are an integral part of our musical heritage. The Old Log Theatre recently opened a long run of the show with a fantastic cast that's definitely worth the drive out to charming lake town of Excelsior in the Western Metro.

"Brand New Day" at Mixed Blood Theatre

"Can't you feel a brand new day?" Unfortunately on the gun violence front, we're not there yet. But with organizations like Protect Minnesota, hopefully we will one day see a brand new day free from gun violence. Last night Protect MN celebrated 25 years of good work in the prevention of gun violence with a night of music and theater. This is my third time attending Protect MN's annual event produced and directed by local theater artist Joshua Campbell. And once again it was a great evening of inspiring music and sobering readings of how gun violence affects all of us. Read on to find out more about last night's celebration, or visit Protect Minnesota's website to see how you can help.

"SAFE: A Benefit to End Gun Violence" at the Capri Theater

Gun violence is unfortunately never far from our consciousness. Gun deaths occur daily, and mass shootings like the recent killing of nine people in a church in Charleston seem to be happening with greater frequency in this country. I'm not one to get political on this theater blog, but it's clear that we have a problem, and it cannot be solved until both "sides" let go of their firmly held beliefs and meet in the middle to come up with a solution to stem the epidemic. A group of local music-theater artists, led by Joshua Campbell, held the third annual benefit in support of Protect Minnesota, an organization working to end gun violence right here in our home state. The goal of the evening was to raise money for the organization, but also to start a conversation, because that's truly the way that change will happen. And of course, to enjoy some fabulous performances. Mission accomplished on all fronts!

Similar to the benefit I attended two years ago (I missed last year), the evening was structured as performances of songs from musical theater and pop culture, interspersed with relevant readings. The text this year came from a play called The Gun Show by EM Lewis. The excerpts (read passionately and emotionally by Ann Michels, who didn't sing much because she's saving it for her other job) made me want to see the entire play. EM Lewis is one of those people who is in the middle - she grew up with guns in rural Oregon and still owns a gun, but recognizes that there needs to be some changes in the way we think about, legislate, and handle guns. The play is funny, honest, and thought-provoking.

The music (with direction and piano accompaniment by John Lynn) was centered around the theme of "safe." The five performers are some of the Twin Cities best music-theater actors - Aimee K. Bryant, Jennifer Grimm, Kasano Mwanza, Rudoph (Tré) Searles III, and Katie Bradley. It was a treat to hear them sing, especially these highlights:

• Aimee and Tré dueting on "Two Lost Souls" from Damn Yankees (which Tré recently appeared in at the Ordway)
• Katie singing about opera- and jazz-singing neighbors and showing she can sing it too
• Katie and Kasano on one of my favorite musical theater songs, "Suddenly Seymour" from Little Shop of Horrors (which Katie appeared in with Mu Performing Arts a few years ago)
• Aimee once again channeling Celie from The Color Purple with the song that's guaranteed to bring tears to my eyes, "I'm Here"
• Jennifer (who I'm pretty sure is a time traveler from another era) singing songs like "Someone To Watch Over Me" the way they were meant to be sung
• Two lovely duets from Kasano and Tré
• The fantastic group numbers - the Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends" and John Legend's "Humanity (Love the Way It Should Be)"

In addition to the performances, there was also a raffle of theater tickets, a speech by a local pastor, and a remembrance of the nine victims of the recent Charleston shooting. A great show for a great cause, what's better than that?

To find out more about Protect Minnesota, visit their website. And start a conversation, perhaps with someone you don't agree with, in an attempt to help find a shared solution.

Ann Michels, Rudolph Searles III, Kasano Mwanza,
Katie Bradley,Aimee K. Bryant, and Jennifer Grimm

"Words By... Ira Gershwin and the Great American Songbook" at Park Square Theatre

Park Square Theatre's Words By... Ira Gershwin and the Great American Songbook is a little like an installment of the Ordway's Broadway Songbook series come to life. In it, we learn about the less famous Gerswhin brother Ira, the one who wrote the words that accompanied many of his brother George's timeless melodies. But unlike Broadway Songbook in which a narrator regales the audience with stories and facts about the chosen subject, in Words By... the stories and facts are relayed by Ira himself. Or at least, an actor (Ari Hoptman) playing him. He also sings a few of the songs, along with the fantastic singers T. Mychael Rambo and Jennifer Grimm. The result is an educational, fascinating, entertaining, and inspiring two hours of music and theater.

Before seeing the show, I didn't know much about the Gershwin brothers, and in fact was only vaguely aware that they were brothers. The children of Russian Jewish immigrants growing up in Brooklyn in the early 20th century, younger brother George was a prodigy on the piano from an early age. Not wanting to capitalize on his brother's success, Ira began writing lyrics with other composers under a pseudonym, only later working with his brother after he had established some success of his own. As told by Ira in the play, the brothers had a wonderfully collaborative working relationship writing for musical theater (including the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama, Of Thee I Sing) and movies. Sadly, this collaboration was cut short when George died of a brain tumor at the age of 38. Ira continued working with other composers, but many of his great works (and the majority of the songs in the play) were written with his brother.

As Ira, Ari Hoptman is incredibly personable and believable, to the point where I almost forgot it wasn't Ira himself telling the stories. His stories and recollections are accompanied by photos show on a screen, and of course, the songs themselves. Songs with fast, clever, lovely lyrics like "Fascinating Rhythm," "'S Wonderful," "How Long Has This Been Going On?," "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," and "They Can't Take That Away From Me." The songs are performed by a wonderfully jazzy four-piece band led by Joseph Vass on the piano (who also wrote the show) and two incredible singers. T. Mychael Rambo is always such a dynamic performer with a beautifully smooth voice, so it's no surprise that he is that here. But I was kind of blown away by Jennifer Grimm. I've seen her a few times before, but nothing like this where she takes center stage and just owns in (in a series of fabulous dresses). Her gorgeous voice is no better on display than in the Act I closing number "The Man That Got Away," a song that Ira and Harold Arlen wrote for Judy Garland (to whose voice Jennifer's is not dissimilar). Another highlight is Mychael and Jennifer singing songs from the Gershwin brothers opera Porgy and Bess (the new revival is coming to the Ordway in March).

Words By... continues through December 29. It's truly a treat to hear these classic songs performed by such talented artists, accompanied but the wonderful stories about how they came to be, and to learn a little about the art of writing lyrics. Ira describes it with this quote by his friend Yip: "Words make you think a thought, music makes you feel a feeling, a song makes you feel a thought." If you love the standards, or are interested in the history of American music, this show is a must-see (discount tickets available on Goldstar).

"Steerage Song" by Theater Latte Da at the Lab Theater

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe
     free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost
     to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

These words (by poet Emma Lazarus) were engraved on a plaque inside the Statue of Liberty in 1903, at the height of immigration to the United States. But soon that welcoming sentiment began to change, culminating in the passage of the National Origins Act in 1924, severely limiting immigration, especially from "undesirable" areas such as Southern and Eastern Europe. Steerage Song, a music-theater piece created by Peter Rothstein and Dan Chouinard, explores these historical themes of immigration through authentic music and text of the time. A semi-staged version of it was first presented two years ago. Much of the cast returns in this fully staged production, with slight changes to text and songs. The result is a truly beautiful expression of ideas at the very heart of America. The (perhaps not so) surprising thing is that the arguments being made against immigration today were also being made 100 years ago, making this piece not just a historical reflection but also extremely relevant to the present.

Peter (who also directs the piece) and Dan (music director) have collected dozens of songs from the American immigrant experience between 1840 and 1924, from various languages and cultures through Europe. They have tied the songs together using text from newspaper articles, speeches, and other historical documents, and constructed them into eight parts representing the journey of the immigrants: The Call; Bidding Farewell; The Voyage; A Sonnet in the Harbor; Ellis Island; The Lower East Side; By the People, For the People; and The Golden Door Closes. The nine ensemble members portray the mostly nameless immigrants as they leave their homelands and find a new life in America. The one character we follow throughout this journey is perhaps the most successful immigrant musician from this period, a 5-year-old Russian Jewish immigrant named Israel Beilin who became one of America's most beloved songwriters, Irving Berlin. Through his and others' stories we witness the courage of the millions of people who left everything behind to come to America and make a better life for themselves and their families, and in doing so made America richer too.

Dan Chouinard and his accordian
lead the cast of Steerage Song

The fantastic nine-person cast includes six from the original production two years ago. All sing beautifully in various languages or accented English (my linguist friend was impressed with the use of language and accents), as well as expressing the emotions of the characters. The ensemble includes: Sasha Andreev (always excellent), Erin Capello (with a voice like a dream), Dennis Curley (evoking tears with his sad Irish ballad), Megan Fischer (little Annie is all grown up and can hold her own among these talented professionals), Alec Fisher (another talented youngster who fits right in), Bradley Greenwald (one of my absolute favorites, any day I get to listen to him sing in German is a good day), Jennifer Grimm (with an emotional delivery of "Bring Me Your Tired, Your Poor," set to music by Irving Berlin), Jay Hornbacher (the talented veteran of the group), and Natalie Nowytski (a natural fit for this piece, she sings in over 40 languages and has studied Eastern European styles of singing). Multi-talented musician Dan Chouinard (I've seen him perform many times and he rarely uses sheet music at the piano) does a great job leading the five-piece band playing various instruments and creating the varied musical styles of the immigrants.

waving goodbye to the homeland

The Lab Theater is a great open space in which to create a world of imagination, put to great use by set designer John Clark Donahue. A stage has been built to resemble a ship, with a wooden plank floor, raised balcony in the back for the band, masts, a rope ladder, and bannisters on the sides. In the second act this ship transforms into the Lower East Side, with laundry hung between the masts and carts rolling up and down the street. Long poles are used as the railing of the ship or form lines at Ellis Island; planks serve as work spaces or lecterns. On either side of the stage are great racks of clothing, with hats, shawls, coats, scarves, and various other pieces that help define and differentiate the many characters in the piece (costume design by Jeffrey Stolz).

It's no secret that Theater Latte Da is my favorite theater company. Musical theater is my favorite art form, and Latte Da does it in an innovative and forward-thinking way. In fact, their tagline this year is "we don't do musical theater, we do theater musically." The thing that elevates Theater Latte Da above many other theaters in town is the impeccable attention to detail, on great display in Steerage Song. Every aspect of the production is of the highest quality: sets, costumes, sound design (actors are miked but in an unobtrusive way), casting, staging, the playbill, lighting, video projections, the use of props, and the talent level of the performers. Nothing is overlooked and it all adds up to a thoroughly enjoyable evening of theater. Playing now through October 20 at the Lab Theater.

Theater Latte Da at Lake Harriet

Last night I attended Theater Latte Da's concert Latte Da in the Park at the Lake Harriet Pavilion in Minneapolis. It was a gorgeous evening for outdoor music, and would have been a perfect night if I had won the raffle for a trip to NYC and gotten my ice cream (note if you go to a Lake Harriet concert - the concession line is the slowest moving line I've ever seen, I got in line 20 minutes before the show started, there were maybe 8 people in front of me, and when the concert started there were still 3 people in front of me, so I gave up). But other than that, it was wonderful evening of showtunes.

Theater Latte Da is my favorite local theater (not counting the Guthrie). According to their mission, "Theater Latté Da seeks to create new connections between story, music, artist, and audience by exploring and expanding the art of musical theater." That's something they do beautifully; their productions are always very well-done and their choices are unique and interesting and really serve to move musical theater forward. Yesterday they announced their 2010-2011 season: Evita, All is Calm, Song of Extinction, and Steerage Song. All really interesting choices that I'm looking forward to.

There were five singers, accompanied by Latte Da's music director Denise Prosek on the keyboard (artistic director Peter Rothstein was also there to announce the new season). I've seen Sasha Andreev in several shows, most recently Tom Stoppard's Rock and Roll at Park Square Theater and Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Guthrie (both are plays, but he played a singing role). Erin Capello and Kahlil Queen are in the upcoming production of Evita, and Whitney Rhodes was in last year's hilarious and moving The Full Monty. I've never seen Jennifer Grimm before but I loved her voice; at times she reminded me of Judy Garland, at other times, Rosemary Clooney. She has that classic 40s/50s deep rich voice (check out her website).

On to the songlist, from what I can remember. I wish they had passed out the songlist because there were a few songs I could identify. But here's what I could:

Sasha first sang a song from West Side Story (I think it was "Something's Coming" but for some reason I'm having trouble remembering). Other songs were "Mr. Cellophane" from Chicago and something about flying a kite. But my favorite song that he did was "Run Away with Me" from the musical The Unauthorized Biography of Samantha Brown by Kerrigan and Lowdermilk. I've previously heard this song in this youtube video of Aaron Tveit (who wowed me in Next to Normal on Broadway last year). I dare you to watch it and not swoon. :)


Erin has a great musical theater voice and sang several great musical theater songs, including "Meadowlark" from The Baker's Wife (which I saw Patti LuPone sing earlier this year), "Diva's Lament" from Spamalot, and another Kerrigan and Lowdermilk song, "My Party Dress," in which she's a little girl dreaming of her future and trying not to spill on her party dress.

Jennifer sang a few original songs that she had written. One about how she missed Minneapolis and St. Paul when she was in New York (which mentioned the cherry and spoon!) and an update of "Anything Goes."

Whitney sang "Don't Rain on My Parade" from Funny Girl, one of the best musical theater songs ever. She also sang a hilarious song about how she was always relegated to the chorus and never got to sing the melody. Whitney and Jennifer also did a beautiful sort of duet. Jennifer sang "Dulcinea" from Man of La Mancha, followed by Whitney's beautiful rendition of "Someone to Watch Over Me," which then morphed into a duet as they both sang their songs together (I guess that's what Glee calls a "mash-up" ;).

Kahlil started the show with a song from one of my favorites of this year, "Let it Sing" from Violet (the final show of Latte Da's 2009-2010 season). He also sang a song from one of my all time faves, the haunting "Left Behind" from Spring Awakening. Kahlil and Sasha did a beautiful duet of "I'll Cover Me" from another all time fave, RENT, which just made me smile. So I guess Kahlil wins the gold star for singing the most songs from my favorite shows!

The group also sang "Blues In the Night" together and ended the show with selections from Evita: "Night of a Thousand Stars" (Sasha), "High Flying Adored" (Kahlil), "Star Quality" (Jennifer), and of course, "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" (Erin).

Another feature of the evening was the little kids who were dancing in the area in front of the stage. At one point there were about ten little girls holding hands and running around in a circle and laughing. Some people might have found this distracting, but the musicians, professionals that they are, weren't distracted at all. I thought it just added to the charm of the evening. A beautiful night by Lake Harriet, great showtunes sung by talented performers, and the laughter of children. What could be better? Besides ice cream. :)