"Mamma Mia!" at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

I fell head over heels for the Ordway Original production of Mamma Mia! last summer, calling it "fantastically fun and surprisingly moving, performed by a mostly local and all fabulous cast." So when I heard that Chanhassen Dinner Theatres had chosen it as their summer 2019 production, I thought, so soon? why? The answer is that it's an inherently fun and feel-good show show, and while the Ordway production still holds a special place in my heart, it only ran for two weeks and the Chan reaches a much larger out-state audience. There's room for two big, beautiful, fantastically fun Mamma Mia!s in this town. What I love most about this show is that it's very female-forward. Yes there are male characters, but it's truly about the women's stories. Better yet, it's about women loving and supporting each other, not competing with each other. The true love story at the heart of this piece is the love between parent and child, the love of lifelong female friendships. I can't think of any better message to celebrate this summer.

"Holiday Inn" at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

Christmas may be over for another year, but that doesn't mean we have to stop celebrating. After all, Christmas is only one of many holidays celebrated around the world, and only one of the seven holidays celebrated in Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' gorgeously fun production of the Broadway musical Holiday Inn. Based on the 1942 Bing Crosby/Fred Astaire movie of the same name, the musical debuted on Broadway in 2016, and is now receiving its Minnesota premiere. This is the kind of thing that Chanhassen does best - a big splashy musical with wonderful recognizable music and fantastic dance numbers. If you didn't see it this holiday season, don't worry, it's still playing through February 23, and there are still plenty of holidays to celebrate.

"Grease" at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

Friends, I am here to tell you that in the southwest suburb of Chanhassen, Grease is most definitely the word of the summer. And yes, it may be 20 degrees with below zero wind chills and late winter snowstorms in this upside down weather world we now live in, but Grease is here to take you into spring, through summer, and even into early fall with a super high energy, gorgeously cast, supremely fun show. There's nothing subtle about this production that goes for big performances, big high notes, and big laughs. Grease is a guaranteed crowd-pleasing seat-filler, but the Chan doesn't just rest on the easy nostalgia of the piece. Instead, they've put in every effort to make this production the best it can possibly be.* It's very likely to sell well for them for the next seven months (who doesn't love Grease?), and it deserves to because it's pretty much the most fun you can have in a theater.

"The Cocoanuts" at the Guthrie Theater

Not being familiar with the Marx Brothers, I didn't know what to expect from The Cocoanuts. In fact, when the Guthrie announced their season this spring, I didn't even know what it was (It's a musical? But I've never heard of it!). Turns out it's a little before my time. The 1925 Broadway musical was written for the Marx Brothers by George S. Kaufman, with music and lyrics by one of the best American songwriters, Irving Berlin. The musical was adapted into one of the first "talkies" in 1929, but has never been revived on Broadway, so I guess I can be forgiven for having never heard of it. Last year the Oregon Shakespeare Festival premiered a new adaptation of this 90-year-old musical (what the Marx Brothers have to do with Shakespeare, I don't know), and that's the production that opened at the Guthrie last weekend. The Guthrie's production features the same actors playing the three most famous Marx Brothers (but with our fabulous local actors taking over most of the rest of the roles), much of the same creative team, and a book that's been slightly tweaked to add in some Minnesota references. The result is a delightfully and ridiculously fun show that pulls out all the comedic stops to entertain the audience, the cast, and even the ushers. A good time was most definitely had by all.

"Hello Dolly!" at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

Everyone loves Dolly. The title character of the popular musical Hello Dolly! is a matchmaker, dance teacher, entrepreneur - basically a woman who knows how to get things done. She "puts her hand in" here and there, and makes people's lives better with her helpful manipulative ways. You can't help but love her, and you can't help but love the Chanhassen's shiny new production of this 50 year old musical. It's charmingly old-fashioned, with a fantastic cast from the lead to the supporting players to every last member of the ensemble, wonderful dance numbers, gorgeous period costumes with those all important extravagant hats, and familiar music beautifully played by the orchestra. It's silly and fun and adventurous - a grand old time.

It's the late 19th Century in New York City, and Dolly is tired of working to make everyone else's lives better at the expense of her own. She decides to marry the noted "half a millionaire" Horace Vandergelder, and asks her beloved deceased husband for a sign to move on. In order to catch the gentleman, who is one of her clients, she sabotages the other matches. He's supposed to marry the widow Irene Molloy, owner of a hat shop, but Dolly quickly squashes that. Instead Irene falls in love with Horace's employee Cornelius who, along with his friend Barnaby, has come to New York City for an adventure. Said adventures include a parade, a dinner they can't pay for, a quick trip to jail, and falling in love. But this is Dolly's story, and when Dolly decides she wants something, she gets it, for better or worse.

Highlights of the show include:

the mother/daughter act - Michelle Barber
as Dolly and Cat Brindisi as Irene

• As I said, this is Dolly's show, and Michelle Barber owns the role and ably leads the show. The highlight is Dolly's moment "Before the Parade Passes By," her declaration to live her life to the fullest. But another wonderful moment is the title song, when Dolly is being serenaded by singing waiters. Michelle is so easy and comfortable in the role as she makes her way across the stage and through the audience, shaking hands, kissing my table-mate on the head, sharing little asides and knowing winks with the audience. She just is Dolly.
• The Chanhassen has always been a family affair, and never moreso than in this show. Michelle's husband, by the way, is the Chan's Artistic Director and director of this show, Michael Brindisi. And their daughter, Cat Brindisi, is making her adult debut on the stage on which she grew up, after proving that this is no act of nepotism with brilliant turns in such shows as Aida and Hair (by a theater company she co-founded). As Irene Molloy (a role her mother played the last time the Chan did this show), Cat is strong and spirited, and provides a quiet, lovely moment in the otherwise busy and high energy show with the song "Ribbons Down My Back." As my companion said, I only wish she had a chance to sing more.
• "It Only Takes a Moment" to fall in love with Tyler Michaels and his unique performance style, and if you haven't already done so in one of his previous appearances, most recently as the Emcee in Cabaret, Prince Eric in the The Little Mermaid, or Freddie in My Fair Lady, you will here. Watching him dance badly as Dolly teaches Cornelius to dance is more fun than watching most people dance well. He brings an awkward grace and boundless enthusiasm to the role of this young man who's determined to have the night of his life.

the boss and his hard-working employees
(Keith Rice, Adam Moen, and Tyler Michaels)

• Who else but Keith Rice, a longtime favorite at the Chan, could play Horace? Even though "It Takes a Woman" may be the most sexist song in musical theater history, it's somehow almost charming coming out of the mouth and person of Keith Rice. The last time I saw Helly Dolly! I did not get the appeal of Horace at all, but I do now. Of course no man is quite good enough for our Dolly, but he'll do.
• Several actors shine in smaller roles. As second fiddle Barnaby, Adam Moen holds his own with Tyler and is quite charming himself, and the two often dance and move in perfect unison. Jessica Fredrickson is sweet and adorable as Irene's assistant and friend, and as Horace's niece Ermengarde, Krysti Wiita wails perfectly on pitch. As per usual, Kersten Rodau steals her few brief scenes as Horace's (mis) match Ernestina, turning her beautifully powerful voice into something hilariously grating.
• All elements of the production are top-notch, from Tamara Kangas Erickson's choreography perfectly and precisely performed by the ensemble (oh, those dancing waiters!), to Rich Hamson's gorgeous costumes (spats! hats! gowns!), to the simple set by Nayna Ramey that lets the show shine, to Andrew Cooke's always wonderful onstage orchestra (with banjo!).

This fun, charming, entertaining, perfectly cast, and well performed classic musical plays all winter. The weather may be getting colder, but it's always warm and pleasant at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres*. Dolly will never go away again... until February, when Mary Poppins takes her place.

the cast of Helly Dolly! (all photos by Heidi Bohnenkamp)

*If you happen to go in the next month or so, you should also head over to the Arboretum for TigerLion Arts' lovely and poignant outdoor walking play Nature, about the friendship of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

"The Light in the Piazza" by Theater Latte Da at the Ordway McKnight Theatre

Theater Latte Da's new production of The Light in the Piazza is an absolute dream of a musical. From the moment the first chord was struck by the five-piece onstage orchestra, it cast a spell on me from which I hoped I would never awaken. The 2005 multiple Tony-winning musical* features a stunningly gorgeous score (written by Adam Guettel, grandson of Richard Rodgers of Rodgers and Hammerstein), and a beautifully romantic story, with a twist. Theater Latte Da's production is fairly straight-forward and simple, allowing the beauty of the piece to shine through. Even though it's a new musical, there something about it that feels classic and timeless. I was moved to tears on several occasions by the music, brought to vivid life by the talented ensemble of musicians and actors.

Light in the Piazza is based on a novella of the same name, and tells the story of a woman named Margaret and her daughter Clara travelling to Italy in the 1950s, a place Margaret hasn't visited since her honeymoon with her now-distant (geographically and emotionally) husband. Clara meets a local boy named Fabrizio and falls in love. Margaret has dedicated her life to protecting her daughter, for reasons that become clear as the story unfolds, but begins to see that perhaps it's time to let Clara grow up in her own way. We also meet Fabrizio's complicated family. This is a story about many kinds of love, Clara and Fabrizio's innocent and sweet new love, the complicated love of several married couples, and perhaps most touching of all, the love between a mother and daughter whose lives have revolved around each other for years.

young lovers Fabrizio and Clara
(Aleks Knezevich and Jessica Fredrickson)
photo by Michal Daniel

In characteristic Latte Da style the show is perfectly cast. Jessica Fredrickson's lovely voice is perfectly suited to Clara, and she brings a charming innocence to the character. Kathleen Humphrey creates a complex and layered character in Margaret; her struggles to do right by her daughter are heart-breakingly evident in her face. Aleks Knezevich is charming as the young and in love Fabrizio, and his gorgeous voice almost made me forget that Matthew Morrison originated the role on Broadway. Jessica and Aleks have a believable and beautiful chemistry, not surprising since they are engaged in real life (could they be any cuter?), and they sound incredible together on these sweeping love songs. Everyone in the small ensemble is great in their multiple roles, as they populate the city of Florence with any number of characters strolling through the piazza, often speaking in Italian. Standouts include Erin Capello as Fabrizio's unhappy and jaded sister-in-law Franca, in stark contrast to the naive Clara, and Bill Scharpen as Fabrizio's elegant father who spends a lot of time with Margaret as their children are getting to know one another.

The music of The Light in the Piazza is something quite special. I remember reading that Adam Guettel first composes all of the music, then goes back and adds lyrics where necessary. Several of the songs are sung party or entirely in Italian, and unlike at the opera, there is no English translation available. But with music this emotional and expressive, you don't need to know exactly what Fabrizio is saying in "Il Mondo Era Vuoto" to understand what he's feeling. Some of the singing is neither English nor Italian, just a wordless singing that is pure musical expression, as in the touching love song "Say It Somehow." Fabrizio and Clara don't speak the same language, but somehow they understand each other. Similarly, the audience doesn't need to have the words spelled out to understand the emotion of the scene. The five-piece orchestra (directed by Denise Prosek) is much smaller that the original Broadway production; it has been stripped down to the essentials - piano, violin, cello, bass, and harp (harp!). In the intimate space of the Ordway McKnight Theatre, it's just right.

Clara and her mother in Florence
(Jessica Fredrickson and Kathleen Humphrey)
photo by Michal Daniel

The stage of the McKnight Theatre has been transformed into a picturesque representation of the Italian city of Florence by scenic designer Rick Polenek. Two dimensional cardboard cutouts of famous buildings and statues stand in the background, moved around by ensemble members. They almost look like illustrations in a book, which adds to the feeling that we're inside a fairy tale. The costumes (by Rich Hamson) are pure perfection. The women wear a parade of 50s style dresses, complete with full skirts with tulle, and matching hats, gloves, shoes, and purses. The men are in smart suits with hats. The showpiece is Clara's perfectly lovely tea-length wedding dress (spoiler alert), and the final scene is like a beautiful painting.

As Margaret sings in the final number, love may be a "Fable," but The Light in the Piazza makes you believe. It's a wistful, dreamy, romantic fairy tale. But it's not all sweetness and light, there's enough harsh reality to keep you grounded. It's a fitting conclusion to what has been another wonderful season for Peter Rothstein and Theater Latte Da. It began with Sondheim's Company last fall, which, despite being 40 years old, felt like a contemporary and often cynical look at modern marriage. Then came Aida, a big spectacular Broadway-style rock musical. The Light in the Piazza is a gorgeous new musical that feels like a classic. This season has displayed a really nice variety that showcases Latte Da's talent at bringing musical theater to life.

Go see this gorgeous new classic, playing now through April 7, and like me, you will leave the theater singing, "now is... I am... happiness!"



*Light in the Piazza won six Tony Awards in 2005 (including best score), but was beat out for best musical by Spamalot, which I'm coincidentally seeing today. (Update: Spamalot is great fun, but doesn't compare to beauty of this piece.)

"Bye Bye Birdie" at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

"We love you Conrad, oh yes we do,
We love you Conrad, and we'll be true,
When you're not with us, we're blue,
Oh Conrad we love you!"

That little ditty has been stuck in my head since seeing Bye Bye Birdie at the Chanhassen* last night. This is the first time this classical musical from the 1960s has played on the Chanhassen stage, and the first time I've seen it. In fact, I really only knew of it from that episode of Mad Men where Peggy imitates Ann-Margaret singing the title song of the movie, trying to live up to the early 60s ideal of womanhood (in that brilliant way Mad Men has of breaking down the social mores of the time, that aren't as different as we think from today). So the show was all new to me, and I really enjoyed it. It's a big, old-fashioned, fun musical with a huge cast and fantastic dance numbers. There's nothing deep about it, but it's highly entertaining.

the happy couple, Rose and Albert
(Ann Michels and Michael Gruber)

For those of you who, like me, are unfamiliar with the story, Bye Bye Birdie is about an Elvis-like singer named Conrad Birdie (Frank Moran with a brilliantly high pompadour and a suitable charismatic nonchalance) who is drafted into the Army. His agent, Albert (a charming Michael Gruber), and secretary/ girlfriend, Rose (Ann Michels in a feisty performance that includes a pretty spectacular dance number), come up with a publicity stunt in which Conrad kisses one lucky fan chosen at random to promote the release of the song "One Last Kiss," before shipping out overseas. That lucky fan is Kim (the sweet-voiced Jessica Fredrickson) of Sweet Apple Ohio, who was recently "pinned" by her boyfriend Hugo (my new fave Tyler Michaels, who gets to show off his unique physical style of acting in a drunken scene). Conrad and company arrive in the small town and cause a hubbub. Turns out Conrad's not the innocent all-American boy he seems to be, preferring to drink, dance, and party. Hugo is jealous of Conrad, and Rose is jealous of Albert's new secretary (Xanadu's Jodi Carmeli in a small but memorable role), so they both scheme to prevent the kiss. Which, by the way, was to take place live on The Ed Sullivan Show! Both of our couples are on the outs as the second act begins, and there's a wild night of partying at the Ice House ("what's there?"  "I don't know, ice?"). But of course, since this is a traditional musical, both couples find their way back to each other by the final curtain.

The Telephone Hour

This is a huge cast full of many Chanhassen faves and a few newcomers, all of whom are entertaining and fun to watch. Standouts, in addition to the ones mentioned above, are Seri Johnson as Albert's long-suffering martyr of a mother (or at least that's how she sees herself), Keith Rice and Michelle Barber as Kim's strict but loving parents, and Tod Petersen as the fawning mayor. The teen girl chorus is particularly fabulous (Hairspray's Therese Walth, Emily Madigan, Caroline Innerbichler, Ruthanne Heyward, and Larissa Gritti) as they swoon over Conrad, dance, and sing the aforementioned little ditty. The group dance numbers are energetic and bouncy in that 50s style, especially "The Telephone Hour," "Honestly Sincere" (in which the entire town, including the mayor's wife, ends up at Conrad's feet), and "A Lot of Livin' to Do." The score also includes a couple of familiar songs "Put on a Happy Face" and "Kids" (I don't know what's wrong with these kids today).

It's no secret that I loved the Chanhassen's summer musical Xanadu, which was a bit of a departure for them in that it's a new musical with a smaller cast and a little bit of a wicked, sarcastic tone (which is probably why I loved it). But with Bye Bye Birdie they return to their standard (which is not a bad thing) - a classic musical with a huge cast and fun musical numbers. Playing now through March 30, it'll make your winter a little warmer and brighter.

the town of Sweet Apple Ohio swoons over Conrad Birdie

*I received two complementary tickets to the Opening Night of Bye Bye Birdie.

"Latte Da in the Park" by Theater Latte Da at Plymouth Park

Harry Houdini, Cinderella, Moritz Stiefel, Little Inez, and Judy Garland gather in a park to sing showtunes. No, that's not the beginning of a bad joke, it's Theater Latte Da's annual summer park concert. This show is always my favorite summer outdoor event, and since I missed the show at Lake Harriet this year, I attended the show in Plymouth earlier this week. It's a much smaller venue than Lake Harriet, but just as lovely, especially since the oppressive heat of this summer abated enough to make it quite comfortable to sit outside and listen to some music: a selection of showtunes, pop songs, standards, and a sneak peek of Theater Latte Da's upcoming 2012-2013 season, which looks to be as outstanding as last season was (the year of youth: Spelling Bee, Beautiful Thing, and my favorite show of 2012 so far, Spring Awakening). I've seen all of these talented singer/actors before, in the above-mentioned roles and more, and I loved seeing them in this casual environment.

The show began and ended with the entire cast joining in for the pop classic "I Can See Clearly Now" (and it was indeed a "bright sunshiney day"). The five performers then took turns singing individually, accompanied by Latte Da's constant and eminently capable Music Director Denise Prosek, who kept things moving smoothly along.

• Harry Houdini, who also goes by the name Sasha Andreev, sang a few songs including the title track from the musical Memphis, and a particularly moving rendition of Five for Fighting's "100 Years to Live."  (and yes I had to google that to find the name of the band.)
• Our Cinderella, Jessica Fredrickson, sang the Dolly Parton hit "Here You Come Again" and Nat King Cole's "Orange Colored Sky," which later morphed into a nifty duet with the next character...
• Moritz Stiefel is one of my favorite musical theater characters, and Tyler Michaels is quickly becoming one of my favorite musical theater actors to watch perform. He sang a couple of standards - "Hey There (you with the stars in your eyes)" (originally from the musical The Pajama Game), and "Fly Me to the Moon," the aforementioned nifty duet with Jessica. The two also dueted on a silly and sweet love song called "Cubicle of Love." Tyler and Jessica's voices blend together beautifully (I saw them just the night before in A Night in Olympus at Illusion Theater), and I hear we'll be treated to more of it in Bye Bye Birdie at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, opening this fall.
• Little Inez, aka Ivory Doublette, sang Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and a very funny little ditty about never getting to sing the melody.
• Judy Garland's spirit was present when Jody Briskey sang "The Trolley Song." Jody also sang the beautiful "Fields of Gold" and a super-fast and hilarious song setting words to Chopin's "Minute Waltz."

The evening continued with Latte Da's Artistic Director Peter Rothstein announcing their upcoming season, which includes three shows I've been dying to see live and local. They open with Stephen Sondheim's Company (which I've never seen live on stage but fell in love with thanks to the Neil Patrick Harris filmed concert version released to movie theaters last year), followed by the Tim Rice/Elton John Aida (I saw it 11 years ago on tour and Broadway), and closing with Adam Guettel's beautiful creation, A Light in the Piazza (another one I saw once many years ago on tour). The only casting that's been announced is Dieter Bierbrauer as Bobby in Company (a choice with which I heartily agree). One hallmark of a Peter Rothstein production is pitch perfect casting, so I can't wait to find out who will be taking on the roles of Aida, Radames*, Amneres*, Clara, Fabrizio, and the rest.

To whet our appetite for the upcoming season, the cast sang a few songs from the above three shows. First, Company. Tyler led the cast in "Side by Side by Side," Ivory sang "Another Hundred People," Jody sang "Ladies who Lunch" (which I hope she'll do in the production this fall, she has the perfect voice for the song), and Sasha sang the stirring closing number "Being Alive." Jessica and Tyler unfurled several pages of sheet music to sing the beautiful and heart-breaking duet from Aida, "Written in the Stars." Finally, Jessica treated us to a medley of a few songs from The Light in the Piazza.

My very first post on Cherry and Spoon was about Latte Da in the Park in the summer of 2010, so I sort of regard this as my anniversary. I've been doing this for two years now, and it's only getting better and giving me more and more opportunities to see amazing theater and meet talented people and have wonderful experiences. Judging by Theater Latte Da's upcoming season, next year is going to be even better!


*Update: additional casting for Aida announced. Jared Oxborough (aka Che in Evita) will play Radames and Cat Brindisi (Wendla in Spring Awakening) will play Amneres, two more excellent casting choices!

"A Night in Olympus" at Illusion Theater

It was a last minute decision to see A Night in Olympus, the final show of Illusion Theater's Fresh Ink series ("showcasing the developing work of new and established artists in Minnesota"). The deciding factor? The cast. Norah Long, Tyler Michaels, Jessica Fredrickson, Randy Schmeling, and Aleks Knezevich - I couldn't possibly miss that! And I was not disappointed. A Night in Olympus is a new original musical (my three favorite words) with an unoriginal story (unpopular and insecure high school girl dreams of being beautiful and winning the favor of the popular boy, only to realize that the guy she really wants is her best friend who's been there all along - see any Molly Ringwald movie from the '80s) told in an original way (gods and goddesses disguised as high school teachers work their magic to make the change come about). The music is great, the jokes are clever, and the cast is indeed fantastic. With a lesser cast the piece might not have worked as well, but each member of the cast reveled in their role(s) and really sold it. An impressive feat considering the limited time they had to prepare and the fact that the script was constantly changing throughout the four-show run. In fact they had scripts in their hands for most of the show, which was no distraction at all, and the show ran smoothly (at least from the audience perspective). The creators Chan Poling (music and lyrics) and Jeffrey Hatcher and Bill Corbett (book) will continue to work on the piece and hope to find another home for it. I'd love to see a full production of the show with the original cast intact!

Maggie (Jessica Fredrickson) and Harry (Tyler Michaels)

The setting of our story is a high school in Olympus, Indiana, a nowhere town that the kids can't wait to escape from. The lovely-voiced Jessica Fredrickson  plays Maggie, the Cinderella-like main character (after playing Cinderella herself at the Ordway last year) who gets her wish of becoming beautiful and popular, only to learn that it's not exactly what she hoped. Her best friend Harry (the incredibly talented Tyler Michaels) can never get up the nerve to tell Maggie that his feelings for her go beyond friendship. When she's transformed into the beautiful girl and no one recognizes her as Maggie, everyone flocks to her except for Harry, who's not impressed by her physical beauty but keeps looking for the real Maggie. He leaves a series of messages on her voice mail, and finally pours his heart out to her in the sweetest zombie-themed awkward love song I've ever heard. Tyler is definitely the one to watch on the local music/theater/dance scene. He's got charisma and stage presence to spare, a great voice, and a really unique physicality about his acting that informs whatever character he's playing and that is captivating to watch (and was on display here in a zombie walk).

The remaining six cast members play multiple roles of students, teachers, and gods, with minor costume changes (hoody = student, no hoody = teacher). Norah Long  has a lot of fun with her three distinct characters - the shallow popular girl, the stereotypical gym teacher (slash goddess Diana), and our heroine's sympathetic mother - and manages to bring depth and interest to all of them. Mark Rosenwinkel comes alive when his coach character is revealed to be the god Mars ("Thank God I'm a God Again"). Austene Van is truly divine as the beautiful teacher all the boys have a crush on, who is actually Venus, the goddess of love. Matt Rein is the outrageous bully as well as the nice guy teacher who wants to live a normal mortal life. Randy Schmeling is the poor picked on kid who finally gets revenge on his nemesis (ironically named Randy) as well as the nerdy A/V teacher who is actually (spoiler alert) Zeus! Finally, Aleks Knezevich truly hams it up as the stupid jock, the creepy janitor with changing accents, and especially as the evil Hades, god of the underworld. I've only seen Aleks in more serious singing roles so it was fun to see him let loose with something a little lighter. In addition to being great individually, the ensemble works and plays wonderfully together. There are some fun group numbers, including "The Most Beautiful Parking Lot." I know, it sounds strange, but it's so fun and infectious you can't help but smile.

I'm a little bummed that I only caught the tail end of Illusion Theater's Fresh Ink series. I'll pay more attention next year; I love seeing and supporting new original works of theater. I imagine in a program like this, the cast is there to showcase the work. But in this case, the cast was the star of the show. And the show was a great vehicle to showcase some incredible talent.

"Broadway Songbook: Words and Music of Contemporary Broadway" at the Ordway

The Ordway is presenting a series of informal cabaret-style concerts this season called Broadway Songbook.  The first one featured the music of Irving Berlin, and was an entertaining and informative look at the history of musical theater.  The second installment, featuring music of "Contemporary Broadway," was the one I was most looking forward to, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was a fairly accurate representation of the state of Broadway today - the good (The Book of Mormon), the bad (Priscilla Queen of the Desert), and the ugly (Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark).  I'm not a big fan of jukebox musicals or adaptations of blockbuster movies; it seems like an easy way for producers to make money without taking any risks.  But that's a lot of what's popular on Broadway these days, so it's only fair that they included it in this show.  Fortunately there were also plenty of original musicals and revivals featured to balance things out.

The host for the series is Ordway Artistic Director James Rocco, and once again he introduced each song with a little background or a funny story about the show or composer.  Accompanied by Raymond Berg on piano, the talented singer/actors included Joel Liestman, Robb McKindles (both of whom also appeared in the Irving Berlin show last fall), Kym Chambers Otto, Allison Tilsen-Kassabian, and Cinderella herself, Jessica Fredrickson.

Some highlights of the show:

• The opening number was a beautiful, soaring song that I was unfamiliar with (and I thought I'd know all the songs!), from a musical called Songs for a New World by Jason Robert Brown. 
• Jessica sang several musical theater songs that always get me teary-eyed.  "The Beauty Is" from Light in the Piazza by Adam Guettel, "There's a Fine Fine Line" from Avenue Q, "For Good" from Wicked (a duet with Kym), "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" from Mary Poppins.  OK maybe that last one doesn't quite fit with the others, but she was definitely channeling Julie Andrews!  James announced that Jessica will soon be moving to New York City.  I'll be sad not to see her on local stages, but I wish her well and hope to see her on Broadway one day!
• In addition to the duet with Jessica, Kym sang the beautiful ballad "I Get a Kick Out of You" from Anything Goes, currently running on Broadway (and I'm kicking myself for not seeing it when I was there last fall - sadly I can only fit so many shows into 5 days in NYC).  She also led the cast in "Day by Day," the 1970s pop hit from the musical Godspell, also currently being revived on Broadway.
• Two of the shows I did see on Broadway last year (and adored) were featured in the show.  Joel sincerely and hilariously sang "I Believe" from the brilliant original musical by the creators of South Park, The Book of Mormon (there are only a few songs from that show that you can sing at the Ordway on a Sunday afternoon), and James himself sang the classic "Broadway Baby" from the divine revival of Stephen Sondheim's Follies.
• A newbie to the Twin Cities theater scene, Allison has a fabulous voice and personality to match.  She got one of the biggest rounds of applause for her rendition of "When You're Good to Mama" from Chicago, and closed the first act on a high with "I Will Survive" from Priscilla Queen of the Desert, which I earlier referred to as "the bad" because: 1) it's a movie adaptation, 2) it has no original music, and 3) they use some canned music instead of a full live orchestra.  That's three strikes and you're out in my book.  But despite the origins of the song, it was still a fabulous rendition of a classic pop song.
• Joel and Robb made for an entertaining Pumbaa and Timon in the super fun song "Hakuna Matata" from The Lion King.  Too bad they didn't also sing this song's counterpart from The Book of Mormon, "Hasa Diga Eebowai."  Oh wait, that's one of those songs you can't sing at the Ordway on a Sunday afternoon.  Slight digression: I've been seeing the ads for The Lion King everywhere, but I will not be seeing it.  Don't get me wrong, I've seen the show several times and love it.  It's that great familiar music from the movie but with a much richer and deeper orchestration, and the puppets/masks are truly a sight to behold.  But for the price they're charging for tickets ($100+ for just about every seat in the house), I can see 2-3 local shows that are just as good, if not as splashy.  So I'm choosing to spend my time, money, and blog space on supporting local artists and new work.
• Joel sang the beautiful and dramatic song "Music of the Night" from Phantom of the Opera, a show I'm proud to say I've never seen (I seem to be the only person on the planet who hasn't).  He also sat down at the piano to channel Billy Joel in the title song from the jukebox musical Movin' Out (which I have also never seen and don't plan to).
• Robb and the cast sang "Steal Your Rock and Roll" from the Tony award winning musical Memphis, a show I am looking forward to seeing on tour at the Ordway in a few months.  He also sang one of my favorite songs from  Jersey Boys, "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You."  I know I said I'm not a fan of jukebox musicals, but Jersey Boys is the exception that proves the rule.  I've seen it twice and I love it.  I think the reason it works for me is that the book is really clever; it's the true story of The Four Seasons' rise to fame (and subsequent fall), not some silly story made up to fit into the body of songs.
• Finally, you can't really talk about contemporary Broadway without at least mentioning the spectacle that is Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark (aka "the ugly").  James gave a brief history of all the trials and tribulations (and expense and injuries) the show has gone through, describing the songs as guitar-heavy Bono songs.  "Let's do a song... no, let's not do a song from the show."  Wise choice!

It was another great afternoon of exploring the world of musical theater at the Ordway.  The only shows I thought were missing were two of my recent faves - Next to Normal and Spring Awakening (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson is probably too much to hope for).  But other than these two absences, it was a truly wonderful selection of the best of Broadway, performed by some fantastically talented local actors, singers, and musicians.  Next up: the music of Johnny Mercer.

"Cinderella" at the Ordway

I always like to go to the Ordway's holiday production because it's typically an original production (rather than a touring show) featuring a mostly local cast.  Last year they did the colorful and super fun Joseph, the year before Beauty and the Beast.  This year's selection is the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Cinderella, originally written for television in 1957 starring the great Julie Andrews.  The Ordway's production is magical and very sweet, and almost makes me believe in fairy tales, almost makes me believe that impossible things really can happen.  It was fun to forget that I'm way too old for fairy tales and immerse myself in the magical world that Cinderella lives in, if only for a little while.

A few of my favorite things:

• A huge cast of primarily local talent, including the divine Wendy Lehr as the Queen and Gary Briggle as her elegant husband, Reid Harmsen (aka Mark in RENT and Brad in Rocky Horror) as the enthusiastic steward and friend of the prince, and way too many ensemble members to mention here (but I had fun trying to identify them in the group numbers).
• The sweet-voiced and extremely likeable Jessica Fredrickson (another local with whom I was previously unfamiliar) as our Cinderella.
• A quite capable and swoon-worthy Prince in the form of Jeremiah James (the one non-local featured).
• Hilariously over the top performances by Greta Grosch (one of the original Church Basement Ladies) as the Stepmother and Colleen Somerville and Andrea Wollenberg as her two homely but hopeful daughters.
• A sassy fairy godmother (Tonia Hughes) who encourages Cinderella to make her own wishes come true, with a little help.
• Cinderella's animal friends adorably represented by puppets manipulated by dancers dressed in black (including Linda Talcott Lee who recently talked about her experiences working with the one and only Jerome Robbins).
• Two dimensional painted set pieces and backdrops that look like a storybook come to life.
• A seriously magical and seemingly instantaneous transformation from poor serving girl to belle of the ball and back again (I'm still not sure how they did that).
• Great musical theater songs like you would expect from R&H, fun dance numbers, and beautiful playful costumes.

One gauge of the success of a musical is if I leave the theater singing the songs and feeling like I could dance down the sidewalk back to my car.  By that criteria, the Ordway's Cinderella is a success.  A light and fluffy show, but very well done.