"Anything Goes" at Lyric Arts

There are a lot of great #TCTheater summer musicals this year (many of whom responded to my #Ham4All challenge - watch all the videos here): the Ordway's fan-freakin-tastic Jesus Christ Superstar, the gorgeous Sunday in the Park with George at the Guthrie, the recently closed infectious new musical Fly by Night at the Jungle, Old Log Theatre's better-than-Broadway Ghost the Musical, History Theatre's third run of the smash hit Glensheen, and the super fun Grease continuing at the Chanhassen through the fall. Here's another one to add to the list (especially for those of you who live on the north side of town) - Lyric Art's ebullient production of the Cole Porter classic Anything Goes. A wonderful cast, that catchy and familiar score, hijinks and humor galore, and tap dancing! It runs through August 6 so if you can get tickets (Lyric Arts' musicals sell well), I recommend a visit to lovely Anoka to see this great summer musical. Just one question remains - can they #Ham4All?

"Anatomy of Gray" at Lyric Arts

"This play is perfectly theatrical... it would be like if you took Little House on the Prairie and it has a little whiskey... and got together with The Wizard of Oz and Gunsmoke and A Prairie Home Companion and a Jane Austen novel and a medical textbook and spawned a theatrical love child! That would be Anatomy of Gray." I love all of those things (OK, except maybe for a medical textbook), so how could I resist Lyric Arts' current production Anatomy of Gray?! Director Scott Ford's description turns out to be quite apt, and I might also add a little The Normal Heart and even the similarly titled Grey's Anatomy to the mix. Anatomy of Gray is a sweet, funny, moving little play about the joys and sorrows of frontier life in the late 19th Century that poignantly reminds us that "we all come from love and loss."

"The Explorers Club" at Lyric Arts

"To Science!" Such is the rallying cry of the fictional Explorers Club in the new play by Nell Benjamin (co-writer of the musical Legally Blonde). But it's not just fiction; the real-life Explorers Club is an organization founded in 1904 and still going strong, a group of scientists committed to "the scientific exploration of land, sea, air, and space." The play is a riff on this idea, taking it to farcical extremes and exploring what happens when one of the members dares to propose that a woman join the group. The result is a silly, witty, and fun play well executed by Lyric Arts with a strong cast and fantastically detailed set design. Not a bad way to open the season!

I doubt that the real members of the Explorers Club are as ridiculous as their fictional counterparts. Explorer Percy (Peter Ooley) insists that he has discovered the "East Pole," botanist Lucius (Brandon Osero) grows poisonous plants named after the women he loves because he's afraid to tell her how he feels, Professor Sloane (Leigh Webber) is intent on finding The Lost Tribes, and Professors Walling (Grif Sadow) and Cope (Robert Zalazar) are so affectionate with their animal subjects that they've lost any scientific objectivity. Into their midst comes Phyllida Spotte-Hume (Jessica Scott), discoverer of a lost city and the object of Lucius' affections. The other members of the club are aghast at the idea of a woman joining their ranks, thinking she'll be too distracting to their work (reminiscent of the #iammorethanadistraction movement against school dress codes). But she also brings excitement and adventure in the form of the native Luigi (a highly physical and newt-like performance by Brendan Veerman) who unwittingly offends the queen, bringing Sir Humphries (Warren Sampson) and the British Army to the Club's door. Along with Irish assassins and killer monks, they create quite a ruckus. It's quite a far-fetched and ridiculous situation, but it's all in good fun!

the Explorers Club is in session! (photo by Mike Traynor)

The other star of the show is the set (designed by Brian Proball) and props (Emma Davis et al.) that look like they came right out of the Librarian movies. The set (dominated by a huge set of doors, stairway to the second floor, and a bar) is chock-full of authentic-looking artifacts including a mummy's case, a full suit of armor, shrunken heads, a large plant that grows, a giant rhino head, elephant leg stools, and weapons of every sort. All of the elements come together smoothly and with great comedic timing under the direction of Matt McNabb, highlighted by some thrilling and intricate drink choreography that is flawlessly performed by the cast (one wonders how long they had to practice catching those drinks, and if they use their new found skill to impress their friends at parties).

The Explorers Club is all light and fun silliness, a strong start to Lyric Arts' 20th anniversary season that includes, among others, A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas (a must-see for LIW fanatics like myself), the small and quirky musical The 25th Annual Spelling Bee, the huge and boisterous musical Shrek, and the classic comedy The Odd Couple. The Explorers Club continues through September 27 at Lyric Arts Main Street Stage in Anoka (discount tickets available on Goldstar). So raise a glass to science, comedy, and theater!

"Boeing Boeing" at Lyric Arts

I recently discovered the 1960s French farce Boeing Boeing (along with the rest of the world - it flopped originally on Broadway in the '60s but the recent revival was a hit, sparking many productions across the country). In fact I so much enjoyed Torch Theater's production a few months ago that I was eager to see the play again at Lyric Arts Main Street Stage in Anoka and see their take on it. Even though I knew how things would end up this time, it was still a delight to watch this perfect screwball comedy as brought to life by Lyric's fantastic '60s set and costume design and deliciously campy performances by the six-person comedy. It's light and funny and ridiculous, the perfect summer treat.

Bernard lives in a swanky apartment in Paris with his three international fiances, none of whom know about the other two. He tells his friend Robert, visiting from Wisconsin, that he's able to pull this off due to careful planning and paying attention to the time tables of the women's three airline employers, and of course with the begrudging help of his organized maid Berthe. Everything runs swimmingly and all parties are happy with the arrangement until a perfect storm of weather over the Atlantic and faster planes causes all three women to be in the apartment at the same time. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Bernard, Robert, and Berthe go to great lengths to keep the women apart for as long as they can, which results in lots of physical comedy and door slamming. It's like a shell game trying to keep track of who's in which room. But of course it can't go on forever, and the truth, or some version of it, eventually comes out.*

your TWA, Alitalia, and Lufhansa hostesses
(Nykeigh Larson, Katharine Strom, and Jessica Scott)

Director Scott Ford takes his cast right to the edge of campy comedy and they gamely leap off. Ryan Nielson's Bernard is the suave and confident playboy (not unlike his character in Blithe Spirit), until his perfect plan starts to fall apart and he becomes ever more frantic. Kyler Chase plays Robert as a bumbling, nervous schlub who's constantly tripping over the furniture and himself, and Jennifer Inderlee is a hoot as the constantly frustrated and disapproving French maid Berthe. Each of the three air hostesses (Nykeigh Larson as the confident American, Katharine Strom as the passionate Italian, and Jessica Scott as the stern and excitable German) are more over-the-top than the last and are all clearly having fun with the roles. The range of extreme accents are great fun to listen to, although I occasionally had trouble understanding what was being said. This is an intricate comedy, with much coming and going through various doors, physical comedy, and importance in the placement of props to make the jokes work. It's all very well choreographed and the cast pulls it off marvelously.

Jessica Scott, Katharine Strom, and Ryan Nielson

The fabulous set looks like something from a '60s sitcom - candy colored walls and doors (lots of them); worn wood paneling on the floors, walls, and furniture; modern black leather couches; brightly colored carpet squares; mod lighting; and a super cool inset stereo. The recessed living room (a la Don Draper) allows for much physical comedy as the actors scamper up and down, and they make hilarious use of the bean bag chair. The air hostess uniforms are primary colored perfection, with matching hats and bags. Robert's schlumpy look (even his shoes are scuffed) contrasts nicely with Bernard's polished attire (set by Mark Koski, costumes by Samantha Kuhn Staneart).

With Boeing Boeing, a good time is had by all - characters, cast, and audience alike. Catch this fun summer comedy now through June 21 (discount tickets available on Goldstar), and then make plans for the quintessential summer musical  Grease coming in July and sure to sell out. Because who doesn't love Grease?


*This paragraph borrowed from my post on Torch Theater's production.

"Blithe Spirit" at Lyric Arts

On a cold and snowy winter evening, I made my way through the slow and busy highways and streets to Lyric Arts Main Street Stage in Anoka. It was a long and unpleasant drive - but this is Minnesota, that's what we do. Once inside the warm and inviting theater, I forgot all about the frozen snowy world outside as I was immersed in the ghostly antics of a sophisticated English gentleman and his two wives, one living and one dead. Lyric Arts' production of English playwright Noël Coward's classic comedy Blithe Spirit is funny and charming, with a perfect cast under the direction of Robert Neu, who sets an appropriate tone that's equally charming and silly, and spot-on set and costumes. i.e., it's a welcome respite from this cold midwinter.

In Blithe Spirit, Charles and Ruth Comdomine live a happy peaceful life in their summer home in the English countryside, despite having to train in a rather incompetent new maid Edith. All of this changes one evening when Charles invites a medium named Madame Arcati to the house to conduct a séance, as research for a new book he's writing. Charles and Ruth, along with their friends George and Violet whom they also invite to the séance, view the whole thing with skepticism, and struggle to hold back their laughter as Madame Arcati goes through her process of contacting the dead. After the business is finished, the party breaks up and everyone laughs at the amusement of the evening. Except for Charles, who has begun to hear and then see his late wife Elvira. Ruth believes her husband is ill or insane, until he convinces her of the reality of the ghost, when she becomes upset not just because there's a ghost in the house, but because Charles seems to enjoy being reunited with his former love. Ruth attempts to rid their lives of Elvira, but Elvira has plans of her own.

the love triangle that crosses death
(Jessica Scott, Ryan Nielson, and Allie Munson)

The word blithe is not commonly used in American speech (although occasionally in musicals: "blithe smile, lithe limb, she who's winsome, she wins him"). But this word, meaning "showing a casual and cheerful indifference considered to be callous or improper," is the perfect word to describe the ghostly Elvira. She floats into Charles and Ruth's life on a breeze, all smiles and giggles, and doesn't care about the disruption she's causing, so happy is she to be back in her home with her husband. This spirit is perfectly embodied by Allie Munson; her Elvira is a lovely and ethereal apparition, somehow charming despite the ruckus she's causing to our happy couple. As said couple, Ryan Nielson and Jessica Scott are perfectly charming and sophisticated as Charles and Ruth, until their life becomes a bit derailed upon the arrival of Elvira, and their voices and tempers raise in a properly English sort of way.

The show is extremely well cast from top to bottom, and everyone in the cast sports a deliciously exaggerated accent. While it does not appear that Madame Arcati is a role usually played by a man, in the case of Grif Sadow, it's an inspired choice. He's an absolute hoot as Madame Arcati goes through her strange rituals and trances, but without making the character a complete joke as it becomes obvious that she's for real. Last but not least, Hannah Weinberg is quite the scene-stealer as Edith, the maid who tries so hard to please but can't help bounding from one task to the next in a manner not at all matching the sophistication of her employers. She makes the most of every moment, drawing it out for maximum laughs, highlighted by a hilariously torturous clearing of the breakfast table.

Mark Koski's set is a very real-looking, charming, and detailed room in an English home (perhaps a drawing room, in Downton Abbey terms), complete with books on the shelves, a fireplace, a sofa and sitting area, a gramophone, lush curtains on the patio doors, and most importantly, a fully stocked bar. Samantha Fromm Haddow's '40s period costumes are all lovely and help to define each character, but Elvira's dress is the pièce de résistance. A pale grey that matches her delicately beautiful make-up, the light and layered dress floats around the stage in a perfectly ghostly sort of way.

"If you think that community theater in Anoka isn't good or popular, then you simply haven't seen it recently." So says Alan Berks in his editor's note on the newly revamped website Minnesota Playlist, and I couldn't agree more. Blithe Spirit is a great example of this; there's virtually no difference between this production and something you might see on a professional stage in Minneapolis. But do note the "popular" part of the above statement; Lyric Arts shows have a tendency to sell out their relatively few performances in a run, so make plans now (discount tickets available on Goldstar) to see this charming, funny, well-done escapist comedy (written in 1941 as an escape from war, it works as an escape from winter too).