"Stations of the Heart" at Nautilus Music-Theater

Nautilus Music-Theater's main focus is developing new works of music-theater (a hyphenate that encompasses opera, musicals, plays with music, and everything in between) through their monthly "Rough Cuts" series and their annual Composer-Librettist Studio. Their rare but wonderful full productions seem to pop up out of nowhere, but in reality they've been in the works for years. Such is the cast with the lovely new song cycle Stations of the Heart, which was first presented at a Rough Cuts 18 years ago. Now, as theaters are starting to open after a very long extended intermission, it's finally being presented as a full production, although a small one - three vocalists and two musicians. It's exactly what I've come to expect from Nautilus - innovative, modern yet connected to a long tradition, and musically gorgeous. Performances continue through October 17 with limited seating, so make your plans soon (proof of vaccination and mask required).

"Twisted Apples: Stories from Winesburg, Ohio" at Nautilus Music-Theater

I first experienced Nautilus Music-Theater's lovely new piece of music-theater Twisted Apples: Stories from Winesburg, Ohio about five and a half years ago, when they presented one of the three acts at the 2011 Minnesota Fringe Festival. It was actually the first time I saw Nautilus' work, and I was immediately hooked. I saw another piece of the work at the 2012 Fringe Fest, and have been waiting for the full three-act work ever since. The wait is over! Nautilus specializes in developing new works of music-theater (a term that I've stolen because it can be used to describe anything on the spectrum of play with music/musical/opera without forcing it into a box). To that end, they hold classes and workshops for composers and playwrights, and present readings of new works roughly the second Monday and Tuesday of every month in their "Rough Cuts" series (watch their Facebook page for details, usually announced a week or two prior). Every once in a while they mount a full production of one of these new works in their tiny studio space in Lowertown St. Paul, and now, finally, it's Twisted Apples' turn to have its moment. But hopefully not its last; it's a gorgeous piece that I hope will live on and continue to be performed beyond this nine-show small space run that closes this weekend.

Fringe Festival 2012: Answered Prayers

Day: 3

Show: 11

Title: Answered Prayers

By: Nautilus Music-Theater

Created by: Robert Elhai and Jim Payne

Location: Rarig Xperimental

Summary: A musical adaptation of several of the short stories in the collection Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson, Answered Prayers completes the trilogy which also includes last year's Twisted Apples (my favorite show of Fringe 2011) and Untold Lies from 2010 (which I unfortunately did not see). This year's installment introduces us to some new characters in the small town - a teacher who left Winesburg to see the world and has since returned, and therefore is viewed as a bit strange by the townspeople who never left, and the pastor of the town church, who is fascinated by this strange woman to the point of thinking that he's found God in her. The common thread with last year's piece is George Willard, a young writer whose job at the newspaper allows him the opportunity to know many of the townspeople.

Highlights: Like last year's show, the music is beautiful, expansive, and expressive (libretto by Jim Payne and music by Robert Elhai), and wonderfully performed by the two-person band and three-person cast. Norah Long and Joshua Hinck return from last year's Twisted Apples. Joshua reprises his role as George and shows us more depth to the character. Norah, who last year played George's withering mother, brings a different energy to this much different character - a woman who's seen the world and returned to the small town of her birth to find it lacking. They are joined this year by JP Fitzgibbons (performing with laryngitis!) in a powerful performance as the pastor. I wanted to know more about these characters (I'm currently reading the book so hopefully I will), and I look forward to all three acts being performed as a full production. While I was more taken by last year's show and the compelling story of George's mother and their relationship, Answered Prayers adds more layers to life in this small town. I'm curious to see how all the pieces will fit together and the story they will tell as a whole.

Tip: The show sold out the night I was there (the Xperimental seems to be one of the smaller houses), so it might be wise to buy your ticket in advance if you're going to the last remaining show on Sunday at 4.

Read more of my fringe fest reflections...

Fringe Festival: "Twisted Apples" by Nautilus Music-Theater at Theatre in the Round

Day 2 of my Fringe Festival experience was even better than Day 1.  The three shows I saw ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous.  The ridiculous (and I mean that as a compliment) took the form of Disney Dethroned and Those Were the Days.  But first, the sublime: Twisted Apples by Nautilus Music-Theater.  What other words can I use to describe this original piece of musical theater/opera/"music-theater?"  Breath-taking.  Heart-wrenching.  Quietly powerful.  Beautiful.  The best thing I've seen at the Fringe so far, and I have a hard time imagining that anything else I see this week will move me more.

Twisted Apples is a companion piece to Nautilus' 2010 Fringe entry, Untold Lies, and one of three planned one-act operas that will eventually form a three-act opera.  The piece is based on several stories from Sherwood Anderson's 1919 short story cycle Winesburg, Ohio.  The narrator is a young man named George Willard, reminiscing about growing up in a small town in Ohio with his parents Tom and Elizabeth, owners of a small hotel.  As a young girl, Elizabeth had dreams of an exciting life.  But when she saw that all the other girls were marrying, she decided she should get married too.  And Tom happened to be there at the right time.  She became tied down to her family and the hotel, and never lived the life she dreamed of.  In contrast to Elizabeth's open, creative, imaginative spirit, Tom is a serious businessman who wants his son to follow in his footsteps.  Therein lies the conflict of the piece.  Elizabeth, who suffers from a mysterious illness, senses that her life is ending and she'll never get the chance to live as she dreamed of.  More than anything, she wants her son to continue to dream and live as she no longer can.

As Elizabeth, Norah Long (whom I've seen in numerous shows around town) gives a gut-wrenching performance.  She conveys Elizabeth's frailty with a slight catch, almost wheeze, on the intake of breath, and the trembling of her hands, but there's nothing frail about her voice.  Powerful and beautiful, it fills the intimate space at Theatre in the Round.  Gary Briggle is an equal match for her as her husband Tom, and her doctor, Doc Reefy.  Elizabeth and Doc Reefy discover they are kindred spirits, and share a beautiful duet.  His knuckles remind her of the twisted apples left on the trees after the harvest, and he shares that when he needed to pray, he invented gods to pray to.  And now he realizes that she prays to the same gods.  Joshua Hinck rounds out the cast as George, with an effortless voice.

The music in this piece is amazing.  Jim Payne wrote the libretto and Robert Elhai wrote the gorgeous music.  Jerry Rubino on piano leads the fabulous four-piece orchestra (viola/violin, accordion, and clarinet - which is always a thrill for me to hear because I used to play the clarinet, and hearing one in the theater always makes me wish I still did!).

I can't say enough about this show.  If you love musical theater as I do, you must see it.  It's a work of art.  I left the theater and found the sunlight and the real world jarring, because I was so engrossed in the world of Winesburg.  I didn't want it to end, and I cannot wait to see this piece in its entirety.  In the meantime I'll be reading the book to learn more about these fascinating characters.  I've wanted to see Nautilus Music-Theater for a while now, but for some reason I've had a hard time catching their shows.  I'll definitely make more of an effort now that I've had a taste of the sweet and secret Twisted Apples.


See all of my Fringe reviews.