Musical Mondays at LUSH, May 2026

I hadn't been to Musical Mondays at LUSH in almost a year, but when they used a photo of the Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture as the May show image, Cherry and Spoon had to go! And I'm so glad I did. I love this monthly cabaret series started by BFFs Max Wojtanowicz and Sheena Janson some 12 years ago, and would attend every month if I weren't so busy seeing 4-5 shows a week in this busy #TCTheater season. But take it from me, if you're ever free on the first Monday of the month, head to LUSH in Northeast Minneapolis for what is always an amazing display of talent and a fun community event. Max is always an amiable host (before and after cocktails), the bartenders always have a strong pour (food also available before and during the show), the band is always solid on a variety of music styles, and the cast of performers always blows me away, whether or not I've ever seen them before. It's so fun to see performers in this environment where they can sing whatever they want to, whatever means something to them, maybe from some show they'd never be cast in; we get to know the person behind the characters they play. Most of the songs are recognizable (to musical theater nerds), but also include some deep cuts, and the song list is always posted on Musical Monday's Facebook page after the show in case there were a few you didn't recognize. So make plans for the next Musical Mondays on June 1, bring a script or two you want to get rid of in the Script Swap, and get there before the doors open at 6:30 to get a seat in the always crowded room.

"Rollicking! A Winter Carnival Musical" at History Theatre

The new original musical Rollicking! A Winter Carnival Musical celebrates the one holiday* that unites us all here in the Northland - winter itself! And specifically, it celebrates the way that we celebrate winter, namely the St. Paul Winter Carnival. Like all of History Theatre's original work, it's educational, shedding light on a little known aspect of local history, and it's also entertaining in the way it tells that history. But I don't think I've seen a History Theatre musical quite like this before, that wraps its historical lesson up in a bright fantastical world. It's an odd mix of real world facts and people, and a fantasy realm full of magical creatures, but somehow it works. Rollicking! is a yummy confection of a winter musical that celebrates everything we love about Minnesota, its people, and its traditions. Join the celebration at History Theatre in downtown St. Paul through December 21.

"Shrek" at Artistry

To close out their 2021-2022 season that began with the gorgeous and timely Jason Robert Brown song cycle Songs for a New World, ushering us into the new world of post (mid) pandemic theater, Artistry is bringing us the joyful story of Shrek. This story of a lonely ogre who finds friends, community, and love is a celebration of the beautiful uniqueness of all of us freaks, and it's a really fun time. With a huge cast chock full of local talent; super fun fairy tale costumes; direction by #TCTheater veteran Angela Timberman, a master of making the audience laugh while tugging at their heartstrings; and a catchy score music directed for the last time by Artistry's soon-to-be-retired resident Music Director Anita Ruth, Shrek is a great choice for kids and grown-ups alike (continuing at the Bloomington Center for the Arts through August 14).

"Cabaret" at the Lyric Arts Main Street Stage

One of my favorite shows last year was Frank Theatre's Cabaret, starring Bradley Greenwald and Melissa Hart (from the original Broadway production of the show). So when I attended a production at Lyric Arts Main Street Stage* in Anoka, I tried to put that out of mind, knowing that it was unfair to compare the two. But I was really impressed by the production. All of the leads are great in their roles, the Kit Kat girls are fantastic, the set is interesting and effective, and Cabaret is in my opinion one of the best musicals ever written. I love that it's wildly entertaining and fun and sexy, but also has an undercurrent of desperation just below the frivolity on the surface. Lyric Arts does a great job with both parts in their production running now through August 5.

Cabaret takes place in pre-WWII Berlin, just before the rise of the Nazis. It's the end of the relatively calm period in Germany between the World Wars, just before everything falls apart. And that's the desperation you can feel throughout the piece, that sense that something awful is coming, which the characters in Cabaret choose to deal with by living life as fully and as presently as they can, epitomized by Sally Bowles. She's the star of the Kit Kat Klub, living from day-to-day, man-to-man, painting her fingernails green because "I think it's pretty." She meets Cliff, an American writer, and they live happily together for a short time before the darkness that's brewing in Berlin starts to become apparent. He wants them to return to America, but Sally isn't a housewife in the suburbs kind of girl. She chooses to remain in her beloved Berlin, for better or worse.

Highlights of this production include:

• A fearless and animated performance by Max Malanaphy as the Emcee.
• Eric Brandhorst as the earnest Cliff, who sounds beautiful (and sings a lovely song I've never heard before "Don't Go").
• Katie Hahn as Sally Bowles is fierce and funny, and her final number "Cabaret" is the sad, desperate, determined cry of life that it should be.
• Debbie Swanson and Kristo Sween are just charming as the late in life couple who bond over "a pineapple."
• The set (by Brian Proball) features two levels (with the band upstairs), a fireman's pole put to good use by the actors, and cabaret tables both upstairs and down.
• The choreography (by Jon Michael Stiff) is inventive and interesting and fun, ably performed by the Kit Kat girls.
• The costumes (by Lisa Mangone) are really cool and make everyone look fabulous.

As a resident of the Northeast suburbs, I've been wanting to check out this Anoka theater for a while now. It's a nice little theater (and they sell popcorn in the lobby!), and this was a great first show for me. A few of the shows on their 2012-2013 season appeal to me so I'm sure I'll be making the trip again. Cabaret is definitely worth it, especially if you live on the Northern side of the Cities. I love the idea of a true community theater in the suburbs, so you don't always have to drive into the city to see great theater, and Lyric Arts definitely fits the bill.

the Emcee surrounded by the Kit Kat girls

*I received one complementary ticket to see Cabaret.

Fringe Festival: "Uptown: The Musical" by Box Wine Theatre at Mixed Blood

I saw a flier for Uptown: The Musical a few months ago at the Southern Theater and thought it looked cute and sort of RENT-like, so I was happy to see it on the list of Fringe Festival shows.  And even happier to discover that it is cute, if not very RENT-like.  There are some similarities - a group of young bohemian friends in an urban setting trying to make their way through life - but Uptown is all lightness and fun without the tragic undertone of RENT.

Uptown takes place in a coffee shop in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis (a neighborhood that's much too hip for me), called "The Dirty Hipster."  The colorful characters that populate the coffee shop are the barista Kate (who has been working there much longer than she intended), her musician boyfriend Quentin, a couple of Star Trek dorks, a guy who loves his bicycle, an unemployed young man who still lives with his parents, and a woman who earns money by participating in studies and donating plasma.

The loose plot involves the hipsters protesting against the arrival of a chain store in Uptown - "Trader Jack's."  They make signs and rice krispie treats to get people to come to the coffee shop for a benefit concert featuring Quentin's band.  They plan to buy a billboard with the money proclaiming the evils of chain stores in Uptown.  The benefit is great and everyone has a wonderful time ("out of many we are one, out of one we are many, stay strong stay vocal, keep Lyndale local!"), but unfortunately they don't raise much money.  Quentin decides that it's time for him to grow up and leave Uptown (for St. Paul), and the remaining hipsters decide to donate plasma to make some more money and continue on their quest.

The songs are catchy, whether they're about Obama, emus, Star Trek, or plasma.  The cast is extremely likeable and capable, with varying levels of dancing and singing talent.  Jon Michael Stiff moves like a trained dancer, and Sarah Frazier as Kate has a great voice.  Andi Cheney plays Astrid with a frenetic energy that's appropriate for someone in the middle of a sleep deprivation study and living on caffeine.  It's a fun and diverse cast of characters that would be fun to hang out and drink some coffee with!


See all of my Fringe reviews.