"Bessie's Birthday" by Theater Latte Da at the Lab Theater

When I walked into the Lab Theater last night for the final selection in Theater Latte Da's new works project "NEXT: New Musicals in the Making," they were playing Dolly Parton. I took that as a good sign. Not that I needed one, I've really been enjoying NEXT and this is the one of the three pieces that I've seen before, as part of a triptych of one-act musicals called Passage of Dreams, presented in 2009 and one of my favorite shows of that year (and this was my favorite of the three pieces, which I thought at the time would make a great full-length musical). Like the music of Dolly Parton, Bessie's Birthday is funny, homespun, sweet, and surprisingly poignant at times. Writers Katie Baldwin Eng (book and lyrics) and Jeff Tang (music) have worked with director Peter Rothstein and music director Denise Prosek to continue to develop and expand Bessie's Birthday over the past few years, with the results being presented for three shows this weekend.

Like Theater Latte Da's most recent full production, Light in the Piazza, Bessie's Birthday is about a young woman who is emotionally still a child because of brain damage suffered in her youth. But that's where the similarity ends. Light in the Piazza is a love story set in Italy in the 1950s, with a gorgeous, almost operatic score to match. Bessie's Birthday is about a family in Wisconsin in the present day, with a score appropriate to the story. The songs are funny (when the men sing about grilling meat), or touching (the sisters sing to each other), or both (splash!). There's not a whole lot of action, but we get to know this quirky little family. Bessie (Caroline Innerbichler, who was in Passage of Dreams but not this piece) is turning 30, even though she's still a little girl in many ways. Her sister Delphine (Elizabeth Griffith, who was also in last week's C.) is returning home to Wisconsin with her New York boyfriend (Sasha Andreev) in tow. Their parents May (Janet Hanson, the only returning cast-member from the 2009 production) and Sam (James Detmar) are throwing the usual summer pool party for Bessie. The only other guests are funny neighbor Jack (John Gamoke) and his wife Grace (Julie Madden), who provide much of the comedy. They prepare for the party, have conversations, light fireworks, tell jokes, and toast the birthday girl.

Bessie loves to swim, and is most at home in her pool. It gives her the freedom to be herself and see the world in her own particular way. Bessie's birthday tradition is to push her guests into the pool, fully clothed. In an effective story-telling device, as each character gets pushed into the pool, they freeze for a few moments in mid-air and speak their truth. Funny or poignant, whatever it is, but very real. The entire play has been building to this moment, and it's a satisfying ending to the story, while still knowing that the stories continue in these characters lives. As has been the case throughout this series, the entire seven-person cast gives fully realized performances, despite the scripts and music stands before them. Caroline portrays Bessie with a sweet innocence and a lovely voice to match. I think I like Elizabeth even more than I did in C., she's very in the moment. Sasha is genuine and likeable as the outsider trying to make sense of this new environment. Janet brings much heart to the role of a mother trying to protect her daughter and afraid to let her go off on her own (another similarity to Light in the Piazza), and James Detmar nails the part of the typical Midwestern dad. Last but not least, John and Julie are a hoot as the crazy neighbors (as was Julie in Company last fall - she's a great comic singer).

There was a lot of talk in the post-show discussion, from the creators and audience members alike, about how this is a quiet and delicate story, not your typical big and splashy musical. It's still short for a musical, about 75 minutes with no intermission, but perhaps that's what best serves the story. It's the little moments that touch the heart, the simplicity of the story and interaction between the characters. I could easily spend two hours with these characters, but not at the expense of those quiet moments of poignancy. That's the challenge.

Whenever I happen upon a post-show discussion, I almost always stay, along with typically about 10% of the audience. It's worth noting that all three of the NEXT shows I've attended have had a much larger retention rate for the post-show discussion, probably about 75%. Perhaps the type of audience that's drawn to the reading of a new work is more invested in it than the average theater-goer. The creative teams have seemed very interested in what the audience has to say, as that's a big part of the development of a new work. I would be happy to see any of these three pieces - When the Moon Hits Your Eye, C., or Bessie's Birthday - as a full production. If I had to pick just one, I would choose When the Moon Hits Your Eye. The characters and their stories really drew me in, I loved the use of music and mix of styles, I found the characters reading stage direction and descriptions of other characters to be a fresh and interesting story-telling method, and I can imagine lots of interesting possibilities for staging (the three levels of the apartment building, the sunset at the end). But even if I don't see any of them again, being a part of the creation of these three diverse new works has been a great experience. I look forward to next year's NEXT!

"Company" by Theater Latte Da at the Ordway McKnight Theatre

I've been writing this blog for over two years, and I've found that some shows are easier to write about than others (which is not necessarily correlated to how much I like the show). But every once in a while, I'm so affected by a piece of theater that I go directly to the computer as soon as I get home, no matter the hour, because I immediately need to get my thoughts out of my head. Theater Latte Da's new production of the 1970 Sondheim musical Company* is one of those shows. I was so immersed and engaged in the world and characters created, that when the show was over, the lights came up, and the applause (reluctantly) died down, it was a jarring dose of reality. I feel like a broken record, but this is another brilliant production by Theater Latte Da. Friends, we are very very lucky to have Peter Rothstein and Denise Prosek and this company that they created 15 years ago in our community. They just keep getting better and better.

I really only heard of Company last year when a filmed concert version starring Neil Patrick Harris was released to movie theaters. I immediately fell in love with it, so this production is coming at a great time for me. Company began as a series of short plays about married couples written by George Furth. When Stephen Sondheim came on board, it was turned into a musical and the character of Bobby was added as a central character tying all of the couples together. There's not much of a plot to it; it's more of a character study and an exploration of the ideas of marriage, friendship, and connection. Bobby is single and turning 35 amidst a bunch of married couples (something I can relate to, although this fall is not my first 35th birthday ;), and he spends time with each of them in turn, trying to figure out what it's all about. In typical Sondheim fashion, the songs are clever and witty and fast, with unexpected and beautiful melodies.

As usual with Latte Da shows, this one is perfectly cast. When I first heard that Latte Da was doing this show, I immediately thought of Dieter Bierbrauer as Bobby, and I was thrilled when I heard he had indeed been cast. Dieter's voice is perfection; there's nothing he can't do vocally. He has such control and emotion in his voice; his singing sounds effortless on these challenging Sondheim songs. As Bobby, everyone's best friend, Dieter rarely leaves the stage. But he's not always the center of attention. In fact that's a crucial part of this role and one Dieter does well - being the observer, the listener, the sounding board, as his friends unload their feelings and crazy ideas to him. Always attentive and engaged as he sits there silently, you can see the wheels turning as he takes it all in and adds it to his growing knowledge base of what this marriage thing might mean. The final song after he puts it all together ("add 'em up, Bobby") is "Being Alive," one of the greatest songs ever written for musical theater. Dieter's performance is a thing of beauty. Angry and defensive, then soft and vulnerable, finally a demand for a richer and fuller life.

Jody Briskey as Joanne with
Dieter Bierbrauer as Bobby

The five couples surrounding Bobby are also well-cast. Each couple is different, and are given a scene or two with Bobby to let the audience in to their particular brand of marriage. It's difficult to pick just a few standouts to mention, but I must start with Jody Briskey as Joanne, the three-times married slightly more mature and cynical friend who gets the best song, "Ladies who Lunch." Jody performed the song at this summer's Latte Da in the Park concert, and it was obvious then that she would be the one playing this role. Jody recently won an Ivey Award for her performance as Judy Garland in Beyond the Rainbow at the History Theatre last fall, and you can still hear Judy in her voice. I like to think of Jody as the Patti LuPone of the local theater scene (I'm not sure Patti ever played this role, but I heard her sing the song at Orchestra Hall a few years ago and it's that kind of song). Jody's performance of this Sondheim masterpiece is boozy and brilliant. In short, it's a showstopper.

Bobby (Dieter Bierbrauer, center) with his
good and crazy married friends

Also worth mentioning are the adorable Kim Kivens (she may be the smallest of stature in the cast, but not the smallest of voice) as the reluctant pot-smoking mom; Heidi Bakke as one of Bobby's girlfriends, a flight attendant who describes herself as "dumb and boring" in the most charming way (her duet with Bobby, "Barcelona," may be the cutest "morning after" song ever); David Darrow as the groom Paul, despite the fact that we only get a brief taste of his beautiful voice as he sings "Today is for Amy" to his frantic bride (I'm still waiting for the soundtrack of Rip, the Fringe show for which he wrote a bunch of really great songs that could stand on their own); Suzy Kohane as said frantic bride, who wins the prize for singing the most and fastest words in any song in the show, all while pushing her fiance away and still remaining likeable; and Julie Madden, who's a hoot as the dieting ka-ra-TE expert wife who has to remind her husband when and why he gave up alcohol.

Another important character in the play is New York City, my favorite city in the world (outside of Minnesota). In addition to the song "Another Hundred People (Just Got Off of the Train)" which perfectly describes the "city of strangers," there are numerous references to New York and New Yorkers. The city is also incorporated into the clever lighting and set design. Images are projected onto a couple of basic white boxes, as well as the backdrop, to represent the inside of a crowded home, a high rise apartment building with terraces, a park in different seasons, and the streets of New York as Bobby walks and ponders. One of the white boxes opens up to a bed (for the "Barcelona" scene), and a set of stairs leads to a second level providing a place for characters to observe the action as they come and go. There's not much choreography in the piece (Company is not a big song-and-dance kind of musical), but there are a few nice moments. In the opening number of Act II, "Side by Side by Side," Bobby sings and dances around his friend with an umbrella, and a kickline is formed. When all the men are telling Bobby "Have I Got a Girl for You," they're sitting on office chairs with a keyboard on their laps, emailing him, with choreographed keystrokes (choreography by Michael Matthew Ferrel). Touches like that and cell phones bring this show from the 70s into the 21st century, and with the relevant and timeless themes of relationships, it doesn't feel dated at all.

Company is playing at the Ordway McKnight Theater now through November 18. If you've never seen a Theater Latte Da show, well, you've been wasting your local theater-going life. Go see this show. The rest of their season looks to be just as amazing as this show, so you'll probably want to check that out too.

Theater Latte Da chose to do this show this season "as Minnesota grapples with the definition of marriage," but the production does not speak directly to the idea of marriage equality. What it does do is showcase five couples who have five different definitions of marriage. It seems to me, looking from the outside, that there are as many different definitions of marriage as there are marriages. So why would we want to constitutionally limit it to one definition, when it's never been that way? That was my take-away from the show; go see it and decide for yourself.

"Being Alive!"

*I received one complementary ticket to Opening Night of Company. However, I had already bought tickets for myself and 14 friends to go next week. Most of them are good and crazy married people, so I look forward to seeing the show again with them and hearing what they think of it.