"Grumpy Old Men: The Musical" by Minneapolis Musical Theatre at the Conn Theater

If Grumpy Old Men had to be turned into a musical (and I would argue it didn't), it definitely needs to be performed in Minnesota (where the 1993 film was set and filmed), and no company is a better choice to do it than Minneapolis Musical Theatre, whose motto is "rare musicals, well done." They specialize in this campy spoofy fun genre of musical, and always make the most out of the material. That's definitely the case here. The show is fun with lots of Minnesota references and doesn't take itself too seriously. But for a musical that premiered in 2018, it's disappointingly sexist in the way women are treated and talked about, with (relatively) young, smart, beautiful women dating and even marrying literal grumpy old men decades older than them. But MMT has assembled a winning cast that makes the most of it, with clever staging and choreography, for what is overall a fun time at the theater. Grumpy Old Men: The Musical continues at the Conn Theater in South Minneapolis through April 19 only.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2025: "Grief, It's What's For Dinner"

Day: 7

Show: 22

Title: Grief, It's What's For Dinner

Category: Comedy / Drama / Puppetry

By: Aethem Theatre

Written by: Kayla Hambek

Location: Open Eye Theatre

Summary: A funny and moving play about caregiving, loss, and finding your way through the difficulties of life with the help of friends.

Highlights: It's not the Minnesota Fringe Festival if I don't cry a few tears, so thanks to Kayla Hambek for letting me cross off that bingo square. She's written a really beautiful autobiographical show (she steps out of character at the end to tell us the real details) that's so relatable to anyone who's experienced loss or caring for an aging parent. She plays a character named Kate who (along with her dad) is caring for her mother who has early onset Alzheimer's, while also dealing with a neurodivergent sister. Her mother is still with them, but the daughters are mourning the mom they knew. She has a therapist and support group to help her through, and maybe even meets a boy. The small ensemble (Danielle Krivinchuk, Emma Paquette, Sher U-F, and Courtney Vonvett) plays everyone in Kate's life, most of them playing multiple very different roles. The use of hand puppets (to represent her inner self as a rainbow puppet, some of the support group members, and silly little musical numbers) adds a whimsy and charm to the story. Like the spoonful of sugar that makes the medicine (a story about grief) go down. Grief is a sweet, funny, relatable, and moving show.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here. 

"Three Sisters / No Sisters" by Theatre Pro Rata at the Crane Theater

I love seeing plays in rep, with a company of actors performing multiple plays in rotation over a period of time. It's especially satisfying when the plays are related (e.g., the Guthrie's epic History Plays last year). But Theatre Pro Rata is taking repertory theater one step further into something called simultaneous theater. Not only are they doing two shows in rep, they're being performed simultaneously! With the same cast! In the same building! On the stage of the Crane Theater, the funny and tragic and very human world of Chekhov's Three Sisters is playing out, while at the same time in the lobby of the theater, Aaron Posner's No Sisters is unfurling with the characters who are not on stage. After seeing the first one I reported that Theatre Pro Rata's Three Sisters as a stand-alone piece is an excellent production of a classic play that feels modern and relevant and relatable. A few days later I saw No Sisters and found it to be a delightful companion piece - similar in theme but very absurd and meta, giving us more insight into the minor characters. Note that the audience space in the lobby is limited, so if you want to see both plays you should get those tickets now (and yes you do have to go back on another day to see it), but if you can only see one, Three Sisters is an entirely satisfying experience on its own (although it may leave you wondering about the string of expletives coming from the lobby).

"The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley" at Lyric Arts

The Christmas at Pemberley play series by Lauren Gunderson and Margo Melcon has become a new #TCTheater holiday* tradition. The playwrights have taken the characters and relationships from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and continued them on into the following years. These plays came to us first through the Jungle Theater, which produced Miss Bennet (focusing on bookish sister Mary) in 2017 to such success that they co-commissioned a sequel, The Wickhams (about Lydia after her elopement with Mr. Wickham), premiering in 2018. After a pandemic pause, they brought us the third play (another co-commissioned rolling world premiere) Georgiana and Kitty (focusing on the friendship between Mr. Darcy's sister and a forgotten Bennet sister) just last year. Also last year, Lyric Arts wisely jumped on this bandwagon, producing the first play in the series, Miss Bennet. This year they're continuing the story with the second play, The Wickhams, the events of which happen concurrently with those of Miss Bennet. One can only hope they'll complete the trilogy next year with Georgiana and Kitty, but for now, head up to charming downtown Anoka for the best Jane Austen fan fic, that "perfectly marries Jane Austen's legacy of female-centered stories in a man's world of property, marriage, and inheritance with modern feminist sensibilities." You can visit Pemberley-in-Anoka Thursdays through Sundays until December 22.

"Miss Woodhouse Presents" by Aethem Theatre Company at Elision Playhouse

In a delightful piece of Jane Austen fan fic, Aethem Theatre Company brings us the new play Miss Woodhouse Presents, written and directed by their Managing Director Kayla Hambek. It's a sort of mash-up of all of the novels, in the form of a British reality TV show. In just 90 minutes, we see love lost and won among the Dashwoods, the Bennets, and more familiar characters. Fans of Austen, who are not too precious about it, are sure to enjoy. The short run ends this weekend; you have just three more chances to see this charming play at Elision Playhouse in Crystal (click here for info and tickets).

"Ludlow" by nimbus theatre at the Crane Theater

What I love most about nimbus theatre (other than the fact that they perform at the Crane in Northeast, a 15 minute drive from my house) is that they usually perform new works, often historical, always interesting and thoughtful. Their latest creation is Ludlow, about the Colorado Coalfield War of 1913-1914, the deadliest labor dispute in US History, resulting in the deaths of dozens or even hundreds of people. Playwright Josh Cragun and director Liz Neerland, Co-Artistic Directors of nimbus, have created an ambitious new work with a large and talented ensemble that not only brings the lives of the victims and survivors to life, but also speaks to current issues of unions, immigration, and the haves vs. the have-nots.

"Persuasion" by Aethem Theater Company at the Wellstone Center

"Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands." These words were written by Jane Austen 200 years ago, spoken by Anne Elliot, the heroine of Persuasion, but they're just as true today. OK maybe we've evened things out a little bit in the last 200 years, but women's stories told by women are still in the minority. Fortunately, Jane Austen was able to tell her story despite the obstacles, a story of strong women who are determined to decide their own fate despite living within the confines of early 19th Century English society. One of the less common iterations of this story, her final novel Persuasion, has received a new adaptation by local theater artist Kayla Hambek for Aethem Theatre Company, and it's just delightful. Full of the Jane Austen charm, the familiar story of a strong, determined, principled woman who won't settle for less than her heart's desire, brought to life by a large wonderful cast with creative use of movement to convey emotions - it's a must-see for Janeites.

Silent Sky at Lyric Arts

Have you ever heard of Henrietta Leavitt? Neither have I. But we should have. This early 20th Century female astronomer's discoveries gave us the ability to measure the universe. The much more famous (and male) astronomer Edwin Hubble built on her work and won the Nobel Prize for his work, which Henrietta could not because she died young before the full effects of her work were seen. None of us can control "who lives, who dies, who tells your story,*" but if the history books don't tell her story, we can be happy that theater is. Lyric Arts' production of Silent Sky (which, by the way, is written by a woman, directed by a woman, and features a mostly female cast) is a beautiful tribute to this brilliant, passionate, and dedicated woman who helped to quantify the idea that there is more out there in the universe than just this world we know.

Fringe Festival 2015: "Workshop"

Day: 7

Show: 31

Title: Workshop

Category: Comedy

By: AEthem Theatre Company

Written by: Kayla Hambek

Location: Minneapolis Theatre Garage

Summary: A group of friends commiserate about life, love, and their day jobs while planning the next season of their theater company.

Highlights: They always say, write what you know. The characters in this play, and perhaps playwright Kayla Hambek, have taken that to heart. Lindsey (Ali Close) is struggling to write a play for her theater company's upcoming season while dealing with the fact that she may lose her day job as a cardiologist and have to move away from the friends and the theater she loves. Monday night workshops with Rachel (Danielle Krivinchuk), Anna (played by the playwright), and British for no reason (other than it gives Kyler Chase a chance to show off his charming British accent) Nick become more stressful as they come closer to the season announcement deadline. Enter rival Charlie (Brendan Veerman) who Lindsey thinks stole one of her plays. Life, art, and friendship collide as the group contemplates the reality of possibly having to give up their dream. This appealing and very natural young cast delivers a sweet and funny play about the love of friends and theater.