"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.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2025: "Fangs and Bangs (and Sangs)"

Day: 7

Show: 24

Title: Fangs and Bangs (and Sangs)

Category: Comedy / Musical Theater / Storytelling / LGBTQIA+ Content

By: Special When Lit

Written by: Nissa Nordland

Location: Southern Theater

Summary: #TCTheater fave Nissa Nordland enlists some of her talented friends (different every night) to read some of the "sexy vampire tales" that she wrote as a teenager.

Highlights: Nissa has written a lot of shows for Fringe and the TC Horror Festival, and this is like her origin story. Turns out she has always been interested in writing sexy, scary stories, and she has her journals and a floppy disc full of stories to prove it! She's an endearing host as she explains the concept of the show and then gets vulnerable, reading her journal entries full of her innermost teenage thoughts. A slide show of yearbook photos, journal entries, and sketches support her storytelling. She sings a couple of late '90s / early aughts songs accompanied by musicians (Nicholas Nelson and Keith Hovis at the show I attended), but the highlight really is the reading of a vampire story about a redheaded teenaged vampire named Lennox and her romance with a vampire hunter named Noah. The story is continuous throughout the five shows, so you'll need to go back if you want to find out how things turn out. Reading the story on the night I attended were Amber Bjork, Derek Lee Miller, Brettina Davis, and Duck Washington, who came prepared for the steamy scenes. And the section of the story that I saw got pretty steamy! It's very funny watching these actors read Nissa's teenage dreams, but it's even more fun to watch her react with a combination of sheer delight and utter horror.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here. 

2024 Twin Cities Horror Festival at The Crane Theater

The weather is (finally) turning cooler, the brightly colored leaves are falling from the trees, which means it must be time for the 13th annual Twin Cities Horror Festival. Unlike my friends at Minnesota Theater Love and The Stages of Minnesota (follow them for full coverage), I am not in general a fan of horror. But I am a fan of this mini Fringe festival that features many of my favorite Fringe artists. So I'm seeing a handful of shows this year (October also happens to be the busiest theater month of the year in general, and this year in particular). I was at the first show of the festival on last Thursday evening before continuing my stretch of five non-TCHF shows in five days, and then returned a few times to see a few more. I saw 7 of the 11 shows this year, read about them below, and visit the TCHF website for details and tickets (warning: there are sellouts already, particularly in the smaller studio space). Shows continue daily through November 3 at The Crane Theater in Northeast Minneapolis.

"The Boy Wonder" at History Theatre

I had never heard of Minnesota's youngest governor, Harold Stassen, before seeing a virtual reading of the musical The Boy Wonder as part of History Theatre's Raw Stages new works festival a few years ago, when I declared it to be "Minnesota's Hamilton." A progressive Republican elected at the age of 31 in 1938 who resigned during his third term to enlist in the Navy and serve in WWII, and later ran for president a record nine times, Stassen is a perfect candidate for a History Theatre original. Recently retired Artistic Director Ron Peluso wisely asked Keith Hovis, whom one might call the "boy wonder" of #TCTheater musical theater creators, to write his story as a musical. It's finally receiving its world premiere at the downtown St. Paul theater, and it's a wonder indeed. A historical piece that feels timely and relevant, at a time when there's such divisiveness, corruption, and turmoil in our government and political process, it makes one long for a government and elected officials that work for the people instead of for themselves. But this is no staid period piece or preachy sermon, it's a dynamic, modern, exciting musical for today. Well-written, well-acted by a dream cast, with smart and sleek design, it's another in a long line of hit original musicals from History Theatre. You only have one weekend left to catch this fantastic new locally created musical - don't miss it!

2022 Twin Cities Horror Festival at the Crane Theater

Here's the thing: I don't like horror. I don't watch horror movies. Halloween means nothing to me other than the opportunity for fun-sized candy. But what I do love is the #TCTheater artists who create new and inventive work for the genre-specific mini-fringe fest known as the Twin Cities Horror Festival. Their 11th season includes 11 shows, with performances daily now through October 30. If you love horror, this is definitely going to be your thing. And even if you don't, there's a lot to enjoy. I saw six of the 11 shows; keep reading for brief thoughts on each one, and for more in-depth TCHF coverage, follow my horror-loving friends at Minnesota Theater Love and The Stages of MN.

The History Theatre's Virtual New Works Festival "Raw Stages," Fall 2020

Every January, the History Theatre hosts a new works festival called "Raw Stages." Most of their programming is original works, so they rely on these annual workshops and readings as part of the development process. Faced with a long closure of the theater space due to the current and seemingly never-ending pandemic, they decided to hold another "Raw Stages" festival this year - virtually. Workshops and readings are done over Zoom, with the each of five recorded readings available for streaming for a week, spread out about a month apart. I missed the first one, Not In Our Neighborhood (which was supposed to premiere in the spring of 2020), but I've watched the other four. The most recent and currently streaming is the delightful Betty Crocker Musical, with a live talk-back on Friday. Read on for details of all five new works and how you can watch them.

"Immortal" by Trademark Theater at Camp Bar

The latest creation from new #TCTheater company Trademark Theater is a solo show created and performed by its Artistic Director Tyler Michaels King. Immortal has been in development for a while, and for the last three weeks Tyler and his collaborators workshopped the project, culminating in a one-night only performance at Camp Bar last night. Hopefully this is not the last we see of the aging crooner F. Amos Lee, and he'll make his return in some form or another in the coming years.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2019: "Edith Gets High"

Day: 5

Show: 17

Title: Edith Gets High

Category: COMEDY / DRAMA / MUSICAL THEATER / PHYSICAL THEATER

By: Devious Mechanics

Written by: Keith Hovis

Location: Rarig Center Arena

Summary: A new original musical about Edith, whose favorite pastime is getting high and playing video games, until she's sucked into a game that feels a little too real.

Highlights: I love Keith Hovis' Fringey musicals, and this one is no exception. But it feels a little different - a little more focused, a little less gruesomely violent, with some physical theater elements (thanks to director Allison Witham of Transatlantic Love Affair). Edith is one of "Four Women Getting High Playing Video Games," including her fiance Ari and a couple of online friends. She gets perhaps a bit too high, and imagines herself inside of a video game in which she has to save Ari, battling imaginary foes as well as a very real troll. The original songs are clever and tuneful, reminiscent of previous Hovis musicals but with some video-game-sounding elements. This fantastic cast is as good at the comedy as the musical parts of the show, starting with the always wonderful Deb Berger as our hero Edith, with a strong and hard-working supporting cast (Cameron Reeves, Colleen Somerville Leeman, Kiko Laureano, Lizzie Gardner, and Ryan Lear) playing multiple characters. There is one unfortunate line, something about how video games makes killing people fun, that is a bit awkward in light of recent events. But on the whole it's a really fun, well-written, brilliantly performed Fringey musical. Recommended to reserve a seat in advance on the Fringe website, or get there early to snag one of the 30% of seats that are held for walk-ups.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Jefferson Township Sparkling Junior Talent Pageant" at Park Square Theatre

This summer, Park Square Theatre is all about supporting new works of music-theater created right here in #TCTheater. Last weekend saw the closing of one remount of a locally created new original musical (the gorgeous and moving dance musical about the Bosnian War, Heaven) and the opening of another remount of a locally created new original musical. More than a remount, this iteration of Jefferson Township Sparkling Junior Talent Pageant is an expanded version of the 2017 Fringe hit that has been doubled in length, fun, and emotion. Created by uber-talented young composer/lyricist/playwright Keith Hovis, Jefferson Township is a darkly hilarious and surprisingly poignant look at a group of millennials turning 30, as seen through a super creepy small town Minnesota youth pageant. It's extremely clever, very funny, and the super talented well-balanced quartet of actors are having so much fun that it's impossible for the audience not to have fun too. Jefferson Township Sparkling Junior Talent Pageant is the perfect fun summer musical.

"The Skriker" by Fortune's Fool Theatre at the Crane Theater

A dark fairy pursues two teenage mothers in Caryl Churchill's The Skriker, receiving a rare production thanks to Fortune's Fool Theatre. It's an ambitious undertaking, with a huge cast of 17, fantastical elements, and complicated often nonsensical dialogue. While I have to admit that the play is a little too weird for my taste, I can recognize the talent, artistry, and hard work that has gone into making this unique and striking piece of art.

Fringe Festival 2017: "Jefferson Township Sparkling Junior Talent Pageant: A New Musical"

Day: 1

Show: 2

Title: Jefferson Township Sparkling Junior Talent Pageant: A New Musical

Category: Musical

By: Devious Mechanics

Written by: Keith Hovis

Location: Mixed Blood Theatre

Summary: In search of something, a woman returns to her small town home and decides to finally continue an interrupted junior talent pageant from 20 years ago.

Highlights: This is another fun, fringey musical from the brilliant (and perhaps slightly warped) mind of Keith Hovis (see also Teenage Misery and Shakespeare Apocalypse). This one centers around the residents of a small town in Jefferson County, Iowa, and the late-20s former classmates who reunite to reenact the junior talent pageant they participated in 20 years ago, cut short due to a tragic accident. Frannie (Kelly Houlehan) had some success in "the Cities," and now finds herself living with her dad in the town where she grew up, where the first male pageant competitor Liam (Ryan London Levin), past his prime jock Travis (Zach Garcia), and spoiled little rich girl (and reigning champion) Val (Leslie Vincent) still live. In a Keith Hovis musical, we know there will be fun, catchy, clever tunes, dark humor, and blood, and this show fulfills all of those expectations. With fantastically broad and fully committed performances by the cast, a good time was had by all (note: unlike my first Fringe show, this one is decidedly not family-friendly!).

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Public Exposure" by Market Garden Theatre

On a frigid and snowy Saturday night, I arrived on a not-very-well-plowed street in an industrial neighborhood filled with semis. I entered the building at 451 Taft Street in Northeast Minneapolis (not too far from the new Crane Theater) and made my way down the stairs to a long hallway that smelled funny and was cold. If not for the signage at various points, I would have been unsure I was in the right place. But I was in the right place, the right place to see a smart new play in a perfectly suited found space with a small cast that was so great and natural I almost felt like I was eavesdropping on a real conversation. This was my first experience with Market Garden Theatre, but not my first experience with a Keith Hovis penned work, and I continue to be impressed with his evolving talents. First he amused with his very Fringey musicals (including Teenage Misery which recently received an encore production), then he moved to tears with the lovely trio of short musicals Pioneer Suite, and now he disturbs and intrigues with a play about our modern world and how quick we are to publicly shame people for their mistakes.

"Teenage Misery" by Revisionary Theatre Collective at Sandbox Theatre

There's another new theater company in town. They're called Revisionary Theatre Collective, and they're making their debut with a remount of the 2013 Minnesota Fringe musical Teenage Misery. It was one of my favorite Fringe shows that year, about which I wrote:

What do you get if you combine the Stephen King novels Misery and Carrie with the musicals Sweeney Todd and Bye Bye Birdie? You get this odd and delightful mishmash of a musical, that doesn't shy away from the material it borrows from (the opening song is "attend the tale of Carrie Black," and Conrad Birdie is replaced by Shane West). A little rough around the edges, but the songs are great, with clever commentary on what it's like to be a young person growing up today, and winking jokes about "no time for proper character introduction, we only have an hour."

"Pioneer Suite" by Freshwater Theatre at nimbus theatre

A new original musical, Minnesota history, a gorgeous score written in an early Americana style, a wonderful cast, beautifully rustic period costumes and set, and the real stories of three women who are given a voice. What's not to love about Freshwater Theatre's aptly titled Pioneer Suite? This piece, that is in effect three one-act musicals woven together with a similar theme, time period, and musical style, was written by Keith Hovis, who also music directs and plays keyboard in the three-piece band. I loved Keith's Minnesota Fringe musicals Teenage Misery and Shakespeare Apocalypse, which were both fringey delights, but Pioneer Suite is on a whole different level and proves that he can do more than write catchy songs and a silly and entertaining story. Pioneer Suite is a beautiful and fully formed musical, with moments of humor, darkness, depth, desperation, and heart.

The first act, or movement, is about "Mrs. Housel* of Suicidal Fame," and was presented as part of Freshwater's Archival Revival. Kelly Matthews performed this song at the Ivey's last year, and I'm so glad those of us who missed the original production have a chance to see it again, and more! Based on a newspaper clipping about a woman who attempted suicide nine times, Mrs. Housel is finally able to tell her own story, in her own words. It's obvious that Kelly has spent time with this character, as she makes the audience feel every note and emotion in Mrs. Housel's tragic story.

In the second act we meet Martha Angle Dorsett, the first woman lawyer in Minnesota. Actually we meet two Marthas, one at the ripe old age of 36 (Kendall Anne Thompson), and one a youthful 26 (Gracie Anderson). The younger Martha is facing a decision by the judge whether or not to admit her to the bar, which seems like the most important thing in life. The older Martha has decided to quite practicing law, and tries to convince her younger self that there's more to life than "success." They have some interesting song-conversations, and combining the powerhouse voices of Kendall and Gracie leads to some gorgeous sound. Philip Matthews as her husband Charlie completes the charming trio.

The final act is about Mary (Gail Ottmar), a farmer's wife, who has suffered great loss in her life and would most likely be diagnosed with clinical depression today. But in the late 19th century, all her husband (Jim Ahrens) and son (Zach Garcia) know is that mother spends a lot of time in bed. The visit of a beloved daughter (Libby Anderson) and her fiance (Lars Lee) serves to cheer her up for a time, until she learns that they're leaving the city to start their own farm, the same difficult life that has nearly destroyed Mary. This family drama provides some nice moments for everyone in the cast, from the sweet young couple in love, to the family eagerly preparing for the visit, to Mary singing about her "Melancholia."

Each one of these three mini-musicals could stand on its own (and I'd have a hard time picking a favorite), but putting them together creates an even more powerful and fulfilling experience. The music really evokes that pioneer feeling of the late 19th Century Midwestern frontier, and it's a beautiful thing to hear the stories of three everyday women, who didn't necessary do anything newsworthy in their lives, except that they lived. The closing song allows Mrs. Housel, the Marthas, and Mary to sing together about the power of telling one's story and being heard. I definitely won't forget these three remarkable women soon. Head to nimbus between now and October 18, and you won't either.




*Listen to Keith Hovis talk about the process of writing Mrs. Housel on the Twin Cities Song Story podcast, hosted by Mark Sweeney.

Fringe Festival: "Shakespeare Apocalypse: A New Musical"

Day: 5

Show: 19

Title: Shakespeare Apocalypse: A New Musical

Category: Musical theater

By: Devious Mechanics

Written by: Keith Hovis

Location: Theatre in the Round

Summary: A young actor very publicly proclaims his dislike of Shakespeare, summoning the Bard back from the dead along with Jane Austen and Ernest Hemingway to bring about the end of the world.

Highlights: Devious Mechanics has come back with another perfectly Fringey musical, following last year's super-fun Teenage Misery. It's a similar formula, so if you loved Teenage Misery, you'll love Shakespeare Apocalypse. If not, well there's probably not much here for you. But for me, any musical that includes the line "Something has changed within me" and the number 525,600 is right up my ally! Once again, writer Keith Hovis does not shy away from borrowing lines and themes from beloved musicals; the opening number is straight out of Little Shop of Horrors, and characters are tasked with finding an odd list of items a la Into the Woods. Plenty of pop culture references, from Jurassic Park to Breaking Bad, also pepper the somewhat convoluted story. In the middle of a performance of Hamlet at the Guthrie, Peter goes on a rant about Shakespeare that goes viral, causing Shakespeare and friends to come back to terrorize the world, or something like that. The details don't matter, it's enough that the show is chock full of humor, great songs, and an energetic and talented young cast. Philip C. Matthews brings his usual passion and charisma to the role of Peter, Jill Iverson shows off her star power and gorgeous musical theater belt as Peter's friend, and Peyton McCandless is charming as a young blogger. Shakespeare Apocalypse is Fringe musical theater at its best.

Fringe Festival: "Teenage Misery: A Horror Musical"

Day: 6

Show: 18

Title: Teenage Misery: A Horror Musical

By: Devious Mechanics

Written by: Keith Hovis

Location: Theatre in the Round

Summary: A young woman in college and her two best friends kidnap their idol Shane West. It ends badly, and they go on a killing spree across the country.

Highlights: What do you get if you combine the Stephen King novels Misery and Carrie with the musicals Sweeney Todd and Bye Bye Birdie? You get this odd and delightful mishmash of a musical, that doesn't shy away from the material it borrows from (the opening song is "attend the tale of Carrie Black," and Conrad Birdie is replaced by Shane West). A little rough around the edges, but the songs are great, with clever commentary on what it's like to be a young person growing up today, and winking jokes about "no time for proper character introduction, we only have an hour." The young actors in the cast may be a little green, but there's a ton of raw talent on that stage, and they perform with such enthusiasm and energy that it's impossible not to have fun watching them. Kelly Houlehan as Carrie has a strong voice and lights up the stage, Jordan Oxborough plays the not-so-smart idol well and sounds great too (talent runs in the family), and Shana Berg is a scene-stealer as the woman with a psychic connection to Shane (their psychic duet is hilarious). It's everything you want a Fringe musical to be - fun, clever, over-the-top, with strong performances and catchy tunes. Musical theater lovers - go see this one!

Read more of my fringe fest reflections…

… including my top 5 shows