"The Sound of Music" by Frosted Glass Creative

Seeing my sentimental favorite The Sound of Music (having grown up loving the movie, later playing clarinet in the pit orchestra for my high school production, and spending four months living in Salzburg in college) outdoors by the river in Stillwater was an absolute dream. Frosted Glass Creative had to cancel the first of only three performances due to a storm, but the delayed opening night was a success. Even though it was hot and buggy, and there were some sound issues in the challenging outdoor environment, with difficult sightlines at times, I loved every second of it. It's such a joyful story about following your dreams, connecting through music, and making difficult sacrifices to stand up for what's right. The large and talented cast and gorgeous full orchestra put so much heart into the show that even people floating by on the river could feel it. Stillwater's Zephyr Theatre premiered "Broadway on the Bridge" on this spot in the pandemic days, which sadly only lasted two years (Mamma Mia! and School of Rock) before they experienced financial difficulties and had to pause activities for a year or two. Former Zephyr Artistic Director Calyssa Hall is now with Frosted Glass (and directed this show) and began their "Broadway on the St. Croix" series last year, and it's such a great idea and a perfect spot for outdoor musicals - truly the prettiest stage in Minnesota. The second and final performance of The Sound of Music is tonight, but follow Frosted Glass for more theater opportunities along the beautiful St. Croix River.

UPDATE: Monday night performance added to make up for Friday's rainout - get tickets here!

"Well-Behaved Women" by Theatre Elision at Elision Playhouse

They say that well-behaved women rarely make history. Well, the subjects of the song cycle Well-Behaved Women were anything but, and make history they did. They also make for a wonderful collection of songs that are each mini-musicals in themselves, and combine together for an inspiring, educational, and entertaining evening of music-theater. This show is tailor made for Theatre Elision, which for the past six years has been bringing us new or rarely done musicals featuring female casts and creative teams. A strong cast of seven women perform 15 songs in a staged concert style, and the evening builds from humor and lightness to poignant and moving songs, with a thrilling conclusion that brought tears to my eyes. It's a beautiful showcase of the things that women have accomplished throughout history in a system often stacked against them, their stories beautifully told through music. See it at Elision Playhouse in Crystal through February 18 only, with a special Valentine's/Galentine's Day performance that includes drinks and a pre-show concert.

"Rough Cuts" at Nautilus Music-Theater: "Hurricane"

It's the second week of the month, and that means it's time for another "Rough Cuts" at Nautilus Music-Theater. I'd go to every one if my schedule would allow, so fun and fascinating it is to experience a new work of music-theater in development. Fortunately this week is a fairly light one for me (only four shows on the schedule), so I was able to make it Nautilus' Lowertown St. Paul studio space to see a reading the new musical Hurricane, by L.A. based Cory Hinkle (libretto) and Carla Patullo (music). The performance will be repeated tonight (likely with a few tweaks, as workshops go) across the river at the Playwrights' Center. For a suggested donation of just $5, you too can experience this lovely new musical performed by some of #TCTheater's best. See Nautilus' Facebook page for details and to be informed about upcoming "Rough Cuts" (the next one is a selection from their annual composer-librettist studio on June 3-4).

"A New Brain" by Second Fiddle Productions at Camp Bar

I'm a musical theater nerd. But I'm not the kind of musical theater nerd that listens to cast albums of shows I've never seen. I guess for me, musicals are more about seeing the story as it plays out before me, and then I often buy the cast recording to relive that experience. So when it comes to musicals that are beloved in the musical theater community but rarely performed, for whatever reason, I typically have not heard them. That's where Second Fiddle Productions (and Artistic Director Ruthie Baker) come in. Now in their third season, Second Fiddle produces readings of rare musicals using some of the Twin Cities finest music-theater talent.

"Rough Cuts" at Nautilus Music-Theater: "Bold in Their Breeches" and "The Lady with a Lapdog"

Have you ever been to "Rough Cuts," Nautilus Music-Theater's monthly series in which they present readings of new works of music-theater? Even though they've presented 170 "Rough Cuts" over 23 years, you're forgiven if you've never been, or even if you've never heard of it. Their website is uninformative (but it appears they're working on improving it) and while they are on Facebook and Twitter, they're not very active on either. Maybe they like it that way, because even with this lack of publicity there was a standing room only crowd at their small studio space in St. Paul's Lowertown neighborhood last night. But that's why I'm here, to let you know about delicious well-kept secrets in the local theater world such as "Rough Cuts."

"Baby Case" at the History Theatre

We live in the media age, with the proliferation of the internet, Facebook, Twitter, and 24-hour cable news channels. Or at least that's what we believe. But the musical Baby Case, receiving its regional premiere at the History Theatre, shows us that 80 years ago the media, and its customers the American public, were just as celebrity-crazed, crime-obsessed, and scandal-hungry as we are today. The only thing that differentiates the current "media age" from past ones is the format, frequency, speed, and availability of the media. In 1932, the celebrity was famed aviator Charles Lindbergh, and the crime was the kidnapping of his 20-month-old son. This "crime of the century" and subsequent trial of the man accused of committing it stirred a media sensation very similar to what we see today. The media and the American public's reaction to the crime and its effects on the people involved are the subject of the musical, rather than the crime itself. Baby Case is a fascinating and fantastic original musical that explores the ideas of fame, crime, and the relentless obsession of the media, told through music in a classic musical theater way.

The musical begins with establishing Lindbergh as a celebrity and a reluctant hero, and quickly progresses to the disappearance of Charles Jr. from his nursery one night. The first act deals with the search for the baby and the kidnappers, and the sad conclusion to the former search. In the second act, Bruno Hauptmann is accused and tried two years after the crime, with the primary evidence being possession of bills from the ransom money. The media interferes with all of this, as do Lindbergh's famous and powerful friends (including president Hoover). It's a tragic story with no happy ending for anyone, except perhaps for the newspapers. All of this is told beautifully and powerfully through song, with little spoken dialogue. It's a traditionally structured musical, with big ensemble numbers ("Hauptmann Murdered the Lindbergh Baby!") and quieter moments of internal reflection ("Lullaby," "Over the Sea"). Baby Case proves that you can make any story into a musical, if done right, as this one is. It's funny, moving, entertaining, informative, relevant, thought-provoking, and with tunes you will leave the theater humming.

The 11-person cast is wonderful across the board, all of them playing multiple characters. Peter Middlecamp and Kendall Anne Thompson play both couples at the center of the story - the Lindberghs and the Hauptmanns (the man convicted of the crime and his wife, who devoted her life to clearing his name).  They have great chemistry as both couples, and both Peter and Kendall have beautiful voices and really bring out the complicated emotions of their characters. In the second song of the show (the moment I knew this was going to be a good one) they form a powerful trio with Kym Chambers Otto as the Nurse who discovers that the baby is missing. Other standouts in the cast include Jon Andrew Hegge, transitioning between famous radio gossip Walter Winchell and a judge with a deft turn and removal of a hat; Gary Briggle as the man who facilitated the ransom delivery, the questionable defense attorney, and Phil Donahue; Emily A. Grodzik as an accused servant and Ginger Rogers; and Paul R. Coate, providing a bit of comic relief as a lady socialite duped into paying ransom money to con artists.

The production elements are also all top-notch. The Hooverian set is simple, efficient, effective, and evocative, with newspapers in the background reflected in mirror image on the floor, as well as a ladder and fireman's pole for easy movement to the second story area. The wardrobe by E. Amy Hill reflects this color palate of yellowed newspapers - black, white, tan, neutrals, with pops of red or maroon and nary a green or blue to be seen. Lovely period clothing and a fabulous aviator jacket that makes me want to find one for myself (in faux leather of course). Jake Endres leads the sparse four-piece orchestra, just off stage, through this great music.

Baby Case is a promising new musical (it was a hit at last year's New York Musical Festival) with shades of Ragtime (the first "Crime of the Century!"), Floyd Collins (another early 19th century media circus), even Next to Normal (mourning the loss of a child). In the second act I had flashbacks to another musical on that very stage - the Theater Latte Da/MN Jewish Theater co-production of Parade, about another man falsely (?) accused of the murder of a child. This is not to say Baby Case is derivative; it's an original creation that fits well in the musical theater anthology. If you're a fan of musical theater, you should not miss this fantastic production of a great new musical (playing through Nov. 3 at the History Theatre in downtown St. Paul, discount tickets available on Goldstar).

"Broadway Songbook: Words and Music of Contemporary Broadway" at the Ordway

The Ordway is presenting a series of informal cabaret-style concerts this season called Broadway Songbook.  The first one featured the music of Irving Berlin, and was an entertaining and informative look at the history of musical theater.  The second installment, featuring music of "Contemporary Broadway," was the one I was most looking forward to, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was a fairly accurate representation of the state of Broadway today - the good (The Book of Mormon), the bad (Priscilla Queen of the Desert), and the ugly (Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark).  I'm not a big fan of jukebox musicals or adaptations of blockbuster movies; it seems like an easy way for producers to make money without taking any risks.  But that's a lot of what's popular on Broadway these days, so it's only fair that they included it in this show.  Fortunately there were also plenty of original musicals and revivals featured to balance things out.

The host for the series is Ordway Artistic Director James Rocco, and once again he introduced each song with a little background or a funny story about the show or composer.  Accompanied by Raymond Berg on piano, the talented singer/actors included Joel Liestman, Robb McKindles (both of whom also appeared in the Irving Berlin show last fall), Kym Chambers Otto, Allison Tilsen-Kassabian, and Cinderella herself, Jessica Fredrickson.

Some highlights of the show:

• The opening number was a beautiful, soaring song that I was unfamiliar with (and I thought I'd know all the songs!), from a musical called Songs for a New World by Jason Robert Brown. 
• Jessica sang several musical theater songs that always get me teary-eyed.  "The Beauty Is" from Light in the Piazza by Adam Guettel, "There's a Fine Fine Line" from Avenue Q, "For Good" from Wicked (a duet with Kym), "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" from Mary Poppins.  OK maybe that last one doesn't quite fit with the others, but she was definitely channeling Julie Andrews!  James announced that Jessica will soon be moving to New York City.  I'll be sad not to see her on local stages, but I wish her well and hope to see her on Broadway one day!
• In addition to the duet with Jessica, Kym sang the beautiful ballad "I Get a Kick Out of You" from Anything Goes, currently running on Broadway (and I'm kicking myself for not seeing it when I was there last fall - sadly I can only fit so many shows into 5 days in NYC).  She also led the cast in "Day by Day," the 1970s pop hit from the musical Godspell, also currently being revived on Broadway.
• Two of the shows I did see on Broadway last year (and adored) were featured in the show.  Joel sincerely and hilariously sang "I Believe" from the brilliant original musical by the creators of South Park, The Book of Mormon (there are only a few songs from that show that you can sing at the Ordway on a Sunday afternoon), and James himself sang the classic "Broadway Baby" from the divine revival of Stephen Sondheim's Follies.
• A newbie to the Twin Cities theater scene, Allison has a fabulous voice and personality to match.  She got one of the biggest rounds of applause for her rendition of "When You're Good to Mama" from Chicago, and closed the first act on a high with "I Will Survive" from Priscilla Queen of the Desert, which I earlier referred to as "the bad" because: 1) it's a movie adaptation, 2) it has no original music, and 3) they use some canned music instead of a full live orchestra.  That's three strikes and you're out in my book.  But despite the origins of the song, it was still a fabulous rendition of a classic pop song.
• Joel and Robb made for an entertaining Pumbaa and Timon in the super fun song "Hakuna Matata" from The Lion King.  Too bad they didn't also sing this song's counterpart from The Book of Mormon, "Hasa Diga Eebowai."  Oh wait, that's one of those songs you can't sing at the Ordway on a Sunday afternoon.  Slight digression: I've been seeing the ads for The Lion King everywhere, but I will not be seeing it.  Don't get me wrong, I've seen the show several times and love it.  It's that great familiar music from the movie but with a much richer and deeper orchestration, and the puppets/masks are truly a sight to behold.  But for the price they're charging for tickets ($100+ for just about every seat in the house), I can see 2-3 local shows that are just as good, if not as splashy.  So I'm choosing to spend my time, money, and blog space on supporting local artists and new work.
• Joel sang the beautiful and dramatic song "Music of the Night" from Phantom of the Opera, a show I'm proud to say I've never seen (I seem to be the only person on the planet who hasn't).  He also sat down at the piano to channel Billy Joel in the title song from the jukebox musical Movin' Out (which I have also never seen and don't plan to).
• Robb and the cast sang "Steal Your Rock and Roll" from the Tony award winning musical Memphis, a show I am looking forward to seeing on tour at the Ordway in a few months.  He also sang one of my favorite songs from  Jersey Boys, "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You."  I know I said I'm not a fan of jukebox musicals, but Jersey Boys is the exception that proves the rule.  I've seen it twice and I love it.  I think the reason it works for me is that the book is really clever; it's the true story of The Four Seasons' rise to fame (and subsequent fall), not some silly story made up to fit into the body of songs.
• Finally, you can't really talk about contemporary Broadway without at least mentioning the spectacle that is Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark (aka "the ugly").  James gave a brief history of all the trials and tribulations (and expense and injuries) the show has gone through, describing the songs as guitar-heavy Bono songs.  "Let's do a song... no, let's not do a song from the show."  Wise choice!

It was another great afternoon of exploring the world of musical theater at the Ordway.  The only shows I thought were missing were two of my recent faves - Next to Normal and Spring Awakening (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson is probably too much to hope for).  But other than these two absences, it was a truly wonderful selection of the best of Broadway, performed by some fantastically talented local actors, singers, and musicians.  Next up: the music of Johnny Mercer.