"Mamma Mia!" at Lyric Arts

Last night, Lyric Arts opened their joyful production of the perhaps the most beloved jukebox musical, Mamma Mia!, and the entire run is already sold out. This is extremely rare, and speaks to both the draw of this great little theater in the 'burbs, and the popularity of Mamma Mia! Although it didn't win a single Tony Award, it ran for 15 years on Broadway, making it the 9th longest running Broadway musical (soon to be eclipsed by The Book of Mormon), and was adapted into a movie starring no less than Meryl Streep, which also inspired a sequel, and potentially a third movie to come. Why do people love Mamma Mia! so much? Maybe because it's chock full of familiar (to people of a certain age) songs from ABBA that are upbeat and endlessly singable. Maybe because it's set on a Greek island that we'd all love to escape to, especially after a long and difficult Minnesota winter. But I like to think that the reason we love Mamma Mia! is that the central love story is between a mother and a daughter, and between female friends. At its heart, inside the silly and contrived story of a young woman looking for her father, it's a story of friendship, community, and family, especially those that look different from the norm. It's a feel-good heart-warming musical that appeals to all generations. And Lyrics Arts' production, with a talented and gorgeously diverse cast, is a great one.

"The Music Man" at Lyric Arts

I'm a sucker for The Music Man. There's something so joyful about this story of the charming con man who comes to a closed-up Iowa town and sells them not a band, but the power of music, community, and a common goal. The band may not be real, but the joy and newfound togetherness in the town is very real, and even more valuable. Lyric Arts' fine new production is sure to sell out just based on the name recognition of the beloved musical, but it also lives up to expectations and provides a joyously fun and heart-warming experience that reminds us that we're better when we work together. Visit River City via Anoka now through August 10.

Musical Mondays at LUSH, March 2024

This is your regular reminder that if you're not at LUSH Louge & Theater on the first Monday of the  month, you're missing some fabulous music-theater entertainment! Earlier this week Max Wojtanowicz hosted the 94th Musical Mondays, featuring some super talented local singer/actor/performers. The good news is that if you missed it, you can catch the next one on April 1 (no foolin'). Just follow them on Facebook or Instagram for all the deets. 

"Another Miracle on Christmas Lake" at Yellow Tree Theatre

It almost took a miracle for me to see Yellow Tree Theatre's annual original holiday* comedy based in the fictional and very Minnesotan town of Christmas Lake. I arrived at the theater with a group of friends on a warm and rainy December night to find that the performance had been cancelled due to a tornado warning (in Minnesota in December?! and climate change isn't a thing). The next week everyone was busy with Christmas plans, so a subset of the group rescheduled to see one of the last performances this week. Amidst a slew of show closings on Broadway and locally, this show did indeed happen! A perfect final show of 2021, closing out a less than perfect year of theater, but one that saw growth, ingenuity, and a return to some form of normal (more on that in the coming days). There are only two performances left of Another Miracle on Christmas Lake, but you can still get yourself to Osseo to see it if you act quickly. Or make plans for their two upcoming shows in 2021 which are both brilliant and rare choices - the funny, feminist, historical, and modern play In the Next Room; Or, the Vibrator Play and the musical Passing Strange.

"Beehive" streaming from Lakeshore Players Theatre

Lakeshore Players Theatre, the community theater of White Bear Lake, has been continuously operating since 1953. They weren't about to let a little thing like a pandemic that paused all live performances end that streak. Their virtual 67 3/4th season is now wrapping up with Beehive: the '60s Musical, recorded on stage at their gorgeous new home Hanifl Performing Arts Center. I watched it virtually with a friend that lives halfway across the country, and at the end she commented "that was swell." There's nothing new or ground-breaking about this benign jukebox musical, but it's chock full of songs that we love from the 1960s, well performed by a diverse all-female cast. That is pretty swell, and you can watch it from the safety and comfort of your own home at specific showtimes through May 16. And then mark your calendar for a special outdoor* performance of one of my favorite Sondheim musicals, Company, in July.

"Sense and Sensiblity" at Lyric Arts

The new adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, which premiered in 2014 and played at the Guthrie in 2016, has made its way to Lyric Arts' Main Street Stage. As I wrote in 2016, playwright and actor Kate Hamill has adapted the beloved novel "with theatricality, wit, and purpose" (she also adapted Little Women, which premiered at the Jungle last fall, and Pride and Prejudice, just announced as part of Park Square Theatre's 2019-2020 season). Now is a great time for these women's stories written by women to be adapted for today's audience by a young female playwright; audiences are hungry for it. Lyric's production is a delightful and charming version of this sisterhood story.

"Steel Magnolias" at Lyric Arts

If you've only ever seen the movie version of Steel Magnolias, you might be surprised when you see the play on which it was based. Unlike the movie, the entire play takes place in Truvy's beauty salon (where the motto is, "there is no such thing as natural beauty"), and the only characters we see are the six strong, funny, loving Southern women who inspired the title. Husbands, boyfriends, children, and dogs are talked but about never seen, so that the focus of the story is the women and their undying friendship. Lyric Arts' production features six wonderful actors who bring these women to life, directed by a #TCTheater actor who can break my heart and crack me up at the same time, Angela Timberman. She and her cast bring that beautiful "laughter through tears is my favorite emotion" feeling to every moment of this story. So head up to Anoka through June 24, grab some popcorn, and have a good laugh and a good cathartic cry (it was a two-tissue play for me).