"Calvin Berger" by Minneapolis Musical Theatre at the New Century Theatre

"Rare musicals. Well done." Minneapolis Musical Theatre lives up to their motto, having given us great productions of such lesser known musicals as Steven King's Carrie and the controversial Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. Their second show this season is the 2006 musical Calvin Berger, loosely based on the classic French play Cyrano de Bergerac, set in a modern day high school. Instead of a sword-fighting poet with a big nose, this Cyrano is an insecure high school student named Calvin who thinks he has a big nose. Whether real or perceived, it keeps him from living the life he wants. It's a clever adaptation of a classic story, relating the still relevant themes of being true to yourself and wanting to be loved for who you are in a modern and accessible way. And while the non-Cyrano parts of the story are a bit cliche and the characters familiar stereotypes, it's charmingly delivered by a strong cast of four and makes for a fun and entertaining evening at the theater.

Calvin Berger is your typical high school nerd, smart and funny in his way but lacking in self-confidence, in this case because he thinks nose is too big. Isn't that always the way, we see our flaws first and think that everyone else sees them too, when really they're too busy with their own lives to notice. In fact we learn in the opening number that all of these characters, even the ones who appear to have everything, are insecure about something. Calvin's best friend is a girl named Bret, who secretly pines for him (a plot point that's familiar to children of the '80s). But Calvin only has eyes for the pretty popular Rosanna, who worries that she may never be anything more. When Rosanna asks Calvin to help her get to know the cute new guy Matt, he reluctantly agrees. Matt's insecurity is his inability to talk to girls, so like Cyrano does for Christian, Calvin gives Matt the words he lacks to help him woo Rosanna. The story diverges from the original (spoiler alert: nobody dies), and the truth is eventually revealed. Everyone learns that it's better to be who you are than pretend to be someone else, and is happier for it.

Matt and Calvin - "We're the Man!"
(Logan Greene and Gregory Adam, photo by Heidi Bohnenkamp)

The small cast allows for a greater focus on these four characters without the distraction of an ensemble. Director Joshua James Campbell brings out the best in the talented young cast; all four are extremely likeable and bring depth and color to roles that are familiar high school stereotypes. Gregory Adam is adorkable as the awkward Calvin, and has the most poignant moments of the show as he shows us Calvin's deep longing to be accepted. Logan Greene is perfect as the sweet but dumb Matt, and the two have a believable bromance that makes you think they kind of like and need each other, despite their odd arrangement. As Rosanna, Emily Madigan shows that she's more than just a great dancer, bringing a sweetness of voice and character to the role. Last but not least, Kecia Rehkamp is the quintessential funny best friend who wants to be more than just a sidekick. And happily, the two girls become friends in the end and overcome that tired cliche of fighting over a boy. All four actors have great voices singing these funny and clever, if not particularly memorable, songs, with some lovely harmonies in duet, trio, and quartet, accompanied by a four-piece band just barely visible behind the back wall of the set.

Calvin, Bret, and Rosanna in the home of the Cavaliers
(Gregory Adam, Kecia Rehkamp, and Emily Madigan,
photo by Heidi Bohnenkamp)

I was happy to see that they built out the usually wide and shallow stage, which can feel crowded and two-dimensional, to form a mini-thrust. It gives the characters more space to move around and even interact with the audience a bit as they hand out fliers for the big bachelor auction fundraiser. The set looks like a typical high school, with lockers and the high school colors painted on the floor (set by Darren Hensel). There's nothing noteworthy about the costumes, which is a good thing because these kids look like typical teenagers, each with a style specific to the character (costumes by Lori Maxwell, who doubles as the Music Director).

Calvin Berger is a really cute show, and I don't mean that in a condescending way; cute can be good and pleasant and everything you want sometimes. It's a sweet, charming, funny show, with a great young cast that is fun to watch. Playing at the New Century Theatre through February 15 (discount tickets available on Goldstar).


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" by Minneapolis Musical Theatre at New Century Theatre

If you have a toe in the local theater world, you've probably heard about the controversy surrounding Minneapolis Musical Theatre's production of the 2010 Broadway musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. I saw the show on Broadway and found it to be sharp political satire and social commentary wrapped up in a great emo-rock score. Just a few days before this local version opened, founder of New Native Theatre Rhiana Yazzie posted an open letter on Minnesota Playlist criticizing the piece as offensive in its depiction of Native Americans, and expressing disappointment in MMT for making the choice to produce it in Minnesota (read the full letter here). She organized a protest to be held at the New Century Theatre on opening night. While the letter and protest did not deter me from seeing this show I had long been looking forward to (and included on my summer must-see list), it did give me something extra to think about while seeing the show for a second time. It's important to remember that this is not just a light and fun romp through history, but rather a pretty serious commentary on a very ugly period in American history.

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson tells the story of the seventh president of the United States of America, from his humble beginnings on the frontier of Tennessee, to “hero” of wars against the Spanish, English, and Indians, to the White House. Andrew Jackson has dreams of overthrowing the Washington “elite” (sound familiar?) and becoming “the people’s president,” but he soon discovers that a president has to make the hard decisions, and is never going to please everyone. One of the things Jackson is most known for is “Indian removal,” having convinced many Native American tribes to sign treaties under false pretenses and move west, resulting in the infamous Trail of Tears (the song "Ten Little Indians" recounts the number of ways that Native Americans died at the hands of the white man). As the narrator of the piece says, historians are still debating whether Jackson was a hero or a genocidal murderer. The musical deals with this serious subject matter in a satirical, campy, and over-the-top way. Young Andrew is portrayed as a petulant teenager, and the politicians as idiots. It's a ridiculous and fantastical mash-up of history that's intended to entertain and make a statement about our past and present.

Logan Greene and Philip C. Matthews
(photo by Byron Ritter)

The large and energetic young cast breathes great life into this crazy story. As our (ironically) sexypants president, Philip C. Matthews is charismatic with a great rock voice. Aly Westberg as his wife Rachel is extremely sympathetic and gives a gorgeous rendition of the poignant song "The Great Compromise," about the difficulties of political life for the family left behind. Not only is Amanda Weis hilarious as the doomed storyteller, but she also steps into the band to play keyboard on a number of songs. Besides Amanda, the band consists of just a couple of guitars and percussion, led by Darren Hensel who occasionally takes part in the action and dialogue of the show. The ensemble members all bring great specificity and humor to the many roles of various presidents and politicians.

The show looks and feels like a rock concert, with bright lights, microphone stands, and modern rock costumes with an Old West twist. Unfortunately there were some sound issues on opening night, with headset mics going in and out or sounding muffled or staticky. Hopefully they'll work these issues out, but I would prefer that they lose the headset mics altogether and just use the hand-held mics for the more loud, rocky songs. I believe Philip's mic went out halfway through the show and I'm not sure it ever came back on, but you could still hear him and he sounded fantastic. The advantage of a small space like New Century is that you don't necessary need to mic everyone all the time.

the cast rocks out (photo by Byron Ritter)

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson is a musical that deals with issues of corrupt politics, elections, compromises made by politicians and their families, racism, slavery, and the near extermination of an entire race of people. Maybe the creators bit off more than they could chew in a mere 90 minutes and therefore were not able to give each issue the weight it deserved, but it's an ambitious attempt to bring light to these issues in an accessible rock musical kind of way. It's not a bad thing for art to be controversial sometimes; I much prefer a controversial piece like this to a bland inoffensive movie-musical adaptation. At the very least, it began a dialogue that will hopefully continue. I greatly appreciate hearing Rhiana's perspective on the piece and look forward to seeing some New Native Theatre shows next season. MMT responded gracefully to the controversy with a note in the playbill, a brief post-show statement, and a planned post-show discussion on Thursday June 19 (the show runs through June 29).

Even though this is a hugely entertaining and fun show, it goes deeper than that. At the end of the show I was left with a feeling of sadness, that this is the way our country was built. The beautifully poignant song "Second Nature," which plays over a video montage of pivotal moments in our nation's history, says it best:

The grass grows, a prairie
A wilderness across a continent
And we take it
We clear it out and make it
In our image 

The backyards, the driveways
The covered wagons rushing
Through the high planes,
The motels on the canyon
They make a second nature 

And what was it for, this country
the farms and the blood across a prairie
the nation we became as we build a second nature

This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"Carrie: The Musical" by Minneapolis Musical Theatre at the New Century Theatre

The original musical adaptation of Stephen King's novel Carrie was a notorious flop. It closed after just 21 performances on Broadway in 1988 and was never heard from again... until the original creators significantly revised the script and score for a 2012 off-Broadway revival. This new version set in the present day, with kids attached to their smart phones, enjoyed a much better reception from critics and audiences. This year, successful productions of the revised Carrie have run in San Francisco and Seattle, and at the New Century Theatre in downtown Minneapolis. Minneapolis Musical Theatre, whose mission is to produce little-seen musicals, has chosen Carrie as the first show in the 2013-2014 season (which concludes with one of my recent favorites, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, next summer). While I wouldn't call it a great musical, it's energetic, at times compelling, and certainly timely (unfortunately, bullying hasn't gone away since King wrote about it in 1974). And the raw young talent on the New Century stage makes it work.

the kids torment Carrie

Even those of us who've never read the book or seen the movie are familiar with the story - a sheltered teenage girl is bullied relentlessly by her peers, culminating in being crowned Prom Queen, when a bucket of pig's blood is dumped on her head. Her rage and humiliation fuel her telekinetic powers to wreak destruction on everyone and everything in her path. The events begin when Carrie (Jill Iverson) gets her period in the shower at gym class and freaks out because she doesn't know what's happening to her (a little harder to believe in 2013 than 1974). All the girls laugh at and tease her, and you get the sense that this isn't the first time Carrie has been laughed at and teased. The two popular girls have different reactions to the event. Sue (Natalie Schleusner) feels guilty about the way she and her friends have treated Carrie, and sees the humanity in her. She asks her boyfriend, the sensitive Tommy (Philip C. Matthews), to take Carrie to the prom so she can have a fun night. In contrast, Chris (Rebecca Gebhart) hates Carrie even more when she's punished for the event and not apologizing for it, and enlists her boyfriend, the dimwitted Billy (Logan Greene), to help her with the infamous prom blood-bath. At home, Carrie's mother (Lori Maxwell), who has suffered something in her past that's only hinted, is fearful of the world and longs to keep Carrie home with her. She's alternately loving and terrifying as she punishes Carrie for being too worldly. Despite the abuse, Carrie loves her mother as the only person she can confide in, other than the gym teacher who befriends her (Amanda Weis). But sadly, even Miss Gardner can't stop Carrie from being ultimately humiliated and taking her revenge.

There are some great songs in the score, and also some cheesy ones. The best are the ensemble numbers, staged by director Steven Meerdink with a Spring Awakening feel, full of youthful angst and energy. Carrie also has some beautifully poignant songs as she wonders why no one calls her by her name, and ponders the idea that maybe she can be "normal" too. The young and energetic cast ably perform the material, and Jill Iverson is the heart of the piece in her extremely sympathetic portrayal of this picked-on girl, hair hanging in her face and eyes darting as she belts out her torment in song.

It's so hard to watch these portrayals of bullying and try to understand why kids are so mean. But sadly, Carrie's story is not unique. I find it tragically ironic that Stephen King's story is seeing a newfound popularity (there's also a new remake of the movie) just weeks after a 12-year-old girl jumped to her death after being bullied by a group of girls. Carrie: The Musical deals with this very serious issue in an over-the-top way with music and dark humor, but also with sensitivity and poignancy. Only one weekend of performances remain if you'd like to see for yourself.