"Company" by Lakeshore Players Theatre in the parking lot of Hanifl Performing Arts Center

"Company! Lots of Company! Life is Company! Love is Company!"

It's been a very long time since most of us have experienced this sort of company. Even an introvert who enjoys her own company is craving the company of other humans about now. And golly does it feel good to be in the company of a full audience enjoying a wonderful performance of Sondheim's Company, which is all about company, community, friendship, relationships, and togetherness. During the pandemic, White Bear Lake-based Lakeshore Players Theatre produced a number of new productions filmed for virtual viewing. But Company is their first live in-person show, performed on a very professional looking temporary stage in the large parking lot* behind the Hanifl Performing Arts Center (one of the benefits of theater in the suburbs - a free and spacious parking lot!). A gorgeous Minnesota summer evening, a talented cast, a Sondheim favorite, lots of company... what more could one ask for (other than a live band)?! The short run ends on July 25, don't miss it!

"The Bridges of Madison County" at Artistry

As frequent readers of this blog may know, I'm not generally a fan of turning movies into musicals. And I'm not sure that the 1995 movie The Bridges of Madison County, adapted from the 1992 best-sellimg novel by Robert James Waller, was crying out to be a musical. But I am sure that Jason Robert Brown's score is one of the best musical theater scores ever written. And not just because it's absolutely stunning to listen to, but also because it so effectively expresses the emotions of the characters. The music makes you feel what they feel, so much so that I was blowing my nose into a tear-soaked tissue at the end of Artistry's regional premiere production. This is perhaps a story that plays better on a smaller stage, tender and intimate, so I'm thrilled to finally see a #TCTheater production. Artistry has assembled simply the best local cast you could ask for and created a show so gorgeous that it's not to be missed. As I wrote about the tour a few years ago, and is even more true now, "If you're a fan of music-theater, or just music in general, go see this show to experience one of the best scores coming out of Broadway in recent years, wrapped up in a sweeping romance."

"Spring Awakening" by The Chameleon Theatre Circle at Gremlin Theatre

At last night's 2019 Tony Awards, Hadestown won eight Tonys (including best musical, notably the first best musical written and directed by women). Twelve years ago, Spring Awakening won eight Tonys, including best musical. Like Hadestown, Spring Awakening is based on an old story (not as old as the myth of Eurydice and Orpheus, rather a late 19th Century German play), retold in a way that feels new utterly relevant to today's world. Sadly, the issues of suicide, teen pregnancy, abortion, child abuse, and the general difficulties of being a teenager are never not relevant. The new production by The Chameleon Theatre Circle features a talented young cast, many of whom also play instruments, and brings these issues to the forefront of 2019.