"Celebrating Sondheim, Act II" by Theatre Latte Da at Crooners Supper Club

My favorite Sondheim interpreters, Theater Latte Da, return with Act II of their Celebrating Sondheim cabaret series at Crooners Supper Club. And the good news is - there are still some tickets remaining for today's two shows! Click on this link right now to snag one before they're gone, so that you too can experience this beautifully curated selection of songs from arguably our greatest music-theater creator.

"To Let Go and Fall" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

No better way to kick off Twin Cities Pride month than with a beautiful and sad love story between two men that spans time, distance, disease, memory, and music. To Let Go and Fall is a world premiere new play by Playwrights' Center core writer Harrison David Rivers, who over past few years has given us several beautifully written and meaningful new plays (see also This Bitter Earth). And because this is Theater "we don't do musical theater we do theater musically" Latte Da, this play incorporates music in such a way that the story wouldn't be the same without it. The result is a truly lovely exploration of a relationship, beautifully realized by the cast, director, and every element of design, as I've come to expect from TLD.

"A Little Night Music" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

Theater Latte Da's production of A Little Night Music is pure loveliness from the moment the cast steps onstage behind a sheer curtain, warming their voices and waltzing in old fashioned undergarments, to when that same curtain falls at the completion of the story and the youngest cast member steps out gazing in wonder. As everything created by Peter Rothestein and company, it's thoughtful, detailed, well cast, beautifully staged, and musically gorgeous. Sondheim's 1973 Tony-winning musical is a charming, smart, and funny story about the perils of love and the phases of life, bringing to mind the Shakespeare quote "Lord, what fools these mortals be." And you'd be a fool to miss it.

"Lord Gordon Gordon" at History Theatre

The creators of History Theatre's smash hit new original musical Glensheen return for their second collaboration with the theater dedicated to creating new work mining the area's rich history - the fun and farcical (yet somewhat factual) Lord Gordon Gordon. I didn't love it as much as I did Glensheen (maybe because I'm not obsessed with this story like I am the story of the wealthy heiress serial killer arsonist), but it has that same sense of fun and wit combined with great original music that one comes to expect from a Hatcher/Poling show. With an excellent cast, plenty of Minnesota and Canada jokes, and clever theatrical tricks, it makes for a fun evening at the theater, laughing about the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction antics of a con man and his marks right here in Minnesota almost 150 years ago.

The 2017 Ivey Awards at the State Theatre

On Monday night, #TCTheater celebrated another year of amazing theater with the Ivey Awards. This was my 11th time attending the awards, and despite being the first award show after found Scott Mayer stepped down, the transition was seamless and it was another wonderful evening. Pre- and post-show parties (with plenty of opportunity for mingling with your favorite #TCTheater artists) were held at Crave, which despite being a bit crowded was a great location (I suspect they might have used their rooftop space if it wasn't cold and raining). The show was hosted by Mark Benninghofen and Thomasina Petrus (charming and funny, and Thomasina wowed with a musical medley during the In Memoriam segment), directed by Whitney Rhodes, written by Lauren Anderson and Joy Dolo, and with a fab onstage band directed by Denise Prosek. Read on for a list of winners and performers, and a few thoughts about the show.

"Six Degrees of Separation" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

Theater Latte Da "we do theater musically" is closing out their brilliant 2016-2017 season (which also included an exquisite Ragtime, the return of favorites A Christmas Carole Petersen and All is Calm, and a delightfully playful Peter and the Starcatcher) with Six Degrees of Separation. If you're thinking - wait, that's not a musical - you're right. But Latte Da has added music sparingly and organically to make the storytelling better and clearer. There's so much depth in this piece that I haven't yet been able to unpack it all. It reminds me of Mad Men - the highest form of the art we call television. Watching Mad Men, I always felt like everything meant something - every prop, every costume detail, every camera angle, every word, every pause. I may not have known what it meant, but I could tell that every detail was intentional. That's how I feel about Theater Latte Da and director Peter Rothstein in general, and this production in particular. Every detail of design, direction, acting, means something. I might not know what it all means, at least not upon first viewing, but I appreciate the amount of thoughtfulness that goes into every choice.

A Reading of "Wink" at The Playwrights' Center

"Now in its 12th year, the Ruth Easton New Play Series gives selected Core Writers 20 hours with collaborators to workshop their script—to write, rewrite, experiment, and shape their work. For playwrights, this means great leaps forward for their plays. For audiences, this means a thrilling and intimate night of theater."

And that it is! I attended the second reading of the new play Wink by New York-based Jen Silverman at the Playwrights' Center. It's so much fun to be part of the play development process and get a peek inside what it takes to get a play on the stage. Here's a description of the play:

The 2016 Ivey Awards at the State Theatre

The leaves are beginning to turn, there's a crispness to the air, it must be fall in Minnesota. Not only is it time to get out your boots and sweaters (yay!), it's also time to celebrate the Twin Cities theater scene (double yay!). The Ivey Awards are held every year on a Monday in late September. This was my 10th year attending the ceremony (I think I only missed two), and I love it (even though the fabulous after party keeps me up way past my bedtime, which takes me days to catch up from, which is why I'm just now, on Thursday, sitting down to write this). This year's theme was "theater at play," celebrating the joy of theater and the good things it brings to our lives in this time of increasing violence and divisiveness. Theater brings us together, and helps us understand each other. Or at least we hope that's what it does. So let's celebrate another year of #TCTheater!

"Sweeney Todd" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

Friends, Theater Latte Da has done it again. They've created a music-theater production that is so stirring and chilling, it's nothing short of brilliant. After the delightfully innovative and stripped-down Into the Woods this spring, they return to Sondheim with a similarly innovative and stripped-down Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. But where Into the Woods was a fun and slightly sinister mish-mash of classic fairy tales, Sweeney is all darkness and death, albeit with a bit of dark humor. Director Peter Rothstein again cast just ten actors in the show, many playing multiple roles and all perfect for the parts, and Denise Prosek leads a pared down orchestra of just four, that still somehow sounds musically full on this gorgeous and disturbing score. With a couple of actors not known for their singing leading this talented cast, and a cohesive look to the set, costumes, and theater space that is well used, this Sweeney is completely engaging and all-consuming, and brilliantly shows what Latte Da can do with not musical theater, but theater musically.

Sweeney Todd is a tale of vengeance and murder, as Sweeney returns to London after 15 years imprisonment for a crime he didn't commit, only to find his wife and daughter gone thanks to the very judge who put him away. His barber business turns deadly as he becomes intent on exacting revenge on those who wronged him. His partner in crime Mrs. Lovett finds a creative way to dispose of the bodies at her pie shop and the two take in the boy Toby, who's just happy to have a home, until he discovers what's really going on. Meanwhile, the young sailor Anthony has fallen in love with Sweeney's daughter Johanna and he and Sweeney team up to get her away from the evil judge. This isn't a happily ever after kind of story so don't expect things to end well, but it's deliciously chilling to watch it all play out.

In Theater Latte Da's production, this sordid story takes place in what looks like a dilapidated carnival. The theme continues from the stage to the lobby of the theater, with slightly off-kilter carnival music playing and donuts sold at the concession stand. Scenic Designer Kate Sutton-Johnson (who also designed the German beer garden fairy tale world of Into the Woods) has built the most terrifying jungle gym you've ever seen on the Ritz Theater stage, complete with ladders, bridges, swings, and a very sinister (yet very cool) slide. The performance space moves beyond the stage as the cast makes great use of the space, wandering through the audience and hanging out with people sitting at the bars on either side. I was afraid they were going to start offering us meat pies (no thank you!). Along with Alice Fredrickson's faded and tattered costumes, and Paul Whitaker's effective lighting design, the whole think has a dark and creepy atmosphere that'll give you chills.

Mark Benninghofen and Sally Wingert
as Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett
(photo by George Byron Griffiths)

Music-theater (as Nautilus and I like to call it) is about character and story first, and music second (even Sondheim himself agrees). With that in mind it makes sense that Mark Benninghofen and Sally Wingert, two of the Twin Cities' best actors but not known for their singing, play the lead roles. Sally already showed us in Cabaret last year that singing is yet another tool in her vast acting toolbox, and her Mrs. Lovett is so funny, cunning, needy, and dangerously motherly. But this is Mark's first performance in a musical, and all I can say is - welcome to the wonderful world of music-theater Mr. Benninghofen, please stay a while! It's almost incomprehensible that someone would decide to do their first musical 30 years into their career, jump right into one of the most challenging and iconic roles, and do so with such aplomb that it seems like he's been performing in music-theater all his life. The entire cast is wonderful, but the show is called Sweeney Todd and it doesn't work without a strong Sweeney, and Mark is that and more. Fierce, ominous, darkly brooding, murderous yet sympathetic, and with a lovely voice too! Mark and Sally together are, as always, a delight to watch and sound like they've been singing Sondheim all their lives, not an easy trick.

Sally Wingert and Tyler Michaels
as Mrs. Lovett and Toby
(photo by George Byron Griffiths)

And now for the rest of the cast, who are known for their singing but are wonderful actors as well. I thought nothing could top Tyler Michaels singing "On the Street Where You Live," but Tyler Michaels as Toby singing "Not While I'm Around" does just that, so soaring and beautiful and moving. And he brings his trademark physicality to the role of this eager limping young lad, and also climbs, jumps, and hangs on the set as a member of the ensemble. The lovely-voiced Sara Ochs is almost unrecognizable and terrifying as the beggar woman with a secret, and also portrays her humanity beneath the madness. James Ramlet makes the Judge a villain you love to hate, and the "Pretty Women" duet is a highlight featuring James' yummy low rumbling timbre on the "bum bum bum bum." Elizabeth Hawkinson's Johanna is delicately lovely, and she sings like a nightingale. Also wonderful are Matthew Rubbelke as Anthony, Dominique Wooten as Beadle (with a bit of humorous pounding on the piano), Evan Tyler Wilson as the pompous barber Pirelli, and Benjamin Dutcher in a number of roles.

If you're a fan of Sondheim, music-theater, or just a really well-told story, Theater Latte Da's gleefully maniacal Sweeney Todd is not to be missed. Everything is perfection, top to bottom. An incredible and fully committed cast, spot-on direction, gorgeous music, and attention paid to every detail (watch for Sweeney's entrance, repeated at the end) to create an all-around stunning production. Playing through October 25, get your tickets now before it sells out.


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"All the World's A Stage" - a Gala Tribute Honoring Joe Dowling at the Guthrie Theatre

The Guthrie Theater knows how to throw a gala. The 50th Anniversary Gala two years ago is one of my favorite theater memories, with amazing performances by many local and national favorites in celebration of 50 years of this national treasure of a theater we Minnesotans are lucky enough to call ours. Last Saturday night the Guthrie held another gala, and instead of just a general feeling of appreciation for the community, all of the respect, honor, and love was directed towards one person, Joe Dowling. Joe is resigning from his position of Artistic Director after 20 years (12 of which I have been a season subscriber), during which he oversaw the move from the original theater to the big blue beautiful building on the river and co-founded the Guthrie/U of M BFA program along with many other accomplishments. He is the longest tenured Artistic Director in Guthrie history (surpassing the previous holder of that record, his predecessor Garland Wright, by 11 years) and the most consistent leadership in the Guthrie's 52 year history. In that time he has worked with hundreds of theater artists, many of whom were on hand to partake in the celebration. The 90-minute performance included over 70 actors and showcased a dozen of the over 50 plays and musicals that Joe has directed in his tenure at the Guthrie, plus original musical and dance performances. But even more than the many wonderful mini-performances we were treated to was the overwhelming feeling of love, gratitude, and respect for this theater, this community, and the man who has helmed this theater for so many years. It was a truly magical night.

If you weren't there, here's a summary of the wonderful things you missed:

• The show opened (about 30 minutes past the scheduled 8:30 start time) with a rousing musical number in which a cast of too many favorites to mention sang what I'm assuming is an original song "There You Are," complete with some audience interaction. 
• We were welcomed by the hilarious lisping weeble-wobble brothers Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, played by real-life brothers Kris L. and Lee Mark Nelson, reprising their roles from the 2008 production of The Government Inspector.
• Colman Domingo from the original cast of The Scottsboro Boys returned to serenade us with a beautiful and heart-breaking song from the show, "Go Back Home." The Scottsboro Boys is the brilliant last musical from Kander and Ebb, and played at the Guthrie in the summer of 2010 between stints off and on Broadway. I'm so grateful to Joe and the Guthrie for bringing it to Minnesota.
• Bill McCallum opened a series of scenes with the opening lines from my favorite play The Glass Menagerie, reprising his role of Tom from the 2007 production. The poetic musings by Tennessee Williams on time, memory, and illusion were the perfect way to start the show.
• Michelle O'Neill and Stephen Pelinksi performed the scene about choosing caskets from The Merchant of Venice, in which both actors appeared in 2007.
• This was followed by a selection from Chekhov's Three Sisters, directed by Joe in 2003, with Chloe Armao, Emily Gunyou Halaas, and Michelle O'Neill as the sisters.
• Joe directed The Importance of Being Earnest twice at the Guthrie, in 1998 and 2009. Hugh Kennedy and Valeri Mudek treated us to a scene from the play.
• A "dance interlude" by Megan McClellan and Brian Sostek (who also choreographed the show) did not last nearly long enough. When he leapt into her arms and she caught him and spun around, the audience gasped in delight. They are such effortless, charismatic, playful dancers.
• Master storyteller Kevin Kling delivered a hilarious, touching, and very Minnesotan tale about his work with Joe and the Guthrie.
• Sally Wingert belting out "Gotta Get a Gimmick" from Gypsy - is there anything better than that? Yes there is, because she sang original lyrics by Mark Benninghofen specific to the occasion and was joined by J.C. Cutler, Robert Dorfman, Jim Lichtsheidl, Tracey Maloney, and Isabell Monk O'Connor, each at their most gimmicky to make us love them. It worked.
• Another scene montage began with Bob Davis dryly delivering Minnesota fishing regulations from 2013's Nice Fish, a play I called "absurd, hilarious, strangely profound, and yes, somewhat inexplicable."
• A dramatic and star-studded scene from 2007's The Home Place made me wish I had a better memory, or could see it again.
• Michael Booth recited a monologue from Stoppard's The Invention of Love, directed by Joe in 2003.
• I will never tire of listening to Tyler Michaels sing "On the Street Where You Live," so I was thrilled that he briefly reprised his role from last summer's hit My Fair Lady.
• Four fantastically talented women (Helen Anker, Cat Brindisi, Melisa Hart, Greta Oglesby, and Regina Marie Williams) sang a montage of songs titled "Love's What We'll Remember" that included such Broadway classics as "Send in the Clowns," "Broadway Baby," and of course, the entirely appropriate "What I Did For Love."
• Once again, Jennifer Baldwin Peden made opera seem funny, accessible, natural, and completely effortless. She's sure to win any part she wants with "Adele's Audition Song" from Die Fledermaus.
• The last scene montage began with a scene from the ghostly comedy Blithe Spirit, last seen at the Guthrie in 1997, with Bradley Greenwald, Laura Esping, and Rosaleen Linehan playing man, ghost, and medium.
• Helen Carey and Peter Michael Goetz recreated an intense scene from 2002's All My Sons, another one I wish I could see.
• The scene montages concluded, fittingly, with the heartbreaking closing monologue from The Glass Menagerie, providing a nice bookend to the scene portion of the evening.
• This was immediately followed by a stirring a capella version of "The Hills of Tomorrow" from Merrily We Roll Along, performed by the ensemble. By the way, I should mention that Music Director Andrew Cooke led a fantastic six-person orchestra throughout the show and provided the arrangements. And Peter Flynn did a beautiful job directing the show and the many disparate scenes as they flowed together to form a whole.
• More than two dozen alumni from the U of M/Guthrie BFA program and A Guthrie Experience (or as I like to call it, the Guthrie's strong farm system) performed the As You Like It monologue that begins "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." They told of the seven ages of man, speaking alone or in small or large groups, from "the infant, mewling and puking in the nurse's arms" through "second childhood and oblivion, sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything." Such great young talent that the Guthrie has sent out into the world.
• Another U of M/Guthrie BFA graduate, Santino Fontana, who played Hamlet in the final production at the old Guthrie, impassionately sang "I Was Here" from The Glorious Ones.
• The closing number was the highly appropriate "You're the Top" from Anything Goes, beginning with Bradley Greenwald and Greta Oglesby, and continuing through all of the wonderful and beloved performers on that stage.

Have you ever watched the Kennedy Center Honors, in which great artists are honored by the president and performances from admiring proteges? That's what this felt like. From where I was sitting, I could see Joe sitting on the center aisle about halfway up, just beaming. He came onstage after the final number to give a few brief words, in which he credited Tyrone Guthrie and the other previous Artistic Directors, as well as all the actors who've worked at the Guthrie beginning with Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy in the inaugural season, through Barbara Bryne (who, at 86, was there but in the audience rather than onstage), through the 70+ actors surrounding him onstage. It was such a love fest, and such a thrill to see so many artists whom I love, respect, and admire in one place, Joe Dowling chief among them.

But wait, that's not all! The evening continued with champagne (in real glasses!), dessert, music (the Minnesota Jazz Orchestra set up just in front of the endless bridge), and mingling. I had the chance to talk to so many of my favorite artists, some of whom I'd met before, some of whom I met for the first time. But there were many I didn't dare approach because they're just too intimidatingly amazing. I could have stood there gawking at the crowd all night and basking in the glow of this amazing theater community.

Here are a few photos from the after-party; I'll add more photos as they become available. Also check out my live twitter feed from the event @cherryandspoon.

champagne toast and tuxes

the dessert table - macarons and truffles

dancing to the smooth sounds of the Minnesota Jazz Orchestra

a memento from a magical night - this chocolate is too pretty to eat!

"Juno and the Paycock" at the Guthrie Theater

Ah, Ireland. Such a beautiful country, a land of endless music, rolling green hills, and waves crashing upon the shore, but with such a complicated and tragic history. Yet the unique spirit of the Irish people perseveres. How fitting, then, that Joe Dowling, proud Irishman and leader of the Guthrie Theater for the past 20 years, chose an Irish play as the last one he will direct in his tenure at the Guthrie. And what a play; Seán O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock, set during the Irish Civil War of the early 1920s, is as beautiful and tragic as Ireland itself.

Juno and the Paycock premiered at Dublin's Abbey Theatre (of which Joe Dowling was Artistic Director in the '70s and '80s) in 1924, just a few years after the Irish Civil War, when wounds and divisive opinions were still very fresh and raw. That's pretty revolutionary. It tells of the effects of the war and extreme poverty on one family in Dublin. Beleaguered and overworked Juno, her proud buffoon of a husband Jack (say "peacock" with an Irish accent and you have the title), and her two adult children live in a run-down room in the cramped, cold, and crowded tenements of Dublin. Juno works to keep bread and tea on the sorry table, and Jack avoids work by claiming pain in his legs so that he can drink, eat, and talk with his buddy Joxer. Son Johnny was injured in the recent wars and rarely leaves the house, while daughter Mary hopes for a better future for herself. She brings home her beau Charles, who has some surprising and life-changing news for the family. But the Boyles are not a family to whom good things happen, and their momentary hope and happiness doesn't last. Johnny gets caught up in the after-effects of his time in the service, Mary faces a crisis of her own, and Juno must make a choice. It's devastating to watch this family struggle, and one can only hope that some of them make it out.

the Boyle family (Stephen Brennan, David Darrow,
Anita Reeves, and Katie Kleiger, photo by Joan Marcus)

Joe Dowling brought in three acclaimed Irish actors to play some of the leads, and as much as I love our local acting community, I can hardly blame him for that. They're all wonderful and lend an air of authenticity to this very Irish story. As the title characters, Anita Reeves and Stephen Brennan are so natural, believable, and likeable, even when they aren't. Anita's Juno is the strong, no-nonsense, loving matriarch of her family, the only thing keeping them going. Stephen makes the "paycock" Jack a loveable lout of a man, charming and funny and infuriating. Tony nominee Dearbhla Molloy has a brief but powerfully memorable scene as a grieving mother. But despite these new faces, this still feels very much like a Guthrie show thanks to the inclusion of Guthrie long-time favorites like Sally Wingert (stealing scenes as the busybody neighbor) and Mark Benninghofen (hilarious as drunken buddy Joxer), as well as newer favorites like Katie Kleiger (appealing and fresh-faced as the hopeful young Mary), David Darrow (in a devastating performance as the one-armed war-damaged son Johnny, so physically contorted that I hope he has a good chiropractor), and Casey Hoekstra (Mary's charming suitor).

The set and costumes are essential to setting the scene in the slums of Dublin. The set (originally designed by Frank Hallinan Flood, executed for the Guthrie by Michael Hoover) consists of a huge high-ceiled room that was once great, but has fallen into disrepair, with cracks and stains covering the walls. Appropriately shabby furniture and props fill the lived-in space. Christine A. Richardson's costumes are also shabby and worn, but neat and polished for some characters if called for. Projections on the lowered curtain before the show and between acts give a brief history and perspective for the story.

happy times in the Boyle household (photo by Joan Marcus)

In this play as in all things Irish, there is humor and music to temper the tragedy. One of the most entertaining scenes is when the family takes turns singing; one feels that music is the thing that gets the Irish people through, which is beautifully illustrated in this scene. I found myself drawing parallels between this play and the one I had seen the previous night, The Gospel of Lovingkindess at Pillsbury House Theatre. Are the slums of 1920s Dublin that different from the projects on the South Side of Chicago? Different circumstances perhaps, but inequality, prejudice, poverty, and tragic loss of young life exist everywhere in the world.

Joe Dowling has been the Artistic Director of the Guthrie Theater for 20 years, and I have been a subscriber for 12 of those years. I can't even really say what he's changed and brought to the theater (other than the obvious, the big beautiful blue building on the river) because I don't know a Guthrie without Joe. His final two shows, the American epic The Crucible, and this very Irish story Juno and the Paycock, are a beautiful way to conclude his time with us. The Guthrie will honor and celebrate Joe's accomplishments in the last 20 years with a gala performance called All the World's a Stage this Saturday. I wouldn't miss it for the world! (Juno and the Paycock continues through June 28.)

"Shooting Star" at Park Square Theatre

A chance meeting with an ex-lover at a snowed-in airport, the opportunity to say all the things you couldn't say when things ended 25 years ago. Such is the premise of Steven Dietz's play Shooting Star, a two-hander now playing on Park Square Theatre's Proscenium Stage. When the two hands are Sally Wingert and Mark Benninghofen*, with a premise as full of promise as this one is, you know you're in for a treat. And a treat this is - a funny, engaging, and bittersweet play that leaves you with a wistful feeling and a pleasant ache in the heart where long-ago memories are held.

It's 2006, and Elena and Reed meet at an airport in Canada in the middle of what could be the "blizzard of the century," never mind that the century is only a few years old. We learn from asides by both characters that they immediately recognize each other from a pretty serious relationship that ended 25 years ago, during the free-love '70s. Turns out love is not so free, as these two have definitely carry around some leftover baggage through the intervening years. Elena is still a bit of a free spirit, but could never find anyone better than Reed, who's now a conservative businessman with a difficult relationship with his wife and daughter. With both of their flights delayed and nowhere to go, the two are unable to avoid each other, and engage in some awkward small talk that leads to something deeper as the barriers of time come down. A trip to the airport bar means things get even more real, and Reed and Elena realize they still have a connection. But is it something worth pursing after fate has brought them together again, or is it something that's better left in the past?

Mark Benninghofen and Sally Wingert
(photo by Petronella J Ytsma)

Shooting Star is one of those real and messy love stories, perfectly encapsulating an intense and intimate experience between two people that may or may not result in "happily ever after," but is meaningful and true nonetheless (see also Once). Steven Dietz's clever choice to give both characters multiple asides in which they speak directly to the audience in a conversational way gives us insights into their thoughts, making us feel like confidantes and drawing us right into the story. Sally Wingert and Mark Benninghofen use the sharp writing to create two characters that feel very real; Elena and Reed are both flawed and very human. Mark and Sally are both incredibly natural on stage and have a beautiful chemistry that goes from prickly to familiar, bitter to loving. They're given a fantastic playground in Kit Mayer's set that is the perfect model of a cold, linear airport, familiar to travelers everywhere.

Shooting Star is a funny, tender, bittersweet gem of a play about closure, connection, and coming to terms with the past. It's a comedy with depth and heart (continuing through April 19).


*You can also see Mark Benninghofen (and James A. Williams, pictured on the bottom half of the playbill and currently appearing on Park Square's Boss Stage in The Other Place) on the big screen in the locally made movie The Public Domain, now playing at the Lagoon in Uptown.


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"The Hothouse" by Dark and Stormy Productions at the Artspace Grain Belt Bottling House

I admit it - I don't get Pinter. Dark and Stormy's production of The Hothouse is the third play I've seen by English playwright Harold Pinter, and the third time I've left the theater (or in this case the bottling house) with a feeling of "what just happened?" Pinter plays are absurd, don't spell things out clearly, and are open to interpretation. But that's not a bad thing. In fact in this case it's a good thing. Dark and Stormy's production of this bizarre and funny little play is entertaining, engaging, and thought-provoking. And like all of their work (this is just the 5th play they've done over the past few years), it's brilliantly cast with some of the Twin Cities' top talent, and presented in a unique nontraditional location.

The title refers to an institution where the play takes place. It's called a "rest home," in contrast to a "convalescent home," but the details of how patients come to be in the institution and what kind of treatment (or punishment) they receive is unclear. What we do know is that there's a clueless boss (an absolutely delightful Robert Dorfman, making the most of every moment), a seemingly sycophantic but secretly ambitious second-in-command (Mark Benninghofen), another employee who seems to be his rival for the boss' attention (Bill McCallum), a new and eager employee (John Catron), the lone woman on the staff who seems to be in a relationship with several of the men (Artistic Director Sara Marsh), and a lower level employee who walks around turning off lights and moving furniture (Bruce Bohne). The play takes place on Christmas Day, which is neither here nor there, but what is noteworthy is that one patient has recently died and another has given birth. The staff tries to get to the bottom of this, but seems to be more concerned with their own place in the institution. The newbie becomes the scapegoat, which makes me wonder if he's actually a patient and just thinks he's an employee.

the cast in rehearsal in the Grain Belt Bottling House

The location of this play is truly unique - a large open atrium in the Arthouse Grain Belt Bottling House. It very much feels like a cold institution - cement floor and gray walls, with doors around the perimeter on both levels. Sparse office furniture populates the set, with four rows of chairs on one side for the small audience. Sound escapes and echos in this sort of a space, so the solution Dark and Stormy came up with is mics on the actors and headphones for the audience. It's a very odd and cool way to experience theater, one completely new to me, with the sound right in your ears even though the actors may be whispering in a far corner of the space. This allows for subtlety in delivery that can be heard in full detail, while the echos in the larger space can still be heard through the headphones. It all makes for an innovative and fascinating theatrical experience (sound design by C. Andrew Mayer).

The Hothouse continues through January 4. Check it out for a truly unique experience of this bizarrely funny and inexplicable Pinter play. UPDATE: The Hothouse has been extended through January 10.

"The Incredible Season of Ronnie Rabinovitz" at the History Theatre

This really is an incredible true story. In 1960, a 15-year-old Wisconsin boy was friends with both Jackie Robinson, who broke major league baseball's color barrier, and the 35th American President John F. Kennedy. One would think that this was a story made up to create a great play, except that it's true. Ronnie Rabinovitz met JFK through his father, a prominent lawyer in Sheboygan who worked on Kennedy's campaign in the 1960 presidential primary. Ronnie also wrote fan letters to Jackie Robinson, who responded, leading to a lifelong pen-pal relationship that included telephone conversations and in-person meetings. When the History Theatre's Artistic Director Ron Peluso heard this story, he commissioned Midwest playwright Eric Simonson to write a play about it, which was presented as part of last year's "Raw Stages" new works festival. The Incredible Season of Ronnie Rabinovitz is now being presented with a full production at the History Theatre's downtown St. Paul stage. It's a really engaging and entertaining look at baseball, politics, and civil rights through the eyes of one precocious teenager.

JFK and Mr. Rabinovitz talk politics
(photo by Scott Pakudaitis)

There's lots of fourth wall breaking in this play, with Ronnie beginning the play talking directly to the audience and acknowledging that this is a play in which he's telling his remarkable story, and breaking into the action several times to explain things to the audience. It's quite a clever and effective device, a great way to relax and engage the audience. The action of the play flashes back and forth between two evenings when the two Jacks are in the Rabinovitz home on separate occasions. Kennedy wants Robinson's support in the election, and asks Ronnie's father to talk to him about it. But Robinson supports Humphrey first, Nixon second, and won't be budged. A scene showing the meeting of the two men explains why. Already retired from baseball in 1960, Jackie was active in Civil Rights, and his visit to Wisconsin prompts racist graffiti that seems to upset Ronnie's father more than it does Jackie.

The strong cast begins with the adorable and exuberant Jack Alexander as Ronnie. Mark Benninghofen is great as always as his father, and Teri Park Brown provides much of the comic relief as his mother. Peter Middlecamp plays JFK with the suave charm a Kennedy requires, and Ansa Akyea is comfortable in the role of Jackie Robinson, which he also played in Children's Theatre Company's Jackie and Me last year. Rounding out the cast are E.J Subkoviak with an amusing turn as the sheriff, and Jim Stowell as a frustrated striker.

Jackie Robinson in the Rabinovitz living room
(photo by Scott Pakudaitis)

The very cool set (by Rick Polenek) looks like it's from a 1960s TV show. But not with the harsh realism of Mad Men, more like the nostalgia-tinged sitcoms from the era. Picture Rob and Laura Petrie's living room, in color. In fact that sums up tone of the play as well, it's a little like a 1960s sitcom, with the precocious child, the hard-working, stern, slightly comic father, and the apron-wearing mother making her husband drinks and hors d'ouevres. It just so happens that into this sitcom wander two of the most famous Americans of the 20th Century. The play includes many amusing local references (cheese curds!), although I couldn't figure out why Wisconsonites would be Atlanta Braves fans, until I discovered that they were the Milwaukee Braves until 1965, and the Brewers didn't arrive until 1970.

The Incredible Season of Ronnie Rabinovitz is the History Theatre doing what it does best - presenting an entertaining and informative new play about a moment in Minnesota (er, Wisconsin) history that has larger implications to American history. It's an entertaining, engaging, nostalgic look back at the extraordinary friendships of one ordinary youngster. Playing through February 23, with discount tickets available on Goldstar.com.*



*If you've never used Goldstar.com, I highly recommend that you sign up. They offer half-price (or better) deals for many theaters around town. You'll receive a weekly email that will tell you about some of the deals available. Click here for more information and to see all of the great deals currently offered.

"Born Yesterday" at the Guthrie Theater

The 1946 Broadway play Born Yesterday was adapted into a 1950 movie that has become a classic. True to form, I've never seen it, so I had the great pleasure of experiencing it for the first time on stage, with no expectations or comparisons. I absolutely loved it and now understand why it's such a classic. Smartly written by Garson Kanin, funny, taking serious digs at the corruption of politics that is more true today than it ever has been, and featuring some classic characters, it's a beautiful piece of theater expertly brought to life by the Guthrie and this perfectly cast ensemble of actors.

If, like me, you've never seen the movie, here's a brief plot summary. Harry Brock, a very wealthy and corrupt "business man" (he's a "junk dealer," which I think means he buys and sells scrap metal and such), moves into a hotel in Washington DC in order to buy a senator or two to make things go his way. His entourage includes his mistress, former chorus girl Billie, his lawyer Ed, and his personal assistant/cousin/bartender/body guard Eddie. Harry is worried that Billie's unsophisticated ways will be a hindrance while he's trying to schmooze the senator, so he hires journalist Paul to educate her. The plan backfires on him when Billie proves to be much smarter than he thinks and falls in love with learning. She is no longer willing to go along with his schemes (he's signed much of his property over to her on the advice of his lawyer) and along with Paul, devises a way to get out from under his thumb.

Judy Holliday originated the role of Billie on Broadway and won an Oscar for reprising the role in the movie. I hear that her performance is iconic, but since I've never seen it, I was able to enjoy Guthrie newcomer Alexis Brokovic's brilliant performance without comparison. She's an absolute joy to watch in every moment - her voice, the way she moves around the stage, the perfect looks and line delivery, the way she sorts her cards during an intense game of gin rummy. She makes Billie an incredibly sympathetic and real character as we witness her growth from a woman who's told daily that she's dumb to a woman who sees her own worth and realizes that she deserves, and desires, a better life that this empty one she's been living. At one point Harry laments, "All this trouble just because some dame read a book." Exactly. Born Yesterday is about a woman realizing her own power, and claiming it, through knowledge.

Harry (Jeff Still), Paul (John Patrick Hayden),
and Billie (Alexis Bronkovic)

The rest of the cast (directed by John Miller-Stephany) does a wonderful job as well, each one as perfect for their role as Alexis is for Billie. Two more Guthrie newcomers fill the roles of Harry and Paul - Jeff Still is so good as the tough-talking and at times menacing Harry that I wanted to boo him at the curtain call (but since I'm a Minnesotan I didn't), and John Patrick Hayden is charming as Billie's teacher and friend who opens her world. Familiar faces fill out the rest of the cast - Mark Benninghofen shows us lawyer Ed's increasing disgust with himself and the things he does for Harry, and Zach Curtis hits the right note as Harry's man Eddie, who knows his place. I also like that they cast students in the U of M/Guthrie BFA program in non-speaking roles; the Guthrie has a great farm system and uses it well.

Walking into the Proscenium theater before the show, I had to pause several times on the stairs to take in the incredible set (designed by Todd Rosenthal). Looking every bit the opulent hotel suite (that costs $235 a night!), with a high ceiling and grand staircase leading to the bedrooms on the second floor, everything is round - the chandelier, the table, the stools, the centered doorknobs, the walls of the room, even the shape of the stage itself - mirroring the US Capitol seen through the windows.

As I've mentioned before, my season seat in the Guthie's Proscenium theater is in the front row (aka the cheap seats). I like to call it shoe level, because the stage is directly in front of my eyes. This is a great show to be sitting at shoe level. The period costumes (by Matthew J. LeFebvre) are stunning, especially Billie's wardrobe of about a half dozen outfits, each more gorgeous than the last. The men's clothes aren't too shabby either, from Harry's flashy and colorful suits to the more classic look of his lawyer.

Kanin was asked in the 80s why his play was so popular. He answered, "The reason was Watergate. When the play was written it was a fable, but after Watergate it became a documentary." It really is a brilliant play in a top-notch production by the Guthrie (playing now through January 5). I'll leave you with my favorite quote (of many):

To all the dumb chumps and all the crazy broads, past, present, and future, who thirst for knowledge and search for truth, who fight for justice and civilize each other, and make it so tough for sons of bitches like you.

"Compulsion or the House Behind" by the Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company at the Hillcrest Center Theater

Compulsion or the House Behind tells the story of a man obsessed with Anne Frank's story, and making sure her story was heard throughout the world. I've been on a bit of an Anne Frank journey myself recently, although a little less obsessively. Last fall I saw Yellow Tree Theatre's moving production of The Diary of Anne Frank, based on the 1997 revision of the original 1955 play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett (more on that a bit later). After seeing the play I was compelled to read the book, and was struck by what a normal teenager Anne was, despite the unthinkable situation she found herself in, as well as how she was able to keep her faith in the goodness of the universe. Earlier this year Nautilus Music-Theater presented a beautiful musical rendition of the diary, I Am Anne Frank, which adds another layer of richness to the story in a way that only music can. Compulsion or the House Behind by Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company adds yet another layer to the complicated story. Or rather, the story of how this simple diary became the legend that we know today.

Compulsion or the House Behind is a new play by Rinne Groff (the 2010 Public Theater production starred Mandy Patinkin, whom I adore) based on the life of Jewish American writer Meyer Levin. He traveled to Europe at the end of WWII and witnessed the liberation of the concentration camps, which began his obsession with getting the story of the Holocaust told. But he felt that the best person to tell the story was someone who had lived it; "from among themselves a teller must arise." When his wife gave him a French language translation of Anne Frank's diary, he knew he had found the teller. He worked with Anne's father, Otto Frank, to get the diary published in English in 1952, and wrote the New York Times review of the book. He had a verbal agreement with Frank and the publishers to write the stage adaptation, but his version was ultimately rejected in favor of the version written by Goodrich and Hackett. Their version downplayed Anne's Judaism and stressed the universality of the story, in order to make it more accessible to a wider audience (typical Broadway - compromise to sell more tickets). And it worked; the play won the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize and became a huge hit that's still being produced today. Unfortunately Levin's version, which is more a story of the Jewish people and their survival, cannot be bought or produced due to an agreement he signed after a prolonged legal battle. But despite this settlement, Levin could never let Anne go; it became a lifelong obsession.

Mr. (Mark Benninghofen) and Mrs. (Bethany Ford) Silver

In the play, Meyer Levin is represented by Sid Silver, beautifully portrayed by Mark Benninghofen, capturing his early enthusiasm and naivete, through his later obsession, aggression, and delusion. Bethany Ford wonderfully creates two distinct characters (with the aid of her beautiful period costumes by Lisa Conley) - a young publisher named Miss Mermin, who is first Sid's supporter and then his adversary, and Sid's supportive French wife, who eventually demands that he drop the lawsuits and let go of Anne, for the sake of their family. Matt Rein ably plays all of the other characters - various lawyers and publishers in Sid's way (as one woman in the post-show discussion told him, "you were such an idiot!"), as well as Sid's friend in Israel who helped him (illegally) produce the play years later. With the multiple characters, there are a few winking comments of "you look familiar" or "you remind me of someone." An audience is often asked to accept one actor portraying several different characters, so I appreciate the acknowledgment of this suspension of disbelief.

Sid (Mark Benninghofen) and his beloved Anne

The tight three-person cast works well together (directed by Hayley Finn), but there's another very important person onstage. Anne herself is represented by a marionette and appears to both Sid and his wife, as if in a dream. She's adorable and incredibly expressive (designed by Chris Lutter-Gardella) and really is like a fourth actor in the play. Like all marionettes, she's so lifelike, and slightly creepy because of that. You can see the strings, and the person pulling the strings (very artfully done by Janaki Ranpura), but the puppet seems to have a life and feelings of its own. Particularly effective is the scene in which Anne shows up in the Silvers' bed and speaks to Mrs. Silver, in the voice of a sleeping Mr. Silver. It's a very clever device by the playwright to bring Anne into the story and let her voice be heard.

One of the great things about this play is that it raises questions but doesn't offer easy answers. No character is all bad or good. As an audience member, I definitely sympathized with Sid and wanted things to go his way, but also found myself frustrated at some of his actions. This is a complex portrait of a man whose good intentions to make an important story heard became an unhealthy obsession, believing he was the only person who could tell that story. But the truth is Anne's story didn't belong to him, it didn't belong to Goodrich and Hacket, it didn't even belong to Otto Frank. It's Anne's alone, which she left behind for each of us to experience in our own way. In the post-show discussion the day I attended, one audience member, who had worked with Holocaust survivors, very eloquently spoke about how the horror of the Holocaust is something that's difficult for those of us who haven't lived through it to comprehend. That level of cruelty is so far beyond what most of us can even imagine that it's difficult to wrap our minds around it. Maybe that's why Anne's story is so popular. She struggled to understand it herself, and she was living it. Anne gives us a tiny window into that horrific world, one simple story that we can grasp and put a face on the faceless and nameless millions.

It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.

Compulsion or the House Behind is playing for two more weekends at the Hillcrest Center on Ford Parkway in St. Paul. It's a fascinating, compelling, and thought-provoking look at the story behind a very familiar story.

"Appomattox" at the Guthrie Theater

The Guthrie Theater is opening their 50th anniversary season with three plays by British playwright Christopher Hampton (author of the play and movie version of Dangerous Liaisons). Tales from Hollywood, a dark comedy about exiled Germans in Hollywood in the 1930s, is playing on the Thrust stage. Embers, "a fascinating study of passion (love and hate), truth, friendship, the urge to be the stronger and the need to survive," is playing in the nine floor Studio Theater. I'll see both of these plays in a few weeks, but I began Hampton-fest with the new drama Appomattox, playing on the Proscenium stage. It's an epic historical drama that tells about two important moments in our nation's history - the surrender of the Confederacy in 1865 at the Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia, and the passage of the Civil Rights Act a century later. With a running time of three hours (including one intermission), it's a long play and a heavy one. At times it feels long, but it's also a fascinating look at our history with impeccable staging, sets, and costumes.

The play is structured in two acts that are almost like two separate plays, but with related themes and the same cast of actors playing a character (or two) in each act. It's a little like the repertoire days of old at the Guthrie. The first act centers on battles of the Civil War, while the second act centers on legal and political battles for Civil Rights. The play draws parallels between the two periods, aided by the fact that often the same actor plays related characters in each act. Harry Groener plays President Lincoln and President Johnson, two very different men but both effective proponents of Civil Rights. Harry really provides a center to the play. His portrayal of LBJ is incredibly engaging and charismatic - he is quite a colorful character, speaking with frank language and funny and folksy metaphors. Mark Benninghofen is a grounding force playing both presidents' right-hand man - General Grant and attorney general Nicholas Katzenbach. The divine Sally Wingert plays both first ladies, who are about as different as the two presidents. One a bit crazy and dramatic, the other more sane and strong, but both sharing their opinions with their husbands about how the country should be run. The cast is huge and features many fine performances, some quite brief, including Joe Nathan Thomas as Frederick Douglass and Shawn Hamilton as Martin Luther King, Jr. The play ends with a short scene in the present, showing us that the past isn't that far behind us.

The Guthrie does period pieces like no other. Scenes and set pieces move in and out on sliding panels, with actors freezing at the end of scenes, like moving historical tableaus. The costumes are perfection, especially in the first act - military uniforms and hoop skirted concoctions that look good enough to eat! Photos are projected on the back wall of the stage, showing scenes of war or riots, or providing a backdrop for the action.

I remember my high school history teacher saying that when the authors of the Declaration of Independence wrote "all men are created equal," what they really meant was that all white property-owning men aged 21 and over are created equal. The last 240 years has been about expanding that narrow category until all people truly are equal under the law, and we're not quite there yet. On the night I attended Appomattox, there was a post-show discussion featuring experts on human rights. Much of the discussion centered on the Voter ID Amendment that will be voted on here in Minnesota in just a few short weeks, threatening to take away some of those rights that were fought for and won. Consider this exchange from The Daily Show between host Jon Stewart and "Senior Black Correspondent" Larry Wilmore:

Larry: How old is this country?
Jon: About 240
Larry: How long have black people been allowed to vote?
Jon: About 150
Larry: In Alabama?
Jon: About 48

48 years is a relatively short time in the history of this country. There are African American people alive today who can remember when they weren't able to vote. I can't imagine how that must feel as things start to move the other way again, towards exclusion rather than inclusion. Despite being a historical drama, the themes of this play are very timely. I'm not sure how a British man capture American history so well. The three plays in the Christopher Hampton celebration seem quite diverse. This American drama is pretty intense and thought-provoking; I look forward to seeing the other two plays.

"Time Stands Still" at the Guthrie Theater

Walking into the proscenium theater at the Guthrie last night was impressive.  On the stage is a very lifelike Brooklyn apartment, complete with a view of Manhattan through the huge windows, with gently falling snow. I could live in this beautiful apartment, with it's brick walls and exposed beams, just a short train ride away from my favorite city. Just gawking at that set provides entertainment, but fortunately the drama that goes on within it is equally captivating. Time Stands Still, written by Donald Margulies, was nominated for a Tony for best play a few years ago.  (Incidentally, two of the four plays nominated this year will be produced by the Guthrie next season, Clybourne Park and Other Desert Cities, they know how to pick 'em!)  The story centers on a couple who are journalists that travel to war-torn countries to report on the tragedies they see - James through words, and Sarah through photographs.  They're forced to re-evaluate their lives, both as individuals and as a couple, when he suffers a mental breakdown and she is almost killed in a roadside bomb.  The result is an entertaining, complex, at times joyful, at times devastating, all-around engrossing look at the lives of four friends living in a complicated world.

I love plays with small casts, especially when they're this good (and directed by Guthrie Artistic Director Joe Dowling).  Bill McCallum and Sarah Agnew as James and Sarah create a very believable relationship; you can sense the level of comfort that comes from being together for nine years.  Just watching them watch each other throughout the action of the play is telling.  Yes they have issues, but they love and support each other.  The play begins as they return home after Sarah's six-week-long convalescence after her injury, James wanting to help and protect her as she struggles to regain her strength and independence.  They have very different reactions to what they've experienced.  James just wants to live a safe, comfortable, normal life, but Sarah is unwilling to give up her work, not knowing who she is without it.  Watching them come to this realization together is heart-breaking.  Like the play I saw a few days ago (the lovely Sea Marks at the Gremlin), these are two people who have to live in different worlds, despite their obvious and very real love for each other.  It reminded me of these words I had just read over dinner at the Level Five Cafe: "I wondered if the life that was right for one was ever right for two!"  (from My Antonia by Willa Cather, which I had to re-read after seeing Illusion Theater's beautiful adaptation a few months ago.)

In addition to this complex and interesting couple, the story also involves their good friend and editor Richard (Mark Benninghofen) and his pretty young girlfriend Mandy (Valeri Mudek), who turns out to be much more than a mid-life crisis.  James, Sarah, and Richard are jaded and world-weary because of the things they've seen in their work, but Mandy is naive and optimistic, choosing to focus on the joy in life, while the others are surrounded by pain.  She can't understand how James and Sarah can simply observe and report on the crises they see without helping.  But Sarah explains that she doesn't have the luxury of feeling, her job is to bear witness and show the world what's happening.

Time Stands Still is a fascinating look at the lives of war journalists, what they experience and what they sacrifice in order to bring truth to the world.  But it's also a very intimate story about four friends navigating life in this complicated world we live in, and figuring out how to live with each other while remaining true to who they are. There's not much action, just people sitting around a fabulous Brooklyn apartment talking.  I'd watch that any day, provided the words are this well-written and well-acted.