"Smokey Joe's Cafe" at Lyric Arts

If you follow #TCTheater, you've probably heard about the reaction to Lyric Arts' initial casting announcement for Smokey Joe's Cafe, which historically has a mostly Black cast, and the disappointment in the community about their lack of diversity. They took that feedback and did another round of casting, bringing in more performers of color (read the full story it here). I've long been a fan of Lyric Arts, and have also called out their lack of diversity (see here and here). I know it's something they've been working on for years, and I know it's a challenge, being a theater in the suburbs that can't afford to pay much. This production stands as an example of doing the outreach to cast a wider diversity of artists, facing limitations in that, taking feedback, and making changes to improve. The addition of more BIPOC cast members can only have made this show better, to the point where it has become a big, boisterous, multi-cultural community celebration of this beloved music, really paying tribute to the legacy of Leiber and Stoller, two Jewish men who often wrote for Black artists and helped introduce them to White audiences. It was a difficult road to get to opening night, but Smokey Joe's Cafe is a success as a fun and entertaining show, as well as an example of a theater doing the work to make their show more inclusive and representative. See it at Lyric Arts in Anoka weekends through May 8.

A Staged Reading of "The Last Five Years" by Silver Slipper Productions at Bryant-Lake Bowl

Last weekend was a pretty great and busy theater weekend. I saw five shows in three days, including two exciting new works as part of History Theatre's Raw Stages festival, and the opening of two great shows - Sandbox Theatre's Big Money at Park Square Theatre, and Theatre in the Round's A View From the Bridge. And the icing on the cake that was my weekend was a little show called The Last Five Years.

"Shrek: The Musical" at Lyric Arts

"Fairy tales should really be updated." So sings Shrek in the 2008 musical adaptation of the smash hit 2001 movie. And that's exactly what the creators of the movie and the musical (playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, who also wrote Rabbit Hole, Good People, and Fuddy Meers, and composer Jeanine Tesori, who is also responsible for one of my favorite musicals Violet, opening soon at Yellow Tree Theatre) have done. Lyric Arts' joyful and colorful new production is my third go-round with Shrek: The Musical, for which I have much affection despite it being a blockbuster movie adaptation. The musical retains and builds on the funny, clever, irreverent tone of the movie, adding a diverse collection of songs. This updated fairy tale for the modern age is well done by Lyric Arts with a fantastic cast, bright and colorful set and costume design, and a joyfully irreverent spirit.

"Gypsy" at Bloomington Civic Theater

What better time to see the classic 1959 musical Gypsy than on Mother's Day weekend? Based on the memoirs of Burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee, it features the quintessential stage mother in Rose, who puts all of her hopes and dreams into her daughters as she guides them through their Vaudeville career. There's nothing really new or noteworthy about Bloomington Civic Theatre's production, it's just a good, solid, classic interpretation of one of the best musicals ever written, full of great songs and complex characters.

We first meet Rose and her daughters Louise and June in an audition, as she famously calls out directions including "sing out, Louise!" Baby June is the star, a pretty and precocious little girl in blond ringlets, and Louise is the older and less talented daughter forced into the shadows. Rose promises her girls she will make them stars, and travels around the country getting them bigger and better gigs with the help of Herbie, their manager who's also an unofficial husband/father figure to the family. Louise and June soon outgrow the little girl act but their mother refuses to let them grow up. A teenage June runs away with one of the boys in the act to form their own act. Herbie and Louise encourage Rose to walk away and concentrate on their family, but Rose is not someone who gives up. She turns all of her focus to making Louise a star in a recycled version of the old act. But Vaudeville is dying, so the act ends up in a Burlesque theater. Rose promises that this will be the last gig and she will marry Herbie and walk away when it's over. But when given the chance to make Louise a star in the Burlesque world, she takes it, and shoves Louise into the spotlight. Surprisingly, Louise takes to this new role and shines, not needing her mother any more. In one of the most famous musical theater songs, Rose makes one final plea to the universe, asking when it will be "Rose's Turn" after all she's sacrificed.

Here are some great things about the show:

• Everyone in the cast (which includes a lot of new faces at BCT) does a fine job, but there is one star in this show and that is Sally Ann Wright as Rose. As one audience member behind me noted, "she's perfect for the role." With a strong voice and commanding presence, she simply is Mama Rose. 
• Another who's perfect for the role is ten-year-old Dora Dolphin as Baby June. Already a veteran of Twin Cities stages (see also This Side of Paradise at the History Theatre and Collide Theatrical Dance Company's Belmont Hotel), the role of an adorable, precocious, talented young blond who's about to become a star is one she was born to play.
• Also great are Kristen Husby, who believably takes Louise from the tomboy-ish second fiddle to the elegant stripping star; Paul Reyburn as the solid and steady Herbie, the calm in the middle of the storm; and Martino Mayotte who makes a charming Tulsa and dances divinely on one of my favorite numbers in the show, "All I Need is the Girl."
• In one of the highlights of the show, the three strippers in the Burlesque club are all fantastic and play their "gimmick" well - Emily Jansen's "bump it with a trumpet" Mazeppa, Jessie Ladig's "do it with finesse" Tessie Tura, and Megan Love Warner's enlightening Electra.
• All the technical elements are spot-on, as per usual at BCT. Lots of set parts moving in and out (designed by Tiffany Fier), great choreography by Shannon Roberg, that big full pit orchestra that I love to see on these classic musicals with Anita Ruth at its helm, a large cast playing multiple roles, all under the direction of Zach Curtis.
• This is one of my favorite musical theater scores (music by Julie Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim), with such great and memorable songs as "May We Entertain You," "You'll Never Get Away From Me," "Everything's Coming up Roses," "Together Wherever We Go," "You Gotta Get a Gimmick," and "All I Need is the Girl."

Gypsy continues at Bloomington Civic Theater through May 25 (with discount tickets on Goldstar). If you've never seen this classic on stage, this is a great production to introduce you. And even if you've seen it many times, it's still fun to revisit old favorites. 

BCT has announced their 2014-2015 season and I'm super excited to see that they've chosen the brilliant new rock musical about a family dealing with mental illness, Next to Normal. I think it's great that they sometimes venture out of their comfort zone of classics that they do so well, which next season include Guys and Dolls, La Cage Aux Folles, and Carousel - one I've never seen but have been wanting to. But first - the final play this season is The Odd Couple, which I am going to see for two reasons - Sam Landman as Oscar and Wade Vaughn as Felix. Trust me, you don't want to miss these two.