"Falsettos" by Morris Park Players at Edison High School

There's a ton of great community theater in the Twin Cities, but I don't get to see much of it because I'm kept more than busy attending shows by the plethora of professional #TCTheater companies. But when the only local theater to do Falsettos (in my recent memory) is a community theater, I'm there. The 1992 multiple Tony winner had a successful Broadway revival a few years ago, and I fell in love with this messy and real love story when I saw the filmed version in a movie theater, and the subsequent tour. I just happened to see that Morris Park Players, a Northeast Minneapolis-based company that has been around for 70 years, was doing Falsettos, and I was lucky enough to catch their final performance. This is not an easy musical, think Sondheim-level complicated lyrics and rhythms, and I was super impressed with MPP first for choosing it, and secondly for the way they handled the material with energy, skill, and heart. It looks like they do one or two shows a year, so I'll be watching for their next choice. You can too (follow them on Facebook here), or better yet, find out what community theater is performing in your neighborhood and give them your support!

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2019: "ATLAS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ : An Objective Musical"

Day: 7

Show: 23

Title: ATLAS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ : An Objective Musical

Category: COMEDY / MUSICAL THEATER / ORIGINAL MUSIC / SCI-FI / POLITICAL CONTENT

By: Clevername Theatre

Created by: Alexander Gerchak & Bradley Kallhoff

Location: Ritz Theater Mainstage

Summary: A musical parody of Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged, turned into social satire.

Highlights: This was a last minute schedule filler because it was in the right pace at the right time; I didn't know anything about this book going into the show. From what I read on Wikipedia, this show turns the strong capitalist message on its head, and uses satire to bring the themes of the book into 2019. The wealthy businessmen and women believing that socialism is the biggest threat, fearing fair wages and mandatory health care for workers, these are all part of the daily rhetoric, making the show feel very timely. It's performed in an absurdist style which the strong cast (Aly O'Keefe, Carl Swanson, Christian Unser, Kayli McIntyre, Michael Burton, Sarah Platts, Todd O’Dowd, and Tyler Lanam) fully commits to. The props are charmingly DIY, with a live band performing the clever and scary songs, sometimes intentionally jarring and techy. Not my favorite show in the festival (absurdism isn't really my thing), but it's a clever concept well executed.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Chess" by Chameleon Theatre Circle at Gremlin Theatre

Before last year, I had never heard of the musical Chess. Although I consider myself a musical theater nerd, I rarely listen to musicals I've never seen, so it makes sense I didn't know about this rarely produced 1980s musical written by Tim Rice and the Bs of ABBA. But thanks to Second Fiddle, which stages one-night-only readings of rare musicals, I recently became aware of its charms. Chameleon Theatre Circle's new production of Chess as part of their 20th season (bringing back a favorite from their 2nd season) is the first full production I've seen. And I have to say, I kinda love it. It's fabulously cheesy and very '80s, but it put a smile on my face, which I needed on a wintery Monday. The cast is really strong, with no weak link among them, and performs this intricate score well along with the terrific onstage band. You can't do Chess halfway, you have to go at it full force, and they do, and it's kinda awesome!

"The Gondoliers" by Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company at the Howard Conn Fine Arts Center

If you like your opera very light, and very silly, and very enthusiastically and traditionally performed by a large cast and orchestra, Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company is for you. I only "discovered" this 30+ year old company a few years ago, but since then I've learned that Gilbert and Sullivan, everyone's favorite 19th Century musical-comedy-operetta composing team, wrote many more shows that just the frequently produced H.M.S. Pinafore and Pirates of Penzance. GSVLOC's annual spring show (is it spring?) this year is The Gondoliers, or The King of Barataria. Director Lesley Hendrickson notes in the playbill that it's "probably the most joyous of the G&S operettas" and that it was "the very first theatrical performance requested by Queen Victoria at Windsor castle after the death of her beloved Prince Albert" (fans of Victoria on Masterpiece, take note). I think the queen would be pleased with this production as well.

Fringe Festival: "The Frat Party: A Comic Opera in One Act"

Day: 4

Show: 14

Title: The Frat Party: A Comic Opera in One Act

Category: Musical theater

By: The Really Spicy Opera Company

Written by: Basil Considine

Location: Rarig Center Thurst

Summary: A typical story about a college frat party, atypically told as an entirely sung-through opera.

Highlights: I won't mention the opening scene, which was completely unrelated and not even musical, and seemed tacked on to fill the hour. I'm just going to get right to the main show (as I wish they would have done). A well-voiced cast of eight sings about college woes and joys, including needing money to buy beer, convincing their R.A. to let them have a party, avoiding campus security, drinking, and love. It's quite amusing to watch this all play out as an opera. Each of the eight ensemble members get an aria and do well with it (one character even sings, "I haven't had my aria yet"). Michael Burton has an everyman, or everydude, quality as Dan, the main orchestrater of the party, Amanda Weis has a strong voice as the young woman having her first drink (and whose performance as a Noir-ish detective was the only good thing about the opening scene), Jennifer Zabalesky sings passionately about Chemistry, and Eric Peters is adorkably charming as the requisite nerd in love with Fiona (reminiscent of "Johanna"). Although not perfect, this is a fun, tongue-in-cheek, well-sung show, and a promising debut of a new-to-Minnesota opera company.