"The Lion King" Broadway tour at the Orpheum Theatre

In the summer of 1997, the stage musical adaptation of the 1994 Disney animated film The Lion King premiered in Minneapolis at the Orpheum Theatre. That fall it moved to Broadway, winning six Tony Awards (including best musical), where it is still playing - currently at number three in the list of longest running Broadway shows. The tour has come back home again, and will play at the Orpheum Theatre for about a month - through April 28. Last night was my 5th time seeing it, and still, nearly 27 years after I first saw it, it's an absolute thrill. It's without a doubt the most successful Disney movie-to-stage musical adaptation on many levels - financially, creatively, musically. The creators of the stage musical took a two-dimensional children's cartoon movie and turned it into a wholly satisfying three-dimensional spectacle of music, dance, puppetry, and story. It's a big-budget spectacle that's also uniquely beautiful and moving storytelling. As Dana said in that one episode of Sports Night - look what we can do!*

Broadway tour of "Beetlejuice" at the Orpheum Theatre

Beetlejuice is another in a long line of movie-to-musical adaptations. But as such, it's a pretty good one. I usually prefer more intimate character-driven musicals (that's what Theater Latte Da is for), but it's also fun sometimes to see a big, bold, loud, outrageous, over-the-top musical. And that's what Beetlejuice is - over the top in every way. Costumes, sets, puppetry, slight of hand tricks, performances - everything is big and loud and in your face. And it works; the crowd (some of whom were dressed in costume) was super into it on opening night, and it's a fun and wild ride. The 2019 Broadway production was nominated for 8 Tony Awards, but didn't stand much of a chance against the brilliant Hadestown, which was nominated for 13 and won 8. It closed on Broadway in January, and this tour has been running since just before then. It stops in Minneapolis for one week only, so if you're a fan of the movie, or musicals about death, or loud and fun musicals, click here (and only here) to purchase tickets for this limited run.

Broadway Tour of "Frozen" at the Orpheum Theatre

Last Sunday, the re-opening of Broadway after an unprecedented shutdown of a year and a half was celebrated with the Tonys and a fabulous primetime concert called Broadway is Back. Just a few days later, Broadway is back in Minneapolis, in a big way. The Broadway tour of the musical adaptation of the hit 2013 Disney movie Frozen, which was originally scheduled for May 2020, has finally arrived on Hennepin Avenue. Maybe it's partly because I hadn't seen a Broadway tour in so long (not since The Band's Visit in December 2019), but I, and probably everyone in the nearly packed house, found this show to be absolutely thrilling. Jam-packed with great musical numbers, theater magic creating wow moments, and a heart-warming story about the love between sisters, Frozen is a fantastic celebration of the return of theater (continuing through October 20, click here for details and to purchase tickets).

"The Lion King" on tour at the Orpheum Theatre

Nineteen years after its pre-Broadway premiere, the national tour of The Lion King returns to the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis where it all began. Since leaving the Orpheum after it's first run in 1997, The Lion King has gone on to win eight Tony Awards and become the third longest running musical on Broadway and the "top earning title in box office history for both stage productions and films." I saw it in the original run, and twice since, but seeing it again is every bit as thrilling as it was the first time. It's without a doubt the most successful Disney movie-to-stage musical adaptation on many levels - financially, creatively, musically. The creators of the stage musical took a two-dimensional children's cartoon movie and turned it into a wholly satisfying three-dimensional spectacle of music, dance, puppetry, and story. It's a big-budget spectacle that's also uniquely beautiful and moving storytelling. As Dana said in that one episode of Sports Night - look what we can do!