"Gone Missing" by Theatre Elision at Dreamland Arts

The Twin Cities Theater Bloggers gave new-ish #TCTheater company Theatre Elision the "Under the Radar" award for 2018 (read all the awards here). It was less than two years ago that they debuted with an original musical Ragtime Women in the intimate Dreamland Arts space in St. Paul. After nearly a dozen small cast, one act, original or rarely done musicals at small venues around town, they return to Dreamland Arts with another such piece. Gone Missing was created by NYC based theater company The Civilians, including playwright Steven Cosson and composer/lyricist Michael Friedman. The Civilians also created The Abominables at Children's Theatre, premiering shortly after Michael's death from AIDS shocked the theater world. I'm a big fan of his music (see also Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), so I'm grateful to Elision for bringing us this piece. Gone Missing is a funny, quirky, poignant little musical about all things lost, as always beautifully performed by the cast and band.

"The Abominables" at Children's Theatre Company

A musical about youth hockey with an abominable snowman, er... yeti? It's gotta be Minnesota, and it's gotta be the Children's Theatre Company. It's no surprise that this new original musical is a surefire hit, the only surprise is that it took them so long to come up with the idea. The musical was developed by The Civilians, a NYC-based theater company, and researched and workshopped right here in Minnesota. I've never been involved in hockey (except the odd game or two I was forced to attend with the pep band in high school), but from what I've heard, this feels like authentic portrayal, if a bit extreme and fantastical (the yeti and all). I attended a backstage tour at the Children's Theatre a few weeks ago (see photos and a rehearsal video here), which was hugely exciting as things were starting to come together. It's such a thrill to see the final product this opening weekend and to report to you that this is not only a super fun and entertaining new original musical for kids and adults alike (as I've come to expect at CTC), but also one that celebrates the good (and gently mocks the less than good) of our beloved state of Minnesota while telling a heart-warming story about teamwork, friendship, community, and family that, yes, brought tears to my eyes.

Sneak Peek of "The Abominables" at Children's Theatre Company

Last week, I had the opportunity to tour the Children's Theatre Company in South Minneapolis, where they were busy getting everything ready for the world premiere of the new original musical The Abominables. Developed and produced in association with the NYC-based theater company The Civilians, The Abominables tells the story of a youth hockey team. In other words, it's a very Minnesotan musical! The creators (including playwright/director Steve Cosson and composer/lyricist Michael Friedman) researched and workshopped the piece right here in Minnesota, so it's sure to feel familiar to many audience members.

"Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play" at the Guthrie Theater

I must confess: I've never seen a single episode of The Simpsons. Of course since I don't live under a rock, I'm vaguely aware of Marge, Homer, Bart and the gang. But this is one pop culture phenomenon that has passed me by. Even so, I can appreciate playwright Anne Washburn's play Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play, which uses The Simpsons to explore how pop culture survives after an apocalyptic event. While knowledge of The Simpsons might make the play more enjoyable (as evidenced by the people guffawing at every line in the row in front of me), it's still a fascinating look at survival and finding joy even in devastation.

The play feels like it's made up of three very different short plays. The first act takes place shortly after the nuclear disasters happened, causing "the grid" to go down. We meet a group of survivors, who are entertaining themselves by reminiscing about their favorite episode of The Simpsons, "Cape Feare," even while brandishing guns to protect themselves from intruders. Think The Walking Dead, except that between killing zombies, Rick and company talk about TV (maybe they do, we just don't see those scenes). To continue with the TV references, the tone of the show is somewhere between The Walking Dead and The Last Man on Earth, because it's a bit silly, but with a real undercurrent of darkness as survivors ask newcomers if they have any news about their missing loved ones.

the theater troupe performs (photo by Kevin Berne)

In the second act, we jump forward seven years to a time when things are still pretty messed up, but there are traveling theater troupes that perform episodes from TV shows. And apparently theater too, but who wants to watch Shakespeare when you can watch The Simpsons? Our group has formed one such troupe, and is in competition with other troupes. The group has differing opinions about whether their job is strictly to provide a much needed escape in a bleak world, or to enlighten and engage on a deeper level. Before the matter is settled, we jump forward another 75 years, after an intermission during which the cast dons extreme and specific make-up to transform themselves into characters from The Simpsons. The last act is the finished product of what was begun 75 years ago - a musical that blends the story of the apocalypse with "Cape Feare."

Mr. Burns is a bit of a hodgepodge, with serious, poignant, and very real scenes interspersed with the absurd - a music video montage of pop songs, a commercial for... something... that goes on and on, and the entire third act musical sequence. It's truly bizarro, but mostly in a good way. The original songs are great (music by Michael Friedman and lyrics by the playwright), and cleverly tie in several pop culture themes. And kudos to costume designer Alex Jaeger for covering the whole scope from apocalypse gear, to makeshift theater production, to amazingly bright and detailed Simpsons costumes for the musical.

Because this is a co-production with San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater, I was expecting a cast of unfamiliars. So I was pleasantly surprised to see local favorites Charity Jones (a traumatized survivor turned director), Andrea Wollenberg (who beautifully carries most of the singing weight in the third act), and Jim Lichtsheidl (I don't now about you, but if I'm ever in an apocalyptic situation, I'd like to be trapped with Jim Lichtsheidl singing Gilbert and Sullivan). Combined with the non-locals, they form a tight cast that willingly and enthusiastically jumps in with both feet, whatever the script calls for. In particular, Ryan Williams French gives a deliciously evil performance as the musical's villain.

Even though I'm not a fan of The Simpsons, and some of the references might have gone over my head, and some of the re-creations went on a bit long for my taste, Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play is no doubt incredibly creative and inventive. I'm sure if my TV were taken away from me, I'd search out anyone I could to discuss the finer points of my favorite episodes of The Office ("Booze Cruise" anyone?) or Game of Thrones.

The apocalypse is a popular theme in pop culture, so it's quite fitting and fascinating to see an exploration of pop culture in an apocalypse. It's about how we tell our stories, whether that's through theater, or television, or around a campfire, or whatever medium is left when all the lights go out.  Mr. Burns continues through May 9 on the Guthrie's Proscenium Stage.

"Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" by Minneapolis Musical Theatre at New Century Theatre

If you have a toe in the local theater world, you've probably heard about the controversy surrounding Minneapolis Musical Theatre's production of the 2010 Broadway musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. I saw the show on Broadway and found it to be sharp political satire and social commentary wrapped up in a great emo-rock score. Just a few days before this local version opened, founder of New Native Theatre Rhiana Yazzie posted an open letter on Minnesota Playlist criticizing the piece as offensive in its depiction of Native Americans, and expressing disappointment in MMT for making the choice to produce it in Minnesota (read the full letter here). She organized a protest to be held at the New Century Theatre on opening night. While the letter and protest did not deter me from seeing this show I had long been looking forward to (and included on my summer must-see list), it did give me something extra to think about while seeing the show for a second time. It's important to remember that this is not just a light and fun romp through history, but rather a pretty serious commentary on a very ugly period in American history.

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson tells the story of the seventh president of the United States of America, from his humble beginnings on the frontier of Tennessee, to “hero” of wars against the Spanish, English, and Indians, to the White House. Andrew Jackson has dreams of overthrowing the Washington “elite” (sound familiar?) and becoming “the people’s president,” but he soon discovers that a president has to make the hard decisions, and is never going to please everyone. One of the things Jackson is most known for is “Indian removal,” having convinced many Native American tribes to sign treaties under false pretenses and move west, resulting in the infamous Trail of Tears (the song "Ten Little Indians" recounts the number of ways that Native Americans died at the hands of the white man). As the narrator of the piece says, historians are still debating whether Jackson was a hero or a genocidal murderer. The musical deals with this serious subject matter in a satirical, campy, and over-the-top way. Young Andrew is portrayed as a petulant teenager, and the politicians as idiots. It's a ridiculous and fantastical mash-up of history that's intended to entertain and make a statement about our past and present.

Logan Greene and Philip C. Matthews
(photo by Byron Ritter)

The large and energetic young cast breathes great life into this crazy story. As our (ironically) sexypants president, Philip C. Matthews is charismatic with a great rock voice. Aly Westberg as his wife Rachel is extremely sympathetic and gives a gorgeous rendition of the poignant song "The Great Compromise," about the difficulties of political life for the family left behind. Not only is Amanda Weis hilarious as the doomed storyteller, but she also steps into the band to play keyboard on a number of songs. Besides Amanda, the band consists of just a couple of guitars and percussion, led by Darren Hensel who occasionally takes part in the action and dialogue of the show. The ensemble members all bring great specificity and humor to the many roles of various presidents and politicians.

The show looks and feels like a rock concert, with bright lights, microphone stands, and modern rock costumes with an Old West twist. Unfortunately there were some sound issues on opening night, with headset mics going in and out or sounding muffled or staticky. Hopefully they'll work these issues out, but I would prefer that they lose the headset mics altogether and just use the hand-held mics for the more loud, rocky songs. I believe Philip's mic went out halfway through the show and I'm not sure it ever came back on, but you could still hear him and he sounded fantastic. The advantage of a small space like New Century is that you don't necessary need to mic everyone all the time.

the cast rocks out (photo by Byron Ritter)

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson is a musical that deals with issues of corrupt politics, elections, compromises made by politicians and their families, racism, slavery, and the near extermination of an entire race of people. Maybe the creators bit off more than they could chew in a mere 90 minutes and therefore were not able to give each issue the weight it deserved, but it's an ambitious attempt to bring light to these issues in an accessible rock musical kind of way. It's not a bad thing for art to be controversial sometimes; I much prefer a controversial piece like this to a bland inoffensive movie-musical adaptation. At the very least, it began a dialogue that will hopefully continue. I greatly appreciate hearing Rhiana's perspective on the piece and look forward to seeing some New Native Theatre shows next season. MMT responded gracefully to the controversy with a note in the playbill, a brief post-show statement, and a planned post-show discussion on Thursday June 19 (the show runs through June 29).

Even though this is a hugely entertaining and fun show, it goes deeper than that. At the end of the show I was left with a feeling of sadness, that this is the way our country was built. The beautifully poignant song "Second Nature," which plays over a video montage of pivotal moments in our nation's history, says it best:

The grass grows, a prairie
A wilderness across a continent
And we take it
We clear it out and make it
In our image 

The backyards, the driveways
The covered wagons rushing
Through the high planes,
The motels on the canyon
They make a second nature 

And what was it for, this country
the farms and the blood across a prairie
the nation we became as we build a second nature

This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" on Broadway

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson is a bloody brilliant musical! It’s everything I want musical theater to be: original, challenging, engaging, thrilling, thought-provoking, hilarious, and with a rocking score. This is not your grandmother’s musical, nor is it for kids. But if, like me, you love the art form that is musical theater and believe it can and should make a strong statement about the world we live in, it’s just what the doctor ordered.

Walking into the Jacobs Theater, we knew we were in for an awesome experience. I’ve never seen a theater decked out like this. It was red. Everywhere, everything, red. There were strings of red lights covering the ceiling and walls, which made everything a bloody glow. Portraits of President Andrew Jackson adorned the walls, as did (hopefully faux) animal heads. And in the middle of the theater, hanging upside down, was a dead horse! (I’m glad I didn’t have a seat directly below that.) It set the tone for the evening, and when the actors walked on stage, the lights went down and the show began.



the bloody red Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre

the dead horse hanging in the middle of the theater

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson tells the story of the seventh president of the United States of America, from his humble beginnings on the frontier of Tennessee, to “hero” of wars against the Spanish, English, and Indians, to the White House. It’s a “period piece,” but with many modern conventions, language, and anachronisms, including microphones, phones, video games, and even a Cosmo magazine. It’s a wonderful mishmash of current popular culture and history, which makes it easy to draw parallels between the story that’s being told about the early 19th century, and our own time.  The show is a political satire that illustrates just how much things haven't changed.  Even though the musical has gone through several years of development, the subject is very timely and some of the jokes refer to events in recent weeks.  I have a feeling they'll continue to add and tweak jokes to reflect the political scandal du jour.

Andrew Jackson has dreams of overthrowing the Washington “elite” and becoming “the people’s president,” but he soon discovers that a president has to make the hard decisions, and is never going to please everyone. “The president doesn’t have the luxury of having friends.” One of the things Jackson is most known for is “Indian removal,” having convinced many Native American tribes to sign treaties and move west, resulting in the infamous Trail of Tears. As the narrator (a hilarious woman in an ugly sweater and glasses, riding a scooter) said, historians are still debating whether Jackson was a hero or a genocidal murderer.

The cast is gorgeous and talented, dressed in a sort of pioneer/modern/hip wardrobe. The action is largely over the top and campy, and a heck of a lot of fun. The score is what they call “emo-rock” and is great to listen to; I’ve been singing “Populism, Yea, Yea,” and “Life sucks, and my life sucks in particular” all day! The band consists of a drummer and two guitar/keyboard players, who also at times function as characters in the action. The choreography was cool and edgy. The show reminded me a little of the equally brilliant Spring Awakening (which I’m going to see in November at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, go see it if you’re interested in a great modern rock musical). Both are set in a specific time in the past, but the themes easily translate to today. The rock score and use of hand held mics is also similar, but Spring Awakening has a more somber tone, where BBAJ is pure campy fun and dark humor. I hope this show receives the acclaim and success that Spring Awakening did.

After the show we waited at the stage door to talk to the actors. You can tell it’s a new show (it officially opens on October 13 after a few weeks in previews and a successful run at the Public Theater downtown earlier this year).  There wasn’t any organization to the stage door and the actors seemed quite pleased to sign our playbills and chat with us. For many of them, this is their Broadway debut. The entire cast is marvelous; it really is an ensemble piece with everyone playing several parts. I especially enjoyed Bryce Pinkham (who appeared recently at the Guthrie in A View from the Bridge) who plays both Indian chief Black Fox and Henry Clay, a creepy ferret-holding politician. Jeff Hiller (who's appeared on such NY based TV shows as 30 Rock, Guiding Light, and Ugly Betty) is a scene stealer in all of his many roles, including the mentally challenged John Quincy Adams and the White House tour guide. The title role is played by Benjamin Walker with strength, vulnerability, humor, a little wackiness, and a whole lot of charisma. He truly is a rock star president in tight jeans! He was very pleasant and friendly at the stage door and happily posed for a picture with us. Unfortunately he’s engaged – to Meryl Streep’s daughter Mamie Gummer!

me and Kendra with Ben Walker who plays Andrew Jackson

with members of the cast of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

If you’re in NYC or planning to be there anytime soon, go see this show. It’ll blow you away, make you laugh, and make you want to cry at the messed up state of politics 200 years ago and today. And maybe it’ll even get us thinking about a better way to do things. It’s encouraging to me that this show is on Broadway at the same time as Scottsboro Boys. Both shows deal with unpleasant periods in the history of our country and the horrible way we’ve treated people, and still are. Original musical theater as social commentary? I’ll take that over Spiderman the Musical any day!



Update: watch a video about opening night here.