"The Music Man" at Lyric Arts

I'm a sucker for The Music Man. There's something so joyful about this story of the charming con man who comes to a closed-up Iowa town and sells them not a band, but the power of music, community, and a common goal. The band may not be real, but the joy and newfound togetherness in the town is very real, and even more valuable. Lyric Arts' fine new production is sure to sell out just based on the name recognition of the beloved musical, but it also lives up to expectations and provides a joyously fun and heart-warming experience that reminds us that we're better when we work together. Visit River City via Anoka now through August 10.

"Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley" at Lyric Arts

My recent favorite #tctheater holiday* tradition is the Christmas at Pemberley plays, a series of three plays by Lauren Gunderson (one of the most produced playwrights in the country, often writing plays about women in history, particularly in STEM) and Margot Melcon. The Jungle Theater produced all three of these plays beginning in 2017, and even co-commissioned two of them. Lyric Arts has picked up the tradition the last few years, culminating in the third play this season. Each of these plays focuses on a different Bennet sister or two, but they're all similar in their sparkling dialogue that feels both period appropriate and refreshingly modern, their centering of women in the story (continuing the legacy of Jane Austen), their fleshing out of characters who didn't get much space in the original novel, and their charming romances complete with obstacles to be overcome, just like all good Austen heroines. With Georgiana and Kitty we get not one but two new Austen heroines to love and root for in their pursuit of love, art, purpose, and happiness.** Lyric's production is an absolute delight, and I hope that they continue to cycle through these three plays for years to come! But for now, you can visit Pemberley Thursdays through Sundays until December 22.

"The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley" at Lyric Arts

The Christmas at Pemberley play series by Lauren Gunderson and Margo Melcon has become a new #TCTheater holiday* tradition. The playwrights have taken the characters and relationships from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and continued them on into the following years. These plays came to us first through the Jungle Theater, which produced Miss Bennet (focusing on bookish sister Mary) in 2017 to such success that they co-commissioned a sequel, The Wickhams (about Lydia after her elopement with Mr. Wickham), premiering in 2018. After a pandemic pause, they brought us the third play (another co-commissioned rolling world premiere) Georgiana and Kitty (focusing on the friendship between Mr. Darcy's sister and a forgotten Bennet sister) just last year. Also last year, Lyric Arts wisely jumped on this bandwagon, producing the first play in the series, Miss Bennet. This year they're continuing the story with the second play, The Wickhams, the events of which happen concurrently with those of Miss Bennet. One can only hope they'll complete the trilogy next year with Georgiana and Kitty, but for now, head up to charming downtown Anoka for the best Jane Austen fan fic, that "perfectly marries Jane Austen's legacy of female-centered stories in a man's world of property, marriage, and inheritance with modern feminist sensibilities." You can visit Pemberley-in-Anoka Thursdays through Sundays until December 22.