"Peter and the Starcatcher" at Lyric Arts

For my first show of the 2024-2025 #TCTheater season, I saw Lyric Arts' production of the charming and whimsical play with music Peter and the Starcatcher. This is my 6th time seeing this show in the last 12 years (most recently at Duluth Playhouse this spring), but the great thing about it is that there is a lot of room for play and invention within the structure of the script. It's typically done with physical theater and low-tech theater magic, and it's always fun to see how a company interprets the story and adds their own spin. Directed by Lyric Arts' Resident Director Scott Ford, this production is very loose and playful, while also being polished and well choreographed. The talented 12-person cast works and plays well together to bring this charming story to life. It's very funny and entertaining, and also sweet and nostalgic as it taps into the familiar and beloved story of Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. Make the short trip out to Anoka to see how Peter became Pan, with the help of a strong and spirted young girl, now through September 29.

"Something Rotten" at Lyric Arts

Once again, Lyric Arts in Anoka is bringing us the regional premiere of a new(ish) Broadway musical (see also 2018's If/Then and 2019's Bright Star). The 2015 ten-time Tony nominated Something Rotten! is a hilarious musical about musicals, set in Shakespeare's time and featuring The Bard himself as a character. Lyric Arts has assembled a huge, talented, and largely unknown cast to bring this big, bold, wacky story to life on their intimate stage, and it's a hit. If you love musicals, or Shakespeare, or Renn Fest, or broad comedy that's both silly and clever, this is the show for you. Click here for more details and to purchase tickets to the show (continuing through August 14).

"The 39 Steps" at Lyric Arts

The last time I saw a play at Lyric Arts was January 2020, the bittersweet Irish love story Bloomsday. Returning to their Main Street Stage in Anoka 21 long months later felt like coming home, even without the familiar smell of popcorn, and with the new normal of showing proof of vaccination and wearing a mask. They haven't been silent during this extended intermission, producing several virtual cabarets and even a fully staged production of Lauren Gunderson's The Revolutionists for virtual viewing. But it's great to be back in that space again. This little theater in the 'burbs has an exciting and ambitious season planned, culminating in yet another regional premiere next summer, the hilarious 2015 Tony-nominated musical about musicals Something Rotten. But first, they're opening the season with the very fun and clever British mystery/comedy The 39 Steps. Welcome back, indeed.

"A Raisin in the Sun" at Lyric Arts

The last time I saw the American theater classic A Raisin in the Sun was in November 2016, at Park Square Theatre. Re-reading that post today, I was struck by this: "I'm writing this on the afternoon of election day, and no matter what tomorrow brings or who our president is, the work for social justice and equality continues. Theater such as this furthers that work by taking a deep look at our shared history and how it reflects in the present." Well, it's two and a half years later, and we now know what that tomorrow brought, and the tomorrows after that. The never-ending work for social justice and equality feels even more urgent now, and this play about "dreams deferred" for African Americans is as relevant as ever. Lyric Arts has brought this classic to their suburban Anoka stage and delivered a powerful production. I have previously called Lyric out for their lack of diversity on stage, which is something I know they've been working on. I commend them for bringing this play with a mostly African American cast to their stage and their audience, and for hiring a black female director (veteran #TCTheater artist Austene Van) to tell this story written by the first black female Broadway playwright, proving that this 60-year old story is one that still needs to be heard, even (or especially) in the suburbs.

"The 39 Steps" at Yellow Tree Theatre

Yellow Tree Theatre concludes their excellent sixth season with the zany British spy thriller comedy The 39 Steps, in which just four actors play dozens of characters and employ many delightful theater tricks to tell a story and entertain. It's another great choice for Yellow Tree's intimate stage, with its small cast, period feel, and fast and funny dialogue. The terrific four-person cast, director Anne Byrd, and the design team have obviously worked hard to make all of the tricks and transitions run smoothly and look effortless. The result is great fun and good old-fashioned theatrical entertainment.

The 39 Steps is based on the 1935 Hitchcock movie of the same name, in which Richard Hannay, a bored English gentleman with dark wavy hair, piercing blue eyes, and a pencil mustache, gets involved with a spy and goes on a cross-country adventure to save the world from some unknown evil. And since this is 1935, evil has a German accent. But the details of the plot and the chase really don't matter, it's the fun of the way that the story is told that matters. I've previously seen the show in larger venues (Off-Broadway and the Guthrie), so I was curious to see how a smaller production would handle the tricks of illusion. In some ways the low-tech version is even more fun; we can see the actors manipulating the effects, often with a wink to the audience, which only adds to the entertainment. There's a free-standing spinning door that represents the change of rooms, a puppet show of a plane with crash and burn effects, a car created by a trunk and a few chairs, a chase that requires imagination to follow the actors and their flapping coats to the top of a train, empty frames that create the illusion of windows, and invisible blinds. The scene changes are done quickly, with set pieces rolling on and off stage with remarkable speed. This is one of those shows that would be just as entertaining to watch from backstage.

Tristan Tifft, Stephanie Cousins, Sean Byrd,
and Nathan Cousins go for a drive 

And now a word about the cast, all of whom have been seen on the Yellow Tree stage before. Sean Byrd only plays one character but he does it well - the smooth and charming Richard Hannay. Stephanie Cousins excels at playing three very different woman who each become involved with Richard in different ways. But Nathan Cousins and Tristan Tifft steal the show as the "clowns" who each play dozens of characters of all ages and genders. They're able to create distinct characters not just through a quick wardrobe change, but also through change of voice and physicality. Sometimes they play multiple characters within the same scene, with just a quick spin and a different hat and accent to mark the change. Kudos to Peter Lerohl for designing a flexible set with lots of hidden tricks and to Carolann Winther for the ever-changing costumes that help the actors create the many characters. The whole escapade through city, planes, trains, automobiles, moors, and theater is brilliantly choreographed and flawlessly executed.

The 39 Steps continues at Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo through June 22. If you're a Yellow Tree fan I'm sure it's already on your schedule. If not, this is a good time to become one - head out to the suburbs and see what great theater you can find there (discount tickets available on Goldstar.com). And stay tuned for Season 7 which includes a classic play directed by an Ivey Award winner, a new Christmas play by the playwright of Miracle on Christmas Lake, and one of my favorite new musicals of this century.


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.