"The Spitfire Grill" by Ten Thousand Things at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church

Ten Thousand Things musicals are my favorite. When their trademark "All the Lights On" barebones style is applied to a musical, we get a few acoustic instruments accompanying unmiked singers performing a few feet in front of us, and the result is magical. The lovely Americana score and intimate story of the Off-Broadway musical The Spitfire Grill is a perfect choice for this treatment. The only problem with "all the lights on" is that everyone can see when you start to cry at the emotions brought on by the story and the music! But that's OK, they're probably crying too, and it's all part of being human, which is what this show exemplifies so beautifully. A simply stunning cast and simply charming design allow the true heart of this piece to shine, which is what Ten Thousand Things does so well. You can see The Spitfire Grill at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church this weekend (an easy-to-get-to location with a large free parking lot) or the following two weekends at The Jungle Theater, with free community performances continuing through June 9.

"Emilia" by Ten Thousand Things at Open Book

A few months ago, the Guthrie Theater brought us the brilliant new play Born with Teeth, imagining meetings between playwrights Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare, and the theory that the two co-wrote some of the history plays attributed to Shakespeare. Now, Ten Thousand Things is taking another look at this subject, from the feminist side. Morgan Lloyd Malcolm's play Emilia premiered at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in 2018 and explores the life of Emilia Bassano, one of England's first published female poets. The play theorizes that she and Shakespeare were lovers, and that he took some of their conversations and put them into his plays, making her a contributor to the work of Shakespeare. There's lots of discussion about who really wrote the plays we know as Shakespeare (e.g., this article "Was Shakespeare a Woman?" by Elizabeth Winkler, which has been expanded into a book to be released this month). The truth is we'll likely never really know. And that's not what this play is about, anyway. It's about women's voices, women's stories, and why they have been systematically silenced throughout history. Told by an all-female cast, Emilia is the story of a historical woman who would not be silenced, even if it did take a few hundred years for history to recognize her contributions. It's a story that's all too relatable for modern women, and one we can take inspiration from.

"The Comedy of Errors" by Ten Thousand Things at Plymouth Congregational Church

Last night I saw Ten Thousand Things perform Shakespeare (live and in-person, which 20 months ago would have seemed like an absurd qualifier), and for about 90 minutes, it felt like everything was right with the world. No one does Shakespeare like Ten Thousand Things; no one makes it as understandable, relatable, relevant, and fun. And when you're talking about Shakespeare's silliest and most slapsticky comedy, The Comedy of Errors, it's all about the fun. With just six actors playing all 15 (or 47, who's counting) roles, it's a rollicking good time. Of course not all is right with the world, we're still very much in the thick of this pandemic, which means TTT can't do their most important work - bringing theater out into the community to people who aren't usually able to experience theater. But they can still do what they do for the people who show up at Plymouth Congregational Church, with a pay-what-you-can option to make it more accessible. And what they do is tell stories, in the most delightful and in-the-moment way imaginable, with all the lights on.

"Scapin" by Ten Thousand Things

This spring, Michelle Hensley left the company she founded 25+ years ago, Ten Thousand Things, through which she nurtured a new kind of theater. The kind of theater that thinks first about the audience, makes the storytelling accessible to everyone, and brings theater to people who may never have experienced it before. I think we were all a little worried about the future of TTT without their esteemed leader, but never fear. Michelle has taught us well, and left the company in great hands - those of new Artistic Director Marcela Lorca, as well as adapter/director of the first post-MH show, Randy Reyes. This fun and wacky adaptation of the Moliere comedy Scapin is very TTT, and an absolute delight. Long live Ten Thousand Things!

"The Good Person of Szechwan" by Ten Thousand Things at St. Paul's ELCA

Michelle Hensley, retiring Artistic Director and Founder of Ten Thousand Things, is a gift. A gift to theater, a gift to Minnesota, a gift to the world. She taught us a new way to do theater, a new way to experience theater, one that considers who the audience can and should be, which is everyone. Read her book All the Lights On if you want to know more about it, or go see her beautiful swan song The Good Person of Szechwan (continuing through June 3), which is also the first play that TTT ever did nearly 30 years ago when Michelle started it in California. We've been lucky enough to have TTT as a vital part of the #TCTheater community for 25 years, a tradition that will continue after Michelle's retirement under the leadership of new Artistic Director Marcela Lorca. One can only hope that all of the artists and audience members she's worked with and influenced in those years will continue on this tradition of inclusive, accessible, imaginative theater that is unlike anything else.

"Electra" by Ten Thousand Things at Open Book

To begin her final season as Artistic Director of Ten Thousand Things, the company she founded over 25 years ago, recent Ivey Lifetime Achievement Award winner Michelle Hensley has chosen the Greek classic Electra. This 2000+ year old story of betrayal and revenge is clearly and succinctly told in not much more than an hour, and like all TTT shows, feels both fantastical and grounded in reality. With guest director/adapter Rebecca Novick out of San Francisco, seven of the top #TCTheater actors, a warm and wonderful Peter Vitale musical soundtrack, and very little in the way of usual theater magic (except that created by the skills of the performers), this tragedy is a joy to watch.

Fringe Festival 2016: "Twice"

Day: 11

Show: 54 (encore)

Title: Twice

Category: Drama

By: Its Time Productions

Written by: Chris Andersen and Lee Lawing

Location: The Playwrights' Center

Summary: Three pairs of plays by two playwrights explore the same situations and themes in different but complementary ways.

Highlights: My 54th and final show of the Minnesota Fringe Festival was the encore performance of Twice, which sold out its entire run at The Playwrights' Center. I can see why. These six short plays, each of which could stand on its own as a fully defined situation and characters, together form a more complete picture around the themes of family, relationships, endings, beginnings, death, and hope. "A customer walks into a record store" becomes two young men (Reid Emmons and Jacob Mierva) flirting, or two older men (Peter Vitale and Dennis Spears) flirting. "People gather in a church during a downpour" becomes three church ladies (Janet Hanson, Annette Cummings, and Jane Zilch) planning a party and gossiping,* or a stranger comforting a grieving mother. "A son sits with his dying father" becomes an imagined last conversation, or an urgent flight home. It's a fascinating idea for a playwriting experiment that turned into one really well-written, -directed (Audrey Stottler), and -acted piece of theater. And an excellent conclusion to an excellent 2016 Minnesota Fringe Festival.

"Dear World" by Ten Thousand Things at Open Book

I consider myself a fan of musicals (although perhaps not quite an expert), but I had never heard of the 1969 musical Dear World that won Angela Lansbury her second Tony. It has certainly not seen the success of composer/lyricist Jerry Herman's other works, which include La Cage aux Folles and Hello, Dolly! That's hard to comprehend after seeing Ten Thousand Things' new production of Dear World, which reveals it to be a perfectly charming and lovely musical. But then, Ten Thousand Things productions have a tendency to reduce any work of theater, from Shakespeare to a Broadway musical flop, to it's most perfect, accessible, relatable heart. Under the direction of Jungle Theater's new Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen, with one-man orchestra Peter Vitale and a beautifully diverse eight-person cast, Dear World is a musical that's sweet, funny, hopeful, and just a little bit wacky.

"Forget Me Not When Far Away" by Ten Thousand Things at Minnesota Opera Center

The village of Farmingtown has been devoid of men for so long that when one returns from the far away and long-lasting war, the first woman he meets rushes up to him and inhales him deeply. This hilarious and oddly touching moment at the beginning of Kira Obolensky's new play Forget Me Not When Far Away sets the tone for this playful and poignant fairy tale about a soldier returning to a home he once knew. Ten Thousand Things has been on the road with the show for a few weeks, performing at correctional facilities, community centers, and other unlikely venues. As director Michelle Hensley said in her introduction of the show (which has come to be one of my favorite parts of a TTT production), the fact that this play has resonated with such diverse audiences in different ways is a credit to the skills of the playwright, who has created a world outside of time and space that somehow feels familiar and relatable to everyone. This world is brought to life in the beautifully sparse way that only Ten Thousand Things can do, with a brilliant cast of six performing in a fully lit room in a space so small that they literally trip over the audience. The fanciful story is grounded in truth and made to feel very real by the universality of the story, the charming accessibility of the language, the up-close-and-personal performances by the actors in whom you can feel every nuance of every emotion through a look in the eyes, the twinge of a facial muscle, or a subtle movement of the body. Ten Thousand Things harnesses the magic of theater in its most basic form like no other company can.*

Farmingtown is a quaint village in which news is passed by the town crier, the main employment is farming and working in the morgue, and the men all go off to war while the women stay home. The women have adjusted well to this man-free life, taking charge of all systems and businesses in town. They're in for a shock when one John Ploughman returns from war, discharged due to an injury. The more than 20 women depicted in the play (portrayed by just five actors) all react to him in a different way, from the aforementioned inhaling, to surprise, to skepticism, to a determination to win him. Lacking the necessary paperwork to prove that he's not dead as was announced, John faces a tough road readjusting to life in Farmingtown. He's searching for a woman he knew before the war, a woman he now loves but scorned in the past, when he was a bit of a playboy. It turns out Flora Crisp has been pining after him all these long years, or at least the idea of him. But this isn't your typical love story; the people of Farmingtown find love and fulfillment in different ways, as the war ends and a new chapter of their lives begins.

John Ploughman at the bar (Ron Menzel with Shá Cage,
Photo by Paula Keller)

Ten Thousand Things often casts their show without much regard to gender, changing the gender of characters or casting women as men or vice versa. But in this play it's quite specific that there is only one man in town, surrounded by women (and one awkward and adorkable little boy). Ron Menzel is that man, his masculinity standing out in a soldier's uniform against the women in their cute but functional dresses and colorful Keds (costumes by Sonya Berlovitz). Ron is one of my long-time faves from the Guthrie (beginning with the memorable Intimate Apparel nearly ten years ago), and it's a thrill to see him in this setting as he fully inhabits this character in every moment of his journey, effortlessly portraying the frustration, hope, desperation, brokenness, determination, and above all humanity in this man in all his flaws and glory.

three of the bewigged women of Forget Me Not When Far Away
(Elise Langer, Shá Cage, Karen Wiese-Thompsonm
photo by Paula Keller)

I can't say enough about these five women who play over 20 characters, differentiated not only by the wigs on their heads but also by a unique voice and carriage of the body. All of them give sometimes hilarious, sometimes touching, always specific performances, including:

• Sun Mee Chomet as the wounded Flora, the tough landlady, and the steady barkeep
• Annie Enneking as a prim and proper government worker, John's ex, and a singer at the bar (singing songs she wrote)
• Elise Langer as a possibly drunken postal worker, a ditsy blond, the town crier, and perhaps my favorite character - a little boy who's slightly off but open and loving and wise
• Karen Wiese-Thompson as a cigarette-smoking trench coat-wearing PI, a dentist, and Flora's concerned grandmother
• Shá Cage as a fortune teller, a timid little girl, and a woman chasing after John who turns out to be a good friend

Ten Thousand Things travels light in terms of props and set pieces, which only seems to make them more creative. Irve Dell's clever and efficient set consists of four standing metal frames that hinge down to represent a door, window, or bar, with two metal boxes serving as all the other necessary furniture. Peter Vitale creates a delightful soundtrack for the story, subtly setting the tone. For some reason there's clog dancing, which provides a reason to show off Jim Lichtsheidl's charming choreography.

Forget Me Not When Far Away is a delightful story about returning home, reconnecting, and re-establishing your identity in a changed world. Like other TTT productions, the show feels like the neighborhood kids have gotten together to put on a play in someone's backyard, if your neighborhood were populated with some of the most talented theater artists in town. Paid public performances continue at the Minnesota Opera Center and Open Book through the end of May. Go see it, and then make plans for next season when TTT continues their pattern of Shakespeare-musical-new play with Henry IV Part I, Dear World, and Changelings by Kira Obolensky.



*To find out more about the magic of TTT, check out founder and Artistic Director Michelle Hensley' book All the Lights On.


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"The Unsinkable Molly Brown" by Ten Thousand Things at Open Book

No one does musicals like Ten Thousand Things does musicals. And even though it defies everything we know about musical theater, after seeing a TTT musical I think that maybe that's the way musicals should always be done. The music, like everything else about the show, is stripped down to the very basics, extraneous layers removed to reveal the very heart of the matter. A one-man orchestra provides the minimal accompaniment, and the small cast imperceptibly transitions from speaking to singing, so that you can't even tell where songs end and begin, it's just all one seamless story. And above all else, Artistic Director Michelle Hensley and all of the artists at Ten Thousand Things are storytellers. Whether it's Shakespeare or a classic American musical, they share the story in a pure and unadorned way so that all of their audiences, whether prisoners or seasoned theater-goers, can hear it and see themselves in it. One such masterpiece is their latest musical venture, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, a reprise of their very first musical venture 15 years ago. It's lovely, spirited, sweet, funny, moving, heart-warming, and real.

I had never seen the 1960 musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown (with music and lyrics by Meredith Wilson, who also wrote The Music Man, which happens to be TTT's last musical), nor heard any of the music. The only thing I knew about Molly Brown is that she was on the Titanic (remember Kathy Bates in the movie?). But now she's my new hero. Or at least, this fictionalized version of her as played by the indomitable Maggie Chestovich. I'm not sure how much of it is Molly and how much of it is Maggie, but this character has so much spirit, determination, and hope wrapped up in a tiny package. She wants a better life for her and her pa, and she goes out and gets it. From humble beginnings in Missouri, she decides to move to the big city of Denver, stopping at the mining town of Leadville to earn some money as a waitress and singer. There she meets Johnny Brown (Tyson Forbes, tall and lanky with plenty of aw-shucks charm), who eventually woos her with the promise of riches as well as happiness. He delivers on both, but eventually it becomes obvious that they want different things in life. Johnny wants a simple life in Leadville with his friends, while Molly longs for riches and high society. It drives them apart, but Molly is a woman who doesn't stay down for long and always gets what she wants. And after she survives the great disaster, she decides she wants Johnny.

Johnny and Molly Brown (Tyson Forbes and
Maggie Chestovich, photo by Paula Keller)

Maggie and Tyson make a most charming pair in one of the sweetest love stories I've seen in a while (the song "I'll Never Say No" is irresistible). But don't worry, it's not cloyingly sweet, these are two strong people who know what they want and don't always agree, but also love each other. The wonderful leads are backed by a fantastic ensemble who each play multiple characters and are all just a delight in each one. Highlights include H. Adam Harris as the genial bar owner, George Keller as Denver and European royalty, Eric Sharp as Molly's loving father, Austene Van as the friendly princess, Max Wojtanowicz as the nasal butler and charming prince, and the always entertaining Kimberly Richardson as a particularly snooty Denver socialite, who might just be hiding a bit more depth underneath it all. And as always in a TTT production, another character is the sound, even more so in a musical. The one and only Peter Vitale plays a banjo, a toy piano, and everything in between, and manages to create a full and complete soundscape for this world (with occasional support by Max on trombone). Like the music, the choreography (by Kimberly) is also simple and organic to the story, but ever so charming, including a delicious slow-mo fight scene, an intense wrestling scene, and a bit of party dancing.

Perhaps I should mention, for those of you unfamiliar with Ten Thousand Things (seriously, where have you been?), that in addition to paid performances at Open Book and other locations, they routinely tour their shows to prisons, homeless shelters, and community centers in the area. This requires them to travel light, literally and figuratively. Performances are in a small fully lit room with just a few rows of chairs creating a square on the floor where the magic happens. Actors look you in the eye from just a few feet away, or brush past your knees with swaying skirts, creating an intimacy and connection between audience and cast unlike any other. Set pieces are minimal and easily transportable, leading to some wonderfully creative choices. In this case, that means tiny furniture mounted on wavy poles, which the actors adorably lay a finger on to represent sitting. Costumes must also be minimal and easily transitioned between, and for this show range from drab rural clothing, to fashionably black, to European gold, and of course, Molly's red silk dress. (Sets by Stephen Mohring and costumes by Sonya Berlovitz.)

I'm quite certain that The Unsinkable Molly Brown is ruined for me as a musical now. If I ever see the typical full production of it, I might not even recognize it. But if I did, I'm sure it would pale in comparison to this sparsely lovely version that, like all TTT shows, strips away the unnecessary and serves us up a simple, unadorned, beautifully true story. See it for yourself - performances continue through March 8.


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"Romeo and Juliet" by Ten Thousand Things at Open Book

No one does Shakespeare like Ten Thousand Things. They manage to boil the text down to its bare essentials, and convey the heart of the story in a way that feels fresh and modern. This season they bring their unique Shakespeare style to perhaps his most well-know play, the story of star-crossed lovers that inspired all others, Romeo and Juliet. In the typically minimalist production (since TTT performs on location at prisons, homeless shelters, and community centers, the paid public performances are also in a small, fully lit room with little in the way of sets and costumes), director Peter Rothstein and his fantastic cast of eight playing multiple characters bring this familiar story to life in a unique way.

You all know the story so I won't recount it here. Several scenes stand out in this production. The party scene where Romeo and Juliet first meet is nicely done in the small space, with the cast dancing around the audience. The balcony scene is sweet and charming (how do you create a small and easily portable balcony? with a chair on top of a table). The fight scenes are dynamic (choreographed by Annie Enneking), made all the more real because of the close proximity and the perceived danger of an injured party falling into the front row of the audience. The final death scene is beautiful and heartbreaking.

the famous balcony scene
(Anna Sundberg and Namir Smallwood)

As the titular lovers, Namir Smallwood and Anna Sundberg are a compelling pair. Namir gives Romeo a passion and single-mindedness in being with his love, and Anna portrays Juliet as a modern young woman, speaking the Shakespearean language naturally. Six other actors portray all of the characters necessary in this stripped down version. Regina Marie Williams is Juliet's somewhat flighty mother, in contrast to her portrayal of the stern-faced Prince. Bob Davis expresses Juliet's father's love for her, and frustration when she doesn't do his bidding. Karen Wiese-Thompson is entertaining as always as the comic relief nurse, the apothecary, and a mustachioed servant. Dennis Spears is always interesting to watch, and here plays the helpful Friar and Juliet's slain kinsman. David Darrow makes his TTT debut, nicely differentiating the young rebel Mercutio from the nerdy Paris (both with great death scenes). Kurt Kwan is Romeo's sturdy friend Benvolio and a blustering servant.

As always, Peter Vitale has created a soundtrack that sets the mood for the story, whether a party scene or a fight, with help from Jason Hansen on multiple instruments. Boxy black and metal stools and tables are the only set pieces, cleverly arranged as mentioned above to create the balcony, as well as Juliet's bed and tomb (designed by Erica Zaffarano). Trevor Bowen's costumes are modern yet classic, with touches of red for the Capulets and purple for the Montagues, with lovely youthful dresses over leggings for Juliet.

Every time I see Romeo and Juliet I think, why doesn't Juliet just run away with Romeo when he's banished? Why doesn't the stupid Friar get the message to Romeo? Why doesn't Romeo wait a moment longer before taking the poison? But to great frustration, it never changes. Another thing that never changes is Ten Thousand Things' high quality budget productions. The absence of the usual bells and whistles of theater allows the acting and the story to shine.

Romeo and Juliet plays through November 2 at Open Book and the MN Opera Center. With a loyal audience and small performance spaces, shows have a tendency to sell out, so you'll want to order tickets in advance.


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"Dirt Sticks" by Ten Thousand Things at Open Book

What Ten Thousand Things does better than any other theater company I know is harness the power of collective imagination to transport the audience to another world. Because they often perform in prison cafeterias and community centers, they cannot rely on the usual theatrical tricks of lighting, costumes, and set. The audience can clearly see what's going on and that this is make-believe, which somehow makes it even more magical when we willingly forget our surroundings and go on this journey with the cast, who are always so fully committed to and immersed in the story they're telling. In the case of Dirt Sticks, a new play written by playwright in residence Kira Obolensky, the experienced theater audience is in the same boat as TTT's inexperienced theater audiences - we're all approaching the show with no prior knowledge of the piece. It's a rare and wonderful thing to go to the theater with no idea of what to expect, and to be thoroughly entertained and completely transported to another world.

Henry Wand (H. Adam Harris) and
his mother (Sun Mee Chomet)

Dirt Sticks tells the story of a young man named Henry Wand, an orphan raised by his aunt, whom he calls Mother Spindle because she's tightly wound. He and Laurel, another stray that Mother Spindle has taken in, work in a ladder factory. They live a pretty uneventful life, until a peddler comes to town with the full moon. Along with the usual goods, he sells visions of the future and the past. Through this, the story of Henry's birth is told as his mother's ghost visits her sister and son. Henry's life is changed forever as he learns the truth of his history. It's a simple story really, but feels like an ancient fairy tale as it unfolds in front of us, occurring somewhere outside of time and space.

the peddler (Stephen Cartmell) and
Mother Spindle (Thomasina Petrus)

This five-person cast is just delightful and very interactive with the audience (if you're sitting in the front row, be prepared to be asked to buy a penny for a nickel). Stephen Cartmell is absolutely mesmerizing as the mysterious peddler, spinning tales as peddles his wares. Kimberly Richardson is her usual nimble clownish self, particularly when Laurel buys the magical dancing shoes that never rest. Sun Mee Chomet is lovely as Henry's ghost mother, full of life, happy to be alive again, and trying to entice Henry to join her. Thomasina Petra is the stern Mother Spindle, eventually revealing a softer side with a long ago hurt. And last but not least, H. Adam Harris is charming as our hero Henry Wand, so curious about life and his past, eager to move forward.

Helping to create this magical world are the extremely sparse set pieces by Irve Dell, including a whimsical flying pigeon (manned by Stephen Cartmell), a lopsided ladder, and a large bowl in which Mother Spindle cooks soup and her healing elixir. Peter Vitale again creates the sound world of the story, which almost makes you want to close your eyes and just listen. These elements and this cast under the able direction of Artistic Director Michelle Hensley create a very specific world that is a pleasure to live in for a few short hours.

Dirt Sticks continues through June 1 in an upstairs room at Open Book. These shows have a tendency to sell out so get your tickets now. I've said it many times before and I'll say it again - if you're a Twin Cities theater fan and you've never seen a Ten Thousand Things show, you're missing a huge part of what makes this community so special. Check out Dirt Sticks, and then come back  next season for Romeo and Juliet, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, and another new Kira Obolensky play, The New Don Juan.

"The Music Man" by Ten Thousand Things at Open Book

"There were bells on the hill, but I never heard them ringing, no I never heard them at all, 'till there was you." So sings Marian the librarian in the classic musical The Music Man when Professor Harold Hill comes into her life and her town, bringing music and community and hope along with him. And this is how I feel about The Music Man after seeing Ten Thousand Things' production. Even though I saw it on stage once before and am very familiar with the movie, I never realized what it was really about until Ten Thousand Things stripped away all of the unnecessary fluff to reveal the true heart of the piece. I was lucky enough to attend a dress rehearsal a few weeks ago, and saw the full production last night (although there was very little difference except that the audience was larger). TTT applies their usual bare bones, straight-to-the-heart-of-the-matter style of theater to the classic musical about a con man salesman and the small Iowa town forever changed by his visit, and it is, in a word, spellbinding. This ensemble of wonderful actors led by Luverne Seifert cast their spell over me just as Professor Harold Hill cast his spell over the people of River City. I've seen a dozen Ten Thousand Things shows over the last several years and love everything they do, but this show is my favorite. So utterly charming, delightful, sweet, funny, and moving, it's a perfectly executed concept.

Marian the librarian and Professor Hill
(Aimee Bryant and Luverne Seifert)

Luverne Seifert is an absolute charmer as Professor Hill, as he easily wins over the town with his smooth-talking ways, and stern Marian the librarian a little less easily. I knew Luverne was a comic genius and the best kind of clown, but I have to say, I fell in love with him a little in this performance. He's a true romantic leading man, a role I've never seen him in before. He shares great chemistry with Aimee Bryant, who conveys Marian's strength of character and longing for something more, and lends her lovely voice to such songs as "Goodnight My Someone." Dennis Spears is a delight as her mother (in a great example of TTT's color- and gender-blind casting, an African American man plays an Irish woman). Recently crowned Ivey Emerging Artist Ricardo Vasquez plays Marian's little brother Winthrop (whose lisp was made famous by little Ronnie Howard). Ricardo completely transforms into a ten-year-old boy, and not just any ten-year-old boy, but a sad, lost, troubled ten-year-old boy. When he begins to open up thanks to music and the band and friendship, it's a thing of beauty. Rounding out the cast as salesmen, townspeople, school board members, and dancing ladies are Bradley Greenwald, literally waving his tail feathers as the mayor's wife; Jim Lichtsheidl, especially funny as the blustering idiot of a mayor (Bradley and Jim work so well together they should always play a married couple!); Sarah Agnew as the Professor's Shipoopi buddy and a fawning teenage girl (ee gads!); and Kimberly Richardson, charming in the piano lesson scene as the breathy little girl with a crush on Winthrop.

Luverne Seifert and the cast of The Music Man

The wonderful thing about musicals as performed by Ten Thousand Things is that because it's quite stripped down (just a two-person band in this case - Jake Endres on keyboard and Peter Vitale on a myriad of instruments), the music feels very organic to the characters and story. Unlike typical musicals in which there's a clear differentiation between full-blown musical numbers and straight dialogue, the actors flow naturally back and forth between speaking and singing, with the band subtly coming in to support them. The Music Man is a good choice for this sort of style, with it's rhythmic talky songs. The fast and lyric-heavy opening number on the train* ("you gotta know the territory!") is extremely well-done by the cast, as is "Ya Got Trouble," and everything with the barbershop quartet and gossiping ladies - the same four actors switching back and forth, often within the same scene! But my favorite moment is the most famous song in the show. How do you create the sound of 76 trombones with just two musicians? You don't even try, you do it as a soft, gentle, reverent plea. In the dress rehearsal I was sitting a few feet from Luverne and could see the awe and wonder in his eyes as he softly spoke of this marvelous band, and I fell completely under his spell as much as the townspeople did. The speaking eventually becomes singing, with the musicians chiming in as it grows into the familiar big band song.

The sparse set (by Joel Sass) and costumes (by Mary Anna Culligan) are so charming and effective. Each of the four corners of the square that is the Ten Thousand Things stage holds a weathered white post on which various signs are hung to represent the billiard hall, the Peroo home, the Wells Fargo Wagon, or the city gymnasium. Costumes are of a pale muted hue one night wear in the hot Iowa summer, and provide a great base for accessories to differentiate characters. In the blink of an eye, the actors change hats or add a shawl and transform into someone else entirely.

There's a reason The Music Man is such a classic. It's a beautiful story about the power of music, storytelling, family, friendship, community, and having a common goal. Professor Hill gives River City hope and something to strive for, and Marian's love and faith in him help him become the man that she thinks he is. With direction by Lear deBessonet and choreography by Jim Lichtsheidl, this is a wonderfully unique and delightful interpretation of this familiar story. Ten Thousand Things productions are always extremely professional, yet retain a playfulness and laid back feeling that draw the audience in, whether that audience is comprised of prisoners or seasoned theater-goers. Only five public performances remain and they're entirely sold out, but they do sell a limited number of 4th row seats at the door (yes, 4th row are the "bad seats" in this intimate staging). If you don't already have tickets, I highly recommend you show up and take a chance on these seats. This is a show not to be missed!




*I once saw Bradley Greenwald perform the opening number by himself, and it was quite impressive!

A Dress Rehearsal of Ten Thousand Things "The Music Man"

Friends, I experienced a rare treat last week. I attended the final dress rehearsal for Ten Thousand Things' new show, The Music Man, and it was scrumptious! They posted an open invitation on their Facebook page so I was sure the seats would be filled. That was not the case; only about ten people took advantage of the opportunity to see some free, live, excellent theater. In a cold church basement in Minneapolis, where the cast and crew outnumbered the audience, I witnessed TTT's usual bare bones, straight-to-the-heart-of-the-matter style of theater as applied to the classic musical about a con man salesman and the small Iowa town forever changed by his visit. In one word, it was spellbinding. This ensemble of wonderful actors led by Luverne Seifert cast their spell over me just as Professor Harold Hill cast his spell over the people of River City. And this was just a dress rehearsal! It was already nearly flawless (and the rare miscue only added more entertainment value in the hands of these professionals), so I can only imagine that the full production (running Feb. 14 through Mar. 9 at Open Book) will be a thing to behold.

Luverne Seifert is an absolute charmer as Professor Hill, as he easily wins over the town with his smooth-talking, and stern Marian the librarian a little less easily. Aimee Bryant conveys Marian's strength of character and longing for something more, and lends her lovely voice to such songs as "Goodnight My Someone." Dennis Spears is a delight as her mother (in a great example of TTT's color- and gender-blind casting, an African American man plays an Irish woman). Recently crowned Ivey Emerging Artist Ricardo Vasquez plays Marian's little brother Winthrop (whose lisp was made famous by little Ronnie Howard). Ricardo completely transforms into a ten-year-old boy, and not just any ten-year-old boy, but a sad, lost, troubled ten-year-old boy. When he begins to open up thanks to music and the band and friendship, it's a thing of beauty. Rounding out the cast as salesmen, townspeople, school board members, and dancing ladies are the very entertaining Bradley Greenwald, Jim Lichtsheidl, Sarah Agnew, and Kimberly Richardson.

The wonderful thing about musicals as performed by Ten Thousand Things is that because it's quite stripped down (just a two-person band in this case - Jake Endres on keyboard and Peter Vitale on a myriad of instruments), the music feels very organic to the characters and story. Unlike typical musicals in which there's a clear differentiation between full-blown musical numbers and straight dialogue, the actors flow naturally back and forth between speaking and singing, with the band subtly coming in to support them. The Music Man is a good choice for this sort of style, with it's rhythmic talky songs. The fast and lyric-heavy opening number on the train* ("you gotta know the territory!") is extremely well-done by the cast, as is "Ya Got Trouble," and everything with the barbershop quartet and gossiping ladies - the same four actors switching back and forth, often within the same scene! But my favorite moment is the most famous song in the show. How do you create the sound of 76 trombones with just two musicians? You don't even try, you do it as a soft, gentle, reverent plea. I was sitting a few feet from Luverne and could see the awe and wonder in his eyes as he softly spoke of this marvelous band, and I fell completely under his spell as much as the townspeople did. The speaking eventually becomes singing, with the musicians chiming in as it grows into the familiar big band song.

There's a reason The Music Man is such a classic. It's a beautiful story about the power of music, storytelling, family, friendship, community, and having a common goal. Professor Hill gives River City hope and something to strive for, and Marian's love and faith in him helps him become the man that she thinks he is. With direction by Lear deBessonet and choreography by Jim Lichtsheidl, this is a wonderfully unique and delightful interpretation of this familiar story. Ten Thousand Things productions are always extremely professional, yet retain a playfulness and laid back feeling that draw the audience in, whether that audience is prisoners or seasoned theater-goers. Mere words cannot express how much I love this show, and look forward to seeing it again at Open Book. It's playful and funny, sweet and touching. I'll be back to update after seeing the final version in a few weeks. In the meantime, reserve your seats for one of the three performances that are not sold out. Trust me, you are not going to want to miss this one!


*I once saw Bradley Greenwald perform the opening number by himself, and it was quite impressive!

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" by Ten Thousand Things at Open Book

A Midsummer Night's Dream is perhaps the wackiest of Shakespeare's romantic comedies. It's the one where lovers chase each other through a forest, a group of actors rehearse and perform a preposterous play, and a woman falls in love with an ass (a literal not figurative ass, the latter is nothing unusual). This makes it a great choice for the superb theater company Ten Thousand Things to bring to their typical venues of prisons, homeless shelters, community centers, and other places and people usually lacking in the joy that theater can bring. TTT's version features an ethnically diverse cast and a few gender changes (Lysander is played by a woman and referred to as she), as well as men playing female characters and women playing male characters. None of this interferes with the story (all you see are eight wonderful actors playing many different characters), and perhaps makes it so that everyone finds someone or something to relate to. I always love seeing Ten Thousand Things shows to witness the true craft of theater without any distractions that a big fancy production can bring. In a fully lit room, the actors look you in the eye and simply say and feel and live the words of the play. It's theater at it's most basic and true.

Highlights of the show include:

• Karen Wiese-Thompson as a very funny and earthy Puck. She shares a wonderful rapport with... 
• Sun Mee Chomet, who digs into the role of Oberon, King of the goblins, with glee and a lusty laugh.
• Elise Langer's hilarious transformation into the aforementioned ass, with the stomping of feet, an overbite, and subtle horse sounds in her speaking.
• The marvelous Gavin Lawrence as the distinguished duke and the lovestruck Titania.
• The delightful and surprisingly moving love story between the four lovers - Anna Sundberg's serious and devoted Lysander, Brittany Bradford as a radiant Hermia, Kurt Kwan's persistent Demetrius, and Mo Perry's hurt and disbelieving Helena. These four also have fun turns as the hapless actors rehearsing and badly performing the silly play-within-a-play.
• Peter Vitale's playful cacophony of sound coming from the corner of the room that never distracts from, but always adds to, the story.
• Fun, simple, and effective costumes by Sonya Berlovitz. Actors start out wearing pajamas, then don robes (color-coded to help remember which couples go together), with dark and fantastical coats and headpieces as goblins in the forest.
• Little ad-libs or side comments that perhaps aren't in the script, but make the story feel more current and relatable.
• During some scene transitions, actors slowly don a new costume, as if sleepwalking and waking up in a new life.

A Midsummer Night's Dream continues at Open Book through November 3. You can never go wrong with a TTT show, and this is a fun new take on a classic.

"A Streetcar Named Desire" by Ten Thousand Things at Minnesota Opera Center

Ten Thousand Things does theater like no other company I've seen, and Tennessee Williams wrote some of the best American plays of the 20th Century - full of drama and tragedy and beautifully written characters. Combine these two powerhouses and you have a pretty remarkable experience at the theater. A Streetcar Named Desire is one of Williams' best-known plays and deals with complex issues of family relationships, spousal abuse, rape, poverty, and mental illness. My first introduction to the work was a beautiful production at the Guthrie three years ago, a memory I try to hold on to in an attempt to displace the memory of last year's unfortunate Broadway production, which had audiences laughing at inappropriate moments. It was like Streetcar, the Comedy, and it was not good. The concept was a good one - an ethnically diverse cast - but the tone of the production was much too light. I thought perhaps it was also due to the unsophisticated audience that the TV actors on stage brought in, but I've learned from Ten Thousand Things that it doesn't matter if an audience member has never seen a play before in their life, or has seen hundreds. If you do it right - they'll get it. In addition to performing for the typical theater-goer like myself, TTT takes their shows into prisons, homeless shelter, schools, and community centers in an effort to bring theater to a wider audience. And they have a really wonderful and unique way of stripping the work down to the essentials and presenting it in a way that anyone can relate to, regardless of prior theater experience. They've done that with Streetcar, and the result is a brutally real and emotionally affecting two hours that's at times difficult to endure. Seeing Williams' tragic story so up close and personal is almost too much to bear. In other words - they did it right.

Austene Van as Blanche

This production of Streetcar focuses on the four main characters and removes several minor characters that don't factor into the main plot. The play begins with Blanche visiting her sister Stella and her husband Stanley in New Orleans. Blanche and Stella grew up in a wealthy Southern family, but hard times have caused Blanche to lose the home place, while Stella and Stanley live in two small modest rooms. Blanche is high-strung, to put it mildly. She takes long baths and drinks to calm her nerves, and can't possibly speak about the troubles in her past. She's a woman who's all about appearances; if things look pretty and put together, then everything must be all right. Reality is much too harsh for the world that Blanche lives in. Her young husband died tragically years ago, which, along with her family's financial hardship and the deaths of her parents, sent her on a downward spiral. No where else to go, she lands with her sister, with a trunk full of pretty clothes, fur, and jewelry, mementos of her past. Blanche finds companionship with Stanley's buddy Mitch; they're two lonely people who need someone. It's the beginning of what seems like could be a quiet, simple love, as opposed to Stella and Stanley's passionate but abusive love. Stanley is suspicious of Blanche and thinks that she's holding something back. He learns some gossip about her and uses it against her. In the end, Stella must choose between her husband and her sister. It's a tragic story with no happy endings.

Stella (Elizabeth Grullon) and
Stanley (Kris Nelson)

This fantastic four-person cast is directed by the equally fantastic Randy Reyes. All of these characters are interesting and complex, but none more so than Blanche, and Austene Van plays every layer. Blanche becomes more and more unhinged as the play goes on, and by the end, her eyes are just vacant; she's gone. Elizabeth Grullon is also great as Stella, always hot and frazzled and wanting to believe in her husband and sister both, until she has to make the terrible choice. Kris Nelson may not look like the Stanley Kowalski type, but he's got that sinister attitude in every word and look. He's one of my favorite local actors and usually has this great positive energy, but in this case he's turned that energy much darker in an almost scarily realistic way. Rounding out the cast is Kurt Kwan as the sweet and charming Mitch. All four of these actors have great chemistry with each other and play well together.

This is a fairly elaborate set by Ten Thousand Things standards. In case you've never seen a TTT show before, they create a "stage" by placing a few rows of chairs in a square. The space in the middle is where the story takes place, but it also spills outside the square as the fully lit room allows you to follow the actors as they leave the space. Dean Holzman has effectively transformed this empty square into the two rooms, with an imaginary curtain separating the tiny bed in one corner from the kitchen table in the other. Peter Vitale adds a soundtrack to the play, adding in jazz music playing on the radio or creepy carnival music when Blanche remembers her difficult past.

The last several shows that TTT has done have been on the more light-hearted side, which allowed the cast to play with the audience a little. But not so with Streetcar. The actors keep the intensity of the story and reside in the world they create, as if the audience isn't even there. Not since Doubt two years ago (also starring Kris Nelson) have they tackled such a serious drama. As always, I highly recommend that you go see it. I went with a friend who had never seen TTT before, and we're already talking about getting season passes next season (which includes A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Music Man, and a new play by Kira Obolensky). Warning: the kind of real, raw, intimate theater that Ten Thousand Things does can be addictive.

"The Seven" by Ten Thousand Things at Open Book

Friends, I know I rave about Ten Thousand Things often on this blog, but I'm telling you, The Seven is crazy good. It's unlike anything I've ever experienced. Using an adaptation by Will Power, they've taken an ancient Greek tragedy and reinvented it as something entirely modern, fresh, relatable, energetic, contemporary, and understandable. The New York Times review of the 2006 premiere at NY Theater Workshop referred to it as "a hip-hop musical comedy-tragedy." This cast of eight includes some of the top talent in this town, and they all bring it. There's really no choice but to do so; in the small fully lit space at Open Book with minimal sets and costumes, there's nothing to hide behind. What you see is what you get, and in this case, what you get is awesome.

Artistic Director Michelle Hensley introduces the show, as she always does, and sets the stage for those of us unfamiliar with the story. The original play, Seven Against Thebes, tells the story of Oedipus' sons, upon whom he levied a curse - that they would kill each other. Despite their best intentions to avoid the curse, they of course fulfill it, as always happens in Greek tragedies. The Seven also shows us Oedipus, explaining his own curse (that he would kill his father and marry his mother) and bestowing it upon his sons after they cast him out, and later appearing to them to encourage them in falling victim to it. It's a universal tale of family, war, power, fear, and destiny.

The cast is comprised of eight talented actor/singer/rappers (most of whom I've seen in theaters around town), directed by Sarah Rasmussen, fresh off the completely delightful In the Next Room at the Jungle. We are guided through the story by the narrator/DJ, mixing tunes and tales, played by the fabulous Aimee K. Bryant. Bruce A. Young is strong and powerful as Kind Oedipus, with a scary turn as one of the Seven who wage war against Thebes. As his sons, H. Adam Harris and Kinaundrae Lee give their all, vocally, physically, and emotionally, as the loving brothers who unthinkably turn against each other. One tough and kingly, the other a nature-loving poet, but both sons of the cursed family. The excellent Greek chorus consists of Katie Bradley, Brian Sostek, Ricardo Vazquez, and Joetta Wright, who also play the worried people of Thebes and the titular Seven, a parade of superheroes. Particularly impressive is Ricardo (see also Next to Normal), who possesses a voice that was made for musical theater, ringing out across the room with no amplification necessary. He also has a pretty cool fight scene with himself.

Even though hip-hop and rap are not my favorite musical genres, the music here is fantastic (directed, as always, by Peter Vitale, who also accompanies on percussion). Fast raps are combined with more pop sounding tunes, much of it a capella, all ably performed by the talented cast. The costumes (by Annie Cady) are simple but effective, modern mixed with classic (and to-die-for green gloves worn by the chorus to represent nature).

I don't know how Ten Thousand Things does it. In a fully lit room with minimal sets and costumes, you're more aware that this is just pretend, but somehow, because of their particular brand of genius, it's so easy to be carried away into their world, and never want to leave. I was so engrossed in the world created in that room, that when it was over and I walked outside, I forgot for a moment where I was and what I was supposed to do next. Reality is jarring when you realize that what you truly believed was reality for a short space in time was only make-believe. That's theater at its best, and that's what Ten Thousand Things consistently does. Three more weekends of paid public performances remain (in addition to their usual schedule of performing in prisons, schools, and community centers). Go see it.

"2 Pianos 4 Hands" at Park Square Theatre

For anyone who's ever been an aspiring musician, 2 Pianos 4 Hands* will ring true. My instrument was clarinet, not piano, and I was nowhere near as good as the two characters in the show, who are very good by most people's standards, but not quite good enough to make it in the music world. Still, I can relate to "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge" and practicing until you're bored silly. Such is the life of Teddy and Richie, aka Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt, two Canadian actor/musicians who created the play based on their own experiences and have performed it all over the world. In Park Square Theatre's version, returning after a successful 2010 run, the 4 hands belong to Michael Pearce Donley and Peter Vitale (who is also responsible for the delightful sound and music that accompanies Ten Thousand Things' unique productions). Both Michael and Peter possess a pretty amazing (and I would think rare) combination of skills - they're excellent pianists as well as great actors, delivering funny and heartfelt performances. No wonder this show sells out - funny, relateable, and featuring some beautiful classical music (as well as a few pop pieces thrown in for fun).

The show opens on a stage that is bare except for two grand pianos. Two pianists enter in tuxes with tails, seemingly elegant and professional, until they start to wordlessly bicker about who gets which piano and which bench. The hilarity continues from there as we flash back to childhood lessons, with the actors taking turns playing the young child and their various teachers. We follow them through the early days of lessons, fights with their parents about practicing too much or not enough, junior high competitions, and trying to get into that school where they think they belong, until they're told they're not quite good enough, whereupon they're forced to give lessons to housewives or perform in piano bars for drunks. But through it all, there's the music. The dueling duets are the most fun, as they make it into a competition, whether they're sitting at the same piano or each at their own. A medley of pop tunes turns into a fun game of "name that tune," from the The Young and The Restless theme song to Charlie Brown's theme song. And finally, the show ends with a long and impressive piece (Bach's Concerto in D minor, 1st Movement, for you classical music fans), that to my untrained ears, sounds like it's being performed by a couple of classical musicians.

2 Pianos 4 Hands is playing at Park Square Theatre now through December 30. It's definitely worth checking out for some rare non-holiday related fun and beautiful piano music.



*I received two complementary tickets to the show.

"Measure for Measure" by Ten Thousand Things at Open Book

Ten Thousand Things brings their totally unique, stripped-down, bare-bones, get-right-to-the-core-of-it style to another Shakespeare play (one I've never seen or read), Measure for Measure. And they do it in a way that's fulfilling for everyone, from Shakespeare experts (like the people sitting behind me who noticed which lines were cut), to avid theater goes who still sometimes have a hard time getting into Shakespeare's world (like me), to the homeless people and prisoners that comprise TTT's non-traditional theater audience. It's in the way the actors clearly and slowly say the words, with emphasis in the right places to make it more understandable; the humor and lightness they bring to certain moments in the play; the interaction and eye contact with the audience; the playful sounds (from Peter Vitale) that set the tone and highlight certain actions; and the simple but entirely appropriate set pieces and costumes. All of it adds up to really great storytelling, which is what theater is all about, no matter who the audience is.

I did not know that Measure for Measure was a comedy until I read the Wikipedia page. It definitely has comedic moments and the trademark disguises and mistaken identities, but it doesn't have that light-hearted slapstick feel of many of Shakespeare's comedies (it's known as a "problem play" because it doesn't easily fit into one category). The undertone is a bit darker, as it deals with issues of justice, judgement, and mercy. The plot concerns a man named Claudio who is sentenced to death for "fornication" with a woman whom he considers his wife, although the law doesn't. Claudio's sister Isabella, who's about to become a nun, pleads with Angelo, the man who sentenced Claudio, for her brother's life. Angelo agrees to spare Claudio if Isabella sleeps with him, the very act for which Claudio is condemned. Fortunately there is someone observing this mess and plotting to make it right - the absent Duke, who is in disguise as a Friar. Things eventually work out in the end, which is I guess how you know it's a comedy (in Shakespeare's tragedies half the characters end up dead). To summarize, it's like the TV show Undercover Boss, as observed by a homeless man who was in the audience at one of the shelters where TTT performed. The Duke, the boss of Vienna, is observing her subjects in disguise and righting their wrongs.

As usual, TTT found some of the best actors in the Twin Cities for this play. Suzanne Warmanen is wonderful as the Duke, bringing an interesting perspective re-imagining the all-powerful ruler as a woman. Luverne Siefert is his usual clownish self (I mean that as a complement) as Pompey, but there's nothing funny about his portrayal of the deadly serious Angelo. Sonja Parks brings dignity and power to her role as Isabella, despite her tiny frame. A couple of students from the U of M/Guthrie BFA program really shine - India Gurley in a variety of roles, and the utterly charming Nathan Barlow as the accused Claudio and the goofy cop Elbow. Karen Wiese-Thompson is funny as the town prostitute, and sympathetic as Angelo's rejected betrothed. Kurt Kwan is solid as a soldier, a friar, and the exasperated prison provost who helplessly watches the events play out, and Zach Curtis is a range of funny as simple-minded Froth, the well-meaning Lucio who puts his foot in his mouth, and the prisoner who's too drunk to be executed.

Ten Thousand Thing's Artistic Director Michelle Hensley, who directs this piece, also directed Measure for Measure for The Public Theater in NYC a few years ago, and they are continuing the idea of performing for free to atypical theater audiences in the community. I've said this before and I'll say it again - if you've never seen a Ten Thousand Things production, you must go. It's truly unlike any other theater you'll see anywhere, and once you get a taste, you'll be hooked like I am.

"Vasa Lisa" by Ten Thousand Things at the MN Opera Center

Do you know when you go to the theater (or a movie or concert) and become so engrossed in the experience, that it feels like the only reality you've ever known, for that short space of time? And then it's over, and your feet carry you out of the building and into the street, and the world seems a little different, a little strange and unfamiliar. It may take you a few minutes to snap out of it, like you're in a trance. I had such an experience upon seeing Vasa Lisa. I should be used to it by now, but it never ceases to amaze me how Ten Thousand Things can carry me away into a different time and place with just a few makeshift costumes and set pieces, and those words, lots of words truthfully and authentically spoken. This is story-telling at its best and most basic, and it feels like something we as humans have been doing for tens of thousands of years.

Vasa Lisa is a new play by Kira Obolensky based on the Russian fairy tale Vasilisa the Beautiful, directed by Artistic Director Michelle Hensley. The title character is a young woman whose mother has died and left her with a little doll to help her. She goes through many trials and tribulations because of her drunkard father, evil stepmother (is there any other kind in fairy tales?), and the village witch who reportedly eats people! She only wants to have enough bread to eat, and to see her mother again, and ends up learning that the little doll who helps her is the truest, wisest part of herself. This all sounds very trite and and simple, but the way it unfolds is wondrous in the hands of the talented artists of Ten Thousand Things. Tracey Maloney makes Vasa Lisa very relatable, real, and sympathetic. The other four members of the cast play various human and animal roles to hilarious and delightful effect. The incomparable Sally Wingert is equally good as Vasa Lisa's beloved mother, the voice of the doll (sitting just two seats away from me), and the witch. Frequent TTT player Elise Langer is the hilariously annoying stepsister, a hungry cat, and everything in between. The two clowns from the Guthrie's sharp and silly production of 39 Steps are reunited here - Jim Lichtsheidl and Luverne Seifert. Both of them are so talented at creating multiple distinct characters, and so entertaining to watch. It's really a pleasure to watch the entire cast play together.

As usual, everything about the production is sparse but effective, proving you don't need a lot of fancy tricks to create a fantasy world. (For those of you unfamiliar with Ten Thousand Things, they take their shows on the road to such unconventional places as prisons and homeless shelters, and their paid public performances share the same full lights and minimal sets and costumes.) The few set pieces are really cool, intricate, and functional pieces of art (created by Irve Dell). Peter Vitale once again provides an expressive soundtrack, which includes a few little songs sung by the characters in a natural and unintrusive way. This time he has a few musicians to help him, creating a fuller sound.

I often get more out of the children's stories at my church than the sermons for adults, and that's how I felt seeing this show. There were several children in the audience who seemed just as captivated as I was by this story. It's delightful and joyous and wondrous. This final show of Ten Thousand Thing's 2011-2012 season runs for runs for one more weekend. And their newly announced 2012-2013 season looks just as exciting as this one has been - Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, a "hip hop retelling of Aeschulus' The Seven Against Thebes" (say what?), and the American classic A Streetcar Named Desire with a non-traditional cast (which is sure to be better than the version currently running on Broadway). I know I've said this before, but you really can't call yourself a Twin Cities theater fan if you've never experienced Ten Thousand Things.