"2 Sugars, Room for Cream" at the Jerome Hill Theater

Coffee - it's the elixir of life, the glue that holds our society together. OK maybe that's overstating it a bit, but there's no question that coffee plays an important part in our work and social lives. Many important life events include the drinking of coffee - funerals, weddings, reunions, first meetings. How would we get through the work day without a coffee break? Such is the premise of the delightful sketch comedy show 2 Sugars, Room for Cream. In a series of short scenes, some of which are related, writers and performers Shanan Custer and Carolyn Pool explore the nature of life and relationships through encounters over coffee. The result is a funny, poignant, real, engaging, and completely delightful show. In fact, it's so delightful that it keeps returning after starting as a Fringe show several years ago. And Ivey voters agree - the show recently won an Ivey Award for last year's incarnation at Hennepin Theatre Trust's New Century Theatre. Even though I saw that production, I couldn't resist the chance to see it again (and yes, I am going to plagiarize myself).

Shanan and Carolyn are quite charismatic and funny together, with great chemistry whether they're playing sisters, friends who haven't seen each other in twenty years, or people who have just met. They create different characters just by putting on a different sweater or jacket (what Stacy and Clinton would call a "completer piece"). The show opens and closes with one of the two scenarios that are visited multiple times - two sisters at their Uncle Jimmy's funeral drinking bad church basement coffee. They discuss their family and their lives, as the celebration moves to one of the sisters' homes and the coffee makes way for 2 Gingers whiskey, and the next morning, more coffee is needed. The other scenario with multiple scenes is a high school reunion, where two women meet, with one of them clearly remembering their relationship while the other does not. Again, coffee turns into drinking in the car and flirting with former classmates, which turns into hanging out at an all-night Denny's. Other skits include a diner waitress and her needy customer, two new friends discussing how Twilight is damaging to young women (thank you!), a frazzled new mom crying about her baby's tiny head, a period piece set in the '40s, a college professor introducing her class, bosses and their assistants (separately) on a coffee break at work, and a woman recording a touching video for her unborn daughter about how she's going to raise her to be confident and proud of herself. Coffee-themed songs play during scene changes (many of which I know from this CD), and Carolyn and Shanan also sing a few original songs (written by Peter Moore and Drew Jansen).

Shanan and Carolyn are so natural on stage, and are obviously having such a great time, that the audience can't help but enjoy themselves as well. If you're looking for something to do this weekend post-turkey, check out the great deal on tickets at Goldstar and go see some original, creative, wonderfully entertaining and fulfilling theater at the Jerome Hill Theater in the gorgeous 180 East 5th Street building in downtown St. Paul.

Shanan Custer and Carolyn Pool

"Shade's Brigade" by The Producing House at the Jerome Hill Theatre

"Feel free to close your eyes." One is not often told that at the theater, and while I do occasionally do that, it's usually due to sleep deprivation and not to enhance the experience of theater. But Shade's Brigade is a unique theater experience. It's a serialized radio play that you can watch live, but that you can also listen to (for free) on www.ShadesBrigade.com. I saw Episode 3 last night at the Jerome Hill Theatre in St. Paul and listened to Episode 1 today online. As fun as it is to watch live and see how the story is created, there's something to be said for experiencing it the way it was intended - as a purely auditory experience.

Shade's Brigade is a noir thriller about Captain Jack Shade and his team of colleagues who travel the world having adventures, getting into scrapes, and solving problems. Episode 3 involves a stolen painting that needs to be returned to the museum from which it was stolen, but the mystery is really not as important as the characters and how they go about solving it. All of the actors have great and expressive voices (and do their own sound effects!), but they also put on an entertaining performance for the live audience, despite standing behind music stands with scripts. Eric Webster, who wrote and directs the plays, is Captain Shade, and also narrates in that classic noir style. He's joined by Dave Gangler as the proper Brit, Lee H. Adams, who effortlessly switches between two outrageous characters, the good old Southern boy Cooper and the tough but dumb Ernie, and the delightful Shanan Custer as Kate, former Air Force Pilot and Girl Friday type. They're joined for Episode 3 by local radio personality Brian Turner as a Frenchman who runs into the gang. The cast has a variety of props onstage to create the sound effects, from a squeaky door to a train.

Going to see Shade's Brigage is a little like watching a broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion, where you get a peek behind the magic. Or you can close your eyes and just listen, and let your imagination paint the pictures you hear. Take a listen on their website (each episode is roughly an hour), and if you like what you hear, you can check out one of two monthly performances through November (more info here, discount tickets available at Goldstar). I will definitely be keeping up with the Brigade online to see what they get into next!

"Pop-Up Musical" by the Producing House* at the Jerome Hill Theater

Do you remember the "Pop-Up Video" show on VH1, in which they played videos with little bubbles that "popped up" on screen displaying various trivia and facts about the video? Imagine that, but with live performers singing songs from musical theater. Such is the premise behind Pop-Up Musical, and it's a clever one. The show premiered at the Fringe Festival last year; I wanted to see it but didn't get to it, so I'm glad that they're remounting the show at the new Jerome Hill Theater in St. Paul. It's a really fun time, especially for musical theater lovers like myself. The chosen songs are well-known classics, both old and new, and the pop-up facts are alternately interesting and informative, and silly and tangential. Four talented local singer/actors perform the songs with as much enthusiasm as they hold up their signs. They are accompanied by a pretty awful and cheesy karaoke musak track, but they acknowledge that and poke fun at it. They don't take anything too seriously, and appear to be having as much fun as the audience. It's like musical theater night at the karaoke bar, except your friends are not this talented or clever (at least mine aren't).

The four performers are real-life friends who have known each other and worked together for years. (They remind me a little of the gang behind [title of show] and Now. Here. This.) Jennifer Eckes, Judi Gronseth, Timm Holmly, and Kevin Werner Hohlstein all have fabulous voices and delightfully expressive faces that say as much as the "pop-up" signs they hold up, in a tightly choreographed sort of dance as they move through the stack of posters on their music stands. Sometimes the information is factual (year of premiere, composers, Tony awards), sometimes only barely related (Kleenex is a proprietary eponym), sometimes personal (Judi is the same age as this show, Kevin slept on the street to get tickets to RENT). Everything is tongue-in-cheek, and the audience was laughing throughout the show.

Of the two dozen songs in the show, there isn't one that I didn't know, and very many of them that I know and love dearly. If someone had asked me to name my twenty favorite musical theater songs (oooh, that sounds like a great idea for a future blog post!), there would have been much overlap with this list, which includes selections from musicals as diverse as Sweet Charity, Wicked, Guys and Dolls, Avenue Q, Hair, La Cage aux Folles, and A Chorus Line. A few favorites:

• No matter how cheesily delivered, "Suddenly Seymour" from Little Shop always gives me chills! And Jen and Kevin sound fantastic!
• I can never hear "Seasons of Love" too many times, and it always makes me want to clap and sing along. Long live Jonathan Larson's message of love, hope, and living life every day!
• "Suddenly" from Xanadu is a perfect choice for this, because the show itself is wonderfully cheesy (and it gives Kevin an excuse to don rollerblades and skate around the small stage). In fact I had to listen to the soundtrack on the way home, it's a perfect soundtrack of summer.
• The only serious moment is during the gorgeous ballad "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables, in which the pop-ups present facts about overseas forces and a plea for peace. Timm sounds just beautiful on this song (and I can't wait to hear Dieter Bierbrauer's rendition when BCT does the show this fall).
• Judi pours her heart out singing "Send in the Clowns" from Sondheim's A Little Night Music, but that doesn't stop the rest of the cast from cracking (written) jokes about clowns!
• Perhaps the most impressive musically is this cast of four singing all parts in the complexly layered "Tonight Quintet" from West Side Story, even more difficult considering they're singing to a track without a conductor.
• What musical theater cabaret show is complete without a song or two from Hair? In this case it's a medley of the opening and closing numbers - "Aquarius" and "Let the Sun Shine In." (If you love Hair as much as I do, or perhaps more importantly if you've never seen it, go see 7th House Theatre Cooperative's production of the show this summer, starring top young local musical theater talent.
• Similarly, "What I Did for Love" from A Chorus Line is another must. The cast fights over who gets to sing it, and this time Kevin won. But not entirely.
• "The Circle of Life" from The Lion King features various mis-translations of the opening line and a crazy parade of animals, both drawn and acted.

I could go on and on (did I mention they sing two dozen songs in under two hours, including intermission?), but I'll leave a few surprises for you if you go see the show. And you definitely should if you're a musical theater fan who wants to hear some of your favorite songs sung by pros, learn a bit about musical theater history, and have a good laugh. The show continues Wednesdays through June, buy tickets here.

*The Producing House is also responsible for bringing us 2 Sugars, Room for Cream, Power Balladz, and Trick Boxing (now playing at the Southern Theater). I think I like them!

"Power Balladz" at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

As I've said before, I'm not a fan of 80s music. But what I am a fan of is Dieter Bierbrauer and Randy Schmeling singing anything together, especially in a show with Peter Rothstein's* name attached. I've had a few samples of this show that they first did at the Lab Theater in 2009, but I've never quite been able to catch it (I even had tickets to the Off-Broadway version in 2010 before they cancelled certain performances, which worked out because I ended up seeing this instead). Dieter and Randy are currently reprising their roles in Power Balladz on tour, along with the third original cast member, Katy Hays (whom I've never seen before but who is equally fabulous). The show will play at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre's Fireside Theatre the first weekend of every month through May, along with several other stops around Minnesota and the country. I was definitely in the minority in the audience; most of the audience was made up of fans of the 80s (some of whom appeared to still be living in the 80s) and were there to hear their favorite songs, not to listen to their favorite musical theater actors. But we all seemed to enjoy it just the same, although for different reasons. All three performers are incredibly talented vocalists as well as actors, creating distinct (if not very deep) characters - Dieter, the rock scholar with a PhD; Randy, the high school dropout who never quite grew up; and Katy, the rock fan and groupie. The show is interactive, with people being invited onstage to participate in games (Lyric Challenge, Meatloaf or Meat Loaf) and to vote on a medley of songs whether or not they qualify as a "power ballad." It's not high art, but it's a really entertaining evening, whether you're going to see great performers or relive your youth.

A few highlights of the show:

• The songs I enjoyed the most were the ones I like to call Glee songs: "Faithfully" (Journey is a favorite of Mr. Schue's), "Total Eclipse of the Heart," "Alone" (Katy's rendition is awesome and she really rocks out with a voice much better suited to this song than Kristin Chenowith), and "Dream On" (the only thing better than Matthew Morrison and Neil Patrick Harris singing "Dream On" is Dieter, Katy, and Randy singing "Dream On!").
• The five piece band is fantastic and keeps things moving along.
• Video screens on either side of the stage illustrate the stories and songs, and even include some of my favorite 1980s memories (The Facts of Life!).
• We get to see Dieter's PhD thesis project (with help from Randy, GeD), "Und die Mauer Fällt," about how one particular rock ballad was responsible for the end of communism.
• The show is wonderfully cheesy, intentionally so (which is so much better than unintentionally cheesy).
• The show ends strong with the classic and oft-requested "Freebird," with an encore of "We Are the Champions," which I know because of its association with the best thing to happen in the 80s - the Twins first World Series win in 1987!

Whether you long for the days of big hair and melodramatic rock ballads, or you're a theater geek who loves to see talented singer/actors throw themselves into a performance, check out Power Balladz at the Chanhassen March 1-2, April 5-6, and May 3-4, or visit out the tour page to see if the show is coming to a town near you. Here's a video montage of scenes from the 2009 version of the show, which is pretty similar to the version currently on tour (except for the crazy costumes):

*I spotted Peter Rothstein, one of the creators of Power Balladz and Artistic Director of Theater Latte Da, in the audience the night I attended. It gave me a chance to tell him how much I enjoyed Latte Da's most recent show Aida, and all of his work. Next up: I'm looking forward to seeing what Peter and the fabulous local cast has done with the hot new play Other Desert Cities opening this week at the Guthrie.