"Brand New Day" at Mixed Blood Theatre

"Can't you feel a brand new day?" Unfortunately on the gun violence front, we're not there yet. But with organizations like Protect Minnesota, hopefully we will one day see a brand new day free from gun violence. Last night Protect MN celebrated 25 years of good work in the prevention of gun violence with a night of music and theater. This is my third time attending Protect MN's annual event produced and directed by local theater artist Joshua Campbell. And once again it was a great evening of inspiring music and sobering readings of how gun violence affects all of us. Read on to find out more about last night's celebration, or visit Protect Minnesota's website to see how you can help.

"SAFE: A Benefit to End Gun Violence" at the Capri Theater

Gun violence is unfortunately never far from our consciousness. Gun deaths occur daily, and mass shootings like the recent killing of nine people in a church in Charleston seem to be happening with greater frequency in this country. I'm not one to get political on this theater blog, but it's clear that we have a problem, and it cannot be solved until both "sides" let go of their firmly held beliefs and meet in the middle to come up with a solution to stem the epidemic. A group of local music-theater artists, led by Joshua Campbell, held the third annual benefit in support of Protect Minnesota, an organization working to end gun violence right here in our home state. The goal of the evening was to raise money for the organization, but also to start a conversation, because that's truly the way that change will happen. And of course, to enjoy some fabulous performances. Mission accomplished on all fronts!

Similar to the benefit I attended two years ago (I missed last year), the evening was structured as performances of songs from musical theater and pop culture, interspersed with relevant readings. The text this year came from a play called The Gun Show by EM Lewis. The excerpts (read passionately and emotionally by Ann Michels, who didn't sing much because she's saving it for her other job) made me want to see the entire play. EM Lewis is one of those people who is in the middle - she grew up with guns in rural Oregon and still owns a gun, but recognizes that there needs to be some changes in the way we think about, legislate, and handle guns. The play is funny, honest, and thought-provoking.

The music (with direction and piano accompaniment by John Lynn) was centered around the theme of "safe." The five performers are some of the Twin Cities best music-theater actors - Aimee K. Bryant, Jennifer Grimm, Kasano Mwanza, Rudoph (Tré) Searles III, and Katie Bradley. It was a treat to hear them sing, especially these highlights:

• Aimee and Tré dueting on "Two Lost Souls" from Damn Yankees (which Tré recently appeared in at the Ordway)
• Katie singing about opera- and jazz-singing neighbors and showing she can sing it too
• Katie and Kasano on one of my favorite musical theater songs, "Suddenly Seymour" from Little Shop of Horrors (which Katie appeared in with Mu Performing Arts a few years ago)
• Aimee once again channeling Celie from The Color Purple with the song that's guaranteed to bring tears to my eyes, "I'm Here"
• Jennifer (who I'm pretty sure is a time traveler from another era) singing songs like "Someone To Watch Over Me" the way they were meant to be sung
• Two lovely duets from Kasano and Tré
• The fantastic group numbers - the Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends" and John Legend's "Humanity (Love the Way It Should Be)"

In addition to the performances, there was also a raffle of theater tickets, a speech by a local pastor, and a remembrance of the nine victims of the recent Charleston shooting. A great show for a great cause, what's better than that?

To find out more about Protect Minnesota, visit their website. And start a conversation, perhaps with someone you don't agree with, in an attempt to help find a shared solution.

Ann Michels, Rudolph Searles III, Kasano Mwanza,
Katie Bradley,Aimee K. Bryant, and Jennifer Grimm

"To Life! A Benefit to End Gun Violence" at the Varsity Theater

A common reaction to the ever increasing violence in this world is helplessness. A feeling of, "What can I do, what can anyone do to stop this?" A group of theater artists responded to this feeling of helplessness by doing what they do best - putting on a show. A show to educate, inform, raise money, and entertain. Josh Campbell, Brendan Bujold, and Tre Searles joined their artistic forces with Protect Minnesota, an organization working to end gun violence. The result was a fun evening of music and theater that raised almost $12,000 to aid in Protect Minnesota's goal of ending gun violence in Minnesota. Proving once again my belief that theater has the power to change the world, in small ways or big.

This past Monday night at the charming Varsity Theater in Dinkytown, eight fabulously talented theater artists, under the direction of Josh Campbell, shared songs from musical theater interspersed with seven short scenes by different playwrights, showing their differing reactions to gun violence, some amusing, some sobering, some righteously angry. Most of these are from a series of plays gathered by playwright Caridad Svich, whose bilingual play In the Time of Butterflies was recently seen at Mixed Blood (read an interview with her here). My favorite scenes were Right After Virginia Tech, written by Laura Zam and performed by Tod Peterson, and Bridge to Baraka: The Pen Instead of the Gun, written by Yvette Heyliger and performed by Regina Marie Williams. The former is smart, funny, and real, as the playwright tries to wrap her brain around the issue and calls for listening, respect, and empathy from seemingly opposing sides. Tod is such a fantastic performer that he brought the words and emotions of the playwright to life. The latter contains some of that righteous anger I mentioned, beautifully conveyed by Regina, and I learned something I didn't know about the beginning of the modern gun rights movement.

Musical highlights of the evening include:

• Ben Bakken applied his dangerously great voice to a couple of diverse songs - the fun and rousing "Run, Freedom, Run" from Urinetown (one of the must-see shows of this summer) and the poignant and emotional "Endless Night" from The Lion King (one of the additional songs written for the stage version).
• The rosy-cheeked Suzie Juul sang "Easy to Be Hard" from Hair (another must-see show of this summer), and dueted with Regina on a very funny song about the differences between 17 and 43.
• Reprising his role as Seaweed in Hairspray at the Chanhassen from a few years ago, Kasano Mwanza sang "Run and Tell That," with help from Julius Collins III, who later gave a great solo performance of "I'm Flying Home" from Songs For a New World.
• Ann Michels sang the sad and pretty "Where Do You Start" by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Thomasina Petrus brought the house down with her rendition of "Feelin' Good," and the two joined forces for "Class" from Chicago.
• The cast closed the show with, of course, "To Life" from Fiddler on the Roof (which I've heard we may be seeing on a local stage later this year).

For more information about Protect Minnesota, visit their website. Thanks to all of the above theater artists for putting their many talents towards a great cause, raising money and awareness along the way.  To Life!