"Some Like It Hot" Broadway tour at the Orpheum Theatre

I saw the new musical adaptation of the 1959 comedy classic film Some Like It Hot on Broadway in 2023, and loved it more than I expected to. I was unfamiliar with the film at the time, but have since learned that the musical stays fairly true to the plot of the film, but with a few tweaks that make it feel refreshingly modern and relevant. When I saw it on Broadway I wrote, "this is a show that is perfect for touring." It is at its heart an old-fashioned musical comedy show, with a fabulous score, thrilling dance numbers, and hilarious comedy that I heard an audience member refer to as "corny as hell." But it's almost subversive in the way that it works in issues of trans acceptance, feminism, and overcoming racism. I'm thrilled that it's touring around America in this time when we need more of all of that, and that one of the first stops on the tour is right here in Minneapolis. So don't walk, don't run, but tap briskly down the street as if gangsters were chasing you to get to the Orpheum Theatre to see this fantabulous new musical before Joe, Daphne, and the gang tap on out of town! Click here for tickets, including student/educator rush tickets.

Broadway Tour of "The Prom" at the Orpheum Theatre

Who goes to the prom for the first time at the age of 48? This theater blogger does! And happy to, when The Prom is not the silly cliquey high school party, but rather a super fun, sweet, sassy, and heart-warming musical. The 2019 Tony nominee is finally on tour across America, and its message of inclusiveness, the freedom to be who you are, and LGBTQ rights couldn't come at a better time, with the recent rise of anti-LGBTQ sentiment and legislation. A great message, and also a really fun show that lovingly spoofs Broadway, actors, celebrity, and show business, all while bringing us tons of great music and dancing. But don't wait around for a prom-posal; consider this your invitation to the glorious Prom being held on Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis through Sunday only.

Broadway Tour of "Waitress" at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

The 2016 Best Musical Tony nominee Waitress is back in the Twin Cities! Last seen in 2017, the tour is coming back around again, and it's better than ever. The quirky little 2007 movie of the same name upon which it was based (written by and co-starring Adrienne Shelly, who was tragically murdered before its release) is one of my favorites, and the musical adaptation retains the sad and joyful sweetness of this story of a woman gaining control over her own life. Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles wrote the Tony-nominated score, and it's a great one, with a more folky stripped-down sound than is normally heard on Broadway. This show gives me all the feels - it's sad, and funny, and hopeful, and inspiring. But it's playing at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts until Sunday only, so don't wait! (Click here for info and tickets.)

"The Band's Visit" Broadway tour at the Orpheum Theatre

This morning my yoga teacher asked us to think of something that was magic. It should come as no surprise that my immediate thought was: theater. I can't think of anything more magical than a couple of thousand strangers sitting in a room together and being transported to a tiny town in the middle of the desert in Israel, hearing the stories of people who may live in a very different place than us, may speak a different language, may have different beliefs, but with whom we connect and relate to via our shared humanity. And really, this is what The Band's Visit is all about. People who may seem very different coming together and sharing a very real and human, if momentary, connection through music and stories. It's such a simple and beautiful story, and one that this divided world needs to hear now more than ever. Which is why I'm so glad that this 2018 ten-time Tony Award winner, which just closed on Broadway in April, is touring the country so that ordinary people in ordinary towns can experience this extraordinary story of ordinary people in an ordinary town. That's the kind of magic that can change the world.