"Matt & Ben" at The Hive Collaborative

When friends and #TCTheater artists Serena Brook and Shinah Hey were working at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres on Beautiful last year (Shinah playing songwriter Cynthia Weil, Serena in the ensemble and understudying Carole King), they had the idea to do the play Matt & Ben. Before The Office, Mindy Kaling wrote and starred in Matt & Ben (with Brenda Withers), which became something of a phenomenon and helped her land the job on The Office. It's a perfect 70-minute vehicle for two female actors/friends to play this famous Hollywood friendship. One year later, Serena and Shinah's idea has come to fruition; they recruited friend Derek Prestly to direct, and are collaborating with The Hive on the production (which is all about collaborating with and supporting artists in doing something new). The result is a hilarious buddy comedy about the creative process, celebrity, show business, and friendship. The short two-week run concludes on June 8 - click here for details and to purchase tickets on a sliding scale basis.

"Sweet Charity" at Artistry

Artistry is beginning their 2025 season in a similar fashion as their fantastic 2024 season: a classic musical staged almost like a concert with a full orchestra on stage, and fabulous dancing in front of it. The 1966 Broadway musical Sweet Charity, adapted into a movie in 1969 starring Shirley MacLaine, is an excellent choice for this type of treatment; it almost feels like a series of vignettes about a NYC dance hall hostess in the '60s, rather than one continuous story with beginning, middle, and end. The strengths of this Bob Fosse show truly are the music and dancing, with a story about a "dance hall girl" looking for love in all the wrong places and continually being rejected that feels a little dated. So why not put the focus on the music, dancing, and performances of this terrific cast? The result is an absolutely smashing production that soars with one big music-and-dance number after another. Sweet Charity continues at the Bloomington Center for the Arts through February 16.

"Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

For their third regional premiere in a row, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) is presenting Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. It's interesting that it follows on the heels of their regional premiere of Jersey Boys, because that 2006 Tony-winning bio-musical about Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons set the standard for the bio-musical and spawned a bunch more of the like, of which Beautiful (premiering in 2014), is one of the better ones. You can definitely see some similarity in structure between the two shows, both feature recognizable hits from the mid 20th Century, and both are really more like plays with music than musicals (most of songs are sung in context - in a studio or at a concert). As Artistic Director Michael Brindisi says, they went from the Jersey boys to the Brooklyn girl. And this first #TCTheater production is big, bold, and yes - beautiful. With an outrageously talented ensemble, super smooth transitions between the many mini scenes and songs, and unstoppable momentum that makes each act of this 2.5-hour-long musical feel like 20 minutes, Beautiful is not to be missed. It's playing through the end of September so you have plenty of time to get out to the Western metro for this celebration of one of the most prolific songwriters of 20th Century American popular music.

"Little Women: The Broadway Musical" at Artistry

After cancelling their originally scheduled opening weekend due to a positive COVID test in the vaccinated cast (statistically speaking, this was bound to happen somewhere amongst the many shows in production right now, even with a low breakthrough rate), Artistry finally opened their production of Little Women: The Broadway Musical. Louisa May Alcott's classic story of four very different but loving sisters has stood the test of time and many adaptations. While this is not my favorite adaptation of the story, it's still a heart-warming tale, and the talented cast and creative team make the most of the material.

"Ride the Cyclone" at Jungle Theater

"This is the most wonderfully weird musical I've ever seen and the cast is perfection. I wish I could see it again and again and again!!" Last night's Insta story exclamation says it all. Jungle Theater's production of the fantastic musical Ride the Cyclone, a Canadian import that played Off-Broadway three years ago, is hands down one of the best things I've seen this year. I don't know what kind of warped and brilliant minds creators Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond have that caused them to write a musical about teenagers dying on a roller coaster, but I love it. Not only is it one of the most unique musicals I've ever seen, but this production by the Jungle simply couldn't be better. In addition to this stupidly talented cast that plays their roles to perfection, every element of design is spot on and combines to create this warped carnival after-life world. If you're a fan of new and original music-theater, Ride the Cyclone is a must-see.

"Assassins" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

Someone tell the story
Someone sing the song
Every now and then the country
Goes a little wrong
Every now and then a mad man's
Bound to come along
Doesn't stop the story
Story's pretty strong
Doesn't change the song.

Once again, Theater Latte Da brings us exactly the show we need, right when we need it most (see also Ragtime on the cusp of the election, and last fall's hopeful Man of La Mancha). This time it's Stephen Sondheim's darkly funny and deeply disturbing look at historical presidential assassinations and attempts, and the individuals who perpetrated these horrific crimes. Assassins is not an easy show to watch. It draws you in with the fun carnival atmosphere and the wildly comedic characters, as well as the incredible staging and performances in TLD's production, helmed by #TCTheater's best music-theater director Peter Rothstein. But it will leave you with an unpleasant feeling deep in your gut at the true horror of the crimes the assassins committed, and the world that created them, the world we all live in.

"Grease" at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

Friends, I am here to tell you that in the southwest suburb of Chanhassen, Grease is most definitely the word of the summer. And yes, it may be 20 degrees with below zero wind chills and late winter snowstorms in this upside down weather world we now live in, but Grease is here to take you into spring, through summer, and even into early fall with a super high energy, gorgeously cast, supremely fun show. There's nothing subtle about this production that goes for big performances, big high notes, and big laughs. Grease is a guaranteed crowd-pleasing seat-filler, but the Chan doesn't just rest on the easy nostalgia of the piece. Instead, they've put in every effort to make this production the best it can possibly be.* It's very likely to sell well for them for the next seven months (who doesn't love Grease?), and it deserves to because it's pretty much the most fun you can have in a theater.

"The Great Work" by 7th House Theater at the Guthrie Theater

It could be considered an act of hubris to name a new piece of music-theater The Great Work. But in the case of 7th House Theater's new original musical, their second in two years and just the fifth production in the short life of the company, it's a fitting title. This small and lovely story of an Austrian composer returning home, with his estranged late-in-life daughter in tow, is beautifully and poignantly told in just over an hour through stirring original music and innovative use of movement, props, and set design. A fruitful collaboration between 7th House company members (music and lyrics by the uber-talented David Darrow, book by Grant Sorenson, choreography by Cat Brindisi, directed by all three), the wonderful eight-person ensemble, the gorgeous six-person orchestra (directed by Jason Hansen, who also did the orchestrations), and creative set designer Kate Sutton-Johnson, this truly is a Great Work. I know these next two weeks are busy for many of us, but if you can spare an hour in your schedule to see this show, you will be rewarded (be sure to get your tickets soon before they're gone).

"Into the Woods" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

I first saw the Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical fairy tale mash up Into the Woods four years ago, and have seen it several times since then, including the recent star-studded movie. Every time I see it I like it more. I think Sondheim is like Shakespeare in that it has a very specific rhythm and cadence to it that takes a minute to get used to, but the more time you spend with it, the richer and deeper it becomes. Such has been my experience with Into the Woods, so I was primed to love my favorite theater company Theater Latte Da's production of it. But it has exceeded my expectations, and even Sondheim newbies will be enthralled by this brilliant staging of a brilliantly written musical. Latte Da has pared down this big Broadway musical to something that feels intimate and innovative, using a small cast and orchestra, and inventive and thoughtful choices in every detail of the production. This, my friends, is Broadway re-imagined, or at least how I would like to see Broadway re-imagined. Simply put, it's sublime.

Where better to set Into the Woods than in Germany, birthplace of fairy tales as we know them? And why not make it a beer garden for extra fun and specificity? The stage is set the moment you walk into the lobby of the charming Ritz Theater, where a sign reading "Theater Latte Da präsentiert Ab in den Wald" hangs over the concession stand, which sells delicious Bauhaus beer and pretzels, or as the German nerd in me likes to say, Bier und Bretzeln (yes, I was the one on Opening Night wearing the Austrian hat I bought in Salzburg 20 years ago when I studied abroad there). The stage itself has been laid bare with no walls or backdrops; you can see the whole stage area, back to the unfinished walls. There is no backstage, everything happens in front of you, including costume changes and sound effects, which are cleverly created by the cast. Trees are constructed by what looks like wooden fencing spiraling to the sky, and after the giant comes through, half of the trees fall creating obstacles that each character maneuvers in their own specific way, athletically, carefully, or clumsily (set design by Kate Sutton-Johnson). All prop pieces look organic to the scene, including chandeliers made of antlers and the most adorable cow, constructed from an old-fashioned buggy with a wooden pail for a head and a piece of rope for a tail, and a little bit of imagination (properties design by Benjamin Olsen). Actors walk out on stage RENT-like with the house lights still up, and then begin to tell the story, making the audience feel like we're all in this together.

the beautiful cast of Into the Woods(photo by Heidi Bohnenkamp)

Director Peter Rothstein has made a genius decision to cast just 10 actors in these 20 roles, and once again has chosen the perfect actors for each part, with clever pairings of characters to an actor. It's such a delight to watch the über-talented David Darrow transform from the hard-working earnest baker to a pompous and shallow prince in a matter of seconds as he doffs one hat and dons another behind a tree; or the young star-in-the-making Brandon Brooks kill Jack's mother as the steward in one scene and mourn her as Jack in the next; or Peter Middlecamp go from the evil stepmother to the charming prince and back again several times within one scene (not to mention his deliciously devilish wolf, Hollywood - you can keep Johnny Depp, I'll take Peter Middlecamp any day). Dan Hopman is a wonderful narrator and emcee, slightly detached and observing, until he's forced into the story. Britta Ollmann only has one role to play, Cinderella, but she does it beautifully. Kendall Anne Thompson and Shinah Brashears are excellent as the stepsisters as well as the witch's sheltered and absurdly long-haired daughter Rapunzel and the fearless and spirited Little Red, respectively. Kate Beahen is warm and human as the Baker's wife, and also climbs inside a tree to voice Cinderella's mother. Elisa Pluhar brings to life both Jack's exasperated mother and Little Red's doomed Granny. Last but certainly not least, Greta Oglesby is a commanding voice and presence as the witch, in both of her forms.

But this is Sondheim, so let's talk about the music. Music Director Jason Hansen on piano leads just two other musicians (on cello and wind instruments) in this sparse three-piece orchestra that, despite being a significantly trimmed down orchestration, leaves nothing to be desired. The ten singers all sound gorgeous, alone and in delicious harmony. There's not one false note, moment, or performance in the entire show. Listening to David and Peter duet as the pompous princes complaining about their women is the opposite of "Agony," in fact it's a highlight in a show that's one highlight after another. The "No One is Alone" quartet is poignant and beautiful, as is Greta's rendition of perhaps the most well-known song, "Children Will Listen." And any song that has all 10 cast members on stage singing and moving at the same time is the best. In fact, the cast never leaves the stage (no backstage, remember?), and simply sit in a chair on the side of the stage when not in the scene. Costume changes happen in full view of the audience, which seems to say "hey, we're putting on a show," and invites us to use our imagination to play along.

Speaking of costumes, Samantha Haddow's costumes beautifully suit the theme, with the aforementioned hats, lederhosen, peasant gowns, and most importantly, pieces that can easily be added or removed and instantly define the character.

Theater Latte Da's inventive and sublime interpretation of Into the Woods continues through March 29. If you're a fan of music-theater, it's a must see.


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.