The 2017 Ivey Awards at the State Theatre

On Monday night, #TCTheater celebrated another year of amazing theater with the Ivey Awards. This was my 11th time attending the awards, and despite being the first award show after found Scott Mayer stepped down, the transition was seamless and it was another wonderful evening. Pre- and post-show parties (with plenty of opportunity for mingling with your favorite #TCTheater artists) were held at Crave, which despite being a bit crowded was a great location (I suspect they might have used their rooftop space if it wasn't cold and raining). The show was hosted by Mark Benninghofen and Thomasina Petrus (charming and funny, and Thomasina wowed with a musical medley during the In Memoriam segment), directed by Whitney Rhodes, written by Lauren Anderson and Joy Dolo, and with a fab onstage band directed by Denise Prosek. Read on for a list of winners and performers, and a few thoughts about the show.

The 2016 Ivey Awards at the State Theatre

The leaves are beginning to turn, there's a crispness to the air, it must be fall in Minnesota. Not only is it time to get out your boots and sweaters (yay!), it's also time to celebrate the Twin Cities theater scene (double yay!). The Ivey Awards are held every year on a Monday in late September. This was my 10th year attending the ceremony (I think I only missed two), and I love it (even though the fabulous after party keeps me up way past my bedtime, which takes me days to catch up from, which is why I'm just now, on Thursday, sitting down to write this). This year's theme was "theater at play," celebrating the joy of theater and the good things it brings to our lives in this time of increasing violence and divisiveness. Theater brings us together, and helps us understand each other. Or at least we hope that's what it does. So let's celebrate another year of #TCTheater!

"Maks and Val - Our Way Tour" at the State Theatre

Let's face it, after 22 seasons, the real stars of Dancing with the Stars are not the ex-football players, '80s sitcom actors, and reality show contestants that make up the "celebrity" part of the couples. The real stars of the show are the professional dancers who teach these celebrities to dance, and whom we loyal DWTS fans have come to love. There have arguably been no bigger stars (and personalities) on the show than Maksim Chmerkovskiy, and in recent years, his brother Valentin. Maks and Val may seem like the arrogant bad boys of ballroom, but their new tour "Maks and Val - Our Way" proves otherwise. If you look a little deeper, you'll see that the bad boy persona is just that.

"A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" on tour at the State Theatre

The 2014 Tony winner for best musical is on tour and currently stopping at the State Theatre for one week only! A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder is relatively small in scale for a Broadway musical; I counted 11 people in the curtain call, and most of the action takes place on an adorably tiny stage on the stage (which is why it's playing at Hennepin Theatre Trust's medium-sized theater*). But despite its size it packs plenty of punch. This story of a poor young man 8th in line for the Earldom is tight, clever, funny, outrageous, and loads of fun! If you like your musical comedy broad and British, this is the show for you.

"Once" at the State Theatre

There's no big opening number, no splashy dance with dozens of chorus girls and boys, no pit orchestra, no large moving set pieces, no colorful glamorous costumes. Once is not your typical musical. In fact, according to The Cherry and Spoon Music-Theater Spectrum¹ it's not a musical at all, but rather a play with music. Yet this atypical not-really-a-musical musical won eight Tony Awards in 2012. Why is that? Why was this quiet and quirky musical based on a little Irish movie awarded Broadway's biggest prize? Perhaps because it is different from other musicals. Perhaps the voters awarded the creative and organic way music is used to tell this beautifully simple and non-traditional love story. Once is a new kind of music-theater, and proves that musicals don't always have to be big and loud to have a profound effect on the audience. Once is quietly, beautifully stirring.

This is the second time that the First National Tour of Once has stopped in Minneapolis, with largely the same cast, although this time it's making its home in the slightly more intimate State Theater². The tagline for this tour is "once is not enough," but for me, thrice is not enough as I would gladly go see it again every night of its brief one-week Minneapolis stay! Perhaps I'm biased - Once is one of my favorite movies and my favorite movie soundtrack, and it introduced me to my favorite musician Glen Hansard. But even without that prior attachment, it's easy to see that Once is something truly special. The music is raw and passionate, performed by a cast of 13 quadruple threats - they act, sing, dance (or at least move in a choreographed way), AND play an instrument. This folk-rock score written by the stars of the movie, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, is not the kind of music you usually hear coming from the Broadway stage; it's quieter, less polished, and more real³. The story is simple and quiet - boy meets girl, boy fixes girl's Hoover, girl encourages boy to record his songs and follow his dreams, boy and girl go on with their separate lives, better for having met one another. John Carney's original story was adapted for the stage by the beautifully twisted mind of playwright Enda Walsh, retaining that unique Irish spirit⁴. The result as a whole is lovely, poignant, moving, and grand.

the loveable oddballs of Once

Since this is largely the same cast as last year, I'll repeat what I said then: As the guy, Stuart Ward has big shoes to fill - both those of Glen Hansard and Steve Kazee, who won a Tony for the role. And fill them he does, although in a different style than either of these predecessors. He possesses a gorgeous voice that's more musical theater than folk-rock, a moody intensity, and great stage charisma. The character of the girl changed so much from movie to stage that all thoughts of Marketa Irglova are gone, but Cristin Milioti (aka the surprisingly short-lived "Mother") left a great impression. Dani de Waal fills those shoes nicely in the quite tricky role of the girl, charming and sweet but not too perky. And when Stuart and Dani sing together, as on the Oscar-winning song "Falling Slowly," it's wondrous. The two are well supported and enhanced by ten wonderful actor/singer/musicians (and one adorable little girl). Standouts include Evan Harrington as the good-natured but tough music store owner, Scott Waara as the guy's sweet Da (with a really lovely pre-show song), and Matt DeAngelis, providing comic relief and powerful percussion as Svec (you know you're a true musical theater geek when you recognize touring cast members, as I did Matt; I clearly remember him as Woof in another musical obsession of mine, Hair, and in American Idiot).

The set is a pub that never changes, with tables and chairs brought out to represent different settings. Through it all, most of the cast remains on stage, watching from the sidelines. Dingy mirrors surround the stage and offer other angles of the action. The movement and choreography is so beautiful, subtle, and organic. There are no typical "dance numbers," just characters moving organically as the music moves them. Even the scene changes are beautifully and elegantly carried out, as not a moment is wasted.

The show begins before the show begins; the audience is allowed onstage to visit the pub and drink an overpriced beer through a straw. But it's worth it because the cast of musicians soon comes onstage for a traditional Irish session which you're able to witness up close and personal. After the audience is escorted off the stage, the session continues as the cast trades songs, until the musical baton is passed to the guy in the scarf, he belts out an impassioned "Leave," and the house lights go down. Just like that, reality fades and the world of the play takes over, and is so engrossing that it's like a dream. One that I hated to leave.

Stuart Ward and Dani de Waal

Unlike what Hollywood and Broadway usually tell us, not everyone gets a happily ever after kind of love, and maybe that's not even the ideal kind of love to strive for. If we're lucky, we get an hour, or a day, or a week-long encounter with someone who changes our life and pushes us forward when we've become "stopped." Maybe that's what life is, a series of moments, encounters, relationships, that might not last a lifetime although their effects do. That's what this story is about, and that's what these two people do for each other. It's a perfect love story, even though it may not end in the way that we're taught to expect. And it's also a love story about Ireland and its rich and unique culture, that the girl describes as "speaking and singing of what it is to be human." She tells the guy that he has "heart and soul," and this unique music-theater creation has heart and soul in spades, and speaks and sings of what it is to be human, with all the heartbreak, joy, disappointment, passion, connection, difficulties, and wonder it entails.

Once continues at the State Theatre in downtown Minneapolis through this weekend only. Whether it's once, twice, thrice, or more, it's a grand experience that's not to be missed.


1. The Cherry and Spoon Music-Theater Spectrum (TM pending): in a musical, characters sing in character, expressing their emotions and moving the plot forward. In a play with music, the music takes place in context, with characters singing in a way that would make sense in real life, and don't sing as the character. If you take the music out of a play with music, it still makes sense, although some of the impact is lost. If you take the music out of a musical, the story no longer makes sense.
2. Find out more about the State, Orpheum, and other local theaters in my "Review of Venues."
3. If you like the music of Once, check out Glen and Mar's follow-up album Strict Joy under their band name The Swell Season, or their solo albums Rhythm and Repose and Muna (among others), or the upcoming album commemorating the 25th anniversary of Glen's band The Frames.
4. For another taste of that unique Irish spirit, go see Guthrie departing Artistic Director Joe Dowling's loving ode to his homeland, the beautifully tragic Juno and the Paycock.


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

"700 Sundays" at the State Theatre

Billy Crystal's one-man show 700 Sundays played 163 shows on Broadway in 2004 and won a Tony for Best Special Theatrical Event. And a special theatrical event it is! He has revised the show and is bringing it back to Broadway this fall, but first, he's doing six shows right here in Minneapolis at the State Theatre. I was lucky enough to attend the opening night performance and I was truly blown away and surprised at what I saw. I was expecting a comedy routine, which coming from Billy Crystal (star of such hit movies as City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally, and my favorite, The Princess Bride) would be enough. But 700 Sundays is so much more than just a stand-up comedy routine. It's a living memoir of a life that is in some ways extraordinary (hosting the Oscars), but more importantly is a completely relatable and universal story of family, home, grief, hope, and laughter.

Speaking fast and with great physical energy, Billy doesn't just tell stories, he acts them out and impersonates everyone from his crazy relatives to famous jazz musicians. These stories are accompanied by photos and videos that his father shot, displayed on the windows of the facade of Billy's childhood home that has been reproduced on the stage. This setting and the vintage photos and videos immeasurably add to the experience because you can see these people while Billy is describing them, almost like they're there on stage with him. His stories about growing up in Long Beach, Long Island are classic Americana from the 50s - involving shiny new cars, local mobsters, the magical allure of baseball, crazy relatives (his impersonation of his Grandpa and the noises he made had me in tears!), and the height of American jazz (his uncle started the independent record label Commodore Records and his dad ran the record store and produced jazz concerts on the Lower East Side of Manhattan). There's great nostalgia in Billy's stories and performance, and the evening takes a turn when he talks about his father's sudden death from a heart attack when Billy, the youngest of three sons, was just 15 years old (the title refers to the approximate number of Sundays he spent with his father). He looked in the mirror after his mother gave him the news and "didn't see a kid anymore." He eloquently describes his experience with grief as a feeling of "otherness" and carrying a boulder with him everywhere he goes. But with help from the strength of his mother he persevered, earned a baseball scholarship to college, fell in love at 18 with the woman who has been his wife for 43 years, and became the Billy Crystal we all know and love. Through it all family and home has been the most important thing to him and has grounded him and allowed him to accomplish everything he has. He says that none of his success is possible without someone to say "I believe in you," and though the hand he was dealt included great tragedy, it also included many wonderful things, so in the end, he's happy with it. 700 Sundays is an incredibly moving and inspiring story of a life, in addition to being hysterically funny at times!

700 Sundays took me from tears of laughter to tears of real emotion. Billy Crystal is truly one of the greats of our time - as a comedian, performer, and entertainer. That's all he's ever wanted to do, entertain people and make them laugh, since he was 5 years old and tap-dancing on stage with the jazz greats of their time. And he does that in spades with 700 Sundays - entertain the audience, make us laugh, and touch our hearts. (Some tickets remain for this weekend's performances.)

The Civil Wars at the State Theater

I don't often write about music on this theater-centric blog, but I'm so in love with this duo that I want to tell everyone about them.  The Civil Wars are absolutely magical.  Their music is so hauntingly beautiful that it literally brought tears to my eyes when I saw them at the State Theater in Minneapolis last night.  It'll break your heart, in the best possible way.

I first heard The Civil Wars on Mountain Stage, broadcast on MPR's Radio Heartland (the only radio station I listen to).  The duo is comprised of Joy Williams and John Paul White.  John Paul plays guitar, and Joy plays piano on a few of the songs (her voice itself is an instrument).  No other band members or musicians accompany them, which allows their voices to shine.  They met just three years ago at a songwriting session, and unexpected magic happened when they sang together (you can read more about them and their origins on their website and in this article in Nashville Scene).  She's a California girl, raised on the Beach Boys and the Carpenters and Top 40, and he's a southern boy who grew up listing to country/bluegrass/Americana and metal.  Somehow they meet in the middle and create a style all their own.  She's delightful and adorable and effervescent, a girly girl ("I put on my longest eyelashes for you all tonight!").  He's a little rough around the edges, a little calmer and more grounded (I love a long-haired guitar player).  They have a palpable chemistry together; they're playful and spontaneous and totally in the moment.  They seem to surprise and delight each other as much as they do the audience.

I was only able to record part of one song when an usher stopped me, strictly enforcing the "no video or audio recording rule" (boo).  It's a new song that's not on their fantastic album Baron Hollow, so I'm not sure the name of it (update: it's called "O Henry").  But it'll give you an idea of their playfulness and Joy's expressiveness.



For more of their haunting melodies, here's their most popular song, "Poison and Wine."  (You can watch more official videos on their youtube channel; warning: if you're like me you might get lost there for a while).



One of their encores was a cover of Billie Jean (check out this youtube video from someone who was more discrete with their recording than I - there are some disadvantages to sitting in the front row).  It was the best and most inventive cover of that song I've ever heard (sorry David Cook).  The audience really loved them, and they were obviously touched and a little flabbergasted that so many people showed up to see them.

The Civil Wars were nominated for a CMA (Country Music Award) for best duo this year, and the award ceremony was that same night in Nashville.  Not only did they choose to be in Minneapolis rather than Nashville, but they didn't even mention it at the concert.  I kind of love that.  They don't play Nashville's games.  They don't make music to sell records and get played on country radio and win awards, they make music for the love and beauty of it.  And that appeals to me.  The fact that a duo as talented, original, and authentic as the Civil Wars did not win the award they were nominated for is why I have no interest in country radio, even though I like the genre that is country.  I'll stick to Radio Heartland and my own eclectic collection of music, in which The Civil Wars hold a permanent and prominent place.



P.S. The opening act was a band called Milo Greene, who truly were a band.  Five members, a drummer and four multi-instrumentalists who also shared the lead vocal duties.  Don't ask me to describe their style, but they're pretty cool and original too.

"La Cage aux Folles" at the State Theatre

"The best of times is now.  What's left of summer but a faded rose?  The best of times is now.  As for tomorrow, well, who knows?  So hold this moment fast, and live and love as hard as you know how, and make this moment last, because the best of times is now."  This lyric from La Cage aux Folles is at the heart of the show, and a big heart it is.  Yes there are lots of feathers and glitter and make-up in this story that takes place in a nightclub featuring men in drag, but underneath it all is a beautiful, simple, family love story.  It may be an unconventional family by society's standards, but the love and support they share are universal.

If you've seen the 1996 movie The Birdcage starring Nathan Lane and Robin Williams you're familiar with the story, which began as a 1973 French play called La Cage aux Folles.  The musical version of the play was written by Harvey Fierstein (book) and Jerry Herman (music and lyrics) and premiered on Broadway in 1983.  It has been revived twice in the past decade, winning a Tony for best revival both times (the only musical do have done so).  La Cage tells the story of gay couple Georges and Albin.  Georges runs the nightclub where Albin is the star, performing as his alter ego ZaZa.  Georges' son Jean-Michel, whom Albin has helped raise, comes home to announce that he's engaged to Anne, the daughter of a conservative politician who wants to shut down all drag entertainment.  The in-laws are coming to town, and Jean-Michel asks Albin to leave for the evening, instead inviting his birth mother to pretend that they're a "normal" family.  Albin is understandably hurt that the man he considers his son is ashamed to introduce him to his fiance.  He can't stay away, and poses first as "Uncle Al," and then, in drag, as Jean-Michel's mother.  Of course the deception doesn't last, but they're able to convince Anne's father to give his consent with some good old-fashioned blackmail.  Jean-Michel realizes what a mistake he made and tells Albin he thinks of him as his mother.  And they live happily ever after, for "the best of times is now."

La Cage closed on Broadway in May after about a year's run (I thought about seeing it when I was in NYC last year, but never quite made it), and this first tour is spectacular and features several cast members from the Broadway run.  The role of Georges is played by TV and film veteran George Hamilton.  He's a perfectly adequate Georges, and considering his age (72), it's pretty remarkable that he's on the road doing this eight times a week (even if his spins are a little slower than the rest of the cast).  But the star of the show, and its heart and soul, is Christopher Sieber as Albin.  His performance is fearless, tender, funny, heart-breaking, and inspirational (and he's from Minnesota, which of course makes me love him more!).  Through him we feel Albin's insecurity that's forgotten only when he puts "A Little More Mascara" on.  Albin's transformation from utter devastation upon learning his son has rejected him to a fierce cry of self assurance in "I Am What I Am" is a show-stopper moment.  He brings such natural charm and humor and emotion to the role, it's a thing of beauty to watch.  Chris played Georges on Broadway opposite Harvey Fierstein, but it's hard to imagine him as anyone but Albin.  He's not a two-time Tony nominee for nothing, and I'm grateful he brought his considerable talent home to Minnesota if only for a short time.

The large supporting cast is great.  Jeigh Madjus as Albin's butler/maid Jacob is an irresistible little scene stealer, prancing around with attitude, just waiting for his shot on the nightclub stage.  And of course this post would not be complete without mentioning the Cagelles - the eight fabulous men who dance around the stage in heels, wigs, and hose.  They are all incredible performers, dancers, and athletes (although some make more attractive women than others ;).  It goes without saying that the costumes are fantastically over-the-top.

This show makes you fall in love with this family and forget that they don't meet the traditional definition of family.  More than 30 years after the original play was written, one would hope that some of these ideas of prejudice seem archaic and today's society would be more accepting of an atypical family.  Maybe that's why it's been revived twice in recent years, because we need to hear this message in a non-threatening musical comedy way.  After all, who could argue with the sweet and long-lasting love between Georges and Albin and their son?

La Cage is playing at the State Theatre (slightly smaller but no less beautiful than its sister theater up the street, the Orpheum) for only a week.  So get your tickets now if you want a fun, fabulous, entertaining evening with lots of heart.

What I Learned from Stephen Sondheim

I posted this on my facebook page after I attended “An Evening with Stephen Sondheim” at The State Theater in Minneapolis on March 5, 2010.  It seems appropriate to share it here.


I had the great privilege of listening to Stephen Sondheim talk about his career and musical theater for about an hour and a half. He’s truly a genius of musical theater, and I came to the conclusion that I haven’t seen nearly enough of his shows! I’m writing this mostly for myself, so that I don’t forget what I learned from him that evening.

The difference between musical theater and opera is in the audience’s expectations. Opera audiences go to the opera to hear the human voice. Musical theater audiences go to musical theater for the story and the songs. Operas are meant to be played to an opera audience in an opera house. Stephen doesn’t feel that any of his pieces fit that bill. A few of them could be considered “light opera,” but mostly they fall into the musical theater category based on the above criteria.

Stage and film are two entirely different art forms, and difficult to move from one to the other. The main difference is, again, the audience. Stage musicals are interactive and depend on feedback from the audience, and are never performed exactly the same. Movies are entirely independent of the audience and are the same every time you watch them. Stephen doesn’t think there’s been a successful movie adaptation of a stage musical until Sweeney Todd (even West Side Story and Chicago, which he said were good, but didn’t quite translate). He didn’t really go into detail why, other than that Tim Burton really got it.

The reason that Sweeney Todd has so much music is that he was inspired by horror films. He wanted to scare the audience, and he asked the question, how do horror movies scare the audience? The answer: they have scary music playing through most of the movie. So he wanted that undercurrent of scary music for Sweeney, and since it’s a musical, it made sense to have the characters singing. He originally wanted to do a small, claustrophobic production, but the director, Hal Prince, only does things big. So Stephen agreed to let Hal do it his way, knowing that he’d have his small, claustrophobic production later (like the recent Broadway revival, which I saw).

Stephen was asked about writing for specific performers (Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury), and he said it was more about writing for the character than the voice. He talked about writing Sunday in the Park with George. Originally the male lead was a low voice, and the female voice was a soprano voice. But when Mandy Patinken auditioned (despite being told he didn’t have the right voice for it), they realized he would be brilliant in the role. Then Bernadette Peters was cast as the female role, and since she has a lower voice, he just switched the parts so that the male voice was higher and the female lower. He said if he was writing an opera he wouldn’t have had that freedom; they would have had to cast someone who fit the part as written.

He was asked about the “evolution” of musical theater, and he started talking about how Broadway has become commercial. Because musicals are so expensive to produce, “in this economy” producers are afraid to take risks and only want to put on something that they know will make money. Which explains the preponderance of “jukebox musicals” (musicals based around known songs, like Rock of Ages or Mama Mia) and “Disneyized musicals.” They have a built in audience so the producers know they’ll make some money, even if they’re not good. He said the true evolving of theater is being done Off-Broadway, and then if they’re successful, sometimes a producer (“or 27 producers”) will bring them to Broadway. He listed Spring Awakening and Next to Normal as examples (both of which I’ve seen and love).

He talked about working on West Side Story (he wrote the lyrics, Leonard Bernstein wrote the music, Arthur Laurents wrote the book, and Jerome Robbins directed and choreographed). Jerome Robbins wanted a song to explain the second act ballet, and Bernstein (whom he called Lenny) had this song that he’d written years ago and tried to get in every show. So Stephen used that and wrote “Somewhere.” But there were such long notes in the music that he couldn’t put in any two-syllable words. A friend of his teases him and calls it “the A song,” because the least important world, a, gets the most emphasis and the highest note. (Sing it now: there’s… A… place… for… us…) He also talked about the recent Broadway revival (which I saw last year), which incorporated some Spanish into the songs and dialogue. He said it didn’t work as well as they thought it would because, incomprehensibly, there were people in the audience who had never seen the movie and didn’t understand what was going on! So they took some of it out.

Stephen’s favorite place to write is lying down on the couch. He also writes at the piano too, but feels doesn’t want to limit himself to just things he’s able to play. He said his right hand is better than his left.

The story and character dictates everything in the piece.

His favorite musical (other than his own) is Porgy and Bess.

He said the heart of music is the harmony. It’s the harmony that makes a song memorable. You can give the same melody line to two people to harmonize differently, and one will be memorable and other forgettable.

He talked about working with Warren Beatty on music for the film Reds. He played something for Warren on his piano and Warren asked him to record it. He only had a cheap little tape recorder, so he made a tape that he didn’t think was very good. He made Warren promise not to play it for anyone. When he went to a screening of the movie, that tape recording was in the movie! Warren liked the way it sounded and could never replicate it.


Since I wrote this in March I've seen one more Sondheim show - A Little Night Music on Broadway starring Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch.  There are a couple more coming up locally that I plan to see - Into the Woods at the Bloomington Civic Theatre and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the Jungle Theater - so I'm on my way to seeing more of his shows!