"The Sound of Music" at Artistry

The Sound of Music is a particular favorite of mine, having grown up watching and loving the movie, playing clarinet in the pit orchestra of my high school production, and studying abroad in wunderschöne Salzburg almost 30 years ago. It's been over eight years since we've had a professional #TCTheater production of it, so seeing it at Artistry in Bloomington is a thrill. They've assembled a fantastic cast of #TCTheater favorites and some precocious children, with a simply lovely design, and Raymond Berg leading a 13-piece onstage orchestra on this beloved score. And the result is every bit as warm, comforting, familiar, and delightful as it should be. It continues through May 12, but I'm not the only one with a built-in love for this show, so it's already selling out. Don't wait to long too get your tickets to Salzburg!

"Candide" by VocalEssence and Theatre Latte Da at the Cowles Center

Leonard Bernstein is one of the best 20th Century American composers (not to mention pianist and conductor, as I learned last year). His Candide is stunningly beautiful, but based on Voltaire's 18th Century satirical novel, it's a bit... weird. Twin Cities vocal ensemble VocalEssence and music-theater company Theater Latte Da have combined to solve this little problem, and bring us all of the best of Berstein's Candide. Director Peter Rothstein has a way of tweaking a piece just enough to bring out its purist truth, and he's done that here. With a short rehearsal time and just one weekend of performances of this "theatrical concert," he has staged it as a 1930s radio play, complete with sound effects. The result is something clever, charming, not too weighted down with plot complications, and musically stunning. Sadly the entire run is sold out, but I heard a rumor that they're selling standing room only tickets at the door if you want to take a chance to see this charmingly rendered and musically delicious production of a classic.

"A Little Night Music" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

Theater Latte Da's production of A Little Night Music is pure loveliness from the moment the cast steps onstage behind a sheer curtain, warming their voices and waltzing in old fashioned undergarments, to when that same curtain falls at the completion of the story and the youngest cast member steps out gazing in wonder. As everything created by Peter Rothestein and company, it's thoughtful, detailed, well cast, beautifully staged, and musically gorgeous. Sondheim's 1973 Tony-winning musical is a charming, smart, and funny story about the perils of love and the phases of life, bringing to mind the Shakespeare quote "Lord, what fools these mortals be." And you'd be a fool to miss it.

"Ruthless!" by Theatre Elision at the Howard Conn Fine Arts Center

My favorite new #TCTheater company of 2017 is starting off 2018 with a fantastic little show that's just about everything one could want from a dark comedy musical. Theatre Elision's Ruthless! includes clever and hilarious writing by Joel Paley, a great score by Marvin Laird, lots of spoofy musical theater references, and a terrific cast of six local women that performs the heck out of the piece, even in this staged reading format. The downside is it's playing for one weekend only with just three performances left (Friday and Saturday nights plus a Sunday matinee) so act fast! If you're a fan of dark comedy, musical theater jokes, and/or talented women, you don't want to miss Ruthless! (Click here for more info.)

A Reading of the New Musical "Delgadina" at Strike Theater

Last week was a great week for readings. First, I saw the second play in the Playwrights' Center Ruth Easton Series (continuing the first Monday/Tuesday of the month through April), then I saw three readings in the History Theatre's "Raw Stages" series (the last one is today at 2), and finally, I concluded my the week of readings with a new musical written by Max Wojtanowicz (book and lyrics) and Michael Gruber (music and additional lyrics). Based on a Chilean folk tale, Delgadina is ostensibly a musical for young people, but this not-so-young person with no particular interest in "children's entertainment" found it utterly delightful. There are two more readings of this great new work, Sunday and Monday at 7 pm at Strike Theater in Northeast Minneapolis. I highly recommend checking it out if you're interested in new works of music-theater being created right here in #TCTheater (free, no reservations necessary, more information here).

"Beauty and the Beast" at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

Of all the Disney heroines, the odd girl with her nose stuck in a book is the one that I relate to most, especially since the 1991 movie Beauty and the Beast came out when I was a teenager and at my most odd bookishness. Belle is a heroine for all us normal girls who feel like we don't quite fit in. She meets another odd soul (who conveniently happens to be a handsome prince inside) and they make a connection, bringing out the best in each other. Yes it's a typical Disney fairy tale that ends in a wedding, but at least it's a meeting of equals who rescue each other. A few years after the movie, Beauty and the Beast was adapted into a successful Broadway musical (the 9th longest running musical on Broadway), and in 2005 Chanhassen Dinner Theatres was one of the first regional theaters to mount a production. Now, 11 years later, director Michael Brindisi and his team are revisiting this classic and beloved fairy tale with an energetic show that is flawlessly cast and beautifully designed. My inner odd bookish teenage girl (who's never very far beneath the surface) was quite pleased.