"She Loves Me" at DalekoArts

The second of three #TCTheater productions within a year of the delicious and timeless 1963 musical She Loves Me is now playing on the far Southern edge of the seven-county metro area, at DalekoArts in New Prague. Based on a 1937 Hungarian play, the basic story has been told in multiple iterations, including the 1940 Jimmy Stewart movie The Shop Around the Corner, and the 1998 Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan remake You've Got Mail. But She Loves Me tells it in musical form, which IMO is always the better way to go. The current popularity of the show is perhaps due to the successful 2016 Broadway revival (broadcast live via BroadwayHD), but whatever the reason I'm glad of it. I have fallen in love with this sweet and funny show, first through Lyric Arts' production earlier this spring, then through listening to the 2016 cast recording, and now through DalekoArts' charming production. They employ a smaller cast and band on a much smaller stage (I'm not sure there are any tinier stages in #TCTheater than Daleko's), and blissfully no body mics, which only makes the experience more sweet and intimate. She Loves Me plays for one more weekend only; if you're in the Southern Metro you should definitely check out what's going on in New Prague.

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.

"Musical Mondays" at Hell's Kitchen, February 2017

Kira: It is a peculiar thing about these mortals. They all know they will die, yet they are determined to create something. The "human spirit" is termed. It makes me feel... feel... oh Erato what is the word for which I search? You know, where something is so grand and so earnest yet ultimately so preposterous that one has to laugh. What does one call that?

Erato: Andrew Lloyd Webber?

Kira: There we are! The human spirit gives me great feelings of Andrew Lloyd Webber.

"Teenage Misery" by Revisionary Theatre Collective at Sandbox Theatre

There's another new theater company in town. They're called Revisionary Theatre Collective, and they're making their debut with a remount of the 2013 Minnesota Fringe musical Teenage Misery. It was one of my favorite Fringe shows that year, about which I wrote:

What do you get if you combine the Stephen King novels Misery and Carrie with the musicals Sweeney Todd and Bye Bye Birdie? You get this odd and delightful mishmash of a musical, that doesn't shy away from the material it borrows from (the opening song is "attend the tale of Carrie Black," and Conrad Birdie is replaced by Shane West). A little rough around the edges, but the songs are great, with clever commentary on what it's like to be a young person growing up today, and winking jokes about "no time for proper character introduction, we only have an hour."

"A New Brain" by Second Fiddle Productions at Camp Bar

I'm a musical theater nerd. But I'm not the kind of musical theater nerd that listens to cast albums of shows I've never seen. I guess for me, musicals are more about seeing the story as it plays out before me, and then I often buy the cast recording to relive that experience. So when it comes to musicals that are beloved in the musical theater community but rarely performed, for whatever reason, I typically have not heard them. That's where Second Fiddle Productions (and Artistic Director Ruthie Baker) come in. Now in their third season, Second Fiddle produces readings of rare musicals using some of the Twin Cities finest music-theater talent.

"Let's Get Down and Thirty" at Lush Bar featuring a reading of "For Tonight"

One of the very first things that I wrote about when I started Cherry and Spoon back in the summer of 2010 was a very fun and entertaining cabaret/comedy show called Where's My Tony?, created, written, and hosted by Whitney Rhodes and Josh Campbell. I've enjoyed watching both of them over the last five and a half years wherever their careers took them, and I was thrilled to watch Whitney host a show of her own this past Monday. Every year, she very generously uses her birthday celebration to raise money for a cause she cares about. This year for her 30th birthday, the money raised went to Mixed Blood Theatre, where she currently works as the Development Manager. Mixed Blood is celebrating their 40th birthday this year, so it seems quite appropriate to celebrate these two milestones with a great evening of beloved and new musical theater.

"Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" at the Old Log Theatre

Having opened in 1940, The Old Log Theatre is the oldest theater in Minnesota. But it's also a long drive out to Excelsior, so I don't get there as often as I'd like. They've stepped up their game in the last few years, pulling in top area talent, adding a new restaurant, and remodeling the lobby. There were a number of shows this season I wanted to see, but just wasn't able to work the 70-mile round trip into my busy theater schedule. So I was happy that I finally made it out there this weekend for their fun and energetic production of the charmingly corny 1978 Broadway musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (later made into a movie starring Dolly Parton* and Burt Reynolds).

The title pretty much tells you what this show is about. But you may not know that it's based on the story of a real life Texas brothel known as the Chicken Ranch (during the Depression the Madam would accept chickens as payment) that was largely tolerated by law enforcement and government until a TV reporter investigated and demanded it be shut down. In the musical version, Miss Mona (a strong performance by Julia Cook) runs the Ranch with a strict set of rules and presides over her girls, most of whom seem happy to be there, although some have dreams of a better life. Ed Earl (an excellent Jefferson Slinkard) is the sheriff and her sometimes beau, and is torn when given orders to shut the Ranch down after it's exposed by the TV star reporter Melvin Thorpe (a very funny Jon Andrew Hegge in a Colonel Sanders wig). It's a sad ending as the girls all move on, but there's plenty of fun to be had before that with cheerleaders, football players, and a general hoedown atmosphere.

Miss Mona (Julie Cook), Jewel (Whitney Rhodes), and the girls

This is one of those musicals where many supporting characters get one song, and everyone in the large and talented cast steps up. Highlights include Whitney Rhodes as Jewel singing "Twenty-Four Hours of Lovin'," Maisie Twesme's lovely "Doatsy Mae," Britta Ollman and the girls singing my favorite song in the show, the poignant "Hard Candy Christmas," and John Paul Gamoke's brief but memorable appearance as the Governor in the hilarious and all too true song "The Sidestep." All of the songs have a twangy Country-Western sound (which I happen to love, as I did the great old Country songs played before the show and during intermission). John Lynn directs the band behind a screen at the back of the stage.

the boys high-stepping it

With Regina Peluso as the choreographer you know there are going to be some fantastic dance numbers, especially with several members of her company (Collide Theatrical Dance Company) in the ensemble. The group numbers are lots of fun and well performed by the cast. As you would expect of a musical set in a whorehouse, there is a bevy of scantily clad women, but the boys have a shirtless singing and dancing number, which is only fair. ;) Sara Wilcox's costume design takes advantage of the '70s era (I love a jumpsuit!) and gives each character a distinct personality.

The Texas accents are so much fun to listen to. I don't know how accurate they are to reality, but they sound like the Southern accents you hear on TV (in fact the entire show is almost like an episode of Dukes of Hazzard). Greg Eiden is especially good at it in his dual roles as a senator and a diner patron, milking every line for laughs, and getting them.

If you live in the East metro like I do, Excelsior is a bit of a hike, but it's worth it to see the work that Old Log is doing, and this fun summer musical in particular. I recommend heading over to the charming lake town in the afternoon to avoid traffic (if such a thing is possible in this busy summer construction season), checking out the shops or sitting by the lake, and dining at one of the many area restaurants (I had yummy vegetarian sushi at Yumi's Sushi Bar) before seeing the show. It's a great idea for a staycation and checking out another beautiful part of the Twin Cities metro area.

The Old Log has an interesting line-up for next season, and I'm particularly excited that they're producing the regional premiere of the smart, funny, poignant two-person play The Velocity of Autumn, which I saw last year during it's too-short Broadway run. Starring Melissa Hart as a 79-year-old woman who has barricaded herself in her Brooklyn home and Paul de Cordova as her son who climbs in the window to try to talk her down, it's definitely going to be worth the drive.


*I was seriously derailed in writing this blog when I went down a black whole of Dolly Parton youtube videos, starting with "Hard Candy Christmas" and ending with the best country duet of all time, "Islands in the Stream."

Fringe Festival: "A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant"

Day: 4

Show: 11

Title: A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pagean

Category: Musical theater

By: The Catalysts

Written by: Alex Timbers and Kyle Jarrow

Location: New Century Theatre

Summary: Seven precocious children tell the story of L. Ron Hubbard and how he founded the Church of Scientology, in pageant form.

Highlights: These kids are so stinkin' cute, with their expressive faces and adorably awkward dance moves, playing adults and reciting long technical speeches while still remaining childlike. And I learned much about the origins and beliefs of Scientology, which is fascinating and terrifying. An angel narrator (an appealing Jillian Jacobson, a rising star) tells us of L. Ron's (a confident and charismatic Ethan Davenport) rise from humble birth, to science fiction novelist and Hollywood screenwriter, to WWII soldier, to founder of a new "science" he called Dianetics and a Church to promote its methods, to a defendant on trial with celebrities as witnesses (watch for the littlest cast member as John Travolta). The show is adorable and funny, and more than a little scary. Like Book of Mormon it exposes the truth about a religion in a satirical musical way, but unlike Book of Mormon it did not leave me with a warm and fuzzy feeling about faith. Go see the cutest and most talented kids in the Fringe (and kudos to director Whitney Rhodes for corralling this raw young talent into a cohesive show) .

Fringe Festival: "Shelly Bachberg Presents: How Helen Keller and Anne Frank Freed the Slaves: The Musical"

Day: 3

Show: 6

Title: Shelly Bachberg Presents: How Helen Keller and Anne Frank Freed the Slaves: The Musical

By: The Jansonowicz Players

Created by: Michael Gruber, Nikki Swoboda, and Max Wojtanowicz

Location: New Century Theatre

Summary: A musical satirical look at politics, politicians, and history, in which a Minnesota congresswoman reads from her new book (see title), a fresh interpretation of "history."

Highlights: The creators of last year's Fringe hit Fruit Fly: The Musical return with this completely ridiculous (in a good way) offering, featuring a fantastic cast. The always delightful Kim Kivens is perfectly cast as the wide-eyed and misguided congresswoman. She begins to read a story about the inspiring American Anne Frank (played by Caroline Innerbichler as a spunky Nancy Drew type), who just happens to live upstairs from Helen Keller (a hilariously deadpan Mary Fox, stumbling around the stage randomly groping whatever's in front of her). The two become friends and set out to free the slaves, visiting Ben Franklin, Abraham Lincoln (both David Darrow), his wife Mary Todd, and Marie Antoinette (both Whitney Rhodes) along the way. Eventually right wins out, as our heroines triumphantly "Fan the Flames of Freedom." The show is jam-packed with mixed up historical stories, songs that are fun and lively (despite their messed up messages of "truth"), rousing ensemble numbers, and costumes that are way above average for a Fringe show. Shelly says "I'm not here to talk about facts, I'm here to talk about history," bringing to mind my favorite Wicked quote: "Where I'm from, we believe all sorts of things that aren't true. We call it history." It's scary because it's true. This show pokes fun at that notion in a hilariously entertaining way.

Read more of my fringe fest reflections…

… including my top 5 shows

"Where's My Tony?" at Hennepin Stages

Last night I attended a fun show that celebrated, while poking gentle fun at, musical theater. Where’s My Tony was a one-night-only show written and hosted by local actors Whitney Rhodes and Joshua James Campbell, both of whom appeared in Theater Latte Da’s The Full Monty last fall. They presented ten “alternate” Tony Awards, followed by a performance by one of the songs from the winning show. Whitney and Josh were great hosts, both very funny with great voices, and with a good chemistry between them. What I loved most about this show is that even though it was sponsored by the Hennepin Theater Trust and featured the big Broadway touring musicals that have passed through the Hennepin theaters, it also spotlighted several talented local artists and their upcoming projects at smaller theaters such as Theater Latte Da and Mixed Blood Theatre (I tried to provide links for everything, so if something interests you, you can click for more info or to order tickets). This evening was fine example of what a great theater town this is.

The show began with a medley of songs from each of the shows in the upcoming Broadway touring season (which I have season tickets for): Wicked, Rock of Ages, Billy Elliot, Shrek, Hair, Jersey Boys, and West Side Story. Josh and Whitney took turns singing the songs, complete with costume changes and pirouettes (from Josh during the Billy Elliot song).

Without further ado, the awards:

The Worst Title of a Musical: Urinetown. Before they even announced the nominees I knew this one would be the winner. I saw Urinetown seven years ago and loved it. It’s equal parts satire, social commentary (“people don’t want to be told their way of life is unsustainable”), and great music. I’m just waiting for a local theater to mount a production of it. Accepting the award was Jared Oxborough, who first caught my attention in Footloose at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre earlier this year. He sang the best song from Urinetown, “Run, Freedom, Run.” He would make a great Bobby Strong, and an even better Che, which just happens to be his next role in Theater Latte Da’s upcoming production of Evita.

Most Controversial Musical: Avenue Q. Even though I was rooting for another nominee, the brilliant Spring Awakening, this is a good choice. Rose Le Tran (frequent performer with Mu Performing Arts) accepted the award and sang “I Wish I Could Go Back to College.” She will be appearing in Mixed Blood Theatre’s production of Avenue Q next spring, which I was really excited to hear about. I love this show but have only seen the Broadway/touring production, so I’m curious to see what a smaller production will look like.

Best Musical that Doesn’t Contain Any Original Music, aka Jukebox Musical: Jersey Boys. Catherine Battocletti (also in last year’s The Full Monty) accepted the award and sang “Oh What A Night” from the show, a fun song with audience participation!

Best Guilty Pleasure Musical: Starlight Express. I’ve never seen this show and don’t know much about it, but Josh and Whitney sang a song that was appropriately cheesy.

Most Epic Musical: Phantom of the Opera (which I’m proud to say I’ve never seen). Whitney and Josh again took this one, with Whitney playing the part of Christine and Josh growling the Phantom role. It ended with a fun disco version of the title song, complete with glow-sticks thrown out to the crowd.

After a brief intermission, Whitney and Josh announced awards that were given out previously, including:

Best Musical to Take Your Kids to, to Torture Them: Fiddler on the Roof
Musical that Makes you Think All Art and Creativity in Theater is Dead: 101 Dalmatians
Lifetime Achievement Award (for Continuing to Tour with that Tired Show): Phantom of the Opera

Back to the main awards:

Best Musical to Take Your Boyfriend to Who You Secretly Think is Gay: Mama Mia. The very talented Kinaundrae Lee (aka Angel in RENT at the Lab Theater earlier this year) took the stage to sing a dramatic rendition of the title song. He will be appearing in the Ordway’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (another nominee for worst title) this winter.

Best Show to Inspire Your Halloween Costume: Rock of Ages. Earlier in the show Josh had asked the crowd for names, verbs, body parts, etc. He inserted them into the song “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” which Whitney then sang. A sort of musical Mad Libs.

Best Male Diva (aka Divo) Song: “This is the Moment” from Jekyll and Hyde. Josh and Whitney tag-teamed this song, literally. One of them would sing a line or part of a line, then tag the other one who had to pick up where the song left off. It became very fast and funny, but they did a great job keeping up with it and sounded great too! I always admire the ability to maintain an amazing singing voice while playing for laughs (see Sara Ramirez in Spamalot).

The Best Show to Drink Through: Annie. Madde Gibba was called to accept the award but wasn’t responding. She was soon spotted behind the bar, and slowly (and drunkenly) made her way to the stage to sing a very funny version of “Maybe.” At one point she made her way into the audience and sat on a man’s lap to read a letter to her father. Madde is appearing in a few shows at the Fringe Festival this week.

The last award of the evening was Whitney’s choice, Best Song Typically Sung by a Woman that I Really Want Josh to Sing: “Maybe this Time” from Cabaret. This is the one of the all-time great musical theater songs, and Josh sang it beautifully. I'll next see Josh as the gentleman caller in The Jungle Theater's production of The Glass Menagerie next month.

The show concluded with the People’s Choice Award. There were ballot boxes on the bar where the audience could vote for “most anticipated show of the upcoming Broadway season.” I voted for Wicked, but only because I didn’t hear the question before I voted and I didn’t see all of the shows. The winner is the one I would have voted for had I been fully informed: Hair! My love for this show deserves an entire post to itself so I won’t go into it now; I’ll save it for a slow theater week (and yes I do have them!). But suffice it to say, I can think of no better way to end this show than a performance of “The Flesh Failures/Let the Sun Shine In” from Hair, with all of the above performers taking part. It was the perfect end to a perfect evening of musical theater.

Theater Latte Da at Lake Harriet

Last night I attended Theater Latte Da's concert Latte Da in the Park at the Lake Harriet Pavilion in Minneapolis. It was a gorgeous evening for outdoor music, and would have been a perfect night if I had won the raffle for a trip to NYC and gotten my ice cream (note if you go to a Lake Harriet concert - the concession line is the slowest moving line I've ever seen, I got in line 20 minutes before the show started, there were maybe 8 people in front of me, and when the concert started there were still 3 people in front of me, so I gave up). But other than that, it was wonderful evening of showtunes.

Theater Latte Da is my favorite local theater (not counting the Guthrie). According to their mission, "Theater Latté Da seeks to create new connections between story, music, artist, and audience by exploring and expanding the art of musical theater." That's something they do beautifully; their productions are always very well-done and their choices are unique and interesting and really serve to move musical theater forward. Yesterday they announced their 2010-2011 season: Evita, All is Calm, Song of Extinction, and Steerage Song. All really interesting choices that I'm looking forward to.

There were five singers, accompanied by Latte Da's music director Denise Prosek on the keyboard (artistic director Peter Rothstein was also there to announce the new season). I've seen Sasha Andreev in several shows, most recently Tom Stoppard's Rock and Roll at Park Square Theater and Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Guthrie (both are plays, but he played a singing role). Erin Capello and Kahlil Queen are in the upcoming production of Evita, and Whitney Rhodes was in last year's hilarious and moving The Full Monty. I've never seen Jennifer Grimm before but I loved her voice; at times she reminded me of Judy Garland, at other times, Rosemary Clooney. She has that classic 40s/50s deep rich voice (check out her website).

On to the songlist, from what I can remember. I wish they had passed out the songlist because there were a few songs I could identify. But here's what I could:

Sasha first sang a song from West Side Story (I think it was "Something's Coming" but for some reason I'm having trouble remembering). Other songs were "Mr. Cellophane" from Chicago and something about flying a kite. But my favorite song that he did was "Run Away with Me" from the musical The Unauthorized Biography of Samantha Brown by Kerrigan and Lowdermilk. I've previously heard this song in this youtube video of Aaron Tveit (who wowed me in Next to Normal on Broadway last year). I dare you to watch it and not swoon. :)


Erin has a great musical theater voice and sang several great musical theater songs, including "Meadowlark" from The Baker's Wife (which I saw Patti LuPone sing earlier this year), "Diva's Lament" from Spamalot, and another Kerrigan and Lowdermilk song, "My Party Dress," in which she's a little girl dreaming of her future and trying not to spill on her party dress.

Jennifer sang a few original songs that she had written. One about how she missed Minneapolis and St. Paul when she was in New York (which mentioned the cherry and spoon!) and an update of "Anything Goes."

Whitney sang "Don't Rain on My Parade" from Funny Girl, one of the best musical theater songs ever. She also sang a hilarious song about how she was always relegated to the chorus and never got to sing the melody. Whitney and Jennifer also did a beautiful sort of duet. Jennifer sang "Dulcinea" from Man of La Mancha, followed by Whitney's beautiful rendition of "Someone to Watch Over Me," which then morphed into a duet as they both sang their songs together (I guess that's what Glee calls a "mash-up" ;).

Kahlil started the show with a song from one of my favorites of this year, "Let it Sing" from Violet (the final show of Latte Da's 2009-2010 season). He also sang a song from one of my all time faves, the haunting "Left Behind" from Spring Awakening. Kahlil and Sasha did a beautiful duet of "I'll Cover Me" from another all time fave, RENT, which just made me smile. So I guess Kahlil wins the gold star for singing the most songs from my favorite shows!

The group also sang "Blues In the Night" together and ended the show with selections from Evita: "Night of a Thousand Stars" (Sasha), "High Flying Adored" (Kahlil), "Star Quality" (Jennifer), and of course, "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" (Erin).

Another feature of the evening was the little kids who were dancing in the area in front of the stage. At one point there were about ten little girls holding hands and running around in a circle and laughing. Some people might have found this distracting, but the musicians, professionals that they are, weren't distracted at all. I thought it just added to the charm of the evening. A beautiful night by Lake Harriet, great showtunes sung by talented performers, and the laughter of children. What could be better? Besides ice cream. :)