"The Belle of Amherst" at The Woman's Club of Minneapolis

The Woman's Club of Minneapolis has been around since 1907, and they've been in their current home since 1928 - the big beautiful building adjacent to Loring Park, which was recently placed on the National Register of Historic Places. I saw a handful of shows there pre-pan (including Minnesota Fringe Festival shows, a Skylark Opera Theatre production, and that time I met Gavin Creel). I'm excited about their ongoing Arts and Culture program, which includes concerts and, hopefully, more theater events. A limited engagement of the solo play The Belle of Amherst, starring TV/film/theater actor Linda Kelsey, was there last weekend. There is a 600-seat theater on the lower level (where I saw Nickel Creek perform over 20 years ago), but the upstairs lounge area is a great performance space too (that's where Sue Scott's podcast Island of Discarded Women records live once a month or so). This play was in that space, which was just the perfect location for this story of Emily Dickinson's life and poetry. Unfortunately the short run is over (and sold out or very nearly), but keep an eye on The Woman's Club for upcoming events.

"Island of Discarded Women" Live Podcast at the Woman's Club of Minneapolis

In May of 2020, I posted a piece called "I Listen to Podcasts Now!" Prior to the pandemic I listened to a few podcasts, but as it probably did for most people, the number of podcasts I listen to has increased exponentially in the last year and a half. One of my few pre-pandemic podcasts was Island of Discarded Women, created and hosted by #TCTheater artist and long-time voice actor on A Prairie Home Companion, Sue Scott. The monthly podcast was recorded live onstage in 2019 (I was hoping to attend my first one in spring 2020), and moved to at-home/zoom recordings during the pandemic. Now the live recordings have begun again in their new home, the Woman's Club of Minneapolis, the second Sunday of every month (proof of vaccination required, plus masks when not enjoying the dinner and drink service). I was thrilled to experience my favorite local podcast live last weekend!

"Don Giovanni" by Skylark Opera Theatre and Angels & Demons Entertainment at the Woman's Club of Minneapolis

For five years, I spent one or two nights at Concordia University's E.M. Pearson Theatre watching opera/operetta/musical theater as part of Skylark Opera's Annual Summer Festival. Last year, the festival was abruptly cancelled as the company went through financial and leadership challenges. I'm happy to report that Skylark is back, rebranded as Skylark Opera Theatre, now with their second show under new Artistic Director Robert Neu. The Summer Festival has not returned, but Skylark's commitment to presenting accessible opera in English hasn't changed. Their second production (after The Tragedy of Carmen earlier this year) is a site-specific production of Mozart's Don Giovanni, with new English translation by Robert Neu and Gabriel Preisser, who also plays the title character. It bears more than a little resemblance to last summer's site-specific Mozart (The Marriage of Figaro in the James J. Hill House) by Robert Neu's other company, Angels and Demons Entertainment, a co-producer of this show. Like Marriage of Figaro, this Don Giovanni is an intimate, immersive experience that one doesn't usually get with opera.

Fringe Festival: "The Gravity of Ghosts"

Day: 4

Show: 13

Title: The Gravity of Ghosts

By: Paula Reed Nancarrow

Created by: Three Storytellers and a Poet

Location: Woman's Club of Minneapolis

Summary: Three storytellers and a poet stand on a bare stage in front of a microphone and simply tell a story that has to do with death.

Highlights: Different than anything else I've seen at the Fringe, this show is storytelling at its most basic. Four authors read a piece that they've written, in a captivating and entertaining way. My favorite is Ward Rubrecht's harrowing and exciting tale of biking through the heart of the city (which, if true, makes me concerned for his safety!). Cole Sarar tells a creepy ghost story about a widow with secrets; Richard Rousseau (last seen in another ghost story at Mill City Museum) is the ghost of the captain of the Titanic, haunting the survivors; and Paula Reed Nancarrow tells a moving story about her grandmother and depression. Even though these stories are about death, in a way, they're also about life and hope. Bottom line: well-written and well-told stories about a topic that's familiar to all of us.

Read more of my fringe fest reflections…

… including my top 5 shows

Fringe Festival: "To My Son, Born Five Years from Today:"

Day: 2

Show: 5

Title: To My Son, Born Five Years from Today:

By: The Peanut Butter Factory

Created by: Christopher Kehoe

Location: Woman's Club of Minneapolis

Summary: A man writes a letter to his future son as he wrestles with the idea of what it means to be a man, told in words and movement.

Highlights: Christopher Kehoe enters the stage in a suit, barefoot. The stage is empty except for two folding chairs and a low table with a lamp and writing papers. He methodically and repetitively arranges the items on the desk, clicking his pen repeatedly as if he has OCD. He then begins to write, toss away ideas, and write again, while moving his tall frame around the stage with precise movements (choreographed by Carl Flink), occasionally pausing in his letter writing because "I have a story." By the end of the show he has managed to gather all these pieces together to create a beautiful picture. This show, to me, is the epitome of the Fringe Festival. An artist taking a chance and doing something unique and interesting and a little bizarre, that you might not see any other time of the year. I knew Christopher Kehoe was a brilliant writer from last year's Fringe, but he's also a captivating performer, commanding the stage with his physical presence and unique storytelling style. This show might not be for everyone, especially the Fringe or theater novice, but if you're looking for something different and unique - this is it.

Read more of my fringe fest reflections…

… including my top 5 shows

Gavin Creel at the Woman's Club of Minneapolis

If you live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and you're a fan of musical theater, you should have been at the Woman's Club of Minneapolis on Friday night.  My favorite Broadway actor, Gavin Creel, performed at a fundraiser for Minnesota's DFL gubernatorial candidate, Mark Dayton, sponsored by HRC Minnesota PAC and OutFront Action PAC.  Gavin recently spent a year and half playing Claude in Hair on Broadway and London's West End, which closed earlier this month.  I became obsessed with the show shortly after it opened, and fell in love with Gavin's voice upon buying the soundtrack.  I also have his two solo recordings, the lovely little EP called Quiet, and his earlier (more upbeat and poppy) recording Goodtimenation.  I finally got to see Gavin and the rest of Hair's talented tribe on Broadway in January of this year.  While Hair has sadly closed on Broadway and in London, it's soon embarking on a national tour.  I was hoping Gavin might join the cast (he confirmed that he's not when I spoke to him after the show), but having this opportunity to see him in concert is even better!

In addition to being a super talented performer, Gavin is also a great advocate for marriage equality, having co-founded an organization called Broadway Impact.  Their website pretty much explains it all: "We are a community of actors, directors, stage managers, fans, producers - pretty much anyone who has ever seen, been in or worked on a Broadway show - united by the simple belief that anyone who wants to should be able to get married."  Sounds like a no-brainer to me.  Mark Dayton is a supporter of marriage equality, so somehow, somebody connected with somebody, and Gavin ended up here in Minnesota for great music and a great cause. 

Gavin with Minnesota's next governor Mark Dayton

On to the show.  Gavin brought with him Mary Mitchell Campbell, musical director of such shows as The Addam's Family, Company, and Next to Normal in its off-Broadway incarnation (one of my recent faves). 

Gavin Creel accompanied by Mary Mitchell Campbell on piano

Gavin started off the concert with a medley of (mostly) Irving Berlin songs, and later sang the Berlin song "Pack up your sins (and go to the devil)."  In addition to a few classics, he also sang several musical theater songs, including "Something's Coming" from West Side Story, "You Got Trouble" from The Music Man (which was fabulous, this song has such complex and clever lyrics that it's always fun to see it done live), a Stephen Sondheim song "What Can You Lose?" from the film Dick Tracy, and a selection from Thoroughly Modern Millie, for which he was nominated for his first Tony.  He also told a very funny story about what it's like to audition for a show, such as the (hopefully) fictional Exorcist: the Musical (a dig at the recent unfortunate trend of movie and TV show adaptations on Broadway).  He sang one of his real-life audition songs, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life."

Mary Mitchell left the stage for a few solo songs by Gavin, for which he also played the piano.  He sang two new songs, one of which he wrote for his best friend's recent wedding.

Gavin's solo songs at the piano

For the finale of the show, Gavin was joined on stage by local musical theater actors.  Unfortunately they were not individually introduced, but I did recognize several of them, including Ann Michels (most recently seen in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Guthrie), Sasha Andreev (Latte Da in the Park, Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Guthrie) , Harley Wood (from the band Far from Falling and a local production of my favorite musical RENT at the Lab Theater), and Brendan Bujold (the title character in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Chan).  They sang the finale from Gavin's most recent show, Hair, for which he was nominated for his second Tony.  Any concert that ends with a sing-along to "Let the Sun Shine In" is my kind of concert!

Gavin and the local tribe singing
"Flesh Failures/Let the Sun Shine In"

Well, not quite the end.  Gavin and Mary Mitchell came back out for an encore: "The Rainbow Connection."

Gavin and Mary Mitchell: "The Rainbow Connection"

After the concert there was a reception upstairs in the beautiful old building that is the Woman's Club.  Gavin is a popular man, but I did eventually get a few minutes to chat with him.  It's nice to know he's still the warm, genuine, giving person that I met at the stage door of Hair earlier this year.

Gavin and me