"Chess" by Second Fiddle Productions at Camp Bar

If you're a fan of musical theater, you need to be aware of Second Fiddle Productions. Now in their third season, Second Fiddle does one-night-only staged readings of rarely produced musicals. Musicals that may be difficult to produce for whatever reason, or maybe the book is problematic. Musicals that musical theater nerds love, with beautiful scores that often aren't heard live, but should be.

"Musical Mondays" at Hell's Kitchen, May 2016

If you don't already know about Musical Mondays at Hell's Kitchen, well, you're hopelessly out of the local musical theater loop. This monthly cabaret series started about three and a half years ago and is still going strong. It's the best place to catch local music-theater talent in an informal environment. The theme of the 38th Musical Mondays last night was "The Lusty Month of May" and featured a fantastic cast of six, plus the ever charming hosts Sheena Janson and Max Wojtanowicz. I once again attended with some of my fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers including bloggers from One Girl, Two Cities, Minnesota Theater Love, The Room Where it Happens, American Underground, and Compendium. As usual, a great time was had by all!

Musical Mondays at Hell's Kitchen, September 2014

If you haven't been down to Hell's Kitchen on the first Monday of the month, you're missing some great musical theater fun. BFFs (and authors of the charming auto-biographical musical Fruit Fly) Max Wojtanowicz and Sheena Janson invite a few of their friends, who just happen to also be super talented singer/actors, to sing a few songs cabaret style centered around a different theme each month. It's kind of an insider event, with the majority of the audience being actors themselves, which means it's a great chance for theater-goers like you and me to see a good show and also perhaps spot some of your favorite actors sitting at the table next to you. If you've never been, I highly encourage you to like their Facebook page (where each month's themes and scheduled performers are posted, as well as the song list the following day) and check it out sometime.

This month's theme was rock musicals, and so of course the music director/ accompanist was Jason Hansen, the go-to guy for rock musicals. When I think rock musical, I think Hair (the original rock musical), RENT, Next to Normal*, Spring Awakening, etc. But Musical Mondays doesn't usually serve up the expected; they dig a little deeper and often choose newer hipper selections rather than classics. So sadly there was no Hair or RENT, but instead we heard Heathers, Bonnie and Clyde, and 35MM. The full set list is available on Musical Mondays' Facebook page; I'll just share a few highlights here.

• Two songs from Footloose?  Come on guys, you know that's not a real musical, right? But I'll allow it, because Suzie Juul singing "Let's Hear It For the Boy" was about the cutest thing I've ever seen. She never stops being adorable, and not only that, she has a killer voice with impeccable control, that she seemingly effortlessly transforms to fit whatever she's singing.
• Once is a rock musical? Folk-rock, I guess. Either way, any chance I get to hear the brilliant music of my favorite musician Glen Hansard, I'll take it. Despite never having seen the musical or the lovely little movie upon which it was based, Randy Schmeling sang a beautiful rendition of the song "Leave." It's such a great song, gritty and raw and emotional, with the rough edges smoothed out by Randy's pretty voice.
• It should be noted that Philip Matthews was the only performer who got up on stage with no sheet music. He had all these songs, and one suspects, many more, in his head. Rather than doing a song from the rock musical he starred in this summer, he sang a selection of quirky songs, with great power, emotion, and charm.
• There was a time when Zoe Pappas was in everything, but after playing the title role in Theater Latte Da's Evita four years ago, she disappeared. I wondered where she went, and now I know the answer: Hawaii. She was briefly back in town, and it was great to see and her hear again. She did a couple duets with the boys, and beautifully and emotionally performed a Jason Robert Brown song "I'm Not Afraid."
• The talented young Ryan London Levin sang a couple of songs from musicals I'm not familiar with: "Raise a Little Hell" from Bonnie and Clyde, and "The Streets of Dublin" from A Man of No Importance. He's got a great voice and I'm looking forward to watching him grow as a performer.
• I've saved the best for last: Erin Schwab. This woman is so crazy talented - hilarious, with a powerhouse voice that can make you cry as well as laugh, and just all around entertaining. On Monday night she cracked me up just with the way she took the stage, and then brought me to tears with a lovely rendition of "Wicked Little Town" from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. She also brought the house down with "Love Will Stand when All Else Fails" from Memphis. I need to see her cabaret show sometime, because I'm certain it would be fantastic.

Finally, as a special treat, Ann Michels and Matt Riehle performed a couple of songs from my favorite new musical from this year - Sweet Land, based on the beautiful Minnesota-made film. I attended a reading of the show this spring and was so impressed by how the creators (book by Perrin Post, lyrics by Laurie Flanigan Hegge, and music by Dina Maccabee) retained what was so special about the film while adding music that feels organic and only enriches the storytelling. They're continuing to work on the piece and hope to have another reading sometime next year. Visit the Sweet Land musical website or become a fan of their Facebook page for more information about the piece, future productions, and how you can help with the next phase of development.

In the meantime, mark your calendar for Monday October 6, when Musical Mondays will return to Hell's Kitchen with another bunch of talented performers singing about things that scare them. (Dare I hope for some Sweeney Todd?)

the cast of Musical Mondays: Randy, Erin, Suzie, Ryan, Zoe, and Philip

*If you have never seen the Pulitzer Prize winning rock musical Next to Normal, you're in luck! There will be two productions of it this season - at Bloomington Civic Theatre in October and at Yellow Tree Theatre next spring. Pick whichever is geographically more convenient, or see them both as I plan to!

"Evita" by Theater Latte Da at the Ordway McKnight Theater

As is quite obvious from reading this blog, I attend a lot of theater. Most of it is by myself, but once a year I get a group of friends together for something we like to call "Girls' Night Out at the Theater." For some of my friends, this is their once a year trip to the theater, so I take my responsibility seriously and try to choose a good show, preferably by a local theater. This is the second year in a row I've chosen a Theater Latte Da production. Last year we saw The Full Monty, which was was a huge success. Everyone loved it (which might have had something to do with the naked men ;), and it was one of my favorites of last year. So I was confident in choosing Latte Da's Evita this year, knowing they'd do a great job again, and I wasn't wrong!

As everyone probably knows, Evita is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical about Eva Peron, the Princess Diana of Argentina. It chronicles her rise from a poor family in a small town, to actress in Buenes Aires, to wife of the president and "spiritual leader of the nation." I've never seen the stage show but I have seen the movie and have the soundtrack, so I was very familiar with the music (unlike the previous night's show, Rock of Ages). But what I had forgotten is that there's very little spoken dialogue; it's pretty much two and a half hours of singing.

This was a pretty large production for Latte Da; they usually do more intimate shows with smaller casts. It was beautifully directed by Artistic Director Peter Rothstein. There was a lot going on - costume changes, set changes, people constantly moving in and out. All done to music, and all accomplished very smoothly. The four-person band led by Musical Director Denise Prosek was off-stage, but sounded beautiful. The choreography was amazing and made me want to take tango lessons!

Like all Latte Da shows I've seen, this show was perfectly cast. I don't know how they do it, but they seem to always find the perfect actor in the Twin Cities (or elsewhere) to play each role. The strong ensemble includes Erin Capello and Kahlil Queen, whom I saw in Latte Da's concert at Lake Harriet this summer. The title role is played by Zoe Pappas who has worked frequently with Latte Da, the Chanhassen, the Ordway, and other local theaters. She has an amazing voice (which is good because she pretty much sings for two and a half hours straight), and also beautifully embodies Eva's passion, drive, and ultimate physical collapse. Kevin Leines is a suave, elegant Juan Peron (and the only man in the cast who's taller than Zoe!). The character of Che, who functions as a narrator, is played by Jared Oxborough. I first saw Jared in Footloose at the Chanhassen earlier this year (in which he co-starred with Zoe), and was immediately struck by his voice and presence, and wanted to see more of him. I also saw him perform a song from Urinetown (a smart, funny musical that's at the top of my wish list for Theater Latte Da) at a cabaret performance called Where's My Tony? Che is a perfect role for him; he really carries the show and drives the narrative. Eva and Che are the main characters and are both onstage for most of the night, but they rarely interact. Che is mostly observing and commenting to the audience, rather than taking part in the action. But they do have one waltz together, which really illustrates their opposing viewpoints in the way they dance and sing together. Was Evita a selfless hero to her people? Or a ruthless politician? My guess is a little of both.

Evita is the first production in Latte Da's four-show season. Their annual Christmas concert with vocal ensemble Cantus, All is Calm, will be followed by a new play with music, Song of Extinction, at the Guthrie Studio early next year. Their final show is Steerage Song at the Fitzgerald Theater next summer, a collaboration with my favorite pianist Dan Choinard (OK I don't know many pianists, but he's very talented and entertaining!). If you're looking for a fun night at the theater with great music and great performances, you really can't go wrong with any of these shows.