"The VAXXED and the Furious" at Bryant-Lake Bowl

It feels so good to return to Bryant-Lake Bowl and Theater, the quirky little theater behind a bowling alley in Uptown, 19 months after seeing my last pre-pandemic show there. It's primarily a home for comedy, although I've also seen plays and musicals by small theater companies there over the years. The restaurant and bowling alley have been open for a while, but they're just now returning to live programming in the theater (with proof of vaccination required). You can see their full schedule here, which includes one more weekend of performances of The VAXXED and the Furious, featuring some of my (and your) favorite funny people in town.

"Songs for a New World" at Artistry

There's no question we're entering into a new world, after a tumultuous year and a half that included a global pandemic we're still very much in the middle of, but starting to learn how to safely navigate; a racial reckoning; a contentious election and attempted coup; and fires, floods, and other natural disasters occurring at an alarming rate. So what better way to begin the 2021-2022 #TCTheater season (which can hopefully continue with the help of vaccine and mask requirements for many venues) than with Jason Robert Brown's Songs for a New World. His first produced musical from 1995 feels every bit like it was written for this specific moment. But that's great art - it takes on new meanings as our world changes. Especially when interpreted by great artists to speak to the now of it, like this incredible team at Artistry. They've expanded the cast from four to nine, expanded the typically small band to seven, and even hired three directors. Adding these additional voices to the piece only makes it richer, fuller, and more meaningful. If you feel comfortable going into a vaxxed and masked theater (and I understand if you don't; I moved at intermission to a less crowded location in the theater), go check out this beautiful and incredibly moving production, continuing through September 26. Bring your vaccine card, mask, and tissues.

"Hopscotch: Pop-Up Plays about the Future" by Wonderlust Productions at Frogtown Farm and Park

Wonderlust Productions' newest project is popping up in St. Paul parks this weekend and next. They asked an intrepid group of playwrights to imagine a future world. Which, as co-Artistic Directors Leah Cooper and Alan Berks admitted in their pre- and mid-show talks, is a difficult thing to do right now. But these ten playwrights, some of #TCTheater's best, did just that. The result is Hopscotch, a series of ten ten-ish-minute plays presented in two sets. I caught one set on a perfectly gorgeous late summer afternoon in Frogtown Farm and Park, and it was an entertaining, inspiring, and at times worrisome look at our future, and through the imagined hindsight, our present. Click here for more information and to make a pay-what-you-will reservation for today's two sets at Frogtown, or next weekend at Newell Park.

"A Pickup Truck Opera; Volume One: The Odyssey" by Mixed Precipitation at Various Outdoor Locations

While Mixed Precipitation's annual tradition of the "picnic operetta" is on hold due to the pandemic, last year they premiered a new fun and accessible opera mash-up experience - the Pickup Truck Opera. Driving a 2011 royal blue Ford pickup to parks around and outside of the Twin Cities, and performing out of the bed of the truck (have opera - will travel), they mash up Monteverdi's 17th Century opera The Return of Ulysses to his Homeland with the songs of Dolly Parton. Last year they teased us with Episode 3, but this year they're presenting the full three-episode saga, and as always with this troupe, it's sheer delight. I caught them near the end of their two-month run in a nearby park, but you can still see them today at Cedar Lake, next weekend in Hastings, or their closing weekend September 11-12 in St. Paul and Minneapolis (see details and schedule here).

"The Uncertainty Principle" at Open Eye Theatre

Live performances at Open Eye Theatre's charming and intimate stage in South Minneapolis returned this week. Whether it's one of their work, or one of the guest artists they support, a show at Open Eye is always going to be unique and interesting. Teresa Mock's solo piece The Uncertainty Principle fits the bill. It's a memory play, not just about her memory, but also her father Paul's, a Vietnam vet. In this funny, poignant, moving, and very personal play, she explores the idea of memory, legacy, and multi-generational trauma. And since this is Open Eye (formerly Figure) Theatre, there is also puppetry to help tell the story. Only three performances of this moving piece remain (click here for details).

Storyhill Fest 2021

On the Monday of Labor Day Weekend of 2014, I drove away from Storyhill Fest at Clearwater Forest Camp, as I had the previous four years, but this time not knowing when I would return. What used to be an annual festival was no longer going to be a regular event. It took seven years (including one pandemic postponement), but this year we finally returned to the idyllic folk music festival in the Brainerd Lakes area of Minnesota. And in the weird way that time and memory work, it felt like I had never left. Settling into my dorm-like room in the lodge, walking the beautiful hiking trails on the grounds, going for a swim, sitting around the campfire (faux this year, because drought), and most of all sitting in a camp chair on a warm (or cool, because Minnesota) late summer day listening to an array of incredibly talented singer/songwriter/storytellers, it all felt so familiar, so real, so right. It felt like coming home, like coming out of a long drought, not of rain but of performing arts. As one of the performers said, we're not out of the woods of this pandemic yet, but for a few days, in this one place, we all came together (with appropriate safety protocols) to share and celebrate music and humanity.

Ghostlight Series: "Music to Our Eyes: Designers Sing Out" streaming from Theater Latte Da

The final virtual cabaret in Theater Latte Da's excellent "Ghostlight Series" has now been released, with all five available to view through August 31. Music to Our Eyes: Designers Sing Out is a beautiful conclusion to what has been an in-depth look at artists and what music, theater, and performance means in our lives. Every one of the stories of these four designers brought tears to my eyes as they talked about their art. If you've been to a Theater Latte Da show, particularly in the last five or so years in their new home, the Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis, you know how important design is in their storytelling. Whether it's the wacky carnival world of Assassins, or the "seedy elegance" of Chicago, or the multi-level train station of Once, the set, costume, hair, prop, lighting, and sound design in a Latte Da show is extremely detailed, specific, and thoughtful. It's about time these designers, with such familiar names from reading programs but whose faces we rarely see, get their time in the spotlight.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2021: Wrap-up and Favorites

After a very long extended intermission from theater, which included a 2020 all-virtual Minnesota Fringe Festival, live and in-person performing arts began to return this summer. I saw a dozen shows in July, three of them indoors (a first in nearly 16 months). Then came August, and a hybrid Fringe Festival, with most shows occurring virtually, along with independently produced in person shows. 

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2021: "Last Summer's Love"

Day: 7

Show: 16

Performance Type: In Person

Location: 11 Wells Spirits Distillery (indoors)

Length: 60 minutes

Title: Last Summer's Love

By: Graber Productions

Summary: A sort of concert version of a new musical about star-crossed lovers.

Highlights: The show is chock full of incredible songs, in a sort of indie-folk-pop style. A very loose and not very original story ties the songs together, in which a man and woman fall in love despite being in relationships. The man moves to California and they try to move on, but they can't forget "last summer's love." I would love to see the story fleshed out a little into a true and full musical, but right now it's all about the music, which is really great. Watching the show feels like being at a concert; the cast (Adri Mehra, Cherelle-Renee Childs, Sylvia Michels, Elliott Graber, Ninchai Nok-Chiclana, and Jack Bonko) performs with mic stands in a traditional band set-up, and are loose and playful as they engage the audience with banter. The cast also doubles as the band, with most of them playing instruments, in that great tradition of Once (of which this show is a little reminiscent) where there is no separation between actors and musicians, between story and music. Both of the leads (Sylvia and Elliott) just shine on stage, very appealing with gorgeous vocals that blend well together. The space in the distillery is very hip, strewn with tapestries and hanging lights, and a cute baby blue vintage bike that is featured in the lyrics and story. The Fringe isn't the Fringe without a new musical, and this one prettily fills the bill, the perfect ending to what has been an entirely satisfactory, if smaller and less exciting than usual, Minnesota Fringe Festival.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2021: "Impulse"

Day: 6

Show: 15

Performance Type: In Person

Location: Southern Theater (indoors, masks required)

Length: 45 minutes

Title: Impulse

By: Manifest Dance

Summary: Three new original dance pieces performed by a talented company of dancers.

Highlights: One of my favorite things about Fringe is that it gives me an opportunity to see dance, which as a busy theater blogger in the before times I rarely had time to do. This is the only in person dance show at this year's Fringe, and if this is an indication of the #TCDance community, they're coming out of this pandemic really strong and ready to create beautiful meaningful work. Creator and choreographer Sam Lewis performs a gorgeous solo piece sandwiched between two group dances, which are also performed and co-choreographed by Isaiah Langowski, Sam Meryhew, Joe Tennis, and Vivian Wolkoff. The choreography is modern, unique, evocative, and beautiful to watch. The dancers are so graceful and specific in their intentional movements, and I love the way they use the space at the Southern Theater, perhaps the best dance venue in town. Unfortunately there's only one performance remaining, and if you don't already have a ticket for tonight's show, you're out of luck. I'll leave you with their description of the show: "After being cooped up for over a year we are ready to come out swinging. This show is our screams, our cries, and our celebration. For ourselves, for lives lost, for lives begun. 2020 was perspective."

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2021: "Breakneck Comedy of Errors"

Day: 6

Show: 14

Performance Type: Virtual

Location: Streaming Anytime

Length: 60 minutes

Title: Breakneck Comedy of Errors

By: Timothy Mooney Repertory Theatre

Summary: A one-man one-hour retelling of Shakespeare's wacky tale of twins - The Comedy of Errors.

Highlights: Timothy Mooney, who also brought us Breakneck Hamlet at the 2015 Fringe, among others, now brings that breakneck speed through a full Shakespeare play to the virtual world. It's no less impressive, perhaps even more so, because now he only has the change of hat or wig, along with voice and facial expressions, to create all these different characters, rather than a full performance space. Scene by scene, he leads us through the ridiculous story of two sets of twins separated at birth who by happenstance are reunited with each other and their parents (soap operas got nothin' on Shakespeare). He also manages to provide historical background to the story, and most amusingly, commentary on the story, characters, and dialogue. In a weird way, it's actually a great and accessible way to be introduced to or gain more understanding of a Shakespeare play. An this one in particular, with all it's mistaken identities and plot twists, is particularly fun. One look at the detailed show image should tell you that.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Zephyr Theatre's ShakesFaire - "Shakespeare LOL" and "As You Like It"

I'm interrupting this Fringe coverage to bring you news of FREE Shakespeare in the Park! Stillwater's Zephyr Theatre is presenting three shows as part of their annual Shakespeare festival, held in lovely Valley View Park just outside of Stillwater. I saw two of the three shows last night, the first of only five performances this weekend only. It's a gorgeous location with a natural and partly shaded slope for audience viewing (bring a chair or blanket), and really fantastic performances of these two great shows. Read on for more about Shakespeare LOL and As You Like It, then make plans to head out to the park this weekend to enjoy some great outdoor theater, which also includes a puppet show by Open Eye Theatre. Click here for details, but reservations are not required (although donations are accepted).