Dracula Rises Once Again, This Time With A Creative Feminist Take on the Classic at the Historic Mounds Theatre

Kate Hamill’s Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really is an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic tale, but with a decidedly forward-thinking view of gender roles. It follows the geographic outline of Stoker’s plot but changes many of the details. Several key roles in the book are eliminated, relationships change, and even genders are swapped, as in the case of Doctor Van Helsing, who is now a woman. Changes like these to the original source material are almost a prerequisite. Even Francis Ford Coppola’s film version, which is among the more faithful adaptations, can’t help but tweak things a bit. Fidelity to the text should never be an issue when judging a Dracula or Frankenstein adaptation, as Hollywood and the stage long ago implanted changes that the casual observer may assume are the true plots. This production is a mixed bag that works for the most part.

What works well are the elements that deal with gender roles and questioning the patriarchy. The tale lends itself well to this sort of examination. You have the old-school Dracula, who rules over his wives as if he is their lord and master. Then you have the more modern relationships, such as Dr. Seward and his relationship with his fiancée, Lucy, and her friend Mina. He tries to be in charge but finds himself being overruled by Doctor Van Helsing, and the women in his world are more likely to state their opinions or be aware that they have to circumvent his authority.

The casting of Mavrick M. Miller as Count Dracula is very effective. He doesn’t look like our pop culture Draculas, such as Bela Lugosi or even Christopher Lee, but he matches Stoker’s description fairly accurately. He adds an effective accent and has a foreboding stage presence; he’s slightly let down by the wardrobe, particularly in one of the final scenes, where he appears to be wearing a white polo shirt over a white long-sleeved shirt. Cate Jackson is also well cast as Mina. Though the character is changed from the book a good deal, she’s a strong character, and Jackson brings that across to the audience. The direction Hamill took with the character of Van Helsing works really well, but I didn’t feel like Maggie Mae Sulentic played it as effectively as she could have. It may also be the costuming here; there is a sloppiness to the character that undercuts her effectiveness. A lot of that can be laid at the feet of costume designer Krista Weiss’s choices. I’d have gone for a cooler look, less hobo.

The costumes are good in some scenes and detrimental in others. The reality is that there are over 20 actors in the show, many need multiple costumes, and this theater company is a small one. I think they did the best they could in all design departments; it’s just that the budget shows. Some elements are really good. There are some blood effects by Robin Gilmer and Shannon Walbran that are well handled, along with some set pieces that are exactly what is needed, such as Renfield’s cell and the beds of Lucy and Mina. You can suspend your disbelief to the needed level, and then someone enters wearing a polo shirt and the illusion with the audience is broken. I don’t know what the answer to that is. Obviously, within their means, they should do the best they can in every aspect, is the immediate thought, but perhaps finding a balance is better. The inequity in these elements is what pulls us out at times, which is not what you want.

Erika Sasseville directs the show and makes a lot of really effective choices. For the 30 minutes prior to the start, Renfield, another gender-role swap, played by Jennifer D’Lynn, is on stage, at times lying down facing away from the audience and at other times making eerie eye contact with us. It’s a fun way to set the tone, and she carries that tone throughout, with Dracula’s undead posse entering through the aisles among the audience. Another nice touch is having Dracula’s horde act as furniture in the Count’s castle.

The other aspect of the show that needs work is the length. It runs nearly three hours and felt like it could easily have shaved 15 to 30 minutes off through judicious cuts (which would be Hamill’s job) and general pacing, which the director could try to pick up.

If you are someone who can’t get enough horror shows during monster month, like I am, you’ll want to check this one out. It has its flaws, but the good stuff outweighs the missed steps. Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really runs through October 31 at the Historic Mounds Theatre, where you can enjoy a variety of treats and beverages during the show, including popcorn and cocktails. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to https://www.nightfiretheatre.com/dracula.

I want to alert you faithful readers to a new Website that has just started up in the Twin Cities. It’s called 79 Seconds on Stage and it is a free and full guide to local theatre in the Twin Cities.

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The Taming Should be the Right Play at the Right Time, But Somehow it Isn’t at Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo

Nora Targonski-O’Brien, Jane Froiland, and Grace Litzau Photo by Alex Clark

The Taming by Lauren Gunderson, who is consistently one of the most-produced playwrights every year, would seem like a safe choice to open the theater season. Stack on top of that the fact that it’s a political play right before the midterm elections, at a time when politics are very much in the forefront of our collective minds. But for some reason, this play just doesn’t connect very strongly. It isn’t the performances. The three actors, including newcomer Grace Litzau, are all superb. I think it’s the structure of the play, specifically the middle section, that derails the production.

The play opens with brief introductions to the characters. Katherine, played by Grace Litzau, is a contestant in the Miss American competition. Patricia, played by Jane Froiland, is the aide to a U.S. senator about to propose a new bill. Nora Targonski-O’Brien plays Bianca, a left-wing social media influencer with a pet cause and dirt on the senator. After their basics are revealed and they have some slight interaction, we cut to a hotel room, where Patricia and Bianca awaken having been drugged. Katherine, it is revealed, has drugged them both in order to get them to help her rewrite the Constitution. What follows are debates and discussions on the state of politics in our country. At one point, Patricia and Bianca decide that if they work together, they can overtake Katherine and get out of their captivity, but she is a step ahead of them and sprays them with ether.

The next section is, one assumes, an ether dream, as the three are back in the 1700s as Founding Fathers working on the Constitution. Again, there are discussions of a political nature, including a possibly semi-accurate account of some of the conversations and compromises that occurred. Then we are back in the present day. There is a revelation here that is really clever and would have been a much better reveal in a play that didn’t spend a third of its runtime in a dream.

There are several things that just didn’t connect for me. There is supposedly a link to Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, but I don’t see it. I feel like the play would have worked so much better if it had stayed in the present and explored the idea of these three women coming together and actually discussing how to change the Constitution.

Maybe I’m being too harsh on the play. Faithful readers will know that this is only my second review after having undergone surgery earlier in the week. It’s possible that while my body was ready for the outing, my brain wasn’t, and I missed things. I found the ideas floating around to be engaging, and the performances were strong. There is a nice blend of humor and politics, so if that’s your cup of tea, you will definitely get something out of this.

The Taming runs through November 1 at Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to https://yellowtreetheatre.com/the-taming.

Annie Returns to Chanhasen Dinner Theaters in Fantastic New Production With Rising Star Eve Scharback as Annie

Annie acts as sort of a stealth missile of a musical. Everyone knows it, either from the movie or having seen it previously on stage. Just about every theater company has mounted a production, particularly community theaters. So when it comes up, there is an instinct to dismiss it or, when choosing between two shows, go with the less familiar. What we forget is just how good a production of Annie can be. Case in point: Chanhassen Dinner Theatres’ new production is the best I’ve ever seen! The cast is phenomenal, with a special emphasis on the juvenile performers who make this classic musical feel fresh and new!

As with all long-running professional productions featuring school-age performers, the children’s roles are double-cast. The performance I saw featured Eve Scharback as Annie. Scharback had already impressed me in multiple productions at Theatre Latté Da as Small Alison in Fun Home and Young Alice in their Next Festival reading of Alice in Neverland. It’s unclear if she is trying to corner the market on roles that begin with the letter “A,” but if that is her goal, I’ve no doubt she will achieve it. My prediction is that we are seeing the start of a career actor, one destined to be one of the Twin Cities’ go-to performers. Want to see a star born? Get out to CDT’s production of Annie. Eve Scharback is already shining with a brilliance akin to the North Star. I’d love to go back and see the show with the other cast as well, if they are as good as this, I’d say CDT has locked in the best young performers in the area.

Scharback is surrounded by six or seven other young actors, any of whom would outshine most performances in any community theater production. Special mention has to be given as well to Lucy Anderson, who played Molly this night. Director Tamara Kangas Erickson has guided Anderson straight into the hearts of the audience with her perfectly timed moments of comic relief. The audience was eating out of her hand as she was wheeled offstage in her bed while changing into different poses.

The adult cast is stellar as well. The role of Miss Hannigan, played to perfection by Carol Burnett in the film version, must be a daunting role, knowing that much of the audience will subconsciously be measuring your performance against hers. Serena Brook easily overcomes any resistance to her performance, and it is the standout of the adult cast. Also very impressive, as always, is Anna Hashizume as Grace Farrell, whose voice stands out due to her complete control of every note and the fullness of her sound. In the role of Daddy Warbucks was Dante Jamar Lamonte Murray, whom I’m unfamiliar with, but he’s a welcome surprise, with a nice, rich voice and an easy chemistry with Scharback’s Annie.

If you don’t know the story of Annie, all you really need to know is that it’s a show perfect for the whole family. Kids will love it, adults will love it, even the family dog will love it, though they probably aren’t allowed in. Annie’s dog Sandy is played by Addison, a professional “Sandy” who has performed the role all over the country. The role is small, but when Addison is on stage, she always hits her mark.

Annie runs through February at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres in Chanhassen. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to https://bit.ly/ANNIECDT. The wonderful thing about CDT is that not only do you get a great show, but a delicious meal as well. And don’t forget to add a dessert. I can personally vouch for the tiramisu and the salted caramel cheesecake, both are to die for.

A Message About the Weeks Ahead

Hello, faithful readers, how are you? Good, glad to hear it. I’ve been having some issues myself since last February, actually. That’s part of the reason for the abrupt stop in terms of the YouTube episodes. Without going into too much detail, I’ll be having surgery on Monday, 10/5/26. They know why they are doing it, but what all it will involve is unknown until they get inside me.

So there will not be any new reviews for a bit. The next show I have scheduled is Annie next Friday. To say I’ll be able to attend and review feels optimistic, but I’m leaving it open for now because I choose to be optimistic. But it’s going to be a little bit of a wait-and-see, one-day-at-a-time deal. I had made my schedule for October before I knew when the surgery would be, so if I’m planning to attend a show, it’s been scheduled, and I’m going to do my best to stick to my schedule. But recovery has to come first. I’ve tried to leave the last week or so of October a little lighter schedule-wise so that I can try and reschedule anything I may end up missing during recovery.

There are a lot of unknowns right now and a lot of different ways this might play out. I may find that seeing shows is a good way to get myself back to the level where I can get back to work, but then find that after work I don’t have the energy for shows. So there could be some reviews as early as next weekend, and then after another week, no reviews again for a bit.

I want to thank the theaters and theater companies that I engage with for your patience and flexibility over the next few weeks. I promise to give you as much notice as I can if I cannot make a show. I also promise, if I do cancel, to try and reschedule before considering shows I didn’t have scheduled.

And for you, my blessed boppets, a reminder that there are a number of theater bloggers in the Twin Cities. If you need to know which shows to see and I’m not reviewing, you can always check in with my friends.

Cherry and Spoon http://www.cherryandspoon.com/, Lettered in Theatre https://letteredintheatre.wordpress.com/, Ernest Goes to the Theatre https://ernestgoestothetheatre.blogspot.com/, Play Off the Page https://playoffthepage.com/, Life in Revue https://lifeinrevue.blogspot.com/, Friends and Neighbors https://friendsandneighbors.blog/, and Tracy Sees stuff https://tracyseesstuff.com/.

Also a reminder of the Website that has just started up in the Twin Cities. 79 Seconds on Stage is a free and full guide to local theatre in the Twin Cities.

I sincerely hope to be back reviewing next weekend, but hang in there if I’m not. Rest assured that I’ll be making every effort to be back as soon as I’m safely able to.

Be back soon,

Rob

You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown at Artistry in Bloomington

The cast of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown Photos by Scott Knight

Like the 1966 Batman TV series, the Peanuts gang works on different levels depending on your age. I remember spending hours as a child reading compilation books of the Peanuts comic strip from the library. I greatly enjoyed them without ever seriously grasping the dark side of that world. That came last year as I rewatched It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. The kids all go trick-or-treating, and after each house they say what they got. Charlie Brown’s revelation is that he got a rock. And that happens at every house. I don’t think in all the years I watched that special as a kid that it ever really struck me how messed up that is.

This is my second time seeing a production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. The first was at Stages Theatre Company, where the cast was entirely young people and the show was geared toward kids. Artistry’s new production illustrates how casting and direction can change our perception of the show. Artistry has cast the show with well-known local actors, all over 60 years of age. This sets us up to view it not through the lens of childhood, but through those of adults. It feels different tonally, even though it is the same material.

Now, the problem with the show is not the cast or the tone. Either are valid ways of producing the show. The problem is in the material itself. The show lacks any kind of story arc. In a way, it’s appropriate, as it models the original comic strip format of short little segments. But when you transfer a show to a new medium, you need to adapt it to that medium. Think of A Charlie Brown Christmas or It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. When they created those specials around the Peanuts characters, they came up with a story into which there were certainly little bits that felt like stand-alone moments, like the individual comic strips, but it told a story. Here, there is no through line. That is what is missing, and it may be the sort of thing you pick up on more on subsequent viewings.

Several of the songs are alright, most are forgettable, but there is one that actually is really quite nice, and it’s probably the best moment in the show. When the whole cast is looking up into the sky and sings “Happiness” at the end of the show. It was a nice stand alone moment that illustrated what the show could have been.

Look, I love Peanuts and all the characters created by Charles M. Schulz, and I really love this cast. The idea of doing the show with this cast is a good one, and the execution is probably about as good as it could be. The fact remains, this is a featherweight show, and it doesn’t matter how many heavyweights you bring into it, it is never going to be anything more than it is: a collection of comic strip moments.

The cast features Jay Albright as Charlie Brown, Michelle Barber as Sally, Bradley Greenwald as Snoopy, Tod Petersen as Linus, Jen Santoro Rotty as Lucy, and Joenathan Thomas as Schroeder. They are all doing everything they can.

Costume Coordinator Britt Hilton also deserves to be acknowledged for helping to bring these characters to life.

You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown runs through October 25th at Artistry in Bloomington. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://artistrymn.org/charliebrown

Into the Burrow: A Peter Rabbit Tale Will Delight Younger Audiences Without Boring the Parents at Mixed Blood

Into the Burrow: A Peter Rabbit Tale is an odd choice for Mixed Blood, but somehow they got the word out because the theater was full, with lots of children in attendance. Which is exactly who it is aimed at. But thankfully it’s the type of show that will keep the grown-ups engaged as well.

The show takes place on Peter’s birthday, and it has been one year since Mr. McGregor got Peter’s coat and shoes and hung them up like a scarecrow, and killed Peter’s father and baked him in a pie. That is a detail true to the original Beatrix Potter stories, but it is a startling detail to include. The other odd moment is when Peter appears to be suffering from post-traumatic shock. But perhaps, in our world today, those are the things that replace Bambi’s mother being shot.

The show runs under an hour, and the set and costumes are delightful. The cast is a mix of familiar locals, including Stages of MN favorite Em Adam Rosenberg as Ptolemy the Tortoise, some not-as-familiar locals, and an out-of-towner, Juan Carlos Unzueta, who reprises the role of Peter Rabbit, which he originated in the premiere production. I knew he must be from away, as he was just too good not to have been noticed before locally.

The animals all gather for a surprise birthday party for Peter, and we, the audience, are invited along. Which freaks all the animals out, as they haven’t had good experiences with humans. But we work through that, and the animals devise a plan for getting back into the garden to get food because they don’t have enough. When they execute their plan, we see it via a video presentation of a shadow-puppet show, which is very effective.

There is a great message about working together, sharing what you have, and finding a way for everyone to thrive. The songs are good, and the band is in view of the audience and is made up of Peter’s siblings, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail.

This isn’t a must-see for folks without kids, but if you have kids, say ages 5 to 10, I think they will be really into it. The audience I saw it with seemed to be enjoying it.

Into the Burrow: A Peter Rabbit Tale is running through October 18 at Mixed Blood. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to https://mixedblood.com/product/into-the-burrow/

On the Razzle! is a Linguistic Delight and a Very Enjoyable Farce at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul

Brendan Nelson Finn, José Sabillón, and Emil Herrera Photo by Dan Norman

On the Razzle by the late Tom Stoppard opens Park Square Theatre’s 51st season to much laughter from the appreciative audience. This farcical comedy has quite the heritage. The story began as a Viennese play in 1842 titled Einen Jux Will er Sich Machen by Johann Nestroy. It was then adapted twice by Thornton Wilder, first in 1938 as The Merchant of Yonkers and then again in 1955 as The Matchmaker, which was then the basis for the musical Hello, Dolly!. Stoppard’s version eliminates the Dolly Levi character altogether. She isn’t missed, though certain aspects of the plot of Hello, Dolly! are still present. This feels completely fresh. Nestroy’s almost 175-year-old play was clearly a fertile source of inspiration.

The plot revolves around… well, it’s kind of complicated. There is a pair of young lovers whom the guardian of the young woman is trying to keep apart. He is sending her to his sister-in-law’s to get her away from the young man. Meanwhile, he has hired a new servant who he sends to arrange for a dinner for him and Ms. Knorr, whom he plans to marry, in the city. The guardian, Zangler, happens to be the owner of a fancy grocery store. Before leaving, he promotes his head clerk to partner and the apprentice to clerk. Of course, as soon as he leaves, they close shop and head to the city as well, looking to have some fun.

From there, a lot of things you may have seen on Three’s Company happen. The humor comes at you from various directions. There are mistaken identities, multiple tartan capes, and more malaprops than you can snake a tick at. The script is very adept at finding humor in the language, but it doesn’t shirk at some good old fashioned physical humor as well.

A play like this works or doesn’t work based on the cast. Stoppard’s script is nonstop with the verbal and physical humor, and it needs a certain skill set from the performers to pull off. This cast, for the most part, makes the show succeed. In the main roles, Christopher Hayhurst and Nate Turcotte are superb as Zangler’s employees who get mixed up with two women, one of whom is Zangler’s fiancée. They are played by George Keller and Greta Oglesby. The four of them are great fun to watch. In fact, those are the most interesting characters in the show, and thankfully, we spend the most time with them.

There are a couple of scene stealers in the cast. The first is Norah Long, who plays multiple characters. The one that sticks out the most is the woman who works in the shop, Gertrude, but a close second is the sister-in-law whom the young woman is being sent to stay with, and her story about her brush with love.

The second scene stealer, and he’s a highlight of the show, is Brendan Nelson Finn. Again, he plays multiple characters, but there are two that are outstanding. The first is as a waiter, and the second, and best, is as a coachman obsessed with women. It’s a hilariously over-the-top character that elicited big laughs from the audience.

The final star of the show is the set design by Benjamin Olsen. I think we make about eight changes in location during the course of the show, and the transformations are more than wheeling a table on stage or flying in a couple of flats. Large walls and even staircases are shifted around. It’s an impressive set, and the cast and crew do a good job of making the transitions quick.

Director Stephen DiMenna assists with this by having characters at times come off of the stage into the auditorium to continue scenes as the transitions are being made on stage. It’s a very effective choice to minimize the distraction of the set change.

On the Razzle runs through October 25 at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to https://www.parksquaretheatre.org/on-the-razzle