Mama Mia, Here We Go Again at Lyric Arts in Anoka!

Holli Kingdon, Lisa Vogel, Emily Jabas, and Raquel Ponce Photo by Molly Jay.

I really wanted to like Mamma Mia! at Lyric Arts in Anoka. I love this theater and find it, along with Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo, to be key to growing new audiences. I’m so, so, so, so, so sorry that those of you who haven’t already purchased tickets will likely not get to see it. The show opens Friday night, and they let me attend the preview on Thursday because, well, the entire run sold out more than a week before it even opened. I think it was the only date in the first two weeks they could squeeze me in.

Unfortunately for you, I didn’t like the show, I loved it! And so I feel terrible that you have to read about what you’re destined to miss.

I’ll be completely honest: I’ve always loved the music of ABBA. I thought the Mamma Mia! movie was terrible, and I was surprised to find that, despite that, when I finally saw it on stage, I really enjoyed myself. This is probably the fourth time I’ve seen the musical live, but all the others were national tours. This is a pared-down version compared to those, with talented, but, for the most part, not Broadway caliber performers. So why is this the best version I’ve ever seen?

One reason, and I don’t mean to take anything away from the tremendous job director Kassy Skoretz has done with the staging, which is fantastic, is the choreography by Michael Terrell Brown. It’s the real star of the show. The choreography is filled with so much character that it feels like the driving creative force behind the production. Brown, months before the audience even walks in, seems to anticipate their reactions and gives them exactly what they want, along with what they didn’t know they wanted. The movement is confident, full of bold choices and wildly theatrical flourishes that, if they didn’t land, could sink the show. But there’s no fear of that here, everything works. I think the only Lyric Arts audience I’ve seen more enthusiastic in the decade plus I’ve been attending, was opening night of The SpongeBob Musical, those cats were Beatlemania-level excited. I’m genuinely mortified you won’t get to see this.

Another winning aspect of the production is the cast. There are varying levels of vocal ability, and in fact, many performers, particularly Lisa Vogel as Donna, seem to grow over the course of the evening. She starts out solid, quite good, and then at some point becomes great. Does that make the performance feel uneven? Not at all. It feels like Donna is finding her confidence, and maybe Vogel is too, but it works. That’s true across the cast: they’re not polished in the way you might expect, but they feel real. You instantly like them. They surprise you. They connect with you, sometimes literally (I had a flipper land on my head during the show, and I loved it).

It’s a cast where I could go on all night about how good everyone is. But again, and I am sorrier than it is humanly possible to be, if you didn’t already get tickets, it would just be rubbing salt in the wound. And, you know… sleep. I will say that the three men playing Donna’s exes, Eric Lee, France A. Roberts, and Keith Reilly are perfectly cast. Emily Jabas and Holli Kingdon, as Donna’s best friends, are even better. Each gets a number that had the audience screaming with joy: Jabas kills “Take a Chance on Me,” and Kingdon has the audience foaming at the mouth with “Does Your Mother Know.” Both numbers soar even higher thanks to Brown’s brilliant choreography. And I should clarify here, it isn’t Bob Fosse, it doesn’t stun, it delights. And one last comment on the cast Raquel Ponce as Sophie, is magical, the heart of the show.

I know I didn’t give you a plot synopsis, but it’s Mamma Mia!, you already bought your tickets, and if you didn’t, it doesn’t matter… you can’t go. I assume if they could have worked out an extension, they would have announced it by now, but hey, you can always cross your fingers. I really feel bad for you, because this show is pure joy, and we all need a nice helping of that right now.

Mama Mia runs through May 10th at Lyric Arts in Anoka. Though it’s essentially sold out, if you are dying to get a ticket I encourage you to go to https://www.lyricarts.org/mamma-mia as some tickets may free up. Click on the dates you can go and see if there are any left. A quick glance through a few dates revealed a few single seats at some performances.

Don’t rely on Facebook or Instagram algorithms to keep you in the loop about great shows. Subscribe and have every post from The Stages of MN delivered straight to your inbox. It’s the best way to make sure you never miss out on the theater action. To subscribe on a computer, enter your email address on the home page (right-hand side) and click subscribe. On mobile, scroll to the bottom of the page to find the same option. You can also follow me on Facebook @thestagesofmn and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

The Stages of MN YouTube channel is home to the Stages of MN Show. You can watch it by clicking here. Be sure to check out the latest episodes and subscribe so you’ll always know when a new one drops. Not sure you agree with one of my takes? I’m also part of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can find review roundups from my colleagues and me. Follow us on Facebook at @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers.

Suffs Enough, Give Everyone Equal Rights Now!

Danyel Fulton as Ida B. Wells and SUFFS Company Photo by Joan Marcus, 2025

I first saw Shaina Taub’s musical Suffs on Broadway on November 3, 2024, two days before the last presidential election. It felt like the perfect show to close out our first trip to New York City, almost uncannily timely. A year and a half later, it hasn’t aged, it’s escalated.

As Republicans once again float efforts to create “legal” pathways to disqualify female voters, under the now-standard excuse of rampant voter fraud that stubbornly refuses to exist in any meaningful, evidence-based way, the story of the 19th Amendment lands with renewed force. It took nearly 140 years after the Constitution was adopted for women to secure the right to vote in 1920. Apparently, it doesn’t take quite as long to start chipping away at it.

Suffs is a passionate and frequently powerful musical, despite its deceptively light title. If you’re expecting something breezy, maybe a number called “Wassup, Suffs?”, you’re in the wrong theater. What you get instead is one of the most musically satisfying new shows in recent years. While it doesn’t chase the pop-cultural sheen of Hamilton, it doesn’t need to. The score leans more traditional, but it’s packed with sharp, witty songs and genuinely stirring anthems. And this all-female cast doesn’t just perform them, they deliver them with purpose.

The show centers on Alice Paul and her efforts to drag the suffrage movement forward, often in direct conflict with the more measured approach of Carrie Chapman Catt. Paul and her fellow suffragists organize a march on Washington the day before Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration, pushing him to support a federal amendment. When that predictably fails, they escalate, protesting, picketing, and ultimately holding a silent vigil outside the White House. For this, they are arrested.

Once the U.S. enters World War I, Wilson effectively frames dissent as disloyalty, because nothing says “defending democracy” like silencing it. This was of course a violation of their first amendment rights. which is of course illegal,as the constitution gives citizens the right of free speech. Or it least it did, I’m not sure much in the constitution other than the right to bear arms is still in effect. I think they call them alternative rights now. The suffragists are imprisoned, subjected to forced feedings and abuse, while the administration lies to the public about their treatment. It’s the kind of history that would feel exaggerated if it weren’t so well documented.

And that’s where Suffs hits hardest. It doesn’t need to twist itself into relevance, the parallels are already doing the work. The show is inspiring, yes, but it’s also quietly infuriating. It reminds you not just of how hard these women fought, but how fragile those victories can be.

It also doesn’t shy away from the movement’s limitations. As the show makes clear, the passage of the 19th Amendment did not mean equal access to the ballot for Black women. Even in victory, there were compromises, and people left behind.

So yes, Suffs is uplifting. It’s also a pointed reminder that progress is neither permanent nor guaranteed. Rights are won, eroded, defended, and, if history is any indication, fought for all over again.

Suffs runs through April 12 at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis. If you’re paying attention to the world around you, it’s not just worth seeing, it feels necessary. For more information and tickets, visit:
https://hennepinarts.org/events/suffs

Gutenberg! the Musical! A Historically Fictional Musical That’s so Funny it Should be Considered True!

Tom Reed and Dominic Schiro Photo by Dan Norman

Gutenberg! The Musical! And for good measure, I’m adding another “!”! Why does it deserve a third, and potentially fourth, “!” (I’m not sure, grammatically, if I needed end punctuation after the ! in “”) “.” ? Well, I’ll tell you why (which is when a harp would be strummed and I’d begin to sing), because this is the kind of show that led to the creation of The Stages of MN in the first place. Faithful readers will remember that the actual shows were Be More Chill and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. By some sort of mystical coincidence, the latter was, like Gutenberg! The Musical!, produced at Theater Latté Da, and the star of that show, Tyler Michaels King, is the director of this one. I assume your mind is now blown.

The show is about two best friends, Doug and Bud, who, thanks to a financial windfall, have rented the Ritz Theater for one night only to present the musical they’ve written together: Gutenberg! The Musical!. The musical (the show within the show) is about Johannes Gutenberg and the invention of the printing press. It is completely fictional and incredibly silly. But the piece is also a send-up of the musical theater form itself, and Doug and Bud get about as much stage time as the characters they portray. When I say “performance,” it’s really a staged reading, in which Doug and Bud play all the roles, aided by an ever-rotating collection of baseball caps to help the audience keep track of which of the dozens of characters they’re embodying at any given moment.

Tom Reed plays Doug. Regular Theater Latté Da patrons may recognize him from another Latté Da production, Stones in His Pockets, where he proved his skill at playing dozens of characters alongside a single fellow performer. A longtime Stages of MN favorite since appearing in one of my all-time favorite musicals, Interstate, he once again demonstrates the comedic timing and musical chops that make him a “must-see” performer for me.

Dominic Schiro first came to my attention a couple of years ago in Ten Thousand Things’ production of The Spitfire Grill, where I immediately found myself asking fellow bloggers, “Who is this guy?” He was far too good for me not to have noticed him before. I knew he could sing, now I know he’s also a gifted comedic actor. Reed and Schiro play off each other beautifully. They make it look effortless (it is not). The supportive banter between Doug and Bud feels genuinely heartfelt, even amid the extremely goofy dialogue, plot, songs, and overall conceit.

Tyler Michaels King is the perfect guiding force for this show. While the book itself is clever, so much of the humor comes from the performances. Michaels King is an accomplished improv performer, as is Reed, and I can only imagine the laughter in rehearsal as they explored blocking, added bits of stage business, shaped reactions, and fine-tuned all the details we don’t consciously see but absolutely feel. A tip o’ the hat as well (don’t ask me where the Irish accent came from [perhaps thinking about Stones in His Pockets] {which is set in Ireland}) to music director Jason Hansen, who even gets in on the action with a few well delivered lines of his own.

This is the kind of show that will have you chasing the theatrical dragon. It’s so fun, warm-spirited, and delightful that you’ll want to see more theater, always searching for that next show that gives you the same high. Do it. Keep going. For in theater, as I’m about to start always saying, here there be dragons!

Gutenberg! The Musical! runs through May 3 at Theater Latte Da. For more information, and to get your fix, visit
https://www.latteda.org/gutenberg-musical

Marie and Rosetta Makes its Long Awaited Appearance at Yellow Tree Theatre and Proves it Was Worth the Wait!

Adair Gilliam and Chaz Shermil Hodges Photo by Alex Clark

Marie and Rosetta, after being postponed last season, finally takes the spotlight at Yellow Tree Theatre, and it was well worth the wait. I have no personal connection to gospel music, but I gained a real appreciation for it, and genuine enjoyment, during the 100 minutes I spent with Adair Gilliam and Chaz Shermil Hodges, who play Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight, respectively.

These are perfect roles for both actors, especially Gilliam. I imagine the pool of Twin Cities performers who can handle the intricate guitar work required for this role, while also acting and singing at a high level, is not a large one. But no matter how large that pool might be, I doubt anyone could do it better than Adair Gilliam. Her guitar playing is stunning, her singing remarkable, and her acting equally strong, but she also possesses that intangible quality I can only describe as chemistry with the audience. There’s something in the way she leans into the music, particularly with the guitar in hand, her feel for it, the twinkle in her eye, the smile that spreads across her face as she doesn’t just sing, but communicates the lyrics. It gave me goosebumps, and it will undoubtedly be one of my top theater highlights of 2026, even this early in the year.

Chaz Shermil Hodges is a terrific partner for Gilliam. As Marie, the young protégé Rosetta has taken under her wing, she projects openness and youthful energy, and their vocal performances together are both uplifting and electric.

The story unfolds over their first evening working together, as they rehearse and get to know one another. Interestingly, it takes place in a funeral home. As Black performers traveling the South in the 1940s, their lodging options are limited, so they rely on friends and community connections wherever they go. The women talk about their mothers, the men in their lives, religion, and music, sharing their stories as we come to know them. I found these conversations fascinating, like listening to two people you instantly like open up about themselves. Co-directors Ansa Akyea and Richard Thompson beautifully capture that feeling of connection, the simple act of sitting, talking, and truly listening. It’s something many productions aim for, but few fully achieve.

The show would be worth seeing even without the musical numbers woven throughout, but man, those performances make this one a must-see. Go and swing with Marie and Rosetta which runs through April 19 at Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo. For more information and tickets, go to https://yellowtreetheatre.com/marie-and-rosetta.

Conscience at Theatre in the Round is a Powerful Yet Entertaining Reminder of How Far We Have Fallen

Mary Lofreddo, Ron Lamprecht, and Alison Anderson Photo by Tom Taintor

You can’t spell conscience without science. Perhaps that’s why so many MAGA supporters seem to lack one, because they reject the other. Scientific truths become “alternative facts,” and when elected Republicans stayed silent as that phrase was first trotted out, they effectively endorsed it.

Conscience, by award-winning playwright Joe DiPietro, tells the true story of the first woman to serve in both houses of the U.S. Congress. In 1950, as a Republican senator from Maine, she delivered a speech on the Senate floor known as the “Declaration of Conscience,” openly condemning the tactics of fellow Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy. This came at a time when Congress was paralyzed by fear, fear of crossing McCarthy and becoming the next target of his reckless accusations.

In that speech, she warned that such tactics would debase the Senate to “a forum of hate and character assassination,” while defending every American’s “right to criticize… the right to hold unpopular beliefs… the right to protest; the right of independent thought.” She also made clear that while she wanted Republican success, “I don’t want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the four horsemen of calumny—fear, ignorance, bigotry, and smear.” Sound familiar?

The play does an excellent job dramatizing Margaret Chase Smith’s campaign to stand up to one of the most dangerous figures in American political history. It doesn’t need to force modern parallels, they are sitting in plain sight. By remaining firmly rooted in its historical setting, the play becomes even more chilling. We’re often told we study history so we don’t repeat it. If that’s true, the present moment suggests we haven’t been paying attention.

The play features four characters, all portrayed by excellent performers. Alison Anderson brings intelligence and quiet moral authority to Margaret Chase Smith, while Ron Lamprecht captures the bluster, buffoonery, and menace of Joseph McCarthy. Despite the gravity of the subject matter, the play is often surprisingly light and frequently funny, again, trusting the audience to draw its own connections rather than forcing them.

The remaining roles are equally strong. Mary Lofreddo plays Jean Kerr, McCarthy’s assistant and eventual wife, while Tim Wollman portrays William Lewis Jr., Smith’s loyal advisor, who is also a closeted gay man, another group targeted during McCarthy’s crusade. The strength of these performances is a major reason the show succeeds not only as a history lesson, but as compelling entertainment.

Directed by Sophie Peyton, the production runs just under two hours with an intermission. I’ll admit, I’m often skeptical of intermissions in shows that could run straight through, but in this case I welcomed it. I actually spent much of the break jotting down thoughts from the first act. I also want to highlight Sadie Ward’s set design, which features elements resembling torn fragments of the Constitution, an evocative visual metaphor that complements the play’s themes.

Near the end, the play recalls Joseph Welch’s famous rebuke to McCarthy: “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?” It’s a line that still resonates, perhaps now more than ever. It’s hard not to think of how rarely that standard seems to apply today. For instance, consider a recent Truth Social post from Donald Trump about Bruce Springsteen:

“Bad, and very boring singer, Bruce Springsteen, who looks like a dried-up prune… has long had a horrible and incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome… The guy is a total loser… MAGA SHOULD BOYCOTT HIS OVERPRICED CONCERTS, WHICH SUCK. SAVE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY. AMERICA IS BACK!!! President DJT”

Those are the words of a sitting president, expressed while the country faces far more serious concerns. The lack of decorum is striking, and it’s difficult not to draw comparisons to McCarthy’s own crass and reckless rhetoric. It’s hard to imagine many other presidents speaking this way with such frequency. Which brings to mind Mike Judge’s film Idiocracy. When it was released in 2006, it felt wildly over-the-top, a broad, absurd comedy. Nearly twenty years later, it doesn’t seem quite so far-fetched. What once felt like satire now lands a little too close to reality.

I’ll leave you with one final quote from Smith’s “Declaration of Conscience”: “It is high time that we all stopped being tools and victims of totalitarian techniques—techniques that, if continued here unchecked, will surely end what we have come to cherish as the American way of life.”

Conscience is the kind of production that feels essential. Theatre in the Round has been having an exceptional season, and this is another strong entry that deserves a wide audience. Conscience runs through April 19th at Theatre in the Round in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatreintheround.org/conscience/

Great Falls is Dark and Powerful, With Two Very Strong Performances at The Hive

Great Falls, by Minneapolis native Lee Blessing, is a heavy show about a road trip between a teenage girl and her stepfather. It opens in a way that immediately makes the audience uneasy, as it quickly becomes clear that the stepfather, whom she calls Monkey Man, is divorced from her mother. That, in itself, is fine; I firmly believe people divorce spouses, not children. But it’s also clear she does not want to be with him. We’re not entirely sure what’s happening at first, but it all feels very sketchy. The play tackles a number of difficult themes, including abuse and sexual assault.

Luckily, there are two very strong performances, by actors I don’t believe I’ve seen before, to guide us through the darkness. Andy Chambers plays Monkey Man, somehow making dialogue that could feel untethered from reality, particularly early on, seem plausible, if still a bit opaque. I think Blessing wants us to feel off-balance, unsure of what’s happening and why. Honestly, I’m not sure we ever fully understand that part. I mean, we do, but what is wrong with this man that he thinks this is an appropriate way to stay connected to Bitch (which is what she insists on being called)? He keeps insisting he’s not committing any crimes, but he absolutely, technically, is.

Reanna Madson plays Bitch, and as the stepfather of a girl who is shockingly similar (thankfully without the trauma), I can say her performance feels very genuine. Whether she’s being difficult and combative or delivering difficult information, she is never anything but truthful. The two play well off each other, with Chambers perfectly capturing the challenge of trying to start a real conversation, and Madson’s character stubbornly refusing to give him any foothold.

Directed by local actor, lighting designer, and jack-of-all-trades Ariel Pinkerton, the show benefits from her understanding of the material and its triggers. She handles the subject matter with care and clarity.

The set design by Keven Lock is both a strength and a weakness. The production gets a lot of mileage out of two platforms that cleverly transform into everything from the dashboard of a car to motel beds, a clinic, and several other locations. Clever projections by Alita Robertson, especially during the driving sequences, enhance the sense of distance and movement. The downside is a series of slightly overlong scene transitions, where we sit in darkness watching the performers reconfigure the set.

Great Falls runs through April 5th at The Hive Collaborative in St. Paul. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.thehivecollaborativemn.com/events/7b0cg7xhh7bw5zknaa144n9ti7kdkk

The Welkin Is Riveting From Start To Finish From Frank Theatre Ending Sunday at the Gremlin Theatre

Cast of “The Welkin” Tracey Maloney and Elizabeth Efteland front and center Photo by Tony Nelson

The Welkin continues Frank Theatre’s tradition of producing incredibly thought provoking and relevant work that speaks directly to our world. I had to reschedule this one three times due to some ongoing health issues. I didn’t want to miss it, but by the third reschedule, when I was looking at finally seeing it during the last weekend, that’s usually when I cut my losses and move on to something with more of a run left. Big shout-out to my friend Jill over at Cherry and Spoon, who made sure I knew this was not to be missed. She has never been more right in all the years I’ve known her. This one has TCTB Awards written all over it.

Here’s the thing: it’s now almost midnight on Thursday, and this show closes Sunday. So this is going to be short and sweet, because I have another show tomorrow night, and if I want to give anyone a chance of catching this, I need to publish tonight. And those health issues? Still ongoing. I’m tired. So Frank Theatre, forgive me if this feels a little rushed.

“It’s 1759 in rural England, and the country is awaiting the return of Halley’s Comet. A young woman, accused of murder, is sentenced to death. When she tries to escape the noose by claiming she is pregnant, twelve ordinary women are gathered to decide whether she is telling the truth.”
—Frank Theatre website synopsis

Wendy Knox directs Lucy Kirkwood’s script, which had its U.S. premiere in 2024, making this the first chance for local audiences to experience it. The show runs close to three hours, with a 15-minute intermission, but I swear it feels like two, and a quick two at that. Knox’s great strength is her work with actors. There are 16 performers onstage, and not a single one fails to captivate for even a moment.

My biggest problem with this show is already looming: when I submit my nominees next January, do I just nominate it for Favorite Ensemble in a Drama, or do I also single out individual performances? Elizabeth Efteland as Sally, the accused, and Tracey Maloney as Elizabeth Luke, the local midwife and her chief supporter, both deserve Favorite Performance in a Drama nominations, but do they end up canceling each other out? That’s a problem for next year. The point is: they are both brilliant.

And then, frankly, so is everyone else. That includes Stages of MN favorites like Grace Hillmyer, Suzie Juul, Eva Gemlo, and Wini Froelich, who shows a side of herself you never saw at The Mystery Café. Simply stunning. Even performers with the fewest lines hold your attention completely. There isn’t a wasted moment, not a throwaway line. In fact, there are a couple of subtle, intriguing lines that could easily be missed but leave you questioning what you’ve actually seen. I won’t spoil those moments. This play is so strong that others will undoubtedly produce it, but I doubt they’ll do it as well as Frank.

The remainder of the run, which ends March 29, is nearly sold out. If you can make it, I urge you to act fast and grab one of the remaining tickets. I’ll make it easy, here’s the link to the Frank Theatre website:
https://franktheatre.org/events/the-welkin/

The Stages of MN YouTube channel is home to the weekly Stages of MN Show. You can watch it by clicking here. Be sure to check out the latest episodes and subscribe so you’ll always know when a new one drops. Not sure you agree with one of my takes? I’m also part of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can find review roundups from my colleagues and me. Follow us on Facebook at @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers.