Day: September 15, 2019

Bright Star at Lyric Arts in Anoka

The Lyric Arts Main Street Stage in Anoka was a discovery for me in the summer of 2014. My girlfriend at the time and I decided to have a stay-cation, the kids were off at camp if I recall correctly, we took some time off work and decided to book a bunch of shows. I looked around online and found this theater in Anoka was staging RENT. RENT is, if not my favorite show, it’s top 5…and maybe number 1. Micky had never seen it live, I had seen it 3 times already at that point. That long weekend will forever be etched in my heart. It’s the weekend I got engaged to the woman who occupies my heart and the seat next to me in the theater, and also as the weekend I saw the best production of RENT I’ve ever seen. That includes the front row center seats I had last month at the Orpheum. We loved it so much we took the kids to see it the next weekend. When I say kids, I mean teenagers. Ever since that performance I’ve been back to the Lyric at least once a season, and that will increase this year as their lineup was so good that we bought season tickets. If you haven’t been to Lyric Arts, do yourself a favor and book a show. There is not a bad seat in the house, I’ve sat in the back, off to the side, and front and center. In fact if you haven’t been I recommend booking a seat for their current show Bright Star which runs through Sept. 29th.

Bright Star is a musical written by Steve Martin (yes that Steve Martin) and Edie Brickell. This is not your typical musical though, these songs are done in the Bluegrass style of music. I was not that familiar with Bluegrass music, and you don’t need to be. It is not a polarizing musical style like say Jazz or Death Metal. It’s easy to listen to, it can be upbeat and joyous or soft and melancholy, but it was always beautiful and beautifully performed. I didn’t leave the theater singing any of the songs, but I’ve been listening to the original cast album on Spotify and it’s becoming more and more fixed in my mind. But as good as the music is, it’s the book that was the real star for me. I’m not going to spoiler the show and in fact I’m hesitant to say much of anything about it. I didn’t know anything about the story going in and I felt like I had been punched in the stomach about four times during the show. In a good way. Let’s just say it had this audience member leaking at the eyes on three separate occasions. It is sad at times but also joyful and uplifting. I hesitate to say more.

The set design is simple but clear, mostly conveyed via furniture and props moved on and off stage. The band was on stage raised on a platform that the action sometimes encompassed as well. The story swaps back and forth between two time lines. Some maybe confused by the first transition, but I found it to be an effective way on conveying the flashback. The lead actress Katie Strom Rozanas who plays Alice Murphy found the perfect ways to always make clear to us which age Alice she was playing. Along with the more obvious hair and wardrobe changes she had a youthful playfulness to the younger Alice and a stiff maturity to the older Alice that differentiated them quickly. That they were both real and truthful was what made it a success. There was a moment at the beginning of the performance that I got very worried, when the show started and Ms. Rozanas began signing I could not hear her, and I was in the front row. By the next time she appeared on stage what I can only assume was a microphone malfunction had been corrected. After that opening number it was smooth sailing, no issues hearing anyone.

The cast were all good, I’d like to single out a couple of the more exceptional cast members. A lot of really good lead work from the above mentioned Katie Strom Rozanas as Alice Murphy (at two ages), Chris Paulson as Jimmie Ray Dobbs (also at two ages) Cam Pederson as Billy Cane, and Maureen O’Malley as Margo. Top shelf Character work from Nykeigh Larson as Lucy, Carl Swanson as Daryl. Also a shotout to one of the ensemble Caitlin Featherstone whom I saw in Be More Chill last spring at the The Minneapolis Musical Theatre, kick yourself if you missed that show directed by Sara Pillatzki-Warzeha it was one of the highlights of the Twin Cities 2019 theater scene. Bright Star was ably directed by Scott Ford and the music director was Elise Santa. The musicians were spot with members of the cast accompanying them after the intermission for a song. A very talented cast and crew to be sure.

Smokey Joe’s Cafe at The Ordway in St. Paul

I hadn’t been to The Ordway in St. Paul for several years until this last summer when I saw their production of 42nd Street. I only went to that because local favorite Tyler Michaels King was in the cast. After today’s performance of Smokey Joe’s Cafe I feel confident in saying that The Ordway specializes in putting on first class productions for small audiences. I saw 42nd Street on a Saturday night and Smokey Joe’s Cafe a Saturday matinee. Both seemed woefully under attended. I’m not sure if I just hit the wrong performances or if that is the norm. If it is the norm, based on the two performances I saw I’m at a loss to understand why. I guess I’ll find out as I’m a season ticket holder this year. One last thought on The Ordway as a venue, they are the first theater that has ever had the bathrooms right. Maybe it was the low number of patrons, but it seemed to this audience member that there were plenty of urinals and stalls. If you’ve ever been to the theater and needed to use the restroom at intermission, you’ll appreciate this aspect of The Ordway.

The ship has sailed on on 42nd Street and if you missed it, you missed some really impressive footwork. But Smokey Joe’s Cafe runs through Sept 22nd, so let’s talk about it. The show is the songs of songwriting duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. And that is exactly what it is. There is no story. This isn’t Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, where you have a bio-play about her life filled with the songs she wrote. Nor is it a Mama Mia, where they tell a story using the songs of ABBA. This is nine performers, almost all of them local talent, singing and dancing the songs of Leiber and Stoller. So if you like a plot or a story with your musicals you are out of luck with Smokey Joe’s Cafe. Now many of the songs tell a little story of their own, as if they are music videos, so it isn’t just actors singing or doing dance choreography. Each song is performed by some combination of these 9 performers, occasionally solo’s,but most are performed with multiple members of the cast and several utilize the entire cast.

The show contains 36 songs, one leading right into another. They include such timeless classics as Stand By Me, Jailhouse Rock, Yakety Yak, There Goes My Baby, Hound Dog, Love Potion #9 and On Broadway. I could list 29 more titles but you can google that if you really want to know. The truth is if I listed the rest, chances are you’d think you know about 8 of the other titles, and you’d really only know 5. This show is wall to wall songs, most of which sound familiar, but that’s probably because they either inspired a more well known song or are emulating a more well known song. I spent probably 1/2 of my radio listening time in Jr. High and high school listening to the oldies channel, which at that time was 50’s and 60’s and just starting to creep into the early 70’s. If you are in your 60’s you may remember more of these songs, but if you are late 40’s and younger unless you’ve spent 75% of your radio time on the oldies, or for some reason a follower of these songwriter’s specifically you’re going to top out at about 15, that’s where I landed. The first song I’d heard before was the 10th one in the show, Kansas City. The good news is, just because you don’t know them doesn’t mean you wont like them. There are songs that must have been just on the cusp of joining the collective memory the way that Stand By Me has. A lot of the songs feel like the B sides of number 1 hits, good enough to have been a hit but overshadowed by the greatness on the flip-side.

Should you see the show? Absolutely!!! They are not the greatest songs ever recorded in rock and roll history, but there isn’t a bad song in the playlist. Besides the star of this show, isn’t the songs, sorry Leiber and Stoller, it’s the cast. I’d like to single out the most exceptional members of this cast, but I can’t, they are all fantastic! This is an incredible assemblage on talent. When they are singing, you do not care that you don’t know the song they are singing, it doesn’t matter, you are wowed by their talent and their stage presence. I mentioned that while there is no linking story elements most of the songs do tell a little story, through the staging or performances. The cast makes every song enjoyable beyond just what they do with their voices, Mostly via humor or their footwork. Joshua Bergasse who directed and choreographed the show has really done an amazing job of giving each song it’s own flavor and identity, brilliantly coaxing humor out where appropriate and just plan coolness in every moment. Hats off as well to the scenic Design by Beowulf Boritt and lighting design by Jeff Croiter, I took a photo of the set but am not sure if it is appropriate to post. If anyone can give me an answer to that I’d love to share it, as it bowled me over from the moment we entered the theater.