Monster Heart is a Feast For the Eyes At The Southern Theater

There could not be a more perfect venue for Combustible Company’s Frankenstein themed Monster Heart than The Southern Theater in Minneapolis. It looks like the ruins of Dracula’s Castle, a crumbling stone arch framing an exposed brick wall. If there was ever a theater that you didn’t want to get locked in, alone, overnight, it’s the Southern Theater. It provides the perfect atmosphere for this play about the creation of a monster. I should say that if you are not into horror plays that’s OK, this isn’t really a scary play, there is some violence and there is a monster, but it will not make you jump or cower on the floor. Rather it is a like a stream of consciousness take on Mary Shelley’s life and her most famous story, Frankenstein. I wouldn’t say it was non-narrative, but it also isn’t concerned with telling a straightforward plot. It is more of a biographical sketch with commentary via incidents from Frankenstein. There is a dreamlike quality to the proceedings that could be frustrating to some audience members. I found though that while I’m not 100 % sure I followed everything, I was never lost or anxious for it to be more concrete. Everything is stylized, from the design, the dialogue reading, and the movement of the performers.

Monster Heart was directed by Kym Longhi and developed by Longhi with the ensemble. It uses snippets of Shelley’s life with an eye towards drawing a parallel between her life as an outsider and that of the Frankenstein creature. Shelley we learn had a very tragic life. Her mother died a month after she was born. At 17 she traveled to France and throughout Europe with the married poet Percy Shelley. Upon their return to England the unmarried and pregnant Mary was shunned by society and her father. Her inability to marry until the suicide of Percy’s first wife and suffering the death of three children completes the picture of a woman who understood loss and ostracism. The play draws the connections between these real life incidents and Frankenstein’s creation. This alone is a fascinating approach to the material, and while it would support a traditional narrative what makes this work so unusual is the way in which it presents these ideas.

The performers lead by Julianna Drajko as Mary Shelley (among other roles) and Erik Hoover as Percy Shelley (among other roles) move with a grace that suggests significant training in dance and movement. Their abilities to move in a way that suggests a plane of existence outside of reality adds to the dreamlike quality of the work. It is also deeply engrossing. In one segment three actresses combine with a costume to represent a female companion for the creature that Frankenstein is creating. There is also 10 minutes of pre-show that sets the mood and contains one of the highlights of the evening. which is, Joni Griffith entwined in one of two fabric lattices hung from the ceiling playing the violin. That eloquent moment has stayed with me for days and I suspect will for a long time to come.

The Production design which relies heavily on fog machines, lighting, sound and video projection is a triumph. The video design by Jim Peitzman is some of the most effective I’ve seen. It is an illustration of how projection can be used collaboratively with location, and in this case Karin Olson’s lighting design, to create something truly immersive. Jacob Davis’ sound design and Joni Griffith’s original music pair up to create a haunting soundscape. Longhi’s direction combines all of these elements in what is one of the most cohesive productions I’ve seen since Open Eye’s The Red Shoes. Do not go into the show seeking a traditional narrative, free your mind of that rigid need for a story. Instead let the production wash over you, allow your mind to enjoy the individual moments. They may not seem at first to always connect, but by the end your mind will reflect back on the entire show and I promise you will have a sense of the whole.

A seating tip for this production, the theater is general admission and I highly recommend getting there early and sitting in the front row, dead center. That is where I sat and the last moment of the play is beautifully and perfectly framed from that spot. Monster Heart runs through March 5th. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://southerntheater.org/shows/monster-heart

Don’t miss a single review from The Stages of MN, from the home page on the right enter your email address and click subscribe. Also Follow me on Facebook, search @thestagesofmn and click follow and on Instagram thestagesonmn.

Pretty Woman The Musical is Pretty Fun at the Orpheum Theatre

Adam Pascal and Olivia Valli Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade

Pretty Woman: The Musical is based on the popular film from 1990 that launched Julia Roberts to superstardom and reminded people once again that Richard Gere was still alive, something that happens about every five to eight years. Does Pretty Woman: The Musical need to exist? Not really. Is it an enjoyable evening at the theater? Yes it is. There seems to be something irresistible to theater producers about adapting hit movies into stage musicals. A month ago we were treated to An Officer and a Gentleman: The Musical and next month we’ll be treated to a second stop from Waitress: The Musical. Usually, if they get a tour they have something going for them. If the first you’ve heard that they even made a musical of a movie is when it comes to town, what it’s got may not be a lot. Honestly, Pretty Woman stays so close to the film that there is not a lot of freshness to be found. But, it has a few stellar cast members and enough nostalgia going for it that you will be entertained. Not every show has to break the mold, some shows are comfort food and Pretty Woman fits that bill.

If you don’t know the story of Pretty Woman I’m going to allow you that little extra bit of enjoyment by not robbing you of that rare bit of discovery. Nor will I bore the other 98% of us with a rehash of the plot we all know from heart. Instead let’s talk about what works. Adam Pascal works and was a joyful surprise when I opened the program. I’d had a full weekend and hadn’t done my usual preshow homework so I came in blind to the cast. Rent is one of my all time favorite musicals and any time I get to see Pascal who originated the role of Roger, is a treat. His performance as Will Shakespeare in Something Rotten was a case of a role being a perfect fit, here the songs are well suited for his rock ballad voice. The songs are written by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance. Pascal is a good fit for Adams style and it’s during his songs as Edward, where the music works best. “You and I” which is best song in the show is a highlight for Pascal as well as some seriously impressive Operatic singing from Christian Douglas and Amma Osei. The other favorite in the cast is Kyle Taylor Parker in a duel role as Happy Man and Mr. Thompson, the hotel manager. Happy Man is a the narrator of the piece who’s comments make it clear he’s aware this is a show and there is an audience. As such he gets most of the laughs that are not from the film. As the role of Mr. Thompson he gets to perform the other great song and in this case dance number in the show “On a Night Like tonight”. Where he and his hotel staff teach Vivian how to dance without a pole or a house beat.

What doesn’t really work are most of the other songs, they are not bad, they are just unmemorable for the most part. The one performance that really didn’t work that well for me was Olivia Valli as Vivian. I haven’t revisited Pretty Woman in many years but from my memory, there was a subtlety and vulnerability to Julia Roberts performance that endeared her to the audience. Valli’s performance is about as subtle as Fran Drescher on The Nanny. It’s just too brash, it’s hard to see what Edward sees in her that melts his heart. In fairness, it’s hard to convey a subtle sense of vulnerability to the back row of the Orpheum Theatre, and perhaps the direction was to play up the street tough side of the character. For me that didn’t work, it doesn’t ruin the show, it’s just not the best choice for the character. If you are going to make a super faithful adaptation, don’t have the only thing you change from the film be the portrayal of the main character, particularly when it is that character and Julia Roberts portrayal that is almost single handedly responsible for the films classic status.

If you are a fan of the film and love musicals, you are going to have a fun night with Pretty Woman: The Musical. If you like the film but generally don’t care for musicals, this isn’t the one that’s going to win you over. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://hennepintheatretrust.org/events/pretty-woman-the-musical-broadway-tickets-minneapolis-2022/ The show runs through Sunday February 27th.

Marjorie Prime Explores Memory At Theatre In the Round

Marjorie Prime is exactly the type of show that works well at Theatre in the Round. It is a small intimate drama that can be accomplished with a single set. The play written by Jordan Harrison explores the theme of memory and the role it plays in our lives and relationships. I doubt that there is a person in the audience for this show that will not find aspects that resonate on a personal level. Dealing not only with what we remember but what we choose to forget as well. I found the production moving and thought provoking. Theatre in the Rounds most successful production in recent memory plays to the theatre’s strengths with a great script and cast that really pulls you in.

Set in the future of the mid 21st century, it’s not a science fiction story, but uses that future setting in order to make plausible use of its central invention. Prime’s are artificial intelligence robots that look like real people from our lives. The more we talk to them and tell them about the people they are representing the more they can become those people. But this isn’t about technology being used to take over the world. These Prime’s are used to help humans. The play opens with Marjorie, an 85 year old woman who is talking a Prime who resembles her late husband Walter. The purpose of the Prime is to help Marjorie retain her memories and cognitive health. Walter Prime can retell her stories from her life. The more Marjorie and her daughter Tess and son-in-law Jon tell the Prime, the more memories he has to share and the more like the real Walter he can be. What becomes interesting is how it illustrates the fallacies of memory. We all remember things differently for one thing. One realization that comes out is withholding memories from the Prime is really just a way of avoiding dealing with them. Where the play goes from these initial scenes was not what I was expecting and for me that’s when the production really got interesting. There are a lot of other elements that come into the play from our relationships with our parents and spouse to mental illness and our willingness to deal with or avoid painful issues.

The four actors are well cast. Corey Boe as Walter Prime keeps his delivery warm but with an impersonal touch that helps convey that he is a robot. Kristen Mathisen as Marjorie could perhaps have given us a bit more of beginning stages of dementia. As it is, she seems a little too comfortable with her failing memory. But, she brought just the right touch to her later scenes where she is playing a slightly different character. The real standouts are Katie Wodele and David Denninger as Tess and Jon. Denninger’s character is one I found a lot to identify with. He had an everyman quality that made the character easy to identify with playing the diplomat well. You could sense his efforts to try and fix things to make them better to help others work towards facing the issues they wanted to avoid or forget. Wodele nailed the daughter that wants to avoid issues, while also being unable to to let go of them. She wants to help her mother avoid some painful memories to make things easier for her, yet she also cannot forgive her mother for the mistakes she’s made. It’s a complicated role and could easily be unsympathetic but her flaws are what makes her real to us.

The production is directed by Kari Steinbach who finds effective ways to tell this story. We have well used lighting cues by Lighting Designer Peter Gustafson to transition in time. The stage manager who helps reset the stage between scenes is dressed like a home care nurse making these transitions playout as if the lights have just faded on a scene but life is carrying on. Devyn Becker’s set design was perhaps one of the more elaborate that I’ve experienced in this space. creating a space that felt real. There isn’t an attempt to make it futuristic, but the color palate is muted and has a uniformity that gives subconscious impression of a more advanced society.

Marjorie Prime Runs through March 6th at Theatre in the Round in Minneapolis for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatreintheround.org/

Don’t miss a single review from The Stages of MN, from the home page on the right enter your email address and click subscribe. Also Follow me on Facebook, search @thestagesofmn and click follow and on Instagram thestagesonmn

Theater Mu Finds the Perfect Balance of the Comedic and the Dramatic in “Man of God”

Theater Mu returns to in-person theater for the first time in two years with a bang. Man of God by Anna Ouyang Moench is knockout of a play. Deftly seeing us through a disturbing premise with humor and thrills punctuated by moments of tension so thick you could cut it with a tiny pocket knife. Set in the hotel room of four teenage girls on a mission trip for their Korean Christian girl’s youth group in Bangkok. It opens as they find a camera in their bathroom, placed there by their pastor. The play follows the girls as they struggle to understand what this means, how to process this information, and what to do about it. We see their worldviews upended, tragedies laid bare, and revenge fantasies played out. It’s a premise grounded in a deeply disturbing act that is made palatable by the authors strategic use of humor. Part dark drama, part comedy, part thriller, part coming of age story, wholly engrossing.

First time stage director Katie Bradley is going to be one to watch. Man of God is a high wire act of a play that relies strongly on finding the correct tone in each moment and the perfect transitions between those moments. Bradley finds the way to accomplish all of that. Building to a climax that simultaneously uses two instances of Hitchcock’s bomb theory to ratchet up the suspense to a level where I was completely lost in the reality of the play. To the point where I felt myself tense and ready to jump up to assist the young women. Which addresses another theme that is explored from multiple perspectives in the play. These are young Asian women coming of age in the 21st century, navigating a world that is evolving, not always easily, in the ways society sees the roles of women. My reaction to want to rush to their rescue made me reflect on my own internal preconceptions of gender. Did I feel that this was a young person who could be hurt by an older person and needed assistance, or did I see a woman who needed me, a man, to save her? Each of the characters in the play is distinct, they have different perceptions of what their own role is in the world as women, what is acceptable towards them from the outside world. Their varying levels of spiritual faith also inform how they respond and what they are willing to believe.

The four actors playing the young women are all well cast: Louisa Darr as Jen, Suzie Juul as Samantha, Janet Scanlon as Kyung-Hwa, and Dexieng “Dae” Yang as Mimi. Each of the roles is written as a personality type to explore the multiple layers as the plot contains. Each of roles are so well acted that it doesn’t come off as a dramatic strategy, we don’t see the design as the plot unfolds. To comment on the revelations revealed over the course of the play would rob it of its power. Juul character is the true believer, who cannot fathom that their pastor could have anything to do with this. It’s by far the simplest character, the type for whom there are no grays only black and white. As such, the role is the least nuanced, but that is the character and not a reflection on the performance. She moves from one position to the other, once the switch is thrown, there is no turning it back. Darr is the most logical and thoughtful character, to me she represented the voice of reason. Yang, is the the girl who came on the trip not for mission work but because it was a way to take a vacation. She is the voice of outrage, the defiant one. Scanlon is the believer without the blind faith of Juul’s character, she’s the most tragic character but also the one that seems to have grown the most. All of them allow us to recognize their characters perspective even as we understand that they are naive or unrealistic at times. They absolutely sell young girls faced with something they can hardly comprehend, with only each other to help make sense of it. Rich Remedios plays the Pastor, he is little more than a prop until the last scene of the play. But it’s in that scene that he really becomes presence. Remedios perfectly embodies the predatory male authority figure who knows how to control those he perceives as weaker than himself. When he seems apologetic he creeps us out,and we can sense the attempt to manipulate. When he displays anger he frightens but when silent, he’s even more menacing.

I was genuinely impressed with the set design by Sarah Bahr. The hotel room was realistic in a way that enabled the actors to pull me out of the theater and into the world of the play. I don’t always need or even like a set that requires no imagination on my part, but for this play that added level of realism and helped me reach that moment where I left the theater behind and was in that room with the characters as a witness. The lighting design by Wu Chen Khoo is utilized very effectively for the moments when we are taken into the minds of the characters and their fantasies of revenge for the violation that has occured. There is a segment in the bathroom where lighting really underscores the emotion of the scene. These lighting effects are used strategically and greatly assist in the transition from reality to fantasy.

Theater Mu’s production of Man of God runs through March 6th at Mixed Blood theatre in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatermu.org/man-of-god

Fearless 5 vs. Music!! Five Funny Fictions From Fearless Five For Four Further … Performances

Briefly, Fearless 5 is a annual production by Fearless Comedy Productions. They select a theme and this year it’s music. Using that theme, five different writers each write a short comedic play that in some way links to that theme. Those scripts are then directed by five different directors. The only constant between all of the shows are the seven performers Adrienne Reich, Emma Tiede, Mackenzie Diggins, Blair Kott, Joy Ford, Caleb Cabiness, Michael Bloom, and Music Director Chad Dutton. What I enjoyed about the evening was the variety of the plays, some were musicals, some just used music in their plots the results were always fun. I look forward to next years Fearless Five as this is the perfect scenario to experience the work of five writers, five directors and the versatility of these performers who have the tricky job of learning five distinct plays to perform in one evening. Below are my thoughts on the each of the plays in the order they were presented. I will say up front that for me the shows got better as the evening went on but all had their moments.

The Bard – Written by Kayla Sotebeer and Directed by Aiden Milligan

I had a disconnect with this one from the beginning. I realized by the end that this was probably about a group of Dungeon and Dragons players, but I didn’t catch that at first and thought it was set in a fantasy world, and maybe it was. The clarity of this play was an issue for me. It just didn’t flow well from moment to moment, that is something the later plays improved upon. Of all the shows this one felt the least polished though it also had perhaps the more challenging of scripts for the performers in that there were multiple songs. I enjoyed the song about artists needing to be sad and Mackenzie Diggins has a nice moment with a fun dance. Michael Bloom as the Wizard, gets to do some little bits of magic that work really well.

The Second Annual Upper Midwest Vegan Ribfest – Written by Kelvin Hatle and Directed by Jason Kruger

This one is about a former band reuniting after 15 years to see if they can make a go of their band which had achieved some near success before they disbanded. This one was a small improvement on it’s predecessor script wise, developing better characters and telling a cohesive story. The main issue with this one was that it just didn’t add up to much. I like the situation, I like where it ended, it just didn’t capitalize as well as it might’ve on it’s structure. This one has the potential to be expanded, but it needs to up the complications and the laughs and it could sustain a dive into some more dramatic material as well. They are playing with some cliches here and I think they could have had more fun exploiting them. I did really start to warm to the performers with this one. Michael Bloom in a larger role this time creates a different type of character and brings the most laughs to the show. Emma Tiede got my attention for the first time here and I think with a longer script she could have really taken this character somewhere. You can tell that there is more than a comedians gifts in her toolbox.

Macbeth: The Musical – Written by Tim Wick and Directed by Dave Rand-McKay

Here’s where the evening finally seemed to hit it’s stride the first production that seemed to be firing on all cylinders. A fully formed idea that seems to exploit it’s situation completely while taking some unexpected turns. The situation is the first read through of a new production called Macbeth: The Musical. Here we get Adrienne Reich taking center stage as the Director of the play and a surprise character. We get Michael Bloom as the star and Blair Kott as the actor who will play every other role. They get a chance to sing and both acquit themselves nicely, the songs are also rather clever and fun. Reich really steals this one when she reappears in the second half as a new character. Also shining here is Emma Tiede as the writer. This is also the first play of the evening where you sense a directorial hand and Rand-McKay has done a nice job of staging the action and keeping it flowing nicely. We also get some fun interaction with Musical Director Chad Dutton here.

Westbrook Middle School Is Proud to Present It’s Fall Musical Which Opens Tomorrow For General Audiences – Written by Denzel Belin and Directed by Duck washington

Carrying on the theme of putting on a show we get a backstage look at a middle schools final dress rehearsal. Basically, it’s about the romantic relationships that go on in middle school and in particular in theater arts situations. This one is just fun. Some of the shows are just perfect as they are. Macbeth: The Musical for example is just the right length, there is nothing more to do with that idea it’s perfect as a short little play. The Second Annual Upper Midwest Vegan Ribfest could have benefitted from being expanded. This one is solid as it is, it doesn’t need to be expanded to improve it, but you could also see this situation be expanded into a longer form. These characters and their little dramas feel like they could support more, while also feeling complete at this length. This one gives it’s four performers a chance to really have fun with their characters, they are all playing 14 year old theater kids, you really can’t go too big playing that. Michael Bloom and Caleb Cabiness play the two boys one a performer the other a stage director who think their relationship is a secret. Emma Tiede and Adrienne Reich play the costumer and the other performer who appear to hate each other. I don’t want to spoil anything that happens but the plot is almost beside the point. This one is all about the performances. these four solidify themselves with this show as the breakout performers.

No Small Parts – Written by Angela Fox and Directed by Cara White

The final show is another behind the scenes theatrical show it also falls under the category of show that is exactly as long as it should be. It features the best song of the evening and it’s for the altos in the audience who I’m sure can relate. This one could be a little too inside baseball for a general audience at times, but I really enjoyed this one. You have to love theater people and be able to laugh at their foilables to really get everything out of this that it’s serving up. but I think even if that isn’t you there is still a lot to love. Again, we get excellent character work from Michael Bloom, Adrienne Reich and Emma Tiede. Bloom has shown all night long that he has a commanding stage presence and the skills to really give us a distinct and funny characters. Reich by this point has become the performer that we love to laugh with. She always seems in on the joke and there is something in her face that invites in on it as well. Tiede somehow always encourages our empathy, she doesn’t specialize in the wacky, over the top or hammy characters she’s playing the character in most of the shows that we can identify with and she has us on her side from the beginning.

Fearless Five: Music ends up being a night of laughs and fun. It’s an evening of extended SNL skits, and like SNL some of them are greta and some fall short. But, also like SNL, you develop an affection for the performers as you see them inhabit different roles throughout the night. There isn’t anyone in the cast who doesn’t belong here but like every SNL cast there are those that shine brighter and become fan favorites. For me those were Michael Bloom, Adrienne Reich, and Emma Tiede. I wish I could tune in next week to see what new characters they would come up with. Fearless Five: Music runs Friday and Saturday evening at 7:30 through February 26th for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://moundstheatre.org/

Redwood Deals with Challenging Issues of Race and Identity with Humor and Humanity at the Jungle Theater

Thomasina Petrus, Bruce A. Young, Dana Lee Thompson, China Brickey, Kevin Fanshaw. Production Photos by LAUREN B. PHOTOGRAPHY

I don’t know why when I review a show that deals with race I feel compelled to acknowledge that I am a middle aged White Male. First off, if you haven’t seen a photo of me, surely the name says it all. Secondly, should it even matter? Well, I think it does. I think I need to acknowledge upfront that like the non black characters in Redwood, however much I want to empathize and understand, I have to realize I can never really fully do that. I can feel and say “that’s horrible”, but I can never fully relate. So I state that. I say upfront what my perspective is and I offer my thoughts from my point of view. So the following is how this play Redwood, told from the black perspective by playwright Brittany K. Allen and director H. Adam Harris, spoke to me.

Redwood while created from the black perspective is told through the interlocking stories of multiple characters, not all of which are black. There is Uncle Stevie who’s genealogy project/obsession is the catalyst for much of action in the play. He is a “funemployed” middle aged man who fills his time trying different classes at the gym such as hip-hop dance and yoga for pregnant women. We have his twin sister Beverly, whose husband is out of town on business for a suspiciously long time. There is her daughter Meg and her white boyfriend Drew. There are other characters that pop up as well usually for one or two brief but important scenes but these four characters are the ones whose perspective we are invited to view the play through. We hear Stevie’s enthusiastic emails to the family about his newest discoveries and requests for them to share their info and DNA. Beverly and Meg discuss Stevie’s project but don’t really internalize. That is until Stevie reaches out to the white side of the family that branched from the slave owner Tatum. When it’s revealed that Drew is a descendant of Tatum’s as well it causes Meg and Drew problems in their relationship. The plays main theme is inherited trauma, how it affects the way we view the world and can affect our relationships and culture. It also examines the effects of that on interracial relationships.

These are important and powerful issues that Redwood is dealing with. The play could easily have felt like a message or a lesson play but Allen’s script sidesteps that beautifully. The play relies heavily on humor and humanity to explore it’s themes. Yes, we leave the theater with a lot to think about, but while we are in the theater we are entertained by characters that we can relate to. These are characters struggling with how to process information that is hard to internalize. We see them react in real ways, I was struck by how grounded in reality the characters were. There is a subtlety to some of the characterization that makes it real. Beverly describes her husband’s criticism of how she reacts whenever things get serious and we realize that is how her daughter Meg responded in an earlier scene with Drew. It isn’t driven home, it’s left there for us to catch or not catch, but it reinforces that theme of heredity and its impact on how we live. This is a coping mechanism that Beverly has passed down to her daughter. Black or white there is a lot to relate to in Redwood. It speaks to all of us because we are all represented. It isn’t my story, but there is someone for me to identify with racially. But perhaps the most important thing is there are aspects of all of these character that I can relate to. On the one hand we have Stevie, searching back into the past to understand where he came from. We also have Meg and Drew trying to look to the future, for me they represent how we have to come to terms with the past and understand our differences but not let that affect our willingness to try and build a future. The name of this play is so perfect. Redwoods are trees that can live for thousands of years, they have a long history. They also have root systems that spread out and intermingle with the roots of other redwoods. This is a play about family trees, about history about the way we intermingle to become a society. The play looks at interracial relationships and the struggles that can be unique to those, but it also shows the struggles and rewards that are inherent in all relationships. Beverly’s marriage is not interracial, but it has hit a rough patch. Allen is reminding us that struggle is part of all relationships but through Meg and Drew we also see that there can be love and reward in all relationships as well. In an ideal world, if this one still exists in 100 years, most families will be interracial. Hopefully we evolve to the point where we have dealt with the inherited traumas, and we have gotten past the color of our skins and simply love the person we fall for.

The collaboration of Allen the playwright and the director Harris feels like the perfect realization of this work. Allen’s script is the perfect vehicle to explore these issues because it is inviting us to explore them through its use of humor rather then lecturing to us. She has a real talent for writing characters that feel real and every beat seems to build the story, themes, and characters up. Harris stages the show in a way that we move effortlessly from scene to scene. We flow back and forth among the four primary characters as they interact with each other in different locals. With this much scene changing we could have felt like we were spending half the play in transition. Harris keeps the set design multifunctional, we transition locals by primarily shifting our focus from one area of the stage to another. The importance of transitions cannot be overestimated. I have sat through many productions that labor through scene changes and nothing breaks the momentum of a play like sitting and watching either characters or stagehands spend 45 seconds between scenes resetting the stage. This show is fluid, it isn’t hung up on trying to recreate reality in every scene, in fact some of its boldest moments are when we are decidedly not in the here and now of the real world. The set design by Sarah Bahr and lighting design by Karin Olson is another collaboration that soars in this production. The main stage easily becomes in our minds eye the gym, Stevie’s apartment, a coffee shop, the past. Stage left Beverly’s home, stage right Drew’s parents home, downstage meg and Drews apartment. Everything seems straightforward and then every once in awhile something happens usually involving the lighting and the set becomes more than the sum of it’s settings. There is a particularly powerful moment towards the end that seemed through the lightening to change the shape of the set. Dan Dukich sound design was also integral particularly in its use of providing echoes from the past.

The cast is greatly filled with local talent that has entertained me for years. There’s Max Wojtanowicz, Dana Lee Thompson, Dwight Xaveir Leslie, and Morgan Chang as the chorus and smaller character roles. Leslie nails the upbeat gym instructor struggling to respectfully tell Stevie to get a life, and man does he have some moves in the hip-hop dancing class that opens the play. Wojtanowicz gets the distant white Dad down to a tee, and Chang shows us the stepmom that tries to connect but not overstep. Thompson’s key role is as Alameda the ancestor who gave birth to Stevie and Beverly’s branch of the family. She has a powerful moment at the end when she speaks her truth as do the others, each is a revelation. Hers in particular lands as unexpected but truthful, it’s one of the darkest but truest moments in the play. China Brickley as Meg and Thomasina Petrus as Beverly play a mother and daughter well, they have an easy give and take for the day to day stuff, but both find the truth in their evasions of difficult matters. They both are hiding things about their relationships with their men and you can feel the mother-daughter sameness in behavior, which really sells the relationship. Kevin Fanshaw’s Drew gets the middle class son dealing with parents who seem not to hear or choose not to. For the role of Stevie the part is alternating between two actors. T. Mychael Rambo, whom I did not see but I know you’ll be in good hands from his previous work. Bruce A. Young played Uncle Stevie on the night I saw the show. Without a doubt my favorite performance of the night. His enthusiasm for his genealogy project felt genuine as did his annoyance at the other members of the family who were not responding to his requests. His scene with Drew is a masterful display as he plays the older man toying with the youngers insecurities and discomfort. I really felt his presence in every scene, his character is more outgoing than the others but it wasn’t just that, he held one’s attention even in the quieter moments.

Redwood is playing at the Jungle Theater thru March 13th. It’s the perfect kind of play it entertains you but also gives you a lot to think about. It’s a way to explore and discuss difficult themes but in a way that feels real and useful and productive. And it’s pretty funny. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.jungletheater.org/.

Oh What a Night! “Jersey Boys” Brings Classic Songs to Life at the Orpheum

(l to r) Devon Goffman, Eric Chambliss, Jon Hacker and Matt Faucher
Photo: Joan Marcus

Jersey Boys is one of those shows that has somehow always eluded me. Either too busy or too broke when it’s been to the Cities in the past and for some reason I’ve never taken in the Clint Eastwood film. I think I knew I wanted to see it on stage for the first time. I’ve always had an affinity for this music. Maybe it was listening to the oldies station on the car radio with my Dad growing up. Maybe it’s just my kind of music. So for a Jukebox Musical this show was primed to be a favorite. It did not disappoint. Jersey Boys is filled with classic songs, what a period in music to draw from and what a string of great songs The Four Seasons had.

The show was written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice with music by Bob Gaudio and Lyrics by Bob Crewe, featuring the songs of The Four Seasons and others from the period. It tells the story of the formation of the band, their success, and breakup. The story is told from the points of view of the four men who made up the band. Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi, and of course Frankie Valli. What’s interesting, and was unexpected, was that the show is divided into four season, beginning with Spring and ending with Winter, each of the season is told from the Point of View of a different one of the guys. While the story always moves forward, they do reference back to bits that happened before and try and set the record straight from their perspective. It’s an interesting story and there were a lot of details I didn’t know anything about. The script does an excellent job of pushing the story along without feeling rushed, never getting bogged down in one section but also you never feel anything was skipped over. Punctuating the story with humor in just the right amount. It’s fun, informative, and filled to overflowing with great songs.

The show is supported by great musicians and supporting performers. A show is only as good as its weakest link. Luckily, this show doesn’t have one that I could identify. Of the leads the stand out is Jon Hacker as Frankie Valli. Does he sound just like Valli? Not quite, but not many people can; however, he comes pretty damn close, which in and of itself is something of a miracle. Hacker along with Eric Chambliss as Bob Gaudio, Matt Faucher as Nick Massi, Devon Goffman as Tommy DeVito are all great on their own, but when they harmonize it’s like a little bit of magic. The four leads do such a great job of recreating the sound of The Four Seasons. I felt if I closed my eyes I would be back in the car and I could hear my Dad next to me, singing along. Oh what a night, and it ended much too soon.

Jersey Boys has played Minneapolis many times already but if you haven’t ever pulled the trigger I encourage you to finally do so. If you’ve seen it before, chances are you already have your tickets to see it again. The show only plays through this Saturday February 5th. To purchase tickets and for more information go to https://hennepintheatretrust.org/events/jersey-boys-broadway-tickets-minneapolis-mn-2022/.