Ruddigore or The Witch’s Curse from The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company.

Poster design by Tom McGregor and Mary Olson

There’s nothing I love more than sitting in a theater as the lights dim and the the credits begin to roll, particularly when it’s a classic film from the 1940’s. After the RKO Logo and the cast and technicians are listed, you get that little text on the screen that sets the scene and then … the curtain goes up. Oh right, I’m not in a movie theater, I’m at the Howard Conn Fine Arts Center for The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company’s (GSVLOC) production of Ruddigore or The Witch’s Curse. I am a novice when it comes to Opera in general and with Gilbert & Sullivan, when you get down to the specific. I have seen the film version of The Pirates of Penzance along with the Mike Leigh film about G&S, Topsy-Turvy. I find myself somewhat at a loss to know what in Ruddigore is G&S and what was written by the company. Does G&S Operas have dialogue? According to Google they do. The fact that I cannot be sure of what dialogue was G&S and what was Director Joe Andrews additions, speaks to how successfully they have blended the original with their additions which draw on classic films from the golden age of cinema. Beginning with a pre-show original song in the style of G&S by three theater ushers about cell phones which was written by Holly Windle and Joe Andrews. Ruddigore is a show for classic film lovers like me as well as silly Opera fans. If you don’t laugh out loud several times or sit with a goofy grin on your face, you may want to check your pulse, I suspect you may be deceased.

Like all Opera’s it’s recommended that one arrive early and read through the plot synopsis, it’s less critical in this case because it’s really quite easy to understand the vocalizations in a G&S production. But the plots are also comically convoluted, so, yeah read the synopsis. In a nutshell, we are introduced to a village where they have a group of professional Bridesmaids who have been out of work for too long because the girl everyone wants to marry, Rose Maybud, hasn’t taken a husband yet. She’s in love with Robin Oakapple, and he with her. But, Rose cannot tell Robin because she lives by the rules set down in the little book of etiquette. Robin cannot tell Rose because he’s painfully shy and is living under an assumed name. He’s really Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, and should be the Baronet of Ruddigore. But, he faked his death and ran away because whoever is the Baronet of Ruddigore is compelled by a witches curse to commit a crime everyday or face an agonizing death. Believing Ruthven to be dead, the Baronet title has fallen to his younger brother Despard. Robin enlists the help of his friend Dick Dauntless, they call him Dick because it’s short for Richard and he’s earned it. Dick agrees to tell Rose how Robin feels about her but once he meets her, he decides to woo her for himself. That’s about the first ten minutes. Seriously, arrive a little early and read the synopsis.

The production is mounted with, by my count, 35 performers and a full orchestra. It really is something to see and hear. I usually like to highlight one or two of the leads and comment on any of the smaller roles that either really worked or didn’t. With a cast like this, it’s difficult to single anyone out as they are all top notch. Seth Tychon Steidl as Robin and Paul Willis Jr. as Dick capture the leading man personas of the classic films they are emulating. Steidl dialing in on the melodramatic influences and Willis hammy it up as the broadly smiling matinee cheeseball. Sarah Wind Richens as Rose nimbly plays up the screwball aspects while coming across as probably the most sensible one in the room. All of them have a blast with the songs and the knowing little winks to the everything from The Wizard of Oz and Singing in the Rain to the gangster pics of Edward G. Robinson. A quick little tip of the hat to Deb Haas who’s Dame Hannah, Rose’s Aunt was a standout in a supporting role.

Joe Andrews who directed the production and is also credited with the concept and additional dialogue has really put together a hell of a show. Andrews doesn’t miss a trick when it comes to the concept of staging it like a classic film. From the pre-show Ushers and projected opening credits to “Let’s all go to the Lobby” clip that plays at intermission. Pulling the perfect film quotes and staging different scenes in style of old movies as well. It was hard not to picture Anchors Aweigh when Dick and his fellow sailors do their opening dance. Music Director Randal A. Buikema and his orchestra do justice to Sullivan’s wonderful and lively score. There were comments by my fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers about a strobe effect and it’s mentioned in the program, but it never materialized at the performance I attended. Set design by Larry Rostad was perhaps the one aspect that could have been improved upon, more in the execution than in the design. It had something of a highschool quality to it in the almost caricaturesque painting of the stone walls and bookcases. Still, I’d rather have the budget go towards the full orchestra than painted flats any day of the week.

Ruddigore is really a wonderfully creative concept beautifully executed by GSVLOC. So much fun, this is an opera for the whole family. It’s only running for one more weekend 4/1 thru 4/3, for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://gsvloc.org/home-2/tickets/ticket-order-startoa/.

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Eugene Onegin Staged by Skylark Opera Theatre at The Museum of Russian Art

Eugene Onegin is an opera based on a novel by Alexander Pushkin, the Music is composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky with the Libretto by Konstantin Shilovsky and Tchaikovsky. The english version which is what Skylark is presenting is by David Lloyd-Jones. With all Opera’s, I highly recommend reading the detailed synopsis which are included in the programs. Even though this production is in english Operatic singing is very stylized of vocalization and making out every word isn’t always possible. For me, the increasing joy I’m finding as I familiarize myself more and more with Opera, is the emotions of the moment. Eugene Onegin takes awhile to get going but once it kicked in at the beginning of Act Two, I found myself fully engaged. By scene 2 of the second act I was nearly in tears. Skylark’s production is presented in a unique environment, The Museum of Russian Art. The accompaniment is a piano and the set is basically a few tables and chairs. This is grand opera paired down to a simple accessible presentation. Well acted, beautifully sung and easy to follow, this is an Opera that doesn’t feel intimidating.

The story involves a wealthy country household consisting of Madame Larina, her two daughters Olga and Tatyana, and their nanny Filippyevna. Enter Olga’s suitor Lenski and his conceited friend Onegin. Lenski is genuinely in love with Olga and the feeling is returned. Onegin is boorish and dismissive of everything that country life has to offer. For some reason Tatyana falls in love with Onegin and the next day sends him a letter confessing her love. He comes few days later to reply to the letter, telling her she is immature and should not fall in love so easily. He dismisses her feelings and does not return them, Tatyana feels utterly humiliated. Later, all of these people meet again at a party given by Madame Larina. Onegin is annoyed at Lenski for bringing him as he is bored. To get revenge on Lenski he decides to flirt with Olga and monopolizes her time to Lenski’s dismay. Onegin plays his hand a little to well and after harsh words between Lenski and Olga he is challenged to a duel by Lenski. Onegin is a thoroughly dislikeable character and the audiences sympathies lie entirely with Lenski.

I’m not equipped to write about the quality of the signing, suffice to say that I thought they all sounded wonderful. Eric Smedsrud is very effective as the odious Onegin, you get a clear sense of his sense that he went too far goading Lenski, but it isn’t long before his arrogance gets the better of him again. Elena Stabile and Melanie Ashkar play Tatyana and Olga, both have beautiful voices and I was struck by how alike they looked, making them very believable as sisters. The heart of the opera for me was from the always brilliant Benjamin Dutcher. His portrayal of Lenski is the high point of the entire production. His emotions are true at every point, his unabashed love for Olga, his jealousy, and his pain at the loss of Olga and his impending duel. Dutcher completely engages the emotions of the audience and we are heartbroken at his loss.

Director Gary Briggle has done an excellent job of staging the production in this unique environment, the transitions are simple but clear and fluid. Music Director Carson Rose Schneider is a fine pianist and does justice to Tchaikovsky’s beautiful music. I really liked the costumes by Costume Coordinator Melanie Wehrmacher, after some poorly costumes productions lately I’ve taken to noticing this aspect more and I think Wehrmacher has done really nice work here.

Eugene Onegin runs one more weekend April 1st thru 3rd at The Museum of Russian Art. Your ticket includes access to the galleries and gift shop of the Museum when the doors open, one hour before showtime. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://skylark.booktix.com/view/2/d102b9d2203123be/

Footloose Will Get Your Toes a Tappin’ at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre

“Let’s Hear It for the Boy”. Photo by Dan Norman Photography

Chanhassen Dinner Theatre seems to corner the market on nostalgic films from my youth. Their last production, The Music Man was a film I watched countless times as a kid. For Footloose it was the same. Footloose I saw in the theater first, then countless times on video. I can remember my Dad picking my sister and I up from Sunday School and taking us to the theater for the first showing of the day. I also played my cassette tape of the films soundtrack … a lot! We’ve seen a lot of these film to musical shows lately, An Officer and a Gentleman, Waitress, and Pretty Woman. For me, Footloose falls squarely with Waitress as a successful transformation into a stage musical from the film. If you’re a kid of the 70’s and 80’s as I am, this is your jam. Footloose was adapted for the stage by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie, from the screenplay by Pitchford. Pitchford wrote the lyrics for the new songs and was also co-writer on the songs from the soundtrack of the film. There’s a certain integrity to that and I think it shows how easily the show transfers to the stage. The changes, which are minimal, work because they came from the same mind.

For those of you unfamiliar, this is the story of a teenage fish out of water, Ren McCormack, who has moved from Chicago to the small town of Bomont with his newly single mother. They have nowhere else to go since his father left so they are staying with his Aunt and Uncle. Ren finds himself at odds with nearly everyone in town without even trying. The biggest small town blow is when he learns that the city has an honest to goodness law against dancing. The author of that law and the spiritual guardian of the town is Rev. Shaw Moore. His daughter, Ariel Moore, is of course a bit of a wild child and Ren’s love interest. Since nothing is simple in high school, Ariel has to have an abusive boyfriend as well. Before the end, Ren will have to make some friends, steal the girl, connect with her father, and make dancing safe again.

Chanhassen always picks fun shows that people will want to see again and again. This is actually their second time producing Footloose, it ran in 2010 previously. You’re not going to get cutting edge or experimental theatre at Chanhassen, but you’re guaranteed to have a great dinner and a fun musical, making for a great night out. They pick the sure-fire shows from musical theaters long history, they do this because they run them for a long time. The Music Man closed this last January 2022 and opened in 2020 for God’s sake. How do you know they are good? I’ve never been there when the theatre wasn’t completely sold out, or close to it. This is as close as you get to a sure thing in theater. Chanhassen has some of the best talent in the Twin Cities, always top notch musicians, actors, dancers, singers, and costume designers. Footloose is no exception, it’s a crowd pleaser, the way only Chanhassen can do it.

On to the specifics. As always the cast is great here, they really do seem to attract some of the best talent. Not everyone is perfectly cast, but they still make it fun. Alan Bach is only slightly miscast as Ren. He can sing and is a very athletic dancer, but just a little too suburban rather than urban for the Chicago badboy. Ariel, normally played by Maya Richardson, was played the night I saw it by her understudy Laura Rudolph, who slid into the role nicely. The Music Man himself Michael Gruber plays Rev. Moore. Gruber finds a way to make the Rev. the antagonist of the piece without being a villian. He finds a way to make us all understand that he really believes in what he is doing and also make us believe his change of heart. There were four highlights for me from the supporting cast. Shinah Hey who plays Ariel’s friend Rusty. Hey grabs your attention from the opening song “Footloose” where her confidence and musical chops draw everyone’s attention. She shines again singing with the other teenage girls, the Jim Steinman classic “Holding Out for a Hero”. And she stops the show with her performance of “Let’s Hear It for the Boy”. Those three songs are the highlights of the entire show and they rock because of Shinah Hey’s vocals and performance. Hey is a star to watch. Lynnea Doublette as Ariel’s mother Vi is the heart of the show to Gruber’s conscience. She brings a sense of real world understanding unexpectedly to a raucous footstompin’ show. Kersten Rodau has a small little part as Betty Blast, a roller skate wearing drive up diner waitress, and does what every great character actor does. Comes on for five or ten minutes half way through Act I, and it’s the moment your commenting on during the drive home. Lastly, it was nice to see Matthew Hall as Willard, it’s a role that has probably been treated the least kindly by Pitchford in his transformation from screen to stage. The character is dumbed down to a level that makes him something of a caricature. It’s not Hall’s performance, he plays it the only way you can in order to make his characters big song “Mama says” work as well as it does. More on that shortly, but I wanted to acknowledge that Hall was in Minneapolis Musical Theater’s Be More Chill, which was one of the shows I saw in the spring of 2019 that led me to begin reviewing theater.

So the music, a lot of your favorites from the movie soundtrack are here and they are the highlights. They work them into the show nicely and even though we are used to the rock versions, the musical theatre arrangements work really well, mainly because they still rock. The new songs just don’t have a lot to add to the mix. They are not bad per se, so much as mostly forgettable. One exception is Willards number “Mama Says”, the song works way better than it has any right to. Willards character was relegated to a caricature solely, I believe, to make this song viable. It’s basically a copy of three or four other musical theater songs. My wife actually asked me what musical that song was from originally, I told her it wasn’t it just sounds like a couple of others. I’m still not sure she believes me, I found her googeling “Mama Says”. It’s a fun comedic song that feels like it wandered in from another stage, and yet, this too we were talking about on the drive home. There are plenty of great musical moments aside from the songs mentioned; you also have from the movie soundtrack “Almost Paradise”, “Somebody’s Eyes” which work really well within the story, and a couple of others as well. Music Director Andrew Kust and his band are tight. Director Michael Brindisi does what he does best, direct Chanhassen Dinner theatre shows. Know one knows this space, what works and what won’t like Brindisi. Chanhassen Dinner Theatre puts on popular entertainments that have broad appeal and Brindisi has mastered this style of production. I hope he takes that as the compliment it’s meant as, because I think that’s a very important skill to have in this world. We need a place like Chanhassen that will always come through, always give us that boost we need from a joyful song, a big laugh, and a well-timed kiss.

Footloose plays through September 24th, but don’t let that make you complacent, I looked ahead and there are a lot of sold out shows. Chanhassen is a great way to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, get together for an evening out with friends, or to take the daughter and that shifty transplant from Chicago who seems to have ants in his pants that she’s started hanging around with to. You get a great meal and a fun show, for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://chanhassendt.com/footloose/

Death of a Salesman Presented By The Lakeshore Players Theatre in White Bear Lake

Death of a Salesman is a great play. Unfortunately this is not a great production. If you’ve always wanted to see Arthur Miller’s classic play performed and you are in the area, by all means check it out. There are some really good aspects of the production. And when it comes down to it, it’s such a great play that you will be rewarded. It’s always hard to review a community theater production. There are times when they rise to the level of a professional theater, and when they don’t it’s understandable, because they are not. Bottom line is that whether it’s a professional or a community theater it has to be worth your time. Most productions have things that work and things that do not, as is the case here. This is not at the level of a professional staging, but you are also not paying $50 to $100 for your tickets either. Your decision to take this in needs to be based on your desire to see the play performed.

Miller’s play, written in 1949, won both the Pulitzer Prize for drama and the Tony Award for best play. It tells the story of Willy Loman, a 63 year old salesman who lives in New York but his territory is New England. He is also beginning to show the signs of dementia. He has returned home having failed to make it to Maine, because he nearly drove off the road. He is tired, he is confused, and his mind keeps wandering to the past. His wife Linda is worried about him, his two sons Biff and Happy are home. Biff, 34, is a lost man. He has come home after tramping around working various jobs, most recently as a farmhand. Happy works in the city and is just staying over. We follow the family over the course of two days. Willy and Biff can hardly talk for two minutes before it erupts into either an argument or egotistical delusion. There are a lot of different themes at play here and I think the further we get from the time period of the plays setting, the late 1940’s, the more the play has to say about the changing world. But there is also a theme ripe to be exploited about the idea of saying what you want to be true, whether it is or not, and getting to the point where you and others just believe it because you said it was so. The text is so full of themes and ideas and subtext. It looks at how we say one thing and do another, it explores the role of ego, family dynamics, life, death, aging, the value of work.

Bruce Abas plays Willy and he’s the most solid in the cast. Abas anchors the play while giving a convincing embodiment of someone who has become unmoored in the sea of his memories. Also doing solid work is Corey Boe as Biff, he has some powerful moments and when he gets to those he sucks us in. It struggles though with the flashback scenes as a gee whiz high schooler, all the men who have to play their characters as adults and teenagers struggle with the younger version. Not as good is Kari Steinbach, who didn’t feel rehearsed enough. I recently saw her in Marjorie Prime so I know she is capable of a better performance. She stumbled over lines a few times but so do several of the performers.

Which leads me to what I think were the areas that didn’t work. The shortcomings of the production are primarily backstage. It felt like Director Brian P. Joyce needed another week of rehearsal and a clearer vision of what he wanted to do. Many scenes seem poorly staged, the transitions in Willy’s mind between the present and the past were weakly handled. The lighting design by Shannon Elliot should have assisted in that, but instead it’s hampering other scenes. There is a scene where Happy stands on a bed to deliver a line. During that line most of his head and face are unlit. It’s like he literally got too high on the set and there were no lights that could be pointed at him. We also have moments when characters at the front of the stage are not lit enough. Costume Designer Bronson Talcott has the characters in costumes that are ill fitting and damaged. Biff’s Letterman jacket is seperated at the waist, Willy’s suit is poorly patched. I did like Set design by Michaela Lochen, though I was unaware of Happy’s presence in his first scenes, because from my seats I couldn’t see he was up there, so the set may have been too forward and tall for the first few rows. Overall it just seemed rushed, characters missed queues, missed lines, a character answered a phone that kept ringing after it was picked up.

This isn’t a bad production, it just isn’t that good, faint praise I know, but it’s my way of saying if you want to see this show performed you will get something out of it. Death of a Salesman runs through April 3rd for more information or to purchase tickets go to https://www.lakeshoreplayers.org/death-of-a-salesman.

Orlando Transcends Gender in Theatre Pro Rata’s Delightful Production

Theatre Pro Rata’s Production of Orlando is an adaptation by Sarah Ruhl of Virginia Woolf’s novel Orlando: A Biography. It’s an irreverent play filled with humor in a production that blossoms with creative touches. The play touches on and comments on issues of gender equality and gender identity without ever being preachy. It’s entertainment above all, but it also achieves more. The character of Orlando is a positive representation of a transgender character. While not grounded in the reality that a transgender person deals with in terms of their transition, it is nevertheless a positive representation. Representation is an important thing in art. In terms of transgender representation it can be hard to find positive examples. For me, as the parent of a young trans man, it was nice to see a character who is essentially transgender but isn’t the victim in a crime show and for whom the focus isn’t on the problems and discrimination they are subjected to. The politics which are touched upon are more of gender than of transgender in nature. The transition in gender is dealt with in terms of the differences in rights and social customs of male vs. female, but the actual transition is accepted. That seems small, but for a transgender or gender fluid person, that being a non-issue, can be kind of a big deal and empowering.

Orlando is a young man who wishes to be a poet. He catches the eye of Queen Elizabeth who brings him to court and grants him an estate and title. We follow Orlando through various love affairs, one to a Russian princess is given more importance than the others. After that affair ends, he is pursued tirelessly by Archduchess, in order to avoid her overtures Orlando goes to Constantinople. In Constantinople one day he awakens to find he has transformed into a woman. He returns to England and continues his affairs but now as a woman, including a marriage to a sea captain named Marmaduke. Orlando’s life spans centuries from the time of Queen Elizabeth the first up into the 20th century.

Orlando is portrayed by Courtney Stirn, they handle the duel gender role with ease. It’s a tricky role as the entire play is almost told as a narration, with Stirn’s Orlando even referring to themself in the third person. At times there is straightforward interactions and dialogue between the characters, but there is always a sense that we are being told the story in the past tense as opposed to as it is happening. Stirn and indeed the entire cast move in and out of these stylized scenes effortlessly. It’s Stirn’s show all the way and they nail it, with all the right emphasis whether it be the humor in a scene or a moment of mystical revelation. The entire cast is just fantastic, there is a very unique tone to the piece and each of the cast members is on pitch. Standouts are the always impressive Nissa Nordland Morgan who plays, among other chorus roles, Queen Elizabeth. Nordland Morgan is a master of character work and she has multiple memorable turns here always finding a way to add some extra twinkle through her physicality. Michael Quadrozzi as Marmaduke gives a memorable performance as well as the male love of Orlando’s life. The courtship of Orlando and Marmaduke is a sweet moment that lets both Quadrozzi and Stirn play a few sweeter more grounded notes and they play off each other very well.

The show is directed by the Artistic Director of Theatre Pro Rata Carin Bratlie Wethern. She fills the production with nice little touches that capitalize on limitations that turn into creative flourishes. The miniature trees that cast members pass along to signify the characters in the foreground speeding along the frozen Thames river on skates. The Birds on strings used several times to great effect. She has her actors weaving in and out of narration and into scenes smoothly. The stepping from outside the narrative into the story could be difficult to follow but Braitlie Wethern’s direction keeps us, the audience, always in the loop. The scenic Design by MJ Leffler and the Lighting Design by Emmet Kowler, are simple but effective, with this type of narrative keeping the background simple, helps to focus the audience on what the performers are doing so they don’t get lost. I also find with more minimalist set design the audience has an easier time filling in the location with their own mind.

Orlando runs through March 27th at the Crane Theater in Northeast Minneapolis for more information and the purchase tickets go to https://www.theatreprorata.org/.

A special note Theatre Pro Rata always has a special donation box. In addition to ticket sales, donations greatly assist them to continue to develop and produce theatre work like Orlando. For this show the donations will be gathered throughout the whole run and money raised will be donated to the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE). I urge you to see the show and when you you do please donate generously to this important cause.

Orpheus rises to the Occasion in Hadestown at the Orpheum Theatre

I’m afraid I have forgotten most of the Mythology I learned in school, I didn’t remember the tales of Hades and Persephone or Orpheus and Eurydice. So if you were in the Orpheum Theatre Opening night of Hadestown and heard someone yell “NO!”, that was me. I didn’t know. I know better then to yell in a theater, but that’s how wrapped up I was in the story unfolding before me. Hadestown takes a couple of ancient mythological tales over 2,000 years ago and creates a wholly original piece of musical theatre. It’s easy to see why it took home eight Tony Awards in 2019 including Best New Musical. It’s one of those shows that feels like it’s doing something new and that’s always exciting. The songs are a mixture of blues and folk with hints industrial opera and musical theatre as channelled through the early 20th century. It sounds completely unique without sounding alien. The music, lyrics, and book are all by Anais Mitchell who has found a sound that perfectly matches the story and design of the production.

Hadestown is a story that is told by Hermes, a story he has told before and a story he will tell again. It starts with Orpheus, a poor boy, but he has a gift to give. A song that will make you see the world as it could be, rather than as it is. It’s about a girl, Eurydice who comes to town and has nothing but falls in love with the boy. It’s also about the God Hades and his wife Persephone who spends half her time in Hadestown and half in the upper world where she came from. Hades rules the underworld represented as an industrial factory where they build the wall. After Hades and Persephone have a fight, he heads to the above world and finds Eurydice, who is cold and hungry, and asks her to come to Hadestown where she will be warm and fed. Egged on by the Fates, she falls for it and gets a ticket on the road to hell. When Orpheus learns that Eurydice has gone to Hadestown, he goes there to find her to bring her home. But Hades is not in the habit of letting people go once they have signed a contract with him.

For Tuesdays performance The roles of Orpheus and Eurydice were performed by the understudies Chibueze Ihuoma and Sydney Parra. They were both great in the roles. Ihuoma had and impressive range in the role of Orpheus, the songs are set in a key one might associate with Frankie Valli, which he carries off brilliantly. Of note, as well are Levi Kreis as our narrator Hermes who has a lot of fun mugging to the audience and brings some impressive soulfulness to the vocals. Kimberly Marable and Kevyn Morrow as Persephone and Hades, get several big moments to shine, both are top notch vocalists. Marable gets to show of her physicality nicely in a couple of scenes and Morrow has great stage presence as the king of the underworld. Scenic Design by Rachel Nauck, Costume Design by Michael Krass and Lighting Design by Bradley King all play crucial roles. The production itself is really well done with all the departments clicking to create a unified whole.

Hadestown is a hell of a show, pun intended. It runs through March 20th at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis for more information and to purchase the few remaining tickets go to https://hennepintheatretrust.org/broadway/

Stone Baby Is So Hot It Almost Melts the Icehouse

Photo by Galen Higgins Graphic Design by Laurie Hawton

This is something different, not what you are used to reading about here. It’s not for everyone, but I think most people who like to rock or used to rock, are going to dig it. Stone Baby began life as a short story by Kiss the Tiger co-founder and rhythm guitarist Michael Anderson. Kiss the Tiger is a popular local rock band, if you haven’t heard of them, you’re probably my age. The good news is, if you’re my age your gonna love this show! Developed first into a 20 minute livestream piece for an online music festival. Trademark Theater, a company whose Mantra is Create. Develope. Produce, commissioned Kiss the Tiger to develop it into the theatre piece which held its world premiere last night in Minneapolis at Icehouse. Part spoken word narrative part rock concert. The story is told in the first person by lead singer Meghan Kreidler. She recounts her life from a rocky start at birth, pun intended, and her overprotective mothers upbringing to her discovery of rock and the transformation that ensues.

First off, Kreidler is fantastic as a rockstar and a spoken word performer. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as she is an accomplished actor in addition to fronting Kiss the Tiger. Clearly this is her destiny as she commands our attention the moment she takes the stage. I don’t know if the show is populated with the bands existing songs or if they were all new created for Stone Baby. I suspect they were written for the show. Once the narrative completes they generously play a few extra songs and those don’t seem to comment on the story or have quite the same feel, but by God, they rock. It’s a nice treat and a great way to end the evening on a high note. The band is tight, you can see why they are on the move. Along with Anderson and Kreidler, the band is made up of Bridger Fruth on lead guitar and vocals, Paul DeLong on bass, and Jay DeHut on drums. Honestly I didn’t know the band, I didn’t know their songs, I was going in stone cold and came out a red hot fan.

The show runs for the next three Wednesday’s and each show begins with a different opening act. Tonight it was fellow Fargo native Diane. I guess it was my night to find new music to follow because I’ll be seeking out Diane’s music too, you can follow her at https://www.dianeraps.com/ I’ll be trying to track down my favorite song they performed “Hold on to the Ones You Love” which for me had a real Buddy Holly vibe. The remaining three Wednesdays have the following line up.

3/16/22 with Mary Cutrufello
3/23/22 with The Controversial New Skinny Pill
3/30/22 with Tina Schlieske

For more information and to purchase tickets for one of the three upcoming shows go to https://www.trademarktheater.org/.