Day: February 3, 2024

Toil & Trouble a Millennial Retelling of the Scottish Play at Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo

Olivia Kemp, Jason Ballweber, and Alex Galick                  Photo by Alex Clark

I’m not an expert of shakespeare but I am a fan so I try to and engage with his work whenever I can. I’m not a purist either, I love a good retelling or modern take, everything from Branagh’s Love’s Labours Lost to Strange Brew has a place in my film collection. Toil & Trouble by acclaimed playwright Lauren Gunderson is a modern riff on Macbeth set during the 2008 recession featuring thee thirtysomething friends who, inspired by a fortune cookie, conspire to take over a small island country off the coast of Chile. You know, instead of getting real jobs. Adam and Matt sit around their apartment as Adam comes up with one hairbrained idea after another for inventions to make money, while Matt shoots them down. Their friend Beth is a junior Sportscaster for Action 6 News whom they both “like” like. The characters have morals on par with the characters on Seinfeld, Adam hatches the plan, Matt follows along thanks to a fortune cookie message that says “Matt will be King hereafter”, and Beth is ruthless ambition incarnate. What starts as a strong comedic play about slacker roommates and the friend they both want to get with takes some very strange turns as it attempts to tell it’s story while loosely following some aspects of Shakespeare’s Scottish play. What is recognizable at the start as our world peopled by characters we can recognize, if not relate too, by the end has become a complete fantasy with the characters frequently interspersing their dialogue with snippets from Shakespeare. It’s an odd approach that doesn’t entirely add up to much and the fault dear readers is not with the production but in the script. I loved everything about the production, the performances, the design, but the sum of its parts left me wishing these elements were in service of a better script.

Jason Ballweber who usually is to be found behind the scenes plays Matt in a performance that goes a long way to making this near miss still worth checking out. His Matt and Alex Galick’s Adam end up complete opposites by the end of the play from where they started. As it opens, Ballweber plays Matt as the realistic, intelligent, and more mature seeming of the two, has an air of authority over the flighty Adam who thinks anything that Rhymes is an innovation. By the end he’s a pug snorting follower who passes out at the sight of hot sauce whereas Adam has become confident and holds the upper hand. Both actors handle the transition well and make the reversal seem plausible. Olivia Kemp plays Beth as someone who knows what they want and how to get it, masterfully playing off the men’s desire for her to manipulate them into doing exactly what she wants. Well directed by Brandon Raghu who along with Lighting Designer Alex Clark stages a dramatic looking play to be sure. I also enjoyed the set design by Sarah Brandner which has a depth that is well utilized particularly in a scene when Adam comes home late at night and leaves the refrigerator door open after heading to bed in the pitch black apartment.

Ultimately, I enjoyed much of the production but found the script absurd and out there but in an unfulfilling or engaging way. Gunderson’s idea of filling the final scene with Shakespearean dialogue is less effective that the modern rewordings or nods used earlier in the play. She needed to go one way or the other. The plot is insane but not in a ‘this is wild’ way, but more I can’t find any sort of grounding for this story so that it lands with some sort of impact. It’s a rare for a script by Gunderson not to work completely but this just comes up short. That said, there’s enough good stuff on offer with the play to make it a fun excursion to the theatre. Having a decent knowledge of Macbeth will increase your appreciation of the piece, some humor really does work only if you know the play. Also, it feels like my fellow bloggers and I have been saying this a lot lately but if your play can be done in 100 minutes or less, you don’t need an intermission. Toil & Trouble runs through March 3rd at Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo, for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://yellowtreetheatre.com/toilandtrouble

Don’t want to miss a single review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have every post sent directly to your email. To subscribe on your computer: from the home page on the right, enter your email address and click subscribe. On your mobile device scroll to the bottom of the page and do the same. You can also follow me on Facebook, @thestagesofmn click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn. You can also read some of my reviews syndicated on the MN Playlist website https://minnesotaplaylist.com/

I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can read roundups of shows by my colleagues and I when you follow us on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. We also produce the podcast Twin Cities Theater Chat!! which you can access through this link or wherever you enjoy podcasts https://twincitiestheaterchat.buzzsprout.com/ . We post biweekly longer form episodes that will focus on interviews and discussions around theater topics. There is also shorter episodes in which we Bloggers tell you what we think you should get out and see as well as what we have on our schedules that we are most looking forward too.

Cabaret From Theatre 55 is Risque and Relevant at Mixed Blood in Minneapolis

This was my first time taking in one of Theatre 55’s productions. The unique theatre company that was formed as a way to give those over 55 a chance to continue to play the roles they were no longer being offered by most other companies. Past productions include Hair and most recently last years sold out run of Rent. I don’t know if it’s the companies mission to only produce shows with one word titles but this winters production continues that theme with Cabaret. Cabaret features a book by Joe Masteroff with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, and is based in part of the Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood which I recall listening too on audiobook when I was about the age of the characters in this musical. It’s interesting to revisit that world at about the age of the performers, perhaps a hair younger. Anyone familiar with the material will know this isn’t a show to take the kiddies to, even if Grandma and Grandpa are it in it. I think the recommended age is about 16, in terms of bladder strength it’s recommended for those with strong to heavy duty organs. The first act runs easily 90 minutes and with a late start and a word about the company before hand your looking at 100 minutes before the interval. The second act runs around 30 minutes which seems unbalanced but it’s hard to argue with the placement of the intermission, it’s the turning point in the play and lands powerfully.

The story follows Cliff played by Jeff Goodson, a novelist who has come to Berlin to write and give english lessons for extra cash. On the train he meets Ernst played by Jeff Bieganek, who is smuggling something across the border. Ernst helps him find a room in Frau Schneider’s boarding house and introduces him to the Kit Kat Klub where Cliff runs into an old lover named Bobby and meets Sally Bowles who performs there. Sally played by Prudence Johnson loses her job at the club and more or less forces herself on Cliff becoming his roommate despite his protestations. Frau Schneider is bought off by the increase in rent and perhaps because she has a soft spot for what she assumes are young lovers. She is carrying on a flirtation with Mr. Schultz another one of her tenants who woos her with fresh fruit from his shop. This is Berlin in the late 1930’s and it is revealed early on in conversation that Schultz is Jewish, and from there you can get a sense of where the story is inevitably heading, but for the most part until the final scene Act I is a Cabaret of old chums.

The clubs Emcee is played by Rik Kutcher who, like most performers before him in the role, steals the show every time he’s on stage. Let us not forget that Joel Grey won the Tony for the original Broadway production and Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the role in the 1972 film directed by Bob Fosse. Alan Cumming also won a Tony for the role in the 1998 revival. It’s a juicy highly eroticized role that is a hell of a lot of fun and Kutcher slays. He sings and performs wickedly good throughout the production but raised it vocally to another level with his rendition of “I Don’t Care Much”. It feels like there should be something extra shocking about the roles of the Kit Kat Klub performers both male and female who, it is more than implied, are also sex workers. But it isn’t and I think that’s the point of Theatre 55 to show us that age doesn’t matter. These are actors playing roles and the older you get the more the idea that good times and indeed sex itself are the exclusive purview of the young becomes more and more silly. Johnson as Sally is most at home with the singing aspects of the role, which is how she primarily spends her time in front of audiences. You can tell that acting isn’t where her primary training is, she does well in the role but the imbalance toward the vocal is noticeable, chiefly because she has such a fantastic voice. Goodson is also very good as Cliff, the role doesn’t require much in the way of singing from him but when he does get a few bars, it’s clear he would do just fine had the role called for more. The other favorite among the cast was Brenda Starr, not the 1940’s comic strip heroine, a current actor who plays the role of Frau Schneider. She isn’t the best performer on the stage, but there is a truth and authenticity to her that stands out, don’t be surprised if you come away with a warm feeling about her performance that you can’t explain but stays with you.

Richard Hitchler the founder of Theatre 55 produces and directs the show. Hitchler blocks the show using all areas available to him, even some of the audience become part of the act as their tables and chairs double as customer seating in the Kit Kat Klub. The space is limited but Hitchler definitely makes the most of it, it’s a well directed show with the exception of the curtain call, which contains a good message that is lost a little bit in what feels like an under rehearsed presentation, but I think that will improve greatly over the run of the show. With the band center stage throughout the show we get a chance to watch Musical Director Shirley Mier and her band at work. It’s wonderful how they are costumes as well, so they are essentially part of the cast as the Kit Kat Klub band. Costume Designer Alicia Vegell must have had a blast putting the look of this show together, it’s risque and cheeky and just plan old naughty fun. But aside from the fun there is a message that seems very relevant today, as Cliff says if you are not against it you are for it. I’m not sure that I saw any added layer that emerged from the story or themes of the musical by the casting of actors over 55 but I did learn that age is just a number, an actor is an actor and that in theater, we should be looking at the performance not counting wrinkles and gray hairs.

Cabaret runs through February 10th at Mixed Blood in Minneapolis for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://theatre55.org/cabaret-winter-2024/

Don’t want to miss a single review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have every post sent directly to your email. To subscribe on your computer: from the home page on the right, enter your email address and click subscribe. On your mobile device scroll to the bottom of the page and do the same. You can also follow me on Facebook, @thestagesofmn click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn. You can also read some of my reviews syndicated on the MN Playlist website https://minnesotaplaylist.com/

I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can read roundups of shows by my colleagues and I when you follow us on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. We also produce the podcast Twin Cities Theater Chat!! which you can access through this link or wherever you enjoy podcasts https://twincitiestheaterchat.buzzsprout.com/ . We post biweekly longer form episodes that will focus on interviews and discussions around theater topics. There is also shorter episodes in which we Bloggers tell you what we think you should get out and see as well as what we have on our schedules that we are most looking forward too.