Day: August 11, 2025

Singing in the Rain Will Tap its Way Into Your Heart at Artistry in Bloomington

The cast of Singing in the Rain Photo by Alyssa Kristine Photography

During the rush, chaos, and exhaustive exhilaration that is The Minnesota Fringe Festival I found time thanks to a weekday matinee to take in Singing in the Rain at Artistry in Bloomington. A longtime favorite film musical of mine, due to its subject matter revolving as it does around the transition from silent to sound movies. I had never seen a production of this early 1980’s stage version, which closely adheres to the plot of the 1952 film. There had been other opportunities but in a world where we have to choose three or four out of ten possible shows to see some weeks, I think I always opted out of this one, afraid it couldn’t live up to my fondness for the film. If you are a fan of the film you can throw those fears aside, this productions is delightful. The story for those unfamiliar with the film follows the career of Silent film star Don Lockwood who rose up through the entertainment ranks with his best friend Cosmo Brown. Now a big star alongside the,”dumb or something” Lina Lamont, Don has to navigate the changing world of cinema as the “Talkies” become all the rage. Meanwhile, Don has fallen in love with Kathy Selden, an up and coming actress, which puts Kathy in the crosshair of Lina who believing her own publicity mistakenly thinks she and Don are madly in love with each other.

The reason to see this show is the magnificent choreography by Danny McHugh who plays Don Lockwood in the show and the shows Director Kelli Foster Warder. This has some great toe tapping and heal tapping, and well…it has great tapping! A strong ensemble of precision dancers create impressive show stopping dance numbers that will wow even the most casual of dance appreciators. McHugh is great as Don Lockwood which is saying something as he’s filling Gene Kelly’s shoes. Also doing a great job is Armando Harlow Ronconi, who plays Cosmo Brown filling the shoes of Donald O’Connor. Brown’s best song in the film is “Make ‘Em Laugh” and they do a good job of translating it to the stage here. It isn’t quite as slapstick and manic, but honestly I don’t know how you could safely do that on stage night after night, they find a nice compromise. Brittany Mendoza-Peña makes a great Kathy, with a sweet voice and the stage presence to stand up to Don in the early sparring scenes of their relationship. Serena Brook is also very strong as Lina Lamont, a character who’s successful portrayal is judged on how much you can barely tolerate her speaking without actually reaching that nails on chalkboard sensation. Brook perfectly finds that line and stays just this side of it, it’s a gloriously comic performance.

There were some technical elements that I was really impressed with as well. Sarah Bahr’s scenic and costume designs were fantastic, with the costumes featuring some great period style suits and gowns. The set design features a movie screen in certain scenes that is used really creatively in multiple ways. In one scene the actors perform behind it with film grain projected on the surface to give the appearance of an old film. While in other scenes actual video footage is projected onto the screen and it’s here that there’s a special cameo for local Theater fans. As is always the case at Artistry, the music is perfectly done under the steady hand of Music Director Sanford Moore. Singing in the Rain has been extended through August 31st at Artistry in Bloomington. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://artistrymn.org/rain

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Minnesota Fringe Day 11 (Final Day): Rat Mass, The Jaws That Bite, The Claws That Catch! The Wickie(The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award winner).

We Did it!!! At least those of us who attended the Minnesota Fringe Festival this year did. I Saw 48 shows over 10 days, only missing one day entirely for a Wednesday evening Minnesota United game. On the final day of Fringe I also attended a Minnesota United game, but was able to fit in two shows before the game and then get back for a show in the final slot on Sunday and to attend the closing night party and awards ceremony. August 20th will be our official 2025 Minnesota Fringe Wrap Up episode rather than as originally announced “What the Hell’s a Theater Blogger”, which we’ll save for a future episode. Speaking of Theater Bloggers and awards, I want to give a shout out to my friend and fellow Twin Cities Theater Blogger in good standing Kendra Plant who writes Artfully Engaging which you can read and subscribe to here https://www.kendraplant.com/blog-artfully-engaging. Kendra was a first time producer at this years Minnesota Fringe festival with her show The Kendra Plant Variety Hour: Good Things Edition! -with special guests-, which won a Golden Lanyard Award!!! We’ll have a rundown of all of the award winners on that next episode of The Stages of MN YouTube Show and Podcast. Here are my reviews for the three shows I saw on the final day!

Rat Mass, would probably have gotten my vote for The Spirit of the Fringe Award had I seen it before the last day. This show is full of the type of audience participation I can really get behind. There is never any pressure or coaxing, if you wanted to participate you could, if not you were never threatened with shunning or excommunication. Rat Mass takes the form of a service of the Church of Ratology. Which worships the rat as the ideal form of life. During the sermon communion will be given, three offerings will be taken, with the winner of the best offering being crowned. At the service I attended the winner put in an epipen. There are also hymes led by the rat chorus and you could choose to be baptized into the church at the end by having your face dipped into a bowl of Apple Cider Vinegar. I was not baptized, but I did drink the Apple Cider vinegar that was offered as communion, the taste of which took about 2 hours to fully leave my mouth. The Ministers of the Church of Ratology Joseph Bryant and Perry Letourneau are very charismatic and game for just about anything. https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/rat-mass

The Jaws That Bite, the Claws That Catch! is a play by Edwin Strout which begins with a character played by Strout expressing his adoration of the poem “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll. It then quickly devolves into fragmented conversations with his best friend played by David Denninger and an ex girlfriend played by Anna Olson. We take these conversations, at first, as ones that are taking place in chronological order. But soon, we begin to realize they are memories or perhaps even just delusions occurring within Strout’s mind. The poem, perhaps the most famous nonsense poem in the english language, though originally written and published over a decade earlier appeared in Carroll’s sequel to Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass. The nonsensical nature of the poem fits in well with the mirror world into which Alice ventures in the book. But when Strout tries to apply real world meaning and understanding to the work, we feel that it has perhaps shattered his mind. Strouts performance is convincing and one of the strongest of the festival. https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/the-jaws-that-bite-the-claws-that-catch-

The Wickie is a solo clowning show by Richie Whitehead. What’s a Wickie you ask? A Wickie is a person who looks after a lighthouse and keeps the light (it’s wick) lit. It opens with the Wickie confronting the Ocean (pronounced Oh Shawn) for stealing his left shoe. We do get some audience participation, but again it’s very consensual. This was a fantastic way to end the festival and I’m glad I decided to rush back after my game and catch one more show. The Wickie is a great show for the whole family, full of laughs, with clever and deceptively simple gags. It’s the type of show where you think “that’s such a simple thing, but it’s so funny”. Its good natured silliness, and Whitehead’s precise physical humor made this the final The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award winner. https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/the-wickie

That’s it for day Eleven and in fact the Minnesota Fringe Festival itself. You can click on the Fringe website here to get details on all of the shows https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025. Don’t forget to tune into The Stages of MN YouTube channel or podcast on or around 8/20 for The MN Fringe Festival wrap up episode https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN

Subscribe to the channel so you’ll always know when a new episode has dropped. Think I may have steered you wrong on a show? Well, I’m also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can read review roundups of shows by m’colleagues and I when you follow us on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers.

Don’t depend on a Facebook or Instagram algorithms to ensure you hear about a great show. You can subscribe and have every post from The Stages of MN sent directly to your email box. It’s the best way to ensure you don’t miss out on any of the theater action. To subscribe on your computer: from the home page on the right, enter your email address and click subs