Ball: A Musical Tribute to My Lost Testicle Will Only Be Bouncing Around Artistry’s Black Box Theater Thru 9/20

Ball: A Musical Tribute to My Lost Testicle celebrates its 10th anniversary with a short run at Artistry in Bloomington. Max Wojtanowicz, who wrote and performs the show, began performing it in 2016. The show is about Max’s battle with testicular cancer. Wojtanowicz is a favorite of, well, probably everyone who has ever seen him perform or worked with him. He’s a walking encyclopedia of musical theater, a gifted actor and vocalist, and if anyone could make a show about testicular cancer shine, it’s him. But it does more than shine. It encourages the audience to internalize it and, in a way, allows it to become a cathartic outlet for their own story.

The show deals with the specifics, which allow it to become universal. One detail here and another detail there will ring true to different audience members. By the end of the show, we have all found something to relate to.

Originally a show at the 2016 Minnesota Fringe Festival, Wojtanowicz gives us a few winks and a couple of saucy signals, but keeps it at a PG-13 level. Which is good, because it means you don’t need to feel any hesitation about bringing your teenage sons to the show. Because the point is to help others either discover they need treatment or show them how you can get through it, you just have to make a start.

And Wojtanowicz knows exactly how to make that message land. He’ll make you laugh, think, feel, then laugh again. It’s ultimately a genuinely uplifting experience, but not in the sweet and sugary way. It gets there through humor and honesty. And song, one of it’s biggest selling points is surely not just the chance to listen to Max sing, but to sing about his testicles.

This is a very special show with a very short run. Only five performances remain, so don’t miss this remount of Ball: A Musical Tribute to My Lost Testicle. It’s a show about cancer, loss, survival, and finding your way forward, and somehow, it’s also a hell of a good time.

Ball: A Musical Tribute to My Lost Testicle runs through September 20th at Artistry in Bloomington. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to https://artistrymn.org/ball

I want to alert you faithful readers to a new Website that has just started up in the Twin Cities. It’s called 79 Seconds on Stage and it is a free and full guide to local theatre in the Twin Cities.

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