Author: Rob Dunkelberger

Romeo & Juliet and The Comedy of Errors Make For Another Fantastic Trip to The Great River Shakespeare Festival

Alessandro Yokoyama and Serena Phillip, Will Sturdivant and Emily Fury Daly (Photos by Dan Norman)

It’s time once again for the Great River Shakespeare Festival (GRSF) in Winona, MN. This year there are two productions which I was able to see in one day, Romeo & Juliet and The Comedy of Errors. There is a third production of Two Gentlemen of Verona that will have four performances around the Region. It is being staged by the graduate acting company of the Clarence Brown Theatre and the University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK) who will be in residence at the GRSF this summer. This cohort of young professional actors will understudy roles in The Comedy of Errors and Romeo and Juliet while studying with the company and professors from UTK. They will also be presenting the Festivals Green Shows which take place about 45 minutes before each performance of Romeo & Juliet and The Comedy of Errors. These green shows act as a way for the audience to tune into Shakespeare’s language before the shows and also give the audience a quick rundown of the characters and their relationships and roles in the plays. It’s a great way to make sure the you’re prepared to get the most out of each production and I never miss them.

Romeo & Juliet is the real surprise this season, Director H. Adam Harris has taken an approach I’ve never seen before in staging the play as a memory play from the POV of Juliet’s Nurse. It really works, it doesn’t dramatically alter the play but it does add another undercurrent of loss. That may not sound like what you want in a tragedy but whenever we find new things to play in Shakespeare, it’s exciting. The concept is aided by some well designed lighting cues by Avery Reagan. They aren’t overused but periodically the lighting changes and the action freezes around the nurse. In this way the focus shifts to her and we see the story from her perspective, it colors the story in a slightly different way. The nurse is played by Stephanie Lambourn who brings out this new dimension in the character that feels fresh and original, while still feeling faithful. As the young lovers Alessandro Yokoyama as Romeo and Serena Phillip as Juliet are really terrific, with a great command of the language and an ability to make the immature decisions of the characters not feel juvenile, by bringing to the forefront the emotions they are battling. It’s one of the best productions of one of the most produced plays of Shakespeare’s that I’ve seen.

The Comedy of Errors is one of Shakespeares silliest comedies, and that is absolutely what Director Doug Scholz-Carlson leans into with this production. Audience members might not be as familiar with this play and that’s OK. This is simply meant as an entertainment and for a play written over 400 years ago it’s astonishing how funny it feels. Of course a lot of making a play like this work is in what the Actors and Director bring to the play. The plot is rather confusing while also being sort of simple. There are two sets of twins, one the master and the other the servants, who were separated when they were young during a shipwreck. As adults, they end up in the same city and a series of mistaken identities occurs. That’s basically all you need to know. The tricky part is keeping everyone straight throughout the play and who has mistaken whom for who… OK now I’m confused again. Really, the plot doesn’t matter and you wont have any real trouble following it. The joy of this production is the way the actors play the roles, the clowning they do and the ingenious ways in which they present a play with about 20 characters using only 9 actors. The best part of the show is the ways in which Will Sturdivant and Emily Fury Daly take on the challenge of playing the duel rows of the two sets of twins. It’s Shakespeare by way of Scooby Doo, set in the 1980’s with great musical cues throughout by Sound Designer Matthew Tibbs. And again Lonnie Rafael Alcaraz as Lighting Designer is an asset adding some wonderfully wacky lighting effects.

The Great River Shakespeare Festival runs through July 27th in Winona, MN. If you haven’t been yet, it takes just over two hours to reach from the Cities, there’s lot’s to do and some fun places to eat. We always make a two day trip out of it and have a fantastic time. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.grsf.org/

Don’t depend on a Facebook or Instagram algorithm 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 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.

I’ve officially launched The Stages of MN YouTube Channel which you can view by clicking on this link. https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN. Check out the intro videos and the weekly episodes. 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.

Glensheen Continues to Delight New Audiences in its 10th Anniversary Production

The Cast of Glensheen Photo by Rick Spaulding

Originally produced by the History Theatre in 2015, Glensheen returns once more to the stages of the History Theatre on this its 10th Anniversary. This was my third visit to Glensheen, and each time I venture back to the haunted mansion on the North shore I bring along someone new to share this wonderful true crime musical comedy with. This year it was my son and his Fiancé and they were very entertained, which gives me so much joy. Sharing great theater is what it’s all about, and when I get to see someone responding so positively, it replenishes my determination to share what I love with the world. It’s easy to see why the History Theatre brings the show back, it’s an incredibly fun production, that seems to get better the more times you see it. I really liked it the first time I saw it, and it just keeps getting better every time. I’m not a true crime fan, but it turns out you don’t need to be to enjoy this show. It’s less about the details of a true crime as it is watching in disbelief the train wreck of humanity that is the main character, Marjorie Caldwell. The amount of suspicious things that have happened around her and the lack of punishment she received is mind blowing. It makes for a fascinating story but it also raises serious questions about the criminal justice system…oh wait, we already had those doubts didn’t we? What’s amazing is how enjoyable the whole thing is. I spoke with playwright Jeffrey Hatcher two years ago on the podcast Twin Cities Theater Chat (you can listen to that episode by clicking here https://twincitiestheaterchat.buzzsprout.com/2150807/13157328 ) and he made a comment about it being a real story that seems populated by the characters from Fargo. I thought that perfectly embodied what Glensheen the Musical is. A great cast brings us into the past with songs that oddly do not feel out of place in a story as weird as this.

The book for the musical is by Hatcher with the songs written by Chan Poling who was a member of the alternative rock band The Suburbs. The two have collaborated several times on musicals including the History Theatre production, The Defeat of Jesse James, which was another wonderfully original piece of musical theatre. Hatcher’s script leans into the craziness of the events without drawing us into that frame of mind. This allows us to view them through our reality thus we see them for the absurdities they are. He tells us the story of Marjorie Caldwell and her husband Roger who conspired together resulting in the murder of her mother Elizabeth Congdon and her nurse, Velma Pietila. Very quickly, Roger is arrested and found guilty but Marjorie proves to be a much harder catch for the justice system. She’s a master of staying one step ahead of everyone, but also seems to lose a half step with every one that she takes. Always avoiding the punishment but somehow also losing the prize. Poling’s songs are fun, often witty, sometimes quite touching. Favorites are the hilarious “Conspiracy” performed by Marjorie’s defense team. The defense they mount is so crazy, it works. On a sweeter note is “Just You & Me” which is a duet between Marjorie and Roger. It’s a beautiful moment on the surface, but underneath it’s incredibly dark as it’s simply Marjorie manipulating Roger to save herself.

The cast is filled with actors familiar to theatergoers of the Twin Cities, most of the performers play multiple rolls. My favorite was Wendy Lehr who plays Elisabeth Congdon and Marjorie’s defense attorney among others. Her over the top defense attorney was a big reason that the song “Conspiracy” was a crowd favorite. Dancing like a man half her age, she was as believable as the elderly matriarch as she was unbelievably outrageous as the attorney for the defense. She also plays the Nurse Velma, and her sweet song “Stay With Me” is a nice moment playing tribute to a woman who was needlessly murdered just for agreeing to come out of retirement to help Nurse Elisabeth that night. Gary Briggle, whose rich vocalizations are a highlight and bolster every song especially the ensemble pieces. Dane Stauffer is perfect as the out of his depth, easily manipulated, Roger. He has the dumb and dumber act down perfectly and you are surprisingly sympathetic to him as the man in over his head. Jen Maren holds the whole show together as Marjorie, she perfectly straddles the line between being a smart manipulator and not quite smart enough to get what she wants.

Ron Peluso directs the show with a playfulness that lets the tone shift dramatically from scene to scene while still feeling like a cohesive whole. Rick Polenek’s set design is very impressive, recreating a section of the Glensheen mansion including the staircase on which the nurse was murdered. Bill Healey’s lighting design helps to emphasize the tonal changes and is cleverly used for dramatic effect, lighting flashes to create the dark and stormy night in an old mansion which basically screams for a murder. Bold flashes of red to strike a cord that syncs with Marjorie’s evil actions. It all works wonderfully with Sound Designer C. Andrew Mayer’s soundscape. David Lohman as musical director along with his orchestra are just off to the side stage right, with Lohman’s piano doubling as a bar. The choreography by Tinia Moulder is small and contained, it has to be due to the size of the stage. But Moulder makes every move count and the dancing and moves in “Conspiracy” are what makes that the showstopper it is.

Glensheen is running at the History Theatre in St. Paul through July 27th. If you’ve never seen it you should check it out. And if you have, you know you want to go again. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets https://www.historytheatre.com/2024-2025/glensheen

Necessity requires that going forward in order to produce a weekly YouTube show and podcast that reviews will become shorter. There are only so many hours in a day, but I have no intention of abandoning the blog version. Faithful readers, you have year after year grown The Stages of MN audience. While I hope you will become viewers or listeners as well, there will always be things here that cannot be found there. This will be the place for longer reviews, though slightly shorter than before, as well as Reviews of more shows than can be covered on the YouTube and Podcast versions. Essentially there will be some overlap, but each format will have unique content.

Don’t depend on a Facebook or Instagram algorithm 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 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.

I’ve officially launched The Stages of MN YouTube Channel which you can view by clicking on this link. https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN. Check out the intro videos and the weekly episodes. 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.

Kimberly Akimbo a Musical With the Sense of Humor of an Adult Animated Series

 Carolee Carmello, Miguel Gil and Jim Hogan National Tour of KIMBERLY AKIMBO, photo by Joan Marcus

The tone of Kimberly Akimbo reminded me instantly of an adult animated series like Bob’s Burgers or F is for Family. Things that happen are so egregious as if this could either have gone the tragic route or the comedic. The show wisely chooses comedic, which allows it to also have some moments of meaning and sweetness. This is the story of Kimberly Levaco who is about to turn sixteen years old and has a disease that makes her age prematurely, at about four to five times the normal rate. People with her disease on average do not live past sixteen. As if that wasn’t hard enough, as the show opens she clearly has trouble making any friends with the kids her age and her father arrives drunk to pick her up from the skating rink three and a half hours later. It’s winter and she has had to wait outside for him. His excuse is that some guy in the bar bet he couldn’t fit an entire Mango in his mouth, which he can so he won a gameboy off the guy. In his eyes, this justifies his tardiness. It’s like Kimberlys entire family was imported from Matilda, though to be fair given slightly more scruples. But you can see how this could be a dour show. Which it isn’t, it’s funny, but not in a super dark way, in that Family Guy kinda way.

The songs are fun, mostly skewing to the humorous end of the spectrum but with slivers of sweetness and emotions here and there. It’s also a brilliant way to provide a great starring role in a show sure to be popular with young people for an older actor. Carolee Carmello who is playing Kimberly in the tour does a great job of playing a young girl at heart trapped in a body that is aging on her. I’m glad they cast the role as they did, there are enough roles for the young up and coming talents. It’s nice to see one designed for someone who has experience and talent and might otherwise be overlooked for leads. The supporting characters are well concieved, it’s a very small cast, and everyone feels vital. My favorite of them is Miguel Gil who plays Seth, a boy who befriends and sort of boyfriends Kimberly. He has a voice that feels perfect for the young awkward teenage boy and one of my favorite songs in the show, “Good Kid” is an excellent fit for Gil’s talents. The other favorite is Kimberly’s Aunt Debra played by Emily Koch who ropes Kimberly and her friends into a scheme to wash the checks from envelopes she pulls from a Federal mailbox she has stolen.

It’s a testament to the creators David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori that the show works, which it does like gangbusters. It doesn’t seem like a show about a sixteen year old girl who has been treated so unfairly by life and is basically prepared to die at any moment, could be this enjoyable. But it is. Perhaps it’s that underlying sense of dread that makes us laugh all the harder when something so wrong like Debra roping in kids for her check washing crime so they can afford to buy new costumes for their show choir competition. Director Jessica Stone gets the tricky tone just right. It’s small for a Broadway musical, but that really works for it. We have exactly the characters we need to tell the story. The set is really rather complex in the way it transforms to multiple location fully and convincingly, best of all with speed and efficiency. If it sounds too dark for you, I think you’ll be surprised and how funny and entertaining it is.

Kimberly Akimbo runs through Sunday July 13th at Hennepin Arts Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://hennepinarts.org/events/kimberly-akimbo-2025

Necessity requires that going forward in order to produce a weekly YouTube show and podcast that reviews will become shorter. There are only so many hours in a day, but I have no intention of abandoning the blog version. Faithful readers, you have year after year grown The Stages of MN audience. While I hope you will become viewers or listeners as well, there will always be things here that cannot be found there. This will be the place for longer reviews, though slightly shorter than before, as well as Reviews of more shows than can be covered on the YouTube and Podcast versions. Essentially there will be some overlap, but each format will have unique content.

Don’t depend on a Facebook or Instagram algorithm 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 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.

I’ve officially launched The Stages of MN YouTube Channel which you can view by clicking on this link. https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN. Check out the intro videos and the weekly episodes. 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.

The Stages of MN: Episode 4 The Stages of MN Explores Love and Theater With Ryan & Tod

Faithful readers, if you aren’t already faithful viewers, what are you waiting for? On the latest episode of The Stages of MN Show we test the waters with a new segment called Theater Couples. My first couple is Ryan Lee and Tod Petersen. We also have a return visit to Endometriosis: The Musical at Theatre in the Round. With post show responses from audience members. You can still catch this highly entertaining show running through 7/13/25 click here for Tickets https://www.theatreintheround.org/end…

Plus my MN Honest Review of Passion at Theater Latté Da through 7/13/25 For info on that show and to purchase tickets go to https://www.latteda.org/passion. We also have our customary “At a Show With…” montage of who I saw out at the Theater this week.

Special thanks as always, but especially this week to Ryan Lee for the use of his music catalog which is available at https://ryanlee.bandcamp.com/ To Dale Stark and Hennepin Arts for permission to film in the Orpheum Theater for the shows opening Scott Dunkelberger and Micky Dunkelberger for their camera work.

Follow me on Facebook / thestagesofmn and Instagram / thestagesofmn The show will also be available tomorrow in podcast form at https://robdunkelberger.podbean.com/ or wherever you enjoy podcasts

Episode 3: The Stages of MN Meets Will Sturdivant and a Game is Played. Available Now!!!

Faithful Readers and hopefully now Faithful Viewers and Listeners, the latest episode of The Stages of MN Show is up on YouTube https://bit.ly/TSOMNEpisode3 as well as in the slightly shorter Audio only Podcast version which you can listen to here https://bit.ly/TSOMNPodcastEpisode3 or search for The Stages of MN wherever you enjoy podcasts!

On this weeks episode, I chatted with Actor and Author Will Sturdivant about his path to becoming an actor, his new books, and The Great River Shakespeare Festival; where he is performing in Romeo and Juliet and The Comedy of Errors through July 27th in Winona, MN. I also try and stump Will with the shakespeare game. Where he has to identify what character spoke a line and for extra points which play it came from. Will was on fire, but I wont spoil if he was able to beat the game and in doing so, win back his car keys. You can click here for more about the Festival and to purchase tickets https://www.grsf.org/. I’ll be there for my third year in a row on July 11th to take in both shows with a few of my fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers Jill Schafer of Cherry and Spoon http://www.cherryandspoon.com/ and Carol and Julie Jackson of Minnesota Theater Love https://www.mntheaterlove.com/. So if you see us around, don’t be shy, say hi! Get a picture and you’ll find yourself up on the next episode of The Stages of MN!

Also on this weeks episode a look at opening night of Cabaret at the Guthrie Theater as well as a review of the show running through August 24th. Click here for more info and to purchase tickets https://www.guthrietheater.org/shows-and-tickets/2024-2025-season/cabaret/. We also have a review of Madagascar: A Musical Adventure at Stages Theatre Company running through August 3rd, Click here for tickets to that show https://www.stagestheatre.org/madagascar-a-musical-adventure/. As always we have the photo montage of who I saw out at the theater last week. We also cover some breaking news in Verona that you will not want to miss. Don’t forget to Like, Review, share and subscribe.

Don’t depend on a Facebook or Instagram algorithm 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 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.

I’ve officially launched The Stages of MN YouTube Channel which you can view by clicking on this link. https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN. Check out the intro videos and the weekly episodes. 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.

Episode 2 of The Stages of MN YouTube Show is Up and Ready to View

This went live last Wednesday but I’ve been so busy getting Episode three ready that I forgot to share with my Subscribers. Apologies for that, but another great reason to subscribe to the YouTube channel. On episode 2, which you can access here https://bit.ly/TSOMNYouTubeEpisode2, I talk with the co-creators of Endometriosis: The Musical. I also review that show which is running through 7/13 at Theatre in the Round as well as Stop Kiss from Theater Mu which ran through 6/29 at Gremlin Theatre. There also coverage of opening night of Endometriosis: The Musical and always the photo montage of who I saw out at the theater last week. Don’t forget to Like, Review, share and subscribe.

Madagascar: A Musical Adventure is Fun for All Ages at Stages Theatre Company

Photo by Amy Rondeau Photography

Madagascar: A Musical Adventure is a stage adaptation of the popular DreamWorks animated film that came out when my kids were little. I know I saw the film, but to be honest it has completely left my memory I have some memory of penguins and lemurs but that’s about it. Luckily prior knowledge of the film is not needed to enjoy this simple tale of Zoo animals who go looking for something more. As with most children’s shows there is a positive message about friendship and this one focuses on best friends Alex the Lion and Marty the Zebra. Marty is having a midlife crisis, she is 10 years old and still doesn’t know if she’s black with white stripes or white with black stripes. When she decides to leave the zoo and see what’s out in the world her friends led by Alex go after her to bring her back. Somehow they all end up in crates on a ship in the ocean. They go overboard and wash up on the shores of Madagascar. There they’re befriended by Lemurs who hope Alex will protect them from their carnivorous enemies. Meanwhile Alex is getting hungry and while his friends are content with the lemurs vegetarian diet, Alex’s instincts began to get the better of him.

I think most kids are going to have a great time with this show. The songs are fun and lively and there’s even a more poignant lament sung by Marty that’s really kind of beautiful. The cast a mix of a few strategic adults and lots of kids who do a great job. The Costume and Make-up Designer Samantha Fromm Haddow deserves full marks for the wonderful animal costumes. I loved the hoofs and headpiece on Marty, particularly the penguins which are puppets controlled by men dressed like Jake and Elwood Blues, are really well done. There’s a nice set design too by Joe Johnson effective as the Zoo and then surprisingly lush when transformed to Madagascar. If your wee ones like animals and music, they will have an adventure with this show and the audience really gets into it clapping along and dancing in their seats, or maybe they just needed the restroom. Either way it’s a fun show for families.

Madagascar: A Musical Adventure runs through August 3rd at Stages Theatre Company in Hopkins. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.stagestheatre.org/madagascar-a-musical-adventure/

Don’t depend on a Facebook or Instagram algorithm 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 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.

I’ve officially launched The Stages of MN YouTube Channel which you can view by clicking on this link. https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN. Check out the intro videos and the weekly episodes. 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.