The Stages of MN Jumps Off the Page and Into Your Eyes and Ears. The Good News is, a Short Course of Antibiotics Should Clear it Right Up.

I’m thrilled to announce that after months of hard work The Stages of MN has broken out of the confines of the blog and into new formats. The blog isn’t going away, but you might notice the reviews getting a little shorter. First off is the big one, the YouTube Show! Here is a link to the first episode https://bit.ly/TheStagesofMNEpisode1 . It clocks in at about 40 minutes but I think this first episode earns the extra time. Future episodes will be targeted at a 20 to 30 minute length, which I think is a little more digestible for the average viewer. The shows in general will feature an interview of some kind, a couple of reviews, and a montage of photos taken with people, like yourselves faithful readers, that I run into out at the theater. If you see me out at a show, or anywhere really, except standing at a urinal, don’t be shy, say hi, ask for a photo and you’ll be part of the next episode! I’m hoping this will allow me to meet more of you and connect with you in a more personal way. You love theater! I love theater! You know what I think of every show, but I want to hear what you think, I want to know what you are seeing.

I interviewed Austene Van, the Executive Artistic Director of Yellow Tree Theatre as well as an accomplished Actor, Choreographer, Director, and Writer for the first episode. You’ll see from that interview that we are having some fun with this show, but we’ll also at times talk about some really important things as well. We also have two reviews for shows closing this weekend Significant Other at Lyric Arts and Mae West and the Trial of Sex from Walking Shadow Theater Company. Along with a couple of other fun little items. I’m really proud of the show, it’s not perfect, but we’ll iron out the rough edges over time. For instance the opening sequence which was filmed in the historic Orpheum Theatre for which I’m very grateful to the folks at Hennepin Arts for allowing us to do. I think it came out great, but it is too long, you don’t want to sit through that every week. So sometime in the next few weeks I’ll get that edited down. But I wanted to share the full cut with you. And, if we have an episode that runs a little short in the future, we might pull it out and pop in from time to time.

The second new format is a podcast version of the YouTube show. You can hear the first episode by clicking here https://bit.ly/TSOMNPodcastEpisode1 or searching for The Stages of MN wherever you listen to podcasts. What’s the difference? Well the podcast version is a little shorter as some of the YouTube version is purely visual, like the opening and the photo montage, so those have been cut. My preferred version is the YouTube, but some folks don’t really want to sit and watch something on YouTube. Some would prefer to listen to a podcast, which they can do while driving, exercising, cooking, clipping their nails or shucking corn. And for those folks we have the podcast version, and to them I say happy shucking!!!

So while this exists for you to simply enjoy, you can also help do what this blog and these new versions of The Stages of MN was designed to do in the first place. Share the love of theater. You can help me spread the good words by sharing these shows on your social media pages, subscribing, liking, and reviewing them. For algorithms are a giddy thing, and this is my conclusion, the more these are viewed/listened to, the more the platforms themselves push them out to new folks. That is how we get others into the theater groove with us. They hear about a show and they check it out and then rinse and repeat! So let us rally to Austene Van’s call for us all to work together to ensure that theater does not go quietly into the night but blazes forth and comes out stronger and more vibrant and vital than ever. Theater is under attack, but we can do this.

Gratefully,

Rob Dunkelberger, Founder and Grand Poobah of The Stages of MN

Stop Kiss an Important and Beautiful Play for Pride Month From Theater Mu

Kelsey Angel Baehrens and Emjoy Gavino Photo by Rich Ryan

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.

On to Stop Kiss which is a battle between two conflicting emotions and storylines. The play is broken into two timelines, both following two young women Callie, a long time resident of NYC and Sara, who has just moved to the city from the Midwest. One timeline follows them from their first meeting to their first kiss. The second storyline follows them in the aftermath of the kiss, but it’s not what you think. They are victims of a hate crime which leaves Sara in a coma. The two timelines alternate from scene to scene, so one moment we are watching a friendship blossom and then grow into an unexpected attraction. It is full of anticipation and joy and laughter and longing. The other is filled with tragedy, loss, and heartbreak, but also the growth and love. It’s a brilliant script by Diana Son and the duo timeline structure is anything but a gimmick. The one storyline joyfully heading towards tragedy the second revealing the extent of the damage and the repercussions of the horrible event that forms the nexus of the two timelines. What is miraculous is the way in which the telling of the story doesn’t diminish our giddiness at Callie and Sara’s growing bond in timeline one but it does inform our emotional response to timeline two.

The script does half of the work, but without such engaging and warm performances from the two leads Emjoy Gavino as Callie and Kelsey Angel Baehrens as Sara, the emotional resonance wouldn’t work. It’s that odd thing that we call chemistry, it’s why I tear up when Niles confesses his love for Daphne on Frasier (sorry if that’s a spoiler for anyone), and it’s why we are able to forget what we know is coming in Stop Kiss. We like these characters, we like the way they interact, in fact we forget they are characters. We become invested in their happiness, even though we know something horrible is coming. But to say that the success of the performances is due to some intangible thing called chemistry is not acknowledging the masterful work of Gavino and Baehrens. They are so good that they make it look easy. Make no mistake, it is their skill at crafting the roles, their understanding of what each timeline needs from them and their ability to swap between them from scene to scene that gives the play it’s heart and soul. The production is Directed by Katie Bradley who does an excellent job of staging the show, there are a million scene changes by the occur seamlessly and speedily which is key to keeping us invested.

Stop Kiss runs through June 29th at the Gremlin Theatre in St Paul and honestly I know it sounds like it could be a bit of a downer but I assure you it is ultimately a beautiful and hopeful production. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatermu.org/stop-kiss#gsc.tab=0

Now more than ever in the wake of the most recent election and the hailstorm of stupidity and hate it has unleashed, theater companies need you and we need them. Buy tickets to shows, go out and support work that reflects diversity and inclusiveness. Donate to your favorite theater companies, don’t wait until they are on the brink of shutting down. We all need to stand up and fight for our theaters whose funding is under attack for promoting inclusion, equality and diversity. In short, theaters are being threatened for sharing stories that reflect our countries cultural and racial diversity.

Don’t depend on a Facebook or Instagram algorithm to insure 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.

Legally Blonde: The Musical Lightens the Stage at the Ordway Center for Permorming Arts in St. Paul

The Cast of Legally Blonde: The Musical Photos by Jason Niedle

Legally Blonde: The Musical is based on the 2001 non-musical comedy film starring Reese Witherspoon. I have never seen the film or its sequels, but after seeing the musical, I’m sort of interested in checking it out. The musical clearly has a strong following based on the number of people I saw standing in the Rush line before the show and the amount of pink in the audience. You can always tell a show that has a strong fan base by what the audience is wearing, and this definitely felt like the musical version of a Star Wars convention. While not a huge fan of the trend of turning popular movies into musicals, I have to say this one, is one of the more enjoyable examples of the phenomenon. I will say that one thing we don’t need from a comedy film turned Broadway musical is an overture. Though brief, it immediately had me thinking, do the creators not know what this is? As escapist fare and a fun way to relive a favorite film, Legally Blonde: The Musical works. But an overture? This isn’t Leonard Bernstein, Puccini, or even Andrew Lloyd Webber. For the most part the songs are serviceable, light but forgettable . There are some that are quite fun like “There! Right There!” where a legal team tries to determine if a witness is gay or just European, analyzing his every move and statement.

For those unfamiliar with the film, like myself, it tells the story of Elle Woods who is dumped by her boyfriend Warner on the night she expected him to propose. He is off to Harvard Law School and doesn’t see her as serious enough to be his wife with the future he has planned for himself. Elle is crushed but after wallowing for a bit she decides that she’ll go to Harvard as well and prove to Warner that she can be serious too. After starting out on the wrong foot and being mocked by her fellow students for her appearance Elle decides that what she needs is to become a brunette like Warner’s new girlfriend, Vivienne. She goes to a nearby hair salon where she meets beautician Paulette, who convinces her not to dye her hair and in doing so becomes her friend and confidant. Elle learns with the help of the teaching assistant, Emmett, how to apply herself to the course work. When the class gets the opportunity to assist their teacher Professor Callahan on a high profile murder case, Elle impresses everyone with her unique ideas and approach to law.

The cast is good, though the songs don’t require anything too challenging for solid musical theater actors. Stand outs are Elle herself Kathryn Brunner who keeps a role that could be a complete eye roller from becoming anything other than someone we are rooting for from the start. Michael Thomas Grant is lovable as Emmett, whom we quickly see will be the person Elle should end up with. Anthea Neri-Best as Paulette is also a lot of fun. She dreams of meeting an Irishman, when she does, the fo-Riverdance routine is a highlight. But hands down my favorite performance was that of Little Ricky who plays Elle’s dog Bruiser. When he first runs on stage the whole audience “awes” and I’m not ashamed to say I was among them. Sadly he only makes three or four brief appearances but he rightly gets a featured spot in the curtain call. He doesn’t even do anything that elaborate, but what he does do he nails and frankly to be honest he so damn cute!

Fans of the movie or the musical will have a great time with Legally Blonde: The Musical, as will theatergoers like me who enjoy a pure fun musical from time to time even if they don’t know the source material. This isn’t Les Miz, Rent, Hamilton, or even The Prom, but it is better than most movie to musical adaptations and while it doesn’t amount to much but a fun night out, sometimes that’s enough. Legally Blonde: The Musical runs through June 15th at the Ordway Center for Performing Arts. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://ordway.org/events/legally-blonde/

Now more than ever in the wake of the most recent election and the hailstorm of stupidity and hate it has unleashed, theater companies need you and we need them. Buy tickets to shows, go out and support work that reflects diversity and inclusiveness. Donate to your favorite theater companies, don’t wait until they are on the brink of shutting down. We all need to stand up and fight for our theaters whose funding is under attack for promoting inclusion, equality and diversity. In short, theaters are being threatened for sharing stories that reflect our countries cultural and racial diversity.

Don’t depend on a Facebook or Instagram algorithm to insure 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.

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. New things are in the work! Click here to go to The Stages of MN YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN. Right now there is just a short introductory video, but there will be much more coming this summer. For now, check out the intro video and subscribe to the channel so that when we fully launch you’ll be the first to know!

“Passion” Comes to Theater Latté Da

Rodolfo Nieto, Bradley Greenwald, Dylan Frederick, Erin Capello, Colonel Ricci, Phinehas Bynum
Photo by Dan Norman

Passion is a musical by the late Stephen Sondheim (music & lyrics) and James Lapine (book). I’m going to be sacrilegious for a moment and say I don’t love Sondheim. Don’t get me wrong I don’t dislike him, I like him. He’s is undoubtedly a giant of the American musical theater. I know what the fault is with me, I tend to prefer musicals with songs you find yourself singing along to. Many times I find Sondheim’s work, while beautiful, to be missing a hook or a chorus. It is always beautiful and I’ve yet to see a production that didn’t feature amazing vocal performances. I’m not very musically intelligent, I know what I like, and I can tell that the music of Sondheim is more complex and difficult than most other musicals. I’ve written before of my view that Gilbert and Sullivan are like a link between opera and the musical. That’s how I feel about certain Sondheim musicals as well, including Passion. Opera will likely always be my least favorite of the musical performing arts, but I am gaining an appreciation for it. That’s how I would describe my response to Passion it’s not my favorite musical I saw this week, but I did appreciate it. And, with a running time of about 100 minutes, I never lost interest or patience with it. If you are a Sondheim devotee I have no doubt you will love this production. If you are trying to gain an appreciation for him, this will help you merrily roll along that route. If you’d rather stick a needle in your eye than sit through A Little Night Music, maybe give this a pass.

The plot of Passion is based on the film Passione d’amore which itself was based on the novel Fosca by Iginio Ugo Tarchetti, neither of which I have seen or read. The story follows a soldier named Giorgio and opens with him in bed with his lover Clara before he must leave for a new post in the country. They are every much in love and sing of how much they will miss each other. At his new post he is introduced to his commanding officer Colonel Ricci to his cousin Fosca, who is bedridden with unnamed illnesses. Fosca develops an obsession with Giorgio, who does everything he can to discourage her attentions. At one point the Doctor (the army Doctor not the Timelord), convinces Giorgio that in order to save Fosca’s life her must go and visit her in her room. Later the Doctor realizes what Fosca’s obsession is doing to Giorgio and regrets his part in enabling Fosca’s infatuation. Fosca’s behavior would be called stalking by today’s standards and it’s actually quite distressing the ways in which Fosca manipulates and tries to control Giorgio. The single wrong note in the play is Giorgio’s position at the end of the play. The message it sends is confusing and for those who identify more with Fosca in the play than with Giorgio, possibly dangerous.

The cast is great, in the lead role of Giorgio is Dylan Frederick, whom I’m not as familiar with as most of the rest of the cast. Frederick is well cast, vocally he is superb and he brings a frustrated desperation to the character as he feels himself being irrevocably mired in Fosca’s web. Fosca is played by Erin Capello, again amazing vocally, but also incredibly convincing as the tragic and selfish Fosca. She has to play it so that the characters onstage don’t necessarily fully realize the manipulations but we the audience can clearly see where every request is leading. Isa Condo-Olvera is radiant as Clara with a light and lovely demeanor that illustrates the deep contrast between Fosca and Clara. If Fosca is rain, Clara is sunshine and Condo-Olvera is well cast as sunshine. Eric Morris and Bradley Greenwald are as always exceptional as Colonel Ricci and the Doctor. The remaining cast have small roles but lend big voices to the background. When we saw that the cast included three of what my wife calls her “All is Calm Boys” Phinehas Bynum, Riley McNutt, and Rodolfo Nieto, I expected them to have larger roles. But it just goes to show when dealing with the complexity and strength of a Sondhiem musical, you need the highest quality singers even in the background.

The production is directed by Theater Latté Da’s Artistic Director Justin Lucero and the Music Director is Jason Hansen. Their work goes a long way to making this an worthwhile endeavor for those on the fence regarding Sondheim’s less mainstream musicals. The scenic and lighting design by Paul Whitaker are extremely creative with curtains used to create spaces for scenes like the fuzzy edges of memories. The lighting contributes to some very dynamic visual tableaus as can been seen in the photo above. The costumes by Amber Brown are also very evocative, particularly the use of colors in the garbs of Clara and Fosca which visually represent their roles very clearly. What says romantic eroticism quite as well as a woman in a white flowing bed dress worn off one shoulder?

Passion runs through July 13th at Theater Latté Da in North Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.latteda.org/passion

Now more than ever in the wake of the most recent election and the hailstorm of stupidity and hate it has unleashed, theater companies need you and we need them. Buy tickets to shows, go out and support work that reflects diversity and inclusiveness. Donate to your favorite theater companies, don’t wait until they are on the brink of shutting down. We all need to stand up and fight for our theaters whose funding is under attack for promoting inclusion, equality and diversity. In short, theaters are being threatened for sharing stories that reflect our countries cultural and racial diversity.

Don’t depend on a Facebook or Instagram algorithm to insure 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.

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. New things are in the work! Click here to go to The Stages of MN YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN. Right now there is just a short introductory video, but there will be much more coming this summer. For now, check out the intro video and subscribe to the channel so that when we fully launch you’ll be the first to know!

Sixpack is a Little Flat But Fizzes to Life Thanks to the Secondary Characters at Jungle Theater

Megan Kim, Dexieng “Dae” Yang, Phasoua Vang, Pagnia Xiong Photo by Lauren B. Photography

Sixpack, a new play by Katie Ka Vang is having it’s world premiere at the Jungle Theater in Uptown. It’s a play in which the game of Volleyball plays a central roll in the lives of the woman of the Hmong community of MN. Jumping forwards and backwards in time, the central story is about the friendship between Pam and Jou, or that is to say what happened to that friendship. We see them estranged in the present when Jou, now a Vollyball professional, comes home in time for a fundraiser for her sick mother. In the past, Pam helps her bestie Jou through an unplanned pregnancy. It leads up to a moment when we learn what Jou did to earn the cold shoulder she receives from Pam. The problem with the play is that this central relationship is the least interesting thing about it. What is far more interesting than these two young women are their Mothers and Aunties. Maybe it’s that the older generation is played more for laughs, but those laughs are earned and relatable. It’s hard not to find yourself rolling your eyes at the Pam’s rigid anger, that isn’t even about the thing she has a right to be angry about. In fact, I’m not entirely sure it’s really clear what the chip on her shoulder is about. Jou, is slightly more relatable, she appears to be trying, but her betrayal is hard to get past when we learn of it. No, everything with them just seems a little underwhelming. The heart, and there is a good deal of it, comes from the older generation and I wish the play had either spent more time on them or integrated the two stories a little more.

Ashely Horiuchi plays Pam, Dorothy Vang plays Jou, and there isn’t anything wrong with their performances; the characters are just under developed, with too much attitude for attitudes sake. The real stars are the elders, the best of which is Dexieng “Dae” Yang who brings the energy up to eleven when she bursts on stage as Smiles, Jou’s Mother. As the character states she’s not like other mothers, she has attitude but it seems to come from inside and never rings false. She’s wild, loud, and very blunt and comes across like a force of nature as a young mother, as the older sick mother, she brings it down but never completely lets the fire go out, you can see it waiting to burst through. The other favorite is Phasoua Vang as Windy, who the girls ensnare to pose as Jou’s mother at planned parenthood. She’s the irresponsible friend of the girls mothers who never has a job, is always drunk or stoned, all of which could play very cartoonish but somehow just ends up being very funny and kind of endearing.

The show is directed by Dr. Sara Pillatzki Warzeha who injects some dynamic visuals into the staging. There’s little actual volleyball playing, but what there is was creatively staged. Including a final shot that might make you flinch in you’re in seated in one of the front rows, like I was. Ursula K. Bowden’s set and prop designs are well formulated and executed, there is a nice reveal of a secondary location that was surprising. I always enjoy a set that doesn’t reveal itself entirely at the beginning. I also do want to mention the Lighting Designer Claudia Errickson and Sound Designer Erin Bednarz, as there are several very effective lighting and sound effects like the glow of an off stage TV with the sounds of a VHS tape being loaded in a VCR. The show has several of those little moments that catch your attention and are very well done.

Sixpack runs through June 29th at the Jungle Theater in Uptown. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.jungletheater.org/sixpack

Now more than ever in the wake of the most recent election and the hailstorm of stupidity and hate it has unleashed, theater companies need you and we need them. Buy tickets to shows, go out and support work that reflects diversity and inclusiveness. Donate to your favorite theater companies, don’t wait until they are on the brink of shutting down. We all need to stand up and fight for our theaters whose funding is under attack for promoting inclusion, equality and diversity. In short, theaters are being threatened for sharing stories that reflect our countries cultural and racial diversity.

Don’t depend on a Facebook or Instagram algorithm to insure 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.

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. New things are in the work! Click here to go to The Stages of MN YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN. Right now there is just a short introductory video, but there will be much more coming this summer. For now, check out the intro video and subscribe to the channel so that when we fully launch you’ll be the first to know!

Mae West and the Trial of Sex Provides a History Lesson for the Future at the Crane Theater

Mae West and the Trial of Sex chronicles the legal battle between Mae West and the powers of censorship in the early part of the 20th century. Nearly 100 years ago the theater community of New York City and by extension the country was dealt a legal blow that amounted to censorship. Today the theater community is under attack again. Like that trial so many years ago, what is said to be the cause for these actions and what the true result of the them being taken are completely different. It all amounts to the same thing, silencing the voices of the minority. The Sex trial

prosecuted West, her producers and cast for performing a work that could contribute to the correuption of minors and others it was really about preventing another show being produced by West called The Drag. The Drag featured a cast of twenty female impersonators which William Randolph Hearst, the basis for Citizen Kane, wanted to crush due to it’s portrayal of homosexuality and cross dressing. I wish I could say it never ceases to amaze me how little we have progressed, or perhaps have regressed compared to 100 years ago. The result led to what amounted to a legal ban on the portrayal of queer characters in theater until the late 1960’s.

John Heimbuch’s new play drawn from the historical records shows the absurdity and injustice that abounds when powerful rich white people decide they want something. Laws no longer matter, rules are rewritten, the “haves” get what they want and the “have-nots” lose the last thing they have, their voice. The story is told by an exceptional group of seven performers, most of whom must play more than a half a dozen roles each. They are led by Emily A. Grodzik who plays Mae West very effectively, we get a glimpse of the real West at the close of the show so those who are not familiar with the stars work can see how well Grodzik captures her. I can’t honestly say that any member of the ensemble is better than any of the others, they all find a unique voice for each of their characters, some are brief one or two lines bits that create laughs, others are more rounded out, but all are exactly what they need to be in any given moment. So rather than single any out let me just list the entire brilliant ensemble. Jack Bechard, Neal Beckman, Kelsey Laurel Cramer, Kayla Dvorak Feld, Samuel Osborne-Huerta, and Joe Swanson.

The show is directed by The Stages of MN favorite Allison Vincent. The story flashes between scenes and settings so quickly, it would create deadly long scene changes were Vincent to have gone the realistic route. Instead, the play is staged with a wink to the audience acknowledging that this is a play and so characters wheel set pieces in to center stage from the side where they sit until needed, costume changes are made in split seconds in view of the audience. This contributes to the humor at times but most importantly keeps the show clipping along. The production team including Sarah Bahr as Set Designer, Mandi Johnson as Costume Designer, Tony Stoeri as Lighting Designer, Thomas Speltz as Composer and Sound Designer, and Bobbie Smith as Props Designer all contribute to creating this theatrical world.

Mae West and the Trial of Sex is another show that retells the past through the lens of the present. Something I expect the current Administration to outlaw shortly. It’s a cautionary tale, but one told with a lot of humor. Mae West and the Trial of Sex from Walking Shadow Theatre Company runs through 6/22/25 at the Crane Theater in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://walkingshadow.org/mae-west-and-the-trial-of-sex/

Now more than ever in the wake of the most recent election and the hailstorm of stupidity and hate it has unleashed, theater companies need you and we need them. Buy tickets to shows, go out and support work that reflects diversity and inclusiveness. Donate to your favorite theater companies, don’t wait until they are on the brink of shutting down. We all need to stand up and fight for our theaters whose funding is under attack for promoting inclusion, equality and diversity. In short, theaters are being threatened for sharing stories that reflect our countries cultural and racial diversity.

Don’t depend on a Facebook or Instagram algorithm to insure 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.

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. New things are in the work! Click here to go to The Stages of MN YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN. Right now there is just a short introductory video, but there will be much more coming this summer. For now, check out the intro video and subscribe to the channel so that when we fully launch you’ll be the first to know!

Significant Other Speaks Truth through humor at Lyric Arts in Anoka

Emily Hensley, Eva Gemlo, Lyreshia Ghostlon-Green, and Noah Hynick Photo by Molly Weibel

Significant Other by Joshua Harmon is a play I saw performed in my first year as a Theater Blogger. That is to say I remember seeing it, remember thinking it was funny, but that’s about it. As I watched it play out at Lyric Arts the structure of the show came back to me but not the details. So the jokes felt fresh and no ones performance was competing against a previous interpretation. Lyric Arts leading man and 2024 Twin Cities Theater Blogger Award Winner for Favorite Emerging Artist, Noah Hynick, absolutely owns the role of Jordan. A late 20’s gay man living in New York City who is feeling more and more alone as his circle of friends begin to get married and have families. This is not an unusual situation in any circle of friends, and while the play really only explores it from Jordan’s perspective, there is frequently a reverse feeling for those who have paired off, they can also miss hanging out with friends who are unattached. When you have kids it can be even more of an adjustment, the difference being that instead of living in that state 24/7, it really only draws your attention occasionally, when you hear about some exciting night out. My point is that Harmon’s script will ring true whether your the last one standing single or were the first to pair off, we can all relate to some degree. It would be interesting to see Harmon write a follow up in say 20 years as the characters become empty nesters, which is accompanied by some similar feelings I can assure you.

Hynick gives a hilariously neurotic performance as Jordan, but he grounds it in an emotional rawness that connects with the audience. We laugh at him, with him, and out of our own recognition of that awkward uncertainty that most humans struggle with at some points. Whether he’s sweetly bending the ear of his Grandmother Helene or his best friend Laura, every moment feels grounded in character. Helene is played wonderfully by Miriam Monasch. The role is so well written to begin with, where we witness Jordan having a variation on the same conversation each week with his Grandma. The humor of which is matched with a feelings of genuine love that comes from those moments with our childhood heroes, which is what Grandparents are in many ways. The loom large in our childhood memories, making us the center of their worlds for these brief moments. Their weekly walk down memory lane of the picture of Jordan that is still her favorite and the stories that go along with it. There is so much truth in those scenes, the humor of repeating the same thing over and over but at the center, the sense that it’s really about the love between them. The entire cast is great but I do want to quickly acknowledge the other stand out in the cast which is Eva Gemlo as Laura. Jordan and Laura have an arguement towards the end of the show and Gemlo brings it all to that scene. Yes this is Jordan’s story, but she makes him and the audience acknowledge that everything isn’t about him. It’s one of the scenes that really raises this script to the next level, we understand what Jordan is feeling, but just because it’s his story doesn’t mean the world in which it takes place revolves around him. Gemlo’s Laura, doesn’t choose to just humor the protagonist, she stands up for her right to have her wedding be about her. I think it will be telling how each audience member responds to that scene, I think the narcissists in the audience will side with Jordan. But I’d also be curious to see if there are divides along generational lines as well. Everything Jordan is feeling is valid, but there is a time and place for sharing those feelings, and sometimes we just need to keep them to ourselves in the moment, recognize that a painful day for us, is one of the most important and special days of another persons life, and allow them to enjoy that time.

This production is directed by Max Wojtanowicz with care. He allows his actors to find their characters and trusts that the humor will work all the better for it. Michaela Lochen’s set design is very interesting, we have window frames along the back wall giving us a feel of NYC neighborhood streets. When the characters look at a painting or a picture on the wall they look out at the audience but along the back wall of the stage we get a visualization of what they are looking at. Lucas Granholm has some very effective lighting cues. I especially liked when Jordan keeps opening his computer to see the photo of a man he has a crush on, as he lifts the screen of his laptop open Granholm has a light come up on another area of the stage and we see the character there posed like the photo he’s looking at.

Significant Other is an insightful and very funny play that will delight mature audiences. This is not a play for anyone under say 16 years of age, and frankly I don’t think many under the age of 20 will have much of a chance of understanding it’s subtler truths. It’s also a really brave choice for Lyric Arts to produce and I hope audiences will reward the risk by embracing it and telling their friends to go see it. Significant Other runs through June 22nd at Lyric Arts in Anoka. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.lyricarts.org/significant-other

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