The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical Should Please Fans at Stages Theatre Company

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical is an adaptation of the first book in the Percy Jackson book series by Rick Riordan. Riordan’s series inspired a generation of kids, my youngest George included, to take an interest in Greek Mythology. From what I remember of the film version, I’m afraid I never read the books myself, it felt as if the book by Joe Tracz for this musical version adheres fairly closely to the plot of the book. Young fans of the series should get a kick out of seeing their favorite characters brought to life and singing on stage. There’s a fair amount of stage magic used to create some moments of wonder but audiences shouldn’t go in expecting Harry Potter and the Cursed Child level effects. Still for the scale of a Stages show I was impressed with what they did and the scenic design by Joe Stanley, props by Marc Berg, sound design by Gretchen Katt, and costumes and make up by Samantha Fromm Haddow are all well done. The lighting design by Tony Stoeri however, seemed to leave the characters in the dark on several occasions though there were also some very effective lighting queues. The songs by Rob Rokicki unfortunately are for the most part forgettable and a lot of them do seem to be pushing many of the performers ranges, so that aspect of the production isn’t ideal.

The story follows a group of half bloods, meaning they are half human and half God, known as Demigods. The main character Percy doesn’t know that he is a half blood he just thinks his father abandoned him and his mother before he was born. When he is attacked by a Fury during a field trip his mother takes him on to a camp for half bloods and he learns who he really is. Unfortunately, they are attacked on the way by a Minotaur and Percy’s mother is presumed dead. Percy’s only friend Grover from his former school turns out to be Satyr, he has the legs of a goat, and accompanies Percy to the camp. There he meets other Demigods including Annabeth who is the child of Athena, and Luke who is the son of Hermes. When Percy is accused of stealing the lightning bolt of Zeus ha must go on a quest to the underworld with Grover and Annabeth to try and retrieve the lightning bolt and avert a war between the Gods. Percy takes on the task in hopes of also reclaiming his mother from Hades in the underworld.

The performers are all confident and handle the the fight choreography by Anna Crace well. George Wellens as Percy really belts out the songs reminding me a bit of performances I’ve seen of Roger in Rent. The role doesn’t always hit his vocal sweet spot and can sound at times slightly discordant, but when it does hit his range perfectly he’s very strong. Other favorites are Willa Breen as Annabeth, who brings the character to life as a formidable and resourceful young woman, exuding quiet strength and imbued with resilience and intelligence. Her vocals are among the best. Another favorite is Henry Halverson who plays Luke, he’s solid in the first half of the play but then disappears as we follow Percy and his friends on their odyssey. But when he comes back at the end of the play, he gets a really nice scene with a song that is just right for his voice. It was probably the best performance in the play his anger in the moment feels authentic and I wish we’d gotten more of him in the show, definitely one to watch for in future productions.

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical runs through May 11th at Stages Theatre Company in Downtown Hopkins. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.stagestheatre.org/the-lightning-thief-the-percy-jackson-musical/

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Lettice and Lovage, Long But Ultimately Saved by Great Performances From its Two Leads at Theatre in the Round

Jean Wolff and Jackie Schluter-Johnson Photo by Aaron Mark Photo Film

Lettice and Lovage is too long. You’ll leave the theater three hours and 10 minutes after the play begins. You will get two 10 minute intermissions so bladder control isn’t an issue plus you’ll have a chance purchase and slam a coffee or a soda if you need it. I did. Act one I found myself doing the head dip and jerk back up. Intermission #1 I was worried about the rest of the night. Not that Act I didn’t have some good stuff in it but I knew if things didn’t pick up, I was in for a tough night. Again, it wasn’t that Act I wasn’t important it is, it introduces us to and develops the main characters, it sets up the rest of the play. Act II, maybe it was the Diet Coke and savory snack I consumed, but the play really came alive after that first intermission. Act III starts a little slow and trades primarily in frustration to build suspense, but about a third of the way through the final act, it came alive again. The key is when you have the two leads Jean Wolff and Jackie Schluter-Johnson playing off each other. My big advice with this one is to see it, for sure, but know yourself, do you get a little drowsy after dinner or are you more of a midday napper? Know which you are and plan to see it when you will be most alert, and don’t forget to take your Adderall or drink a Celsius. The first Act is deliberate, while still providing some chuckles. Also to be clear the author of this play Peter Shaffer is a very famous writer and this isn’t Shakespeare where a theater company can feel free to cut the script down. I could actually tell you how I would shave time off of the the play, but there’s no point as it isn’t something anyone has permission to do and since Shaffer has shuffled off this mortal coil, what we have is what we have.

OK I really do want you to see this show because I think The Director Duck Washington and his cast and crew have staged something very entertaining. Everything that could be improved in this play falls squarely at the feet of Shaffer. The first 15 to 20 minutes of the play we see Lettice Douffet lead four or five separate historical tour groups in the Grand Hall of Fustian House. She tells the same story each time about the grand staircase and Queen Elizabeth. The first time everyone on the tour is bored, the second time she is clearly bored, the third time she begins making things up, and each subsequent time she embellishes the story more and more to ludicrous extremes. This is discovered by Lotte Schoen who is the person in charge of the Preservation Trust Tours. We change the scene now to Miss Schoen’s office where she ends up firing Lettice. That’s the end of Act I, in that office scene there is one other performer Simone Reno who gives a memorable though brief performance as Miss Schoen’s secretary Miss Framer. Before that, during the tours Reno and five other performers play the visitors on the tour. They have a line or two each during the various tour scenes and then with the exception of Reno and one other performer Rick Lamers who will appear in Act III but they’re never seen again until the curtain call. There are five actors who appear in Act I and then are never seen again. What was Shaffer thinking? Hey I’m gonna give you two lines in the first 15 minutes of this play and then I want you to hang around for 2 hours and 45 minutes to take a bow.

Act II We are in Lettice’s basement apartment, this is where the rest of the plays all of Act II and III will take place. Lotte has come to see Lettice, she feels bad for having sacked her and wants to see how she is doing. She has come with a job possibility with a the river tour company one of her neighbors runs. The meeting at first is very contentious but they soon warm to each other and get a bit spiffy on an aperitif of Lettice’s creation, which is an homage to a 16th century libation. From this moment on when Jean Wolff who is spectacularly kooky as Lettice and Jackie Schluter-Johnson as Lotte Schoen really start to riff with each other the play ramps up from pleasant to delightful. Wolff is tremendously gifted at playing this overly dramatic but wildly imaginative misfit. Helping to place that character slightly out of synch with the mainstream are these fantastically stylized costumes by CJ Mantel. If ever a costume helped an actor fully embrace a character it has to be these, they are terrific.Schluter-Johnson plays the more grounded character but is equally good in the role. It’s the combination of the two that is the magic key. You feel like you are watching two people actually becoming friends and bonding right before your eyes. For these moments when they are working together despite everything else, I highly recommend Lettice and Lovage. The majority of the play is the two of them interacting and it is worth a little bit of a slow start. And Honestly nothing is bad or boring, but three plus hour shows are reserved for Musicals, Shakespeare, and truly epic plays like the Lehman Trilogy. A fun little comedy about two women who form an unlikely friendship, a show that is barely more than a two hander, just doesn’t wear that runtime very well.

Lettice and Lovage runs through April 27th at Theatre in the Round Players in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatreintheround.org/lettice-and-lovage/

Mean Girls Does Have an Important Message to Spread at the Ordway

Cast of Mean Girls national tour Photo by Jeremy Daniel

Mean Girls is the stage musical adaption of the 2004 movie, both are written by Tina Fey, with the songs for the musical being written by Nell Benjamin (Lyrics) and Jeff Richmond (Music). Nominated for 12 Tony Awards in 2018, it won none. Those expecting Les Miserables will be disappointed, but for fans of the original film, who enjoy a smart script and fun songs will surely have a great time. This is something of a review proof show, if this is your jam you are going to overlook the flaws. If it isn’t, you won’t appreciate what works. Glancing over the the ticket page at the Ordway every performance is showing limited availability so if you are a fan, I urge you to get your tickets sooner rather than later so you get the best possible seats. Get as close as you can, because one of the flaws of this production is that it’s a little difficult to make out about 1/4 of the lyrics. Again, fans who know the show will fill in from memory the parts their ears don’t hear, but newbies will want to listen closely.

In an odd way, and admittedly this is truly a stretch, but if you squint real hard, it’s another show that is an allegory for the current political and social climate of our country. The story is narrated by two students Damian and Janis, played by Joshua Morrisey and Alexys Morera, who are two of the best performers in the show. They tell the story of their friend Cady played by Katie Yeomans, who moves to their town and their high school from Africa where she lived and was home schooled by her parents. Damian and Janis befriend Cady who has little experience with other kids and show her the ropes. When the Queen Bee of the school Regina George, played by Maya Petropoulos, and her two sidekicks Gretchen and Karen, played by Kristen Amanda Smith and Maryrose Brendel, take an interest in befriending Cady. Damian and Janis convince her to go along and report back what happens. Regina is the meanest of the mean girls of the title. But, what the show ultimately tries to point out is that all the girls have been treated meanly and also been mean to another. Gretchen is kept in line by the intelligent but manipulative Regina, by constantly making her doubt herself which she expresses in one of the better songs “What’s Wrong With Me?“. Karen it is stated, is just dumb and plays into the old stereotype of the dumb blonde. So in the allegory Regina is Trump, Gretchen is probably J.D. Vance, And clearly Karen represents 40 percent of the U.S. population. The way they run the school is by fear, lies, and generally being mean to anyone who isn’t them, which is probably about one percent of the schools population. Look I said it was a stretch, but it does kind of work, even if that wasn’t the author’s intent. Fey’s message is actually more important on the human level and that woman need to lift each other up not break each other down. If you have to make someone else feel ugly so that you feel pretty, you need to take a close look at yourself.

Favorites in this production where Morrisey, Morera, Yeomans, and Smith. One performance that seemed like a total misfire was Jose Raul as Aaron, the guy that Cady likes and used to go out with Regina. He’s supposed to be fairly smart but would have been more believable as a dumb jock, there is just something in the way he plays the character that doesn’t fit what we are supposed to see in him. I had seen the show from the original North American tour in 2019, I don’t remember a lot about it, after all that was 500 plus shows ago. But one thing that has stuck with me from that tour was the extensive use of video panels in the set design. All of that is gone in the production replaced with painted drops and set pieces that are wheeled in and out and for me it’s an improvement. I enjoy a strategic use of video, whether it be projections of panels, but that first production of Mean Girls was an example of over reliance on the technology. One thing from this production that feels like it must be a downgrade are the wigs put on some of the characters by hair designer Josh Marquette. I was near the back of the orchestra and they looked like halloween costumes wigs from where I was, I can’t imagine how they looked to people in the front rows. So for me it was something of a mixed bag of a show, I think fans will enjoy it, but it isn’t going to win over any non believers.

Mean Girls runs through April 13th at the Ordway Center for Performing Arts in Downtown St. Paul. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://ordway.org/events/mean-girls/

Fun Home is Dead Brilliant at Theater Latté Da

Eve Scharback (Small Alison), Sara Masterson (Alison), Monty Hays (Medium Alison). Photo Dan Norman

Fun Home the 90 minute no intermission (is there a better theater term than that?) show based on the autobiographical graphic novel by Alison Bechdel gets a fantastic staging at Theater Latté Da. A favorite of mine since I saw a performance of “Ring of Keys” on the 2015 Tony Awards and began listening to the Cast Recording. I saw the tour at the Orpheum Theatre in 2016, and have been anxious for someone to do it in town. The wait was worth it, Theater Latté Da has assembled a stellar cast particularly the trio of actors playing Alison at three different ages. That performance at the Tony’s of “Ring of Keys” that so captivated me that I began listening to the cast recording before even seeing the show, I didn’t think could be matched. But get your baseball gloves ready because Eve Scharback as Small Alison knocks it out of the park! It’s just one of several sublimely perfect moments in the show, but it’s perhaps the most powerful, when Alison clicks with herself. The penny drops and she doesn’t know what it all means yet, but she sees someone, an adult, and she recognizes herself in that stranger. It’s a moment of wonder, joy, and discovery and somehow, a very young actress, conveys all of that in her swagger and her bearing and her just right way of performing the song.

Fun Home is narrated by the Adult Alison who is a cartoonist. She’s turning her memories into a graphic novel and as she explores her past as one of three kids growing up in a house like a museum that is also a funeral home, known in the family as Fun Home. She wrestles with what is real as she doesn’t trust memory. Part of that is because our perspective changes at different ages. Our understanding of what might really have been happening becomes clearer, and new information gained later in life throws a different light on old memories. She states early on “My Dad and I both grew up in the same small Pennsylvania Town, and he was gay, and I was gay, and he killed himself, and I became a lesbian cartoonist”. That sums up what this musical explores, the ways in which two people who are in many ways similar, turn out so different because of the choices they made, and partly because of the times in which they were born it should be acknowledged. Bruce, Alison’s father lived his life in the closet and it ultimately destroyed him. Alison, came out, lived as her authentic self, and it made all the difference. It’s a powerful message in these dark days when we have taken such huge steps backwards as a society. One can see the temptation again to protect yourself by hiding who you are, this speaks to the importance of living your truth.

There are so many moments from this cast that blew the audience away. First up, the three juvenile actors playing Small Alison, Eve Scharback, her brothers Christian and John played by Truman Bednar and Brock Heuring practice a pretend commercial they are writing for the Funeral Home. “Come to the Fun Home” is a song that could go off the rails if any one of the three weren’t up to the task, but the three of them bring the house down, it’s so funny and fabulously choreographed by Katie Rose McLaughlin. Another favorite song is when Monty Hays (who is a The Stages of MN favorite, full stop), playing Medium Alison performs the song “Changing My Major” after their first sexual experience with college girlfriend Joan, played perfectly by the always great Emma Schuld. Lastly, I want to mention a song that has always tugged at my heart which is “Telephone Wire”. It takes place between Adult Alison played by Sara Masterson, who is standing in during this scene that actually took place on a car ride between Medium Alison and her father Bruce, played by Shad Hanley. There is a constant refrain “Say something, talk to him. Say something, Anything.” I think parents and children can both relate to that moment, when you want to be able to say something important to the other person and can’t find the moment or the courage. Adult Alison has stepped in because this is the last night with her Dad and the following lyrics explain why this moment is so important that she has inserted herself into the past to see if she can discover something she missed when she was young.

“Telephone wire, make this not the past.
This car ride, this is where it has to happen.
There must be some other chances.
There’s a moment I’m forgetting, where you tell me you see me?
Say something, talk to me.
Say something, anything.
At the light, at the light.
This can’t be our last-.”
“Telephone wire” Lyrics by Lisa Kron

Masterson is urgent and completely compelling in this heartbreaking moment where she is in the present pleading for a chance at a do over, but it isn’t that kind of show. She can reinterpret and reexamine a memory but she cannot change the past. Hanley is superb as Bruce, there are moments I hated how he behaved, partly because I hated when I behaved that way in my own life. Little parenting moments that every parent has where you didn’t handle things like you would if you were thinking about it rather than just living your life. But a lesson we can take from the show is that we cannot change the past, we have to move forward and move on.

Fun Home runs through May 4th at Theater Latté Da in North Minneapolis. I absolutely loved this production and I’m going to see it a second time if I can. Every aspect of the production is inspired, but I do want to point out specifically the Scenic Designer Eli Sherlock who has crammed every nook and cranny of the stage and under the stage with old furniture. I recommend you get your tickets early I can see this selling out performances and besides, you might want to see it twice as well. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.latteda.org/fun-home

The Tin Woman Is All About the Heart at the Historic Mounds Theatre

Doug Thompson, Elizabeth Efteland, Matt Berdahl, Stephanie Wipf, and Dorian Chalmers Photo by BTE Media Co

100 Percent Human Theatre presents The Tin Woman by Sean Grennan, a title that has multiple meanings in regards to its protagonist Joy, a woman who like the Tin Man of Oz needs a heart. The play is directed by Joy Donley whose 16-year-old son Lewis’s organ donations have benefited 60 individuals. Donley knows first hand the power inherent in such a gift, in the comfort from knowing that something positive can spring from such so unimaginably tragic. She has poured all of that understanding and compassion into this project and it culminates in such a cathartic moment that we leave the theater feeling as if a weight has been lifted from us all. You will cry more than likely but it is not because something is sad, but because something beautiful and healing has occurred. For my money, those are the best tears, they cleanse and renew us, and that’s how I felt leaving the theater tonight.

Joy, the character is the recipient of a heart transplant from Jack who is a son and brother. While Jack’s family mourns, Joy isolates. Her friend Darla tries to get her to re engage with the world, but there was already something broken within Joy before her heart went bad. Grennan’s script reveals multiple metaphorical meanings, the Tin Woman is certainly a reference to the character from The Wizard of Oz but it is more than the fact that Joy physically needs a heart transplant. She not only literally needs a heart but she figuratively does as well. She is isolating and has broken up with her boyfriend. Judging by her reactions to her nurses inquiries about a boyfriend or fiance, and to a man asking for the cinnamon in a flashback scene set pre-heart surgery in a cafe, she isn’t interested in a relationship. We get a hint as to why Joy doesn’t let anyone into her heart from a conversation she has with her friend Darla about her childhood. Jack’s family is grieving, his mother, Alice, and sister, Sammy are trying to move forward and get excited at the prospect of meeting Joy after she has sent them a letter of thanks. His father Hank though has heart issues of his own, as Alice stated at one point, the next time Hank talks about his feelings will also be the first time. Hank doesn’t want to deal with his sons death and he doesn’t want to meet Joy. Present throughout the play, sometimes in flashbacks but mostly as an unseen and unheard presence is Jack. His minimal interactions as the spirit never take on a supernatural aspect, but they do lend an emotional element, Jack’s hands are like the hands of fate causing a person to finally hit the right button to access an image on a digital camera, or the touch that causes someone to finally feel connection and warmth.

At intermission my favorite performance was Greta Grosch who plays the Nurse and Joy’s friend Darla. Grosch is great fun in both roles providing much of the humor. I know that the description so far doesn’t sound like it’s a comedy, and I wouldn’t go so far as to say it is. But, like life itself, it has a lot of funny moments. The feeling on the rest of the cast was that they were good, but that’s because all of the other characters are for the most part shutting down their emotions. By the end of Act II, it would be hard to pick a favorite, everyone built up their characters defences so well that when they finally fall away it’s an emotional release for everyone in the theater. Joy is played by Elizabeth Efteland, Alice by Dorian Chalmers, Sammy by Stephanie Wipf, Hank by Doug Thompson, and Jack is played by Matt Berdahl. Efteland plays the closed off Joy as someone who seems used to having her share of food at the dinner table stolen, wary and unengaging. When she confronts Hank about his behavior it’s like she finally has decided to fight for her share of the food. Chalmers is great as Alice, her matter of fact dealings with the grumpy Hank feel authentic, Thompson’s responses feel a little more like line readings particularly in the first act, but he really comes through once Hank and Joy begin to interact. Wipf, is quite engaging as the free spirited, blog writing, preschool teacher, Sammy. Overly touchy with the hug averse Joy, and likely to begin crying at the drop of a hat, this is mostly played with humor, but our first one on one scene with her shows us a more subtle side as she conducts story time with her preschoolers, we see her getting a little sad, but she covers it well, a tricky thing to show us the emotions the character is feeling but at the same time, concealing.

The Tin Woman runs through April 13th at the Historic Mounds Theater in St. Paul. I was quite moved by this production and in that rare way where you are crying but because something is more beautiful than sad. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://100percenthumantheatre.com/

To learn more about organ donation and to register to become a donor if you are not already go to https://www.life-source.org/

The Show From E/D is Funny, Dark, Light, Messy, and Everything In Between at Red Eye Theater

Debra Berger and Emily Michaels King Photo by Dan Norman

The Show is a performance that may confound some and exhilarate others. Is The Show, a show for everyone, well no, of course not, no show is. Is it a show that could be for most people? Yes, I think it is as long as they go in as I did with the proper expectations. This show is not a linear story, it isn’t a sketch show, it isn’t a dance recital, it isn’t a country singer showcase, and it isn’t a feminist view of gender roles in modern society. It’s all of those things filtered through abstraction. Like light shown through a prism it splinters the female experience into multiple moments that are unique. Bold, filled with music, and featuring a lighting design by Karin Olson that feels like a third performer, it’s that integral to every moment that occurs on stage. I doubt there is a woman reading this that would not identify with elements of this show, and many would identify with every moment in this show. I also think there are many men who can gain a better understanding of their fellow travelers upon this planet through seeing this show. All that is required to embrace The Show is to let go of the urge to impose a narrative upon what you are witnessing and receive each new segment as it comes. There is something that will make you laugh, hurt, smile, and feel seen and heard in every different shade and color refracted through this show’s amazing light.

Created and performed by Emily Michaels King and Debra Berger The Show premiered in 2022. I missed that production and am very grateful that it was so successful during that run that they decided to bring it back. It’s the sort of experimental and personal theater that we don’t often see. Which of course is what makes it so exciting. I love a good play and a musical, obviously, but it’s nice every now and then to go into something that’s unlike anything else. Berger and Michaels King give us glimpses of everything from their feelings when they look in the mirror, of dancing like the rest of the world isn’t there, lip synching to “the Titanic song”, and experiences that are shameful either for their behavior or for what was done to them. Are all of these moments their personal truth? maybe, maybe not, but they are truths, they are recognizable and they are to some woman, no, many womens truths. It doesn’t matter what is theirs or a friends or a family members. What matters is that these moments, these colors if you will, are seen and shared. These women are brave and talented and they don’t leave anything left in reserve, they give us everything they have and it’s beautiful.

The Show runs through April 5th at Red Eye Theater in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.edmakesart.org/

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Secret Warriors Examines the Sacrifices and Heroism of Japanese Americans in WWII at History Theatre

Erik Ohno Dagoberg, Clay Man Soo, Tony Larkin, Stephanie Anne Bertumen, Kendall Kent Photo by Rick Spaulding

Secret Warriors by R.A. Shiomi reminds us that the ugliness we see around us everyday, especially from our government is not new. It tells a story from a shameful moment in our country’s history, when Americans of Japanese descent were rounded up and imprisoned in camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. That is the backdrop upon which this story is told, in the foreground are four soldiers, who despite what was happening to their families volunteered for a secret project that saved thousands of lives during the war. While we follow these four soldiers through their agreement to enroll in the program, the subsequent training, and their ultimate deployment in the Pacific theater, we are constantly aware of internment camps. The set design by Erik Paulson significantly contributes to this by having the back of the set inclosed in tall chain link fences panels with barbed wire along the top. Whenever the scene changes and wherever the action on stage is taking place, that barbed wire fence stands as a reminder of the injustice that is occuring to the characters families back home. Just as this play, masterfully directed by Lily Tung Crystal, should stand as a reminder that we’ve done all of this before and regretted it.

The four soldiers whom we follow throughout the production are played by Erik Ohno Dagoberg, Song Kim, Josh Kwon, and Clay Man Soo. The story really focuses on two of the soldiers, Tamio played by Dagoberg, and Koji played by Clay Man Soo. While they seem to clash when they first meet, Tamio being a cocky and aggressive personality compared to Koji’s more reserved demeanor, they soon become friends. Soo is good, particularly once he enters the war and uses his skills as a translator to get the enemy to surrender or talking officers of the Japanese army into providing information that will save lives on both sides. Dagoberg is electric, from the moment he comes on stage, it’s a role that requires a big personality and he delivers that but without being over the top, he’s subtly charismatic and that draws the audience into him even more. One of the things that bonds the two is they both meet and fall in love with girls at the same USO dance. Stephanie Anne Bertumen reunites with her Sanctuary City costar Soo, as Koji’s girlfriend Natsuko. While Tamio’s eventual fiance Denise Murphy is played by Kendall Kent. Bertumen and Kent’s performances are crucial to the audiences involvement in the show. The idea itself would make an interesting play to be sure. But, the romantic relationships made so heartfelt by Bertumen and Kent are key to raising our emotional involvement in the characters and raising the level of the play from interesting to compelling. Their letters from home help to build the tension and the concern for the characters raising the emotional bar of what is at stake.

Paulson’s set design in effective in Act One, with a backdrop on which Kathy Maxwell’s projections are splashed, giving us virtual locals or context to the scenes. When the audience returns from intermission for Act Two, we are astonished to see the stage transformed. Wooden structures that formed stairways on the sides of the stage have been moved to the center and combined to represent for example, a ship carrying the soldiers to the Pacific theater of the war. But the surprises do not end there, though I think I’ll keep that to myself as I was rather amazed by the transformation that occured next. Meghan Kent has designed period costuming that perfectly captures the era. Behind the scenes rounding out the overall high quality production design are Lighting Designer Wu Chen Khoo, Properties Designer Kenji Shoemaker, and Sound Designer Frederick Kennedy.

Secret Warriors runs through April 19th at History Theatre in St. Paul. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.historytheatre.com/2024-2025/secret-warriors

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