In 1986 Universal Pictures released the animated film An American Tail, and I wasn’t in the theater for that one. I was fourteen and it was a cartoon released three years before Disney’s, The Little Mermaid, made animated features cool again. I was aware of the Academy Award nominated song “Somewhere Out There“, and I think I was aware it was about a mouse who immigrated to America. So I can’t tell you if the film you loved as a kid is faithfully adapted to the stage. What I can tell you is that the version I saw on opening night at Children’s Theatre Company is a very entertaining yet surprisingly political show. The show is jam packed with subjects to discuss with your children or grandchildren on the drive home. Tradition (As Tevye might sing it), immigration, organized crime, political philosophies, and haberdashery to name a few. There’s plenty of laughs to keep the adults entertained along with excitement and creativity to enthrall the wee ones. There was also a couple of effectively frightening moments that were quite impressive from a stage craft perspective as well an emotional response.

The film has been adapted for the stage with book and lyrics by Itamar Moses, and music and lyrics by Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler. The story opens in Russia where the the Mousekewitz family is celebrating Hanukkah after lighting the candles and giving the children their presents. Papa tells the children, Tanya and Fievel, stories before bedtime. These tales play into the multiple meanings that the title represents. For it’s through recounting the tales his father told him that Fievel finds inspiration to overcome the challenges he faces throughout the story. Once everyone is in bed there’s a cat attack and the Mousekowitzes home is destroyed. It’s then they decide to immigrate to America where they believe are no cats and the roads are paved with cheese. During the journey across the ocean, Fievel is washed overboard during a storm but survives in a bottle and washes up in New York City. Fievel sets off into the city to try and find his family, who assume he has died. Fievel first meets the villainous Warren T. Rat who sells him to a sweatshop. There he meets Tony who helps him and other orphans, who have also been enslaved, to escape the sweatshop. We learn that Warren T. Rat has been collecting protection money from the mice to pay the cats to leave the mice alone. Tony offers to help Fievel find his parents and in doing so they meet Bridget, an outspoken politically minded young mouse, who wants to lead a revolt against the cats. They organize a rally with the help of the wealthy uptown mouse Gussie Mausheimer and the politician Honest John to stop paying the protection money and fight the cats. Fievel hopes that his family will come to the rally and see him where they’ll be reunited.

Playing the lead as Fievel is Matthew Woody who performs with the assuredness and stage presence of a veteran performer. He’ll be an inspiration to any young people in the audience who think they might like to try their hand at the acting life. Equally appealing and talented is Lillian Hochman as his older sister Tanya. The duet share on that holdover from the film version “Somewhere Out there” is a high point of the show and an emotionally resonant moment towards the end of the first act. Luverne Seifert plays duo roles as the warm and loving Papa and the devious Warren T. Rat, pulling these complete opposites off wonderfully. Becca Hart likewise plays both Mama and Rat’s cockroach accountant Digit, getting a chance to show off her dance moves in a seen with her fellow cockroaches that’s wonderfully choreographed by Katie Spelman. Other notable performers are Ryan London Levin as Tony, Kiko Laureano as Bridget, Autumn Ness as Gussie and Reed Sigmund as Honest John. They, along with the entire ensemble, bring this tale of mice and cats to glorious life.

Speaking of bringing things to life, what a spectacular job the creative team has done bringing this tail into existence. Jason Sherwood’s Set Design is astonishingly inventive, each new scene brings some new wonder. Beginning with a suitcase that opens to reveal the Mousekowitz house to the perspective illusion of the sewer tunnels under New York. Lighting Designer Jeanett Oi-Suk Yew’s work enhances Sherwood’s work and get’s to do some really creative things like a flashlight that shines down making the Cockroaches scatter. Costume Designer Trevor Bowen along with Hair, Make-up, and Wig Designer J. Jared Janas create effective and distinctive looks for the characters. The tails and ears on the mice are perfect and I love Honest John’s suit, the suit that Tony makes for himself. The Puppet Designer Christopher Lutter-Gardella deserves special praise for the creation of the life size (in comparison to the mice) cats. Their attack at the beginning is genuinely scary with a great big face that comes lurking from the back of the stage and paws that reach out at the mice from the wings. There are also several sets of large glowing eyes that menace from all corners of the stage. Equally impressive is a giant mouse that appears inspired by one of Papa’s stories.

An American Tail the Musical is one of those Children’s shows that the adults will enjoy as much as the kids. In fact, it’s one of the rare children’s shows that I can unabashedly recommend to adults without children. It is running through June 18th at Children’s Theatre Company in Mineapolis, for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://childrenstheatre.org/whats-on/an-american-tail-22-23/

Don’t want to miss a single review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have every post sent directly to your email. 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. Also you can follow me on Facebook, @thestagesofmn click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), you can read roundups of shows by my colleagues and I on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. Follow that group, It’s a great way to see reviews for shows I don’t get to or to get another blogger’s take on one I did. We have some exciting things in the works for 2023 for the TCTB and our readers. Follow us to be the first to know about those happenings like our recent Prom Date with the TCTB that we held on March 4th. If you didn’t make it to that event there’s still time to see the The Prom at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) thru June 10th . You can view the TCTB Talk Back that we held on March 4th with the CDT Artistic Director and three of the stars of The Prom here https://bit.ly/promtalkback

UPCOMING TCTB EVENT!!! Join me and my fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers Thursday May 4th for a Pajama Party with the TCTB! We encourage you to come in your pajamas and enjoy a performance of The Pajama Game at Artistry in Bloomington. There will be a post show discussion and a chance to meet your favorite Theater Bloggers. And, best of all, here’s a code to use PJPARTY to get discounted $30 tickets. You can read my review of the show here https://bit.ly/pajamagameartistry

As the 2022/2023 theatre season progresses at Theatre in the Round Players I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. So far this has been without a doubt, the strongest season show by show the company has had since I began attending regularly, long before I began reviewing shows. Would True West be the show that broke the perfect record? Given the pedigree, a modern classic by Sam Shepard and directed by Duck Washington, I didn’t think it likely. Sure enough, it’s another triumph for Theatre in the Round Players, the oldest community theater in the Twin Cities. Anchored by two powerhouse performances, True West keeps you precariously on the edge of your seat while regularly letting off steam with moments of dark humor. Shepards play, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1983, begins as an uncomfortable situation that takes a turn into absurdity.

Austin is a screenwriter who is staying in his mother’s house while she’s away on a trip to Alaska. He is grounded and well educated, straight laced, and married with children. As the play opens, we see him trying to work on his latest screenplay but unable to give it his attention due to the unexpected arrival of his estranged brother Lee. Lee is a drifter who has been living in the desert making his living as a thief by breaking into houses and stealing items to sell. Austin is clearly uncomfortable with his brothers presence and the audience shares his feelings. Annoyed at the interruption, distrustful of his intentions, and clearly somewhat intimidated, Austin does everything he can to keep the conversation light and non-confrontational. Unfortunately, Lee is one of those people who can turn every remark from a comment on the weather to a compliment into a confrontation. Austin along with the audience is thinking how can they be brothers or begin to relate to each other. When Lee interests Saul, the movie producer, Austin is working with on a story of his own, both of their lives turn upside down. The diametrically opposed brothers begin to swap places. The tone goes from sense of uneasiness to something akin to a black farce if such a thing exists. The intelligent Austin begins to make decisions ruled by emotions while the volatile Lee tries to rationally work on his screenplay. In nearly every way the two become comic versions of each other where they’ve swapped not only careers, but desires.

The performances of Joe Swanson as Austin and David Tufford as Lee are riveting. Swanson, whose character the audience identifies with, reacts as we do to Lee’s personality thus bonding us to him. The connection is so complete that we find our mind backpedaling at the same moments Austin is. We flinch when he does, and we have the urge to appease Lee when he does. When things begin to go off the rails, we suddenly start to diverge from the character. Swanson has to play it very composed and rational in the opening scenes, when he starts to change into a humorous version of Lee, he doesn’t go the volatile route, his irrational behavior has a different quality which feels authentic to his character. It’s the less showy of the two roles, but Swanson perfectly captured the idea of a man who hasn’t snapped, but more so departed the course and values by which he has lived his life. Tufford’s character Lee is the kind of man you never want to get stuck in a room or a conversation with. He intentionally turns every interaction into a moment of unease and awkwardness. Tufford prowls around the stage like a tiger in a cage adding to the feeling that he is about to pounce on Austin at any moment. The role could be played over the top and larger than life but Tufford wisely keeps the character internal making his every move packed with the potential, rather than an example of explosiveness. It’s the unreleased potential and expectation of violence that makes Tuffold’s performance so menacing. His performance is actually frightening, not because of what the character actually does, but by how it is performed. When his character begins to change, it makes that all the more humorous. To see the man who was clearly and intentionally making his brother frustrated by his constant comments while he’s trying to write, the reverse is comical. The reversals tone is so opposite is due to the actors understanding of their characters, the reversal of intent doesn’t change who they are. The cast is rounded out by Kjer Whiting as Saul and Kathleen Winters as Austin and Lee’s Mom, both small roles but well played.

Duck Washington clearly understands the dichotomy of the characters which is the focus of Shepard’s play. He understands that the exchanges the characters make in terms of goals and actions doesn’t change who they are underneath. He trusts the audience to see what is happening without pandering to them with obvious changes like wardrobe. He realizes that it’s important for the characters to remain who they are internally, even as the things they want change. He directs with intelligence, and a focus on building the tension from expectation rather than open aggression. Michael Haas’s set design effectively uses the theatre in the round arena creating the interior of a home. The lighting design by Shannon Elliott helps to set time of day and ends the play with a particularly effective spotlight. Colleen O’dell’s costume design help establish the characters with those of Saul being especially effective in helping to create the character of the Hollywood producer

True West runs through May 14th at Theatre in the Round Players in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatreintheround.org/home/season-placeholder/current_season/true-west/

Theater Latté Da rarely makes a misstep, in fact you could almost say it’s probably the safest bet in town. When they introduce the World Premiere of a new musical, there’s little doubt that it’s going to be something special. We Shall Someday is a show with so much promise, a great hook for it’s story, a fantastic cast, and an elegant set design. Which makes it all the more disappointing that it is one of their rare missteps. The more I think about it, the more I see the potential it squanders. The only thing that doesn’t work is the music, which is kind of a big factor in a musical. In what seems like a sign now, Minnesota Playlist published an interview I gave tonight. In it, I was asked what advice I would give to someone interested in starting a theater blog and I said, write bad reviews. My reasoning is, I’m trying to grow audiences, to get people off of their couches and out into the city to experience live theater. If I convince someone, particularly someone who doesn’t really go to the theater, to take a chance on a show and they don’t like it, it’s going to be that much harder to get them out again the next time. If I get someone out to the theater and they have a great time, their going to want to have that rewarding experience again and again. And therein lies the necessity of writing bad reviews, so that we don’t sabotage the opportunity to grow our audience. If there aren’t bad reviews, the good ones don’t mean anything. I also said, and it was a good reminder to have tonight, don’t be mean, and make sure with the bad, you are also pointing out the good.

The musical tells the story of three generations of a southern black family beginning in 1961 with the Freedom Riders, and ending in 1992 with the protests of the Rodney King verdict. The family members, a father, daughter, and grandson each get an act to tell their story chronologically. The father, Julius, tells of his experience going and joining the Freedom Riders and their nonviolent protests throughout the south in 1961. His daughter, Ruby, tells of the trauma of being called to the hospital because her son Jay was beaten by a police officer, essentially for being black. In Act 3, Jay tells of his experience of the Rodney King beating and its aftermath. It’s a brilliant concept and vehicle to explore generational trauma, the cycles of violence, and to hold a mirror up to America in 2023 through the lens of it’s past. The cast is phenomenally talented, both as singers and in their dramatic performances. The issue is the music, it isn’t poorly written music on its own but not what I would spend an afternoon listening to. I can appreciate that it’s well composed and acknowledge that it’ll be to others tastes. The problem, aside from a couple of notable exceptions, it drained the story of it’s emotional power. It seemed completely at odds with the subject matter and characters. Where the dialogue or lyrics begins and the other ends isn’t always clear and starts to ignite a fire in our souls, but the music seems to be trying to throw water on it. There are musicals that mostly consist of songs, and there are musicals that mostly consist of music played while someone sings their dialogue. Admittedly, I lean more towards the former and this show is decidedly the latter. The show is written book and lyrics by Harrison David Rivers, and the music and additional lyrics by Ted Shen. I think the script, particularly it’s structure, and dialogue have the potential to be a riveting and powerful play, and that would be my suggestion to Rivers. The situations and emotions when they are not being undercut, create feelings of real anger at the injustices perpetrated upon, not just these characters, but large swaths of our countries population. It’s a fatal flaw something that creates such visceral empathy one moment, becomes so utterly unengaging the next. These are important issues and subject matter but it feels as if NPR produced a musical. I don’t know if that makes any sense, but I think if you see it, you’ll understand what I mean.

If the musical as I described it, sounds like the sort of thing you like, then there is a lot more to like in this show as well. There are a few moments here and there where the music doesn’t seem to be working against the material. One is in the third act when Jay let’s loose, the disbelief and anger over the not guilty verdict in the trial of the officers who beat Rodney King. In that moment we get some elements of rap creeping in, the music becomes much more aggressive and discordant which actually supports and enhances what the character is experiencing. As I mentioned, the cast is great as are the musicians, everyone brings their all to the project. Roland Hawkins II is Julius and has an amazing vocal range, seemingly equally comfortable with the high and low registers. Erin Nicole Farste is Ruby who plays the pain, anger, and fear of being the mother of a young black man who has been beaten by the police all in the same moment. Showing us how all of these emotions are shadings and aspects of a life lived in the ever present shadow of racism. Ronnie Allen is Jay, and it’s in his Act that the show somewhat successfully overpowers the music, or at least the music stops trying to be in direct conflict with the characters and their story. Allen is really well cast as a performer, he shows us Jay’s rage in a moment that mirrors our own sense of outrage, giving voice to all of our collective souls. He also delivers a grounded portrayal of someone who has been beaten, who is always conscious of his role in his mother’s life, but also can feel the strains of an overprotective mother. Finally, Bradley Johnson hot off his role as Satan in Analog and Vinyl, gets to portray two racist authorities in the the first two Acts and then Jay’s white college roommate with the too on the nose name of Scooter in Act 3. There’s not a lot for Johnson to do, but he lends his voice in song and gives us the focal point we need to direct our anger at in those first two Acts.

While I can’t really recommend the show, I do admire the talent that went into the production. Sarah Bahr has created a sleek and impressive set. The back panels of which act as screens for the projection designs of Kathy Maxwell, which effectively transport us to different locations as well as a couple of montages which are quite effective. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.latteda.org/we-shall-someday This is the perfect show to check out what my fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers thought, as I’m certain out opinions will differ on this one. Watch for a round up in the next week or so, to see that follow us on FB at @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers

Don’t want to miss a single review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have every post sent directly to your email. 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. Also you can follow me on Facebook, @thestagesofmn click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), you can read roundups of shows by my colleagues and I on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. Follow that group, It’s a great way to see reviews for shows I don’t get to or to get another blogger’s take on one I did. We have some exciting things in the works for 2023 for the TCTB and our readers. Follow us to be the first to know about those happenings like our recent Prom Date with the TCTB that we held on March 4th. If you didn’t make it to that event there’s still time to see the The Prom at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) thru June 10th . You can view the TCTB Talk Back that we held on March 4th with the CDT Artistic Director and three of the stars of The Prom here https://bit.ly/promtalkback

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill is a play about one of the last performances of Billie Holiday, one of the most influential Jazz singers of all time. The play by Lanie Robertson is essentially Billie Holiday performing in a small bar set about four months before her death in 1959 at the age of 44. Holiday suffered from severe alcohol abuse and drug addiction which led to the ailments that ended her life at such a young age. The play shows us a woman doing what she loves, singing, while also doing what she can’t stop doing, drinking and using drugs. The show is filled with the songs Holiday was known for as she also tells the audience little nuggets of information about her life. Her pianist Jimmy tries to keep the show on track by beginning to play a song when he senses the monologues are getting a little to long winded, or to real. Which works because Holiday is a professional singer and performer, even after her brief intermission to shoot up in her dressing room, the familiar notes of a song will remind her why she’s there. The script masterfully weaves information about Holiday with songs while showing us the sad end of someone who could have given the world so much more if she had been able to free herself from abusive relationships and substance abuse. This easily could be a show that gets bogged down in rambling confessions, regrets, and grudges, but Robertson relies on Holiday’s professionalism to keep the show on track. We don’t spend the evening being depressed, though there is a sadness to knowing how it ends for Holiday. The show is full of stunningly performed songs, and the buzz you get when you see an actor doing something flawless and electric.

Though not technically a one woman show, that’s essentially what it is. I don’t want to dismiss the contribution of Thomas West as Jimmy. Without his delicious work on the keys, musically the show would be diminished. Lots of people can play the piano, but most cannot embody that playing with the style and brilliance that West does. The spotlight is on and belongs to Thomasina Petrus. Petrus doesn’t give us a concert in the character of Billie Holiday but a full out performance of a great singer at the end of her life, becoming more incoherent as the evening goes on. Petrus finds the balance of still giving us an amazing vocal performance so we can delight in the recreation of the legendary singers style while also having her falter as the night goes on. It’s a nuanced dramatic performance that is as accomplished as the singing is. This isn’t an actor performing the songs of Billie Holiday or a play about the end days of Billie Holiday. It is a dramatic character study of one night in the life of an incredibly gifted singer who connects with her audience through songs. She shares glimpses into her soul, both the beautiful and the tortured aspects through her songs and behavior.

All of this is set against and wonderfully realized set designed by Justin Hooper. A beautiful corner of a 1950’s bar that feels authentic especially when filled with mist giving it the look of a smoke filled room. The set is highlighted by wonderful little touches like the painted on reverse shadows of Holiday singing on the brick walls and the translucent wall into Holiday’s dressing room. The Lighting Designer Alex Clark adds to the feel of a bar from that era with lots of reds and yellows at play. The Director Austene Van and Clark also utilizes the lights in a rather clever way. At one point when Holiday is going a little further than the management would like and Jimmy doesn’t seem to be able to nudge her musically in the right direction. The lights where she is standing go off, as she moves under another light they continue to go off until she finally relents and sings a song. It’s a strong visual representation of how Holiday was being used. They don’t want to hear her thoughts, shut up and sing, entertain us, we don’t care about you, make us money. Van gives us these little moments through staging, like the lights and the peek into the dressing room to remind us, as she was struggling, others were making money off her. Enabling her to kill herself as long as it allowed her to go stage a few more times and make them their money.

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill runs through May 21st at Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo. For more information and to purchase tickets, including VIP tickets so you can sit at one of the two tables on set as soon in the photo above, go to: https://yellowtreetheatre.com/

Don’t want to miss a single review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have every post sent directly to your email. 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. Also you can follow me on Facebook, @thestagesofmn click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), you can read roundups of shows by my colleagues and I on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. Follow that group, It’s a great way to see reviews for shows I don’t get to or to get another blogger’s take on one I did. We have some exciting things in the works for 2023 for the TCTB and our readers. Follow us to be the first to know about those happenings like our recent Prom Date with the TCTB that we held on March 4th. If you didn’t make it to that event there’s still time to see the The Prom at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) thru June 10th . You can view the TCTB Talk Back that we held on March 4th with the CDT Artistic Director and three of the stars of The Prom here https://bit.ly/promtalkback

I’m getting to the point where it’s rare for me to come across a theatre company that’s existed for awhile, I haven’t been to a production of, or at least heard of. Usually when that happens, I’m not going to be overwhelmed, there’s a reason I haven’t heard of them in those cases. I’d never heard of Sidekick Theatre but when I received the press release, the show sounded fun and I like to discover new companies and venues. The play Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help was being performed at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center. Now I don’t know why, but for some reason I was expecting something sort of makeshift, like a lecture hall that they also use as a theater or something. Honestly, when I drove up, I downgraded my expectations in terms of the facility. I was almost certain there must be an assisted living housing for seniors attached to the Heritage Center. Boy, was I wrong. When I walked in I was very surprised and impressed with the set that greeted me. I knew at once I was likely in for a pleasant surprise. Once the play began, I was equally impressed with the theater’s sound and lighting systems. The play itself lived up to the promise of it’s amusing synopsis and the cast was far from the group of, “let’s put on a show” amateurs I was inexplicably expecting. Perusal of the program connected some dots for me as I started to recognize some names like Director Tim Stolz, but it also reaffirmed that this was a small theater company. There are three people listed in the production staff, I think that’s less than a high school usually has. I don’t know how they put together such a professional show, but I’m sure glad I discovered them. Located in the far northwestern corner of Bloomington, Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help is worth making the trek for.

The play is written by Katie Forgette and as the main character Linda O’Shea describes it, this is a memory play. Forgette has Linda introduce us to the members of her family before the story begins. She and the other characters will break the fourth wall several times throughout the play, a lot of the humor coming from the fact that we are viewing the 1970’s through our 2020’s eyes.

“For one week in 1973, the O’Shea family faces a crisis of biblical proportions when a simple
conversation about the birds and the bees threatens to turn into a parish-wide scandal.
With their good name at stake, the quick-witted women of the O’Shea household must
work together to preserve their honor and prove that nothing is stronger than a family
bond.”

Sidekick Theatre press release

I don’t want to spoil any of the best jokes or the surprises to be had in the show but want to acknowledge one of Forgette’s cleverest inventions. Linda says that her father’s personality was so strong that in her memories he always does impressions of other people. This allows the actor playing the father to also play the local priest as well as the noisy woman from the church congregation. It’s a funny and practical way to keep the cast small while adding to the comic nature of the play.

The entire cast is wonderful, I don’t even have a favorite. Tara Borman plays Linda, whose memory this play is, she has the straight man as we all do in our memories. We are the normal ones while everyone around are a bit eccentric right? She does a nice job of playing both the detached narrator and her younger self within the memory. She’s warm and engages with the audience in a way that feels completely natural. Michelle Myers is Jo, the mother of the O’Shea household, and Tinia Moulder is her sister Terri who’s staying with them while on a break from her husband. These performers know how to play these 70’s women to a tee, they are at once recognizable without falling into the area of caricature. Okay, maybe I do have a slight favorite but if I do, it’s Audrey Parker as the 13 year old, little sister Becky. I always find it a difficult task for grown men and women to play kids. It’s really easy to come off as childish, which quickly becomes annoying. Parker side steps that pitfall with ease, creating a character that is entertaining and quirky, believing she’s 13. Not childish, but because she acts like a person with the understanding and imagination of a real 13 year old, obsessed with classic movies. Maybe it’s a little bit that too, she reminds me of myself at 13. Last but not least is Timothy Thomas who plays the Father, the Father (meaning the Priest), and the busy body woman who’s trying to suss out why the parish priest is so upset with the O’Shea family. In the tradition of comic actors playing multiple roles in a play, Thomas plays them all rather broad, nothing else would work, these are the outsized characters of Linda’s memories all embodied by her father because he was also bigger than life to her. Thomas is very funny as Linda’s Father Mike and the nosy neighbor. Then he does rather a 180 and plays the priest rather serious and stern, which is perfect, as that aspect would certainly be amplified in Linda’s mind. I really enjoyed everyone in this cast immensely as I have in their performances elsewhere. I don’t know why I went in with such a misconception of what I’d be seeing, but I was delighted to recognize everyone in the cast and as soon as I did my expectations were elevated.

The production is directed by Tim Stolz who also serves as the Scenic Designer. Stolz has a clear understanding on how to stage this “memory” play, a less talented director could easily have turned it into a stop and start nightmare. Stolz knows how to bring Linda and the other characters in and out of the story seamlessly. His set design was a blast from the past with it’s yellow refrigerator and matching stove and the plaid armchair. I loved it. Then there was a moment when someone opens the front door to leave and there’s a fence outside the front door. That little detail was so unexpected and really drove home the detail that went into creating this space for the action to take place in. John A. Woskoff is the Costume Designer and just perfectly captures the real 1970’s. Far too often when creating a retro look, the costumes go too far and end up being a parody of what people really wore. I appreciated how Woskoff didn’t go for the easy laugh but kept it grounded and authentic. If you were around in the 70’s you know that when it comes to the fashion of the time, there is humor enough in just keeping it real. The third and final member of the production staff is Toni Solie who designed the props and again, nothing goes too far and so it helps ground us in Linda’s memory which is what serves the play best.

Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help runs through May 14th for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://sidekicktheatre.com/incident

Don’t want to miss a single review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have every post sent directly to your email. 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. Also you can follow me on Facebook, @thestagesofmn click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), you can read roundups of shows by my colleagues and I on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. Follow that group, It’s a great way to see reviews for shows I don’t get to or to get another blogger’s take on one I did. We have some exciting things in the works for 2023 for the TCTB and our readers. Follow us to be the first to know about those happenings like our recent Prom Date with the TCTB that we held on March 4th. If you didn’t make it to that event there’s still time to see the The Prom at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) thru June 10th . You can view the TCTB Talk Back that we held on March 4th with the CDT Artistic Director and three of the stars of The Prom here https://bit.ly/promtalkback

Minneapolis Musical Theatre has done it again, their tagline is “Rare Musicals. Well done.” and that’s exactly what Othello: The Remix is. Last weekend I reviewed the Guthrie Theater’s handsomely mounted production of Hamlet discussing the role of interpretation and how choices made by the artists can change the focus of Shakespeare’s work. Each artist that approaches one of these classic works tries in some way to make it their own, to find new approaches and make these immortal works speak to their generation. The Q Brothers, authors of this hip hop ad-RAP-tation of Othello may have jettisoned most of Shakespeare’s language, but in doing so, have made his story of jealousy accessible and relatable to the young and middle aged alike. This probably isn’t your Grandma’s cup of tea, but for everyone else between the ages of say 13 to 60 who has some sense of pop culture, it’s sure to entertain.

Set in the world of hip hop, Othello is the hottest rapper around and making bank for his record label First Folio. Othello and his crew are about to go out on a massive tour. The crew consist of Cassio, his latest discovery and his opening act, and Iago, who has been with Othello for years and bridles at being the opener for the opener. The musical opens with a rap about Othello’s beginnings and rise to stardom and then tells of his falling in love with Desdemona whom he marries. Iago hates Othello for showering Cassio with attention and nurturing his career over Iago’s own. He hates Cassio for getting the opportunities he feels he should have been given. He devises a plan wherein he can rid himself of both his enemies. By playing on Othello’s love for Desdemona. He plants the seed of suspicion within Othello’s mind and then continues to shower him with doubt until it bears the bitter green fruit of jealousy. The object of his suspicions is Desdemona’s friendship with Cassio which is innocent. But once Iago sets to work deceiving and manipulating everyone, including the nerdy roadie Roderigo, who is in love with Desdemona, it has the appearance of an illicit affair. The entire show is performed by 4 actors playing around 9 characters total, the one character we never actually see is Desdemona. Shakespeare’s Othello is a tragedy, while staying close to the plot, is decidedly a comedy. The hip-hop lyrics are clever and it’s amazing how naturally this storyline feels in this setting of rap stars and record labels. It speaks to the the reason we continue to perform and adapt Shakespeare to this day; there’s a universality to his themes. This makes it easy to modernize, because while his language may be old fashioned, the ideas and understanding of human emotions are not.

The four cast members are all adept at performing in the hip-hop style. Listening to them recite the lyrics at incredible speeds, one is amazed at their verbal dexterity. I caught a couple of minor slips, but they were covered well and I chalk it up to opening night excitement. Umar Malik plays Othello, he has a laid back quality that suits the character as they describe him, he’s the one performer that just plays the one character. Alex Church is very impressive as Iago, it’s easily the most dynamic role as it is in Shakespeare’s original, he’s the manipulator, the man of action, whereas the others are reactionary characters. Church knows what he’s about in every moment of the show, easily distinguishing between Iago and the other characters he plays. And always finding every ounce of humor, whether it be a voice or just a look, he leaves nothing on the table. Miles Scroggins plays Cassio and Emilia, who is Iago’s wife. Most of the performers play both male and female characters. In this way, the Q Brothers are mirroring the way Shakespeare was performed originally when women were not allowed to act and all characters were played by men. But it may also be a comment on one of the major criticisms of Shakespeare’s work in general, there are not a lot of great roles for women. The audience favorite is Alaster Xan-Elias, they play Roderigo and Bianca among other roles. As Roderigo, Xan-Elias perfectly plays the nerdy video game, figurine collecting roadie, with a spot of voice that instantly calls to mind everything his characters embodies. Xan-Elias gets the two meatiest roles, Bianca is Cassio’s lover who is clearly one restraining order away from a stalker. Xan-Elias is rewarded for their brilliant character work with more laughs than every other performer put together. Also on stage throughout the show acting as the DJ, is Glorius L. Martin aka DJ Huh?What??, who also provides the pre-show music. I’m not a huge hip-hop fan, but this cast and the clever script by the Q Brothers, easily made me a fan of this show.

Minneapolis Musical Theatre does a lot with very little as evidenced by the behind the scenes double duty. Denzel Belin is the Director and Costume Designer for the show and Maia Maiden is Music Director and Choreographer. If these two were overstretched, it doesn’t show. While the stage at the Phoenix Theater isn’t very big, Belin uses what he has very effectively and guides his cast through their character changes using minor but clear changes to costume so that the audience is always clear which characters are in any given scene. Likewise, with real estate being in short supply, Maiden’s choreography has to be minimalistic. Maiden makes good use of a rolling platform make use of different levels to add to the visual appeal to the staging of some numbers.Vicky Erickson is the Set Designer and again it’s simple but effective making great use of the space and filled with little details that give it a nice urban feel.

I highly recommend Othello: The Remix, it does contain some strong language and sexual references but nothing that someone age thirteen and older can’t handle. It runs through May 7th at the Phoenix Theater in Uptown for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.aboutmmt.org/othello-the-remix/ . Minneapolis Musical Theatre really does bring us some fantastic productions that no one else is likely to and as they say, they do them well. Help to keep this company going in these difficult post pandemic times, firstly by buying tickets and going to see this unique and hilarious show. But you can also go one step further and make a donation so that they can continue to bring us these little treasures. To do so, go to https://www.aboutmmt.org/support/

Don’t want to miss a single review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have every post sent directly to your email. 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. Also you can follow me on Facebook, @thestagesofmn click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), you can read roundups of shows by my colleagues and I on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. Follow that group, It’s a great way to see reviews for shows I don’t get to or to get another blogger’s take on one I did. We have some exciting things in the works for 2023 for the TCTB and our readers. Follow us to be the first to know about those happenings like our recent Prom Date with the TCTB that we held on March 4th. If you didn’t make it to that event there’s still time to see the The Prom at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) thru June 10th . You can view the TCTB Talk Back that we held on March 4th with the CDT Artistic Director and three of the stars of The Prom here https://bit.ly/promtalkback

The Pajama Game reopens at Artistry Theater in Bloomington this week after they cancelled the majority of their theater season last fall. Covid has done a number on a lot of theater companies and Artistry wasn’t the first to cancel shows. Sadly, they won’t be the last. Thankfully after a brief hiatus, this company is back and opening with a throwback musical that takes you back to simpler times. Entering the theater I found exactly what I needed in this antidote to the world of today. It has the look and feel of the musicals on film of the early 60’s that I grew up watching like, The Music Man and Bye Bye Birdie. I’d never seen a production of The Pajama Game before nor seen the Doris Day film. So I went in knowing it’s well regarded having won the Tony for Best Musical in 1955 and Best Revival of a Musical in 2006. But I didn’t know the plot or any of the songs, at least I didn’t know that I knew one of the songs until they sang it. I’m happy to say that it didn’t matter. It’s straightforward plot and I immensely enjoyed many of the songs, and was wowed at several points by some top notch dancing. It’s not ugly or dark, even when someone is threatening another with a knife, it’s played for laughs. A show this silly and wholesome, though also surprisingly modern, almost shouldn’t work but it does. It feels like a a production from another time and for some reason, that seems like exactly what we need right now.

The Pajama Game is a musical that first opened on Broadway in 1954 based on the 1953 novel 7 1/2 Cents by Richard Bissell, the book by George Abbott and Bissell, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The original Broadway production was Bob Fosse’s debut as Choreographer which won him his first Tony Award. The story takes place in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at the Sleep Tite Pajama Factory. Sid has just started as the new Superintendent and falls almost immediately in love with Babe who is head of the Union Grievance Committee. Of course when Management and Union fall in love, you just know that a strike is on the horizon. The workers want a 7 1/2 cent raise but the president of the company, Mr. Hasler, refuses to compromise. On opposite sides of the dispute, Sid and Babe will find their budding romance tested. The factory is full of other romantic relationships and interesting characters that lead to some really fun moments and songs. I was particularly thrilled to discover an old favorite “Hey There”, though surprised to discover it’s primarily sung by a male character. I’ve only known it from recordings by female artists like Rosemary Clooney and Kristen Vigard, dubbing for Illeana Douglas in the underrated musical film Grace of My Heart. Other favorite numbers were; “I’m Not at All In Love” sung by Babe and the factory girls as they tease her about the obvious attraction between her and Sid. Hines, the factory timekeeper and jealous boyfriend of Mr. Hasler’s secretary Gladys, has two really funny songs. First is “I’ll Never Be Jealous Again” in which Sid’s secretary, Mabel tries to help Hines curb his jealousy. The second is “Think of the Time I Save” in which he defends his dedication to time management and shares his time saving habits such as sleeping in his clothes.

One of best aspects of the show is the cast, It’s filled with recognizable faces and few new ones as well. Eric Morris has the pipes and the look to play Sid, looking right at home with his pants pulled up over is navel. He captures the movements of the era perfectly while his voice is strong and confident. Falicia Nichole holds her own as Babe, her voice matching his perfectly in their big duet “There Once Was a Man”. Matthew J. Brightbill plays the Union President, Prez who is also the factory philanderer. He has the charm and charisma to rally the Union members and sweet talk the factory girls, he’s also the best male dance in the show. Speaking of dancing, there is a fabulous dance performance by Maureen Sherman-Mendez, Elly Stahlke, and Dayle Theisen for the song “Steam Heat”, but if you watch those three in the other dance scenes, you’ll see they are always the best, though to be honest the entire cast does a wonderful job with the choreography. I also want to point out my two favorite supporting performances and their delightful scene together, Serena Brook as Mabel who has the girl Friday role down perfectly, and Carl Swanson who plays Hines. They perform the song “I’ll Never Be Jealous Again” and have their own impressive little dance routine to go with it, that scene was just the best.

The Pajama Game is co-Directed and Choreographed by Allyson Richert and Ben Bakken. They keep the show moving along, but curious if they made any cuts for time because the script seems a little light on some connecting tissue between scenes. After the recent production at Lyric Arts, it’s nice to see a show that knows how to transition quickly between scenes and settings. The duo get their highest marks for the dancing which was really in sync. For someone whose first love isn’t dance, I was always entertained by what the actors were doing and impressed with what Richert and Bakken had come up with. Musical Director Evan Tyler Wilson and his Orchestra continue Artistry’s record of ‘A’ level music. It’s the one thing you can always feel confident about at Artistry, the quality of the musicians will always be of the highest order. A quick mention of the wonderful period costumes by Rane Oganowski, I loved the look of everyone in this, particularly the mens costumes had that 50’s style just right. The Set Design by Michaela Lochen was impressive and well implemented. The main set being the factory but smaller set pieces were quickly flown in from all sides to change locations. The design for Babe’s kitchen being particularly well realized as was Hernando’s Hideaway, a night club they venture to in the second act.

If you are feeling a little fed up with the world right now I highly recommend a trip to the past, 1954 to precise. You can get there via The Pajama Game at Artistry. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://artistrymn.org/pajamagame running through May14th. Watch my website in the coming week for an opportunity to join me and my fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB) for a Pajama Party with the TCTB. I think we may have a discount code for you as well, which means you can afford to bring the whole family!

Don’t want to miss a single review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have every post sent directly to your email. 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. Also you can follow me on Facebook, @thestagesofmn click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), you can read roundups of shows by my colleagues and I on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. Follow that group, It’s a great way to see reviews for shows I don’t get to or to get another blogger’s take on one I did. We have some exciting things in the works for 2023 for the TCTB and our readers. Follow us to be the first to know about those happenings like our recent Prom Date with the TCTB that we held on March 4th. If you didn’t make it to that event there’s still time to see the The Prom at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) thru June 10th . You can view the TCTB Talk Back that we held on March 4th with the CDT Artistic Director and three of the stars of The Prom here https://bit.ly/promtalkback