All I Want For Christmas is You…to Elf Off, Brave New Workshop Gives the Gift of Laughter

Erin Kennedy, Denzel Belin, Doug Neithercott, Jon Pumper, Lauren Anderson, and Isabella Dunsieth

Brave New Workshop’s 65th Christmas show begins by poking fun of itself for doing 65 different Christmas shows. The cast apologizes saying they have nothing new to present after 65 holiday shows they can’t think of a single original thing to do. Here’s the thing about the team at Brave New Workshop… they lie!!! The show is wonderfully irreverent and hilariously funny, poking fun at everything from Hallmark Channel Christmas Movies and Santa Clause to Only fan and classic Christmas songs. You don’t want me to spoil the fun by telling you my favorite bits and pieces of the show or spoiling punchlines. Just know that if you’re like me, what you’re looking for at this time of year is some fun, some laughs, some warm feelings, and good will toward your fellow man. Well, All I Want For Christmas is You…to Elf Off will provide you with the fun and laughter, but warm feelings and all that, well, they are too busy and biting to mess with all that. This is the kind of show where seeing Mommy kissing Santa Claus is maybe something you’ll want to keep to yourself.

The show is directed and hosted by Caleb McEwen with Musical Direction by Jon Pumper, who shocks everyone by speaking a few lines rather than contenting himself on the keyboard. Pumper and his music add a lot to the show which features several songs performed by the cast but he also adds some nice mood music to some of the sketches. If you’re not familiar with Brave New Workshop, it’s the longest running comedy theater in the United States. They create sketch comedy and improv shows, their holiday show tradition is filled with sketches and songs. It concludes with their own original take on “The 12 Days of Christmas” one of the days features the highlight of the show, which I will not spoil but comes from Comedy Queen Lauren Anderson who has starred in more consecutive shows than any other performer in Brave New Workshop history. Speaking of Comedy Queens, Denzel Belin and Doug Neithercott the other longtime BNW players are as always amazing. Neithercott is great in multiple sketches as Santa and Belin killed me with his variation on the new Step Dad in the “12 Days…” song. The relative newcomers are Isabella DunSieth who scores laughs as the young kid in a couple of sketches which I’m dying to spoil…but wont, and Erin Kennedy who gets two killer days in the “12 Days…” song and takes part in one of the raunchier sketches as Mrs. Claus. The whole cast is fantastic, the script is fresh and funny cleverly utilizing call backs to earlier sketches make jokes that hit land better with each subsequent variation.

This is the perfect show for that holiday get together with friends or now that the kids are too old for The Grinch… and sick of A Christmas Carol, make this the family holiday outing! The show runs through January 27th for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://bravenewworkshop.org/all-i-want-for-christmas-is-youto-elf-off/

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PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTION!!! The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society Takes the Stage Live This Sunday at Bryant-Lake Bowl

The newly renamed The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society Workshop performances at Bryant-Lake Bowl are always a great introduction to newcomers of this unique groups talents. The latest performance is coming this sunday 11/19. The shows start at 7:00 PM, but the doors open at 6:00 PM, which is when I recommend getting there. Why? Mostly so you can order dinner, appetizers, and drinks to enjoy with the show! Bryant-Lake Bowl has some really tasting dishes including plenty of vegan and vegetarian options, and along with their full bar, they also have a nice selection of N/A beers and drinks as well as THC drinks if that’s your groove. But the other reason for going early is it’s general admission seating, I like to get the first row of the risers so I have a nice little table for my food and beverage but still feel close to the action. Speaking of action what’s on the schedule this month? Here’s the breakdown direc t from Ghoulish Delights Central:

“A Guy Like Me” from Dead Men’s Tales (live premiere): A fortune teller struggles to remember the last hour with help of his most recent client. But his memories bleed together with the voice of a strange radio host and a performance by an escape artist. This topsy-turvy tale by Tim Uren combines fate and free will, wondrous dreams and harsh reality.

“Get to the Castle, Part 3” from Grey Ghost and the Agents of Floor 10 (premiere): Eric Webster, creator of Shade’s Brigade, brings you the final installment of his brand new serial. The Agents of Floor 10 must confront a mysterious evil that lurks behind the walls of an Austrian castle!

“The Dollmaker of Death” from Jimmy Montague, Antiquarian-for-Hire (premiere): Joshua English Scrimshaw brings you a hardboiled adaptation “The Wondersmith” by Fitz James O’Brien, one of the darkest and weirdest Christmas stories ever told!

I’m quite bummed that I can’t make it to this months performance but thankfully I’m a Patreon supporter of The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society. One of the pers is that I get emailed a link to a video recording of the BLB performances, so if I can’t make it to the show, I wont miss the latest chapter of “Get to the Castle“. To purchase tickets to the MORLS liver performances and to get information about their podcast and becoming a Patreon Supported go to https://www.ghoulishdelights.com/. And heads up, keep your ears peeled, coming soon on the Twin Cities Theater Chat podcast, an episode devoted to Shanan Custer, Joshua English Scrimshaw, Tim Uren, and Eric Webster aka The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society.

Company At the Orpheum Theatre is Company You’ll want to Spend as Much Time as Possible in

Britney Coleman as Bobbie (center) and cast of COMPANY Photo by Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade

Continuing the trend of checking off shocking lapses in my theatergoing, I attended the opening night of Stephen Sondheim’s Company as part of the Bank of America Broadway on Hennepin theater season. I’ve seen the D. A. Pennebaker film Original Cast Album: “Company” and the hilarious parody from the TV series Documentary Now “Original Cast Album: Co-Op”. I’ve seen the song “Being Alive” performed by Judd Hirsch on Taxi and Adam Driver in Marriage Story, but I’ve never seen the musical itself. As seems to happen with these shows I’ve always wanted to see but never got the chance, it was a revelation. I am aware of gender changes made in this revival and there are clearly some updates that have been made, smartphones were not in use when the show first opened in 1970. Without tracking down all the changes as I really have nothing to compare it to anyways, I’ll just say that it felt to me, as a new audience member, that this played as if this was how it was always meant to be. Everything from the Gender change of the main character Bobbie from male to female to the same sex marriage felt contemporary and organic.

Company features music and lyrics by the late great Stephen Sondheim with a book by George Furth, whom if you Google him you’ll recognize from such films as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Blazing Saddles. There isn’t a clear linear plot, but it focuses on a woman named Bobbie, who lives in New york, as she turns 35. We see her throughout the show interacting with her coupled friends, we see the couple about to be married, the couple about to divorce, the couples in the midst of their marriages, and the couple with the woman whose been married three times. We also see her out with boyfriends giving us not only a look into the lives of her friends romantic relationships but also her own. Each scene is like a memory or an exercise in self analysis inside Bobbie’s head. They are clearly not meant to be actual chronological events as we see characters step into scenes they would not have been a part of. We also at one point see Bobbie watching as she sees potential futures play out. We see her observing herself as the hands on the clock above her bed speed around and around. We also see three or four versions of her birthday party which reinforces the idea that this is a look inside her mind as she is reflecting on where she is on her 35th birthday.

The talented cast is led by Britney Coleman as Bobbie who aside from having an amazing singing voice is also effective at affecting the charm and charisma that makes Bobbie so popular with her friends. As this is a story of her self reflections and internal struggles the choice could have been to show her uncertainty, but that would have played to one aspect of the character and in a very simplistic way. Coleman knows that she needs to play Bobbie as the person all her friends, in some way, live vicariously through. We get the self analysis and struggle by the very structure of the show, that is what is happening not who she is. Coleman wisely plays who she is and it makes the character richer and more dynamic. Other performance highlights were James Earl Jones II and Kathryn Allison as Harry and Sarah whose jabbing at each other about their respective faults is done with a physicality and humor that makes them recognizable as we all know couples like them. Matt Rodin who is hilarious as one half of a gay couple who is getting cold feet on the day of their wedding and whose performance of “Getting Married Today” brought down the house. Judy McLane plays Joanne the older friend who has been married three times, her rendition “The Ladies Who Lunch” is another showstopper of a song and she does an impressive job with it. I also have to mention Emma Stratton who plays Jenny and who was kind enough to join M’colleagues Jill Schafer of Cherry and Spoon and Kendra Plant of Artfully Engaging on a recent episode of Twin Cities Theater Chat to talk about the show and her connections to Minnesota which you can listen to here. https://twincitiestheaterchat.buzzsprout.com/2150807/13915394

Truly one of the stars of the show comes in the form of the set design by Bunny Christie which is full of surprises and Chris Fisher who designed the illusions which go hand in hand with the set. It’s a very stylized looking production filled with modular units that are clean and crisp representing the well organized and intelligent mind of Bobbie. The lighting design by Neil Austin helps achieve the look of the show as well as creating some nice visual effects. The Tour is running through November 19th at the Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Minneapolis for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://hennepintheatretrust.org/events/company-orpheum-theatre-minneapolis-mn-2023/

The Hairy Ape from Combustible Company

Cast of The Hairy Ape Photo by Lily Jones

The Hairy Ape by Eugene O’Neill, written over 100 years ago feels as though it’s a commentary on the world of today. Which I assume, is why Combustible Company has chosen to perform him. The production is something between a play and performance art. It utilizes movement, lighting, and sound design in a way that is as integral as the script in presenting it’s message. There’s always movement or images happening allusions to the character state of mind, expressionistic strokes to represent class. Needless to say this is not for audiences looking for just an evening of entertainment, this is that other type of show, one that asks us to engage with it, to take it in and extrapolate for ourselves it’s meaning. The cast is very strong, many represent notions of people that serve as stand-ins for societal classes, the laborers in the bowels of an ocean liner, or the privileged upper classes on 5th avenue.

The cast is led by Nick Miller as Yank, the leader of the crew who feed coal into the engines of an ocean liner. Yank is content in his work feeling that he is the master, without whom the boat could not move. When Mildred the daughter of a millionaire comes down into the engine room and calls him a filthy beast, he begins a journey of internal disintegration. Looking for a place where he belongs, moving from laborer to beast in a cage. He’s looking for revenge from the woman/class who have taken his sense of identity and left him with a feeling of isolation and loneliness. Miller’s performance is a study in regression and the loss of confidence of his character. He embodies the man they all look up to in the engine rooms at the opening, a man of confidence and authority. Miller captures his slide into uncertainty and confusion wonderfully, ending the performance as a broken and lost man. The other standout is Erik Hoover as Paddy an older laborer who also gets to perform a speech given by a politician. The rest of the cast work together throughout creating a sense of groups of people or classes.

Director Kym Longhi uses movement from the cast almost as interpretive dance. As they move throughout the space which is designed by Jim Peitzman using three moveable scaffolding rigs and projections on three flats. It’s a simple but extremely effective look that works perfectly with the casts movements and styled performances. The Lighting Designer Paul Epton’s work perfectly compliments the projections helping to create the desired environments and moods. Equally impressive is the sound design by Micah Kopecky, which envelopes us deep inside the center of the ship or transports us into the past when ships were made of wood, and sailors sailed with the stars over their heads to in great hot steel engine rooms. Longhi has brought together all of the elements into what is a cohesive and unified production, none of it feels real, but all of it works.

The Hairy Ape runs through November 18th at the Center for Performing Arts in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://combustiblecompany.org/gallery/the-hairy-ape

The Thin Place at Gremlin Theatre is a Slow Burn That Builds to a Riveting Conclusion

Jane Froiland Photo by Alyssa Kristine Photography

Monster Month is over, but if you’re like me, you won’t mind if it bleeds into November a little. The Thin Place is not the type of show that tries to wow you with special effects, startle you with jump scares or thankfully, gross you out with buckets of blood. Instead, it tells a very simple intimate story that sucks you in and builds to a very satisfying conclusion, something that the genre fails at more often than it succeeds. This production works because it is first and foremost a study of characters, which doesn’t work well unless you have a great cast, which thankfully Gremlin Theatre has. My big concern going into this production, would it measure up to the production I saw at Daleko Arts in 2022. Particularly could they find someone to play the lead role of Hilda as well as Kayla Dvorak Feld did. The answer is that they have, Jane Froiland may not surpass but her performance is equal to Dvorak Feld’s, which is to say it’s perfect for the character of Hilda. Froiland and the rest of the Gremlin cast perfectly build the atmosphere of uneasiness, and uncertainty of what’s going to happen, to the point where you realize you have forgotten to breathe in anticipation.

The play opens with Hilda speaking to the audience describing her relationship with her Grandmother and the way they would practice communicating telepathically. They did this so that when her Grandmother passed away they would hopefully still be able to communicate. Hilda will continue to serve as narrator throughout the play sliding in and out of scenes that recount her friendship with Linda, a Medium whom she believed can communicate with people who are gone. She wants to communicate with her Grandmother but also with her mother who has gone missing. We sense that she wants to know if she is dead or alive. As Hilda and Linda become close and spend more and more time together we drop in on a party with Linda’s Cousin Jerry and friend Sylvia, followed by a scene later that evening where Hilda takes Linda to her mother’s home. Finally, it ends with Hilda once again directly addressing the audience. What’s wonderful about all four of the characters is how much we learn about them through their conversation and behaviors. Very little is spelt out, one has questions about what exactly the relationships are between Linda and all three of the other characters. I really enjoyed the wonder and watching for clues that would more concretely define the connections.

What a wonderful opportunity for an actor to play these roles, where so much is implied, but left unstated. They really get to dig in and make choices, those choices help to lead the audience. But they stop short of doing anything that lets us into the inner circle, which is where Hnath wants us. He wants us to feel like Hilda, to be listeners, to be outside of the inner circle. Froiland is brilliant at using quietness to hold our attention, she is such a quiet presence that later when she tells a spooky story you become enthralled by the gradually building of tone and emotions she let’s seep into her speech. Cheryl Willis’ performance as Linda is the perfect contrast to Froiland’s, where Froiland is quiet and her quietness draws you in, Willis plays Linda as someone who would be uncomfortable if she wasn’t the center of attention. She’s a real character but completely believable and her English accent sounds genuine. Rounding out the cast are Peter Christian Hansen as Jerry and Katherine Kupiecki as Sylvia, their party scene interacting with Linda as Hilda watches is perfectly modulated, the three know how to step on each others lines just enough so that it sounds like old friends talking to, and over each other.

Ellen Fenster-Gharib directs the play in a simple low key style that lulls you into a sense of safety that she then slowly erodes. The decision to open the show with the house lights up and Froiland simply wandering out on stage and beginning to talk with us creates a sense of safety and community. It immediately throws us slightly off balance, but then allows Hilda to connect with us as if we are just hanging out having a conversation. Momentarily, you lose the divide between performer and audience, on stage and off. Fenster-Gharib trusts in the actors ability to engage us and realizes that there is no need for superfluous stage business. We are with the actors, their performances and the script are all we need for the majority of the play. When the play calls for a little something extra we get it in the work of Scenic and Lighting Designer Carl Schoenborn and Sound Designer Katharine Horowitz. Both the lighting and the sounds play crucial roles in the effectiveness of the production in creating a place where the barrier between our reality and the next becomes very thin. Is it super scary? Well, no. But, it is kinda scary and it builds ever so nicely. It’s perfect to take the wife who doesn’t like horror movies to, as it’s got a little scariness, but not too much. It’s a great story performed by a cast or actors who know just how to ratchet up the tension in such gradual increments that you suddenly realize you are on the edge of your seat and have no idea when you moved there.

The Thin Place runs through December 3rd at the Gremlin Theatre in St. Paul. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://gremlintheatre.org/

Cold Planet Warm Heart World Premiere at the Crane Theatre

Xan Mattek, Ariel Pinkerton, and Madison Fairbanks Photo by Kari Elizabeth Godfrey

Cold Planet Warm Heart is a new musical from Daniel Pinkerton and Robert Elhai having it’s world premiere at the Crane Theatre. The Musical is staged by Fortune’s Fool Theatre of which Pinkerton is a co-producing Artistic Director along with his daughter, one of the actors in the show, Ariel Pinkerton. It’s a sweet little story about an alien who crash lands in Median Minnesota, which from the name we can assume is an average midwestern small town. The alien named Wubu is befriended by Andy a linguistics expert who has dropped out of her PHD program, lives in her Mother’s basement, and works as a Barista. Filled with touches of regional humor, sprinkled with Science-fiction easter eggs, and sporting a positive message it’s a low-fi sci-fi musical the whole family can enjoy.

Book and Lyrics are by Daniel Pinkerton with the music by Robert Elhai. The music has a toe tapping quality that keeps the proceedings up beat with a pop-rock vibe. Like many science fiction stories, Pinkerton’s script is clearly a commentary on our society with the outer space aliens taking the place of undocumented aliens. The show is staged as if it’s a pageant put on by the locals for tourists. Andy’s job is at Lagos Coffee and Tea run by Ifede who immigrated to the US from Africa twenty years ago with who she can practice her language skills. Her best friend is Sprocket who owns a local auto repair shop and not so secretly, pines for Andy and who’s with her when they witness Wubu’s spaceship crash. Andy quickly picks up on Wubu’s language which has a basis in musical notes. There is an ICE Agent who complicates matters adding the requisite drama and need for Wubu to find a way to escape.

The cast is good, but did feel slightly under rehearsed, possibly intentional to convey the idea of locals putting on a reenactment. There was one standout, Xan Mattek as Sprocket has a confidence, stage presence, and the voice best suited to her role. The entire cast does good work but most seemed to have moments where it seemed the singing was occasionally just out of their ideal range or they had over-taxed their vocals. It’s not bad, but there is a slightly discordant nature to it. Many of the cast play multiple roles, Fawn Wilderson for example plays Ifede and the Hockey Coach. Ifede is the deeper character and there are sweet moments of connection between her and Andy as they converse in her native tongue. Eryn Tvete plays Jerome K. Jerome the ICE agent and Mrs. Nelson, as Nelson she provides some fun MN humor, a bit of that exaggerated accent made famous by the film Fargo. Ariel Pinkerton plays Wubu which is a silent role as their musical language is provided by the band. Pinkerton uses her large expressive eyes and gift for body language to help communicate to the audience her characters feelings without the use of speech.

The band is a quartet made up of Musical Director Justin D. Cook conducting and on keyboards, Steve Cochran on Guitar, Brian Glenn on Drums and Percussion, and Joan Griffith on bass guitar and guitar. The costumes are by A. Emily Heaney, the highlight is Wubu’s costume which has extra appendages, it’s pretty cool looking though Director Jen Scott could have staged the production to show it off a little more effectively. Wubu’s translations are projected on the right side of the stage, which works well when they are on the right side of the stage where Andy’s Bedroom is located, but when they spend a scene in the Coffee shop on the left side of the stage, it’s a lot trickier to watch the action and read the subtitles. It would have been nice if they could have been on both sides of the stage or more centrally located.

Cold Planet Warm Heart runs through November 19th at the Crane Theatre in Minneapolis for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://tix.gobo.show/events/event/t6avXq60qef4G0GVZRx7

H.M.S. Pinafore Another Wonderful Production From GSVLO

I don’t talk about my companions for shows very often but I think this one is a good exception as it illustrates how universal the appeal of the productions by The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company (GSVLOC) can be. My plus one for H.M.S. Pinafore was the girlfriend of my oldest son, a 20 year old woman for whom this is her 4th show, aside from vaguely remembering seeing something in Junior High. Someone who has not been exposed to any form of Opera directly. Now I’ve said in previous reviews of GSVLOC that the Gilbert & Sullivan oeuvre is a link between traditional opera and the modern musical and as thus a nice introduction to novices. My seatmate enjoyed it immensely and ranked it second of the four shows she’s seen, all of which have been in the last 30 days. Now not every young person is as open to being exposed to new things theatrically, but if they express an interest you can be confident they are going to find it entertaining and engaging and most importantly accessible, no prior Opera experience needed. H.M.S. Pinafore is silly in the best G&S tradition and the large cast are all in step with the tone and tongue in cheek nature of the work. As always, the GSVLOC lean into a modern sensibility without losing sight of the creators intentions, taking minor but clever liberties with the occasional dialogue or lyric. Featuring a cast of nearly three dozen, the sound of both vocals and orchestra are thrillingly note perfect.

H.M.S. Pinafore was the first of many successes of the treasured duo of Arthur Sullivan, who wrote the music, and W.S. Gilbert who wrote the Librettos. Premiering in 1878 it led to an off again on again partnership which created a body of work so beloved that there are theater companies who solely produce their work. Set entirely on the British navel ship of the title, it’s a tale lovers kept apart by class, parents, and rivals. As much a satire of the Royal Navy and the British class system, as a story of star crossed lovers. The humor flows from the absurdities inherent in all of these targets, and the resolution is right out of one of Shakespeare convoluted comedies. The plot hardly matters, it’s the execution that makes the work sing.

A cast so large cannot be singled out particularly when each voice is essential in creating the wonderful sound of this superb production. But, there are a couple of favorites to mention. Kaoru Shoji who plays Josephine, the heroine of the show has a wonderful voice and and excellent stage presence. She really shines performing with Scott A. Gorman as her father and Scott Benson as the First Lord of the Admiralty as they all think they have agreed to a belief that will get them what they want though they are at cross purposes. Benson is hilarious as the idiot in charge of the Navy who’s never been to sea and hilariously, can’t even draw his sword without help from his cousin. Anthony T. Rohr is in fine voice as Ralph Rackstraw Josephine’s Sailor love and Josh Conroy’s deep rich voice is as powerful vocally as his character Dick Deadeye is repulsive to his fellow shipmates, which is to say very!

Music Director and Conductor Randal A. Buikema deserves high praise, it’s not often that I enjoy An Overture, I’m usually wishing the show would just begin already. But This Overture was so joyful and upbeat and beautifully rendered, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Gary Briggle directs the show finding a way to somehow have 30 people of stage at the same time without tripping all over themselves, but actually always appearing like they were exactly where they should be. His directorial touch is light and filled with humorous touches throughout including his clever cell phone lyrics before the show begins. Set Designer and Scenic Painter Wendy Waszut-Barrett has created a splendid set complete with riggings for the sails and a spinning steering wheel. Costume Designer Barb Portinga does a good job considering she’s dressing such a large cast, a few of the sailers costumes are a little ill fitting but it works as they a relatively shapeless uniforms anyway.

H.M.S. Pinafore runs through November 19th at The Conn Theater in South Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://gsvloc.org/on-stage/