Twin Cities Horror Festival XII: Three Reviews From The Opening Night. Marie Jeanne Valet…., Girls in Bins, and Choices.

Last night was the opening of the 12th annual Twin Cities Horror Festival (TCHF) at the Crane Theater in Northeast Minneapolis. The Festival launched not with a wimper but a scream! Without going back and looking at all of my previous reviews from prior years, my guess is this was the strongest single day block of shows I’ve seen in the Festival. Before I dive into my reviews of opening night let me orientate those of you who have never been. TCHF is like a mini genre focused Fringe Festival, with a new show beginning every 90 minutes. Each show runs one hour or less, in between shows the previous show has 10 minutes to strike their show, then the upcoming show has 10 minutes to set theirs up with the final 10 minutes for seating the audience. The great thing TCHF has over the MN Fringe Festival is that it’s easy to see every show, whereas it’s actually impossible to see even half of the Fringe shows. The Festival runs 11 days from October 19th to the 29th and there are 11 shows each of which is performed five times. My recommendation is to try and allow yourself time to see two or more shows on any given visit. My second recommendation is to purchase your tickets ahead of time. On opening night the shows had very few open seats and there was already one sold out performance and I know there is already at least one sold out for night two as well. For More information check out the Festivals website at https://www.tchorrorfestival.com/ to purchase tickets go to https://tix.gobo.show/festival/tchfxii

Marie-Jeanne Valet, Who Defeated La Bete du Gévaudan produced by The Winding Sheet Outfit is the show to try and top at this years festival and that will be a tall order I assure you. Based on historical myth/fact? it tells the story of the monstrous red wolf or wolf-like creature that terrorized the village of Gévaudan in France during the year 1764. The story is told by four versatile actors Megan Campbell Lagas, Peyton McCandless, Derek Lee Miller, and Allison Vincent with all playing multiple roles. Vincent, who seems to be everywhere these days including two shows in the TCHF (the other is Rasputin), is particularly strong, with a turn as King Louis XV that nearly steals the show. The company uses a mixture of techniques including several sequences using Shadow Puppets to recount some of the deaths caused by La Bete all of which is hauntingly accompanied on multiple musical instruments by Director Amber Bjork. On a strong night, this is hands down my recommendation if you could only make it to one of the three shows I’ve seen so far. Its perfect balance of drama, humor, creativity, and yes horror result in an overall artistic triumph of a production.

Girls in Bins by Rachel Teagle has as one of its central elements a true crime podcast called Murder Bitches which is modeled after real life podcasts like My Favorite Murder. While the audience was laughing at some of the podcast moments, having been exposed to a few episodes of My Favorite Murder, I can tell you it was surprisingly accurate recreation only slightly heightened for comedic effect. Murder Bitches is the preferred audio accompaniment for Ruth a pregnant woman who due to a high risk pregnancy is unable to do anything but stay home and take it easy. Ruth is restless in her new home, waiting for the truck to arrive with all of their possessions and furniture. The only thing that has arrived are the black and yellow storage bins her husband was able to bring with in his trailer when they moved across the country to Connecticut. While her husband John Michael and friend Yvette try and keep her comfortable and distracted, Ruth seems to be doing a fair amount of her own self distraction as more and more clues to a dark secret keep popping up. The show makes good use of the Podcast audio bits and is well acted by Suzanne Victoria Cross as Yvette, Ben Tallen as John Michael, and especially by Siri Hellerman as Ruth. It’s a tight little tale of serial killers mixed with a consideration of the existential nature of pregnancy and genetics. The only criticism is that plot wise we are way ahead of the characters for most of the play.

Choices by Tyler Olsen-Highness is produced by Dangerous Productions, if you’ve ever been to the TCHF and seen a drop cloth on the floor of the stage, there’s a good chance you saw a Dangerous Productions show. Known for their penchant for the blood and guts approach to horror, they are masters of the stagecraft of gruesomeness. But their expertise isn’t limited to moments of violence and blood, they also have a forte for the art of distraction and misdirection. They masterfully use light and the absence of light to create scares and rachet up the feelings of dread and suspense. The story centers around a surprise birthday party for John, planned by his partner Greg and sister Jean. When Jean and his friends arrive at the cabin they find the very surprised and nervous acting John alone in the windowless cabin where the generator is always on the fritz. The title comes from a party game they play where one player is asked to make a choice, drinking ensues. Throughout we get flashbacks to John and Greg’s relationship slowly revealing why John is so anxious and why Greg isn’t there. Add loud knocks on the cabin door and Johns insistence that they are not outside once it gets dark and we find ourselves on the edge of our seats not knowing what will come next. The only thing for certain, given the drop cloth on the floor, there will be blood. If blood and gore is not your thing, this is one to skip, if you are OK with that, this is the show that most resembles what we think of as modern horror. The cast is fully committed, Leif Jurgensen as John is very effective at portraying a man barely holding onto his sanity as things keep coming at him. Laura Mahler takes no prisoners as Jean the off the hook, bombastic party girl sister. Dangerous Productions comes through with what most audiences at TCHF are looking for, in your face straight on horror that’s effective at creating the scares both emotionally and technically.

For some behind the scenes information about the TCHF listen to season 2 episode 5 of the Twin cities Theater Chat podcast https://twincitiestheaterchat.buzzsprout.com/2150807/13763195

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For The People A World Premiere Comedy a First Written by Native Playwrights About Native People to Appear as a Guthrie Mainstage

The cast of For the People Photo by Jaida Grey Eagle

One of the great things about a theater like the Guthrie is that they have resources that nearly every other theater in town doesn’t. It pays off when they use those resources to commission and produce a work such as For the People. Commissioning Ty Defoe and Larissa FastHorse to create a work that tells a story about the Twin Cities Native community shepherding it from 2019 through its debut on the McGuire Proscenium Stage in 2023. For the People plays as if it comes from the people and in a way it does. The playwrights held story circles in 2019 and 2020 talking with members of the local Native Communities and the stories that were shared began to craft their script. Not only have they created a work by and about Native people, but the creative talent on stage and behind the scenes identify as Native. This speaks to representation and not just in the sense of not whitewashing the cast, but in allowing Native artists to contribute to the story of their people in their chosen fields such as Costume Designer Lux Haac and Lighting Designer Emma Deane. To me, this speaks to the Guthrie’s intent to really move beyond the land acknowledgement statement and take things to the next level beyond by taking action, providing an outlet for their voices and their art. The best part of all of this? It’s a really funny show.

April Dakota has well-meaning but misguided dreams of opening a Wellness Center on Franklin Avenue to serve the Indigenous Community in her Minneapolis hometown. She’s counting on a grant from the Franklin Avenue Task Force — a group of endearing Native elders and leaders — to make it happen. But her presentation goes sideways and her proposal is rejected, forcing her to make a decision that puts her dream, the community, and her culture at risk. Thankfully, the Task Force pulls together to help April fight for the future of Franklin Avenue and the people who call it home.
From The Guthrie Theater plot synopsis at http://www.guthrietheater.org

The cast of eight contains seven Native actors and one non-Native. Katie Anvil Rich plays April, the character has been away for a while and has now come home to try and make a business for herself. Rich does a nice job of portraying the sense that she has become something of an outsider, her assimilation is perhaps a little more apparent than she would like and she is finding it easy to offend and ruffle feathers with the elders and council leaders. Rich subtly allows us to see her frequent wincing and unease as she senses another misspoken word, another misstep, as she tries to woo the Council. Adrienne Zimiga-January as Commissioner Bobbie Grey has just the write combination of exasperation with the council members who have trouble staying on task and wariness of what the real motivations are of some of the characters. The elders on the council are played by film and stage star Wes Studi, the first Native American Actor to receive an Academy Award, and Sheri Foster Blake. Studi plays Herb O’Geezhik and Blake plays Daisy Childs, the two are wonderful together playing off each other like an old married couple, which if I followed the dialogue correctly, they once were. They provide a lot of the comedic relief, just by the virtue of being older and wiser and being able to push everyone’s buttons. Studi has a wonderfully written scene where he basically filibusters his way through an entire City Council meeting. The villain of the piece takes the form of Esme Williams, the rich daughter of a developer who befriends April with plans to invest and eventually take over the Wellness Center and surrounding areas, is played by Kendall Kent. Listeners of the Podcast Twin Cities Theater Chat may remember her name coming up in the episode on Understudies, where I commented on her fantastic performance after joining the cast during tech week in Our Town at Lyric Arts. She does a nice job here playing the instant BFF to April and seemingly good hearted savior and collaborator, and also the designing and business savvy entrepreneur.

The show is directed by Michael John Garces who, as I’ve learned, was walking the actors through script changes throughout the preview week. He does a good job staging the scenes giving each actor some space to create little moments of character work. One of the best moments is Studi’s filibuster scene, Garces doesn’t show us the entire meeting obviously, he finds a really clear and entertaining way to show us the passage of time. The Scenic Design by Tanya Orellana is fantastic and full of surprises which I will not give away, but there were two separate moments when something happens with the set that caught me totally off guard and they are brilliantly executed. The set also features two murals by Artists Marlena Myles and Thomasina TopBear that give the Wellness Center set such a beautiful look. The lighting design by Emma Deane is very effective in keeping things secret until they are revealed, and creating mood and atmosphere, particularly during a storm, which also features some good cues from Sound Designer Victor Zupanc.

Four the People runs through November 12th at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. For more information about the show and to purchase tickets go to https://www.guthrietheater.org/shows-and-tickets/2023-2024-season/for-the-people/

The Pavilion At Lyric Arts in Anoka is Filled With the Ache of Longing That Resonates Across Time

Michael Terrell Brown, Chris Paulson, and Audrey Johnson Photo by Molly Weibel

The Pavilion isn’t a feel good play, but brings a certain melancholy pleasure to those of us given to looking back at what might have been. And really, isn’t that all of us at sometime or another? I don’t know what a younger audience makes of this play, I imagine they find their own hook into it, perhaps as a cautionary tale. But for many who are 15 to 20 years out of high school, like the characters in the play, and those of us with even more years distance, I think it will feel very personal. It’s a play that deals with the themes of time, regret, longing, love and life. Taking place at the 20th high school reunion in Pine City Minnesota, two high school sweethearts grapple with the pain of the past, the reality of the present, and the longings for the future. Who of us hasn’t thought back to those special someones in our past who got away or were left behind. The ones that hindsight with, its 20/20 vision seem like the ones that would have led to a life of happiness and fulfillment? There is a longing at the center of this play that resonates with all who have loved. At times philosophical and others comical, it’s the night that doesn’t go as planned but also the kind of night you wish would never end.

Written by Craig Wright it features the characters of Peter and Kari who were together in high school, when she became pregnant, Peter left for college and never looked back. Now it’s 20 years later and Peter has come back hoping to reconnect with Kari. Kari, wants nothing to do with him at first but as the night goes on, they continue to interact. Like old friends who haven’t seen each other in a while, awkward at first but after a few hours they discover the bond that drew them together in the first place. The play utilizes a narrator who opens describing how from the first moments of the worlds creation we came to this moment in Peter’s life. The narrator then goes on to play every character at the reunion which allows Peter and Kari to discuss their feelings and get advice, allowing the details of their past to be shared with the audience. It’s a brilliant device that allows for infinite characters while keeping the cast small and the real focus on the one-time lovers.

The role of Peter is played by Chris Paulson, whom I first saw in Bright Star at Lyric Arts and has been been doing impressive work in everything I’ve seen him in. Here his slightly sorrowful eyes reflect the longing and hopefulness he’s looking for in seeing Kari again. His boyish face also plays well into the idea that he hasn’t really found himself yet and in some ways is still a lost young man even at 37. The play also gives him a scene to show off his singing. Audrey Johnson as Kari brings an emotional openness to the role allowing the audience to feel her anger and hurt when confronted by Peter. In the second Act, after having vented some of the built up fury she begins to soften, Johnson handles this transition beautifully finding this natural warmth that has been dormant in Kari. She shows us in her eyes that while she didn’t come hoping to see or get back with Peter, that the thought is not a completely foreign one. In the second Act we get a sense of what they felt for each other; so well, you feel the ache of what could have been. The role of narrator and every other character is fabulously performed by Michael Terrell Brown. From his opening monologue which is beautifully conveyed to his complete vocal transformations from one reunion guest to another, he is at once the comic relief and the lyrical and poignant commentator on the unfolding events. The final performer is Steven Ramirez who provides a nice musical accompaniment to the play and has a few small non verbal interactions with the cast.

The play is directed by Jake Sung-Guk Sullivan who clearly has an affinity for shows in which actors portray multiple roles. He played that part himself as one of the two clowns in The 39 Steps at Lyric Arts and as Writer and Director of The Invisible Man at this years Minnesota Fringe Festival. Here he shows his clear understanding of how to utilize the technique effectively. He has a skill for creating moments of connection that bath the later scenes between Peter and Kari with yearning. When Peter gets on stage to sing a song it starts out haltingly, but in a moment and for the majority of the song it feels like this moment just clicks. It represents that high Peter is having in performing the song, that Kari is feeling hearing it, a perfect moment that melds memory with the present. And then as it ends the lighting changes again and the uncertainty of the present day reasserts itself. Which brings up the work of Lighting Designer Andrew Norfolk, which is used throughout to evoke the emotional shifts, create changes in setting and even represent a shooting star. The set designed by Justin Hooper is a wonderful with its creation of part of The Pavilion of the title and the wooden pathways near the lake.

I found The Pavilion to be a nostalgic trip that I am very glad I took and encourage you to go on the journey as well. The Pavilion runs through October 29th at Lyric Arts in Anoka, for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.lyricarts.org/pavilion.

Twelfth Night From Ten Thousand Things Theater Company is an Exuberantly Joyous Production

What a week of theater it has been. This concludes a seven day six show week. You might think fatigue would be setting in by tonights show, Shakespeare no less. But such is the power of theater, bad theater can drain us, but great theater can replenish our souls. Ten Thousand Things Theater Company’s (TTT) production of Twelfth Night is great theater. This is how Shakespeares comedies need to be done, in a way that everyone can not only understand but unreservedly enjoy them. TTT’s artists interpret Shakespeare’s work with a modern sensibility, that makes it fresh, funny and above all, accessible. New to me theater companies, theater spaces, and classic shows has become a common theme this season. When M’colleagues in the esteemed body of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers heard that I had never seen a production by TTT, I avoided by the narrowest margins being expelled from the group when a vote of no confidence was called for. I won over the swing votes by promising to see the very next production they put on. In my defense, this was the fourth show I tried to see. I was scheduled to see Thunder Knocking on the Door but Covid shut down the theaters. Last winter I was scheduled to see Mlima’s Tale but the performance got cancelled due to a storm. Last Spring I attempted to put Emilia on my schedule, but literally every theater company in the city opened shows the same two weekends. The date I had finally found to see it on, I had to back out of when my colonoscopy was rescheduled – which is a shitty excuse but there you have it. Long over due but so worth the wait and I’ll never miss another production from this company again as everyone was right. Particularly when they said you haven’t seen Shakespeare performed until you’ve seen TTT perform Shakespeare.

The play written in the early 1600’s by an upstart crow by the name of William Shakespeare is one of a grouping of plays called in some circles, the convoluted comedies, or “the play with the twins”, or “the play with the shipwreck”, even sometimes as “the one where the woman puts on a hat and everyone thinks she’s a man”. To which the inevitable reply to any of these statements is, “Which one?” Yes much like Stephen King or John Irving today, Shakespeare liked to play variations on a theme in some of his plays, great writers can pull that off. This one is the one where twin brother and sister Sebastian and Viola are survivors of a shipwreck though both believe the other to have perished. Viola, for reasons of plot contrivance, decides to disguise herself as her brother but without taking his name, instead taking the name of Cesario, apparently because when spoken quickly it can easily be confused with several of the other characters we’ll meet later in the play (this is a literary technique that would later be used to great effect and consternation by J.R.R. Tolkien in his books about middle earth). Viola becomes the servant of Duke Orsino who is stalking Olivia, whose affections are also sought after by Malvolio and Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Aguecheek is a drinking buddy of Olivia’s uncle Sir Toby Belch, who kinda has a thing for Olivia’s maid Maria. Meanwhile, Sebastian was saved from drowning by Antonio. Finding himself alive, he surprisingly decides not change his name or his gender. Though he does conspicuously disappear for three quarters of the play in the company of Antonio, who at the end of the play professes to anyone who will listen what love he did show Sebastian, so possibly still falling into the LGBTQ+ column. There is also a Jester who defiantly goes by a name not ending in “ia”, “io”, or something sounding like either of those but by the name Feste. Olivia falls in love with Cesario, who remember is actually Viola, who in turn has fallen in love with Orsino. Confused? Let me just assure you, hilarity ensues, it really does.

I saw a production of Twelfth Night a few years ago at The Guthrie Theatre, it was a very good production, but this was Ten Thousand Times better! It’s a combination of the direction by Marcela Lorca, the musical direction and compositions by Isabella Dawis, and an incredible cast. My wife and I play a game after a show where we ask each other who their favorite performer was. We were sort of stumped for answers with this one. Maybe it was Brian Bose as Feste, they had a great singing voice, a wonderfully physical performance, and just electrified the play when he entered it with his energy. Or maybe it was Katie Bradley as Olivia, it’s hard to top her reaction when she finally sees Cesario (aka Viola) and Sebastian at the same time. But wait, what about Maggie Chestovich as Maria and also Orsino’s servant Curio (notice this actor get’s both an “ia”and “io” character to play). Her moments of silent comedy are so perfectly executed. With her it’s as much about the performance moments not speaking as it is speaking. Yet, are we forgetting the duel roles played by Ryan Colbert as Sir Andrew Aguecheek and Antonio? Of all the performers playing multiple roles, which is everyone, these two by Colbert are the most hilariously different, that it’s almost hard to believe they are the same performer. Of course Dariana Elise Perez has the task of playing both Viola and Sebastian, sometimes in the same scene which she and Director Lorca have devised a wonderfully creative way to accomplish. Maybe, though its Mo Perry whose stint on a scooter and other bits of comedic physical movement stole the spotlight. Will Sturdivant as Orsino? He somehow makes his “me too” alarm sounding behavior not translate into mood obliterating cringieness. We laugh with the character rather than shake our heads thinking this role is problematic. But then there is Karen Wiese-Thompson as Sir Toby whose performance is only outdone by her small turn as the Priest. This is a comic performance that is probably going to stick with me for the rest of my life.

Do yourself a favor and get to Twelfth Night before it closes on November 19th. If you know anyone who hasn’t ever really seen Shakespeare performed or says they cannot understand the language, take them to this play. Not only will you be creating a new Theatergoer, but also a Shakespeare fan. The show plays at multiple location to find out where and to purchase tickets go to https://tenthousandthings.org/season/twelfth-night

Last Minute Preview!! The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society Sunday Oct. 15th at BLB Theater

I don’t know how it is that Monster Month is already almost half over or where the time went or how I missed yesterday’s Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society (MORLS) “Frankenstein: Two Centuries” event at Crooners Supper Club. Obviously if you are waiting on me and my preview posts to keep up to date on all the latest from the MORLS you are relying on the wrong source. What you need to do is go to https://www.ghoulishdelights.com/ and subscribe to their newsletter. That way if I don’t get a post up you’ll have all the information sent directly to your email box. You know what else you can do on the site? You can become a Patreon Supporter of the MORLS that gives you a link to view a recording of the Bryant Lake Bowl & Theater staged performances that you might not be able to make it to in person. For example like tomorrow nights show which I cannot make it to. Thankfully, I am a Patreon supporter and so I’ll still get to enjoy the the latest installment from this fantastic Theater company.

If you can make it tomorrow night prepare for a program custom made for Monster Month thrills, here’s what’s on the program that includes one recreation of a classic radio script from the series Inner Sanctum and to new scripts from two of the companies artists:

“A Corpse for Halloween” from Inner Sanctum (1949): Severed heads! Shameless puns! Baby tigers! A bizarre tale of psychological horror from the Grand Guignol of Old Time Radio.

“Get to the Castle, Part 2” from Grey Ghost and the Agents of Floor 10 (premiere): The agents discover dark secrets behind the walls of an ancient castle in Austria. This second installment of a three-part serial by Eric Webster includes a recap of the previous thrilling chapter!

“Lost in a Pyramid, or The Mummy’s Curse” from The Weird Library (premiere): Louisa May Alcott’s classic tale of romance and revenge, adapted for audio by Shanan Custer.

For tickets to tomorrow nights performance at 7:00 PM go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-mysterious-old-radio-workshop-tickets-728338067767

For those of you just tuning in The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society are Shanan Custer, Joshua English Scrimshaw, Tim Uren and Eric Webster. This Quartet of radio fanatics bring to life scripts from the golden age of radio as well as original scripts monthly on stages around town. Their performances perfectly emulate the style of the radio programs from the 1930’s on. Along with their vocal work, they also create the sound effects that accompany the tales on stage. Using their voices to paint a picture so vivid that if you close your eyes, you can see the action in your minds eye. There’s something magical about stories told this way. It can engage the audience at times even more than TV or film does because we are given the audio in a way that we use our imagination to fill in the visuals, it requires a more interactive response on our part. I’m a huge fan of this forgotten art form and always get a huge kick out of these performances.

“Life Sucks”, But This Play Doesn’t . A Modern Sort of Adaptation of Uncle Vanya at Open Eye Theatre

The Cast of Life Sucks Photo by Nicole Neri

Chekhov can be heavy, but Aaron Posner’s sort of adaptation Life Sucks while maintaining much of the plot and themes of Uncle Vanya is irreverent and wildly in your face fun. Open Eye Theatre & Girl Friday Productions have teamed up to present The Play featuring performances by seven local favorites. The cast is what drew me to this production as soon as I heard about it at the Minnesota Fringe Festival opening night. Really, all I heard was Sam Landman and I was in. Later, I saw Taj Ruler and one of my wife’s “All is Calm boys” James Ramlet was on the list, I knew who my plus one would be. Being a two show day and a six show week meant I hadn’t had a chance to really look over the entire cast until I got to the theatre. I was surprised that I had seen every member of this cast before and loved their previous work. Even after four years of covering the Stages of Minnesota you’d be surprised how rare it is in a show with more than say four actors to have seen every member of a cast, or at least be able to remember every member from a previous show. This is a remarkable cast in a play that is the type of creative leap that Open Eye does best. This is a play that doesn’t play by the rules in the most engaging way, with the actors addressing the audience and expecting a response, characters making sure we understand who all the characters are and their relationships to each other.

I feel like I’ve already said too much and I’ve barely given anything away. What makes the show so enjoyable is the way that you never know what is going to happen next. Sure, if you know the plot of Uncle Vanya you can make a guess at plot wise what story beats are coming. But this is a show that is less about what happens, than how it happens. And how it happens is the joy of the show and what makes it all work is the talented cast. The way this show changes gears, the improvisational feel of the actors give and take, all required the very best and that is what we have been given. Kirby Bennett as Babs is the wise one of the group, dressed like a biker she brings a lived in feel to the been there, done that don’t judge, old family friend. Georgia Doolittle as Ella exudes the required pheromones to achieve the characters desired reaction from the audience, when you see it, you’ll understand what I mean. She’s excellent at portraying the frustration of being constantly beleaguered by would be lovers. Elizabeth Efteland is cast against type as she was in last, Christmas’s Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, in the role of the homely Sonia. It is only her performance skills and a focus on projecting a lack of confidence that allow us to go along with the idea that she is someone who is considered unattractive. Jonathan Feld plays the object of her unrequited love Dr. Aster as a man who is attractive to several of the characters and he does that by exuding confidence and an air of not being concerned what others think of him. Sam Landman is Vanya, he just about breaks you with his vulnerability when he comes to a realization about himself in the wake of Ella’s rejection. And then has one of the best moments in the show when he asks to have the stage so he can tell the audience one more thing, it’s one of those surprises that feels out of left field, but so perfect. James Ramlet as the Professor is masterful in his portrayal of the superior acting father of Sonia and much too old husband of Ella. Throwing off speeches full of $12 words with a pomposity that gets the best rises out of Landman’s Vanya. It’s one of the best inflated ego performances and Ramlet knows just how to hold himself as he delivers the often incomprehensible to anyone outside of himself sentences. Finally, Taj Ruler brings their patented playful and eccentric style to the character of Pickles who is some kind of relative of Vanya’s. This is easily the most consistently funny performance, the sock puppet seduction scene being a prime example of Ruler’s gifts for making the most ludicrous material elicit screams of laughter, I have no idea how Georgia Doolittle kept her composure through that scene.

Directed by and set designed by Open Eye’s Joel Sass who somehow manages to fit all seven actors on the Open Eye’s tiny stage without looking like they are on top of one another. Sass has harnessed the unique talents of all seven performers and found the best way to play to each one’s strengths. One of the things that always excites me about an Open Eye production is the design of the shows. This one is no exception, Sass’s sets always look like sets but in the most magical way. As always there is more surprises in store than what we see at first look, reference Landman’s final word with the audience scene, something surprising happens with the set that is a little thing but brilliant. The Lighting Designer Kathy Maxwell also needs to be given credit for lighting Sass’s wonderful design and helping to create a sense of changing locations.

Life Sucks is a play in which the characters know they are in a play but without that being the joke or point, it’s just a way for them to address us directly. To comment on the material in a way that feels fresh and inventive. The unique thing is that the cast doesn’t stop being the characters when they address the audience or acknowledge that this is a play. They stay in character they are not actors in a play, the are characters in a play, and that allows them to break the reality of the play without taking us out of their characters. This is a fantastic production and I urge everyone to see it. Like Artistry’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee which I reviewed yesterday this is a show that can create theater fans. But unlike that show, you might want to be just slightly more conscious of whom you take. Make sure they are someone that is OK with something that breaks the mold a little bit. Life Sucks runs through November 5th at Open Eye Theatre in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.openeyetheatre.org/life-sucks

The Church Basement Ladies in A Mighty Fortress is Our Basement at the Ames Center in Burnsville

There have apparently been nine musicals featuring the Church Basement Ladies (CBL) to date with the most recent premiering in 2022. The original had a book by Jim Stowell and Jessica Zuehlke, music and lyrics by Drew Jansen and the sequels are based on the lives and writings of Janet Letnes Martin and Suzann Nelson. Obviously these are wildly popular to have spawned this many sequels and Church Basement Ladies Productions have been mounted in all 48 contiguous States and Canada. Beginning with the first sequel, the book for the musicals were written by Greta Grosch who usually appears in the shows as the character of Mavis Gilmerson, though not in the current production. The Church Basement Ladies in A Mighty Fortress is Our Basement is playing now through November 12th at the Ames Center in Burnsville. I’m not the target audience for this show, which I assume is retired Lutherans, as evidenced by the shows schedule which consists largely of weekday matinees. Did I have fun with the show? Yes to some extent, though I think overall I enjoyed some of the performers more than the actual show.

The CBL are three woman Vivian Snustad a widow, Mavis Gilmerson a farmer, and Karin Engelson a wife and mother. The story of this installment set in 1960 in rural Minnesota focuses on the the confirmation, and I suppose coming of age from the Lutheran perspective, of Karin’s daughter Beverly and the second marriage of the town Pastor. It would seem like there are some parallels to be drawn between the young teenagers, first feelings of adulthood and romance, and the middle aged pastor finding love again in middle age. But in true Lutheran fashion, if they’re thinking of those themes, they are keeping them on the inside and instead talking about Jello salads and marshmallow surprise. Many of the scenes feel only tangentially connected, there are the plot through lines but we skip ahead in time and then some scenes actually appear to be told in flashback. It all feels like an excuse to spend time with the CBLs who have some funny lines and sing some songs and as the Pastor says towards the end, keep living their lives.

The performance I saw two of the three CBL’s were understudies and maybe that accounts for a sense of them just playing out scenes rather than inhabiting the characters fully. Though they all did good work, if you’re going to have a show that’s basically just about the interactions of Lutherans in a church basement or kitchen, it should feel like they’ve been through the years together. One of the strongest of the cast is Alexa Johnson as Beverly, who reminded me of a young Zooey Deschanel. She has a really sweet song with Dorian Chalmers who plays her mother Karin called “Growing Up, Letting Go” it’s the song in the musical that most felt like something you could lift out of the show and enjoy on it’s own and both actors sound great. The other cast member that really caught my eye, maybe by being the odd man out, was Gregory Eiden as the Pastor. He looks and behaves like a Pastor, and yes I understand that is the aim of acting, but what I mean is he’s playing the character and so his moments feel more authentic and thus his moments of comedy play better. The CBL are not terribly exaggerated, but they are not very far removed from caricatures, which would work better if the comedy was broader and more fast paced. I don’t want to give the impression I didn’t enjoy the show, it had its moments and was diverting enough. It’s a great show to take the Grandmother too, nothing too risque, and if she’s in her 80’s or 90’s she might feel more of a connection to these CBL’s from the past.

The Church Basement Ladies in A Mighty Fortress is Our Basement runs through November 12th and then returns again January 4th through February 14th at The Ames Center. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.ames-center.com/cbl.html