A love affair that began a year ago has come to an end. It was for DalekoArts’ spring musical in 2022, Once, that I finally made my way down to New Prague, a little theatre on Main Street. It’s small unassuming theater in a sleepy little town that by all rights, shouldn’t have been even half as good as it was. Me? I was a wide-eyed blogger just getting my theatre legs back after a worldwide pandemic. When the house lights went down and the stage lights went up, seemly dozens upon dozens of musicians took to the 15 X 15 foot stage and made beautiful music. There was no “Falling Slowly” about it, I fell hard and fast. Before I knew it I was trying to work a second show into my busy schedule. Fate, that cruel organizer of near misses, conspired between a sell out show and a case of Covid to keep us apart. It wouldn’t be until fall when I made it down for their next production and every production onward, except for White Chrismith. How naive I was, thinking we had all the time world that there would be plenty of shows in our future. But alas, DalekoArts, thou hast cleft my heart in twain. After 11 seasons the founders of DalekoArts have decided it’s time to take on new challenges and pursue new adventures. 11 seasons, and they were right there but I didn’t know about them until 2022. Of course by “right there” I mean about an hour south of the Cities. 11 years but only one year in my orbit. In that small time, mostly greatly shone this Bright Star of New Prague. DalekoArts will always be the one that got away. But as the man says, if you gotta go, go out with a bang. I’m thrilled to report that DalekoArts remained true to the last, and while the first kiss lasts forever, there is still witchcraft in Daleko’s lips.

This was not my first exposure to Bright Star, I had seen the production Lyric Arts in Anoka mounted in the fall of 2019, in fact it was the second review I ever wrote for what was at the time called Stages of the Twin Cities. The show written by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell is inspired by a true story. You can Google Iron Mountain Baby and read the Wikipedia page to learn about the true story that inspired the plot of this musical. But, I encourage you to do so after enjoying the show. The story follows two tracks, one set in 1945 after the end of WWII and one in flashback to 1923. The show opens in 1946 with Alice Murphy, a publisher in Asheville North Carolina singing “If You Knew My Story”. It’s sets the stage that this is Alice’s story which we’ll see told through flashbacks. It also introduces us to the the style of music that the musical utilizes which is bluegrass. The 1940’s story begins with young Billy Cane who has returned home from the war, set on pursuing a career as a writer. He’s encouraged by his friend and wanna be best girl, Margo, who has been reading the stories he’s sent her. Billy learns upon reaching home that while he was away his Mother passed away. The show balances it’s plot on these moments of joy and optimism followed by incidents that temper the joy. This happens again and again throughout the plot and in that way, the story mirrors the feel of the bluegrass music that is underscoring it. The music can be very rousing and upbeat but it can also have a beautiful melancholy aspect to it. It’s sorrowful without being depressing or downbeat. Billy, who had always been timid about his writing, realized when he was knee deep in the mud wondering if he would survive the war, if he did, he was going to follow his own “Bright Star”. So he heads to Asheville to try and get Alice Murphy to publish his stories in her magazine The Asheville Southern Journal. She agrees to read his stories. In a conversation with her two employees Daryl and Lucy, who try and convince her to come out with them after work, she comments that she did always used to be so no-nonsense. This leads into the flashback to 1923 and her love story with Jimmy Ray Dobbs. Again, we have the young Billy who was reticent to engage with the world, choosing to go out and try and get what he wants from life. Meanwhile Alice who used to be outgoing and joyful, now appears to focus entirely on work. The parallels between the characters and the light and dark moments are intentional and it makes for intriguing characters and an engrossing story. The songs with little if any exceptions are fantastic. I’m not a bluegrass aficionado, but I’ve had this album in my rotation regularly since I saw that production at Lyric Arts. There are some really powerful scenes as the play progresses but I don’t want to rob them of that power, so I’m going to keep those plot points to myself.

The cast is just fantastic, from the moment Ruthie Baker came out as Alice Murphy and launched into “If You Knew My Story” it was clear they had found a performer who could do the vocalizations justice. Baker is most fitting in the role during the 1945 period. When she is playing the 1920’s aged Alice she leans a little to much into the young giddy teenager, most of the time it’s fine, but there are a couple of moments that just go a little too broad. When the darkness comes in 1923, she brings the pain handling some really difficult emotional scenes brilliantly. Equally wonderful is Daniel Greco who plays her love interest Jimmy Ray Dobbs. Greco as with Baker is clearly a gifted vocalist and he also gets a couple of moments, one in 1924 and one in 1945 to show that he has the dramatic chops to go with the voice. Jake S. Nelson as Billy Cane and Abby Holmstrom as Margo, make a cute match, they both deliver everything you could want and they make the most of a slightly underwritten love story, managing to provide a moving climax to that thread of the story. Other favorites among the cast were Grant Hooyer as Daryl and Amanda Mai as Lucy, they get some fun comic relief moments and a fun song in “Another Round”. Ryan Lee as Billy’s Daddy. Warren R. Sampson as Jimmy Ray’s Daddy, and Luke Aaron Davidson as Alice’s Daddy all do wonderful work, with each getting a moment to showcase a moment of gravitas. Lee even gets to help out the band part of the time on his guitar as does ensemble player Nora Sonneborn on an instrument to be named later.

The production is directed by one of DalekoArts’ founders Amanda White. This stage is not really 15 X15 as I joked earlier, it’s actually a bit smaller. Seriously though, it’s a small stage and as with Once last spring, they have a fairly sizable cast. White and her Choreographer Kyle Weiler have done some really interesting work to keep the size of the space from impeding the production. They have gone for a more representation approach, chairs spaced to represent the train car. a cast member sitting in a chair to represent Billy’s mothers grave and the angel statue his father placed at it. The actress has movement during that particular scene, it isn’t meant to represent reality is an impressionistic interpretation that is meant to suggest the physical world while also acknowledging the emotional undercurrent and mood of the moment. They have really done some interesting things with movement, there is a sense that in some ways as we enter the 1920’s flashback that elements of physicality among the performers are meant to emphasize the fact that this is a memory and as such there are almost dreamlike aspects to certain transitions. It’s a really interesting and successfully executed approach. Bradley A. Beahen is the Musical Director and he and his band are up in the loft playing, they are fantastic and my only criticism is that we cannot see them playing, Bluegrass, just seems like the kind of music you want to see the musicians playing the instruments. Robin McIntyre Scenic Design utilizes the space surprisingly well, giving us two upper level platforms that some scenes are performed on to add a little visual freshness. Everything is constructed with bare wood which gives it somehow and first half of the 20th Century bluegrass feel to it.

Bright Star runs through May 21st it’s also basically sold out, but click here to get on the waitlist for cancellations https://www.dalekoarts.com/season-11. Bright Star is a worthy final bow for this theater and it’s passionate crew. You enriched our lives, and for that we are grateful. We will cherish the memories you gave us and mourn your loss. It’s OK to take a moment and grieve but, we cannot rest for long, our theatres are under siege on multiple fronts. And so, we cannot sit at home and wallow in lost loves, we have to get back out there and find new theatre’s and support them. Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!

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 Pajama Party at Artistry and our 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

Ghoulish Delights chief ghoul, and member of The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society (the MORLS), Tim Uren writes and directs this revised and expanded version of his Minnesota Fringe Festival production from 2014. Not having seen the original production, I can’t speak to what changed whether added or subtracted. I can say, the version I saw runs close to the timing of a Fringe show but contains a 10 minute intermission. The Tourist Trap is a fun little horror play that lays out its own original mythology. It also poses the question, what does it mean to be from somewhere and who is the real native of this little area of South Dakota where the play is set. Above all, Uren reminds us with this piece is when you visit South Dakota, there will be blood.

When a group of friends visits a tourist museum in the Black Hills of South Dakota, devoted to a 19th century murderous cult leader named Marcus Bingham, they discover a whole new meaning to the term “tourist trap”. Uren’s script nicely lays out the backstory of the subject, the museum which is layered upon and enriched by the set Design of Devyn Becker. This “historical” basis for the museum is really well developed and actually sounds plausible. Horror works best when it builds from a believable starting point and this is The Tourist Trap‘s biggest asset. Uren starts the play the moment we enter the theater where we are encouraged to explore the museum exhibits (on stage). I recommend getting to the theater with at least 10+ minutes to take in what is on display. You won’t need the information as the tour guide as the characters will provide all the necessary exposition; however, it adds to the richness of the experience. I don’t really want to say anything more about the plot, not knowing which path this horror show will take is part of the fun.

The cast is filled with local performers who have popped up in all manner of shows over the years. If you’ve been to the Minnesota Fringe Festival, The Twin Cities Horror Festival (TCHF) or any of the 10,000 local theaters you’ve likely seen and enjoyed many of them in other productions. They all do do nice work here and you can tell their past experiences have prepared them for what they need to bring to a horror show. Two of the cast Jay Kistler and Sean Dillon performed in what I thought was the best show at the 2022 TCHF, Duck Washington’s All Your White Darlings. But I have to confess the true Draw for me aside from Uren was Shanan Custer who plays Dianne, the owner operator of the Museum. I’ve always loved Custer’s performances with the MORLS and have been enjoying her other roles on and off stage for decades. One of my oldest sons earliest theater experiences was the serialized London After Midnight shows she was a part of at Bryant Lake Bowl Theater. What a blast to see Custer tackle something dark and disturbing, unlike anything I’d seen her do before. She’s all in and still manages to get the biggest laugh without shifting the tone or breaking the mood of the piece. Fans of this Twin Cities Theatre Goddess are not going to want to miss this chance to see her go dark, very dark.

Uren script is the winner with the direction in need of a little tightening up. The tension is a bit lax with the character remaining a little too rational as things begin to go south. I like everything that happens, but the actors needed some stronger motivations at times for the characters movements or lack thereof to feel earned. It all stays a little too tame when things go crazy. On one hand, it was probably for the best as my wife was able to enjoy the show and will be able to sleep tonight. But I think there’s room to make what happens felt more viscerally by the audience, therein can also be a distraction from some characters in action or the motivation for it, that they are in shock. The lighting Design Ariel Pinkerton who also plays Joelle in the play, creates some extra tension with a sudden lights-out moment between the acts. Until the house lights come up, you’re on the edge of your seat. The blood and other effects are well handled, I’m guessing that is the work of Violence Coordinator, Jena Young. You’ve been warned, there are some mildly gruesome moments and a fair amount of blood in the show.

Overall, this is a really well thought out script with a underlying mythology that feels as real as the Blair Witch legend did back in 1999. Horror fans will find this a bloody good time. The Tourist Trap runs through May 20th at the Crane Theater in NE Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.ghoulishdelights.com/#tourist. You can also find out about the MORLS live performances and their podcast and if you haven’t taken in one of their performances done in the style of old radio broadcasts, I highly recommend it!

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 Pajama Party at Artistry and our 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

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