Paradise Blue is Sexy and Soulful at Penumbra Theatre

Paradise Blue at Penumbra Theatre revolves around a Jazz Club but surprisingly features very little actual jazz. It’s more concerned with the people that call The Paradise Club home. Jazz may be their bread and butter, but of larger the issue is of change, who it effects and at what price. The five characters all have different priorities and value different things, just as in real life. One person’s future is another’s past, one person’s home is another’s prison. It’s a wonderfully acted play and the design is the best I’ve seen at Penumbra. The first Act is undeniably too long, it’s not a case of knowing what should be removed or tightened, just a general consensus among myself and other audience members I spoke with, we were all waiting for intermission. Act one just feels too long, fortunately Act two does not. The play runs two and a half hours including the intermission, I’d guess rather than large changes it needs about 10 minutes of judicious trims from the first Act to play perfectly. It’s a strength of the writing that the answer isn’t an easier fix, it’s hard to imagine the removal of any whole scenes or character arcs. It just needs a minute or so cut from each scene to overcome that sense the first Act needed to end sooner. I don’t think Director Lou Bellamy could accomplish it just by quickening up the pace, I think he has the individual scenes paced and staged brilliantly. The problem lies in the script, which aside from being too long before intermission, is really great. It’s such an odd criticism, I know, but thankfully the only negative thing I can say about it is that Act One seems 10 minutes to long.

Set in Detroit’s Black Bottom district in 1949, during a period when the city was attempting the gentrification of the Paradise Valley. The Valley is an area that is filled with black owned and operated businesses. One such business is The Paradise Club which is owned by Blue who inherited it from his father as well as his musical gift on the Trumpet. Blue’s also rents out the rooms above the club, mostly to the remaining other musicians in his quartet, Corn the pianist, and P-Sam on the drums. Helping him run the place is his woman, Pumpkin (I’m not trying to be sexist here, but it’s never clear in the play if Pumpkin and Blue are married or just together, his woman is how she’s referred to). Blue is making changes after firing the bass player until they find a new one. He first appears after a meeting downtown with the city who are looking to buy up all the property in Paradise Valley. Into the club comes Silver, who is new to town and on her own, with a wad of money looking for a room. Silver might as well be named Sex, because watching her leave a room feels like a sin. Throughout the play we comes to understand the characters roles in this fragile found family. There are struggles between the characters that seem to divide them into those who are looking out just for themselves and those who care for others. It also explores the ideas of what we inherit from others either through family or environment.

A great cast to be sure, but the woman are so truly unforgettable. Nubia Monks plays Pumpkin who really is the glue that holds the club together, she cooks the meals, cleans the rooms, and anything else that needs doing. Monks doesn’t play Pumpkin’s goodness and caring, she exudes it. With every smile, line reading, or moment of peacekeeping she broadcasts Pumpkin’s innate love of her friends. Whereas Pumpkin seems to be purity incarnate, Angela Wildflower plays Silver with a worldliness that comes of intelligence and realism. Wildflower seems to spend about a third of the play in her lingerie, she uses her sex appeal strategically to be sure, but you also feel that when she does end up the lover of one of the characters, it isn’t just for leverage but a genuine attraction. Like the character Wildflower knows how to use her sex appeal to her advantage as illustrated everytime she leaves a room. She is full of confidence and it’s that aspect as well as her walk that has all eyes on her when she’s on stage. Lester Purry plays Corn and Darrick Mosley plays P-Sam, they have an easy banter and understanding of each other. Purry plays Corn as the calm in the center of the storm, watching and coaching and trying to keep the peace between everyone. Mosley plays P-Sam as someone a bit impetuous, who hasn’t been around long enough to see the big picture as Corn does. Mikell Sapp plays Blue, slowly revealing with his eyes that something isn’t quite right. His performance gives us a nonverbal clue to information that is revealed later so we are prepared for it.

The Set Design by Maruti Evans is really something. It’s the bar and stage of the Paradise Club, and some of the tables and chairs, which looked great. Before the show started I was commenting on how much I loved the set design. Then at one point the mirror behind the bar slides up and we see into Silver’s room. It was unexpected and a thrilling surprise. I also loved the costumes by Wanda Walden. Walden has Blue always looking extremely dapper including some really cool shoes that match the color of his ties. Walden dresses Silver in a way that accentuates her sensuality but still preserves the Actors modesty. Some of my favorite touches from Walden though were Corn’s apparel, it isn’t flashy like Blue and P-Sam’s outfits can be, they are more subtle, but beautifully coordinated. The Lighting Design by Marcus Dillard and the Sound Design by Composer Gregory Robinson also add invaluably to the quality of the production.

Don’t let that run time dissuade you from what is really a very good play. Paradise Blue runs through March 9th at Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://penumbratheatre.org/event/paradise-blue/#6

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School Pictures Schools the Audience at Theater Latté Da in Northeast Minneapolis

Writer-performer Milo Cramer in School Pictures at Theater Latté Da. Photo credit: Dan Norman.

Milo Cramer’s solo show School Pictures Which just won a 2025 Obie Award makes its local premiere at Theater Latté Da. A low tech, low key, delightfully quirky and quick 75 minute show that makes you laugh and think. Cramer wrote the show about a five year period in his life when he tutored students in New York City. Cramer sings with a voice that won’t win him any singing contests. And yet, it’s his slightly high pitched kinda in and out of key quality that gets the audience on his side right from the start. It’s charming and relatable, as are his instrumentations which are simplistic. He’s telling us up front that he’s not a musical theater major who composes songs for full orchestras, he’s just like us, with an ability to carry a tune and learn a few cords on a ukulele. He’s just here to sing us a few silly little comedic songs about some teenage kids he tutored and their sometimes eye rolling attitudes and problems. He lulls you into a sense of comfort and humor and then, there is the big reveal!

As you can see in the photo accompanying this review there are sheets of colored paper with names on them on a bulletin board. Cramer goes through them sequentially, each is a seperate song/story about a student he taught. They are each unique and humorous as little episodes, but the cumulative effect is building to that big reveal. Which is where Cramer takes the audience to school asking us to do a few math problems and giving us facts about the inequity of the New York City school system. The conclusions are eye opening to the uninformed and audiences may find themselves grateful they don’t have kids in that school system. Well, ask an educator at an North Minneapolis Middle School I know of and you will hear stories that will make you furious at the Minneapolis School Board. After the stories I’ve heard from several educators I’m left with the conclusion that like the President they want the public education system to fail. When the students first went back after Covid, the school would repeatedly falsely report there were no covid cases when there were dozens of cases per grade. Guns in the school not being reported by the administration, teachers being told to lie about. Teachers being blamed for getting assaulted. Teachers without text books for students. I have a niece and nephew in South Minneapolis schools which are much better, and have more resources, but that could all easily go away very soon.

The education system in this country has been at a crisis point for a long time now. We need more resources directed at schools, so that we don’t lose dedicated teachers who go unsupported with no resources and no support. But the worst thing is that there is a large segment of a generation of kids that are not being given the opportunity to succeed. Why would anyone want that? Well, you might want that if you wanted a generation of people who didn’t have skills or knowledge to question things. People who haven’t been taught problem solving skills. People like that would be easy to control through fear and misinformation. And if you eliminate independent sources of information, you can control the message and the people. You can continue to keep the wealthy educated and rich, and you can keep the nonwhite and/or poor, in survival mode. These are the thoughts that Cramer’s show stirred up in my mind as I drove home from the show. So cute and funny? Yes, but also with a message of real value and substance.

School Pictures runs through March 2nd at Theater Latté Da. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.latteda.org/school-pictures

Hadestown Heats up The Orpheum Theatre Again!

Megan Colton (Eurydice), Jaylon C. Crump (Hermes), Bryan Munar (Orpheus), and Hadestown North American Touring Company, 2024. Photo by: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

Hadestown takes a couple of ancient mythological tales from over 2,000 years ago and creates a wholly original piece of musical theatre. It’s easy to see why it took home eight Tony Awards in 2019 including Best New Musical. It’s one of those shows that feels like it’s doing something new and that’s always exciting. The songs are a mixture of blues and folk with hints of industrial opera and musical theatre as channelled through the early 20th century. It sounds completely unique without sounding alien. The music, lyrics, and book are all by Anais Mitchell who has found a sound that perfectly matches the story and design of the production. If you didn’t catch Hadestown when it came through in 2022, I hope you have tickets already, if not get them while there are still a few left. It’s a stunner of a show with a lived in look that dazzles with the change of a lighting cue.

Hadestown is a story that is told by Hermes, a story he has told before and a story he will tell again. It starts with Orpheus, a poor boy, but he has a gift to give. A song that will make you see the world as it could be, rather than as it is. It’s about a girl, Eurydice, who comes to town and has nothing but falls in love with the boy. It’s also about the God Hades and his wife Persephone, who spends half her time in Hadestown and half in the upper world where she came from. Hades rules the underworld represented as an industrial factory where they build “the wall”. After Hades and Persephone have a fight, he heads to the above world and finds Eurydice, who is cold and hungry, and asks her to come to Hadestown where she will be warm and fed. Egged on by the Fates, she falls for it and gets a ticket on the train to hell. When Orpheus learns that Eurydice has gone to Hadestown, he goes there to find her to bring her home. But Hades is not in the habit of letting people go once they have signed a contract with him.

The roles of Orpheus and Eurydice were performed by Bryan Munar and Megan Colton and unfortunately they are not evenly matched. Colton is fantastic as Eurydice soulful and compelling in songs like “All I’ve Ever Known“. The role of Orpheus I noted in my previous review requires someone with the range of Frankie Valli, unfortunately Munar doesn’t quite have the range, when he goes to the upper registers there’s no power behind it. Munar’s vocals are impressive when it gets down into his comfort zone, but his acting is flat and even his body movements seem devoid of any emotion or tension. In the role of our narrator Hermes is Jaylon C. Crump who has style and sass and everything you want in the role, he was a crowd favorite. Nickolaus Colon and Namisa Mdlalose Bizana play Hades and Persephone, Colon’s deep rich voice is thrilling as the King of the Underworld. Bizana seemed a little flat in the first Act but after intermission she turned the tables and the dance she and Colon do to Orpheus’ song is enchanting. Several big moments to shine, both are top notch vocalists. Scenic Design by Rachel Nauck, Costume Design by Michael Krass and Lighting Design by Bradley King all play crucial roles. The production itself is really well done with all the departments clicking to create a unified whole.

I was talking with M’Colleague Jill, from Cherry and Spoon (if you don’t follow her for her reviews you should http://www.cherryandspoon.com/) and we were commenting on how it feels like everything we see lately seems to reflect the world we find ourselves in no matter when it was written. Hadestown began its theatrical life back in 2006 but check out these lyrics from the song “Why We Build the Wall” sung by Hades the greek, equivalent you might say of Satan.

Because we have and they have not
Because they want what we have got
The enemy is poverty
And the wall keeps out the enemy
And we build the wall to keep us free
That’s why we build the wall
We build the wall to keep us free
“Why We Build the Wall” by Anaïs Mitchell

It’s hard not to view Hades as a certain political figure with his wall meant to distract preying on the unfortunate using fear to get them to act against their own best interests. Hadestown runs through February 16th at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis for more information and to purchase any remaining tickets go to. https://hennepinarts.org/events/hadestown-2025

The Ostentatious Outlaws of Neehai Valley or Why I Love Theater so Damn Much

Tonight, or I suppose technically it was last night, I attended a workshop and stage reading of a new musical in the works from Keith Hovis commissioned by Trademark Theater. I haven’t attended a lot of staged readings, my schedule is usually so full with shows to allow for it. I am so grateful I attended this one. I’m not going to review the show here, this is a work in progress, though to my mind it’s ready now to be fully mounted. But I do have to write something because it’s after midnight and I’m so excited by what I just saw that I’m not going to be able to sleep until I get something out of me. Hovis, who wrote the book, music, and lyrics has created something very special here. It’s the sort of show that’s hard to categorize because it’s more than one thing. First and foremost, it’s hysterically funny. Secondly, it’s a musical without a single dud or time filling song, every single one is memorable. But it’s also social commentary, representation, raunchy as hell, and moving. In short, it’s genius. But more important than what it is, is how it made me feel. I can only describe the feeling of being in the room when this display of creativity, humor , and humanity was happening as feeling fully alive. This is the feeling a theater junkie like me is always chasing. We feel lucky if we feel a quarter of this feeling, it’s so rare to have this strong of a reaction, and this was just a reading. Wow.

The Cast in Rehearsal: Photo courtesy of Trademark Theater
(L-R) Kiko Laureano, Armando Ronconi, Neal Beckman, Hope Nordquist, Em Adam Rosenberg

There are two downsides to an evening like this, I can rave all I want about it, but if you weren’t there, you missed it. I do this because I want to share experiences like this with you, faithful readers, and until they stage it I can’t. The second problem, and there are honestly only a handful of times this ever happens, this cast is so good, that any cast other than this will never be able to measure up. I can only think of two examples of other shows that have had that effect on me. The first was one of the shows that led to The Stages of MN’s creation, and that was Hedwig and the Angry Inch featuring Trademark Theater’s Founder and Artistic Director Tyler Michaels King as Hedwig and Jay Owen Eisenberg as Yitzhak. The other was a a musical called Interstate that opened at Mixed Blood in March 2020, only to be closed early due to the Covid pandemic. I saw both of those three times each, and wished I could have seen them more. I went back, bringing new people each time because I know that live theater exists as it’s happening. Once a shows run ends, it’s over. The next production will be something different. I’m so excited by what I just saw and I’m so sad that I cannot bring you with me to see it again tomorrow night or next weekend. I have no doubt that Trademark will mount this and I’d be very surprised if we didn’t see it in their 2025-2026 season. When it comes, I’ll remind you that this is a moment that you don’t want to let slip away. My greatest hope is that this cast returns as I’m going to have a very difficult time picturing anyone else in these roles. Everyone of them is perfectly cast, they brilliantly mine every line for maximum effect, it’s rare to hear an audience laugh out loud so much. It is almost non stop laughter, but there was one particularly moving moment. Towards the end, Em Adam Rosenberg sings a song that is so eloquent so moving and so beautifully sung, that they had not only me in tears, but also some of their fellow cast members. It’s a moment I wish I could have shared with my son George, it would have connected for him. I hope I get a chance to share that moment with him in the future.

The Snowy Day from MN Opera at The Ordway

The Snowy Day an adaptation of the classic groundbreaking and award winning children’s book by Ezra Jack Keats make for a simple but sweet Opera. As one might assume given its picture book origin, this is a short opera running a little over an hour. The subject matter and the length make it a great option for people interested in introducing their musically interested children to the art form. The plot follows a young boy named Peter who wakes up to the first snowfall of the season and the ways in which he spends that first snowy day of the season. We follow along as Peter suffers through his parents insistence that he eat breakfast, put on all his warm clothes and snow gear, and worst of all get his face smeared with Vaseline to avoid chapping. The last one was a new one on me, but I assume comes from the book which was published in 1962. Once finally allowed to go outside we see his disappointment at being told he’s too young to join the bigger kids in a snowball fight. Finding a new friend in a young girl named Amy, and with whom he sleds down a hill, makes snow Angels and a snowman. Before returning home with a snowball in his coat pocket. After lights out he discovers to his disappointment that his snowball has melted, he then has a nightmare in which all of the people he encountered that day appear and begin to melt away as well. When he awakens the next day he finds another fresh layer of snow has fallen and prepares for another day of adventures in the snow.

I’m not knowledgeable enough to discuss the performers singing other than to say for me the best vocals were from John Mburu as Peter’s Daddy, his were the vocals I could hear most clearly as well. Raven McMillon who plays Peter, was too soft to be heard much of the time but gave a very charming performance, childlike without being childish. I also really enjoyed the performance of Leah Hawkins as Mama. She plays it with just the right amount of motherly love combined with, don’t you give me that look, motherliness. They even comment of the fact that she has eyes in the back of her head, my Mom had those too! There are moments such as after Peter has left the house and we stay with Mama as she expresses love and protectiveness that seem to tread water for a little too long. But they are few and though the Libretto by Andrea Davis Pinkney is very simple, one assumes drawing directly from the book for the most part, the music by Joel Thompson is lush and enchanting. The scenic design by Amy Rubin emulates faithfully the look and style of Keats’ original illustrations. There are fun touches like the sledding hill and snowballs. While it lacks the detail and grandness of the spectacular designs we saw in Edward Tulane back in 2022, it perfectly matches this material.

The Snowy Day runs through February 16th at The Ordway in St. Paul. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://mnopera.org/season/2024-2025/the-snowy-day/

The Gin Game a Two Hander Featuring Two Great Performances at Park Square Theatre

Terry Hempleman and Greta Oglesby Photo by Rich Ryan

As a veteran Gin player my first thought as the characters began playing Gin was, what about the up deck? Is that just a variation that I grew up with or were they simplifying the game for the sake of the audience? Gin has always seemed to me like a game older people play. Maybe it’s because my Grandfather taught me the game and now about the only time I play it is with my Aged P once a year when we get together for a marathon Chex Mix baking and Gin Rummy Tournament. The Gin Game a Pulitzer Prize winning play by D.L. Coburn centers around two seniors, Weller played by Terry Hempleman and Fonsia played by Greta Oglesby, who are fairly new to a retirement home and begin playing Gin together. Weller teaches Fonsia the game as she had played a variation of it but when she was much younger. From the start Fonsia wins every hand which slowly makes Weller more and more frustrated. As they play they reveal little bits about their lives though in both cases, as in real life, they share their public version of themselves which isn’t always the truth. Throughout the four scenes the tone changes from that of two people getting to know each other and possibly becoming friends, to something darker.

I loved the performances by Hempleman and Oglesby they make it an enthralling show. I’m less enthusiastic about the script itself. I’m not sure if I see much in it other than as a showcase for two Actors. It gives both of these gifted performers a lot of emotional highs and lows to play. Frankly, it’s worth the price of admission to watch these two connect and spar. They find the humor in the script, they play the moments of heightened emotions perfectly, but the greatest thing they do, is to completely disappear into the roles. There was never a moment that didn’t feel true and honest, and believe me that is rarely the case. If you enjoy seeing two actors bring genuine truth to the stage, you must see this show. A couple of recommendations though. Get your seats in the center section, if that is full and you have to choose a side choose House Right. It really shouldn’t matter where your seats are, a show should be directed so that the blocking works for the entire house. That’s the one element that I would criticize Director Faye M. Price for. I was seated in the first seats on the second row of House Left and had Hempleman back to me for almost the entire first Act. The side wasn’t very full so we moved all the way to the end of the section at intermission, so almost level with where the stage begins and that was a much better view. The more I think about it, it’s an odd choice to stage a show that for most of it’s running time the characters sit across from each other in their basement thrust stage instead of their main proscenium stage.

The set design by Joseph Stanley is very well done. It’s a nice representation of the sun porch of the nursing home. For a play like this that really requires that we view these two as real people, a design that tries to emulate reality works to that end as well. Assisting to that end was Brandt Roberts’ Prop designs. I also want to point out the Lighting Designer Kurt Jung and Sound Designer Katharine Horowitz, particularly for their work in the scene when there is a thunderstorm. Their lighting flashes followed seconds later by thunder were perfectly timed to add a realism. Props as well to Stanley’s set in that scene when the roof begins to leak.

The Gin Game runs through February 23rd at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://parksquaretheatre.org/

Grease is the Joyous Final Word of Michael Brindisi at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

Kasano Mwanza (Teen Angel) Katemarie Andrews (Frenchie) Ensemble Photo by Dan Norman 2025

Grease is a musical I’ve seemingly known all my life. I saw the famous film adaptation in the theater at age six, and watched it constantly on cable and VHS over the next decade. I was even in my high school production as a member of the ensemble. Grease and a healthy dose of being my father’s son contributed to my love of the sounds of the 1950’s and 60’s. Grease in the original nostalgia musical, on the surface it’s a love story between Danny and Sandy but it’s really a love story between the audience and the 1950’s. This isn’t Shakespeare in fact if I wasn’t so familiar with the plot I might be confused as to whether there really is a love story between Danny and Sandy. But you know what? That doesn’t matter, it’s all just an excuse to perform a bunch of 1950’s song pastiches. You had me at 1950’s songs. Grease is pure fun distilled into a idealized version of a simpler time. It’s the escapist entertainment that we all need right now. Do yourself a favor and take a trip to the past for a rockin’ good time.

Grease is jam packed with great songs, a couple of which are favorites that never made it to the film “Freddy My Love”, which I still find myself singing from time to time and “Mooning” which gets a great performance in this production. It also wisely imports three of the songs that were unique to the film version “Hopelessly Devoted to You“, “You’re the One That I Want“, and “Grease is the Word“. The latter is used as an encore after the cast has taken their bows and features Kasano Mwanza who plays Teen Angel. When asked who was their favorite, everyone in the theater would likely say Kasano Mwanza. His performance Of “Beauty School Dropout” is the showstopper! Mwanza holds the entire theater captive to his entrancing voice and magnetic stage presence. Always amazes me when five years in, I’m still coming across talents like this that have been around “but I never heard them singing” (The Music Man was another childhood favorite). The entire cast is solid, Sam Stoll makes a great Danny, but isn’t quite matched by Dayle Theisen’s Sandy. There are some real standouts in the Pink Ladies and the Burger Palace Boys. Anna Hashizume is spectacular in the role of Rizzo, she steals the spotlight in every scene she’s in, She plays Rizzo with a tough exterior taking no crap from anyone, making her vulnerability during “There Are Worse Things I could Do“, all the more effecting. She also has one of the best voices in the company. The last actor I want to single out is Evan Tyler Wilson, not just because he’s a magnificent singer and his performance as Roger, particularly in “Mooning” is a lot of fun. But also because my wife would kill me if I didn’t, she loooooves him!

As always the case at Chanhassen, the band sounds great under the direction of Andy Kust. Nayna Ramey’s set design feels like a 50’s inspired animation background and set the tone for this trip down memory lane. They even have a working Greased Lightning car that drives on and off stage a few times. Sue Ellen Berger’s lighting design deserves a shout out as there are several queues that help focus the audience where they need to be looking when there is a stage full of activity. Rich Hamson’s costumes perfectly represent the time period without solely relying of the standard jeans, white t-shirt, and leather jacket. His Teen Angel outfit is fantastic and works beautifully with the choruses pink outfits. Highest praise goes to Tamara Kangas Erickson’s choreography. Wow moments occur throughout, but especially during “Greased Lightnin“, “We Go Together“, and “Born to Hand-Jive“. Including a nice variation on the traditional kickline.

It wouldn’t feel right to end my review without noting the untimely loss of longtime Chanhassen Dinner Theatres Artistic Director and co-owner Michael Brindisi who passed away suddenly on February 5th. I had the honor to conduct a talkback with Michael and members of the cast after a production of The Prom in 2023. It was, and will always be a highlight of my life as a Theater Blogger. Before a production either of Jersey Boys or Beautiful, I stopped by Michaels table and we reminicesed about that event and I was touched to hear that it was a special memory for him as well. Michael has left us one final gift with his direction of Grease. It was a show that meant a lot to him, and that comes through in the pure fun and joy of this production. Michael didn’t know this would be his last show, but it seems like an appropriate bookend to his long and influental career. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who’s been in the Twin Cities Theater Community for long who hasn’t felt the impact of Michael Brindisi. To many of us, Michael was synonymous with Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. Michael is gone, but his presence will be felt for years to come in the continued work at CDT and in the performances of the artists he directed and cheered for.

Grease runs through October fourth at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://chanhassendt.com/grease/