Episode 16 is Up… and Has Been for several Days. Features a Chat With Joel Sass of Open Eye Theatre About The Hit Show Lizzie: The Rock Musical

Sorry for not getting this out sooner, but there is still a day or two before the next episode is up and there are still a few tickets left for a few performances of Lizzie: The Rock Musical which has extended it’s run to 11/8. Watch the episode here https://bit.ly/TSOMNEpisode16YouTube

Or listen to the podcast here https://bit.ly/TSOMNEp16podcast

Episode 16 features an interview with Joel Sass the Producing Artistic Director of Open Eye Theatre about their latest production Lizzie: The Rock Musical which now has an extended run through 11/8 go here for tickets and details https://www.openeyetheatre.org/ We also have a review of that show as well as Chap Snatchers at Bryant Lake Bowl go here to get tickets for this weekends final performances https://www.bryantlakebowl.com/theater

Jill Schafer of Cherry and Spoon provides a Guest Blogger Review of Prime Productions To Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday https://www.primeprods.org/ Check out Cherry and Spoons reviews here http://www.cherryandspoon.com/

We also have details on how to win tickets to an upcoming show at History Theatre thanks to Erica Skarohlid of Lettered in Theatre. You can read her blog here https://letteredintheatre.wordpress.com/ and check out the season lineup at History Theatre here https://www.historytheatre.com/

The Twin Cities Horror Festival Day Two! Madness and Betrayal: A Grand Guignol Double Feature and The Last Menagerie

I can confidently recommend every show I’ve seen so far at this year’s Twin Cities Horror Festival (TCHF). But if you put a hatchet to my noggin and made me pick just one, it would probably be The Last Menagerie. Thankfully, you don’t have to choose. One of the great things about TCHF is that, unlike the Minnesota Fringe Festival, it’s not only possible but easy to see every show. For the full schedule and tickets, visit tchorrorfestival.com.

Madness and Betrayal: A Grand Guignol Double Feature delivers exactly what the title promises, and then some. While it presents two main stories, it also includes a surprise interlude between them that I won’t spoil, but trust me: it alone is worth the price of admission.

The first story is titled The Lighthouse Keepers and was written in 1905 and tells of a father and son who are lighthouse keepers together, when one of them becomes sick hours into their 30 day shift, things turn from bad to worse quickly. follows a father and son tending a lighthouse. When one of them falls ill early into their 30-day shift, the situation spirals from bad to worse. The second, The Final Kiss written in 1912, tells of a woman disfigured by acid at the hands of her fiancé. When he’s released from prison, he visits her to express gratitude for her forgiveness, an encounter that doesn’t go as planned.

Both tales use impressively effective blood and other effects. The first story lands with more impact; the second telegraphs its ending a bit too much. my favorite section was that bonus interlude, which I thought was rather ingenious..

Minnesota Fringe Festival favorites Melancholics Anonymous make a triumphant TCHF debut with a script by Stages of MN favorite Jeffrey Nolan and Managing Director Timothy Kelly. The Last Menagerie reimagines Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie, with zombies.

It’s been years (high school, to be exact) since I’d seen The Glass Menagerie, but the broad strokes came back as this undead version unfolded. It works remarkably well. Don’t worry if you’re unfamiliar with the original; my plus-one had never seen it and declared this her favorite show she’s ever seen at TCHF. High praise indeed.

After this past summer’s Our Zombie Town (a zombified Our Town) turned out to be one of the weakest shows of the Fringe, leave it to Melancholics Anonymous to redeem the concept. Everything in this production clicks, from the pumpkin-headed projectionist using an overhead projector to create sound effects and title cards, to the outstanding ensemble led by the always-brilliant Jeffrey Nolan as Tom, the narrator.

So far, I’d recommend every production I’ve seen at this year’s festival. But if you can only fit one show into your schedule or your credit card, The Last Menagerie is the one to beat.

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The Twin Cities Horror Festival Opening Day! Songversations: We Have Been Told the Veil is Thin, Camp Bludde the Musical, and Scrimshaw.

We’re halfway through Monster Month, which means it’s time for the Twin Cities Horror Festival (TCHF). Now in its 14th year, TCHF is the longest-running horror theatre festival in the country. To see the full lineup, schedule, and to purchase tickets, visit tchorrorfestival.com. Check back here between October 16–30 for my reviews of every show at this year’s festival.

Opening night began with Songversations: We Have Been Told the Veil is Thin, written and performed by Rihannon Fiskradatz and Shanan Custer. Unlike the other shows in the festival, this ran only once as an opening ritual. Fiskradatz and Custer will return to close the festival with another ritual, a bonfire outside the Crane Theater at 10:00 p.m. on October 30.

Camp Bludde: The Musical has a little of everything I’ve come to expect at TCHF over the years, and also things you don’t expect, which is also something you expect. It’s a story of a camp for wealthy children founded by a man who has to sacrifice a child regularly in order to appease some dark creature. Don’t worry, the rich kids aren’t the pool from which the sacrifices come. Each year, the camp offers a scholarship to one underprivileged child, and that’s who ends up on the altar. So everything is right with the world and this basically reflects our reality.

But here’s the thing that makes this show otherworldly, it’s a musical!!! I know I’ve seen TCHF shows that have had songs in them or used music effectively, but my memory isn’t coming up with any full on break into song musicals. Director Denzel Belin makes effective use of some TCHF technical staples, the flashlights under the face, and the blackouts with lights shining out toward the audience. The cast is a blast, with Will Schroeder standing out as Counselor Alex, making appropriately comical use of his trademark over the top smile. It’s a perfect TCHF kickoff, songs, blood, scares, and laughs. A little bit of everything.

Duck Washington Photo by Dan Norman Photography

Serving as a great counterbalance to Camp Bludde’s campy chaos, Duck Washington’s Scrimshaw leans literary and psychological. Set in a remote Pacific whaling village, it follows Lemrich, a whaler driven mad by what he encountered at sea. Someone arrives searching for a stolen book—one that guided Lemrich’s ship captain to awaken an ancient darkness.

Washington, who also wrote the piece, gives a compelling performance as the tormented sailor struggling to clear his mind of the madness forced upon it. His script is tightly written, and the set design transforms the small studio into a claustrophobic nightmare. The walls are covered in chalk drawings that mirror Lemrich’s unraveling mind. The strong supporting cast and detailed design make this one of the more polished TCHF productions I’ve seen. Performing in the smaller studio allows the set to remain intact for the full run, enabling a more immersive design, which Scrimshaw fully takes advantage of.

Scrimshaw runs through October 20, then hands the space over to Dolly Who’s Cursed Objects, which runs October 25–30.

The Cherry Orchard a Co-Production By The Moving Company and Jungle Theater

Nathan Keepers, Tracey Maloney Photo by Lauren B. Photography

This was my first experience with Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. I’ve seen three Chekhov adaptations over the last few years, but before that, I only knew him by reputation and the titles of his plays. With this production, I’ve now seen an adaptation of what Wikipedia calls “the four outstanding plays by Chekhov.” Out of curiosity, I read the synopsis there to see how faithful this version might be, but I resisted reading any analysis or criticism as I didn’t want to be told what I was supposed to think or feel about this revered work. I wanted my reactions to reflect how I responded in the moment, not through the lens of 1902 Russia when it was written.

These are my initial gut impressions, which I think are valid if you’re deciding whether The Cherry Orchard is something you want to experience. We all want to know up front: am I going to enjoy this? I did. I found it surprisingly funny, which sent me back to the synopsis to confirm whether that was typical. I’d never heard Chekhov described as funny; I always imagined his work as dark or depressing. This isn’t a straight-up comedy, but I didn’t expect the amount of humor in this production. The internet tells me Chekhov considered it a comedy; “dramedy” might be the best descriptor. Like Shakespeare, the play seems flexible allowing directors and actors to lean into either the drama or the humor depending on their interpretation.

The Moving Company consistently delivers strong performances, and this production is no exception. Nathan Keepers, exquisitely dressed by costumer Sonya Berlovitz, is excellent as Lopakhin, a wealthy businessman who once worked for the family that owns the cherry orchard of the title. The story follows a once-wealthy family who, through denial and poor decisions, have squandered their fortune. Their land and its famous orchard are about to be auctioned to pay their debts. Lopakhin offers a plan to save their estate, but the family is too paralyzed to act.

The concept of a privileged but foolish family losing everything feels like a reflection of Russia’s shifting social order—The Cherry Orchard premiered just thirteen years before the Revolution. Director Dominique Serrand, who also plays Leonid, the aging uncle, brings both humor and pathos to the production. Alongside Tracey Maloney as Liubóv, his sister and head of the family, the two create characters we should want to shake some sense into, but can’t help pitying even as they bring about their own downfall.

I don’t know if this is a typical interpretation of the play, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and am glad to have finally experienced such an important work.

The Cherry Orchard runs through November 2 at Jungle Theater in Uptown. For tickets and information, visit jungletheater.org/the-cherry-orchard.

Don’t rely on Facebook or Instagram algorithms to keep you in the loop about great shows. Subscribe and have every post from The Stages of MN delivered straight to your inbox—it’s the best way to make sure you never miss out on the theater action. To subscribe on a computer, enter your email address on the home page (right-hand side) and click subscribe. On mobile, scroll to the bottom of the page to find the same option. You can also follow me on Facebook @thestagesofmn and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

Two Gents Another Delightful Shakespear Interpretation From Ten Thousand Things

Kimberly Richardson and Michelle de Joya Photo by Tom Wallace

Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona is believed to be his first play, and many consider it one of if not the, weakest of his works. You can see the early seeds of plots and themes he would later refine, but as a whole, it’s undeniably problematic. Because of that, it’s performed far less often than his more popular comedies like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, or Twelfth Night. I’ve only seen one other production, at the Jungle Theater more than a decade ago, and the plot had completely left my memory. That’s fine, though, since this new version makes some changes, which feels like a valid way to approach it. One of the most remarkable things about Shakespeare’s work is its universality, which allows artists to continually reinterpret it in new ways.

Nobody does Shakespeare quite like Ten Thousand Things (TTT), and Two Gents, their take on Two Gentlemen of Verona, is no exception. Part of the company’s mission is to make art accessible to everyone. They create stripped-down productions that can travel easily, bringing theater directly into the community. But they also make Shakespeare accessible by casting performers who can make the language clear and engaging for a modern audience. Which is something not every actor can do as skillfully as this cast.

I won’t try to summarize the plot, it can be a bit convoluted, but I always understood what was happening in a general sense, even if the finer details occasionally blurred. With this particular play, perhaps more than any other, the pleasure comes from the performances rather than the story itself.

This five-actor ensemble plays roughly sixteen or seventeen roles, and that’s where much of the production’s joy lies. One character, Sir Thurio, is actually portrayed by four different actors throughout the show. That might sound confusing, but Caitlin Lowans, the new artistic director of TTT who is making her directorial debut for the company, ensures it’s always crystal clear who’s who at any given moment.

As usual with TTT, the entire cast is strong. The standout is Kimberly Richardson, who plays Launce, the play’s most beloved comedic character. Richardson, a gifted comic actor, brings her considerable talents to all eight of her roles, stealing nearly every scene she’s in. Don’t mistake me though, the rest of the cast, which includes Michelle de Joya, Kamani Graham, Kurt Kwan, and Sara Richardson, definitely hold there own. It’s a true ensemble piece and every player adds to the whole!

Faithful viewers of The Stages of MN Show may remember my interview with Ryan Lee and Tod Petersen back in Episode 4. This production was one of the projects Ryan hinted at but couldn’t announce yet. Here, he creates an unobtrusive soundscape that perfectly complements the action onstage.

This may not be the best Shakespeare adaptation I’ve seen from Ten Thousand Things—which makes sense given the play’s reputation—but even weak Shakespeare, in TTT’s hands, is always entertaining.

Two Gents runs through November 2 at various locations. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit tenthousandthings.org/two-gents

Charlie Chaplin’s Dead But that doesn’t Stop Him From making Us Laugh in Chap Snatchers! A True-ish Crime Story at Bryant Lake Bowl

Neal Skoy, Joshua English Scrimshaw, and Josh Carson

A show that begins with the death of Charlie Chaplin has no right to be this funny. Created by Josh Carson, Neal Skoy, and Joshua English Scrimshaw, Chap Snatchers! will have you laughing out loud and possibly doing spit takes with the excellent food and drinks available at Bryant Lake Bowl Theater (BLB). The show combines Carson’s pop-culture-infused comedic voice, Skoy’s clowning instincts, and Scrimshaw’s perfectly executed slapstick. It’s a seamless blend of physical and verbal comedy. I don’t think I’ve seen an audience laugh this hard since A Very Die Hard Christmas last December at BLB.

Josh Carson plays Louie, a bartender at the gangster owned Cuckoo Club in a small, unpronounceable Swiss town. Louie dreams of moving up in the world, from serving drinks to committing crimes. Neal Skoy plays Marty, an inept janitor who longs to be a comedian and laments never meeting his idol, Charlie Chaplin. Together, the two hatch a ridiculous scheme to steal Chaplin’s corpse and ransom it to his widow, Oona. Throw into the mix a booze guzzling Night Club Singer, a mob boss, and a detective clearly meant to be Lt. Columbo.

The show also introduces a bright new talent in Joshua English Scrimshaw, who plays Chaplin himself. I’m not sure where this young man came from, but I’m sure we’ll see more of him in the future. With the exception of a silent prologue which, as mentioned, ends in Chaplin’s death, Scrimshaw performs the rest of the show as a corpse. I’ve never seen Weekend at Bernie’s, but I have to assume parts of this are inspired by it. The strong supporting cast adds layers of chaos and charm to the farce, but the real miracle here is how effortlessly the three creators’ comedic styles mesh into a single, riotous whole.

Chap Snatchers! A True-ish Crime Story runs through October 18 at Bryant Lake Bowl Theater. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit bryantlakebowl.com/theater.

Lizzie The Rock Musical Brings Down the F*%#in House at Open Eye Theatre

Grace Hillmyer, Lux Mortenson, Abilene Olson, and Marley Ritchie Photo by Bruce Silcox

Once or twice a year, I see a show so good I have to see it again and bring more people. Even less frequently, there’s a show that eclipses those rare few. It started in the spring of 2019 when two productions struck gold: Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Theatre Latté Da and Minneapolis Musical Theatre’s Be More Chill. Faithful readers will know those were the experiences that directly led to the creation of The Stages of MN later that year. Another example was Interstate: The Musical, a show tragically cut short by COVID.

Now, we can add to that list of productions that bypass “must-see” status and move directly into the pantheon of all-time favorites: Lizzie: The Rock Musical. This is the high we theater junkies chase. When every element, from music and lighting to performance and design, collides at the intersection of awe and adrenaline. I left the theater after opening night absolutely buzzing and immediately began plotting how to see it again. That’s no small feat for me. But where there’s a will, there’s a way.

You may not know what to expect from a musical about the infamous Lizzie Borden, who was acquitted in 1892 of the axe murders of her father and stepmother. Open Eye Theatre’s program describes it as a “Victorian punk homage” to the notorious figure, and that fits perfectly. It’s important to understand that this is a fictionalized retelling of the true-crime story, inspired in part by the childhood rhyme:

Lizzie Borden took an axe
Gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done,
Gave her father forty-one.

Grace Hillmyer and Lux Mortenson Photo by Bruce Silcox

The musical assumes Lizzie’s guilt, suggesting her father’s “affection” may have crossed unsettling boundaries. It also explores a romantic relationship between Lizzie and her friend Alice Russell—what Lord Alfred Douglas once called “the love that dare not speak its name.” Amid all the blood and thunder, it’s the softer songs between Lizzie and Alice that linger. Numbers like “Maybe Someday,” “Will You Stay,” and the haunting “Will You Lie?” (which I immediately sought out on Apple Music afterward) offer moments of tenderness, grace, and humanity that deepen the tragedy.

Lux Mortenson plays Lizzie in a ferocious, no-prisoners performance, they slay every moment and every song. Their chemistry with Stages of MN favorite Grace Hillmyer as Alice is electric: their scenes are tender, tentative, and deeply moving. Mortenson’s powerhouse energy drives the show like a drumbeat, while Hillmyer’s quiet strength and lyrical vulnerability provide the emotional melody. Abilene Olson as Lizzie’s sister Emma and Marley Ritchie as the family’s servant Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan complete the quartet with precision and presence. It’s nearly impossible to imagine anyone else in these roles. This cast is so perfectly aligned that future productions will inevitably pale in comparison, another reason I’m already planning to see it again.

Helping elevate Lizzie to such heights is Joel Sass, who serves as both director and set designer. Open Eye Theatre consistently delivers exceptional design work, and Sass’s set is no exception. Michael Murnane’s lighting design adds striking atmosphere, while Amanda Weis’s music direction ensures a tight, thunderous sound from the band. Samantha Haddow’s costumes beautifully balance period detail with punk rock attitude. The result is a production that’s a full sensory feast, sights, sounds, and emotion working in perfect harmony.

Lizzie: The Rock Musical runs through November 2 at Open Eye Theatre. Opening weekend is already sold out, and the rest are sure to follow. So get your tickets now at openeyetheatre.org/lizzie-the-rock-musical.