We Shall Someday a Powerful Story Told by Talented Performers Undercut by an Adult Contemporary Jazz Score

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

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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 Showcases an Astonishing Performance From Thomasina Petrus

Thomasina Petrus as Billie Holiday Photo by Yellow Tree

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.

Justin Hoopers set for *Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill* Photo by Yellow Tree

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/

Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Regional Premiere Produced by Sidekick Theatre in Bloomington.

Audrey Parker as Becky and Tara Borman as Linda Photo by Brian Pekol

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

Othello: The Remix is a Hilarious Hip Hop Retelling of Shakespeare’s Tragedy That Should Not Be Missed!

Minneapolis Musical Theatre has done it again, their tagline is “Rare Musicals. Well done.” and that’s exactly what Othello: The Remix is. Last weekend I reviewed the Guthrie Theater’s handsomely mounted production of Hamlet discussing the role of interpretation and how choices made by the artists can change the focus of Shakespeare’s work. Each artist that approaches one of these classic works tries in some way to make it their own, to find new approaches and make these immortal works speak to their generation. The Q Brothers, authors of this hip hop ad-RAP-tation of Othello may have jettisoned most of Shakespeare’s language, but in doing so, have made his story of jealousy accessible and relatable to the young and middle aged alike. This probably isn’t your Grandma’s cup of tea, but for everyone else between the ages of say 13 to 60 who has some sense of pop culture, it’s sure to entertain.

Set in the world of hip hop, Othello is the hottest rapper around and making bank for his record label First Folio. Othello and his crew are about to go out on a massive tour. The crew consist of Cassio, his latest discovery and his opening act, and Iago, who has been with Othello for years and bridles at being the opener for the opener. The musical opens with a rap about Othello’s beginnings and rise to stardom and then tells of his falling in love with Desdemona whom he marries. Iago hates Othello for showering Cassio with attention and nurturing his career over Iago’s own. He hates Cassio for getting the opportunities he feels he should have been given. He devises a plan wherein he can rid himself of both his enemies. By playing on Othello’s love for Desdemona. He plants the seed of suspicion within Othello’s mind and then continues to shower him with doubt until it bears the bitter green fruit of jealousy. The object of his suspicions is Desdemona’s friendship with Cassio which is innocent. But once Iago sets to work deceiving and manipulating everyone, including the nerdy roadie Roderigo, who is in love with Desdemona, it has the appearance of an illicit affair. The entire show is performed by 4 actors playing around 9 characters total, the one character we never actually see is Desdemona. Shakespeare’s Othello is a tragedy, while staying close to the plot, is decidedly a comedy. The hip-hop lyrics are clever and it’s amazing how naturally this storyline feels in this setting of rap stars and record labels. It speaks to the the reason we continue to perform and adapt Shakespeare to this day; there’s a universality to his themes. This makes it easy to modernize, because while his language may be old fashioned, the ideas and understanding of human emotions are not.

The four cast members are all adept at performing in the hip-hop style. Listening to them recite the lyrics at incredible speeds, one is amazed at their verbal dexterity. I caught a couple of minor slips, but they were covered well and I chalk it up to opening night excitement. Umar Malik plays Othello, he has a laid back quality that suits the character as they describe him, he’s the one performer that just plays the one character. Alex Church is very impressive as Iago, it’s easily the most dynamic role as it is in Shakespeare’s original, he’s the manipulator, the man of action, whereas the others are reactionary characters. Church knows what he’s about in every moment of the show, easily distinguishing between Iago and the other characters he plays. And always finding every ounce of humor, whether it be a voice or just a look, he leaves nothing on the table. Miles Scroggins plays Cassio and Emilia, who is Iago’s wife. Most of the performers play both male and female characters. In this way, the Q Brothers are mirroring the way Shakespeare was performed originally when women were not allowed to act and all characters were played by men. But it may also be a comment on one of the major criticisms of Shakespeare’s work in general, there are not a lot of great roles for women. The audience favorite is Alaster Xan-Elias, they play Roderigo and Bianca among other roles. As Roderigo, Xan-Elias perfectly plays the nerdy video game, figurine collecting roadie, with a spot of voice that instantly calls to mind everything his characters embodies. Xan-Elias gets the two meatiest roles, Bianca is Cassio’s lover who is clearly one restraining order away from a stalker. Xan-Elias is rewarded for their brilliant character work with more laughs than every other performer put together. Also on stage throughout the show acting as the DJ, is Glorius L. Martin aka DJ Huh?What??, who also provides the pre-show music. I’m not a huge hip-hop fan, but this cast and the clever script by the Q Brothers, easily made me a fan of this show.

Minneapolis Musical Theatre does a lot with very little as evidenced by the behind the scenes double duty. Denzel Belin is the Director and Costume Designer for the show and Maia Maiden is Music Director and Choreographer. If these two were overstretched, it doesn’t show. While the stage at the Phoenix Theater isn’t very big, Belin uses what he has very effectively and guides his cast through their character changes using minor but clear changes to costume so that the audience is always clear which characters are in any given scene. Likewise, with real estate being in short supply, Maiden’s choreography has to be minimalistic. Maiden makes good use of a rolling platform make use of different levels to add to the visual appeal to the staging of some numbers.Vicky Erickson is the Set Designer and again it’s simple but effective making great use of the space and filled with little details that give it a nice urban feel.

I highly recommend Othello: The Remix, it does contain some strong language and sexual references but nothing that someone age thirteen and older can’t handle. It runs through May 7th at the Phoenix Theater in Uptown for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.aboutmmt.org/othello-the-remix/ . Minneapolis Musical Theatre really does bring us some fantastic productions that no one else is likely to and as they say, they do them well. Help to keep this company going in these difficult post pandemic times, firstly by buying tickets and going to see this unique and hilarious show. But you can also go one step further and make a donation so that they can continue to bring us these little treasures. To do so, go to https://www.aboutmmt.org/support/

“Hey There”Artistry Theater in Bloomington Relaunches it’s Theater Season with The Pajama Game.

The Pajama Game reopens at Artistry Theater in Bloomington this week after they cancelled the majority of their theater season last fall. Covid has done a number on a lot of theater companies and Artistry wasn’t the first to cancel shows. Sadly, they won’t be the last. Thankfully after a brief hiatus, this company is back and opening with a throwback musical that takes you back to simpler times. Entering the theater I found exactly what I needed in this antidote to the world of today. It has the look and feel of the musicals on film of the early 60’s that I grew up watching like, The Music Man and Bye Bye Birdie. I’d never seen a production of The Pajama Game before nor seen the Doris Day film. So I went in knowing it’s well regarded having won the Tony for Best Musical in 1955 and Best Revival of a Musical in 2006. But I didn’t know the plot or any of the songs, at least I didn’t know that I knew one of the songs until they sang it. I’m happy to say that it didn’t matter. It’s straightforward plot and I immensely enjoyed many of the songs, and was wowed at several points by some top notch dancing. It’s not ugly or dark, even when someone is threatening another with a knife, it’s played for laughs. A show this silly and wholesome, though also surprisingly modern, almost shouldn’t work but it does. It feels like a a production from another time and for some reason, that seems like exactly what we need right now.

The Pajama Game is a musical that first opened on Broadway in 1954 based on the 1953 novel 7 1/2 Cents by Richard Bissell, the book by George Abbott and Bissell, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The original Broadway production was Bob Fosse’s debut as Choreographer which won him his first Tony Award. The story takes place in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at the Sleep Tite Pajama Factory. Sid has just started as the new Superintendent and falls almost immediately in love with Babe who is head of the Union Grievance Committee. Of course when Management and Union fall in love, you just know that a strike is on the horizon. The workers want a 7 1/2 cent raise but the president of the company, Mr. Hasler, refuses to compromise. On opposite sides of the dispute, Sid and Babe will find their budding romance tested. The factory is full of other romantic relationships and interesting characters that lead to some really fun moments and songs. I was particularly thrilled to discover an old favorite “Hey There”, though surprised to discover it’s primarily sung by a male character. I’ve only known it from recordings by female artists like Rosemary Clooney and Kristen Vigard, dubbing for Illeana Douglas in the underrated musical film Grace of My Heart. Other favorite numbers were; “I’m Not at All In Love” sung by Babe and the factory girls as they tease her about the obvious attraction between her and Sid. Hines, the factory timekeeper and jealous boyfriend of Mr. Hasler’s secretary Gladys, has two really funny songs. First is “I’ll Never Be Jealous Again” in which Sid’s secretary, Mabel tries to help Hines curb his jealousy. The second is “Think of the Time I Save” in which he defends his dedication to time management and shares his time saving habits such as sleeping in his clothes.

One of best aspects of the show is the cast, It’s filled with recognizable faces and few new ones as well. Eric Morris has the pipes and the look to play Sid, looking right at home with his pants pulled up over is navel. He captures the movements of the era perfectly while his voice is strong and confident. Falicia Nichole holds her own as Babe, her voice matching his perfectly in their big duet “There Once Was a Man”. Matthew J. Brightbill plays the Union President, Prez who is also the factory philanderer. He has the charm and charisma to rally the Union members and sweet talk the factory girls, he’s also the best male dance in the show. Speaking of dancing, there is a fabulous dance performance by Maureen Sherman-Mendez, Elly Stahlke, and Dayle Theisen for the song “Steam Heat”, but if you watch those three in the other dance scenes, you’ll see they are always the best, though to be honest the entire cast does a wonderful job with the choreography. I also want to point out my two favorite supporting performances and their delightful scene together, Serena Brook as Mabel who has the girl Friday role down perfectly, and Carl Swanson who plays Hines. They perform the song “I’ll Never Be Jealous Again” and have their own impressive little dance routine to go with it, that scene was just the best.

The Pajama Game is co-Directed and Choreographed by Allyson Richert and Ben Bakken. They keep the show moving along, but curious if they made any cuts for time because the script seems a little light on some connecting tissue between scenes. After the recent production at Lyric Arts, it’s nice to see a show that knows how to transition quickly between scenes and settings. The duo get their highest marks for the dancing which was really in sync. For someone whose first love isn’t dance, I was always entertained by what the actors were doing and impressed with what Richert and Bakken had come up with. Musical Director Evan Tyler Wilson and his Orchestra continue Artistry’s record of ‘A’ level music. It’s the one thing you can always feel confident about at Artistry, the quality of the musicians will always be of the highest order. A quick mention of the wonderful period costumes by Rane Oganowski, I loved the look of everyone in this, particularly the mens costumes had that 50’s style just right. The Set Design by Michaela Lochen was impressive and well implemented. The main set being the factory but smaller set pieces were quickly flown in from all sides to change locations. The design for Babe’s kitchen being particularly well realized as was Hernando’s Hideaway, a night club they venture to in the second act.

If you are feeling a little fed up with the world right now I highly recommend a trip to the past, 1954 to precise. You can get there via The Pajama Game at Artistry. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://artistrymn.org/pajamagame running through May14th. Watch my website in the coming week for an opportunity to join me and my fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB) for a Pajama Party with the TCTB. I think we may have a discount code for you as well, which means you can afford to bring the whole family!

Hamlet Bookends 60 Years of Theater at the Guthrie

On May 7th, 1963 the Guthrie Theater opened its first production directed by its founder Sir Tyrone Guthrie. The first play produced? William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Widely regarded as Shakespeare’s greatest play and the greatest play ever written in the English language, Hamlet has been a significant play in the theater’s history. Follow up productions marked the Guthrie’s 15th and 25th Anniversaries. When the theater moved from its original location in 2006, Hamlet was the final play produced. Now for the 60th anniversary they have returned Hamlet with a new production directed by Guthrie Artistic Director Joseph Haj. It’s an important and meaningful play to the Guthrie for these reasons, but why should we as audience members, particularly if we have seen it produced before or on film, spend three hours with a play written over 400 years ago? The late film critic Roger Ebert wrote in his review of Hamlet (1996) “One of the tasks of a lifetime is to become familiar with the great plays of Shakespeare”. I believe this to be a true statement, and anyone who has read or attended a Shakespeare play knows that an understanding of his work does not come from one exposure. It’s a testament to his genius that one continues to learn and see new things with every version one encounters. This was my third time seeing Hamlet produced on stage; I read the play in high school, again as an adult, I’ve seen at least 5 screen adaptations, and Count Kenneth Branagh’s film version is among my favorite films. So I’m familiar with the play, but I’ll never stop learning from it. One of the reasons we go to see plays we are familiar with is to see how different Directors and Actors interpret them. This latest staging by the Guthrie is my favorite of the live productions I’ve seen thus far. With a cast that communicates the dialogue in a way the audience can tune into and every production element working together, this is a fitting way to mark the Guthrie’s 60th year.

The great thing about reviewing the greatest play ever written that’s over 400 years old, I feel I can safely dispense with the plot synopsis and instead say a little about the interpretation. One of the aspects that frequently get played with when producing Shakespeare is the time period. To keep producing a play over and over for hundreds of years, you need to find news ways in which to present it. One thing that is frequently done is to make cuts to the play, without them the play can run close to four hours, this production runs about two hours and forty five minutes including an intermission, so there have been cuts, but they are very judicious ones. Some productions will downplay the looming possibility of war, keeping the focus squarely on the internal intrigue. This productions holds a nice balance giving a sense of the larger world, Director Joseph Haj has made excellent choices giving us a comfortable running time without having sacrificed the larger scope of Shakespeare’s play. I got slightly worried at one point when I thought he might have cut the “to be or not to be” speech. He hadn’t, he has simply swapped the order of it and Hamlet’s scene with Ophelia. I liked the choice, it give a slightly different texture for the “to be or not to be” monologue and that is what we are talking about when we discuss interpretation. By changing the order, it effects the actors approach to the next scene. Now Hamlet is influenced by this confrontation with Ophelia as another reason to question his worthiness. When structured the other way his breaking with Ophelia comes after his questioning of himself and thus the rejection comes when he is looking for comfort. It’s fascinating how little changes or emphasizing certain things over others can alter the emotional tone of scenes and change the focus of the plots.

Most actors at some point in their career hope to play Hamlet, Michael Braugher does not throw away his shot. He gives us a Hamlet that moves away from the Melancholy Dane interpretation, giving us an alert and active Prince. He’s serious, in avoiding some of the humorous lines readings we’ve seen others do, Braugher makes the ones he does choose to play for a laugh, seem all the funnier. He shares a powerful scene with Regina Marie Williams, who plays his mother Gertrude, which is a highlight for both performers. Ray Dooley is wonderful as Polonius, he leans into the humor quite effectively both in his sparrings with Hamlet and his pontifications to the King, the Queen, and whoever else he can talk at. John Catron plays Claudius and does a nice job of giving us a character that is more than just a villain, we get a sense of him as King, trying to be a husband and father to a point. It’s nice to see a more balanced casting of out of towners and local performers this time. Braugher and Dooley were brought in along with several others including the excellent Grayson DeJesus as Laertes, David Whalen who plays the Ghost/Gravedigger/Player King, and Anya Whelan-Smith as Ophelia. Along with Catron and Williams we have several other local favorites in the cast Daniel Petzold is Horatio and does as well as anyone can in a role that is basically an observer. We also get Dustin Bronson who was fantastic last December at the Jungle Theater in Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley showing off his comedic sensibilities again as Guildenstern, along with other roles. Max Wojtanowicz gets more mileage out of Osric than most do even with several of his lines cut, he makes his characters presence known in scenes without dialogue. Lastly, I want to mention another local favorite that has a background role in the Nobles, Soldiers and Attendants ensemble; Emily Rosenberg, nice to see our local emerging talents getting big stage exposure. I look forward to a bigger role for her in a future Guthrie production.

Haj has created a very interesting look and feel to this production, making some unusual choices that really payoff. The Set Design by Jan Chambers turns the castle Elsinore into what feels like a concrete prison, which is reflective of Hamlet’s comments to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. It has a modern but nonspecific feel. Costume Design by Trevor Bowen also lend themselves to a modern period setting; the soldiers wear black jackets and carry guns, but also swords. For the most part the characters are dressed in what appears to be a 1940’s sensibility for suites and dresses, but Hamlet looks right out of the current day. It’s an ambiguity that works to set it in a world we can relate to while also keeping a sense of another time. The other technical departments that really adds to the overall feel and texture of the production is the Lighting by Robert Wierzel. Along with the Projection Designer Francesca Talenti who creates a unique and creative way to represent the play within the play wherein we’ll catch the conscience of the king. Talenti also does some great effects during the scenes with the ghost. Finally, Jack Herrick who is the Composer of the soundscape for the show, who is onstage throughout the production adding his music and sounds to each scene, even providing Hamlet with a recorder.

Hamlet runs through May 21st at the Guthrie Theater in Downtown Minneapolis for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.guthrietheater.org/shows-and-tickets/2022-2023-season/Hamlet/

The Savannah Sipping Society at Lyric Arts in Anoka

Photo by Molly Weibel, 1000 Words Photography-MN

There are at least ten productions opening this week across the Twin Cities, followed next week by at least another nine, and at least six more the next. This is probably the busiest three weeks in MN theater so you have a lot of choices, I also had a lot of choices to make. I was really glad I chose The Savannah Sipping Society as one of the shows I would be reviewing during this time. I had a great time with the women of the makeshift Savannah Sipping Society. There are plenty of laughs and some real life lessons to be taken in from a cast that is perfect in every role. It’s a wonderful look what it’s like to make new friends and start the second act of your life. It’s a fun show for couples to see, but probably even more fun for a group of women to have a night out at the theater together.

The Savannah Sipping Society is a play written by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten. This show has a lot in common with some others I’ve reviewed over the last few years Steel Magnolias, The Bucket List of the Booze Club, and The Dixie Swim Club. The last isn’t a surprise as it’s also written by Jones, Hope, and Wooten. It’s a formula that brings together a group of women who bond and laugh together. They help each other through difficult times and celebrate their successes. This apparently only occurs in the south for some reason, but that’s OK because we get the added pleasure of some fun accents. What differentiates this play from those others, this time the southern women are not lifelong friends, they meet as the play opens. Marlafaye is recently divorced and moved to Savannah from Texas for a fresh start and to put some distance between herself and her ex-husband and his new much younger wife. Randa is a recently unemployed career woman, who has lived in Savannah her whole life but was too busy working to establish any other relationships. Dot is the woman who retired to Savannah a few months ago to promptly become a widow. Jinx has led a nomadic existence but came to Savannah to care for her ailing older sister. See, it has to be set in the south, how else could you plausibly have only four characters in a play, set in the present day on the planet earth with those names? The quartet become friends and under the tutelage of Jinx, the novice life coach, they try to experience new things and find their path forward.

One of the critical things to making this type of play work is the casting and Lyric Arts has nailed it. Elizabeth Florence Hale is a hoot and a holler as the Texan Marlafaye Mosely. She’s got a perfectly modulated accent, enough to know she’s Texan, not too much so as to grate on one’s nerves, not as simple as it sounds. She gets the best of the one liners and delivers them with the perfect earthy bluntness and wit. Jenny Ramirez is Randa Covington she captures the proper and conservative nature of the character in a way that keeps her sympathetic, we gringe with her when she’s horrified by the boundaryless Marlafaye who grabs her water bottle and takes a big swig. Gina Sauer as Jinx Jenkins is introduced in a way that leads you to think of her as a loud possibly vulgar makeup counter manager, but she quickly reveals herself to be the wise one of the group. That transition happens seamlessly and by the end you find yourself identifying with her the most. Sauer has a way of making her characters wisdom feel internal and authentic. Finally Deborah Schee is Dot Haigler her character is the oldest and that gives Schee a freedom to let her character sit back and go with the flow, the others get nervous about things or overreact to things, but she wisely plays the patience of her characters age, for her it’s all more than she ever thought it might be.

The show is directed by Natalie Foster who hasn’t quite got the staging worked out. Between scenes, the audience is left in darkness for far to long, which was really the only negative aspect of the show. I understand that between the scenes the characters need to do costumes changes but the script has taken that into account somewhat, usually between scenes one of the characters comes forward as the others exit and addresses the audience. Clearly this is done to give the other performers time to make their costume changes, but it feels as if this deliberate focus draw in the script isn’t being exploited enough. It’s a minor quibble, but it’s fairly noticeable and seemly easily addressed one would think. The costumes overshadow the interruption in the pacing though. I’m not a clothes guy, but I really liked the costumes brought together for the quartet by Samantha Fromm Haddow, particularly those worn by Jinx. Also wonderfully realized is the set which is the veranda and the back of Randa’s home, designed by Cory Skold. The lighting design by Brenna Hay is effective in shifting our focus as needed from the whole stage to the audience addresses, helping to sell the moments when one of the characters departs the action to express their thoughts to us.

The Savannah Sipping Society runs through May 7th at Lyric Arts in Anoka, for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.lyricarts.org/savannah-sipping-society