The Revolutionists is a very meta fantasy about what might have happened if four women, three real and one amalgamation inspired by several historical figures, had met during the “Reign of Terror” during the French Revolution. It’s an interesting idea and I usually enjoy a good bit of meta silliness but I found something off in this production. Park Square Theatre recently announced that they were cancelling the rest of their 2022/2023 season, including the highly anticipated World Premiere summer mystery Holmes/Poirot by Jeffrey Hatcher and Steve Hendrickson. Post-pandemic has been a challenging environment for theaters fiscally and we have seen many companies struggle and shutter. Hopefully, Park Square will be able to create a plan for moving forward and we will see them reopen in the fall of 2023. While The Revolutionists isn’t my favorite production I’ve seen at Park Square, they have produced some really fantastic shows. If you’ve ever enjoyed a show at Park Square Theatre I urge you to contribute if you can to their future. Click on this link to make a donation.

The Revolutionists is written by Lauren Gunderson who was America’s most produced living playwright for the 2022/2023 theater season. This was the third time she has topped the list, the others being 2017 and the 2019/2020 season. In the Twin Cities this marks the third production for the 2022/2023 season that I’ve seen. The previous were two of her three cycle “Christmas at Pemberley” plays co-written with Margot Melcon, which were the highpoints of the holiday theatergoing season. Gunderson specializes in period and historical plays. The Revolutionists brings together playwright Olympe de Gouges, Charlotte Corday who assassinated Jacobin Leader Jean-Paul Marat, Marie Antoinette the Queen of France, and a creation of Gunderson’s own Marianne Angelle who was inspired by many black women who played important roles in the Haitian Revolution. The three real historical figures were all executed by Guillotine in 1793 during what is known as “The Reign of Terror”. The play revolves around the conceit that the three other women have come to Olympe de Gouges asking for her help as a writer. Marianne Angelle is a spy who is an old friend of Olympe and wants her to write pamphlets for her to circulate about her cause. Charlotte Corday has come to ask her to write her final words, she’s planning her assassination of Marat, and knows she will be caught, tried, and executed for it. She wants to have something to say that will be remembered after she is gone. Marie Antoinette has come expecting Gouges to write for her. All three of these women are taking an active part in their world whereas Olympe wants to remain in her room and write. By the end they will all inspire her to move out of her comfort zone and write what she believes. While the subject matter is decidedly grim, the play itself is a comedy but like all good comedies, it contains moments real emotion and drama.

The breakout performance for me was Jane Froiland as Marie Antoinette, it’s definitely the showiest role and the one with the broadest humor. She provokes the humor wonderfully while playing a character completely used to being the only thing of importance in the world. But she also finds some moments of emotional truth that are surprising, especially when speaking as a mother towards the end. The weakest performance for me was Alison Edwards, this is where the show just fell a little flat. I’ve seen Edwards give very good performances before and this isn’t bad, it just plays like someone saying lines too much of the time. She has one particularly good scene though in which she has an argument with Angelle where I thought for the first time she was really in the moment. Much of her characters humor is what we call meta, or relies on her talking almost to herself about her writing ideas, I think perhaps this style of humor just doesn’t come as naturally to Edwards, but it also strikes me as a really difficult assignment for any actor. I think part of the issue might be that her character is so passive for much of the play, by comparison the others come off as more dynamic and alive. Tia Marie Tanzer plays Marianne Angelle, the character is a doer and a risk taker and Tanzer plays her with confidence but also shows vulnerability as she worries about her husband who she has not heard word from in several weeks. Jasmine Porter plays Charlotte Corday, the most tragic of the characters and has a really powerful scene which she handles really well, breaking down under the knowledge of her own impending execution.

The Revolutionists is a co-production between Park Square Theatre and Prime Productions and is directed by Shelli Place. Place effectively stages the action making dramatic use of a long staircase leading up to the guillotine and the video projection. The set design by MJ Leffler is, as is always the case with Park Square Theatre productions, one of the highlights of the show. With a few simple changes and the assistance of the lighting design by Karin Olson we can be transported from Olympe’s rooms to a prison cell, to the guillotine. The projection designs by Lily Isaacson are sparingly but effectively used. Particularly the blade of the guillotine. Otherwise it’s mostly used to help sell whatever the environment is wherein the action is taking place. The costumes by Sonya Berloviz and wig designs by Bee Tremmel give the look and feel of the play a cohesive sense of period.

The Revolutionists runs through April 16th at Park Square Theatre in Downtown St. Paul for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://parksquaretheatre.org/box-office/shows/2022-2023/the-revolutionists/

Don’t want to miss a single review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have every post sent directly to your email. To Subscribe on your computer: from the home page on the right, enter your email address and click subscribe. On your mobile device scroll to the bottom of the page and do the same. Also you can follow me on Facebook, @thestagesofmn click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), you can read roundups of shows by my colleagues and I on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. Follow that group, It’s a great way to see reviews for shows I don’t get to or to get another blogger’s take on one I did. We have some exciting things in the works for 2023 for the TCTB and our readers. Follow us to be the first to know about those happenings like our recent Prom Date with the TCTB that we held on March 4th. If you didn’t make it to that event there’s still time to see the The Prom at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) thru June 10th . You can view the TCTB Talk Back that we held on March 4th with the CDT Artistic Director and three of the stars of The Prom here https://bit.ly/promtalkback

It doesn’t seem possible but it’s been almost five years since Hamilton last stopped in the Twin Cities on what one can only assume is a never ending North American tour. That run was six weeks, this time it’s five, but given that it has basically sold out it’s run, it could have been six again and I don’t think there would have been a empty seat in that final week. I suspect it will be back in 2027 for a four week engagement. Well, I’ll be ready. This is a show that gets better every time I see it. Disney+ released the filmed version featuring the original Broadway Cast during year one of the Pandemic when theaters were closed. That gave everyone a chance to experience this cultural phenomenon for themselves. I’m sure it boosted Disney+ subscriptions, but theater owners were probably concerned about what it might do to the unquenchable thirst theatergoers seemed to have for the show. I’d guess the verdict is in and it didn’t hurt it one bit. I think I know why, as great as that filmed version is, there’s something magical about being in the room where it happens. I treasure my blu-ray of Rent Filmed Live on Broadway, but I’m still going to go see every live production I can. People, myself included, feel the same way about Hamilton. This is that once in a generation show for kids that Rent was for me. Five years on from my first attendance, countless times listening to the cast album and a couple of times watching the film, I’m still excited at the prospect of seeing it again.

It’s hard to imagine that anyone reading a theater review would be unfamiliar with Hamilton. Written, book, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda based on the book Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. It tells the story of the founding father and the birth of the United States of America. The twist is that the musical draws much of its style from hip hop and the founding fathers are all played by BIPOC performers. Miranda has described Hamilton as being about “America then, as told by America now.” Frankly, I cannot think of a better way to put it. Hamilton made its debut in February of 2015 Off-Broadway before moving to Broadway in August of that year. At the 2016 Tony Awards it was nominated for a record-breaking 16 Tony’s and won 11 including Best Musical. It also won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2016, something else it has in common with Rent. This is not your average night out to the theater, even after seven years, it still feels fresh and innovative.

What can be interesting when you see a show multiple times over the years is how you sometimes tune into different things with each performance. I was struck by the way I was more engaged with the emotional and relationship aspects of Hamilton this time than the historical. Maybe it’s having the historical side well under my belt now, allowed me to open up to the nuances of the personal side of Hamilton. Or perhaps it was the performers, a different cast brings a different performance to each role. While the story, the songs, the costumes, the set, etc. etc. remain the same, all of those subtle differences that actors bring to a show can have a profound impact on how we experience the show. I will say that this experience seeing Hamilton was significantly better than my first, which was good. First of all, I’m more familiar with the material. A fact sheet provided by the Hennepin Theatre Trust informs me that Hamilton consists of over 20,000 words averaging about 144 words per minute. With lyrics and dialogue being whipped out at such a rate it’s easy to miss things, familiarity means not having to rely on catching every single word. That said, my first experience in 2018 contained several performances which were practically unintelligible. I knew the lyrics so I filled in the blanks, but some in my party were not familiar and left feeling lost. I don’t think that would be the case this time around. Everyone is understandable, there are still the odd words you’ll miss, but it’s related more to your ability to process information at the speed it’s being delivered than annunciation.

This is an excellent cast short of having Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo, Renee Elise Goldsberry, and Jonathan Groff. I don’t think you could do better. Edred Utomi is very strong as Hamilton, particularly effective towards the end when he is grieving the loss of his son. Alysha Deslorieux is wonderful as Eliza, my wife commented that her singing voice calmed her, which is perfectly fitting for the character that is, that for Hamilton, a calming force to his frantic energy. Josh Tower is Aaron Burr, while he’ll always be the villain of the piece, Tower does a nice job of adding humanity to the character. We understand his motivation which I think is Miranda’s intention, and why we get a song like “Dear Theodosia” to show Burr’s fatherly instincts and humanize him. Others that were standouts include David Park as Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson who really delivers great reactions, bringing out some nice moments of humor. Speaking of nailing the humor, no one does it better than Bryson Bruce as King George. The role is all comic relief to be sure, but Bruce’s performance seemed to mine more laughs than I recall experiencing before.

This is the Premiere show on Broadway and on the touring circuit. The sets, costumes, lighting, orchestra, Stage Managers, Truck Drivers are all going to be the best and they are. It’s a gorgeous looking set by David Korins featuring a turntable which is used to great effect throughout the performance including some stunning choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler. The set itself seems massive and is beautifully lit by the Lighting Designer, Howell Binkley. The cast looks like a million bucks in the costumes designed by Paul Tazewell. Particularly striking are the costumes worn by Thomas Jefferson and King George, but a close second are the various costumes worn by the ensemble players which have a regal but sexy quality to them.

Hamilton runs through May 6th at the Orpheum theatre in downtown Minneapolis for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://hennepintheatretrust.org/ I’ll warn you most of what remains are verified resale tickets. The prices are rather high on most of those but I would urge you not to look elsewhere for tickets, as you will likely pay even more and may or may not actually get valid tickets. Luckily there is another way to get tickets through the Hamilton lottery. There are 40 tickets for every performance reserved for the lottery, see below for information on how to register for your chance at those tickets.

The lottery will first open at 10 a.m. Fridays, and will close at 12 p.m. Thursday, for tickets
to performances the next week. Subsequent digital lotteries will begin on each Friday and close the following
Thursday for the upcoming week’s performances.
HOW TO ENTER:

• Use the official app for HAMILTON, now available for all iOS and Android devices in the Apple App
  Store and the Google Play Store (http://hamiltonmusical.com/app).
• The lottery will open at 10 a.m. every Friday and will close for entry at 12 p.m. the next Thursday prior to
  the following week’s performances.
• Winner and non-winner notifications will be sent between 1 and 4 p.m. every Thursday for the
  upcoming week’s performances via email and mobile push notification. Winners will have two hours to
  claim and pay for their ticket(s).
• No purchase or payment necessary to enter or participate.
• Each winning entrant may purchase up to two (2) tickets.
• Only one entry per person. Repeat entries and disposable email addresses will be discarded.
• Lottery tickets may be picked up at will call beginning 2 hours prior to the performance with a valid
  photo ID.
• Lottery tickets void if resold.
• All times listed are in the local time zone

Don’t want to miss a single review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have every post sent directly to your email. To Subscribe on your computer: from the home page on the right, enter your email address and click subscribe. On your mobile device scroll to the bottom of the page and do the same. Also you can follow me on Facebook, @thestagesofmn click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), you can read roundups of shows by my colleagues and I on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. Follow that group, It’s a great way to see reviews for shows I don’t get to or to get another blogger’s take on one I did. We have some exciting things in the works for 2023 for the TCTB and our readers. Follow us to be the first to know about those happenings like our recent Prom Date with the TCTB that we held on March 4th. If you didn’t make it to that event there’s still time to see the The Prom at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) thru June 10th . You can view the TCTB Talk Back that we held on March 4th with the CDT Artistic Director and three of the stars of The Prom here https://bit.ly/promtalkback

Sometimes There are one off productions for which a review makes no sense. Why write, or from your point of view read, a review about a show you cannot see because it’s already closed? The performances of The MORLS or The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society for long, fall into that category for the most part. They usually perform their live performances of old and original Radio scripts once a month at Bryant Lake Bowl. Performed in the manner of broadcasts from the golden age of radio, creating the sound effects and music live. They have a busy month and a half coming up with a couple of unique things scheduled in addition to their monthly gig at Bryant lake bowl. Which this month will be an Agatha Christie themed show. First up they are performing a “Best of the Best of Radio Drama” show at Crooners Supper Club in NE Minneapolis. And then in May there will be a an original stage play written and Directed by company member Tim Uren and featuring the troupes resident heroine Shanan Custer in the cast at The Crane Theater in NE Minneapolis. I’ve copied the pertinent details for each show at the bottom of this post.

I have a soft spot for what The MORLS do. I was won over to the “Theater of the Mind” as a teenager listening to old episodes of the series Suspense! (best when spoken with a rising emphasis) and the more recently created Bradbury 13 on cassette tapes with my Dad. I also credit these radio stories with turning me into a lifelong fan of audiobooks, my audible library contains nearly 1,000 titles. For me there is something magical about a great audio presentation of a story, and the performances by the MORLS are as good as any old broadcast I’ve come across. I also think these shows are great for families, it gives young people an idea of what life was like before TV and the internet and Grandma and Grandpa will love it too as it may bring back happy memories of simpler times. They’re great conversation starting shows as well between the generations on the ride home in the car.

If you haven’t attended one of these performances before there is no better introduction than their next show which features two of the very best radio scripts ever. I’ve seen the MORLS perform both of these before and believe me, if you see only one MORLS production this month make it “Best of the Best of Radio Drama” show at Crooners Supper Club.

“Sorry, Wrong Number” from Suspense: Lucille Fletcher’s famous radio play tells the story of a woman confined to her bed who overhears two men plotting a murder. First broadcast May 25th, 1943.

“Three Skeleton Key” from Escape: Three lighthouse keepers battle a horde of rats in this classic story from French writer George Toudouze. First broadcast November 15th, 1949.

Performing at Crooners Supper Club
6161 Highway 65 NE, Minneapolis, MN
Thursday, April 13

Showtime: 7:00 PM
Doors are at 6:00 PM
Tickets: $25-$35

go here for Tickets https://bit.ly/MORLSCrooners

After that you’re sure to be a fan and will want to check out their regular home at Bryant Lake Bowl for “Agatha Christie Night”. What’s great about Bryant Lake Bowl Theater is you can arrive early and order dinner to enjoy while watching the performances. One note of warning, the nachos are not an appetizer, they are a full blown meal and they are delicious!

The Agatha Christie double-feature! will consist of two audio plays by the grand dame of mystery. performed in the style of an old-time radio broadcast, including vintage commercials and live sound effects.

“Philomel Cottage” from Suspense (1942): When newlywed Alix finds a mysterious entry in her husband’s diary, their idyllic marriage begins to fall apart. A vintage tale of suspense based on one of Agatha Christie’s most adapted stories.

“The Chocolate Box” from A Toast to Murder (premiere): Hercule Poirot recounts his one and only failure as a detective. A new adaptation of a fan favorite Poirot story.

PLUS: A sneak peek at next month’s MORLS season finale and a 1945 radio message from Agatha Christie!

Performing at the Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater
810 West Lake St, Minneapolis, MN
Sunday, April 16

Showtime: 7:00 PM
Doors are at 6:30 PM
Tickets: $18

For tickets go to https://bit.ly/MORLSAgathaChristie

And finally that original play by Tim Uren, The Tourist Trap. I’ll be at opening night May 5th in order to write a review as this one is different and runs for three weeks. But don’t wait for my review join me opening night, the Crane Theater is general admission so get your tickets for a The Stages of MN meetup!

Within this creepy road-side attraction, tourists are invited to peruse the relics of the notorious death cult founded by Marcus Bingham. In the late 19th century, they terrorized the population of the Black Hills of South Dakota. Bingham’s followers claimed that he had strange powers and they worshiped him like a god. Today’s visitors are about to discover that this house holds a deadly deception. It’s dangerous to be a lost soul so far from home. This is a revised and expanded version of thrilling 2014 Minnesota Fringe Festival production!

Featuring Alicia Lane, Shanan Custer, Sean Dillon, Jay Kistler, Ariel Pinkerton, Merit Burgett, and Catherine Hansen. Written and directed by Tim Uren.

PERFORMING AT THE CRANE THEATER
2303 Kennedy St. NE
Friday – Sunday, May 5 – 7
Thursday – Sunday, May 11 – 14
Thursday – Saturday, May 18 – 20
SHOWTIME: 7:30 PM
DOORS OPEN: 7:00 PM
TICKETS: $20

For tickets click here https://bit.ly/MORLSTheTouristTrap

Don’t want to miss a single review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have every post sent directly to your email. To Subscribe on your computer: from the home page on the right, enter your email address and click subscribe. On your mobile device scroll to the bottom of the page and do the same. Also you can follow me on Facebook, search @thestagesofmn and click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), you can read roundups of shows by my colleagues and I on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. Follow that group, It’s a great way to see reviews for shows I don’t get to or to get another blogger’s take on one I did. We have some exciting things in the works for 2023 for the TCTB and our readers. Follow us to be the first to know about those happenings like our recent Prom Date with the TCTB that we held on March 4th. If you didn’t make it to that event there’s still time to see the The Prom at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) thru June 10th . You can view the TCTB Talk Back that we held on March 4th with the CDT Artistic Director and three of the stars of The Prom here https://bit.ly/promtalkback

Watch for an exciting announcement of the next TCTB event soon and save the date, May 4th!

It was just a little over three years ago, March 14th 2020 to be exact, I was sitting in the Mixed Blood Theatre, probably in the same seat I was in tonight. I saw Interstate the Musical for the third and final time before it closed early due to the Pandemic. Faithful followers will know that I see a lot of theater, and my schedule doesn’t really allow for me to see things more than once. I did something I’ve never done before, and havent done since, I cancelled reviewing another show in order to see Interstate for a third time knowing it was going to be the final performance. You see, Interstate the Musical spoke to me, it’s in my top five favorite musicals of all time. A big part of that are the songs which were written by Melissa Li. Li is also the writer of the music and lyrics for Again which I attended on opening night of Theater Mu’s world premiere. Next Thursday April 6th is my Birthday, I think what I want for my birthday this year is to see Again, again.

The book and additional lyrics are by Katie Ka Vang who has a long association with Theater Mu. A cancer survivor herself, Vang has clearly drawn on her personal experience battling the disease. Again is the the story of two artists who are both cancer survivors. Mai See is a writer whose book, The Cancer Year, is a memoir of her battle with cancer. Quest is a filmmaker who at 20 has been living with chronic cancer for years. Mai See’s book has been a inspiration to Quest who wants to make a documentary about her. Mai See, reluctantly agrees, partly because Quest offers to pay her $700. As the documentary is being made Mai discovers her cancer is back. Throughout the show we will learn about the long term and short term side effects of cancer treatment. We also learn about the two women and their families, Quest has a mother, whom we never see but has had a lasting effect on her. Mai’s sister doesn’t return her calls, we will see her throughout the play. Frankly, a musical about cancer with such broken family relationships has no business being as funny and heartwarming as this is. Vang’s gift is in creating characters, despite having to deal with difficult things, also finds the humor in life. Constipation for example can be a painful side effect of chemotherapy, Vangs characters deal with it in a very real way so that we who haven’t dealt with it get an understanding of what it’s like. And then, there’s a song that Mai sings while sitting on the toilet that has the entire audience laughing out loud. It’s these explorations of the intersection between pain and humor that make the characters and situations relatable. The other aspect is the fact that none of the characters are perfect, they all have flaws, they all struggle at times which makes them feel real and helps to create empathy for them. It wasn’t long into the show before I had those pesky teardrops crawling down my cheeks.

Melissa Li proves once again that she is one of the best songwriters working in contemporary musical theater. Geared heavily in the pop/rock tradition for most of the songs we also get tastes of other genres. The song “Santorini” feels like an homage to a classic musical like South Pacific. Whereas “The Messenger” had touches of a Disney animated musical, both in the best ways possible. Li has a real strength in writing songs that reveal the characters to us, we fall in love with the character of Quest in the song “Quest” learning so much about her through it’s lyrics and the style of the song. “Lifeboat”sung by Shia, Mai See’s sister, is a brilliant reveal of Shia’s feelings about Mai and the reason for their estrangement. She also writes wickedly clever lyrics that are massively entertaining in such songs as “Constipation” and “Are You Fucking Kidding Me?”. Once again as was the case with Interstate the Musical what we desperately want after the show ends is a cast recording album to listen to on the way home. There is not a throw away song in the entire show, and that’s a surprisingly rare thing. Most classic musicals have a at least a song or two that we all skip past while listening to them in the car.

For a musical it has a surprisingly small cast, there are only four actors. Melody Her is making her professional stage debut as Quest. This was my favorite performance, she sells Quest from her first moments on stage and before the end of her first scene the tears had started, which is weird because she’s such a positive and funny and infectious character. It’s those attributes that make you take an immediate liking to her and when you hear some of the struggles she’s faced your heart breaks for this girl who refuses to pity herself. It’s a remarkably engaging character and Melody Her is an enormously appealing performer whom I cannot wait to see what she does next. Aaron Komo returns to the stage after a seven year hiatus playing multiple roles, such as Broc the owner of the Bookstore where Mai works, and the Doctor who tells her the cancer has returned. he’s good in every part but the favorites are his roles in fantasy or dream sequences in songs like the aforementioned “Santorini” and “The Messenger”. Pagnia Xiong is Shia, Mai’s sister and, nothing against the two leads, but she is by far the best vocalist in the show, with oddly enough Komo taking second place. Xiong has focused primarily on music over the last two decades but her performance dramatically would make you assume she’d been acting nonstop. Dexieng “Dae” Yang is Mai See and the only performer I’d seen before tonight. Yang is present during nearly every minute of Again, even the scene she’s not in, ends up turning up in a flashback. Her character is the most nuanced and Yang expertly shows us the different sides on Mai. There is a reveal late in the play that sheds a new light on the character, one that could make her a little less sympathetic. Yang has built such a solid character that the reveal simply deepens our understanding of the character and identify with her more.

The production is directed by Nana Dakin who isn’t afraid to take the show in a whimsical direction at times. Deftly switching between reality and fantasy without ever feeling jarring, even switching back and forth during the song “Are You Fucking Kidding Me?”. There are a surprising number of scene changes in the show and Dakin consistently finds ways to hold our attention and focus as the scene changes occur quickly and efficiently onstage. The set is designed by Alice Endo and primarily consists of two wall sections on either side of center stage, which if seen from above would be in the shape of a pie divided equally in thirds. The wall rotates allowing for three separate locations and with some minor redressing they able to add two more locales. It’s a creative and effective design which allows for quick location changes by cast and stage managers, as the walls rotate the set pieces such as a couch or the counter at the bookstore are moved backstage. The lighting is well designed by Erik Paulson who has an active role in creating some of the humor via the clever use of spotlights. Sandy Agustin’s choreography is never too elaborate, frequently acting as extensions of the characters natural movements within a scene. Her work really shines in the movements of Melody Her as Quest, who’s movements are almost always at a more amped up carefree level representative of her characters personality. Her’s performance melds perfectly with Agustin’s moves, she looks completely comfortable and the dances feel spontaneous.

Again runs through April 16th at Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatermu.org/again

Don’t want to miss a single review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have every post sent directly to your email. To Subscribe on your computer: from the home page on the right, enter your email address and click subscribe. On your mobile device scroll to the bottom of the page and do the same. Also you can follow me on Facebook, search @thestagesofmn and click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), you can read roundups of shows by my colleagues and I on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. Follow that group, It’s a great way to see reviews for shows I don’t get to or to get another blogger’s take on one I did. We have some exciting things in the works for 2023 for the TCTB and our readers. Follow us to be the first to know about those happenings like our recent Prom Date with the TCTB that we held on March 4th. If you didn’t make it to that event there’s still time to see the The Prom at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) thru June 10th . You can view the TCTB Talk Back that we held on March 4th with the CDT Artistic Director and three of the stars of The Prom here https://bit.ly/promtalkback

Watch for an exciting announcement of the next TCTB event soon and save the date, May 4th!

By the Bog of Cats does what every Theatre Pro Rata production I’ve seen has done, surprised me in some way with a performance. In this production It was Emily Grodzik in the lead role of Hester Swane. If I’ve seen Ms. Grodzik before I don’t recall it, having seen her, I’m wondering why I haven’t seen her before, she is incredible. The play is an Irish take on the ancient Greek tragedy Medea by Euripides, but set in a more recent time period. While it isn’t slavishly faithful to the source material, it does maintain the tragedy aspects, and doesn’t end well for anyone. There are two warnings in the program, one is a content warning which states: This script is loosely based on Euripides’ classic tragedy of Medea. Hester’s story ends with infanticide and suicide, and there are descriptions of fratricide and other violence. You should heed this warning, if those are triggers for you, this might be a show to skip. The other warning is to alert the audience that water-based theatrical haze will be used throughout the performance. You can ignore that one, I was not at any point aware of any haze, though that would be a nice addition. If you are not triggered by the content issues or physically affected by non existent haze, I highly recommend By the Bog of Cats. It’s a powerful work that will wreck you in that meaningful way that good art can. *** UPDATE I’ve been informed that the production I attended the haze machine was not functioning, so there is a good chance there will eb haze when you attend in case you are sensitive to that. I’m assured that it is water based haze that is safe for the actors and audience members…and man am I bummed I missed the haze!

The play is written by Marina Carr and while its basis is from an ancient Greek tragedy, it’s really about the abandonment and the scars left upon the one left behind. Hester Swane was abandoned by her mother at the age of seven and it has had a tragic effect on her life. Everything that happens in the play, every action Hester takes and every secret that is revealed is a result of her mother leaving her as a child. When the play opens, Hester lives in a house by the Bog of Cats with her daughter Josie, but she is supposed to be packing to move so that Josie’s father Carthage can move in after his wedding that day to Caroline. Hester meets a Ghost Fancier who is there for her but realizes that he has arrived too early as she is still alive, for it’s dawn, not dusk. She is also informed by the blind woman known as Catwoman, who has visions and can speak to ghosts, that on the day she was born her mother laid her in a nest with a black swan and said that Hester will live until the day the black swan dies. She tells her this as Hester is digging a grave to bury the black swan, that died in the morning the same day. Hester’s fate has been prophesied but she will not go quietly into the night. She refuses to accept that Carthage has left her, she will not be left by anyone else, he is hers until she is done with him, she states. This sort of spiral from there, you probably already feel like you know too much, so I’m going to leave the plot there, you’ll find there are still many surprises in store.

So back to Emily Grodzik and her performance as Hester Swane. First off, is she Irish? Most of the performers attempted to add a bit of an Irish accent to their performances with varying degrees of success, most doing just fine. But Grodzik, nails it so much so that I wouldn’t be surprised to learn she’s an Irish immigrant, though I don’t think that’s the case. Accent aside she is simply mesmerizing. Her stage presence is off the charts as is her presence in the moment. Right from the beginning, when she is talking with Catwoman while digging the grave for the swan. As I think back on it, my memory is of her outdoors, actually digging in the dirt and talking to this woman whom she wants to leave her alone. She is physically and emotionally in the place and time that her character is in at every moment and that is what makes a performance feel authentic. Really most of the cast is very good. Raul Arambula as Carthage is excellent, he gets a very emotional scene at one point that just makes your heart ache for him. Meri Golden is the Catwoman and gives a very strong performance with a character that could easily be played simply for laughs, she hits those moments to be sure, but she also ground this modern day blind prophet in a reality. She also has a moment that rips your heart out at her howls of despair. Kayla Dvorak Feld has the unenviable task of being a woman in her 20’s I’m guessing, but having to play Josie, a child of seven. There’s no way that isn’t going to be a little annoying, seven is awfully young and childish and it’s to Feld’s credit that we can mostly tolerate Josie. Nissa Nordland Morgan plays Caroline in an unusually straight but sweet role for this much loved character actor. We don’t get her usual touch of unique humor, but instead get to see yet another side of this versatile favorite. A quick tip o’ the hat to Jean Wolff who provides some much needed comic relief as the overly critical and emotionally blackmailing mother of the groom and Josie’s Granny.

The Director is Amber Bjork who makes really good choices. I particularly applaud the handling of the final tragedies, one could easily imagine some directors leaning into the violence that takes place. Bjork depicts the violence but wisely chose to keep it a bloodless affair, which allows it to be impactful without be gratuitous. I also like the occasional use of live music and song, that helped create the proper mood for scenes. MJ Leffler’s set design was a delightful surprise. I guess I’m so used to seeing the Twin Cities Horror Festival shows in this space that I forget that they can do a full set. It’s a combination of branches and tree stumps and the some walls that represent the outside of Hester’s house. There are even tree branches coming out of the walls towards the ceiling, it really creates a sense of being outdoors. The Sound Designer, Jacob M. Davis creates a wonderful soundscape as well, it effectively puts the audience in the frame of mind that they are out on the bog even before the play begins. Including some nice directional effects such as a bird that calls out and the sound of a fire. The Lighting Designer Emmet Kowler gets everything right except when a fire breaks out, there needed to be some orange and red flicker added to the yellow.

By the Bog of Cats runs through April 2nd at the Crane Theater in NE Minneapolis, for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatreprorata.org/bogofcats/

Don’t want to miss a single review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have every post sent directly to your email. To Subscribe on your computer: from the home page on the right, enter your email address and click subscribe. On your mobile device scroll to the bottom of the page and do the same. Also you can follow me on Facebook, search @thestagesofmn and click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers, 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 bloggers take on one. 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.

Bakersfield Mist is an engaging play anchored by two extremely good performances and directed by Angela Timberman with an authenticity that transports the audience to another place. Very humorous but also moving, at around 70 minutes it’s perfect for a weeknight or a trip to the theatre before heading out for a night on the town. It really hits a sweet spot that far, too few, shows do. It’s funny without being frivolous, it’s a window into the lives of other people, and for those that like their theatergoing to explore something and not just entertain, it does that too. The plot is about the verification of a possible Jackson Pollock painting, but it explores what is art and what is truth. It doesn’t answer those questions for you, it’s interested in raising those questions, but also in maintaining a reality that would be shattered if things were tied up neatly at the end.

The play is written by Stephen Sachs and it opens in the trailer home of Maude in Bakersfield, California. Maude is waiting for the arrival of Lionel Percy who has flown in from New York to determine if a painting she purchased at a thrift store for $3, might in fact be a previously unknown Pollock painting. If genuine, would be worth between $50 to $100 Million dollars. Maude is your average trailer park denizen and Lionel is your average New York Intellectual. So what did you think when I said that? Did you picture Maude as a whiskey drinking, cigarette smoking, Tchotchke hoarding, tattooed, profanity spewing woman with too much eye makeup? What about Lionel? Suit wearing, cold, detached, superior, full of himself, $12 word using, “expert”, and judgemental? If so, you hit the nail on the head on both counts. But, like all real people, they are more than what we see at first “blink”. We all look like a certain “type” to people. What the play is telling us, we cannot rely on first impressions, that’s the surface, no one is just what can be read on the dust jacket of their life. The central idea of the play is this challenging of expectations. Lionel’s judgement and what follows is the metaphor for this idea. It’s a really clever script in that we never sense the connection because the play doesn’t feel over written, it feels grounded in real life and the characters behave like real people. When you get to the end you are struck by how artfully Sachs script has illustrated it’s ideas without compromising the reality of this world.

Jen Maren plays Maude as the kind of woman who just is, she’s lived so long in her community that she doesn’t try and make an impression she just behaves like herself. John Middleton plays Lionel as a man who is always on, he is always the expert, he is always in control, he probably hasn’t just been himself for decades. One seems to have no filter, the other is all filter. These performances are so well realized, you will recognize these characters as people you have known. If you come to this show to see some acting you are out of luck, I didn’t catch either of them acting once. I simply saw Maude and Lionel, and I can’t think of a better response to have to a performance.

The production is directed by Angela Timberman who never makes a bad choice. The staging is perfect right from the opening when Maude races out her front door to yell at the neighbors dogs. There was something about seeing Maude through her kitchen window yelling at the dogs and then running over to get them away from Lionel that just added to the feeling that we were not at a play but actually in this trailer home in California. Touches like that throughout the show built upon that reality. The Fight Director Annie Enneking staged one of the most realistic scuffles I’ve ever seen on stage, it was movie quality physicality. There’s a reason that stage fighting usually looks pretty fake, it’s because nobody wants anyone to get hurt, and it’s not like we are going to forget we’re at a play. Well you almost do in this one, the skirmish between Maude and Lionel, is just one of a multitude of reasons why. The Set and Lighting design by Carl Schoenborn and Sound Design by Katharine Horowitz’s are other reasons. The set has a real lived in feel to it down to the scuff marks on the linoleum floor. Hats off to Prop and Costume Designer Sarah Bauer who also contributes to the feeling of reality.

Bakersfield Mist is running through April 2nd at the Gremlin Theatre in St Paul, it’s in the same building as Lake Monster Brewing which is an excellent place to stop after the show and discuss what you saw over one of their local brews. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://gremlintheatre.org/.

Don’t want to miss a single review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have every post sent directly to your email. To Subscribe on your computer: from the home page on the right, enter your email address and click subscribe. On your mobile device scroll to the bottom of the page and do the same. Also you can follow me on Facebook, search @thestagesofmn and click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers, 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 bloggers take on one. 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.

It’s always great when you get the chance to see one of the classic musicals restaged especially when they have been mounted with an eye towards making them relevant to our modern sensibilities. They don’t always work, sometimes the source material just will not support the tweaks the new adapter intends. A recent example of the revival of Oklahoma, which has a sort of love it or hate it response, for the record I loved it. When this new Lincoln Center production of My Fair Lady came to town a few years back I called it a smashing success. I’m not sure if the bar has just moved that much since then or if I’ve just become better attuned, but I now find it to be a less qualified success. It still works, it’s a reminder that great material never goes out of style, but it’s major tonal shift which occurs in the last moments of the musical, feels like it suffers slightly from a case of too little too late. Whatever one thinks of the social politics of the piece, you can’t deny that the songs and plotline are truly classics. This is a richly designed and wonderfully performed production of a musical masterpiece. It is filled with great songs and, as it always has, shines from a rich vein of humor. It’s easy to see why its revival was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, and difficult to see why it lost Best Musical Revival to Once on This Island, which I saw, and while good, it doesn’t hold a candle to My Fair Lady.

My Fair Lady is a musical adaptation of the George Bernard Shaw 1913 play Pygmalion. It tells the exact same story only with musical numbers. Cockney Flower girl Eliza Doolittle is taken on as an experiment by Professor Henry Higgins a phoneticist. He will attempt to turn her into a proper english speaking woman in 6 months time. He is accompanied on this seemingly impossible task by fellow language enthusiast Colonel Pickering. But the road will not be easy, for even when they succeed in how she sounds, they have to contend with what she says. For their first test they will take Eliza to the horse races, she sounds perfectly elegant and proper, while she relays her belief that someone “done in” her relative. This “new small talk” as Higgins tries to pass it off as, acquires a devoted suitor for Eliza in the form of Freddy Eynsford-Hill. Who will spend much of his time thereafter hanging out “on the street where she(sic) lives”. We will also get to know Eliza’s Father who comes looking for money from Higgins to allow her to stay with him. He’s a man with a unique morality and strange logic, which will improve his station in life much to his consternation. At the end of the six months Professor Higgins presents Eliza at an Embassy Ballroom to see if anyone can tell she is not of their class. When the experiment is done, the reality sets in, Eliza should be on her way, but to where and what is she now fit for?

Eliza is played my Madeline Powell, she has a lovely voice, and handles the challenging speaking role well. Imagine having to master a nearly indecipherable Cockney accent and then a uber correct posh and proper english voice in the same show. Her standout song is “I Could Have Danced All Night”. Her physical transformation is equally impressive, to the point where when she enters dressed for the Embassy Ball we are as blown over as Higgins and Pickering at the image of elegance before us. Jonathan Grunert as Professor Henry Higgins reminded me of David Tennant, playing a decidedly younger version of the character than we are used to. In a show full of accents and linguistic acrobatics, his is the crystal clear and concise voice that cuts through everything. He sings well and almost more importantly he has the perfect touch when it comes to the humor. The two qualities meld perfectly in his song “Why Can’t the English?”. Nathan Haltiwanger, who plays Freddie, gets the most romantic song to sing “On the Street Where You Live” and while the character is underwritten and serves as more or less a plot device, that is a beautiful and superbly performed song. In terms of comic acting, Michael Hegarty, delivers the goods as Eliza’s Dad Alfie. Also of note is Becky Saunders as Higgins mother, whom along with Hegarty were my favorite performances of the show.

The production itself is beautiful to be sure. The sets by Michael Yeargan are very detailed and beautiful. The London street scene at the beginning starts everything off right. Designed using perspective and layered flats, Yeargan creates a sense of scale that’s very effective. This is clearly a scaled down production from the version that played at the Orpheum in 2020, gone is the set for Higgins’s home which was built on a turntable, instead we have a similar set of Higgins library that simply moves forwards and back as needed, no longer allowing us to follow characters into other rooms. It’s not a terrible loss and doesn’t really affect the story in any way. The backgrounds for the streets as well as at the ballroom are also less elaborate if memory serves. The Costumes by Catherine Zuber are beautiful creations, particularly the outfits work at the horse races and the Ball, with Eliza’s being the standouts in both cases. There were a couple of technical issues with the performance, a curtain that didn’t want to fully rise during the ballroom scene threatened to hold up the production before finally sorting itself out and rising fully. The spotlight operation or perhaps the lighting design by Donald Holder was having issues as well. Characters clearly not lit as well as they were meant to be was an issue in several scenes and actors silhouettes on the backdrop were ugly and distracting. Of course the great source material from the celebrated collaborators of Lerner & Loewe is what really makes the show dazzle. Aside from those minor issues mentioned all of the various elements are brought together under the direction of Bartlett Sher to create a well mounted and enjoyable evening with this classic of musical theater.

My Fair Lady runs through March 25th at The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts as part of the Broadway @ the Ordway season. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://ordway.org/events/.

Don’t want to miss a single review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have every post sent directly to your email. To Subscribe on your computer: from the home page on the right, enter your email address and click subscribe. On your mobile device scroll to the bottom of the page and do the same. Also you can follow me on Facebook, search @thestagesofmn and click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers, 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 bloggers take on one. 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.