Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley at Jungle Theater in Uptown is Another Outstanding Production

Christmas at Pemberley, I know what you’re thinking, “I already read this review” But no, no you haven’t. That my dear friends was Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, this is Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley. There is incidentally also The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, which I have not seen but now am quite desperate to do so. The three plays are a trilogy of sequels to Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride & Prejudice written by Lauren Gunderson & Margot Melcon. Having see the first, Miss Bennet…, and now the third, Georgiana & Kitty… I can assure you that you will not be lost if you cannot see them in order. Though I would urge you to avail yourself of the opportunity to see both of these plays this season and if possible in order Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley is running through December 18th at Lyric Arts in Anoka you can read that review here https://bit.ly/3UYYHS8. Let us now turn our attention in full to the Christmas at Pemberley at the Jungle Theater, the one that concerns Georgiana & Kitty. This is billed as a rolling world premiere, which a google search informs me is a process in which the playwright is closely involved with the stageing of a play and collaborates with different theater companies to continue to work on the play over multiple productions in different cities. Which means we are among the first to see this final chapter in the story of the Bennet girls and the men they love.

Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon once again capture the spirit of Jane Austen’s inspiring source material and create a play that feels like an organic progression for all of the characters. This story focuses on Georgiana Darcy, Mr. Darcy’s younger sister, and Kitty Bennet, Lizzy Darcy’s youngest sister. It’s their turn to find and possibly lose love. The two girls have become the best of friends and spend much of their time together. For Georgiana, love comes in the person of Henry Grey whom she has only met once after a Piano recital but has been corresponding with via letters for almost a year, has invited him to visit on Christmas. They both have fallen in love with each other through their letters and a shared passion for music. When they finally meet again at Pemberley, they are both so shy it will require their friends and family to get them to come out and tell each other how they feel. Accompanying Henry is his friend Thomas O’Brien who is instantly smitten with Kitty. So now we have the two pairs of lovers and in true Austen form, there will be letters that reveal secrets, arranged engagements, and meddlesome siblings. Not the least of which is Mr. Darcy who by the end of Act I will have seemingly torpedoed the match between Henry and Georgiana. Act II takes place about six years later, I mention this because the playbill doesn’t, and it should.

Just Like Lyric Arts this is a production without a weak link in the cast. Everyone makes the most of their lines, but it is equally in the nonverbal and reactions that stand out with this cast. Marisa B. Tejeda and Becca Hart play Georgiana and Kitty and both are excellent, each making the growth of their characters in the six years (which pass surprisingly fast during the intermission) feel organic and true to the characters. Their love interests are both new characters and as such don’t come with any preconceived notions of who they are. Dustin Bronson as Henry Grey is hilarious but also extremely romantic and dashing. He plays excruciatingly shy so over the top it should take us out of the scene yet somehow it draws us deeper in and we immediately identify with and empathize with him. I would say of all the actor character pairings in the show, the Bronson Grey casting is the absolute height of perfection. Tom Reed as Thomas O’Brien seems incapable of a bad line reading. His character tends towards the comicical which plays to Reed’s strengths, but he is just as adept in the more serious moments. I also have to acknowledge the best Lydia portrayal I’ve yet seen in any medium, Adelin Phelps makes the generally intolerable Bennet Sister bearable with her brilliant comedic timing. She has a scene where she is bored and as she wanders around the room her behavior had me in stitches.

Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley is co-directed by Christina Baldwin & Angela Timberman in what must have been a very harmonious collaboration because I cannot imagine a better staging of this play. Every aspect seems to work together perfectly more than most shows, great attention was paid to the moments between lines, the inventive business given to characters that kept the audience engaged and jovial. Sarah Bahr designed the set and costumes. The set in Act I was a little on the underwhelming side, with painted bookcases and the like, but once Act II began it became apparent that it was done out of necessity as the complete stage is transformed during intermission. The costumes looked great in Act I but they began to wear out their welcome by Act II, perhaps it was those intervening six years wear and tear. Perhaps they changed but it seemed the characters were for the most part wearing the same clothes six years later as they were when the play opened. Perhaps this also was done out of necessity, they were honestly great looking costumes perhaps the budget didn’t run to two sets of high quality gowns and gentlemens period wear. In these tight times I think that can be accepted as a prudent decision. Or perhaps they were different and the color schemes were just too similar for someone like me, not the best at noticing clothes or jewelry, to pick up on.

I cannot qualify my praise for this production for my esteem knows no bounds. This play, this production, this cast is what I really wanted for Christmas and didn’t know it until I was overcome by it’s towering joyfulness. It speaks to the longing in all of us for a happy ending, for a loving family and a romantic love story. It’s a beautiful tale but also a testament to the intelligence and power or women, a reminder for today from a time when they had so few options in their society. A reminder of all that has been accomplished in gender equality but also a light on the work that still needs to be done. But those are after thoughts, the messages that come through in those regards simply add to the beauty of the piece rather than a tacked on “message.” Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley runs through December 23rd at Jungle Theater in Uptown Minneapolis, If you haven’t bought your tickets yet it’s probably because you were waiting for a link to do so, here is said link https://www.jungletheater.org/georgiana-kitty-christmas-at-pemberley, so click on it and get your tickets while you can. If this show doesn’t sell out most of its performances there is more wrong with the world than we thought.

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Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley Receives a Brilliant Staging at Lyric Arts in Anoka

Photo by Molly Weibel, 1000 Words Photography-MN

And the Christmas shows just keep on coming and I’m fine with that, give me Christmas shows in July if they are as perfectly wonderful as Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley at Lyric Arts is. I’ve enjoyed many a show at this Main Street Stage but this ranks right up there as one of the best. I’m always wary of modern sequels to classics and as such though this has been performed locally before this was my first time. I am a fan of Jane Austen and Pride & Prejudice, though it’s been decades since I read the novel, I did rewatch one of the film versions last week as a refresher. I found this, the first in a trilogy of Christmas at Pemberley plays by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, to be a worthy and continuation of the story of the Bennet sisters. The play spoke to the same emotions I experience when enjoying Austen’s original works and their adaptations. The same thrill of will they or won’t they, the highs of the romance, the infuriating injustices, and the admiration for such strong female characters. Gunderson and Melcon have captured the spirit of Austen’s characters and given us the next chapter in their story which is as rewarding as revisiting the original. Lyric Arts has exceeded all expectations with a wonderful set and a cast that could not be improved upon. If you enjoy Austen’s books or the film and television adaptation you will not want to miss this brilliant production.

Gunderson and Melcon pick up the story of the Bennet sisters two years after the events in Pride & Prejudice. It is Christmas and Mr. and Mrs Darcy formerly Miss Elizabeth Bennet are hosting Christmas for her family. First to arrive are Mr. and Mrs. Bingley who is Elizabeth’s sister Jane along with their sister Mary Bennet, who is the Miss Bennet of the title. As Pride & Prejudice revolved around the romantic lives of Elizabeth, Jane, and Lydia, who arrives shortly after the others, this one will revolve around Mary, unmarried sister. Kitty, the 5th and youngest sister does not appear nor does Georgiana, Mr. Darcy’s younger sister, though their story is told in the third of the Christmas at Pemberley cycle Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley which is currently being produced by the Jungle Theater in Uptown (watch for a review of that play later in the week). Also in attendance is Arthur de Bourgh who has just inherited the estate of his late aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh who tried to come between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth in P&P on behalf of her daughter Anne who also appears in this story. It becomes obvious that Mary and Arthur are cut from the same cloth as soon as they meet, but as always seems to be the case with these Bennet girls the road to happiness cannot be as smooth as simply finding each other. The script addresses themes common in Austen’s work, there are misunderstandings, senses of misplaced duty and responsibility, and subtle critiques of customs and gender roles.

The cast is led by Elizabeth Efteland as Mary Bennet and Scott Laban as Arthur de Bourgh and they are both perfectly suited for their roles. Efteland plays the no nonsense Mary as a young woman who has grown into some of the traits we recognize from her sister Elizabeth. Laban, who is making his Twin Cities acting debuts and manages to play Arthur as someone unable to stand up for themselves but somehow make that an endearing quality. The chemistry between Efteland and Laban is palpable, it’s clear from their first interactions that these two should be together. Heaven help the production who casts these roles with lesser talents, both roles could easily be played in a way that would incite as much irritation from the audience as warmth, but this pair finds just the right tone in every scene that we never want for anything less then their complete and utter happiness. The entire cast is great it’s hard to single out anyone but I do want to take notice of two performers that were new to me and that really delivered. Noah Hynick as Mr. Bingley was a treat, his delivery well timed for comic effect. Katrina Stelk as Anne de Bourgh, a character you can’t stand, thanks in no small part to Stelk’s performance. She commits totally to her characters snobbishness and domineering attitude, it’s a character you love to hate. Really one of the best ensemble casts I’ve had the pleasure to see this season, one hopes that Lyric Arts will schedule the next two plays during the next two years utilizing this cast if possible.

Director Elena Giannetti has found the tone for this play that matches what I feel when I read Austen. This feels like the perfect fit between director and script, the pacing is quick without being rushed and she blocks the characters so as to make the most of a set that makes a medium sized stage look larger than it is. The set design by Greg Vanselow has outdone anything I’ve seen him achieve in the past. It’s the use of the space to create the sense of a larger room than we are actually viewing. It is truly beautiful in design and execution and possibly the best looking set I’ve seen yet at Lyric Arts. Like every other aspect of this production I was impressed and all expectations were exceeded. The props by Kat Walker, the work of scenic artist Victoria Clawson, and the lighting design by Kurt Jung all enhanced and complimented the set. The Costumes by Samantha Fromm Haddow were wonderful, I was rather taken with Mary’s costumes in particular, especially a smart blue coat she wears for one scene and her shawls throughout. This really was one of the best looking shows I’ve seen at Lyric Arts as well.

I urge every to catch this beguiling production of Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley at Lyric Arts in Anoka. It felt like sending time with old friends again and what a wonderful feeling that is at this time of year. The show runs through December 18th for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.lyricarts.org/miss-bennet

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Comes Magically to Life at Stages Theatre Company in Hopkins

The two major family holiday shows this season are Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas at Children’s Theatre Company and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer at Stages theatre Company. Both come from animated Christmas specials that I grew up watching every year during their annual broadcasts in December. Like CTC’s production of Grinch, Stages goes all out to recreate the look and feel of the original animated classic. It’s an impressive show filled with ingenious ways to recreate all your favorite moments from childhood viewings. A very faithful adaptation that adds nothing plot wise but does fill the show out with a little more musical segments, all are welcome additions. It’s the perfect show for families to get them in the Christmas spirit and create that sense of magical wonder in the wee ones.

The script was adapted from the story by Robert L. May and the song by Johnny Marks by Robert Penola with arrangements by Timothy Splain and orchestrations by William C. White. The story is told by Sam the Snowman as he recalls the year they almost cancelled Christmas due to the worst winter storm they’d ever seen. We see Santa’s first meeting with Rudolph, his meet cute with Clarice, and his exclusion from reindeer games. We meet Hermey, the elf who dreams of being a real Dentist and teams up with fellow misfit Rudolph to try and find a place where they will fit in. Along the way they hook up with silver and gold prospector Yukon Cornelius. Yukon Cornelius helps them to escape from the Abominable Snow Monster or Bumble as Yukon calls him. Adrift on an ice raft they come ashore on the island of misfit toys, which are toys that nobody wants like a train with square wheels and a Charlie-in-the-Box. Rudolph and his friends are asked to speak to Santa when they go back to Christmas Town about finding children for the misfit toys. Worried that his nose endangers his friends, Rudolph sneaks off in the night, when he discovers that his parents and Clarice have left to search for him he goes looking for them and finds them in the lair of the Abominable Snow Monster! Rudolph will need the help of his friends to safe his loved ones, but at what cost will the rescue come? You’ll have to see the show to find out.

The cast does a fine job of embodying these well known characters making an effort to sound like the original voices as much as possible. Standouts in the cast include Stages veteran Bruce Rowan who guides us through the story as Sam the Snowman much as Burl Ives did in the original. Todd Bruse as Coach Comet & Yukon Cornelius, he manages to make Comets snubbing of Rudolph after his red nose is discovered not quite as harsh as it comes off in the original, which is a well made change. Athan Fischer as Rudolph cannot emulate the voice we are used to and that’s okay but a misstep in direction is taken when the puppet used in the first scene of a baby Rudolph, does speak with that voice. It would have been better to use Fischer’s voice consistently. Matt Ouren is quite good as Hermey the elf that is just a little bit different than the other elves, at least in his career aspirations.

The true star of the show though is the look and aesthetic of the production. Everything from the Set Design by Gretchen Katt to the Lighting Design by Karin Olson goes towards creating the world of Rankin and Bass’s classic stop motion animated special. Going into Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, I wondered how they are going to pull off certain scenes or if they would need to be changed. Stages approached this with a can do attitude and I can’t think of a thing they changed. We have flying reindeers, a giant bumble, and even several Christmas tree forest animals. Which brings us to Costumes & Make-up Designer Samantha Fromm Haddow, based off the original designs done by Christina A. Richardson, who has made every character on stage look like the original versions, it was like seeing these characters come to life. The forest creatures and misfit toys also look like the originals and are brought to life very effectively by puppeteers much the same way as Olaf in the stage version of Frozen. All of the stage magic employed really contributes to creating what is simply a wondrous musical experience.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is highly recommended for a family holiday outing it’s a great alternative to The Guthrie Theaters A Christmas Carol for those with kids under ten, for whom that show might be to frightening. It’s also a great alternative to CTC Grinch for families on a budget as tickets are about half the price, and both shows will delight their target age groups. The production runs through December 27th for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.stagestheatre.org/rudolph/

A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie Theater an Annual Tradition Still Gets Me in the Holiday Spirit

Last night was the opening of the Guthrie Theater’s 48th production of A Christmas Carol. It’s a sign in the Twin cities that the holiday season has begun. If you’ve lived in the Twin Cities for a decade or more it’s likely you’ve seen one of the Guthrie Theaters annual productions of A Christmas Carol. It’s sort of a MN tradition, like Lefse at Thanksgiving. If you are new to town and haven’t gone yet, don’t worry you will, it’s as inevitable as taxes and the Vikings not going to the Super Bowl. Every production is different of course, some cast changes occur from year to year certainly, but for many years they utilize the same costume, set designs, and script. This year is the second run of their reimagined production using a script by Lavina Jadhwani and Directed by Guthrie Artistic Director Joseph Haj. In its second year, this adaptation featuring much of the same cast, has been tweaked ever so slightly and as a result they have improved upon a good thing. Matthew Saldivar as Scrooge seems to have embraced more of the humor this year and a couple of technical aspects have been adjusted and it has made for a smoother and richer production overall. More than last year I was completely taken with this adaptation, it’s a testament to all involved that a story we know so well can be enjoyed over and over again.

A Christmas Carol was first published as a Novella in 1843, in 1844 the first stage adaptations appeared. It tells the story of a miserly old business man Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited on Christmas Eve by three ghosts sent by his old business partner Jacob Marley. The ghosts are spirits of different times. The first is the Ghost of Christmas Past and shows him scenes from his past. Second, the Ghost of Christmas Present, which gives him a look into the lives of those celebrating Christmas that year, including his nephew Fred, and the family of his clerk, Bob Cratchit. Lastly, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, wherein he sees his own future and people’s responses to it. The point of these visitations sent to Scrooge by Marley is so that he might learn the error of his ways and change while there is still time. Scrooge of course comes to realize how he changed over time and of the fruitlessness of such a selfish existence. By the end of the play he has found the spirit of Christmas and no longers thinks of it as a humbug. What this adaptation does that is different from some others is introducing earlier in the story Scrooge’s desire to change. Not simply from being frightened by the ghosts, but we sense very quickly he has seen the errors of his ways and is trying to find the path to redemption. Rather than being afraid of the results should he not change, we see a Scrooge who is seeking change. This shift in focus doesn’t alter the plot but it does make Scrooge more of an active participant in his own redemption. It is a positive message and fits well with Dickens themes and message.

Matthew Saldivar in his second year as Scrooge finds humor when appropriate but also sells the desire for redemption. The Guthrie always puts together a fine ensemble of actors. Some standouts in this production were John Catron back again as Bob Cratchit, whose embodiment of the glass is always half full philosophy felt like a sincere representation of a deeply good person rather than a fool who doesn’t realize how badly off he is. Also Emjoy Gavino who reprises the role of Mrs. Cratchit, who is not quite as charitable as Bob, but won over as we are by his unwavering goodness. They play a very well matched couple and their banter rings true. Charity Jones as the Ghost of Jacob Marley is a performance that felt rather fresh, it wasn’t the usual slow talking moaning ghost, there was a little more there and that definitely worked well and marked this as a fresh take on the material. Eric Sharp as Scrooge’s nephew Fred wonderfully captures the amiable nature of a man who simply refuses to be offended by his uncles constant rejection. It’s nice to see a cast made up principally of local actors and including area favorites like Regina Marie Williams, Tyler Michaels King, Paul de Cordova, and China Brickey.

One of the greatest successes of this production are on the technical side including set design, lighting, and projection effects. I like the set design, this old London cityscape that seems to tower over the characters. Shifting into different configurations so that new elements can be brought forward or rotated to reveal a new environment. There were a couple of issues I had last year that seem to have been tweaked for this years run. Last year I commented that the scenery has windows that can be seen through, on a couple of occasions I was distracted by seeing characters I shouldn’t moving behind the scenery. The blocking seems to have been adjusted to avoid that this year. Secondly, there was a short scene where Scrooge visits a ship out at sea. Last year as I recall there was a large set piece with characters atop it moved in to represent a ship at sea which seemed cumbersome and unnecessarily extravagant, the scene still occurs but the set piece has been removed and the characters simply come forward from an opening in the set. This is a case of less is more, we keep the scene but are not brought out of the moment by what feels like too much for too little, I think this adjustment by director Haj is well made. The scene is still combined with a sea projection which is an effective technique but, as I noted last year, it stayed on far too long after that scene had ended. We were well into the next bit, back on land, and it was still running. Another very well executed technical aspect was the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The Costume Designer Toni-Leslie James has created a costume that feels like something out of a Guillermo del Toro film. It frightened Scrooge onstage and I didn’t feel so brave myself, this is primarily the moment that informs my advice to parents that the production might be to scary for those under ten. The ghost costume must stand ten feet if not more and is a marvel to behold and is impressively worn and controlled by Andy Frye. Though there is no dialogue for the actor it’s as impressive a performance as any on the stage, movements that are otherworldly yet extremely expressive.

The Guthrie has created this tradition of the annual mounting of A Christmas Carol and I like to think of families getting together once a year at the holidays to take the joys of a outing to the theater. I’m not implying that people should see A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie every year, but create that tradition of enjoying live theatre for the holidays. This show is probably too dark and scary for kids under 10, but when the kids get to the appropriate age, introduce them to this MN Staple of ghosts and Christmas spirit. Until then there are plenty of local options like Dr Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas at Children’s Theatre Company and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer at Stages Theatre Company. Then, next year find another show perhaps Penumbra’s Black Nativity, and then another, and well, then probably circle back to A Christmas Carol. There is a reason it’s in it’s 48th year, people come back to it. Partly because it is one of those stories that resonates with all of us.

A Christmas Carol runs through December 31st for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.guthrietheater.org/shows-and-tickets/2022-2023-season/a-christmas-carol/

Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Comes to Life at The Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis

Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas Photo by Kaitlin Randolph

The first of the Christmas shows is upon us and The Children’s Theatre Company’s (CTC) production of Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is going to be a hard one to top when it comes to holiday shows for the entire family. This is the company’s 10th mounting of Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! It was originally commissioned by CTC and they held the world premier in 1994, but somehow it was my first time seeing it. When a company remounts a particular show about every three years it’s a sure sign that they have something very special on their hands. That is certainly the case here. It manages that rare feat of taking a well known classic adapting for a new medium, retaining what makes it a classic without simply repeating every beat of the original source material. It manages to be its own thing, fresh and lively, but without losing the feel of what generations have come to know and love. If you want to dazzle the little ones with a little christmas magic, Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! at the CTC will be just the ticket. You will believe a dog can pull a sleigh.

With Book and Lyrics by Timothy Mason and music by Mel Marvin this is absolutely the story you know so well from the original storybook and the beloved 1966 cartoon special. But with the addition of a framing story featuring and old retired Max the dog recounting the year the Grinch stole christmas and a bunch of musical numbers. What’s delightful is that this adaptation retains the original books use of rhyme throughout. For the uninitiated who grew up without books or TV the plot is:

“A miserly and miserable, ever-so-cantankerous Grinch has observed the despicable Christmas joy of the Whos with disdain, from a distance, for decades. Enough! In this favorite holiday story, filled with music and Seussian rhymes, he conceives a dastardly plot to destroy the holiday they love. It’s the smallest of the Whos, tiny Cindy Lou, who extends a hand. Through the combination of kindness and community, we witness not only a change in the course of Who-History, but the size and capacity of the cantankerous Grinch’s heart.”
From the CTC Website

The cast is led by Reed Sigmund whose Grinch should immediately be cast as the Emcee in the next local production of Cabaret. Sigmund avoids the obvious and makes the role his own. He’s scary when he needs to be finding just the right level for a theatre full of children. He seems completely at home in the green fur and makeup and having seen his performance I can see why they’ve brought him back for what is his 5th run in the role, he completely owns it. Providing excellent support are Dean Holt and Audrey Mojica as the old and young Max’s. Mojica in particular, a 10th grader at St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Arts, impresses with her ability to hold her own on stage with Sigmund, it’s not easy to make an impression when you are sharing the stage with such a wild character as the Grinch. Elsa Dungan-Hawks plays Cindy-Lou Who and really shines in the role, she gets a very sweet song to sing with the Grinch entitled Santa For a Day and she carries it off beautifully.

What really makes this productions capture the imaginations of its audience, young and old alike, are the creative folks behind the scenes who bring the world of the Grinch and Whoville to life. The set design by Tom Butsch captures the look and feel of the original along with the costumes by David Kay Mickelsen you feel like you are watching a storybook or cartoon come to life. The projection design by Craig Gottschalk is minimally used, but when it is, it’s very effective. The lighting design by by Nancy Schertler helps to sell several of the visual illusions, particularly they Grinch’s trip down the mountain on his sleigh being pulled by young Max. I loved the theatrical stage magic that director Peter C. Brosius brought together with his team to tell this story in a way that allowed us to completely suspend our disbelief and be carried away by the story. This is a beautifully realized production in every way imaginable and a wonderful adventure to start the holiday season with.

Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! runs through January 8th at the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://childrenstheatre.org/whats-on/how-the-grinch-stole-22-23/

The Pirates of Penzance at Howard Conn Fine Arts Center in Minneapolis

Poster design by Tom McGregor and Mary Olson

The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company (GSVLOC) could be named the Gilbert & Sullivan Very Silly Opera Company (GSVSOC) as G&S Operas are awfully silly in the best possible way. Their latest production The Pirates of Penzance is no exception and as such is hugely enjoyable and entertaining. GSVLOC is an unusual company in that they only perform the works of Gilbert and Sullivan and has been doing so in rotation since 1979. Sometimes what you need to do is find out what you are good at, and do that. GSVLOC is very good at staging the works of G & S and I hope they continue to produce them for many years to come. Unlike what we usually think of when we say”Opera” for these productions there is no need for captions so that you can understand what everyone is singing, they are in english and it is not so stylized so as to be unintelligible. Easy to follow, well sung and with a wonderful sense of humor. What is so remarkable about these works is how modern the humor feels despite being, in the case of The Pirates of Penzance, over 140 years old. It’s the sort of Opera you can safely bring the whole family to as the humor is universal.

The plot centers around Frederic who was apprenticed to pirates as a young boy due to his nursemaid Ruth mishearing his father’s instructions. As the Opera opens Frederic has turned 21 and the Pirates are throwing a party for him as this marks the end of his endenturement. Frederic reveals to the Pirate King that he has stayed with them out of a sense of duty though he knew it was a mistake, but now as he is free he feels his duty is now to eradicate the pirates. Parting from the pirates Frederic comes across a party of young women, the daughters of Major-General Stanley, who is of course the very model of a modern Major-General. He falls in love with the one daughter who will have him despite his past association with pirates. Her name is Mabel. Just when all seems too good to be true, the pirates arrive and attempt to make off with the Major-General’s daughters. Luckily the Major-General knows of these tenderhearted pirates and their weakness for orphans. He lies to the Pirate King that he is an orphan and so the pirates leave empty handed. In Act II just before Frederic is about to lead a group of policemen against the pirates, the Pirate King and Ruth pay him a visit and point out a paradox that they thought he might find humorous. It seems Frederic was born on February 29th, leap year, so technically he is only a little over five years old. Thanks to his overdeveloped sense of duty, Frederic returns to the ranks of the pirates and plans to remain with them until 1940 when he will have had 21 birthdays. Mabel, as any young woman in love would, has agreed to wait for him. Silliness continues to ensue.

The Howard Conn Fine Arts Center is not a large Theater or stage, but somehow it manages to hold a cast of 30 performers. True about 20 are unnamed Pirates, Policemen, Daughters and their Governesses, but the sound they make together is impressive. Seth Tychon Steidl plays Frederic and Lara Trujillo plays Ruth and more than any other actors they seemed to fully embody their roles. Not only is everyone in the entire ensemble in great vocal form but all thirty of them uniformly understand the tone of the piece. Director Gary Briggle understands the humorous elements and finds the perfect way to stage each beat to maximize it’s comic potential. The production is under the musical direction of Randal A. Buikema who along with his orchestra bring one of Sir Arthur Sullivan’s best loved compositions to exquisite life. Wendy Waszut-Barret’s set design and scenic backdrop are perfectly complemented by Carl Schoenborn’s lighting design. This is particularly well exhibited during the Overture which plays as the lighting slowly changes and with them comes beautiful, subtle changes in the look of the main backdrop of a pirate ship sailing on the horizon. It’s an effective way to visually engage the audience and enables them to connect to the music on a level beyond aurelly.

GSVLOC’s production of The Pirates of Penzance or The Slave of Duty is a joyful production filled with witty lyrics and magically engaging music performed by a group of talented and comedically gifted actors and musicians. Don’t miss your chance to see one of Gilbert & Sullivan’s most well known and brilliant very light operas. The play runs through November 20th at the Howard Conn Fine Arts Center for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://gsvloc.org/on-stage/, you can also find a lot of very interesting information on their sites about G&S and the theatre company.

The Boys Room is Brutal But Also Bitingly Funny at the Gremlin Theatre in St. Paul

Linda Kelsey and Lucy Farrell Photo by Alyssa Kristine Photography

The Boys Room by Joel Drake Johnson which had its world premiere in Chicago in 2011, is making its area premiere this month at Gremlin theatre in St. Paul. Having seen the play I cannot imagine why it has taken eleven years for a local theater to produce this powerful, funny, dark, heartbreaking play. The play features four meaty roles that any actor would relish the opportunity to play. Perhaps we are fortunate that it didn’t play before now because it’s hard to imagine a production that could improve on this one. There isn’t anything that doesn’t work in this production, working from a brilliant script, every aspect from the lighting, set design, and performances is flawless. It’s wonderful to see something new that feels raw and real in such a visceral way, this is theater that will move you at times to laugh and at times, to cry.

Johnson’s play tells of two grown sons who come home to the house they grew up in to escape the adult world they can’t seem to face anymore. Tim has been living back with his Mom, Susan, for awhile having gotten divorced and lost his job, he is there because he has nowhere else to go. Ron has walked out on his wife, who was just diagnosed with breast cancer, and their daughter Roann, he’s there because he wants to be. Susan cares for her sons but isn’t overly affectionate towards them; however, she is warm and attentive to her granddaughter Roann. Ron and Tim, two grown brothers who don’t seem to like each other very much have a difficult time sharing their boyhood bedroom, easily falling back into old childish patterns. Much of the humor in the show comes from their adolescent behavior and bickering where much of the truth comes from the moments when they do connect as men. When Roann comes looking for her father to ask him questions, we see the depths and shallows of their characters. Roann also brings out the warmth and nurturing side in Susan. The Boys Room isn’t just about men who seem to have regressed back into children it’s about familial relationships. The dynamics between parents and children and grandparents and grandchildren and how they impact other relationships. It also explores our capacity for selfishness and who we are willing to be there for and who we aren’t.

Gremlin Theatre has rounded up three actors familiar to MN theatergoers who nail their parts but it’s newcomer Lucy Farrell who takes the stage as Roann about midway through the play announcing, there is a new rising star in the Twin Cities. To say Farrell blew me away would be an understatement, the first words on my lips as I left the play is who is this actress? Where did she come from? In her scenes with Linda Kelsey who plays her grandmother Susan, she has a playful rapport when they practice Susan’s Spanish together. But the two also have a very palpable tenderness that radiates from both of them. When she confronts her father and namesake Ron, played by Dan Hopman, she unleashes all of the anger and pain that we have seen glimpses of in the scenes leading up to it. She is adept at playing all these different aspects of the character, playful, confessional, worried, angry, sad, strong not in individual scenes, but you sense all of these multitudes within her the entire time. Gremlin Theatre Artistic Director Peter Christian Hansen plays Tim, the brother who is reading Jane Eyre for the second time so that he can try and connect with his own daughter. It may perhaps be unfair to devote so much time to Farrell’s performance when she is sharing the stage with three actors who give as memorable performances as her co-stars do. Hopman channels despondency perfectly, he somehow makes a character whose actions are pretty sickening somewhat sympathetic by the end. Hansen makes the frustration of Tim being intruded upon relatable through the tragic nature of his circumstance, showing us his pain and how much this room has become a refuge for him. Kelsey, plays Susan as a character who behaves differently depending on who she is with, but again, she makes it all feel authentic, we never don’t believe that the woman who is dismissive of Ron is the same woman who talks to her granddaughter with such love and warmth.

Brian Balcom directs the play, with perhaps the one small criticism I could make, there are a couple of fairly long stretches where a character sits with their back to the audience. But otherwise his staging works very well. I especially liked that characters in rooms other than where the action was taking place continued on with their lives, the lights would dim on them but they continued in conversation as if a mute button had been pressed. Carl Schoenborn as Technical Director and Scenic and Lighting Design created a space that clearly defines the two main areas of the house the boys bedroom and the kitchen using his lighting to direct our focus.

The Boys Room runs through November 27th for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://gremlintheatre.org/