SHUCKED Is Hilarious Proof That Corn Can Be Sexy And Extremely Stupid at The Orpheum

The Cast of The North American Tour of SHUCKED Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

SHUCKED, the original Broadway musical that garnered nine Tony Award nominations in 2023, is a show that feels tailor-made for Twin Cities audiences. I went in knowing almost nothing, just that it involved corn, and I assumed it would be silly. What I didn’t expect was how raunchy it would be at times, or how consistently it would land its jokes. To give you some point of reference think Hee Haw after dark mixed with The Simpsons and that will get you close to the tone of the show.

To give you a reference point: imagine an R-rated version of Hee Haw and you’ll be pretty close. Much of the humor falls squarely into the “it’s so dumb it’s clever” category—nonstop wordplay groaners that somehow make you laugh while you’re rolling your eyes. The jokes come at you about a mile a minute. Then the show pulls off a real surprise: the songs aren’t just funny, they’re genuinely good, and they’re performed by a very talented cast. The result is a musical that’s funny, upbeat, delightfully silly, and more than a little raunchy at times. I was honestly surprised by just how much fun I had with this unapologetically corny show packed with songs that really pop.

The story is narrated by two storytellers who guide us through the action with songs and an endless stream of one-liners. The setting is Cob County, a place so devoted to corn that it has literally walled itself off from the rest of the world with corn. No one ever leaves, and no one outside seems to know it exists. On the day of Maizy and Beau’s wedding, just before the vows, the unthinkable happens: the corn begins to die on the stalks. Since corn is everything in Cob County, the wedding is put on hold until the cause of the corntastrophe can be discovered. Against Beau’s wishes Maizy ventures into the outside world for help. She ends up in Tampa, Florida, where she mistakenly believes a podiatrist named Gordy, who advertises himself as a “corn doctor”, can save her town. Gordy is a con man (though not a particularly good one) who realizes the stones in Maizy’s bracelet are valuable and decides to tag along to Cob County under the pretense of saving the corn, while secretly planning to steal the jewels to pay off his mob debts. Romance, betrayal, broken engagements, and new ones ensue, with Lulu (Maizy’s cousin) and Peanut (Beau’s brother) along for the ride providing commentary, chaos, and some of the show’s biggest laughs.

Danielle Wade is the engine of the show as Maizy. She has a wonderfully distinctive voice, part Southern twang, part Bonnie Tyler rasp, with real raw power behind it. Her unique sound and along with her spunky performance are spot on for the character she’s playing. Nick Bailey gives a stellar vocal performance as Beau, nailing songs that feel like classic rock power ballads. There may very likely be country music comparisons that are more apt, but not being at all versed on country music, or really any contemporary music to be truthful, those would be lost on me.

Miki Abraham is fantastic as Lulu, stopping the show with “Independently Owned,” a number that feels closest to traditional musical theater while still delivering sharp, funny commentary on self-reliance and empowerment. Mike Nappi provides pure comic joy as Peanut, the lovable idiot brother, very much in the spirit of those old Hee Haw cutaway jokes. Our narrators are played by Maya Lagerstam, a graduate of the UMN/Guthrie BFA program and Joe Moeller. Their engaging presence guides us through the narrative with wit, and knowing nods to the audience.

Local audiences are going to recognize and appreciate every layer of the humor here: the rural jokes, the meta commentary, and the sly nods to modern politics and culture. With a top-notch cast delivering big laughs, strong vocals, and genuinely smart silliness, SHUCKED proves that being corny can be a virtue.

SHUCKED runs through January 11th at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://hennepinarts.org/events/shucked

Watch for the 2025 TCTB Awards to be announced on the next episode of The Stages of MN YouTube Show!!

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The Stages of MN YouTube channel is home to the weekly Stages of MN Show. You can watch it by clicking here. Be sure to check out the latest episodes and subscribe so you’ll always know when a new one drops. Not sure you agree with one of my takes? I’m also part of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can find review roundups from my colleagues and me. Follow us on Facebook at @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers.

Anyone Can Whistle: In concert Brings an Oddball and Rare Stephen Sondheim Show to Audiences Courtesy of Minneapolis Musical Theatre

Anyone Can Whistle is a rarely produced musical featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Debuting on Broadway on April 4, 1964, the show ran for twelve previews and nine performances before closing. Unlike much of Sondheim’s works Anyone Can Whistle is rarely performed. It’s easy to see why. And no, that doesn’t mean I didn’t like it, I actually quite enjoyed this goofy little oddity. But goofy little oddities that strike that perfect cord that transfers into the kind of success that can sustain a Broadway run are few and far between. This clearly wasn’t and probably still isn’t that kind of show. But honestly, I think it’s weird enough with some great music to warrant a fully staged production by someone like say, oh I don’t know, Minneapolis Musical Theatre. I’m grateful that they have given us the opportunity to see the show in concert, though I should tell you this is more than just actors singing their songs, they are playing the characters and there is some blocking and visual storytelling going on. You get the full production here, don’t worry that you will just see singers singing through the songs, as the “In Concert” suggests.

The story centers around an economically depressed town run by Mayoress Cora Hoover Hooper and her stable of corrupt officials who fake a miracle in order to attract tourists. The plan works until Nurse Fay Apple brings her patients, known as Cookies from the local mental asylum which is referred to as The Cookie Jar, to see if the miracle will cure them. Things get kinda weird after that. Dr J. Bowden Hapgood comes to town and Nurse Apple who is in hiding, disguises herself as a French nurse with a bright red wig, a romance ensues. There’s also a weird suggested sexual relationship between the Mayoress and the City Comptroller, which may or may not be transactional. There are several stand out performances including both Hope Quinn as Fay Apple, and William Lucas as Dr. Hapgood. But I also enjoyed Benjamin Kruse as Comptroller Schub and Mary Palazzolo as Mayoress Hooper along with several members of the ensemble. Directed by Max Wojtanowicz with music Direction by Walter Tambor, they get a lot of bang out of a four person band.

This shaggy dog of the Sondheim oeuvre deserves to be seen, the closest thing I can compare it to plot wise is Urinetown. It’s fun, and does contain some pretty fantastic songs. But don’t wait too long it’s short run ends this weekend September 14th. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.aboutmmt.org/

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The Stages of MN YouTube Channel is home of the weekly The Stages of MN Show which you can view by clicking on this link https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN. Check out the latest episodes and Subscribe to the channel so you’ll always know when a new episode has dropped. Think I may have steered you wrong on a show? Well, I’m also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can read review roundups of shows by m’colleagues and I when you follow us on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers.

Cabaret at The Guthrie Theater Makes the World Go Round

The cast of Cabaret Photo by Dan Norman

Cabaret closes out the Guthrie season and feels like a portent of coming events. Directed by Guthrie Artistic Director Joseph Haj, this production doesn’t shy away from the ugly underbelly of the show. But it also doesn’t skint on the skin and scintillation. The period of freedom and openness and perhaps excess that allowed conservative forces to frighten the masses into regressing to an empathetic stone age is on full display. What I assume has to be an ad lib, the Emcee played to divine perfection, both wicked and tragic, by Jo Lampert says “Love is Love” and for a throw away line it’s the one that speaks the most urgent truth to our times. Sometimes I feel like every show I see has something urgent and vital to say to audiences. Even something as absurd as a musical about Endometriosis. Cabaret was designed to speak to the rise of nazism and how it stripped the freedom we take for granted away from the people who lived on the fringes or were part of a persecuted class in Berlin in the 1930’s. Written by Joe Masteroff (book), John Kander (music), and Fred ebb (Lyrics) it debuted on Broadway in 1966. That was another time of social unrest and one can see how the authors could see parallels to their world. What would they think if they could see us now?

When you step back and take away all the politics and social commentary what you have is an unusually structured musical. Whom we assume are the main characters, Cliff and Sally really seem to divide half of the spotlight between themselves and the B couple of Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz. The star of the show is the Emcee, who gets the second half of that spotlight. The best numbers have nothing to do with Cliff and Sally, in fact for a show that one feels should be about her, the character of Sally could disappear from the plot and you wouldn’t really lose that much. Let me be clear, I’m not talking about the performance by Mary Kate Moore, which is very strong, I’m talking about the character and the plot. It’s like there are some concessions made to the institution of musical theater, and once they included those they went to town breaking out of the traditional mold. And I think that was a bold move in 1966 and it still works like gangbusters today. The cast is terrific led by Jo Lampert who along with the Kit Kat Klub ensemble are what you will leave the production remembering. There is one scene that was an unexpected knock out for me, it’s between Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz they are singing “Married” and they are joined by Monet Sabel as the Chanteuse is a beautiful voice that works in contrast to the the more risque songs that pepper the rest of the show.

Choreographer Casey Sams creates some unforgettable tableaus making each number at the Kit Kat Klub unique and memorable. Jen Caprio’s costumes, again especially with the Kit Kat Klub ensemble and the Emcee are daring and creative. There is one scene where Lampert is dressed half as a man and half as a woman that’s very well executed. Marion Williams set design is well planned with the upper level used as train cars and rooms at the Kit Kat Klub. Some of my favorite technical moments came from the lighting and sound cues by Lighting Designer Josh Epstein and Sound Designer Mikaal Sulaiman. Their work helps to bring out some of the darker emotional moments with a sudden immediacy that one feels throughout their body. Mark Hartman as Music Director has his own tricks up his sleeves which I will not spoil but there’s a moment that surprises us and lands an emotional punch we aren’t quite expecting.

I’ve seen Cabaret performed three times now and this is my favorite production so far. if you’ve never seen it, this is the production to see. If you have and love it, you will not want to miss this what Joe Haj and the Guthrie have concocted. Cabaret runs through August 24th at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.guthrietheater.org/shows-and-tickets/2024-2025-season/cabaret/ for more on my coverage of Cabaret be sure to tune into episode three of The Stages of MN Show on YouTube.

Necessity requires that going forward in order to produce a weekly YouTube show and podcast that reviews will become shorter. There are only so many hours in a day, but I have no intention of abandoning the blog version. Faithful readers, you have year after year grown The Stages of MN audience. While I hope you will become viewers or listeners as well, there will always be things here that cannot be found there. This will be the place for longer reviews, though slightly shorter than before, as well as Reviews of more shows than can be covered on the YouTube and Podcast versions. Essentially there will be some overlap, but each format will have unique content.

Don’t depend on a Facebook or Instagram algorithm to ensure you hear about a great show. You can subscribe and have every post from The Stages of MN sent directly to your email box. It’s the best way to ensure you don’t miss out on any of the theater action. 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. You can also follow me on Facebook, @thestagesofmn click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

I’ve officially launched The Stages of MN YouTube Channel which you can view by clicking on this link. https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN. Check out the intro videos and the weekly episodes. Subscribe to the channel so you’ll always know when a new episode has dropped. Think I may have steered you wrong on a show? Well, I’m also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can read review roundups of shows by m’colleagues and I when you follow us on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers.

Which Middle Name of ‘Philip Seymour Hoffman’ are YOU? at the Phoenix Theater in Minneapolis

How do you write about this? That’s the first thing that I said when it was over. I think the best description I can give for theater folk is that it is super Fringey. But not everyone knows what that means and might think it has a negative connotation, it doesn’t. It’s almost like saying it’s unique, creative, or atypical of live theater, unless of course you are at a Fringe Festival, than something described as being very Fringey is very much like everything else, except probably completely different. Now that I’ve clarified that and used as many words as possible to do so, let me tell you the premise of the show. Two friends are trying to prove that an online quiz they took titled Which Middle Name of ‘Philip Seymour Hoffman’ are YOU? to which the answer is always Seymour. Of course it’ll also give the incorrect answer which is Seymoure, with an E at the end. Why do they want to prove this? Because the creator of the quiz Doug Pickle has threatened to cancel them unless they can prove that the answer of Seymoure actually appears. They have taken the quiz thousands of times and never been able to repeat the answer of Seymoure that they once got.

That is the set up, the punchline is the next 75 minutes which is spent racing around the theater having volunteers from the audience take the quiz. If that sounds like it would get boring or repetitive, fear not. The writers Jake Mierva and Danylo Loutchko who also perform the show along with their computer person Sarah Halverson, who can be seen folding laundry between quizes, have solved the repetition issue. Each time you take the quiz it’s completely different, but even more than the questions changing the humorous idea behind each round of questions changes. Not to give too much away but for example one round might be trivia questions about Philip Seymour Hoffman, the next might show you pictures and ask you what sound is this picture? The variety of the quizes along with the surprises that might come from the audiences answers is from where much hilarity ensues. For those who dread interactive shows, rest assured you have to raise your hand and volunteer, and you learn fairly quickly it’s a safe place to volunteer. There are also some side bits that get performed throughout the show between quizes which are clever. Like the repeated deliveries from Doug Pickle which taunt them, and motivational speeches when one of them starts feeling hopeless and wants to give up. Mierva and Loutchko’s manic energy alone is worth the time and price of admission.

Which Middle Name of ‘Philip Seymour Hoffman’ are YOU? is incredibly silly and fun and is running through March 16th at The Phoenix Theater in Uptown. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://allegedtheatre.com/on-stage/

Now more than ever in the wake of the most recent election and the hailstorm of stupidity and hate it has unleashed, Theater companies need you and we need them. Buy tickets to shows go out and support work that reflects diversity and inclusiveness. Donate to your favorite theater companies, don’t wait until they are on the brink of shutting down. We all need to stand up and fight for our Theaters whose funding is under attack for promoting inclusion, equality and diversity.

Tired of missing reviews from The Stages of MN? Do you find yourself left out when all your friends are talking about that great new play that you didn’t even know about? Never fear, that need never happen again. Now you too can subscribe and have every post from The Stages of MN sent directly to your email box. No more hoping the algorithm works in your favor and you actually see a post on facebook or Instagram. No relying on so-called friends to tip you to the best shows in town. 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. You can also follow me on Facebook, @thestagesofmn click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

But that’s not all! You can also read some of my reviews syndicated on the MN Playlist website https://minnesotaplaylist.com/ from time to time. Think I may have steered you wrong on a show? Well, I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can read roundups of shows by m’colleagues and I when you follow us on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers.

Les Misérables Returns With it’s Stunningly Beautiful Production to the Orpheum Theatre

Mya Rena Hunter as Eponine Photo by Matthew Murphy

This is my third time experiencing Les Misérables, in fact it’s my third time seeing this touring production at the Orpheum Theatre. The first was pre The Stages of MN in 2018 and the second was almost two years ago in 2022. When it comes through town next, you can bet I’ll be there to review it again. As with the 2022 performance I was completely swept up and amazed by the overwhelming beauty of Les Misérables. A jaw droppingly gifted cast and production and lighting design that makes every scene look like a Rembrandt painting come to life. Inarguably one of the greatest musicals of the late 20th century, every note of music, every lyric is perfection. A powerful story, the message of which seems especially pertinent given the ever-increasing inequity in the distribution of wealth and the dispensation of Justice. For a show nearly three hours in length there is not a single moment that doesn’t drive the story forward or feel completely necessary. It doesn’t seem to matter how many times I see it I’m still stunned by this production. Even though I knew what I was getting into, somehow It still managed to surprise me with the power and artistry that unfolded before me.

Les Misérables for the unfamiliar is a musical based on the novel by Victor Hugo with music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. Set in France in the first half of the 19th century, Les Misérables tells the story Jean Valjean who after spending 19 years on the Chain Gang for stealing a loaf of bread is finally paroled. Finding himself free only to discover that no one will give him a chance at a fresh start. Beaten down and starving, he’s taken in by a Bishop, given food and a place to rest, but out of desperation he steals some silver. When he is caught and brought before the Bishop by the police, the Bishop lies to the police saying that the silver cups were gifts. Given this reprieve from being sent back to the Chain Gang, Jean Valjean breaks his parole and changes his name in order to start a new life. The story then moves eight years into the future where Jean Valjean has become a factory owner and the Mayor. In his factory we meet Fantine, who is soon dismissed unfairly, beginning the downward spiral which results in her having to sell everything she can including her hair and her body to stay alive and to send money for her daughter Cosette’s care. When she fights back against a wealthy man who is abusing her, she is on the verge being taken to prison by Javert when Jean Valjean comes to a rescue and has her taken to the hospital instead. A chance accident with a cart causes Jean Valjean to rescue a man. His act of strength reminds the policeman Javert of his former prisoner Jean Valjean he tells the Mayor of the similarity and comments that Jean Valjean has just been arrested. Jean Valjean realizing if he doesn’t say something then an innocent man will pay for his crimes goes to the court and confesses. Before he is taken back into custody Jean Valjean promises Fantine on her deathbed that he will look after Cosette. Overpowering Javert, he escapes again. He goes and finds Cosette, who is living with the unscrupulous Thenardiers, an innkeeper, his wife, and their young daughter Eponine. After paying them off he and Cosette head out to make a new start. The story picks up nine years later in Paris where all of these characters along with a few new ones converge. Cosette falls in love with young student Marius whose in turn loved without his knowledge by Eponine. It’s a time of unrest in the city and a group of students seeing themselves as revolutionaries build a barricade to have a standoff with the authorities. All the key players come together and their fates are all intertwined. It all seems terribly complicated but somehow the story is quite easy to follow. It also all sounds terribly depressing but it isn’t, it’s uplifting, it’s powerful, it is wonderous.

Nick Cartell as Jean Valjean Photo by Matthew Murphy

The cast is nothing short of amazing Nick Cartell, who has played the role over 1,200 times including in 2022 plays Jean Valjean with a vocal range equally astonishing in the deeper registers as he is in the upper. Powerful and passionate in the song “Who Am I?” where he contemplates whether to let the innocent man be tried in his place for his supposed crimes. Then, angelic in the higher pitched “Bring Him Home” where he sings to God to spare the life of Marius. I expected him to be pushing his voice to the limits but surprisingly it seemed perfectly within his range resulting in a tremendous round of applause from the audience. Everyone is of that quality in the cast. Lindsay Heather Pearce as Fantine delivers one of the shows signature songs “I Dreamed a Dream” with all the tragedy and heartbreak of her character seeping into every line. Another stand out was Mya Rena Hunter as Eponine for whom the applause after her solo song “On My Own” threatened to turn into a midshow standing ovation. It’s not hard to see why, if the character of Jean Valjean is the conscience of the show, Eponine is the heart. When she sings “On My Own” it veers towards a misstep as we genuinely find ourselves hoping that she will get together with Marius as opposed to Cosette. Nick Rehberger plays Javert and gets one of the biggest moments of audience amazement in his final scene, which I will not spoil. Rehberger is the strongest Javert I’ve yet seen his singing is powerful and clear and we sense his inner turmoil at the end more palpably than I have during other productions. Matt Crowle another performer who was in the 2022 performance and Victoria Huston-Elem play the scheming M. and Mme Thenardier adding some well timed and much appreciated comic relief.

The production design including everything from the sets, the lighting, projections, and costumes creates one of the most beautiful looking shows I’ve ever seen. On one side of the stage there’s a doorway, on the other side there’s an a Stone Archway, those elements remain constant. Throughout the play those sides Push out to varying degrees and somehow, these two openings, come to look like completely new structures. It is a fascinatingly versatile set. It’s large and impressive solid-looking and yet, it seems to flow and change and reconfigure fluidly. Set and image design is by Matt Kinley they’re inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. Paule Constable is the lighting designer and he doesn’t just direct and point lights he seems to paint with light. There’s such a melding of physical set design and lighting in this show and it is through the marriage of these two art forms that this painterly aesthetic is achieved. And yes, when the set and the lighting design look this good it is absolutely an art form. The projection in this show is realized by Finn Ross and Fifty-Nine Productions. I’m not a fan of the overuse of projection in shows and this was a reminder how well it can be used. This is a judicious use a projection that effectively enhances the environment and created some breathtaking illusions.

Les Misérables runs through December 1st at Hennepin Arts Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis. Fro more information and to purchase tickets go to https://hennepinarts.org/events/les-miserables-2024

Tired of missing reviews from The Stages of MN? Do you find yourself left out when all your friends are talking about that great new play that you didn’t even know about? Never fear, that need never happen again. Now you too can subscribe and have every post from The Stages of MN sent directly to your email box. No more hoping the algorithm works in your favor and you actually see a post on facebook or Instagram. No relying on so-called friends to tip you to the best shows in town. 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. You can also follow me on Facebook, @thestagesofmn click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn. You can also read some of my reviews syndicated on the MN Playlist website https://minnesotaplaylist.com/ from time to time.

Funny Girl Radiates at the Orpheum Theatre

Katerina McCrimmon and Stephen Mark Lucas       Photo by Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade

Funny Girl? More like A Star is Born, that’s what I felt I was witnessing in Katerina McCrimmon’s performance as Fanny Brice. Let’s get this out of the way right at the top, McCrimmon’s performance is phenomenal. We see a lot of great talent come through the Twin cities on tour and hey, we’ve got some pretty amazing local talent as well, McCrimmon’s is one of the gems that raises the bar to another level. First and foremost her vocals are amazing, but she also displays a gift for the comedic and dramatic aspects of the character. I came into the show with little knowledge other than that it was one of Barbara Streisand’s early Broadway successes and that she’d made a film version and sequel. Sometimes approaching what is considered a classic can be a mixed bag. I think back on My Fair Lady which came through town twice in the last five years, still featuring some great songs and moments of humor, but very very dated, almost uncomfortably so. Would Funny Girl suffer from similar societal progressions? No need to fear, the show sidesteps anything that we cannot contextualize as period. This is due to the fact that the main character is a strong female character who succeeds based on her talent. A script about such a character is already ahead of the curve for a show that premiered on Broadway 60 years ago. Anything that is potentially problematic is winked at or acknowledged in songs like “If a Girl Isn’t Pretty” assuring us that they know, like we do, how messed up that is. These may be inherent in the material or they could be part of Harvey Fierstein’s revised book. Either way, this Funny Girl revival is an unqualified triumph.

Loosely based on the real Comedian and Broadway star Fanny Brice, it tells the story of a young girl from Brooklyn who makes it big headlining the Ziegfeld Follies. Not considered conventionally pretty, she has trouble taking the admiration of suave gambler Nick Arnstein at face value, but as we follow her career success, Nick keeps turning up. Audiences will be forgiven for suspecting a rat, we are well conditioned not only in the popular entertainments but in life to, far too often, discover people acting with ulterior motives. While Nick is indeed a hustler who doesn’t always operate on the up and up, I found it very refreshing that their love story was just that, a love story. I was only familiar with two of the songs, “People” and “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and they are the highlights of the musical numbers to be sure. Many of the other songs have a humorous bent and are performed by a very enthusiastic and talented cast. The one rather sweet duet sung by McCrimmon’s and Stephen Mark Lukas, who plays Nick, called “I Want to Be Seen With You” stood out.

Of the other performers Lukas is quite good, with a very strong voice, a charm that endears his flawed character to Fanny and the audience alike, and a shirtless scene that elicited gasps of delight from many in the audience. Of special note are Izaiah Montaque Harris as Fanny’s friend and choreographer Eddie. Harris brings the show to a stop several times with tap routines that will make you wish more shows included tap dancing as when it’s done well, as it is here, it’s quite amazing to behold. Barbara Tirrell as Fanny’s mother is genuinely supportive and brings a level of understanding and wisdom that feels truly genuine. The entire cast of dancers and singers and supporting roles is top notch and I want to acknowledge the work of the Choreographer Ellenore Scott, and Tap Choreographer Ayodele Casel as there was a lot that got me genuinely excited about dance. This is also a wonderfully designed production with high marks going to David Zinn who’s set designs seemed to keep getting better and better as new location after new location was revealed. Susan Hilferty’s costume designs were fantastic, of particular note were the various costumes used in the Follies productions.

Funny Girl runs through Sunday January 21st at Hennepin Theatre Trust’s Orpheum theatre, for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://hennepintheatretrust.org/events/funny-girl-orpheum-theatre-minneapolis-mn-2024/

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. You can also follow me on Facebook, @thestagesofmn click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn. You can also read some of my reviews syndicated on the MN Playlist website https://minnesotaplaylist.com/

I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can read roundups of shows by my colleagues and I when you follow us on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. We also produce the podcast Twin Cities Theater Chat!! which you can access through this link or wherever you enjoy podcasts https://twincitiestheaterchat.buzzsprout.com/ . We post biweekly longer form episodes that will focus on interviews and discussions around theater topics. There is also shorter episodes in which we Bloggers tell you what we think you should get out and see as well as what we have on our schedules that we are most looking forward too.