Tag: frank-sinatra

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres Rolls the Dice on Guys & Dolls and Comes Up a Winner!

Photo by Dan Norman

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres officially ushers in a new era as the post Michael Brindisi years begin, with new Artistic Director Tamara Kangas Erickson making her Main Stage directing debut with Guys & Dolls. While the title itself isn’t exactly a boundary pushing choice, this production proves the theatre is in very good hands. It far exceeded my previous experiences with the show. I had an absolute blast, it features a terrific cast and truly exceptional dancing.

Erickson, who has choreographed more than 50 productions at CDT, shares choreography duties here with Linda Talcott Lee. I’ve often felt that in musicals, especially the ones pushing three hours, overtures and long instrumental transitions can drag. Not here. Erickson turns those moments into highlights. Scene changes become showcases for high-energy dance breaks, frequently led by the immensely talented Kyle Weiler. Under Erickson’s leadership, there’s little doubt that choreography at CDT will continue to be top tier.

Set in a stylized 1940s New York that looks like it stepped straight out of a Dick Tracy comic strip, Guys & Dolls follows Nathan Detroit, a lovable schemer who can organize the longest running floating crap game in the city but can’t manage to marry his long suffering fiancée of fourteen years, Miss Adelaide. Adelaide headlines at the Hot Box Club and has been telling her mother they’re already married, with five children.

Desperate for cash, Nathan bets slick gambler Sky Masterson that he can’t persuade straight laced missionary Sarah Brown to accompany him to Havana. Sky takes the bet, but what starts as a hustle turns into genuine romance. Beneath the gangsters and gambling, this is really a show about two love stories and how when it comes to matters of the heart all bets are off.

The four leads are outstanding. Sara Masterson brings a gorgeous voice and winning sincerity to Sarah Brown, and her Havana “drunken” sequence is beautifully played. Charlie Clark’s Nathan Detroit is funny, earnest, and completely endearing, a lovable gangster who clearly adores his doll. Madeline Trumble is comic and musical gold as Adelaide, delivering her big numbers with flair and impeccable timing.

The biggest revelation for me was Shad Hanley as Sky Masterson. I’ve enjoyed Hanley in previous roles, but this feels like a breakout moment. From the second he steps on stage, he owns it. Confident, charismatic, and yes, helped perhaps by that striking dye job, he’s effortlessly the coolest guy in the room.

And a sure sign of a strong cast is when you want to keep going after praising the leads. Matthew Hall is terrific as one of Nathan’s guys, and he absolutely brings the house down with “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat.” Cynthia Jones-Taylor is hilarious and commanding as General Cartwright, my only complaint is that we don’t get more of her. And it’s always a pleasure to see Stages of MN favorite Tod Petersen, as Sarah’s Grandfather, who brings warmth and tenderness to “More I Cannot Wish You,” a beautifully quiet moment in a show bursting with bold personalities.

Visually, this production pops. Rich Hamson’s costumes are wild, colorful, and unapologetically theatrical, bold suits in primary colors, plaids, and stripes that look torn from a comic strip page. Sky’s wardrobe, by contrast, is sleek and elegant. Adelaide’s nightclub ensembles are especially fun. Nayna Ramey’s set design makes dynamic use of the space, even revealing an area of the theatre I didn’t know could be used, which was a delightful surprise.

And, as always, the Chanhassen Orchestra under music director Andy Kust delivers a lush, full sound that supports the performers without overpowering them.

This Guys & Dolls is big, bold, joyful entertainment, and a confident first Main Stage outing for Tamara Kangas Erickson. Guys & Dolls runs through September 26 at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. For more information and to book your seats for a delicious dinner and show go to https://chanhassendt.com/guysanddolls/

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Mood Swings At The Hive Collaborative Explores Two of Sinatra’s “Concept” Albums

The newly opened The Hive Collaborative is doing a lot of interesting things, if you haven’t stopped over to check them out yet I highly recommend it. So far I’ve been to 16 bar Bingo, which they host the final Monday of every month and now Mood Swings. The Hive Collaborative is located in what used to be Dreamland Arts, it was recently purchased by local theater professionals Laura Rudolph Morris and Eric Morris, you can learn more about their dreams for the space on a recent episode of Twin Cities Theater Chat here. To find out what’s on their schedule and to purchase tickets to upcoming events you can go to https://www.thehivecollaborativemn.com/ Mood Swings in running through Monday February 19th, so there’s still a chance to see it, but don’t think about it too long.

Billed as an Exploration of the Concept Albums of Frank Sinatra. The show is conceived and performed by Eric Morris along with Music Director Luke Aaron Davidson who accompanies him on piano and adds vocals in a couple of instances. Morris has taken two Sinatra albums In the Wee Small Hours and Songs For Swinging Lovers! It’s not an impersonation of Sinatra, it’s not a run through of the albums in order, there isn’t really any dialogue but there is story. The albums themselves were considered as the first “Concept” Albums, In the Wee Small Hours was melancholy with the mood of failed love, lost love, and other more introspective aspects of romance. Songs For Swinging Lovers! was the upbeat jazzier album focused on celebrating love. What Morris has done is mixed the songs together contrasting the downbeat and the upbeat. The unspoken setup is of a man on a psychiatrist’s couch who may be bipolar. Thus the mood swings, and the title of the show. When I say there is a story, it’s really what we the audience decide to imprint on it. You can see each song as it’s only little narrative or choose, as I did, to see it as one man’s attempt to recount and work through his relationship issues. Either way, you’ll be swept along by Morris’s rich vocalization the clever bit of humor devised by Morris and show Director Joey Miller. For a show that runs about an hour in length and set in one location, a lot of thought has gone into the lighting design by Tracy V. Joe and the costumes by Sarah Christenson.

I really like this idea of taking the work of a popular entertainer and then exploring it further and look forward to other upcoming events along these lines. I highly recommend getting on The Hive Collaboratives mailing list so you’ll get the latest on what they are up to. Looking ahead the schedule is eclectic and unique, making it a great addition to the Twin Cities Theater scene.

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