Kimberly Akimbo a Musical With the Sense of Humor of an Adult Animated Series

Carolee Carmello, Miguel Gil and Jim Hogan National Tour of KIMBERLY AKIMBO, photo by Joan Marcus

The tone of Kimberly Akimbo reminded me instantly of an adult animated series like Bob’s Burgers or F is for Family. Things that happen are so egregious as if this could either have gone the tragic route or the comedic. The show wisely chooses comedic, which allows it to also have some moments of meaning and sweetness. This is the story of Kimberly Levaco who is about to turn sixteen years old and has a disease that makes her age prematurely, at about four to five times the normal rate. People with her disease on average do not live past sixteen. As if that wasn’t hard enough, as the show opens she clearly has trouble making any friends with the kids her age and her father arrives drunk to pick her up from the skating rink three and a half hours later. It’s winter and she has had to wait outside for him. His excuse is that some guy in the bar bet he couldn’t fit an entire Mango in his mouth, which he can so he won a gameboy off the guy. In his eyes, this justifies his tardiness. It’s like Kimberlys entire family was imported from Matilda, though to be fair given slightly more scruples. But you can see how this could be a dour show. Which it isn’t, it’s funny, but not in a super dark way, in that Family Guy kinda way.

The songs are fun, mostly skewing to the humorous end of the spectrum but with slivers of sweetness and emotions here and there. It’s also a brilliant way to provide a great starring role in a show sure to be popular with young people for an older actor. Carolee Carmello who is playing Kimberly in the tour does a great job of playing a young girl at heart trapped in a body that is aging on her. I’m glad they cast the role as they did, there are enough roles for the young up and coming talents. It’s nice to see one designed for someone who has experience and talent and might otherwise be overlooked for leads. The supporting characters are well concieved, it’s a very small cast, and everyone feels vital. My favorite of them is Miguel Gil who plays Seth, a boy who befriends and sort of boyfriends Kimberly. He has a voice that feels perfect for the young awkward teenage boy and one of my favorite songs in the show, “Good Kid” is an excellent fit for Gil’s talents. The other favorite is Kimberly’s Aunt Debra played by Emily Koch who ropes Kimberly and her friends into a scheme to wash the checks from envelopes she pulls from a Federal mailbox she has stolen.

It’s a testament to the creators David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori that the show works, which it does like gangbusters. It doesn’t seem like a show about a sixteen year old girl who has been treated so unfairly by life and is basically prepared to die at any moment, could be this enjoyable. But it is. Perhaps it’s that underlying sense of dread that makes us laugh all the harder when something so wrong like Debra roping in kids for her check washing crime so they can afford to buy new costumes for their show choir competition. Director Jessica Stone gets the tricky tone just right. It’s small for a Broadway musical, but that really works for it. We have exactly the characters we need to tell the story. The set is really rather complex in the way it transforms to multiple location fully and convincingly, best of all with speed and efficiency. If it sounds too dark for you, I think you’ll be surprised and how funny and entertaining it is.

Kimberly Akimbo runs through Sunday July 13th at Hennepin Arts Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://hennepinarts.org/events/kimberly-akimbo-2025

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.

Madagascar: A Musical Adventure is Fun for All Ages at Stages Theatre Company

Madagascar: A Musical Adventure is a stage adaptation of the popular DreamWorks animated film that came out when my kids were little. I know I saw the film, but to be honest it has completely left my memory I have some memory of penguins and lemurs but that’s about it. Luckily prior knowledge of the film is not needed to enjoy this simple tale of Zoo animals who go looking for something more. As with most children’s shows there is a positive message about friendship and this one focuses on best friends Alex the Lion and Marty the Zebra. Marty is having a midlife crisis, she is 10 years old and still doesn’t know if she’s black with white stripes or white with black stripes. When she decides to leave the zoo and see what’s out in the world her friends led by Alex go after her to bring her back. Somehow they all end up in crates on a ship in the ocean. They go overboard and wash up on the shores of Madagascar. There they’re befriended by Lemurs who hope Alex will protect them from their carnivorous enemies. Meanwhile Alex is getting hungry and while his friends are content with the lemurs vegetarian diet, Alex’s instincts began to get the better of him.

I think most kids are going to have a great time with this show. The songs are fun and lively and there’s even a more poignant lament sung by Marty that’s really kind of beautiful. The cast a mix of a few strategic adults and lots of kids who do a great job. The Costume and Make-up Designer Samantha Fromm Haddow deserves full marks for the wonderful animal costumes. I loved the hoofs and headpiece on Marty, particularly the penguins which are puppets controlled by men dressed like Jake and Elwood Blues, are really well done. There’s a nice set design too by Joe Johnson effective as the Zoo and then surprisingly lush when transformed to Madagascar. If your wee ones like animals and music, they will have an adventure with this show and the audience really gets into it clapping along and dancing in their seats, or maybe they just needed the restroom. Either way it’s a fun show for families.

Madagascar: A Musical Adventure runs through August 3rd at Stages Theatre Company in Hopkins. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.stagestheatre.org/madagascar-a-musical-adventure/

Endometriosis: The Musical, Undoubtedly the Funniest Musical About Down There Problems Ever Produced

Nora Sonneborn as Aunt Flow and Abby Holstrom as Jane Photo by Aaron Mark Photo Film

Endometriosis: The Musical is simultaneously drop dead funny and deadly serious, not dramatically but thematically. It brings into the spotlight a painful and sometimes debilitating disease that affects 10% of all menstruating humans. It dares to sing about things that too many people are afraid to even whisper. The show created by childhood BFF’s Maria Bartholdi (book and lyrics) and Kristin Stowell (music and lyrics) began life as a 2022 Minnesota Fringe show, that was performed at Theatre in the Round. I awarded it the second ever The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award, it also won three other actual MN Fringe sanctioned Awards, I’m sure those are nice to have too. The powers that be at Theatre in the Round saw what everyone in the audience did that August, a show that had a life beyond Fringe. They asked Bartholdi and Stowell to continue to develop it and now three years later it has grown from a 45 minute show to over two hours. Length hasn’t dimmed it’s energy or creativity, and at nearly three times its original length it still seems to fly by in the blink of an eye. The expansion has allowed it to touch on other areas of Women’s healthcare, sharing some statistics that would be sobering if we weren’t already drunk with the potent cocktail of musical theater absurdity.

Jane played by original cast member Abby Holstrom loves “business” and has dreams of working on her employer Business, Incorporated’s “big account.” When her co-worker Brad is mauled by a bear while on his morning run (did I mention this was in the absurdist comedic vein) she gets her big chance. But as she prepares for the meeting she is stricken down by her period, which is always so painful she can barely stay standing. Throughout the play we are given glimpses of how she is dismissed by co-workers, family, and healthcare providers when she tries to make them understand how bad the pain is. Sadly this is not a fantasy, this is what really happens to women. The average sufferer will see seven providers before they are correctly diagnosed. Endometriosis: The Musical brings all of this into the light through clever songs and a hilarious script. It also adds to the cultural lexicon Pussy Porridge, a euphemism only a mother could love. Some might add a disclaimer that this show should only be seen by those over say 16, but isn’t that part of the problem? I think this show should be seen by everyone who is old enough to be entering puberty, of both sexes. We need to destigmatize (my spell check indicates I may have coined a new word there…cool!) openly talking about issues that affect around 50% of the worlds population. Maybe if we can talk about it, we can learn to finance research into finding ways to improve healthcare for every human with a uterus.

I really don’t want to leave you with the impression that this is a covert message show. The message isn’t covert, they sing about it. And while sure, you might learn a thing or two, you’ll be having too much fun to even realize it. The show is directed by one of The Stages of MN favorites Shanan Custer. Custer is the perfect fit for this material, her comedic sensibilities aline perfectly with the material. With clever and knowing winks to the audience she invites us all to let go of theatrical distance and embrace the silliness. The cast led by Holstrom is stellar including a couple folks on my must see list, such as Tara Borman and Nora Sonneborn, and a few I feel like I’m really noticing for the first time including Christopher Knutson and Jack Strub who approach their characters in very different ways, each perfect for their roles. But all of the talent isn’t on stage, there is great technical work from the production team. Sadie Ward’s Set Design includes giant tampons hanging in the ceiling. Ryan McCanna’s costumes are spectacular including an Elvis like suit with a cape adorned with a uterus. It’s hard to know sometimes which items are set design, costume, or props, but I’m giving a shout out to Prop Designer Mark Steffer as well, because I know some of the stuff that had me almost rolling on the floor must have been his. All of it is enhanced by some really nice sound and lighting cues from Sound Designer Kristin Smith and Lighting Designer Mark Webb. Last but not least Music Director Jean Orbison Van Heel gets a lot out of a three piece ensemble.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a musical at Theatre in the round before. Likely one of you faithful readers will correct me, but if there have been, they are few and far between. It’s so great to see the cities oldest running Community Theater host a world premiere of such a fantastic musical. This is a must see and one I’m very tempted to try and see again, which is even harder now due to The Stages of MN’s expansion into the audio visual world, more on that at the bottom of this review. Endometriosis: The Musical runs through July 13th at Theatre in the Round Players in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatreintheround.org/endometriosis-the-musical/

Stop Kiss an Important and Beautiful Play for Pride Month From Theater Mu

Kelsey Angel Baehrens and Emjoy Gavino Photo by Rich Ryan

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.

On to Stop Kiss which is a battle between two conflicting emotions and storylines. The play is broken into two timelines, both following two young women Callie, a long time resident of NYC and Sara, who has just moved to the city from the Midwest. One timeline follows them from their first meeting to their first kiss. The second storyline follows them in the aftermath of the kiss, but it’s not what you think. They are victims of a hate crime which leaves Sara in a coma. The two timelines alternate from scene to scene, so one moment we are watching a friendship blossom and then grow into an unexpected attraction. It is full of anticipation and joy and laughter and longing. The other is filled with tragedy, loss, and heartbreak, but also the growth and love. It’s a brilliant script by Diana Son and the duo timeline structure is anything but a gimmick. The one storyline joyfully heading towards tragedy the second revealing the extent of the damage and the repercussions of the horrible event that forms the nexus of the two timelines. What is miraculous is the way in which the telling of the story doesn’t diminish our giddiness at Callie and Sara’s growing bond in timeline one but it does inform our emotional response to timeline two.

The script does half of the work, but without such engaging and warm performances from the two leads Emjoy Gavino as Callie and Kelsey Angel Baehrens as Sara, the emotional resonance wouldn’t work. It’s that odd thing that we call chemistry, it’s why I tear up when Niles confesses his love for Daphne on Frasier (sorry if that’s a spoiler for anyone), and it’s why we are able to forget what we know is coming in Stop Kiss. We like these characters, we like the way they interact, in fact we forget they are characters. We become invested in their happiness, even though we know something horrible is coming. But to say that the success of the performances is due to some intangible thing called chemistry is not acknowledging the masterful work of Gavino and Baehrens. They are so good that they make it look easy. Make no mistake, it is their skill at crafting the roles, their understanding of what each timeline needs from them and their ability to swap between them from scene to scene that gives the play it’s heart and soul. The production is Directed by Katie Bradley who does an excellent job of staging the show, there are a million scene changes by the occur seamlessly and speedily which is key to keeping us invested.

Stop Kiss runs through June 29th at the Gremlin Theatre in St Paul and honestly I know it sounds like it could be a bit of a downer but I assure you it is ultimately a beautiful and hopeful production. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatermu.org/stop-kiss#gsc.tab=0

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. In short, theaters are being threatened for sharing stories that reflect our countries cultural and racial diversity.

Don’t depend on a Facebook or Instagram algorithm to insure 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.

Mae West and the Trial of Sex Provides a History Lesson for the Future at the Crane Theater

Mae West and the Trial of Sex chronicles the legal battle between Mae West and the powers of censorship in the early part of the 20th century. Nearly 100 years ago the theater community of New York City and by extension the country was dealt a legal blow that amounted to censorship. Today the theater community is under attack again. Like that trial so many years ago, what is said to be the cause for these actions and what the true result of the them being taken are completely different. It all amounts to the same thing, silencing the voices of the minority. The Sex trial

prosecuted West, her producers and cast for performing a work that could contribute to the correuption of minors and others it was really about preventing another show being produced by West called The Drag. The Drag featured a cast of twenty female impersonators which William Randolph Hearst, the basis for Citizen Kane, wanted to crush due to it’s portrayal of homosexuality and cross dressing. I wish I could say it never ceases to amaze me how little we have progressed, or perhaps have regressed compared to 100 years ago. The result led to what amounted to a legal ban on the portrayal of queer characters in theater until the late 1960’s.

John Heimbuch’s new play drawn from the historical records shows the absurdity and injustice that abounds when powerful rich white people decide they want something. Laws no longer matter, rules are rewritten, the “haves” get what they want and the “have-nots” lose the last thing they have, their voice. The story is told by an exceptional group of seven performers, most of whom must play more than a half a dozen roles each. They are led by Emily A. Grodzik who plays Mae West very effectively, we get a glimpse of the real West at the close of the show so those who are not familiar with the stars work can see how well Grodzik captures her. I can’t honestly say that any member of the ensemble is better than any of the others, they all find a unique voice for each of their characters, some are brief one or two lines bits that create laughs, others are more rounded out, but all are exactly what they need to be in any given moment. So rather than single any out let me just list the entire brilliant ensemble. Jack Bechard, Neal Beckman, Kelsey Laurel Cramer, Kayla Dvorak Feld, Samuel Osborne-Huerta, and Joe Swanson.

The show is directed by The Stages of MN favorite Allison Vincent. The story flashes between scenes and settings so quickly, it would create deadly long scene changes were Vincent to have gone the realistic route. Instead, the play is staged with a wink to the audience acknowledging that this is a play and so characters wheel set pieces in to center stage from the side where they sit until needed, costume changes are made in split seconds in view of the audience. This contributes to the humor at times but most importantly keeps the show clipping along. The production team including Sarah Bahr as Set Designer, Mandi Johnson as Costume Designer, Tony Stoeri as Lighting Designer, Thomas Speltz as Composer and Sound Designer, and Bobbie Smith as Props Designer all contribute to creating this theatrical world.

Mae West and the Trial of Sex is another show that retells the past through the lens of the present. Something I expect the current Administration to outlaw shortly. It’s a cautionary tale, but one told with a lot of humor. Mae West and the Trial of Sex from Walking Shadow Theatre Company runs through 6/22/25 at the Crane Theater in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://walkingshadow.org/mae-west-and-the-trial-of-sex/

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. New things are in the work! Click here to go to The Stages of MN YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN. Right now there is just a short introductory video, but there will be much more coming this summer. For now, check out the intro video and subscribe to the channel so that when we fully launch you’ll be the first to know!

Between Riverside and Crazy is an Engrossing Play Filled With Fascinating Characters at Park Square Theatre

Isabella Dunsieth, Darius Dotch, Terry Hempleman, Laura Esping, Emil Herrera Photo Courtesy Dan Norman

Between Riverside and Crazy is a Pulitzer Prize winning play by Stephen Adly Guirgis playing on the main stage at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul. It’s a story about specific people in a specific place and time. It deals with race but only in the way in which being black or white affects the characters lives. What I mean to say is that race is not the primary focus of the play. The story focuses on Pops, played by Emil Herrera who has been battling the city for eight years trying to get them to pay him 5 million dollars in compensation for being shot six times by a police officer whom he alleges called him a racial slur. He was an off duty police officer at the time he was shot, and he is black. I know that it sounds like a play all about race, but that is just one of several plot lines that propel the story. Pop now retired on 3/4 pension is living in his rent controlled apartment with his son Junior and his girlfriend Lulu, played by Darius Dotch and Isabella Dunsieth, along with Juniors friend Oswaldo, played by José Sabillón. They each have their own things happening that contribute to the overall story of Pops’ world. There’s also his former partner from his days on the force, Audrey and her Fiancé Lt. Caro played by Laura Esping and Terry Hempleman. Caro is trying to get Pops to settle with the city. Then there’s the Church Lady played by Kiko Laureano, who brings unexpected tangent into what may or may not have been real or imagined. Whatever it is, it’s pretty graphically performed and not for children.

The cast does a fantastic job of engrossing us in the lives of the characters. Guirgis’ play takes it’s time revealing the various conflicts and relationships which works to it’s benefit. We become interested in the characters to the point where we don’t really care if there is conflict, part of you just wants to sit back and watch these folks live their lives. The dialogue is colorful and entertaining and it’s not only fascinating what the characters say, but how they say it. Herrera is in every scene and he’s very natural and funny as Pops, it’s a great performance that feels lived in but not weary. I really enjoyed Sabillón’s performance as Oswaldo, a not very bright former convict who has 90 days of sobriety. The opening scenes between Herrera and Sabillón are among the most humorous and touching. Dunsieth is also very strong playing Lulu, who also isn’t too bright but has captured the good opinion of Pops. Dunsieth is so outrageous in the role, it’s hard not to see what charms Pops.

The other star of the show is the set by Benjamin Olsen, it’s a very realistic recreation of Pop’s apartment with a living room, kitchen, and even fire escape. The set is rich with details like the unwashed windows and ceiling light fixtures hanging from a nonexistent ceiling. Director Stephen DiMenna seems to understand the importance of making the space in which we spend our time with these characters, a way to ground them in reality. One aspect that I felt could have been tightened up were the slightly overlong scene changes; however, this did give Sound Designer Fred Kennedy a chance to play some great music during the changes. Lighting Designer Marcus Dilliard has some very effective lighting cues especially at the end of the first scene between Pops and the Church Lady. I tend to think that what happens is a reflection of Pops physical state, not a statement of something supernatural, but the way it’s handled by Dilliard makes it an intriguing moment that is open to interpretation. Matthew J. LeFebvre’s costume designs are great especially every little thing Dunsieth wears, just look at those boots in the photo above, they really help establish some unspoken things about Lulu.

Between Riverside and Crazy runs through June 8th at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://parksquaretheatre.org/

Whoa, Nellie! The Outlaw King of the Wild Middle West is a Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius Don’t Miss This World Premiere Musical at History Theatre.

The question I asked as I left the Theatre after seeing Whoa, Nellie! The Outlaw King of the Wild Middle West was not what did I like best or what were the shortcomings… It was this, was there anything about that show that wasn’t brilliant? The answer is a resounding no! It’s all brilliant. Every cast member, every song, every costume, every element of the set design, every lighting cue. Look at that photo at the top of this review, that isn’t just one moment, the entire show is filled with bold choices that create imagery and emotional imprints on the brain. This show solidifies Laura Leffler as one of the great Directors of the Twin Cities Stages. Her direction is dynamic, simultaneously intimate and epic.

(Pictured Em Adam Rosenberg Photo by Rick Spaulding)

Whoa, Nellie! The Outlaw King of the Wild Middle West is an original musical written completely, that means book, music, and lyrics by Josef Evans. I’ve seen Evan’s work before in his outdoor summer shows for Open eye Theatre, Loch Mess and Hair Ball both of which were light hearted, fun, and silly shows. I enjoyed them quite a bit, but they did not prepare me for these exquisite compositions. Even the silliest of songs seemed musically complex as is the narrative of Nellie King, whose story the show tells. The story unfolds as a vaudville show from beyond the grave. Nellie King, like so many real life legends of the late 1800’s, is obscured by mythology. What’s true? What’s fiction? So who better to help tell her story than a group of fellow long deceased legends. Some who helped create the myths like Nellie Bly and some who were mythologized like Annie Oakley. There are performers who were famous for impersonating the opposite sex, which touches on King’s tendency to dress as a man at times throughout her life. Everything is overseen by Bert Williams who acts as an emcee for the show, and if that makes you think of another musical, I don’t blame you for going there. It’s a role performed by John Jamison II and he’s magnetic to the point of stealing the show, and he would if the rest of the cast wasn’t as strong as it is.

(foreground) Em Adam Rosenberg. (background l-r) Erin Nicole Farsté, Jay Owen Eisenberg, Leslie Vincent, Therese Walth. Photo by Rick Spaulding

Em Adam Rosenberg continues their ascent as one of the most talented rising stars of the Twin Cities. Rosenberg keeps astonishing me show after show. They play the humor of Nellie’s wild and crazy antics with a slow and gradual slid towards the tragic. In the opening we see more of the legend, by the end we will see something of the truth. We begin by getting a sense of how the legend began and end with how the woman began. Every aspect of Rosenberg’s performance is as pitch perfect as their vocals which are stunning. As is Rosenberg’s apparent mission in life, they made me cry, again. This time their accomplice was Grace Hillmyer, who charmed us last year in Kinky Boots at Lyric Arts and here is hauntingly touching as the Child, a character shrouded in mystery that only Nellie occasionally sees.

This is where things get hard, as with the recent Theatre Pro Rata shows Three Sisters and No Sisters, every single person in this cast deserves a paragraph of praise. But, that would take me all night and you would stop reading so I’m going to be brief, but please understand I have to mention them all and the shortness of those mentions does not reflect the quality which is universally sublime. All of the cast with the exception of Rosenberg play multiple characters I’ll likely be mentioning just one of my favorites for each. Tod Petersen, Leslie Vincent, and Jay Owen Eisenberg have been praised in this blog many times, the reason for that is because they are versatile and gifted and they put those talents to great use in Whoa, Nellie!. Petersen’s greatest moments come at the end when he is reunited with Nellie twenty years after they first met. Vincent as Annie Oakley gets some fun insider jokes related to the show Annie Get Your Gun, and gets to put those wonderful pipes to work in the song “You Gotta Be Crazy (Not to Go Crazy)“. Eisenberg gets to do some wonderfully quirky character bits, he does this set jaw, and worried eyed expression as a man accused of steeling a horse that hit me just right, it’s such a small thing but it brought that character right to life. Erin Nicole Farsté plays Aida Walker and the music she makes with that vocal instrument of her’s might be proof that there is a God. Therese Walth plays Nellie Bly a reporter who fills in segments of the narrative with a no nonsense approach that pays tribute to the real Bly’s role in journalism history. Thomas Bevan rounds out the cast playing multiple roles but he’s especially good as Edward Loudon, one of Nellie’s multiple and likely simultaneous husbands and perhaps the one man Nellie actually loved.

Erin Nicole Farsté, Tod Petersen, Grace Hillmyer, John Jamison II, Leslie Vincent, Thomas Bevan Photo by Rick Spaulding

Alright I can feel you scanning down the screen to see how much longer this is so I’ll try and wrap up with quick mentions of the design team. Joel Sass designed the sets and I could have told you that without looking at the program. It has that Open Eye Theatre attention to detail, every brush stroke, every silhouette, every curtain, and every floorboard is precise and stunning. Sass has found a wonderful collaborator for his style in Lighting Designer Grant E. Merges, there are so many moments in which the light helps to create an image that feels iconic. Bryce Turgeon is the costume designer and creative doesn’t seem to do his work justice. So many wonderful designs but hands down my favorite was Nellie’s final costume which includes a cape made out of headlines from newspapers about her. The hats are all wonderful as well and while I didn’t notice them, because I just don’t, my wife assures me that every shoe and boot in the show was to die for. Great Sound Design work by C Andrew Mayer and Prop Designs by Rebecca Jo Malmstrom, and Choreography by Joey Miller, everyone working together creating a breathtaking experience on every level.

This is undoubtedly one of the best theatrical experiences of the year and you should not miss the opportunity to see something this bold and original. I promise you will not leave this show disappointed. I plan to see it again, which is hard with my schedule but there is no way I’m letting this one go without experiencing it at least one more time. Whoa, Nellie! The Outlaw King of the Wild Middle West runs through June 8th at History Theatre in St. Paul. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.historytheatre.com/2024-2025/whoa-nellie-outlaw-king-wild-middle-west