SIX Makes a Spectacular Return to the Ordway! I’ll Rock Out With These Divas Everytime They Come to Town

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts is simply a better venue for seeing Broadway touring shows than the Orpheum in Minneapolis. The acoustics are better, the seats are more comfortable, and there’s more legroom. But because of its larger seating capacity, most big Broadway tours land at the Orpheum, at least the first time through town.

SIX flipped that script.

Typically, a show opens on Broadway, launches a tour, and five times out of SIX, that tour plays the Orpheum. Not this time. For the first time in the Ordway’s history, SIX went from the Ordway to Broadway. So yes, it’s a show about history that also made a little history of its own.

Now the North American touring company is back for a third time at the Ordway for a two-week run, and honestly, it feels like this show has found its Twin Cities home. I couldn’t be happier. I love this show, and I’m grateful to see it in the more comfortable venue. I caught SIX during its initial Ordway run and was blown away. I’ve been back for all three of it’s touring runs as well. From the moment the curtain rises, the audience is cheering, clapping, and fully locked in. This isn’t your typical musical, it’s more like a full on pop concert featuring six historically kick-ass divas.

The title refers, of course, to the six wives of Henry VIII. Each queen tells her story in the form of a song in a singing competition, with the audience deciding who had the worst marriage. It’s history, reframed as a pop concert, funny, smart, and packed with energy. The show runs about 80 minutes with no intermission, but you won’t miss it, you’ll be too busy rocking out.

Each queen’s song is inspired by different pop icons like Beyoncé, Avril Lavigne, Adele, Nicki Minaj, Britney Spears, Alicia Keys, to name SIX. The costumes follow suit. But while the influences are clear, the songs themselves are original, written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, and honestly, most could live comfortably on today’s pop charts. The lyrics are packed with clever wordplay, from the layered counting in the finale “Six” to lines like “Too Many Years Lost in HIStory.” This is a cast album that rewards repeat listens, there’s a lot packed in there.

The set is simple: steps, band platforms, and a light-up framework, but it’s used brilliantly. At one point, Henry’s choosing his next wife like he’s on a life-sized Tinder app, swipe left, and the queen literally exits left as her frame glows red. In another moment, the frames transform into stained glass windows, complete with a glowing cross. Simple ideas, executed smartly.

I’ve been listening to this score on and off for six years now, and every song has stuck with me. The cast is uniformly excellent, so much so that singling anyone out feels like missing the point of the show. Each performer creates a distinct, fully realized character, reminding us that these women were individuals, not just “the six wives of Henry VIII.” This touring cast features Emma Elizabeth Smith, Nella Cole, Kelly Denice Taylor, Hailey Alexis Lewis, Alizé Cruz, and Tasia Jungbauer, and they’re all fantastic.

Onstage with them are the Ladies in Waiting, the four-piece band that keeps everything driving forward: Valerie Maze (conductor/keys), Yonít Spiegelman (bass), Rose Laguana (guitar), and Camila Mennitte Pereyra (drums). And man, are they ever tight.

Beyond the fun, the show lands a clear point. It reframes these women through a modern lens, pushing back against the way history reduces them to a numbered list. They were real people, not just wives one through SIX. And when we treat them that way, we’re echoing the same patriarchal mindset that defined their lives in the first place. Unfortunately, that mindset doesn’t feel entirely like ancient history, even more so here in 2026, than it did when it opened.

Like Hamilton, SIX uses our modern perspective and contemporary music to illuminate the past, making it fresh and relevant again. See it now, before someone decides a show suggesting that women are people is too woke. And beyond musical theater fans, this is a fantastic show to bring your daughters to. I did. It’s empowering, entertaining, and might just spark some curiosity about the history behind it.

It’s Bring Your Daughter to the Theater Week

SIX runs through June 28th at the Ordway. For more information and to grab tickets, visit https://ordway.org/events/six/

If this sounds familiar, one, you have a great memory. And two, this review has been adapted from my previous takes on SIX.

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Come From Away Will Stop the World at Guthrie Theater and Transport You to Where The World Has Come Together

The cast of Come From Away Photo by Dan Norman

This was my fourth time seeing Come From Away (fifth if you count the Apple TV version), and somehow it keeps hitting harder. There is something very, very special about this show. My first two experiences were the original tour at the Orpheum, where the cast was dropping like flies from COVID and reinforcements were being flown in from all over the country, touring casts, Broadway understudies, maybe even a few folks who had just recently left the show and still knew the tracks. Which, honestly, feels completely in the spirit of Come From Away. Then came the Ordway’s chance to host the tour. Now the Guthrie gives us the first local production, and it’s my favorite of the bunch. If you’ve never seen it, now is the time.

If you somehow don’t know it, the show tells the true story of nearly 7,000 airline passengers diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, on 9/11, and the small town that took them in. Yes, it deals with that day, but this isn’t a downer. It acknowledges the trauma, but also shows us the resilience and compassion that saw us through that dark time. You’ll feel the weight of it, but I assure you this is a musical that uplifts the audience. The painful moments come, but the emotions we feel are cathartic.

The Cast From Come From Away Photo by Dan Norman

Why does this production outshine the Broadway touring productions? I think there are a couple of things at play here. First is that, as powerful as the show has been since its first performance, the kindness and selflessness at its heart feel all the more profound given the current trajectory of the world. I grew up hearing my parents and people of their generation talk about where they were when JFK was assassinated. For my generation, that cultural touchstone is 9/11. At a time when the world often feels divided, seeing this moment, when people came together to support one another, lands with even greater impact. There are also scenes that touch on our darker tendencies, including the seeds of xenophobia that 9/11 planted. But it never loses sight of what people can be at their best.

This is a show about community, a community that comes together to take in these stranded souls. The community of Islanders and those “from away” that forms over the five days in which they are thrown together. You see it in the way actors flew in from all over the country during that first tour visit at the Orpheum. And maybe community is another reason this production is so great. I look around the stage and see all of these people I’ve been watching, writing about, and sometimes even interviewing over the last seven years. I see the community I’ve become a part of. It’s our community telling this story now, and that adds something extra. I see actors I’ve followed and sung the praises of, bringing this show to life. I’m moved, as always, by their talent. There is the added thrill of seeing some of them at the Guthrie for the first time.

Local favorites making their Guthrie debuts include Matthew Hall, who must be on leave from Guys and Dolls out at Chanhassen, where he brought the house down with his performance of “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat.” He’s terrific here as well. We also have Kate Beahen and Jennifer Grimm, both stellar in their Guthrie debuts.

Then there are familiar local favorites like Eric Morris, who is terrific as the Mayor; Katie Bradley, Jon Hegge, Jim Lichtscheidl, Ann Michels, and a seriously unrecognizable Angela Timberman. The cast is just amazing, including some out-of-towners, especially Soara-Joye Ross as Beverley, one of the airplane pilots.

I have to hand it to the Guthrie’s Resident Casting Director, Jennifer Liestman, not just for finding the perfect cast, but for giving so many of our local favorites their Guthrie debuts. We only have three non-locals in the cast, and they are perfect in their roles: Soara-Joye Ross, Evan Balasubramaniam, and Justin Keyes.

Director Kent Gash keeps the whole thing moving at breakneck speed. It runs without intermission, and from the moment it starts, it doesn’t stop to breathe, except for a brief technical hiccup right after “In the Bar/Heave Away,” but they reset and jumped right back in. Honestly? Since “Heave Away” is one of my favorite moments, it felt like a bonus round. No complaints here

Before I sign off, I have to acknowledge the musicians and Musical Director J. Oconer Navarro. If you are one of those low-down weasels who slinks out during the curtain call, I’ll warn you not to this time. Seeing the band join the cast onstage and get some appreciation as they jam is the cherry on top of this delicious musical. And while I’m on the subject, I’ll just say this: I think it’s a classless thing to leave without applauding the performers who just spent an evening doing their best to entertain you. Stay, clap, be a decent human. I have to go home and usually stay up writing until the review is done and posted, and I would never consider behaving like that. Just had to say it, its been building up for a while, and Come From Away inspires that kind of cathartic release.

Come From Away uses music to weave a tapestry that taps into our collective trauma and allows us to face it through the humanity of people forced together, who rose up and found the best in themselves. There is a running bit where the Newfoundlanders say you’d do the same. Would I? would you? I’m guessing yes. Would our country? absolutely not. I think we would have in 2001, but Trump would likely refuse to let any plans land in the US if this happened elsewhere. Come From Away runs through August 9th at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.guthrietheater.org/whats-on/come-from-away/

Once Upon a Mattress is a Beautiful Thing When Performed By Unlabeled Theatre Co.

Rachel Moquist and Mason Green (foreground) Natalie McComas and Adam Arnold (shadow Partners) Photo by Jordan Buckellew / JoyByJo.com

Faithful readers will know that I reviewed Once Upon a Mattress just under three weeks ago at Lakeshore Players, and I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about it. So why would I sit through it again so soon?

Because it’s being mounted by one of my favorite theater companies, Unlabeled Theatre Co.

This company exists to create opportunities for adults with disabilities to participate in theater. Every role is performed by an actor with a cognitive and/or physical disability or who is neurodivergent, paired with a neurotypical Shadow Partner. Together, the two performers share the role, performing it in unison. It sounds like it shouldn’t work, but it absolutely does, and it’s beautiful.

My chief concern with the Lakeshore Players production was the source material, which I found unfocused and nearly three hours long with an intermission. The first thing this production does right is cut the show down to a sharp, focused 70 minutes with no intermission. Gone is all the extraneous business, none of it missed. Unlabeled’s production hits all the key plot points, makes the story much easier to follow, and still includes all the best songs. About the only thing I missed was some comic business between the Queen and her son that helps clarify her motivations.

The plot adapts the familiar fairy tale of The Princess and the Pea, told in a fractured fairy tale style. In this kingdom, no one can marry until the Prince does. His mother, the Queen, devises such diabolical tests that every princess fails, largely because she has an unhealthily close relationship with her son and doesn’t actually want him to marry. Among those desperate to find the Prince a bride are Sir Harry and the pregnant Lady Larkin. Sir Harry ventures over the mountains and through the woods, not to Grandmother’s house, but to the swampy kingdom of the Marshlands and returns with Princess Winnifred, setting the Queen’s test in motion.

The cast is terrific and received a boisterous, well-deserved standing ovation. We often focus on our own enjoyment of a show, which is important, of course. But in a production like this, what stands out first is how much the cast is enjoying themselves, and that joy is infectious. It made the evening even more rewarding, if that’s possible. I can only imagine the pride the Shadow Partners feel watching their partners rise to the occasion and fully realize their potential as performers and storytellers. There may not be a more fulfilling acting experience in the Twin Cities.

Attending an Unlabeled Theatre Co. production feels like receiving a gift, a rare and meaningful one. It reminds us of the true power of theater: not just to entertain or instruct, but to create, to connect, and to share joy. You can’t watch this cast without recognizing the value of inclusivity and the sense of purpose these actors bring, not just in performing, but in performing well. They are fulfilling that deeply human need to tell stories and to foster empathy.

In a world where it can be hard to understand how people can remain unmoved by cruelty or contradiction, experiences like this matter. If anything can shift perspective, even just a little, it might be something like this: an honest, joyful, inclusive act of storytelling.

The last Unlabeled Theatre production sold out its entire run, and tonight’s performance had only a handful of empty seats. Get your tickets now, this is the kind of show that can restore your faith in humanity.

Once Upon a Mattress runs through May 24th at the Gremlin Theatre in St. Paul. For more information and tickets, visit https://unlabeledtheatre.org/

The Stages of MN delivered straight to your inbox. It’s the best way to make sure you never miss out on the theater action. To subscribe on a computer, enter your email address on the home page (right-hand side) and click subscribe. On mobile, scroll to the bottom of the page to find the same option. You can also follow me on Facebook @thestagesofmn and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

Once Upon a Mattress at Lakeshore Players

Once Upon a Mattress at Lakeshore Players in White Bear Lake is a case of the parts being more successful than the whole. It’s ultimately an enjoyable experience, though the musical itself and, to be honest, this production as well, is by no means a must-see. The show has a couple of memorable songs, but there’s a reason it isn’t performed very often. It’s a bit unfocused, though still serviceable. I suspect there’s been some script tweaking, as it felt surprisingly meta for a 1959 musical. I didn’t catch all of the pop culture references, there were definitely allusions to boy bands (a world I know nothing about), and likely other musical nods that went over my head. Younger or more in-the-know audiences may get more out of those moments.

The plot adapts The Princess and the Pea, padded out with enough additions to stretch to nearly three hours, including an intermission. To its credit, it doesn’t feel that long. If there’s a primary issue with this production, it’s likely budget and time, the perennial challenges of theater-making. This is an epic-length musical with a serviceable but bare-bones set design by Justin Hooper. The main set piece, a large staircase connected to a platform upstage that later transforms into the famous stack of mattresses, is an impressive build. However, it seems to have consumed much of the available resources, leaving little room to flesh out the rest of the set. They gamely try and get a lot of mileage out of a large red see through curtain, but it shows. One could argue for a simple, elegant aesthetic, but that doesn’t quite match the tone of this show.

It often feels like what works does so at the expense of something else. The costumes by Sarah Christenson, for example, include some genuinely inspired choices. The Minstrel, played perfectly by Devin Dolquist, is clearly styled after Elton John, and the costume is fantastic. Sir Harry’s look feels like it stepped out of a fairy tale and then got run through a hipster filter, and King Sextimus sports a ’70s Elvis-style white jumpsuit with a cape, another fun touch. But much of the rest of the cast is dressed in either jeans and T-shirts or corsets and bustiers. You get the sense that, with more time and budget, the entire design could have matched the creativity of those standout elements. Instead, the inconsistency contributes to an overall feeling of disjointedness, as though the production never quite comes together as a unified whole.

Thankfully, the cast is consistently strong. The secondary romantic pair, Sir Harry and Lady Larkin, are especially well played by Thomas Friebe and Lizzie Stuebs. They get a standout song in each Act, and both are highlights of the show. Sophia LaFave as Princess Winnifred fully leans into her big numbers, delivering them with just the right amount of attitude. And Maya Vagle as Queen Aggravain, delightfully overbearing and far too attached to her son, is fabulously over-the-top in all the best ways.

Once Upon a Mattress runs through May 17th at Lakeshore Players. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.lakeshoreplayers.org/mattress-season-73

The Full Monty From Theatre 55 Leaves Nothing to the Imagination Featuring Six Very “Brave” Performances

The Cast (who you can see much more of in the show) Photo by Dan Norman

The Full Monty is what it’s called, what it promises, and, I’m fairly certain, what it delivers. I say “fairly certain” because the show’s final reveal hinges on a well-timed lighting cue. The guys fully commit, and in the moment just before the blackout, there’s little doubt that once the G-strings are gone, so is everything else. So why, you might ask, should you go if they pull a trick at the end to prevent a clear look at their one-eyed trouser snakes? (Sorry—I saw Grumpy Old Men: The Musical on Sunday, and Grandpa’s one-liners are still rattling around in my head.)

Well, come on, if you want to see the penis’ (I don’t know what the plural is for penis, I’ve only ever had one of my own) of a bunch of men over 55 google it. You don’t really need to see the full package, because what you’re actually there for is the vulnerability, of both the performers and their characters. This show isn’t about sex or nudity; it’s about self-confidence, acceptance, being true to yourself, and showing up for each other. It’s about vulnerability, and who better to explore that than a group of men who often cope through toxic masculinity, bottling up feelings, and hiding fear and shame?

Based on the 1997 film of the same name, the musical relocates the story from Northern England to Buffalo, New York. Why? It doesn’t really matter, one economically depressed city facing mass unemployment looks a lot like another, and the story is universal. A group of out-of-work men, each desperate for their own reasons, money, dignity, or both, hatch a plan to raise cash by putting on a one night only strip show. The problem? Most of them aren’t in great shape, most can’t dance, and none have done anything like this before. The fun of the show, and it is fun, is watching them talk themselves from a ridiculous idea to the point where they’re ready to step onstage in front of a sold-out crowd.

There are some genuinely fun songs, highlights include “Big-Ass Rock,” “Big Black Man,” and “The Goods.” There are also a couple of surprisingly touching numbers, “You Rule My World” and “You Walk With Me,” both of which land with real emotional weight. I’m not going to lie, that’s part of the deal, remember, the performances are a little uneven. But honestly, that works for a show about a group of guys who no one would nominate as Chippendales material, trying to pull off a strip show. Nobodies bad, few are great, and they pretty much all completely win you over. Their willingness to give you everything they have, or at least a glimpse of it, is inspiring and genuinely endearing.

So go for the… peniseses (?) (I did try and Google “plural Penis” and may have some explaining to do to Mrs. The Stages of MN), but stay for a show about figuring out what really matters. And for the joy of watching a group of artists over 55 prove they’re not done playin’ yet.

But hurry, this show closes this weekend, April 19, at the Frey Theatre at St. Catherine University. For more information and tickets, visit https://theatre55.org/current-show/

Gutenberg! the Musical! A Historically Fictional Musical That’s so Funny it Should be Considered True!

Tom Reed and Dominic Schiro Photo by Dan Norman

Gutenberg! The Musical! And for good measure, I’m adding another “!”! Why does it deserve a third, and potentially fourth, “!” (I’m not sure, grammatically, if I needed end punctuation after the ! in “”) “.” ? Well, I’ll tell you why (which is when a harp would be strummed and I’d begin to sing), because this is the kind of show that led to the creation of The Stages of MN in the first place. Faithful readers will remember that the actual shows were Be More Chill and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. By some sort of mystical coincidence, the latter was, like Gutenberg! The Musical!, produced at Theater Latté Da, and the star of that show, Tyler Michaels King, is the director of this one. I assume your mind is now blown.

The show is about two best friends, Doug and Bud, who, thanks to a financial windfall, have rented the Ritz Theater for one night only to present the musical they’ve written together: Gutenberg! The Musical!. The musical (the show within the show) is about Johannes Gutenberg and the invention of the printing press. It is completely fictional and incredibly silly. But the piece is also a send-up of the musical theater form itself, and Doug and Bud get about as much stage time as the characters they portray. When I say “performance,” it’s really a staged reading, in which Doug and Bud play all the roles, aided by an ever-rotating collection of baseball caps to help the audience keep track of which of the dozens of characters they’re embodying at any given moment.

Tom Reed plays Doug. Regular Theater Latté Da patrons may recognize him from another Latté Da production, Stones in His Pockets, where he proved his skill at playing dozens of characters alongside a single fellow performer. A longtime Stages of MN favorite since appearing in one of my all-time favorite musicals, Interstate, he once again demonstrates the comedic timing and musical chops that make him a “must-see” performer for me.

Dominic Schiro first came to my attention a couple of years ago in Ten Thousand Things’ production of The Spitfire Grill, where I immediately found myself asking fellow bloggers, “Who is this guy?” He was far too good for me not to have noticed him before. I knew he could sing, now I know he’s also a gifted comedic actor. Reed and Schiro play off each other beautifully. They make it look effortless (it is not). The supportive banter between Doug and Bud feels genuinely heartfelt, even amid the extremely goofy dialogue, plot, songs, and overall conceit.

Tyler Michaels King is the perfect guiding force for this show. While the book itself is clever, so much of the humor comes from the performances. Michaels King is an accomplished improv performer, as is Reed, and I can only imagine the laughter in rehearsal as they explored blocking, added bits of stage business, shaped reactions, and fine-tuned all the details we don’t consciously see but absolutely feel. A tip o’ the hat as well (don’t ask me where the Irish accent came from [perhaps thinking about Stones in His Pockets] {which is set in Ireland}) to music director Jason Hansen, who even gets in on the action with a few well delivered lines of his own.

This is the kind of show that will have you chasing the theatrical dragon. It’s so fun, warm-spirited, and delightful that you’ll want to see more theater, always searching for that next show that gives you the same high. Do it. Keep going. For in theater, as I’m about to start always saying, here there be dragons!

Gutenberg! The Musical! runs through May 3 at Theater Latte Da. For more information, and to get your fix, visit
https://www.latteda.org/gutenberg-musical

Great Falls is Dark and Powerful, With Two Very Strong Performances at The Hive

Great Falls, by Minneapolis native Lee Blessing, is a heavy show about a road trip between a teenage girl and her stepfather. It opens in a way that immediately makes the audience uneasy, as it quickly becomes clear that the stepfather, whom she calls Monkey Man, is divorced from her mother. That, in itself, is fine; I firmly believe people divorce spouses, not children. But it’s also clear she does not want to be with him. We’re not entirely sure what’s happening at first, but it all feels very sketchy. The play tackles a number of difficult themes, including abuse and sexual assault.

Luckily, there are two very strong performances, by actors I don’t believe I’ve seen before, to guide us through the darkness. Andy Chambers plays Monkey Man, somehow making dialogue that could feel untethered from reality, particularly early on, seem plausible, if still a bit opaque. I think Blessing wants us to feel off-balance, unsure of what’s happening and why. Honestly, I’m not sure we ever fully understand that part. I mean, we do, but what is wrong with this man that he thinks this is an appropriate way to stay connected to Bitch (which is what she insists on being called)? He keeps insisting he’s not committing any crimes, but he absolutely, technically, is.

Reanna Madson plays Bitch, and as the stepfather of a girl who is shockingly similar (thankfully without the trauma), I can say her performance feels very genuine. Whether she’s being difficult and combative or delivering difficult information, she is never anything but truthful. The two play well off each other, with Chambers perfectly capturing the challenge of trying to start a real conversation, and Madson’s character stubbornly refusing to give him any foothold.

Directed by local actor, lighting designer, and jack-of-all-trades Ariel Pinkerton, the show benefits from her understanding of the material and its triggers. She handles the subject matter with care and clarity.

The set design by Keven Lock is both a strength and a weakness. The production gets a lot of mileage out of two platforms that cleverly transform into everything from the dashboard of a car to motel beds, a clinic, and several other locations. Clever projections by Alita Robertson, especially during the driving sequences, enhance the sense of distance and movement. The downside is a series of slightly overlong scene transitions, where we sit in darkness watching the performers reconfigure the set.

Great Falls runs through April 5th at The Hive Collaborative in St. Paul. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.thehivecollaborativemn.com/events/7b0cg7xhh7bw5zknaa144n9ti7kdkk