In the Green at Elision Playhouse

In the Green by Grace McLean began a three week run last night at Elision Playhouse in Crystal MN. The Elision website summarizes the plot as:

“As a young girl, medieval saint, healer, visionary, exorcist, and composer Hildegard von Bingen was locked in a cloister’s cell after demonstrating a preternatural sensitivity to the world around her. Sequestered with Hildegard is Jutta, a woman who has spent her life secluded in an effort to recover a whole self after the deepest of trauma. Under Jutta’s guidance, Hildegard attempts to reassemble her own fragmented self while her mentor proselytizes a rejection of brokenness.”
Elision Theatre Website

So that tells you the outline but what it doesn’t prepare you for is how it tells that story. Hildegard is played by three different actors simultaneously each playing one of the pieces of Hildegard’s splintered self. Abilene Olson is Hand, Annie Schiferl is Eye, and Deidre Cochran is Mouth, it’s an astonishing collaborative performance, even when one part take center stage you feel as if the others are still a part of what is happening. The performances are highlighted by the exactness of their vocal synchronization, their voices sound hauntingly beautiful together and it is the music that makes this production worth checking out. Like Hildegard the character of Jutta is also played by two performers, Christine Wade plays the present Jutta while Emily Hensley plays the younger Jutta, listed in the program as Shadow, she is the darkness that Jutta has buried in her cell. Both also have incredible vocals, Wade has the added challenge of performing while operating a Looper board. This is a wonderful device that allows for the recording of a sound, vocal or otherwise, that can then be played in a loop while the same performers sing another part, allowing for the layering of sounds in unique ways. It’s also for me, as an audience member, a stressful tool as I worry about the tightrope act that operating the machine during a live performance. Hitting the wrong button could throw everyone off and ruin the flow and mood of the music.

When it comes to music “it had a nice beat and I could dance to it” is about the extent of my expertise so I’ll direct those interested in a more nuanced discussion of the musical elements to my fellow Twin Cities Theater Blogger Keith at Life in Revue https://lifeinrevue.blogspot.com/?m=1. What I can say is that It didn’t have a nice beat and you can’t dance to it, but it was amazingly complex and I found myself in awe of every aspect of the music. Harrison Wade’s musical direction and Christine Wade’s vocal direction are the high calibre one has come to expect from Theatre Elision. The Looper board adds a layer that could be used to make things easier on the music department but they use it to add complexity. The staging and design by Director/Designer Lindsay Fitzgerald is at once minimal but like the soundscape surprisingly complex. Using screens and projection in concert with Laina Grendle’s lighting design to accomplish visual what the Looper was doing aurally. Madeline Wall is the Movement Coordinator whose work seems to tie everything we see and hear together, making the complicated premise of three Actors simultaneously playing the same person work. This is a production you go to to see how talented people all collaborate to create a piece that feels cohesive in every possible way, nothing detracts from the atmosphere of the piece. Is it fun? No, there are a couple of line readings that get a chuckle, they are well placed, and lighten the mood when needed. At 90 minutes it’s the perfect length for something that is more to be appreciated than entertaining. It’s thoughtful and very impressive, and I enjoy something that’s a little more moody and serious sometimes.

In the Green runs through March 9th at the Elision Playhouse for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.elisionproductions.com/in-the-green

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Alice in Wonderland, Chaotically Hilarious, Visually Spectacular at Children’s Theatre Company

Anja Arora as Alice Photo by Glen Stubbe Photography

Alice in Wonderland The classic story by Lewis Carroll is brought to life in this original Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) production. The adaptation is by Sharon Holland and it pulls not only from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland but also from Carroll’s sequel Through the Looking Glass. The production is making it’s return after more than a decade featuring a wildly creative scenic and costume design by the late G.W. Mercier. I wasn’t a fan of CTC bringing back How the Grinch Stole Christmas for the second year in a row, I’m fine with companies bringing back their hits from time to time, and I acknowledge that the Guthrie does A Christmas Carol every year. This feels much more appropriate, there has been a nice long break. For children’s theater I think the old Disney model makes a lot of sense, before and during the early days of home video the company would re-release their animated films in theaters every 5 to 7 years, basically the cycle when a new group of children were at the appropriate ages to see them in the theater. This production is definitely one that should be brought back for each generation of young theatergoers to enjoy.

Enough praise cannot be given to this adaptation and the overall design and look of the production. The illusions and creative zaniness of the storytelling make this play like a live action episode of Animaniacs. Most of us over the age of 12 will know how certain tricks are done, but that doesn’t make them any less enjoyable. Those under 12 may just have their minds blown. It’s an tale of nonsense full of madness and reverse logic, the type of show one wonders who will enjoy it more, the kids or their parents? Too close to call. The cast is filled with brilliance, CTC company member Dean Holt is fantastic as among others The Mad Hatter and Humpty Dumpty. His tag team performance at the Tea Party with the always strong Nathan Keepers as the March Hare is a highlight of the show and the perfect snapshot of the tone of brilliantly constructed chaos that the show runs on. At the performance I attended the role of Alice was played by Anja Arora who alternates the role with Audrey Mojica. Arora is wonderful in the role and if she can hold her own in the sea an anarchy that is this production, you can bet she has a bright future ahead of her. Shout out to local favorites China Brickey, who really gets to let loose at the Queen of Hearts, whose favorite phrase is :Off With Her Head!!”. Also Taj Ruler whose knack for comedic line readings makes her the ideal actor to play the Cheshire Cat.

Alice in Wonderland is the type of show that can make lifelong theatergoers of young audiences and as such I highly encourage everyone with children between the ages of 6 and 14 to take them. I also highly recommend that those without kids go as well as it’s the kind of show that can make lifelong theatergoers out of adults as well. The show runs through March 31st at The Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://childrenstheatre.org/whats-on/alice-in-wonderland/

Honey, I’m Home a Hilarious Solo Show at Open Eye Theatre

Honey, I’m Home is Madeleine Rowe’s one house show which combines comic clowning, inspired physical theater and very clever writing. It’s part of Open Eye Theatre’s 2024 Guest Artist Series, and a remount of a successful run at The Southern Theater in 2022. I recently saw Rowe in Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some) at Yellow Tree Theatre and found her clowning most enjoyable. I expected some laughs, what I got were more laughs than you can shake a plunger at. I could explain that but like a lot of comedy shows the fun is in the unexpected, the laughs come from your spontaneous response to what his being presented. Open Eye Theatre is such a small but wonderful theater space, I’ve seen some of my favorite performances in this little theater with it’s tiny brick enclosed stage that usually feels like it’s about eight feet by eight feet. Tonight though, it felt especially spacious, possibly because it looked to have been freshly mown. Rowe plays a house for sale and it’s open house day so she’s a little bit excited. She’s very welcoming and even gives us, the audience, a pre-open house tour. That should give you the gist of the show. The entire performance is a direct address to the audience and you are expected to join in. The notoriously anti-audience participation Blogger Cherry and Spoon was able to avoid joining the show but I believe had a wonderful time with it as well. So don’t let that put you off.

Rowe is a first rate clown and performer, brave and impishly mischievous, she has the audience in stitches for 70 minutes straight, which is another wonderful aspect of the show, it’s about 70 minutes long and so no need for those annoying intermissions. Rowe could hold the audience all on her own without set and props and costumes and dummies, but the addition of those things pushed this into the realm of something really special. Roofs off to I’m Staying Home with Madeleine Rowe and Michael Torsch for their Set Design. Sound Design by Dan Dukich and Lighting by Ariel Pinkerton add the perfect touches. Whoever designed the projections and puppet work deserves a big round of applause, there’s a duet sung with the aid of those elements that is a moment where I realized this was exactly what I needed tonight. It was a hard day today and I almost stayed home to process, I’m so glad I didn’t as Madeleine Rowe and her brilliant show lifted me up when I most needed it. Honey, I’m Home runs through February 24th at Open Eye Theatre in South Minneapolis for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.openeyetheatre.org/honey-im-home

Bosom Buddies a Paired Down Drag Show That Goes the Sweet Rather Than Sour Route

I don’t have a lot of experience with Drag shows, but the ones I have seen have trended to the risque and/or Diva end of the spectrum. For this performance Timothy Kelly, co-founder and Managing Director of Fringe favorites Melancholics Anonymous and local operatic soprano, Gillian Gauntt make their Drag debuts to promising results. I’m really shockingly uninformed on drag culture so apologies if I misunderstand or mistate anything, please feel free to correct me in the comments as I do endeavor to get these things right and learn. This show contains a bit of a narrative, albeit underwritten about two performers a Drag King and a Drag Queen who are accidently booked to perform at the same time. After a little sass they decide to take turns performing sets. Antagonistic at the outset, by the end they are becoming friends, though their duet “Bosom Buddies” show they still have a little sting in them. Rather than battle it out between songs throughout the evening they pretty much take turns doing a few songs with a little genial interaction at the changeovers. It’s just the two of them and Nick Love doing a fabulous job tickling the ivories, I’m not even sure there was anyone in the tech booth. This is not that supper polished 5 Drag Queens with 17 1/2 costume changes each, disco balls, and glitter & tinsel in dizzying amounts. Kelly has a costume change during intermission, and Gauntt loosens their tie, the lights just sort of stay on at an appropriate level. My feeling, this is a first stab to see if it’s worth developing, and I for one think it is.

Gauntt is dressed as a man with beard stubble applied with makeup. They dress as male but sings songs in the range of a female, what’s a soprano to do? Kelly dresses as female and sings like a female in a somewhat smokey voice that reminded me of Lauren Bacall. If the point is to attempt to plausibly perform as the gender that fits the costume and character name, Kelly triumphs. The wig, the voice, the vocal quality, and indeed the character. I suspect that singing is Gauntt’s specialty and that acting is not their first love. The performance is fine it’s just missing that little something that a born actor like Kelly can’t help but bring to any role. I didn’t allow myself to get to hung up on the rules of gender transformation if there are any, instead I sat back and enjoyed the two performers voices which are both exceptionally good. Their song choices frequently fit into the slight narrative of the show about half or two thirds of them I knew, which I appreciate. I hope they continue to develop these characters and flesh out the show, I’d definitely be in for the next incarnation. It’s a little, not rough, but not polished, but it’s also really kinda sweet where it ends up and there are a couple of really fun songs and some beautiful ones. I’m glad I stopped over to the Phoenix Theater to check it out. Tickets are on a sliding scale from $10 to $40 the show runs this weekend only for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://tix.gobo.show/events/event/kOTpBfuSZmpxTz4yVqcc

Take a Chance on Mamma Mia at the Orpheum Theatre It’s worth the “Money Money Money”

Jalynn Steele, Christine Sherrill, and Carly Sakolove Photo by Joan Marcus

Mamma Mia! the musical premiered in April of 1999 in London, almost 25 years ago now, in fact this current tour is the 25th Anniversary tour. I suspect it has more or less been playing in one of the major cities or on tour nonstop for those 25 years. There is a reason for that, it’s “Super Trouper” fun. But for all the fun it provides it also has a cross to bear. While Jukebox musicals existed before Mamma Mia! it’s phenomenal success is credited or blamed for the surge the genre has experienced in the last quarter of a century. While it may not be fair to blame Mamma Mia! for something as ridiculous as The Bodyguard it just takes a quick glance through the wikipedia listing of Jukebox Musicals to see the explosion that followed Mamma Mia! The 8th longest running musical in Broadway history it’s popularity is undeniable, but is it for everyone? Of course not, nothing is, if you don’t like the music of Abba for instance this probably isn’t the ticket for you. But if you do enjoy a little bit of “Dancing Queen” in your life and enjoy a good laugh then say “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do” to a seat as close to the stage as you can manage. For those just rescued from a desert island the story centers around the wedding of Sophie and Sky. Sophie, after reading her Mother’s Diary for the year of her birth has discovered that her Father, of whom she knows nothing, is one of three men her mother had relationships with the summer she was conceived. She has sent invitations to her wedding in her mother Donna’s name to all three of the men, Sam, Harry, and Bill, without Donna’s knowledge. While Sophie tries to figure out which of the three men is her father, Donna is trying to prepare for the wedding, run her Greek Island hotel, and face three men from her past that she never thought she’d see again. There to support Donna are her two best friends and former singing partners Rosie and Tanya. All of this sung to the legendary music of Swedish super band ABBA.

Two things to know going into this production it’s loud, near rock concert levels, those with sensitive ears might want to invest in some earplugs. the second thing is that the loudness is part of what makes it such a memorable night, precisely because it feels like a rock concert! Nowhere more so than the curtain call which plays like an encore and a welcome excuse to revisit the songs “Mamma Mia” and “Dancing Queen” as well as the song that launched ABBA to stardom in 1974 but could not conceivably be shoehorned into the plot “Waterloo“. If you are one of those curmudgeons who sneak out during the curtain call to beat the line out of the parking ramp, you’ll miss some great stuff. Also, shame on you, these people just spent two and a half hours dancing and singing their hearts out, show your appreciation to them for sharing their talent with you and clap for God’s sake. The show moves along quickly the set design by Mark thompson is very simply but does everything you need from it. It’s nice to see a production that wows us with people rather than spectacle. Choreographer Anthony Van Laast puts together some nice scenes, I really enjoyed his work durning the song “Lay All Your Love On Me” which ends with Sky and his friends in wetsuits and flippers doing a variation on a chorus line. The encore also features some really nice dance moves, so there’s another reason to stick around.

The standouts in the cast are not necessarily who you’d expect, far and away my two favorites are Jalynn Steele and Carly Sakolove as Donna’s besties Tanya and Rosie. Confession time, I’ve only seen the film once when it came out in 2008 and hated it, primarily because I found the performances of these two characters and that of Donna’s to be shrill and one prolonged two hour screech. I do plan to revisit to see if my opinion has changed, because it’s all that stuff with Tanya and Rosie that I absolutely adored in the stage production. Steele and Sakolove are gifted at making their routines feel like they are happening for the first time, if physical humor can be called witty, this is it. Their song sung to Donna while trying to cheer her up “Chiquitita” is one I’d pay to see again. It doesn’t hurt that that scene flows right into Dancing queen and in both songs they demonstrate, that as good as everyone else is on the stage, those two are packing the best voices in the show. Sakolove also gets a riotous song with Jim Newman’s Bill “Take a Chance on Me“, that brings the house down. A close second is Victor Wallace as Sam, the possible father who is the one who really broke Donna’s heart and the one she’s not even a little happy to see. He doesn’t really get a chance to show off his voice until the second act when he gets two songs in close proximity “SOS” and “Knowing Me, Knowing You“. The richness of his voice catches you a little of guard as nothing up until that point led you to believe he could sing any better than Pierce Brosnan. Christine Sherrill who plays Donna had a slightly off first act, one of my colleagues who is more musically astute than I am felt like she was a little behind and that led to a sense that her voice wasn’t as strong as the others. Whatever the issue was it seemed to have evaporated during the intermission as she finished the show quite strong with “The Winner Takes it All” being a powerhouse of a performance.

Mamma Mia runs through February 11th at the Hennepin Theatre Trust’s Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://hennepintheatretrust.org/events/mamma-mia-orpheum-theatre-minneapolis-mn-2024/ . Side note, am I the only person who can’t hear “Knowing Me, Knowing You” without thinking of Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge character?

Toil & Trouble a Millennial Retelling of the Scottish Play at Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo

Olivia Kemp, Jason Ballweber, and Alex Galick Photo by Alex Clark

I’m not an expert of shakespeare but I am a fan so I try to and engage with his work whenever I can. I’m not a purist either, I love a good retelling or modern take, everything from Branagh’s Love’s Labours Lost to Strange Brew has a place in my film collection. Toil & Trouble by acclaimed playwright Lauren Gunderson is a modern riff on Macbeth set during the 2008 recession featuring thee thirtysomething friends who, inspired by a fortune cookie, conspire to take over a small island country off the coast of Chile. You know, instead of getting real jobs. Adam and Matt sit around their apartment as Adam comes up with one hairbrained idea after another for inventions to make money, while Matt shoots them down. Their friend Beth is a junior Sportscaster for Action 6 News whom they both “like” like. The characters have morals on par with the characters on Seinfeld, Adam hatches the plan, Matt follows along thanks to a fortune cookie message that says “Matt will be King hereafter”, and Beth is ruthless ambition incarnate. What starts as a strong comedic play about slacker roommates and the friend they both want to get with takes some very strange turns as it attempts to tell it’s story while loosely following some aspects of Shakespeare’s Scottish play. What is recognizable at the start as our world peopled by characters we can recognize, if not relate too, by the end has become a complete fantasy with the characters frequently interspersing their dialogue with snippets from Shakespeare. It’s an odd approach that doesn’t entirely add up to much and the fault dear readers is not with the production but in the script. I loved everything about the production, the performances, the design, but the sum of its parts left me wishing these elements were in service of a better script.

Jason Ballweber who usually is to be found behind the scenes plays Matt in a performance that goes a long way to making this near miss still worth checking out. His Matt and Alex Galick’s Adam end up complete opposites by the end of the play from where they started. As it opens, Ballweber plays Matt as the realistic, intelligent, and more mature seeming of the two, has an air of authority over the flighty Adam who thinks anything that Rhymes is an innovation. By the end he’s a pug snorting follower who passes out at the sight of hot sauce whereas Adam has become confident and holds the upper hand. Both actors handle the transition well and make the reversal seem plausible. Olivia Kemp plays Beth as someone who knows what they want and how to get it, masterfully playing off the men’s desire for her to manipulate them into doing exactly what she wants. Well directed by Brandon Raghu who along with Lighting Designer Alex Clark stages a dramatic looking play to be sure. I also enjoyed the set design by Sarah Brandner which has a depth that is well utilized particularly in a scene when Adam comes home late at night and leaves the refrigerator door open after heading to bed in the pitch black apartment.

Ultimately, I enjoyed much of the production but found the script absurd and out there but in an unfulfilling or engaging way. Gunderson’s idea of filling the final scene with Shakespearean dialogue is less effective that the modern rewordings or nods used earlier in the play. She needed to go one way or the other. The plot is insane but not in a ‘this is wild’ way, but more I can’t find any sort of grounding for this story so that it lands with some sort of impact. It’s a rare for a script by Gunderson not to work completely but this just comes up short. That said, there’s enough good stuff on offer with the play to make it a fun excursion to the theatre. Having a decent knowledge of Macbeth will increase your appreciation of the piece, some humor really does work only if you know the play. Also, it feels like my fellow bloggers and I have been saying this a lot lately but if your play can be done in 100 minutes or less, you don’t need an intermission. Toil & Trouble runs through March 3rd at Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo, for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://yellowtreetheatre.com/toilandtrouble

Cabaret From Theatre 55 is Risque and Relevant at Mixed Blood in Minneapolis

This was my first time taking in one of Theatre 55’s productions. The unique theatre company that was formed as a way to give those over 55 a chance to continue to play the roles they were no longer being offered by most other companies. Past productions include Hair and most recently last years sold out run of Rent. I don’t know if it’s the companies mission to only produce shows with one word titles but this winters production continues that theme with Cabaret. Cabaret features a book by Joe Masteroff with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, and is based in part of the Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood which I recall listening too on audiobook when I was about the age of the characters in this musical. It’s interesting to revisit that world at about the age of the performers, perhaps a hair younger. Anyone familiar with the material will know this isn’t a show to take the kiddies to, even if Grandma and Grandpa are it in it. I think the recommended age is about 16, in terms of bladder strength it’s recommended for those with strong to heavy duty organs. The first act runs easily 90 minutes and with a late start and a word about the company before hand your looking at 100 minutes before the interval. The second act runs around 30 minutes which seems unbalanced but it’s hard to argue with the placement of the intermission, it’s the turning point in the play and lands powerfully.

The story follows Cliff played by Jeff Goodson, a novelist who has come to Berlin to write and give english lessons for extra cash. On the train he meets Ernst played by Jeff Bieganek, who is smuggling something across the border. Ernst helps him find a room in Frau Schneider’s boarding house and introduces him to the Kit Kat Klub where Cliff runs into an old lover named Bobby and meets Sally Bowles who performs there. Sally played by Prudence Johnson loses her job at the club and more or less forces herself on Cliff becoming his roommate despite his protestations. Frau Schneider is bought off by the increase in rent and perhaps because she has a soft spot for what she assumes are young lovers. She is carrying on a flirtation with Mr. Schultz another one of her tenants who woos her with fresh fruit from his shop. This is Berlin in the late 1930’s and it is revealed early on in conversation that Schultz is Jewish, and from there you can get a sense of where the story is inevitably heading, but for the most part until the final scene Act I is a Cabaret of old chums.

The clubs Emcee is played by Rik Kutcher who, like most performers before him in the role, steals the show every time he’s on stage. Let us not forget that Joel Grey won the Tony for the original Broadway production and Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the role in the 1972 film directed by Bob Fosse. Alan Cumming also won a Tony for the role in the 1998 revival. It’s a juicy highly eroticized role that is a hell of a lot of fun and Kutcher slays. He sings and performs wickedly good throughout the production but raised it vocally to another level with his rendition of “I Don’t Care Much”. It feels like there should be something extra shocking about the roles of the Kit Kat Klub performers both male and female who, it is more than implied, are also sex workers. But it isn’t and I think that’s the point of Theatre 55 to show us that age doesn’t matter. These are actors playing roles and the older you get the more the idea that good times and indeed sex itself are the exclusive purview of the young becomes more and more silly. Johnson as Sally is most at home with the singing aspects of the role, which is how she primarily spends her time in front of audiences. You can tell that acting isn’t where her primary training is, she does well in the role but the imbalance toward the vocal is noticeable, chiefly because she has such a fantastic voice. Goodson is also very good as Cliff, the role doesn’t require much in the way of singing from him but when he does get a few bars, it’s clear he would do just fine had the role called for more. The other favorite among the cast was Brenda Starr, not the 1940’s comic strip heroine, a current actor who plays the role of Frau Schneider. She isn’t the best performer on the stage, but there is a truth and authenticity to her that stands out, don’t be surprised if you come away with a warm feeling about her performance that you can’t explain but stays with you.

Richard Hitchler the founder of Theatre 55 produces and directs the show. Hitchler blocks the show using all areas available to him, even some of the audience become part of the act as their tables and chairs double as customer seating in the Kit Kat Klub. The space is limited but Hitchler definitely makes the most of it, it’s a well directed show with the exception of the curtain call, which contains a good message that is lost a little bit in what feels like an under rehearsed presentation, but I think that will improve greatly over the run of the show. With the band center stage throughout the show we get a chance to watch Musical Director Shirley Mier and her band at work. It’s wonderful how they are costumes as well, so they are essentially part of the cast as the Kit Kat Klub band. Costume Designer Alicia Vegell must have had a blast putting the look of this show together, it’s risque and cheeky and just plan old naughty fun. But aside from the fun there is a message that seems very relevant today, as Cliff says if you are not against it you are for it. I’m not sure that I saw any added layer that emerged from the story or themes of the musical by the casting of actors over 55 but I did learn that age is just a number, an actor is an actor and that in theater, we should be looking at the performance not counting wrinkles and gray hairs.

Cabaret runs through February 10th at Mixed Blood in Minneapolis for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://theatre55.org/cabaret-winter-2024/