"Some Like It Hot" Broadway tour at the Orpheum Theatre

I saw the new musical adaptation of the 1959 comedy classic film Some Like It Hot on Broadway in 2023, and loved it more than I expected to. I was unfamiliar with the film at the time, but have since learned that the musical stays fairly true to the plot of the film, but with a few tweaks that make it feel refreshingly modern and relevant. When I saw it on Broadway I wrote, "this is a show that is perfect for touring." It is at its heart an old-fashioned musical comedy show, with a fabulous score, thrilling dance numbers, and hilarious comedy that I heard an audience member refer to as "corny as hell." But it's almost subversive in the way that it works in issues of trans acceptance, feminism, and overcoming racism. I'm thrilled that it's touring around America in this time when we need more of all of that, and that one of the first stops on the tour is right here in Minneapolis. So don't walk, don't run, but tap briskly down the street as if gangsters were chasing you to get to the Orpheum Theatre to see this fantabulous new musical before Joe, Daphne, and the gang tap on out of town! Click here for tickets, including student/educator rush tickets.

"Holmes/Poirot" at Park Square Theatre

A year and a half after cancelling the remaining shows in their 2022-2023 season, Park Square Theatre is back! After experiencing financial difficulties, they took a season off to reassess and regroup, and are coming back with a four-show season on their main stage in the Historic Hamm Building in downtown St. Paul. First up is one of those cancelled shows - a world premiere new mystery combining two of literature's favorite detectives. Holmes/Poirot was inspired by a dream that Steve Hendrickson (who has played Holmes multiple times) had, and told to prolific local playwright Jeffrey Hatcher. The result is not one but two thrilling and well-plotted mysteries, brought to life by a fantastic nine-person cast. Park Square has a long history of presenting summer mysteries, and while it is now finally, thankfully, fall, Holmes/Poirot fits well in that popular tradition. Playing Thursdays through Sundays until November 3.

"Afterlife: The Experience" by Sparkle Theatricals at the Wabasha Street Caves

I know Sparkle Theatricals for their dance and movement-based shows, but they also produce more immersive, experiential work. My first experience with the latter is their current production, Afterlife: The Experience, running for one more night only at the Wabasha Street Caves. I'll admit, part of the draw was to see the Caves, built into the sandstone bluffs on the Mississippi River across from St. Paul originally as storage, and later turned into a speakeasy during Prohibition with rumored visits from some of the era's most notorious gangsters. Now it's an event center, and a very cool theater venue. The conceit of Afterlife is that we're all (recently) dead, and our souls have arrived at the Caves on our way to somewhere else. A number of previously departed souls are there to guide us on our way. I found it to be overall a unique, interesting, and fun experience, although parts of it were a little too interactive and participatory for this introvert (I don't want to be part of the storytelling, I want to be a witness to it). A mix of theater, storytelling, party games, food and drinks, and dance, you have one more chance to enter the Afterlife on October 25.

"Irving Berlin's White Christmas" at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

It may still feel like summer outside, but winter has arrived at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres! The #TCTheater holiday* season begins early this year with their production of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, a nostalgic and heartwarming charmer. And demand for it is high - the show is already virtually sold out in the months of November and December (more availability in October and January). Audiences will be rewarded will a ridiculously talented cast, familiar and beloved Berlin tunes (more than we hear in the movie), thrilling dance numbers, and an overall warm glow that'll prepare us for holiday celebrations and (hopefully) a snowy winter to come.

"RENT" at Artistry

Whenever someone asks me what my favorite musical is, I usually respond that while there are many musicals I love, only one is permanently tattooed on my body. Ever since it exploded in 1996, when I was a grad student living on my own for the first time, RENT has had a special hold over my heart, unmatched by any of my other musical theater loves. Something about Jonathan Larson's story of friendship, community, living fully in the face of death, and appreciating life every day, struck a chord with me and continues to do so. Seeing Artistry's new production last night was my 18th time seeing it live, and I was reminded all over again why I love it so much. This brilliant cast pouring their hearts and souls into every poignant, funny, heart-breaking, or inspiring moment of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical brought tears to my eyes, frequently. And although I've seen the show many times, the majority of those productions were the Broadway/touring production, which I know like the back of my hand. So it was fun and exciting, as someone who has loved this musical for 28 years (likely longer than some of the cast has been alive), to see a fresh new take on it, and discover new things in it. Whether you've seen RENT a hundred times, or never seen it, you truly need to get yourself out to Bloomington to experience this wonderful new production. No day but today to get your tickets! (Continuing through October 27.)

"Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations" Broadway tour at the Ordway Center

The trend of biomusicals about musicians and their lives and careers has reached The Temptations, one of the most successful groups to come out of Motown. Ain't Too Proud is based on a book written by Otis Williams, one of the founding members, and the musical's book was written by acclaimed playwright Dominique Morisseau, whose plays have been produced by several local theaters. The musical is similar in structure to Jersey Boys, one of the first (and in my opinion best) biomusicals, which follows the life of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. In both musicals the story of the group is narrated by its members, but there's just one narrator here - Otis Williams. He tells the story of The Temptations directly to the audience, from their formation, to their early hits, to the rotating door of members. And it's chock full of great Motown hits of the '60s and '70s, by other artists as well as The Temptations. The tour first came to town two years ago (at the Orpheum*), and is now bringing its high energy, sharp choreography, and classic hits to the Ordway for one week only.

"Speechless" by The Moving Company at Jungle Theater

The Moving Company is remounting their 2017 original piece Speechless, although I think it's more of a reimagining than a remounting. It is once again directed by co-Artistic Director Dominique Serrand and starring co-Artistic Director Steven Epp and Producing Artistic Director Nathan Keepers, but the other three company members have changed. So while maybe the framework is the same (loosely speaking, a group of friends mourning the death of a friend), the new ensemble members bring their own talents and skills to the equation, resulting in something new and different. Truthfully, I don't remember many details about this show from seven years ago other than there were literally no words, and it was unique and inventive and moving. So it was like a new and surprising show to me, and I was able to enjoy each delightful and sometimes mysterious turn. For that reason I won't give too many details about what happens in the show, because you need to experience that yourself without any preconceptions. So head to the Jungle before November 10, let go of expectations about narrative form, and enjoy the speechless but not silent experience of Speechless.

"Measure for Measure" by The Birth Play Project at A-Mill Artist Lofts

My favorite new theater company of 2022, The Birth Play Project, is back, this time with a new twist on a classic. Their new play with music Mary’s Wondrous Body, based on a so-bizarre-it-must-be-true story of a woman who claimed to give birth to rabbits, was indeed wondrous. Now this company whose mission is "to place birth in public memory by developing representational practices for staging reproductive stories" is presenting Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. If you're wondering, "what does this play have to do with birth?," you're not alone. I've seen this play a few times before, and it's always been Isabella's story, a soon-to-be nun who is offered a chance to save her brother Claudio from death, if she sleeps with his accuser Angelo. But so far in the background that I even forgot she was there, is Juliet, Claudio's not-quite-wife, who is pregnant with his child (the crime with which they're both charged). This adaptation by Madeline Wall and William Edson, who also direct the piece, puts the focus on this forgotten woman who is quietly (or not so quietly) giving birth while the other actions of the play swirl around her. It's an engaging and entertaining take on this classic that explores a hidden side of it, and makes one wonder what other birth stories are hiding in the background, waiting to be told. Click here to find out more about The Birth Play Project and to purchase tickets to one of their two remaining performances at Saint John the Evangelist Episcopal Church and Elision Playhouse.