Musical Mondays at Lush, November 2024

Today is a big day in America, and there's no place I would have rather spent the evening before this momentous election day than at the 100th installment of Musical Mondays. BFFs Max Wojtanowicz and Sheena Janson Kelly started this monthly cabaret series at Hell's Kitchen in downtown Minneapolis 12 years ago, with the dream of having someplace where local music-theater performers could share their talents, and maybe show a new side of themselves, in a fun and casual setting. Since then, this dream has become a reality, and a staple in #TCTheater entertainment, with a move to LUSH Bar in Northeast Minneapolis (and a couple years off due to a global pandemic). They celebrated this milestone with a larger than usual cast of all-stars, plus the return of some old favorites. As usual, it was a wonderful evening of fun, entertainment, and community, made especially poignant by the timing of it. One of the performers, the divine Erin Schwab, talked about how she's performed for decades amidst all kinds of trouble and strife in the word. And that her job is to give us permission to laugh, to have fun, and to have hope, no matter what is happening outside the walls of the theater. I don't know what's going to happen today, or this week, or next year, but I know that we need to continue to support live theater. The arts are a vital part of our economy, a vital part of our democracy, celebrating free speech and protest and all the things we hold dear as Americans, as well as engendering empathy for those we think are different from us, but are really the same at heart. And no matter what happens, we're going to need more of that going forward from this day.

Some 450 performers have graced the Musical Mondays stage in the last 12 years, from the biggest local stars to up-and-coming performers, as well as 40+ musicians. For this show, original music director Jason Hansen returned as music director and piano accompanist, with Kellie Nitz on bass and Matt Nielsen on drums. In addition to the two hosts, the performers included Doug Anderson, Bradley Beahen, China Brickey, Serena Brook, Jen Burleigh-Bentz, John Jamison, Wes Mouri, Erin Schwab, each one a gem I wish we could have heard more from. Part of the fun is trying to guess which musical the song they sing is from (if they don't introduce it), until the songlist is posted on Facebook after the show. Last night we heard:

• Out of the Blue (The Wild Party) - Jen
• Memory (Cats) - Bradley
• Door Number Three (cut from Waitress) - China (if this was her audition for Artistry's production next year, she gets my vote!)
• Making Love Alone (by Cheryl Hardwick and Marilyn Miller) - Doug
• Quiet (by Jonathan Reid Gealt) - Sheena
• Old Friends (Merrily We Roll Along) - Max, Sheena, Robbie, Ruthie, Whitney, and Elizabeth (a perfect song for some of the Musical Monday originals)
• One Day More (Les Miserables) - all (a perfect election eve song)
• Preview: Marquee and Muse: The Winter Sequel (see these ridiculously talented high schoolers perform in their cabaret series at The Hive Collaborative)
• Preview: What We Are (Weird in Public) (also ridiculously talented and also performing in a cabaret at The Hive)
• Bring On The Men (Jekyll and Hyde) - Wesley
• I’m the Greatest Star (Funny Girl) - Serena (somebody please do a production of this show and cast Serena in the lead - stat!!)
• Early in the Morning (Five Guys Named Moe) - John
• Colored Lights (The Rink) - Erin
• Great Adventure (Kimberly Akimbo) - all

The evening was too packed to do the usual post-show plug of upcoming projects for each of the performers, but you can see all of them performing around town somewhere. They did have time for the raffle (which you can enter for just a $5 donation), which this month included tickets to Theater Latte Da's Cinderella, The Little Mermaid at the Ordway, and Lakeshore Players Theatre's A Christmas Carol. But not only that, they also gave away 15 swag bags full of fun Wicked-themed items, including passes to a pre-screening of the movie!

We concluded the 100th Musical Mondays (my 22nd in attendance) with a champagne toast. To Max, to the #TCTheater community, and to democracy! Mark your calendars for the 101st Musical Mondays on December 2. Watch their Facebook page for details.

the cast of Musical Mondays #100 (photo credit: @cherryandspoon Instagram)