"A Year with Frog and Toad" at Children's Theatre Company

The Tony-nominated musical A Year with Frog and Toad has returned to where it began - the Children's Theatre. It's been back a few times since its brief 2002 Broadway run and subsequent nominations. I first saw it in 2017, and much of this review is borrowed from what I wrote then, since many of the production elements remain the same. But I had forgotten just how delightful this show is. Based on Arnold Lobel's children's books about the friendship between a frog and a toad and commissioned by his daughter Adrianne Lobel, whose original scenic design is used in this production, Frog and Toad is an utterly charming musical. Like many shows at CTC, it's designed with children in mind, but its sweet and simple story is so clearly and entertainingly told that it's a joy for all to behold. This is the final show directed by Artistic Director Peter C. Brosius, who is retiring after 27 years and countless incredible productions, many of them world premieres. This playful, funny, and sweet show is a wonderful swan song for Peter (continuing through June 16).

"Hells Canyon" by Theater Mu at Jungle Theater

The world premiere new play Hells Canyon is a revenge fantasy, in which the revenge comes almost 140 years after the crime - the murder of 34 Chinese goldminers in Oregon. The spirits of the murder victims are restless, and use a group of friends having a fun getaway at a cabin to enact their revenge. It's modern dramedy-horror with social commentary, in the vein of Get Out. Horror isn't really my thing, but this play is thrilling. It'll make you laugh, and think, and feel, and maybe jump out of your seat a little. Theater Mu's production is brilliantly cast with an incredible design that pulls off some real scares, and it's a must-see, especially if you're a fan of the horror genre (and even if you're not). It plays at the Jungle Theater* Wednesdays through Sundays until March 17. 

"An American Tail: The Musical" at Children's Theatre Company

How did it take more than 35 years for the animated movie musical An American Tail to be adapted into a stage musical?! I guess because it's not part of the Disney machine. But for anyone who has been waiting for it, this world premiere production at Children's Theatre Company is worth the wait! And it couldn't come at a better time, with the recent rise in anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant sentiment (although sadly that's never gone out of style). This "American Tail" shows us the best version of America, where "anything is possible if we work together." Unfortunately there are indeed cats* in America (read: anti-Semitism, racism, sexism, classism, ignorance, poverty, oppression), but if oppressed groups work together instead of fighting against each other, as the oppressors try to make them do, we can make a world in which everyone can achieve the American dream - the one that's promised to everyone but denied to many. That sounds like a lot for a kids' show, but it's also a really fun and engaging show that's such a joy to watch, no matter your age. It doesn't feel like a "lesson," but kids may walk away with a better understanding of the immigrant experience and the inclusive community America was always meant to be.  Or better yet - their parents will, because grown-ups seem to be the ones who don't get it these days.

"Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley" at the Jungle Theater

It's the most wonderful time of the year* - time to return to Christmas at Pemberley at the Jungle Theater. Playwrights Lauren Gunderson (one of the most produced playwrights in the country, often writing plays about women in history, particularly in STEM) and Margot Melcon have created the most delightful Jane Austen fan fiction in this series of plays based on the characters in Pride and Prejudice. The Jungle produced the first one, Miss Bennet**, in 2017 and it was such a hit that they co-commissioned a sequel, The Wickhams, which premiered the following year. After remounting Miss Bennet in 2019 and taking a break for two years for... you know, they've done it again, with another co-commission and rolling world premiere of the third (but hopefully not last) installment - Georgiana and Kitty. Each of these plays focuses on a different Bennet sister or two, but they're all similar in their sparkling dialogue that feels both period appropriate and refreshingly modern, their centering of women in the story (continuing the legacy of Jane Austen), their fleshing out of characters who didn't get much space in the original novel, and their charming romances complete with obstacles to be overcome, just like all good Austen heroines. With Georgiana and Kitty we get not one but two new Austen heroines to love and root for in their pursuit of love, art, purpose, and happiness. Every Christmas at Pemberley is sheer delight from start to finish, and I hope the Jungle makes this a 40+ year tradition (my dream is that they'll produce all three plays in rep someday and I can see them all in one wondrous epic day). You can visit Pemberley any day except Monday from now through December 23 (click here for info and tickets).

"Merrily We Roll Along" by Theater Latte Da at the Ritz Theater

Stephen Sondheim was 91 when he died last November, but it still felt too soon, like there was still more he could do and write and say. But the good news is he left us an incredible body of work, songs and musicals and stories that will never die, as long as there are companies like Theater Latte Da to perform them (which many seem more eager to do in the wake of his recent passing, the Guthrie will produce Into the Woods next summer). Latte Da teased us with a couple of Sondheim cabarets at Crooners earlier this year, and is now opening their 25th season with the lesser produced Merrily We Roll Along. The 1981 Broadway flop was reworked a few times, and has gained popularity over the years*. I knew nothing about it before seeing the show, but I knew that I was in good hands with Theater Latte Da, my favorite interpreters of Sondheim's work. Seeing this production it's hard to imagine why it wasn't an instant hit, but I guess the show took a while to find itself, similar to its characters. The unique backwards storytelling is interesting and challenging and fun, as the pieces fall into place in this story of three friends trying to make it in show business, while still holding on to what matters. As per usual with Theater Latte Da, it's an all-around impeccable production that made me fall in love with this piece and want to see and listen to it over and over again.

"Something Rotten" at Lyric Arts

Once again, Lyric Arts in Anoka is bringing us the regional premiere of a new(ish) Broadway musical (see also 2018's If/Then and 2019's Bright Star). The 2015 ten-time Tony nominated Something Rotten! is a hilarious musical about musicals, set in Shakespeare's time and featuring The Bard himself as a character. Lyric Arts has assembled a huge, talented, and largely unknown cast to bring this big, bold, wacky story to life on their intimate stage, and it's a hit. If you love musicals, or Shakespeare, or Renn Fest, or broad comedy that's both silly and clever, this is the show for you. Click here for more details and to purchase tickets to the show (continuing through August 14).

"A Pickle" by Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company at Harriet Island

Nine months ago, Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company began their "Theater Six Feet Apart" season with an outdoor production of 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother, which was the only live in-person play I saw between February 2020 and May 2021. After several great virtual shows, they're back outside* to close out this unique season with A Pickle. This solo show premiered at the Minnesota Fringe Festival a few years ago and tells the true story of Doris Rubenstein, who petitioned the Minnesota State Fair to add a category for Kosher salt brine pickles. It's a funny and engaging play and a perfect choice for safe outdoor theater. In fact it's so popular that their entire run is already sold out! But you can express your interest at their website, so maybe we'll see it again sometime.

"Is Edward Snowden Single?" streaming from Jungle Theater

Jungle Theater's first ever virtual play Is Edward Snowden Single? is one of the best uses of this new medium that I've seen. Playwright Kate Cortesi wrote the play before this pandemic shut down all live performance, but the Jungle team has turned it into something that feels like it was written for this form that is sort of theater but not really, and sort of film but not really. Combining illustrations, animation, and fantastically versatile performances by two actors in front of green screens in separate locations, not to mention some pretty great voice acting, they tell this story of two best friends trying to navigate life, love, work, and the truth in a truly fresh and innovative 2020 kind of way.

"The Bridges of Madison County" at Artistry

As frequent readers of this blog may know, I'm not generally a fan of turning movies into musicals. And I'm not sure that the 1995 movie The Bridges of Madison County, adapted from the 1992 best-sellimg novel by Robert James Waller, was crying out to be a musical. But I am sure that Jason Robert Brown's score is one of the best musical theater scores ever written. And not just because it's absolutely stunning to listen to, but also because it so effectively expresses the emotions of the characters. The music makes you feel what they feel, so much so that I was blowing my nose into a tear-soaked tissue at the end of Artistry's regional premiere production. This is perhaps a story that plays better on a smaller stage, tender and intimate, so I'm thrilled to finally see a #TCTheater production. Artistry has assembled simply the best local cast you could ask for and created a show so gorgeous that it's not to be missed. As I wrote about the tour a few years ago, and is even more true now, "If you're a fan of music-theater, or just music in general, go see this show to experience one of the best scores coming out of Broadway in recent years, wrapped up in a sweeping romance."

2019 #TCTheater Favorites

Happy New Year #TCTheater friends! This is the 10th year-end wrap up I have written on this blog; this summer I will mark 10 years of writing about theater in Minneapolis and St. Paul. That's a lot of theater, and a lot to love. This year I saw about 200 shows (not counting 29 Fringe shows), and I would like to share with you some of my favorite experiences of the year.

"Ride the Cyclone" at Jungle Theater

"This is the most wonderfully weird musical I've ever seen and the cast is perfection. I wish I could see it again and again and again!!" Last night's Insta story exclamation says it all. Jungle Theater's production of the fantastic musical Ride the Cyclone, a Canadian import that played Off-Broadway three years ago, is hands down one of the best things I've seen this year. I don't know what kind of warped and brilliant minds creators Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond have that caused them to write a musical about teenagers dying on a roller coaster, but I love it. Not only is it one of the most unique musicals I've ever seen, but this production by the Jungle simply couldn't be better. In addition to this stupidly talented cast that plays their roles to perfection, every element of design is spot on and combines to create this warped carnival after-life world. If you're a fan of new and original music-theater, Ride the Cyclone is a must-see.

"Small Mouth Sounds" at the Jungle Theater

"Friends, @jungletheater's Small Mouth Sounds is exactly my kind of play: awkward, funny, profound, and full of one of my favorite things in theater that I rarely get - silence! Perfect execution by the yummy cast and the whole team."

This was my Instagram post upon arriving home from the Jungle last night, and it pretty much says it all. I'll expand on that a bit more here, but in general, this new play about six people on a silent meditation retreat is hilarious, heart-breaking, and very human. Visit the Uptown theater now through June 16 to experience it yourself (pro tip: the Jungle is one of the few theaters in town with Tuesday and Wednesday performances, which have lower ticket prices, better availability, and usually less Uptown crowd/parking/traffic issues than weekends).

"The Hobbit" at Children's Theatre Company

Children's Theatre Company proves that you don't need eight hours, the most advanced technology for visual effects, and 765 million dollars to tell J.R.R. Tolkien's slimmest and sweetest story about the unlikeliest of heroes in literature. You can do it in just two hours with five actors, two musicians, and a whole lot of heart and imagination. The new adaptation of The Hobbit by playwright/director Greg Banks (who shockingly had never read the book before beginning this project), with music by Thomas Johnson, is a wonderful way to bring this story to new audiences, as well as delight Tolkien enthusiasts like myself with the inventive storytelling of a familiar and beloved story.

"The Wolves" by Jungle Theater at Southern Theater

The Jungle Theater's production of playwright Sarah DeLappe's story of a girls' soccer team, The Wolves (a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize), was so successful that they've brought it back in a new venue. With The Children continuing on the Jungle's stage, this is the first time in their history that the Jungle has had two shows running simultaneously. I attended the first preview on a night when the temperature was 20 below zero, not to mention the windchill, and it was a nearly full house. This play has really struck a chord, both with audiences and with the cast and creative team, all of whom return this year. It's such a beautiful and real exploration of nine very different young women, their lives, and their friendship - just the kind of story we're craving right now. That these nine young and talented actors (the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers favorite dramatic ensemble of 2018) have the opportunity to play these complex and interesting roles that go beyond the usual stereotypes of teenage girls we see in plays/movies/TV, beyond the wife/girlfriend/mother role, is also a reason to celebrate. If you missed one of the best #TCTheater performances of 2018, now's your chance to get in on the action (click here for info on the show and complementary programs on women and sports).

"Mary Poppins" at Artistry

Artistry's Mary Poppins may be just the thing you need right now. That is, an escape from reality into the magical world of everyone's favorite nanny, filled with talking dogs, moving statues, high-flying kites, and fantastic dance numbers. Watching the show is, indeed, a jolly holiday as Artistry's large and talented cast brings the beloved movie to life with unstoppable energy. This is my third time seeing the 2004 stage adaptation of the 1964 classic movie and P.L. Travers' series of books, with book by Julian Fellowes (creator of Downton Abbey) and about a half dozen new songs added. I still think it's a bit long and bloated, with several scenes, songs, and characters that could be cut to make the runtime more child (and me) friendly than the current nearly 3 hours (which of course is no fault of Artistry, they have to work with the piece as written). But on the whole it's a heart-warming and smile-inducing show filled with moments of magic and delight for any age.

"Into the Woods" by Shoot the Glass Theatre at the Crane Theater

I've seen Into the Woods twice in the last six weeks, and six times in the last seven years (not counting the recent movie adaptation). And while I would love #TCTheater to diversify its choice of shows (there are quite a few duplicates and triplicates this season), I'm not going to complain about this one. Every time I see Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's exceedingly clever fairy tale mash-up that explores what happens after the "happily ever after," I love it even more. It's instantly familiar due to the fairy tale characters we grew up with, but then it lures you into a darker story. And it's a versatile piece that works just as well set in the forests of Asia as in a German beer garden. For their production, newish theater company Shoot the Glass Theater has gone with a stripped down, bare bones, unmiked approach that works beautifully. With minimal (but charming) set pieces and simple costumes, they're able to focus on the storytelling and the music, which is what it's all about.

"The Wolves" at Jungle Theater

I don't do sports. Except for being a lifelong Twins fan (and running an occasional marathon), I have zero interest in sports. I didn't even watch the recent Olympics. But for some reason, sports makes a compelling subject for theater (e.g., Mixed Blood's 2014 production of Colossal). Maybe because of the inherit drama in sports (teamwork, villains, exciting wins, devastating losses), playwrights are able to use sports as a metaphor for life and tell a really compelling story. The latest example of this is Sarah DeLappe's story of a girls' soccer team, The Wolves, a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize. Jungle Theater's Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen worked hard to get this play at the Jungle, and directs it herself, leading an excellent all-female cast and creative team. The result is a very real look at young women today, touching on many issues without exhausting any of them. It's a fantastic 90 minutes of theater that truly feels like eavesdropping on these characters' lives, in which the simple becomes profound.

"Urinetown" at Lyric Arts

A wealthy businessman controls the money and the laws in a land with an extreme division between the haves and the have-nots, and he trains his beautiful and fashionable daughter to continue in his legacy by learning to manipulate great masses of people. Though it was written over 15 years ago, the hilarious and terrifying satirical musical Urinetown has never been more relevant. It's a huge warning about what happens when the earth can no longer sustain our way of life, when the poor become so poor that they refuse to take it any more. It would be a heavy and depressing piece, if the music weren't so happy and the jokes so liberally sprinkled in. In one of the better shows I've seen at Lyric Arts recently (they keep topping themselves), Urinetown is presented in all it's golden glory with a fantastic cast and really cool and grungy design. It'll leave you humming and tapping your feet, with a subtle thought in the back of your mind that we're in serious trouble if things keep going the way they have been. Just think of the happy music!

"Henry V" by Theatre Pro Rata at the Crane Theater

I recently wrote, "I should just give up seeing anyone else do Shakespeare, because no one does it like Ten Thousand Things." Of course that's not very realistic for a theater blogger; Shakespeare is still one of our most produced playwrights. But lucky for me, Theatre Pro Rata's new production of Henry V borrows a few things from TTT, namely a small cast, an edited story, and a playful spirit. They use just five actors to play the two dozen or more roles, and what's even more interesting - each actor takes a turn playing the title role. It's all done in a meta theater style in which five actors attempt to tell this epic story and realize just what they're up against, congratulating each other at the end when they accomplish the task. And accomplish it they do, in what is a new and inventive take on a very old play.

"Knight of the Burning Pestle" by Theatre Pro Rata at Dreamland Arts

Sunday was a day of comedy for me. First I saw one of the most beloved comedies of American theater - The Odd Couple - in an excellent production at Lyric Arts. Then I traveled from the 1960s back to the 1600s with Theatre Pro Rata's Knight of the Burning Pestle, the first parody in English theater. This play-within-a-play is a spoof of theater itself, and the cast has great fun with it. And while I didn't always understand the specifics of what was going on (I sometimes have a hard time with Shakespearean era language), that didn't seem to matter. The enjoyment comes in watching the delightfully campy performances of the eight-person cast as they poke gentle fun at the thing we all love best -theater.