"Triassic Parq" by Minneapolis Musical Theatre at LUSH Lounge and Theater

Minneapolis Musical Theatre is back with another rare musical, well done. Triassic Parq is another in the vein of the campy spoof musical (see also Silence! The Musical), which is not my favorite kind of musical, especially when I'm not that familiar with the source material, but it's a lot of fun. This rock musical is a loose retelling of Jurassic Park from the point of view of the dinosaurs. I don't really know the movie (I pretty much only watched it recently when Minnesota Fringe did it for their annual Five-Fifths fundraiser), so I can't speak to the plot similarities or references. But it's probably kind of like what Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is to Hamlet (for my fellow theater nerds) - showing us what's going on with the minor characters on the other side of the main action. In this case, those minor characters are dinosaurs, who are also going through some challenges and transitions of their own. Triassic Parq is a celebration of community, friendship, identity, and finding oneself. It's playing Saturdays and Sundays (plus one Monday night pay-what-you-can performance) through April 13 at LUSH Lounge and Theater in Northeast Minneapolis, which is the perfect venue for this show. You can also arrive early and have dinner or brunch in their dining room before heading into the event space for the show.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2024: "Gasthaus"

Day: 6

Show: 21

Title: Gasthaus

Category: Drama / Original Music / Historical content

By: TROMPE L'OEIL

Written by: Kevin Bowen & Lynn Bowen

Location: Phoenix Theater

Summary: The story of an inn on the border between West and East Germany not too long after WWII.

Highlights: Inspired by a true story, the playwrights tell the fictional tale of a family trying to run their inn and dealing with border patrol inside their home. It's a compelling story, if a bit cliche, in which the West German daughter falls in love with one of the East German soldiers. The charming German-themed set, authentic period costumes, and live accordion music help set the scene, with the cast speaking Germlish (English with a few German words thrown in like Nein, Guten Morgan, Ost, and Danke - the language I used to speak with my friends when studying abroad in Austria). Directed by Amanda Weis, the cast is talented and engaging in this look at a fascinating time in history in which families and friends were separated by an arbitrary border (which has happened a lot throughout the history of this planet). An overall enjoyable show, even if the ending is a bit too easy and abrupt.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here. 

"Cold Planet Warm Heart" by Fortune's Fool Theatre at Crane Theater

Fortune's Fool Theatre's new original musical Cold Planet Warm Heart is billed as "a warm-hearted, family-friendly science fiction tale that explores themes of immigration, inclusion, and the need to both discover and follow our heart's desire." I found it to be really cute and sweet, and definitely appropriate for kids (although I didn't see any in the audience on opening night). It's a feel-good piece for adults too, about community, and finding love in unexpected places, and creating a peace-filled world. Teaming up again after 2017's lovely The Lady with a Lap Dog, Daniel Pinkerton (book and lyrics) and Robert Elhai (music) have created a fun musical with great songs that are both comic and poignant. The six-person all-female cast, some of whom play multiple characters, give earnest, heart-felt, and funny performances and sing the at times intricate score well. Check it out, with or without kids, at the Crane Theater in Northeast Minneapolis now through November 19.

"Dark Sisters" by Journey North Opera Company at the Southern Theater

I don't go to opera very often; I just don't have time with all of the plays and musicals happening in town that usually take priority. But when my fellow Twin Cities Theater Blogger Carol from Minnesota Theater Love talked on our podcast about how excited she was to see Dark Sisters by Journey North Opera, and then I was invited to a dress rehearsal, I couldn't resist. Written in 2011 by Nick Muhly with libretto by playwright Stephen Karam (The Humans and Sons of the Prophet), Dark Sisters is about women in a polygamous FLDS sect. I prefer my opera modern, in English, and on the shorter side, so this show (running about 90 or so minutes with an intermission) definitely fit the bill. It doesn't hurt that I'm a little obsessed with cults, including Jon Krakauer's book Under the Banner of Heaven about the history of Mormonism (recently turned into a mini-series on Hulu). Dark Sisters is indeed a fascinating story, a unique one for opera, and it's also a beautiful modern score that's gorgeously played by a 13-piece on-stage orchestra and sung by a seven-person cast, six of them women (Journey North is committed to having at least 50% of their casts be women or non-binary, a rarity in traditional opera). It plays for one short weekend only, so head to the Southern Theater (a gorgeous place for opera both aesthetically and acoustically) to take a journey with these Dark Sisters.