Showing posts with label Dave Gangler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dave Gangler. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

"Alma Murder" by The Mystery Cafe at Sheraton Bloomington

I went to my first high school reunion last weekend. No, not my actual high school reunion (I was a nerd with few friends, no need to revisit that), but something much better - an immersive comedy murder-mystery dinner-theater reunion! At Alma Murder (now playing in the downstairs ballroom at Sheraton Bloomington), you're greeted by the principal and secretary of Mellencamp High School as if they know you. You're asked to fill out a nametag with your name and graduation year (class of '92 here) for this all-class reunion on the eve of the destruction of our beloved Mellencamp. The jock and cheerleader/class president/party planner drop by your table to say hi and reminisce. And like all reunions (I assume, never having attended one before), you also get served a delicious three-course meal, have a few drinks with friends old and new, and solve a murder! As with all shows by The Mystery Cafe, it's a fun experiential evening of theater with no separation between audience and performers, rather we're all part of this fun and wacky reunion. Alma Murder continues through January 31 in the South Metro, with their other show, the immersive wedding show 'Til Death Do Us Die (which I saw last year) opening this weekend and playing through February 8. Click here for info and tickets for both shows (dinner included in the ticket price).

Saturday, May 28, 2016

"Sons of the Prophet" at Park Square Theatre

"You are far greater than you know, and all is well." In the 2012 Pulitzer Prize finalist Sons of the Prophet, the members of the Lebanese-American Douaihy family cling to this quote from their distant relation Khalil Gibran like a lifeline in the midst of their suffering. The also idolize the Lebanese Saint Rafqa, a 19th Century nun who prayed for suffering so she could feel closer to God. Being raised Catholic, I'm familiar with the idea of suffering as virtue, and I don't buy it. Suffering is not something to be sought after, it doesn't make us more pious. But let's face it, suffering is a part of life. We all suffer in different immeasurable ways. The suffering itself is not a virtue, rather it's how we're able to get through it and who we are on the other side that matters. The Douaihy brothers endure their suffering with humor and compassion in this play full of quirkily endearing characters that ends with no resolution, only a promise of more suffering, and more life.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

"The Odd Couple" at Bloomington Civic Theatre

Neil Simon's 1965 play The Odd Couple is an American classic. How many Broadway plays are made into not just a movie, but also a TV sitcom? Everyone knows the story of the two bachelor friends Oscar and Felix living together despite the fact that they're complete opposites and drive each other crazy. Famous Oscar/Felix pairs you may remember include Walter Matthau and Art Carney from the original Broadway version, Matthau and Jack Lemmon from the movie, Jack Klugman and Tony Randall from the TV series, or even Pat Harrington and Tim Conway from a late '80s tour (which I saw, if only I could remember it!). Bloomington Civic Theatre presents another great Odd Couple team in Sam Landman and Wade A. Vaughn (truthfully, the only reason I made the 25 mile drive to see it). Along with the great supporting cast, they present a very funny and entertaining interpretation of a classic.

The play opens on a weekly poker game at newly divorced Oscar's messy eight-room NYC apartment. He and his colorful poker buddies (Dave Gangler, Eric Knutson, Joel Raney, and Ben Tallen, all distinctly hilarious) are worried when Felix doesn't show up. A phone call to his wife informs them that he hasn't been heard from since she threw him out the day before, when he vaguely hinted at suicide. When he finally does arrive, they tread gingerly around him and pretend they don't know what has happened, even though it's obvious he wants their attention and support. They finally give it to him, and Oscar invites Felix to stay with him until he gets back on his feet. Fast forward two weeks, and the boys have settled into their routine, which mainly involves Felix cooking and cleaning and badgering Oscar when he strays from the newly defined rules. Oscar decides it would be a good idea to double date with the Pigeon sisters (Dawn Brodey and Katie Willer, delightfully giggly and weepy in their mod dresses and go-go boots). Needless to say things don't go as planned, which leads to a falling out between Oscar and Felix. But the two friends, despite not being able to tolerate living together, are still supportive of each other as they navigate their new lives as divorced men.

Felix and Oscar
(Wade A. Vaughn and Sam Landman)
This really is genius casting by director David Mann, who I believe got the idea after seeing both Sam and Wade in their terrific one-man shows with Loudmouth Collective last year (Thom Pain and Cul-de-Sac, respectively). Sam's cigar-smoking, sarcastic, sloppy, gruff Oscar plays very well off of Wade's sensitive, fastidious, tidy, emotional Felix. It's hugely entertaining to watch the two of them together or with the rest of the cast, in some nicely choreographed poker party scenes. Add Neil Simon's fast and funny dialogue, and you have a great night at the theater.

The Odd Couple is virtually sold out for the rest of it's run through June 8, but you might be able to snag a few seats if you call the box office. While the play feels dated, especially in the depiction of the women, it's great fun, and it is a comfort to return to that familiar world of '60s movies/TV (aided by a very detailed set designed by Tamatha Miller and great period costumes by Cindy Forsgren). I've long been a fan of BCT's musicals, but they're doing great work on the play side as well. They have some great shows on the line-up for their 2014-2015 season, both plays and musicals, which may see me making that drive to Bloomington more often.

Monday, August 19, 2013

"Shade's Brigade" by The Producing House at the Jerome Hill Theatre

"Feel free to close your eyes." One is not often told that at the theater, and while I do occasionally do that, it's usually due to sleep deprivation and not to enhance the experience of theater. But Shade's Brigade is a unique theater experience. It's a serialized radio play that you can watch live, but that you can also listen to (for free) on www.ShadesBrigade.com. I saw Episode 3 last night at the Jerome Hill Theatre in St. Paul and listened to Episode 1 today online. As fun as it is to watch live and see how the story is created, there's something to be said for experiencing it the way it was intended - as a purely auditory experience.

Shade's Brigade is a noir thriller about Captain Jack Shade and his team of colleagues who travel the world having adventures, getting into scrapes, and solving problems. Episode 3 involves a stolen painting that needs to be returned to the museum from which it was stolen, but the mystery is really not as important as the characters and how they go about solving it. All of the actors have great and expressive voices (and do their own sound effects!), but they also put on an entertaining performance for the live audience, despite standing behind music stands with scripts. Eric Webster, who wrote and directs the plays, is Captain Shade, and also narrates in that classic noir style. He's joined by Dave Gangler as the proper Brit, Lee H. Adams, who effortlessly switches between two outrageous characters, the good old Southern boy Cooper and the tough but dumb Ernie, and the delightful Shanan Custer as Kate, former Air Force Pilot and Girl Friday type. They're joined for Episode 3 by local radio personality Brian Turner as a Frenchman who runs into the gang. The cast has a variety of props onstage to create the sound effects, from a squeaky door to a train.

Going to see Shade's Brigage is a little like watching a broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion, where you get a peek behind the magic. Or you can close your eyes and just listen, and let your imagination paint the pictures you hear. Take a listen on their website (each episode is roughly an hour), and if you like what you hear, you can check out one of two monthly performances through November (more info here, discount tickets available at Goldstar). I will definitely be keeping up with the Brigade online to see what they get into next!