"The Prom" at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

This late winter/early spring, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres is bringing us the regional premiere of a new original modern-day Broadway musical, a bit of a step outside their comfort zone of classics and retro pieces (like the recent '80s-set Footloose, which ran for a full year). But what a great and exciting choice The Prom is - a musical that’s all about love, inclusion, acceptance, friendship, community, and seeing the goodness and worth of all humans regardless of who they are or whom they love. It's a beautiful and necessary message, with recent threats to LGBTQ+ and transgender rights. The Prom shows is that we all belong, we all deserve to go to the prom exactly as we are, we all deserve to love whom we chose to love, be who we truly are, and be happy. That's not so radical, is it? Despite the modern message, The Prom is in many ways an old-fashioned classic musical, with big dance numbers, broad comedy, Broadway references, and a fantastic and mostly upbeat score that'll send you out into the cold singing, with a heart warmed from this beautiful story. But unlike many of their open-ended shows, this one has an end date - June 10. So don't wait too long to get your tickets and head out to the Western suburbs for this super fun and heart-warming show. Click here for info and tickets, and keep reading for information on discount tickets at the end of this post.

"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

celebrating 45 years at the Chanhassen
(can you name the actor who appears
three times, and the actor currently
starring in a Broadway musical?)

On last week's episode of A Prairie Home Companion from Town Hall in New York City, Garrison Keillor said a good musical can "pick you up and throw you up in the air." The Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' new production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is just such a show. While I was a little disappointed that they chose to do this show for the third time in the last seven years, I can see why they picked this one to repeat. In addition to being a big commercial success for them, it's a fun, light, happy show - just what you want to see in the summertime (that is hopefully coming). With a super high energy cast, great performances in lead and featured roles, fantastically performed music, and a colorful set and costumes, it's fun for all ages. You will leave the theater feeling a little lighter. And hopefully the success of this five-month run will give them the freedom to choose something a little bit risky and interesting for their next show.

Written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber in the late 1960s, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is based on the biblical story of Joseph, youngest and favored son of Jacob.  He was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, but because of his talent for reading dreams, he rose to power as the Pharaoh's second in command.  He led the country through bounty and famine, and forgave his brothers when they unknowingly came to him for help. In other words, it's just a fun romp about slavery and famine. This is an entirely sung-through musical, with no spoken dialogue. It's pretty intense musically, and the almost thirty-person cast and nine-piece onstage orchestra (under the musical direction of Andrew Cooke) sounds full and fantastic.

Some highlights of the show:

• The show may be named after Joseph, but the main character is nameless. Jodi Carmeli reprises her role as the Narrator and is completely comfortable in the role, vocally and from a character standpoint. She carries the show and is a wonderful friendly guide for the audience (and the two lucky children picked to join the actors on stage*) as she leads us through the story with a winking, knowing look (you'll be OK Joseph, we've been outside and seen the marquee).
• In a completely different role from the last time I saw him (Theater Latte Da's Aida), Jared Oxborough is a delightful Joseph - childlike and almost goofy (my friend compared him to Keanu Reeves in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure). His voice sounds fantastic as always. "Close Every Door" is the one somber moment in the show, a bit of a tonal disconnect with the rest of the show, which is almost giddy. This is an angsty song, but there's zero angst in this show, so it doesn't quite fit. Still, it's a nice vocal moment for Jared.

the Pharaoh (Keith Rice) with his many admirers
(photo by Rick Spaulding)

• Keith Rice may have let his hair go gray, but he's still got it! He steals the show as the Elvis-like Pharaoh, making the women faint by flexing his jewel-nippled pecs, doing the splits, thrusting his hips, curling his lip, and singing in that great baritone voice of his. He really hams it up in the best way.
• Joseph's eleven brothers sing in full and beautiful harmony in a variety of styles - the twangy "One More Angel in Heaven," the mock-mournful French "Those Canaan Days," and the tropical "Benjamin Calypso." In the latter song, the brothers are pleading for mercy for Benjamin (Tyler Michaels, with his usual expressive physicality), who has been wrongly accused of stealing. As Benjamin tries to escape the accusation, Tyler non-chalantly whistles "Bye Bye Birdie," a nice nod to the last show at the Chan, in which he also appeared.
• The choreography by Tamara Kangas Erickson is fun and fast, and very ably performed by the energetic young ensemble. Julianne Mundale, one of the best dancers to ever grace the Chanhassen stage, gets her fantastic dance scene (in which I swear she almost kicks herself in the face).
• In a show with the phrase "technicolor dreamcoat" in the title, you expect color. And costume designer Rich Hamson delivers. The coat is indeed technicolor, and everyone from the Egyptian slaves to the brothers to Joseph in his sparkly gold loincloth are well-clad (almost making one forgive the bad wigs and fake beards). The set (by Nayna Ramey) is dominated by huge letters on rollers spelling out "JOSEPH" that are cleverly used as various set pieces.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a safe choice for the Chanhassen, but they really deliver. Director Michael Brindisi says in a note in the playbill, "I think we'll just do it and have fun." Light, fun, happy, and highly entertaining - sometimes that's all you need from a musical. The show continues through August so you have plenty of time to make your way out to the Southwest suburbs and check it out. (I only hope it's not snowing when you see it, like it was when I did.)

Joseph (Jared Oxborough) with his pleading brothers
(photo by Rick Spaulding)

*If you have a little one with a yen for the theatrical, you can enter them into a drawing before the show in the lobby. Two lucky kids are chosen each night to join the cast on stage and take part in the show. You might also want to consider the Chanhassen's summer musical theater camps.

"Bye Bye Birdie" at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

"We love you Conrad, oh yes we do,
We love you Conrad, and we'll be true,
When you're not with us, we're blue,
Oh Conrad we love you!"

That little ditty has been stuck in my head since seeing Bye Bye Birdie at the Chanhassen* last night. This is the first time this classical musical from the 1960s has played on the Chanhassen stage, and the first time I've seen it. In fact, I really only knew of it from that episode of Mad Men where Peggy imitates Ann-Margaret singing the title song of the movie, trying to live up to the early 60s ideal of womanhood (in that brilliant way Mad Men has of breaking down the social mores of the time, that aren't as different as we think from today). So the show was all new to me, and I really enjoyed it. It's a big, old-fashioned, fun musical with a huge cast and fantastic dance numbers. There's nothing deep about it, but it's highly entertaining.

the happy couple, Rose and Albert
(Ann Michels and Michael Gruber)

For those of you who, like me, are unfamiliar with the story, Bye Bye Birdie is about an Elvis-like singer named Conrad Birdie (Frank Moran with a brilliantly high pompadour and a suitable charismatic nonchalance) who is drafted into the Army. His agent, Albert (a charming Michael Gruber), and secretary/ girlfriend, Rose (Ann Michels in a feisty performance that includes a pretty spectacular dance number), come up with a publicity stunt in which Conrad kisses one lucky fan chosen at random to promote the release of the song "One Last Kiss," before shipping out overseas. That lucky fan is Kim (the sweet-voiced Jessica Fredrickson) of Sweet Apple Ohio, who was recently "pinned" by her boyfriend Hugo (my new fave Tyler Michaels, who gets to show off his unique physical style of acting in a drunken scene). Conrad and company arrive in the small town and cause a hubbub. Turns out Conrad's not the innocent all-American boy he seems to be, preferring to drink, dance, and party. Hugo is jealous of Conrad, and Rose is jealous of Albert's new secretary (Xanadu's Jodi Carmeli in a small but memorable role), so they both scheme to prevent the kiss. Which, by the way, was to take place live on The Ed Sullivan Show! Both of our couples are on the outs as the second act begins, and there's a wild night of partying at the Ice House ("what's there?"  "I don't know, ice?"). But of course, since this is a traditional musical, both couples find their way back to each other by the final curtain.

The Telephone Hour

This is a huge cast full of many Chanhassen faves and a few newcomers, all of whom are entertaining and fun to watch. Standouts, in addition to the ones mentioned above, are Seri Johnson as Albert's long-suffering martyr of a mother (or at least that's how she sees herself), Keith Rice and Michelle Barber as Kim's strict but loving parents, and Tod Petersen as the fawning mayor. The teen girl chorus is particularly fabulous (Hairspray's Therese Walth, Emily Madigan, Caroline Innerbichler, Ruthanne Heyward, and Larissa Gritti) as they swoon over Conrad, dance, and sing the aforementioned little ditty. The group dance numbers are energetic and bouncy in that 50s style, especially "The Telephone Hour," "Honestly Sincere" (in which the entire town, including the mayor's wife, ends up at Conrad's feet), and "A Lot of Livin' to Do." The score also includes a couple of familiar songs "Put on a Happy Face" and "Kids" (I don't know what's wrong with these kids today).

It's no secret that I loved the Chanhassen's summer musical Xanadu, which was a bit of a departure for them in that it's a new musical with a smaller cast and a little bit of a wicked, sarcastic tone (which is probably why I loved it). But with Bye Bye Birdie they return to their standard (which is not a bad thing) - a classic musical with a huge cast and fun musical numbers. Playing now through March 30, it'll make your winter a little warmer and brighter.

the town of Sweet Apple Ohio swoons over Conrad Birdie

*I received two complementary tickets to the Opening Night of Bye Bye Birdie.

"Xanadu" at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

I was fortunate enough to be invited to Press Night* at the Chanhassen for the Midwest premiere of their summer musical, Xanadu, and I have to say, I think it's the most fun I've ever had at the theater! Xanadu is a parody of the 1980 Olivia Newton-John movie flop of the same name, and Douglas Carter Beane (who wrote the book of the show) has done a fantastic job of creating a clever, funny, silly, campy piece of theater that manages to make fun of itself at the same time that it celebrates creation and the arts. The Chanhassen always does a good job with their shows, but this is a really excellent production, the best I've seen there in years. The cast completely commits to the camp of the piece, as directed by Artistic Director Michael Brindisi, and that's what you have to do. There's no halfway with this show, you have to go all in or it doesn't work. And they do.

The plot of the show is an odd mix of Greek mythology and 80s references, with some 40s dance numbers thrown in. Sonny is a Venice Beach artist who has lost his inspiration, when Clio the muse (along with her sisters) steps out of a mural and disguises herself as the roller-skating legwarmer-wearing Australian-accented Kira to help him. Together, they fix up an old theater to open a roller disco, where music, art, dance, and athletics combine. Meanwhile, Kira's evil sister curses her to fall in love with the mortal, which is forbidden by their father Zeus, so she is exiled to the netherworld. Sonny follows Kira through the mural to Mount Olympus to declare his love for her. (Yes, I know, it's ridiculous, but just go with it!) Amidst all of this silliness is some clever commentary on the current state of musical theater (all of the muses left in 1980, leaving only poor cinematic adaptations, and the box that is juke), including an Andrew Lloyd Webber dig! This is a show that doesn't take itself too seriously; it's in on the joke.

Kira (Jodi Carmeli) and her sister muses
photo by Act One, Too Ltd

Jodi Carmeli as Kira is the star of this show. Totally immersed in the camp, she floats around the stage on her skates, speaking with an exaggerated Australian accent, and her gorgeous singing voice sounds uncannily like Oliva Newton-John at times. Dieter Bierbrauer (one of my faves) is an excellent choice to play Sonny. He also walks that fine line of camp and sincerity as the sweet but slightly stupid California artist dude (and he's a natural on roller stakes, methinks he's done this before). A silver-maned, big-voiced Keith Rice is great as always, playing a business man who once had a muse of his one. In a flashback, we see his younger self (the Gene Kelly-esque Mark King) singing, dancing, and being inspired by a muse who looks an awful lot like our Kira. The muses are all wonderful, especially Kersten Rodau, who totally hams it up as the evil muse, and Seri Johnson, as her slightly nerdy sidekick (and a second role that's equally hilarious). The two of them cackling and plotting together are a hoot! Finally, I was waiting the entire show to see Cat Brindisi (aka Wendla from Theater Latte Da's brilliant production of Spring Awakening), but she only appears briefly at the end. Still, it means that she hasn't moved back to New York City yet and is helping out with the family business this summer. Maybe we can keep her around a little longer.

Kira (Jodi Carmeli) inspires Sonny (Dieter Bierbrauer)
photo by Act One, Too Ltd

The set is pretty simple and the stage is considerably smaller due to the onstage seating. The costumes (by Rich Hamson) are super fun, ranging from drapey Greek gowns, to bad 80s cliches, to a centaur and Medusa! And you gotta love a musical that has both a choreographer and a skating coach. The music (by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar) is from the 1980 movie, so it has that great cheesy nostalgia (I just downloaded the soundtrack and will likely be singing along with it in the car with the top down all summer!).

Xanadu is the perfect summer show - light and fun, clever and silly, very refreshing and entertaining. There are limited seats available onstage, which on Press Night seemed to be reserved for local TV celebrities, including Don Shelby (aka the narrator of The Rocky Horror Show). So if you'd like to be part of the action, call the box office for details (but don't say I didn't warn you!). There are also participation kits available for purchase (ala The Rocky Horror Show), which include disco balls, glow sticks, and other assorted goodies. All of this, along with the great material and spot-on execution, makes for a ridiculously fun summer party at the theater. This is a fairly limited run for the Chanhassen, just four short summer months, so get out to the Southwest suburbs while you can!

the Xanadu "X-Box" participation kit, available for purchase 

*I received two complementary tickets to Xanadu, along with food and drinks (thanks to the official drink sponsor of the show, I now have a new favorite summer drink). But I loved the show so much that if I lived closer, I'd happily pay full price to see it again!