"West Side Story" at the Ordway Center

I might have watched the 1961 movie adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical West Side Story a few too many times as a dreamy teenager. So much so that I know every word, every note, every iconic dance step by heart. I'm happy to report that the Ordway's new production doesn't disappoint this West Side Story mega-fan. In fact, It's positively thrilling to see this musical I love so much live on stage with some of my favorite local talent. The cast (which also includes some national talent) is phenomenal, Leonard Bernstein's stunning score sounds beautiful as played by the nearly 20-piece orchestra directed by Raymond Berg, and the dancing, oh the dancing! Jerome Robins' iconic and ground-breaking choreography is easily identifiable here, and this cast just nails it (choreography by Diane Laurenson, who has frequently paired with director Bob Richards on WSS). This West Side Story is so gorgeous, I wish I could see it every night of its two-week run!

"A Night in Olympus" at Illusion Theater

An unpopular high school girl wants to be pretty so she can go to prom with the popular jock. Not exactly a compelling theme for a musical or one I'm particularly interested in seeing. But this tired old story, seen often in fairy tales and '80s movies, is so charmingly told in the infectious new musical A Night in Olympus with a dynamic cast, that it's almost possible to forget that it's about a prom. And the tired story is given a bit of an interesting twist with the injection of Greek mythology. So while I can't really get behind a story written and directed by men in which a girl just wants to be pretty, even if she does learn the obligatory lesson at the end, it's hard not to have a good time at this campy fun musical.

"For the Loyal" at Illusion Theater

It's a story that is all too familiar. A person in power is found to have molested children, and even worse, the crime has been covered up by others in their organization. Whether that person is a teacher, a priest, or a football coach, it's an unthinkable abuse of the power and trust that the position entails, and we wonder why no one spoke up sooner. All of us like to think that if we witnessed a crime, especially against a child, we would report it to the police no matter the consequences. But would we? What if it's not that simple? What if we didn't have any actual evidence, just suspicions? What if reporting the incident would destroy our lives? Would we take extreme measures to ensure justice is done? Or would we just try to minimize the damage and move on with our lives? Such are the questions posed in the new play For the Loyal by Lee Blessing. There are no easy answers, and I left the play feeling more confused than I was before. But it's a powerful, engaging, thought-provoking exploration of this horrifying and all too familiar situation.

The incident in this play is similar to what unfolded at Penn State a few years ago. At an unnamed University, assistant coach and grad student Toby (Sam Bardwell) finds a naked boy at the home of Coach Carlson (a creepy-charming Garry Geiken), and reports it to Head Coach Hale (Mark Rosenwinkel). Hale tells him not to tell anyone, that he'll take care of it by forcing Carlson to retire, thinking that if he's no longer at the University it's not his problem. Toby is upset and tells his pregnant wife Mia (a strong and sympathetic Anna Sundberg), who wants this man to be punished and prevented from hurting any more children, thinking of her unborn son and a childhood friend. The story takes an unexpected turn, affecting all parties involved. I don't want to say too much and spoil the intriguing way that it all unfolds, but suffice it to say that many angles of this situation are explored, none of them good.

Anna Sundberg, Sam Bardwell, and Garry Geiken
(photo by Aaron Fenster)

The cast does a great job leading us through this difficult story and making us feel the humanity in most of the characters portrayed. In addition to the above named actors, Michael Fell gives several standout performances as various teenage boys involved in the story, all of whom have a different relationship with and reaction to the situation.

This is a fitting project for Illusion Theater, which has actively worked to end sexual abuse of children since the 1970s with the TOUCH program, including creating a play and later a film for children and schools to educate about what's an acceptable touch and what to do when it's not. They're currently raising money to update the film for a new generation. This play falls right in line with their mission, bringing awareness to the issue of sexual abuse of children, but this time the focus is on the responsibility all of us have to be a witness to what's going on around us. For more information about their education programs, see their website.

I couldn't help but be reminded of plays like Doubt, A Parable, which featured a similar situation of if, when, and how to report suspected abuse, and Theatre Pro Rata's recent The Woodsman, which looked at things from the perspective of a recovering child molester. For the Loyal is a powerful play that raises plenty of difficult questions with no easy answers, and effectively puts the audience in the position of "what would you do?" Continuing at Illusion Theater through May 19 (discount tickets available on Goldstar).

"Christmas of Swing" at the History Theatre

The holiday season has begun, at least on theater stages across the Twin Cities. Since I was out of the country for the opening of the Guthrie's A Christmas Carol this year, my first taste of Christmas (other than the bitterly cold weather) is History Theatre's WWII-era musical review Christmas of Swing, featuring the Minnesota trio The Andrews Sisters. The return of this popular show is a fun and peppy showcase of 40s-era popular music (also featuring appearances by Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye), that incorporates real letters from WWII soldiers, paying homage to our veterans of this and other wars.

For the most part Christmas of Swing is a light-hearted show, with a few somber moments acknowledging the hardship of the soldiers. But The Andrews Sisters’ job was to entertain and uplift, not wallow in the sorrows of war, and that they do in abundance. The play, written by Bob Beverage and Artistic Director Ron Peluso, is set at a dress rehearsal for a 1944 Christmas Eve show at a VA Hospital for wounded soldiers. This allows us to see all of the great numbers, as well as witness the banter between the sisters and their band and manager between songs. It also has the light and easy feel of a dress rehearsal; the efforts of the cast do not seem labored, but loose and effortless.

Some highlights of the show are:

The Andrews Sisters (Ruthie Baker,
Stacey Lindell, and Jen Burleigh-Bentz)
read a soldier's (Bryan Porter) letter home
(photo by Scott Pakudaitis)

• Ruthie Baker, Stacey Lindell, and Jen Burleigh-Bentz as the sisters Patty, Maxene, and LaVerne are just perfection in voice, movement, and personality, all of which blend together beautifully to create some tight harmonies and precise dance numbers. Ruthie gets most of the solos as lead singer Patty, but we also get a chance to hear the other ladies’ voices on their own, and all are lovely solo or in harmony.
• Bill Scharpen channels Bing Crosby in songs such as "Christmas in Kilarney" and "Here Comes Santa Claus," and Eric Heimsoth does a wonderful impression of the lanky and goofy Danny Kaye.
• Bill Scharpen also generates some laughs with Mark Rosenwinkel as the comedy duo Abbot and Costello.
• Bryan Porter and Eric Heimsoth (again) portray many different soldiers as the sisters read their letters, bringing the desperation, longing, and joys of these long ago men to life.
• The fairly simple set by Michael Hoover features some elaborate pieces that are wheeled out, including a sleigh and a huge two-sided cutout for an amusing number with the sisters and Danny Kaye.
• The choreography by Jan Puffer is a highlight – fast, sharp, concise, with that 40s swing action, effortlessly performed by the cast.
• The ever-busy Raymond Berg plays the piano while sitting in for the sisters' actual band leader Vic Schoen, leading the four-person band in a swingin' big band sound.
• I'm a sucker for period costumes, and these costumes (by Kelsey Glasener) do not disappoint! I love the sisters' black dresses with varying-sized polka dots and red trim and shoes, accented with long black coats with fur trim, red jackets, or authentic military green jackets. The men (who, for a change, have to change costumes much more frequently than the women) are dressed in authentic period uniforms and suits, as well as costumes for their various roles in the show.
• The sisters sing many Christmas songs, familiar and lesser known, and close the show with their most well-known song, the crowd-pleasing "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." 

The History Theatre’s Christmas of Swing, playing now through December 22, is a great choice for a holiday show this year. Filled with the Christmas spirit (which I for one am not quite ready for, until Thanksgiving is over and/or we get our first big snowfall), humor, great songs and dancing, an energetic and entertaining cast, and respect for and celebration of vets, it’s a fun and feel-good show.

"A Night in Olympus" at Illusion Theater

It was a last minute decision to see A Night in Olympus, the final show of Illusion Theater's Fresh Ink series ("showcasing the developing work of new and established artists in Minnesota"). The deciding factor? The cast. Norah Long, Tyler Michaels, Jessica Fredrickson, Randy Schmeling, and Aleks Knezevich - I couldn't possibly miss that! And I was not disappointed. A Night in Olympus is a new original musical (my three favorite words) with an unoriginal story (unpopular and insecure high school girl dreams of being beautiful and winning the favor of the popular boy, only to realize that the guy she really wants is her best friend who's been there all along - see any Molly Ringwald movie from the '80s) told in an original way (gods and goddesses disguised as high school teachers work their magic to make the change come about). The music is great, the jokes are clever, and the cast is indeed fantastic. With a lesser cast the piece might not have worked as well, but each member of the cast reveled in their role(s) and really sold it. An impressive feat considering the limited time they had to prepare and the fact that the script was constantly changing throughout the four-show run. In fact they had scripts in their hands for most of the show, which was no distraction at all, and the show ran smoothly (at least from the audience perspective). The creators Chan Poling (music and lyrics) and Jeffrey Hatcher and Bill Corbett (book) will continue to work on the piece and hope to find another home for it. I'd love to see a full production of the show with the original cast intact!

Maggie (Jessica Fredrickson) and Harry (Tyler Michaels)

The setting of our story is a high school in Olympus, Indiana, a nowhere town that the kids can't wait to escape from. The lovely-voiced Jessica Fredrickson  plays Maggie, the Cinderella-like main character (after playing Cinderella herself at the Ordway last year) who gets her wish of becoming beautiful and popular, only to learn that it's not exactly what she hoped. Her best friend Harry (the incredibly talented Tyler Michaels) can never get up the nerve to tell Maggie that his feelings for her go beyond friendship. When she's transformed into the beautiful girl and no one recognizes her as Maggie, everyone flocks to her except for Harry, who's not impressed by her physical beauty but keeps looking for the real Maggie. He leaves a series of messages on her voice mail, and finally pours his heart out to her in the sweetest zombie-themed awkward love song I've ever heard. Tyler is definitely the one to watch on the local music/theater/dance scene. He's got charisma and stage presence to spare, a great voice, and a really unique physicality about his acting that informs whatever character he's playing and that is captivating to watch (and was on display here in a zombie walk).

The remaining six cast members play multiple roles of students, teachers, and gods, with minor costume changes (hoody = student, no hoody = teacher). Norah Long  has a lot of fun with her three distinct characters - the shallow popular girl, the stereotypical gym teacher (slash goddess Diana), and our heroine's sympathetic mother - and manages to bring depth and interest to all of them. Mark Rosenwinkel comes alive when his coach character is revealed to be the god Mars ("Thank God I'm a God Again"). Austene Van is truly divine as the beautiful teacher all the boys have a crush on, who is actually Venus, the goddess of love. Matt Rein is the outrageous bully as well as the nice guy teacher who wants to live a normal mortal life. Randy Schmeling is the poor picked on kid who finally gets revenge on his nemesis (ironically named Randy) as well as the nerdy A/V teacher who is actually (spoiler alert) Zeus! Finally, Aleks Knezevich truly hams it up as the stupid jock, the creepy janitor with changing accents, and especially as the evil Hades, god of the underworld. I've only seen Aleks in more serious singing roles so it was fun to see him let loose with something a little lighter. In addition to being great individually, the ensemble works and plays wonderfully together. There are some fun group numbers, including "The Most Beautiful Parking Lot." I know, it sounds strange, but it's so fun and infectious you can't help but smile.

I'm a little bummed that I only caught the tail end of Illusion Theater's Fresh Ink series. I'll pay more attention next year; I love seeing and supporting new original works of theater. I imagine in a program like this, the cast is there to showcase the work. But in this case, the cast was the star of the show. And the show was a great vehicle to showcase some incredible talent.