Crazy for You at Artistry

The cast and orchestra of Crazy for You
Photo by Sam Lavine

The production of Crazy for You at Artistry is a rare treat. There's only one weekend left, so hurry to get your tickets before it closes on February 11.

Crazy for You premiered on Broadway in 1992 as a "new" Gershwin musical. Creators Ken Ludwig and Mike Ockrent used the 1930 musical Girl Crazy as a rough outline and loaded the score with classic songs by George and Ira Gershwin like "Shall We Dance," "Embraceable You," "I Got Rhythm," "They Can't Take That Away From Me," "But Not for Me," and "Nice Work If You Can Get It," and many others. The plot is slight, involving a derelict theater in Nevada that needs saving, but it's just an excuse to get from one song to the next. 

Update: We Left the House! aka Some Shows We've Seen (Summer 2023)

Hello friends!

Our friends over at Cherry and Spoon and The Stages of MN have persuaded us to finally get out and see some theater. So we have! And dang it, we're going to tell you about it.

The Last Five Years at Artistry

The Last Five Years seems like an odd fit for Artistry (now onstage through February 11), which presents a lot of large-scale musicals like The Music Man, Follies, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. 

Jason Robert Brown's two-person musical doesn't exactly fit that pattern, though it fits well into the theater's smaller black box space.

The Music Man at Artistry

Harold Hill (Michael Gruber) takes on the ladies of River City (Corey DeDanann,
Becca Hart, Deidre Cochran, Lauren Drasler, Wendy Short-Hays). Photo: Devon Cox.

The new production of The Music Man at Artistry is delightful. Meredith Willson's classic musical is brought to beautiful life by a host of amazing theatrical talents.

Marian, Winthrop, and Mrs. Paroo (Jennifer Eckes,
Liam Beck-O'Sullivan, Lolly Foy). Photo: Devon Cox.

As salesman/huckster Harold Hill, Michael Gruber is fantastic, exuding charismatic energy, charming the audience as well as the population of River City. From his introduction on a train full of traveling salesmen, he hits the small town with his best material, convincing the stolid Iowans that not only is their sleepy little town in trouble, but that he can solve everything by starting up a boys' band. As his wiles work on the town, everything gets a little brighter. And when the band instruments arrive, even librarian Marian Paroo softens toward Hill when she sees how excited her little brother is. As Marian, Jennifer Eckes starts starchy and gradually loosens up in both appearance and actions, lending her sweet soprano to a raft of lovely songs along the way.

Joel Sass has designed a stripped-down but never empty set that speeds the transition between scenes without distracting from the action. Even the wooden-plank moon in the sky is effective, glowing under the colorful lights designed by Grant E. Merges. The most fully realistic aspect of the production design is Ed Gleeman's costumes, which showcase period-appropriate clothes that make everyone look good. The ensemble is pleasingly varied in size and appearance, which makes them all the more fun to watch.

Harold Hill (Michael Gruber) makes his sales pitch.
Photo: Devon Cox.

With a well-made musical, it's tempting to sit back and let the music and story work their magic, but director Angela Timberman has done something more. I'm not even sure what it is, but I was noticing nuances of the show I'd never paid much attention to before. And Anita Ruth's orchestra does full justice to the score without sounding like a carbon copy of the cast recording. Michael Gruber does double duty as choreographer, bringing a playful energy to the many dances. The dance in the library and the novelty Shipoopi number are great fun, as are the big production numbers that involve the whole ensemble.

The entire cast is terrific, and the show is a whole lot of fun. Unfortunately, unless you already have tickets, you are unlikely to see it, since the show was sold out before the second weekend of performances. I only wish the run were longer so that more people could see this lovely show.

The Baker's Wife at Artistry

Photos by Hilary Roberts

The Baker's Wife, now playing at Artistry in Bloomington through November 12, is a musical that many musical theater fans have heard of, but few have seen.

Let's set something straight right away: The title character of this musical is not the Baker's Wife who shows up in Stephen Sondheim's and James Lapine's musical Into the Woods.

This story is based on a 1938 French film and despite being written by Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin, Godspell), the musical has never made it to Broadway. After a 1976 tour and some recasting, the producers declined to take the show to New York. It was presented in 1989 in London's West End to positive reviews and audience feedback, but closed after just 56 performances. One song from the show, "Meadowlark", has become a cabaret and audition staple, but the show itself is relatively obscure.

The Baker's Wife opens in an isolated French village in the 1930s where time seems to have stood still. Though the clothes are contemporary and cars exist, the town is reminiscent of the little town in the opening song of the Disney film Beauty and the Beast. Belle would feel right at home. The villagers gossip as they discuss the impending arrival of the town's new baker. Since the old baker died, they've had to travel miles to get their bread, and it's made everyone cranky.

The new baker arrives, and he's a pleasant-seeming middle-aged guy. Even his name is Amiable. But he surprises the town when he turns out to have a beautiful, much younger wife. Genevieve has determined to make the best of her marriage although she doesn't love her husband as he does her. Nevertheless, she runs off with a smooth-talking local, which breaks Aimable's heart, leaving him unable to bake bread. The townspeople decide to interfere and convince her to return, all in the interest of having fresh bread again.

There are some nice tunes in the show, capably sung by the leading players. Bradley Greenwald, always a delight, puts his lovely voice to good use in the second act ballad "If I Have to Live Alone." Jill Iverson sings beautifully as Genevieve, and Aly Westberg is engaging as our guide to the town, though she seems a bit too modern for the time. The orchestra was also in fine form, making the most of the tuneful score.

Overall though, The Baker's Wife didn't work for me as a story. None of the characters have much development, so their actions don't seem to have any motivation at all. There are far too many stereotypical "men vs. women" fights among the villagers, and as my sister noted, there wasn't a lot of warmth or kindness in the play at all.

Sometimes this production feels like two different plays. The villagers are performing broad (very broad) comedy, while the Baker and his wife appear to be in a quiet domestic drama. I didn't feel particularly invested in any of it.

Also, can I just say, it's rather glaring to me when a large-cast musical produced in the 21st century does not include even one person of color.

Several years ago, Artistry was Bloomington Civic Theater, a well-regarded community theater. In recent years, they have begun to bring in accomplished directors, pay their performers, and engage the occasional Equity actor. The ticket prices reflect their upward mobility, but Artistry appears to be still finding its footing and its identity as a theater. I'm glad they are expanding their repertoire and will be interested to see where they go from here.

Talley's Folly at Artistry

Talley's Folly, now showing at Artistry's Black Box Theater (through July 24) is an intriguing idyll for a summer theater night.

From Artistry's website:

On the Fourth of July, 1944, two unlikely lovers reunite for the first time in more than a year. Matt has every intention of marrying Sally, but family ties and hidden pasts prove difficult to overcome. By turns thoughtful and funny, this Pulitzer Prize-winning romance examines the lengths people are willing to go for love.

Written by Lanford Wilson, Talley's Folly won the Pulitzer in 1980 and is part of a trilogy of plays known as the Talley Cycle, which includes Talley & Son (also set in 1944) and Fifth of July (set in 1977). After seeing this play, you will definitely want to catch up on the further adventures of Talley and Co.

Talley's Folly features just two characters: Matthew Friedman (David Beukema) and Sally Talley (Chelsie Newhard). Big city, fast talking Matthew is trying to woo the prickly, defensive Sally and among all of the banter, some pretty tough truths emerge. Did I say fast talking? David Beukema as Matt has so many quick and hilarious lines and asides that I think it was hard for the audience to absorb them all. He delivers them hilariously, and portrays the rather tough character of Matthew with his customary lovable charm. Chelsie Newhard, as Sally, has a tough job as well: She simply will not let herself be loved.

Sidebar: Does this happen a lot in real life? That people will not let themselves be loved? Cause it sure does in movies and theater. The fabulous How Did This Get Made bad movie podcast discusses it at length.

In her Director's Note, Angela Timberman, wildly gifted actress and local treasure, says: "I'm a sucker for a good romance. Especially when the characters are complex, funny, and vulnerable. Throw in some mystery, nostalgia and moonlight and you've got Talley's Folly." Beautifully said!

And can we talk about the set? Before even opening the program, I had a feeling the set was by Joel Sass (and yes, I was right). The setting is a boathouse on a farm in Missouri. There's a dock, a rowboat, beautiful lighting, lanterns, a moon, fabulous detailed props, and the entire set is framed by a horseshoe, which adds to the fairy tale-like feeling of the play. It's utterly lovely and fits the play beautifully. It seems a shame that it will have to be broken down at some point--I'd love to go back and visit again.

BTW: If this play leaves you wanting to know more about Lanford Wilson (as it did me), the New York Times wrote a lovely obituary for him after his passing in 2011.