Scotland, PA at Theater Latte Da

Guest post by Ernest Edwards

I went to what was meant to be the second preview performance of Scotland, PA at the Ritz Theater, which is Theater Latte Da's first production of their 2024/2025 season. Due to an injury in the cast, the second preview was now the first preview. We learned that Twin Cities actor Tom Reed was now playing the role of Banko. He had two days to learn the part. Now that I have seen the show, I can’t imagine anyone else in the part.

The musical is billed as a Regional Premiere. The night I went, co-director Lonny Price introduced the show. Since I know Lonny Price as a Broadway director, I had a fan moment with him being literally just feet away from me. Lonny Price did say that although the show is dubbed a “regional premiere” that it is also a new production, sincethey have done some reworking of the musical since its original premiere production in 2019 with Roundabout Theatre Company in New York. Scotland, PA was also part of Latte Da’s Next Festival in 2022. I was part of the audience to the be the first see to this new and improved version of Scotland, PA. What a fun night it was!

As I learned from the program, the musical is based on a movie. I have never heard of this movie, but now after seeing the stage musical, I do want to watch the source material.

The stage before the show. Photo by Ernest Edwards

What is Scotland, PA? It’s a two hour musical that is a more modern version of Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, set in 1975 Pennsylvania. I was loving the time period. The bell bottoms, the colors of the costumes, the long hair, and the whole hippy, drippy, flower power vibe coming from The Stoners.

The story does follow the source very closely, with some notable updates. Instead of the Weird Sisters, you have The Stoners, three visionaries who help to guide Mac. The Stoners were one of my favorite parts of the show, as they exuded everything about the 1970s. They were simply fabulous every time they were on stage.

Mac is an employee at Duncan’s fast food burger restaurant. Mac’s best friend is Banko, and his girlfriend is Pat. There’s also Doug, the manager of the restaurant. Malcolm is the son of Duncan, who is a high school football player. Mrs. Lenox also works at Duncan’s. Duncan always puts down Mac’s ideas to improve the restaurant, until Duncan learns about Mac’s idea for a drive through window and wants to steal the idea for his own. If you know the Shakespeare play, you can see where this is going. Mac and Pat meant to only rob Duncan to start their own restaurant, but Duncan tripped and fell into the deep fryer. Malcolm signs over the restaurant to Mac. Mac and Pat get married. Instead of being the blood that Pat (as Lady Macbeth) can’t wash off her hands, she thinks she has an oil burn and the bandages keep getting bigger and bigger as the show goes on. Act One ends with the arrival of Peg McDuff, a police officer showing up stating she is investigating the death of Duncan as a homicide.

During intermission there’s a giant gold M visible in the scenery. There’s a familiar looking “drive thru this way” sign on stage too. When act two begins, Mac and the employees have those yellow and red uniforms similar to what McDonald’s had back in the 1970s. Mac has added what we know as the “Big Mac” to the menu along with chicken nuggets. And the drive thru is a huge success.

The musical is co-directed by Lonnie Price and Matt Cowart. Book is by Michael Mitnick with music and lyrics by Adam Gwon. For this production, I also need to mention Scenic Designer Mina Kinukawa, Costume Designer Zamora Simmons-Stiles and Hair & Wig Designer Emma Gustafson. Between the script and scenery, wigs and costumes, this show takes you on a fun ride back to 1975.

I already mentioned Tom Reed’s performance as Banko. I also need to mention Joshua Row’s performance as Malcolm with the Act II song “Why I Love Football.” Will Dusek as Mac and Katherine Fried as Pat (Lady MacBeth) made for a great duo on stage. Will Dusek’s portrayal of Mac, especially, is one to watch.

Who knew that modernizing Macbeth and having it take place in a 1970s fast food restaurant would be such a good fit? It was one the funnest nights at the theater that I have had. This was more than just a musical, it was an experience. Words can’t describe how much fun I had at this production.

Scotland, PA plays at the Ritz Theatre through October 20, 2024. Check out www.theaterlatteda.com for tickets.

Back to the Future & Peter and the Starcatcher

Guest Review by Ernest Edwards

The Twin Cities’ 2024/2025 theater season is off to a good start. This theatergoer was able to see two new shows on our stages last week.

The first production is Back to the Future The Musical. Yes, that Back to the Future, based on the 1985 movie of the same name. I had the pleasure of seeing this musical at the Winter Garden Theatre in NYC in December 2023. It was also my first time seeing Manhattan in December, which I highly recommend. From time to time, when Broadway shows go on tour, there is some trimming here and there to make the show tour-able. Never fear– there is still a DeLorean on stage. Spoiler! The car does fly over the stage at the end of the musical.  

I really liked the fun they had with the display screen before the show opened. “Turn off your cell phone. They didn’t exist in 1985.” “Use of the cell phone could disrupt the space/time continuum.” Lots of themed fun before the musical even begins. 

Does Back to the Future reinvent the stage musical? No. But it is a lot of fun! It has everything from the movie, with a few tweaks here and there, and the addition of song and dance. I was there for “Fan Night.” They had the parking lot next to the Orpheum Theatre filled with DeLoreans. I was not only able to take photos of the cars, but have my photo taken with a DeLorean too. Guess I went on the right night. 

Photo by Ernest Edwards

Most of the creators behind the movie also have their hand in the stage musical. Bob Gale, who cowrote the movie with Robert Zemeckis, wrote the book for the musical.  Alan Silvestri, who wrote music for the movie, also wrote music and lyrics with Glen Ballard for the stage musical. 

For this production Marty McFly is played by Caden Baruch, and Doc Brown is played by Don Stephenson. Both had big shoes to fill with these characters. Both excel in this production. Caden Baruch is on stage almost the entire production, and has the same energy level at the end of the musical that he has at the beginning.  

Back to the Future The Musical not only contains new songs for the stage, it does include the Huey Lewis and the News songs from the movie, The Power of Love and Back In Time.  

Great Scott! Get out and see this musical! The musical is playing at The Orpheum Theatre for two weeks. Final performance is Sunday September 22, 2024.

Next up, I went to Peter and The Starcatcher at Lyric Arts in Anoka, running through September 29. It’s a play by Rick Elice, based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. What is Peter and the Starcatcher? Simply, it’s an origin story of Peter Pan. The play is way more than that. 

I have seen other productions of this play, and I always find it to be pure theater magic. Great storytelling, a very talented cast, and minimal scenery make for a wonderful night at the theater. Lyric Arts has a magical production on their stage. 

I’ll try to tell the story without any spoilers. A cast of 16 artfully tells the tale of a mission for Queen Victoria, which also has pirates, orphans, mermaids, islanders, and a volcano. In the process, a nameless orphan boy not only becomes Peter, but he becomes Peter Pan.  

Noah Hynick’s outstanding performance as the Black Stache needs to be recognized. He had so much charisma and flamboyance as the pirate who would evolve into Captain Hook. His mustache was almost its own character, which evolved every time Hynick appeared on the stage. An excellent cast of new and familiar faces to the Lyric Arts stage rounds out the cast for Peter and the Starcatcher. Find out how Neverland came to be. And set your sights for adventure.