Back to the Future & Peter and the Starcatcher (guest post)

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.  

Great River Shakespeare Festival 2024 Season

Last weekend, we had the opportunity to return to the Great River Shakespeare Festival with bloggers from Cherry and Spoon and The Stages of MN. This year, the summer festival is presenting two shows in repertory from June 27 to July 28: Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing. 

Izzy Heckman as the Watch, Marina Narvaez as Verges, and 

Tarah Flanagan as Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing. In

the background are Emily Fury Daly, Melissa Maxwell, 

Diana Coates, and Michael Fitzpatrick. Photo by Dan Norman. 

We first saw Much Ado About Nothing, which director Gaby Rodriguez has placed in a contemporary setting, with the backdrop of a block party to welcome back the returning soldiers. The best use of the setting was having Dogberry (Tarah Flanagan), Verges, and the Watch as the Neighborhood Watch, giving those characters a reason to be nosing around the proceedings and observing what the main characters are incapable of seeing. Flanagan's Dogberry leads the young actors playing Verges (Marina Narvaez alternating with Ruth Civettini) and the Watch (Izzy Heckman alternating with Morwyn Johnson) through the proceedings but makes the most of her defining speeches. 

The History Plays at the Guthrie Theater

The Guthrie Theater is presenting an event of Shakespearean proportions this spring. A trilogy of plays featuring three English kings are being presented under the umbrella The History Plays.

The plays are being presented in repertory, meaning the same cast performs in each play, and since the plays are consecutive, many actors play the same roles from play to play. It's a massive undertaking, and the ultimate experience is to see all three plays consecutively in one day. The first opportunity to do that was on April 13, and there is one more chance on Saturday, May 18. Unfortunately, I couldn't see all three plays on April 13, so I saw Richard II at the Tuesday night preview before the opening marathon. But I'm a big fan of theater binging!

Hecuba by Pangea World Theater

Pangea World Theater has opened their new production of Hecuba at the Southern Theater, playing April 5-21, and it is a beautiful, heart-rending play. 

Based on a play written by Euripides c. 424 BCE, the story starts just after the fall of the city of Troy to Greece following a years-long siege and the fateful arrival of the famed Trojan Horse. But you don't have to study Greek tragedy to understand this play.

C.L.U.E. by Collide Theatrical Dance

The ensemble of C.L.U.E.

Collide Theatrical Dance's new production C.L.U.E. (playing at the Southern Theater February 16-March 10) is a takeoff on the popular board game, as you might have guessed. 

However, instead of Miss Scarlet and Colonel Mustard, we meet a different set of characters, introduced by Mr. Bottie (Nathan Huberty), who is being threatened by one of them. Each character has their own dance that tells their story and their relationship to the others. As with most Collide productions, the majority of the story is told through dance but Huberty does double duty as dancer and narrator, showing impressive breath control when he speaks right after an energetic dance!

Ashland at Chameleon Theatre Circle

Chameleon Theatre Circle is presenting the world premiere of Ashland by Minnesota- and Oregon-based writer Isabel Estelle. The play was the winner of Chameleon's 2022 New Play Contest and had a staged reading in February 2023 at Theatre in the Round as well as an October 2023 reading at the Ashland New Plays Festival in Oregon.

It's clear to see why this play is attracting attention. In a tight 90 minutes, it tells a difficult story with great humor and humanity.

From the Chameleon website: A young woman is unexpectedly diagnosed with a terminal illness and chooses to pursue Death with Dignity. She and her new partner must navigate the beginning and end of their relationship simultaneously. As her health rapidly declines, her partner and two siblings grapple with the absurdity and hilarity of death, family, and what it takes to let go.

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.