Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Nice Work...indeed: Nice Work If You Can Get It at the Ordway

Last night I took a little trip to St. Paul and saw some classic musical theater. It was a brand new show, but a classic style. Nice Work If You Can Get It is a classic new musical in the vein of Crazy for You. In fact, they both use only music of Gershwin as their score.

So, what is it about? With the music of Gershwin, gorgeous chorus girls, hunky chorus boys, and a charming set...does it really matter?

Boy meets girl bootlegger while drunk, falls for girl even though he is getting married to his third, or maybe his fourth wife the following day, bootlegger steals his wallet and hides 400 cases of illegal booze (did I mention it takes place during the prohibition?) at his Long Island mansion that he never uses...except for his honeymoon the next day.

Hi-jinks ensue. Dances are danced, songs are sung, laughs...oh so many laughs...and sighs of "awww, how sweet."

This show played originally on Broadway starring Matthew Broderick, and the amazing Kelly O'Hara. It is directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, who did a great job keeping the pace, and keeping the eyes entertained.

Here is the clincher though - it only plays through Oct. 19th, at the Ordway.  Do what you can to go see it. It is a really fun night out!

Links:

Star Tribune Review (with some hints of spoilers)
Interview with the leading man - Alex Enterline
Interview with the leading lady - Mariah MacFarlane






Monday, October 13, 2014

October Theater Preview on KFAI - Part Two!

On Monday morning,  KFAI: Radio Without Boundaries broadcast the second installment of our October theater preview! We talked about a few more shows we're excited to see this month:

Theatre Pro Rata's production of 1984, showing at Intermedia Arts from October 17-26. 


We also talked about study guides like the one Pro Rata put together for this show. Many theaters have great information about their shows and it's good to remember to check their websites!

Romeo and Juliet at Ten Thousand Things, running October 10–October 26 at Open Book and October 30–November 2 at MN Opera Center. Great cast directed by Peter Rothstein from a company that always does a great job with Shakespeare. 


We also talked about the Twin Cities Horror Festival III, at the Southern Theater from October 23-November 3. Nine companies, nine shows, all with a horror theme. As the name indicates, this is the third year of the festival, and we're hoping to catch some of the offerings. 


We're hoping to have audio files of our appearances to post on the blog soon. Enjoy the wealth of theater on offer this month. There's a lot to see this time of year!

Thursday, October 2, 2014

October Theater Preview - Hear it on KFAI Radio!

(from the fabulous Minnesota Digital Library collection)
Curious about upcoming theater here in beautiful Minneapolis-St. Paul?

Gather your friends and family 'round the radio this Monday morning for Minnesota Theater Love's inaugural radio spot. We are terribly excited to be making our broadcast debut!

You can hear us discuss the shows you absolutely HAVE to catch this October on Monday, October 6th at 7:30 a.m. on KFAI: Radio Without Boundaries (heard in Minneapolis on 90.3 and in St. Paul on 106.7).

Here's a sneak peek at what you'll hear on the broadcast--besides super enthusiastic theater chat--from your Minnesota Theater Love friends:

We talk about a few shows that we mentioned in our September 2014 Theater Preview, including Colossal at Mixed Blood Theater, The Heidi Chronicles at the Guthrie (but mostly because of the hilarious Kate Wetherhead of our favorite web series Submissions Only), and Master Class at Theater Latte Da.

Plus, we gave a bit of a shoutout to the local theater web series Theater People, which you should definitely check out!

Stay tuned for news about more radio appearances!  We'll also be posting a link to the broadcast here on our blog.  So much theater fun!