Fringe 2011 - Life of a Blogger

Here's a handy set of links to any posts that just generally have to do with the insanity and joy of blogging about something as monstrous, huge and weird as the 2011 Minnesota Fringe Festival...

2/12/2011 - Happy Birthday to My Fringe Sidekick!
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

7/24/2011 - Fringe Blog Interruptus
Twin Cities Daily Planet version
Single White Fringe Geek version

8/4/2011 - Fringe 2011 - Challenge #1 - Staying Put
Twin Cities Daily Planet version
Single White Fringe Geek version

8/4/2011 - Fringe 2011 - Challenge #2 - So Few Bad Options
Twin Cities Daily Planet version
Single White Fringe Geek version

8/4/2011 - Fringe 2011 - Challenge #3 - I'm Biased
Twin Cities Daily Planet version
Single White Fringe Geek version

FFA 1 - Nightmare Man - Wow, I'm Really Gay, part 2

Back during Fringe 2009, director Paul von Stoetzel was #5 on my pre-Fringe Top 10 list that year for a double feature of Fringe directing (I don't know how directors, actors or anyone else does one show, much less two or more, but there you are - some people are more energetic and efficiently scheduled than me.)

This year he's back again, and doing double duty again. He's one of three directors on the "bring your own venue" short play showcase The 612 (which we'll get a sampling of at Fringe-For-All #2), and he's the sole director on

Nightmare Man

Studio Alethea Productions

which previewed in the second half of Fringe-For-All #1

Here's their spiffy video trailer...



Here's their Fringe-For-All preview...



And another sample song...

More Than You

And here's the Twin Cities Theater Connection interview...

Fringecast 2011 - Nightmare Man

Honestly? The reason this blog post is called, Wow I'm Really Gay, part 2, is that, well, I'm glad Derek Meyer is talented, because it makes me feel less guilty about just liking to watch him onstage. Doesn't really matter what he's doing. He makes it very easy to pass an hour watching a Fringe show.

I first saw Derek in a couple of wonderfully bizarre, if sometimes slightly uneven, sci-fi Fringe shows from Electric Telescope - The Cold Dark Matter At Hand and Virginity of Astronauts - and again in a Flowershop Project production of the new play Dawn's Inferno (directed, not coincidentally, by Paul von Stoetzel.

Now normally, a production that looks like the trailer above, with a title like that, and is described thusly below...

"A new musical written and composed by Nathan M. Schilz, this World Premiere performance of Nightmare Man is directed by film and stage veteran Paul von Stoetzel.

Nightmare Man is a tale of guilt and heartache as Thomas (Derek Meyer) struggles to come to terms with his past. He meets Jade (Madelyne Riley) in a dream, who tries to help him alleviate his suffering. Featuring Martin Ruben, appearing courtesy of Actor's Equity Union, this intense musical is based on the original short story by bizarro fiction writer Jeremy C. Shipp."

...might have a tough hill to climb with me. Paul's tastes as a director tend to run a little darker than my standard choice for entertainment.

But it's Derek Meyer. And he's singing. Which is something I wasn't previously aware he had in his bag of tricks.

The Fringe-For-All preview had its issues. The volume of the backing track was a little overpowering, so Derek beginning the song at a low volume was sometimes a struggle to hear. But when he let loose on the second half, I stopped worrying. OK, the guy's got a set of pipes on him.

So he's singing about the bloody dismemberment of his late girlfriend in some horrible accident. It's Paul von Stoetzel directing - I wasn't expecting a light fluffy musical comedy. In fact, it's partly the disconnect between the concepts of "Paul" and "musical theater" that has me so intrigued.

But truly, if Derek Meyer wants to stand there, barefoot, in a T-shirt and slacks, singing for 45 minutes, I'm down with that. Sign me up.

(Wow, I'm really gay.)

Fringe 2011 - Fringe-For-All previews

Some thoughts on a handful of the previews that were part of the 2011 version of Fringe-For-All...

7/24/2011 - Fringe-For-All - Uncle Tom's Condo - "That might be the first sing-along I've ever seen at a Fringe preview..."
Twin Cities Daily Planet version
Single White Fringe Geek version

7/24/2011 - Fringe-For-All - SCOTUS! - Go, Playwright!
Twin Cities Daily Planet version
Single White Fringe Geek version

7/24/2011 - Fringe-For-All - A Good-Natured Gut - Dancing From The Neck Up As Well As Done
Twin Cities Daily Planet version
Single White Fringe Geek version

7/24/2011 - Fringe-For-All - A Little Bit Of Vegas - Wow, I'm Really Gay, Part 1
Twin Cities Daily Planet version
Single White Fringe Geek version

7/24/2011 - Fringe-For-All - Nightmare Man - Wow, I'm Really Gay, Part 2
Twin Cities Daily Planet version
Single White Fringe Geek version

FFA 1 - A Little Bit of Vegas - Wow, I'm Really Gay, part 1

So the first Fringe-For-All preview of the 2011 season was

A Little Bit of Vegas

Offspring Productions

"It's 1958. Sensual showgirls are all the rage on the strip. High glamour and soft mystique allure and captivate a true gentleman into the passionate world of a woman willing to risk everything to reach the top."

A young woman (they have a cast of 18, so I have no clue which young woman but that's not really necessary to understand the preview) emerged from backstage with a red and black feathered/sequined headdress on her head, covered in a silky bright red robe. She took the microphone from Robin Gillette after the show introduction, and got ready to belt out her big torch song number "Don't Rescue Me" (basically, don't save me from my "bad" impulses, I want to live in a big way).

She opened her robe, let it fall from her shoulders and tossed it to the side and...

All I could think was, "Wow, I'm really gay."

The young lady was standing there in a skimpy black bikini accented with butterflies and I'm thinking, "Hmmm, I'm sure if I were a straight guy this would totally do it for me but... huh... nuthin'"

I did appreciate her voice, quite a lot. In fact, she didn't even need the microphone. At times she overwhelmed it. She had a voice big enough to fill the whole room all by herself, well before the "big finish" notes at the end. All this bodes well for the show. If the other performers in it are this good, or even half this good, should be an interesting production. Can't speak to the quality of the script or story or anything, we just got a song here. But it was a damn good song, done well. It was a solid way to kick off the evening. She even got done while the warning light was still in green mode, inside the initial two and a half minute mark. Most efficient.

Will I be seeing this show personally? Probably not. I think I am very much not its audience. It strikes me as a very hetero show (and since the Fringe audience can very well be 90 percent hetero, this is a good thing - for both show and audience). I have just never felt less heterosexual watching something in a long time. It was a most odd feeling. And an interesting way to kick off my Fringe season - and scheduling plans.

FFA 1 - A Good-Natured Gut - Dancing from the neck up as well as down

The third show in the trio of previews that caught my eye by surprising me at the first Fringe-For-All was

A Good-Natured Gut

(which for some reason, I mistyped as A Good-Natured Girl)

LS Dance Collaborative

Again, it's a pity that the video for this preview couldn't be posted (Robin Gillette mentioned that they'd be posting any videos that had no copyright issues involved. Guess anyone using music that wasn't original ran afoul of that just like people doing established scripts in their previews. For video, I guess it needs to be all original, or with permission of the artist - or a long dead artist, like Shakespeare - wow, is there a lot of Shakespeare this year)

I'll try to do the dancers justice with simple words. I have the Fringe to thank for my expanded appreciation of dance. I find myself noticing things that I don't think I would have noticed before. For instance, the reason these three young women stood out where some other dance previews didn't was in the way they carried themselves.

Three brunettes (I'm assuming Coralee Kaivo, Liz Schoenborn, and Jessica Schuett, since they're the only three listed on the Fringe show page) in silky flowing metallic colored fabric moved with real precision together. The bluesy singer in the background sang and song with a refrain of "my soul is weary."

What I appreciated the most, though, was that they weren't just dancing from the neck down. A lot of dancers with dance with a completely blank expression on their faces, like they're runway models or something. Maybe they need to concentrate, maybe they don't want to draw attention away from the footwork. Whatever the reason, I find it kind of off-putting as a spectator. These women, however, seemed fully engaged. Their faces registered emotion - either internally, or in response to their dance partners, sometimes even to the presence of the audience watching them. It was refreshing to see fully human beings in motion. Because they were more emotionally engaged, so was I.

Plus, dance never ceases to amaze me. I have zero coordination. The control these artists must have to get their bodies to do exactly what they ask them to do, in time to the music and the other dancers around them, boggles my mind. They didn't even take the whole 3 minutes they had for the preview. They had the lights fade out while the warning light was only yellow, as they were still the process of executing moves (letting us know that the dance was a larger piece that would continue, we'd just need to see the show to catch it all). Nicely done.

And their show page mentions they also have a hip hop spoken word artist, and a cellist involved. This sounds more and more like a fun and different sort of show. Another one to squeeze into the schedule...

Show description -

"Darwin once speculated that human emotion was the product of natural selection; gut feelings that proved to be advantageous in furthering the survival of our species. While today’s Homo sapiens have evolved to experience a nuanced array of feelings, A Good-Natured Gut harkens back to the basic roots of our emotion. Through innovative and original movement, LS Dance Collaborative explores the physicality of our fear, sadness, anger, disgust and joy. Set to a constellation of alternative rock, classical cello and spoken word, this show examines the inner workings of our hearts, heads, and guts."

FFA 1 - SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) - Go, playwright!

Another Fringe-For-All preview that unexpectedly won me over last Monday was

SCOTUS! (Supreme Court of the United States!)

Serious Hedgehog Arts

The reason this was so unexpected was I had pretty much written this one off based on its original show description (wisely now replaced with something else online)...

"It's like The West Wing, if it were about the Supreme Court. And was written by the writers from 30 Rock. And was about a government about as dysfunctional as it is in real life."

So... nothing like The West Wing. OK then.

The cast and director were in rehearsal the night of Fringe-For-All, so the playwright/producer Brandi Brown filled in for them instead ("I'm the writer. I feel like I'm qualified to talk about it, so let's do this."). And talk about the right person for the job. Brandi Brown was charming and very, very funny. It's a pity they didn't post the video for this one because she was a perfect ambassador for her show. I said as much to her afterward as the audience was running the great postcard gauntlet at the end of the evening. Brandi was sort of chiding herself for not getting all of the plot out, but honestly it didn't matter. She was so clever in the way she introduced us to all the characters of the play that I didn't need any further convincing.

About one character - "You know how you want to be an actor, but then you have to take some terrible job to support yourself, like waitressing - or being a Supreme Court justice? That's her. You'll love her. Maybe not."

About another character - "It'll be fine, just get the Constitution out of the shredder."

In addition, there's a stand-in for NPR, called NER (National Elitist Radio) - "They act as a Greek chorus. I hear you people love that sh*t."

In the cast, two who I recognized from previous work were Sandbox Theatre regular Heather Stone, so great in the creepy 2009 Fringe comedy June of Arc, and as Chief Justice, Danielle Siver.

The cast list reveals that the balance of this Supreme Court is tipped more toward the women than the men, and I'm all for an alternate reality where that's the case. I'm very interested in wedging this one into the schedule now as well.

The new improved show description is -

"SCOTUS! (Supreme Court of the United States!) takes a look at the problems facing any new chief justice, especially one hardly old enough to be partner in a law firm: maintaining her idealism, getting her only-slightly-insane colleagues to work together, stopping Wisconsin from repealing the oppressive laws of physics, and is her boyfriend really going to break up with her?

The other justices aren't much help: one is more interested in his acting career than the law, one is more interested in what the Founding Fathers would think than, well, the law, and one won't stop using really, really annoying sports metaphors.

Can the chief justice figure out how to keep the country from falling apart? Does she want to? Can she figure out the other justices' sports and pop culture references? Can she figure out how to make time for her jealous boyfriend? Whatever your politics, everyone can agree on two things: making fun of Wisconsin is fun and the Supreme Court is just messed up."

FFA 1 - Uncle Tom's Condo - "That might be the first sing-along I've ever heard at a Fringe preview..."

There's a fellow Fringer I know who prides themselves on getting their whole schedule locked down before the first Fringe-For-All even happens. Sure there are other previews in advance, and this person sees a lot of theater and knows a lot of theater artists. So maybe their Fringe schedule is a no-brainer. But one of the things I love about Fringe is the spontaneity, and the joy of being surprised by someone who comes out of nowhere and their preview just says, "You need to see me."

That happened three times for me at the first Fringe-For-All this year. One of those times was the preview for

Uncle Tom's Condo

Milliepadd Productions

First, you've got a big guy with a tiny little haircut. Then you've got an electric guitar, with a funky mini-amp. The performer then says that the following song will be "full of conjecture but completely devoid of opinion." The song was so odd, and the refrain so catchy, that we couldn't help ourselves. A couple of people were moved to sing along to the little ditty, and once that happens, the floodgates open. Once one or two people feel confident enough to sing out loud, the rest of the audience gets permission. Timid though we be, I think you can still hear us begin to sing along at the end (prompting Fringe Executive Director Robin Gillette to say the thing that gave me the title for this blog post)

Come on, everyone. Sing along!

"There are no chicken wings in heaven
'Cause angels
wear them
on their backs..."



It's not often I have that much fun in a preview, so that promises good things. Plus, he has Mahmoud Hakima in his cast (#5 on my Top 10 list last year, and a favorite of both Mom and me) I think I'm gonna check this one out.

Show description -

"Do you sound white on the phone? This and other complicated questions can only be answered by this hilarious send-up of social and racial attitudes and how they 'color' our world. Can these things be solved in less than an hour? We'll see.

Uncle Tom's Condo uses the opportunity of live stage to advance the emotional resonace of our country's ongoing struggle with racial, gender, and now, sexual equality.

Greg Nesbitt has assembled a diverse cast including Mark Beck, Jo Mary Fahey, Mahmoud Hakima and Kirsten Stevens to steer us through some confusing history and hopefully into an understanding future. America is currently replete with racial tension, even though we are supposed to be over that by now. Is is systematic? Is is personal? Often, humor is the best way to approach such delicate subjects.

Is your identity more important than your race? Who makes that decision? Everyone is affected by outside forces at one time or another, and if it is something other than a natural disaster, it's okay to wonder if it's coincidence or malicious. Just because you're labeled as disgruntled doesn't mean you don't have the facts!"

Fringe 2011 - Fringe Blog Interruptus

Hello, Fringers! (and/or whoever reads this thing)

Sorry for the delay. I feel way behind on my Fringe seasonal blogging duties. Circumstances keep conspiring to gobble up what was my free time. Good things, but they sure have cut into the blogging time.

My main day job just hired me a new boss, and he's hitting the ground running, really pushing us (in a good way) to get the new fundraising year (which started July 1) off to a strong start. Plus, we're still shorthanded since my other co-worker found and moved on to another position. So, not a lot of down time there.

I also was on a theater reviewing binge for the Twin Cities Daily Planet outside the blog, the last two weekends chock full of theatergoing - Street Scene, Waiting For Godot, Saboteur, Buttercream & Scotch, Ex-Gays, and Oh The Humanity. Phew.

In addition, there's a script I'm finishing for Project 515 (a reshuffling/expansion of this) which goes on a little college tour at the end of September, which means it rehearses in August, which is of course right after the Fringe. So, best to get at least a first draft hammered out before the Fringe hits. Nearly there...

Fringe time also means Mom visiting, which means one needs to clean, to be ready for Mom visiting.

And come late August/early September, Flowershop Project will begin rehearsals for my play Medea & Jason: Rubicon Waltz. No writing chores there, but they did enlist me as dramaturg (I know, I know, a playwright who using themselves as a dramaturg has a fool for a client, but...) Just means I need to get all my Greek mythology references dusted off. It's a comedy, but that doesn't mean it doesn't also have its own set of prodigious footnotes in need of explanation. We have a kick-ass cast, so I want to be sure I do everything I can to help them nail this thing (we'll all end up looking better if I do - enlightened self-interest).

But Fringe-For-All #1 (with #2 fast approaching), scheduling mania, the Out of Towner showcase, this year's Top 10/Top 20 list. Much to do before opening night, eh?

Let's get on that...

Interregnum 2010-2011 - Blog of the Time Between - Reviews

The Twin Cities Daily Planet has given me my own little byline page, and has me reviewing shows outside the confines of the blog, too, these days. Like anyone in the Twin Cities, I still miss more theater than I end up seeing. But here's the write-ups on the things I managed to catch since last Fringe...

7/21/2011 - Peanut Butter Factory - Oh The Humanity - 4 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

7/21/2011 - Savage Umbrella - Ex-Gays - 4 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

7/15/2011 - Butter Cream and Scotch - 3 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

7/11/2011 - Theatre Pro Rata - Waiting For Godot - 4-1/2 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

7/11/2011 - Walking Shadow Theatre Company - Saboteur - 3 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

7/10/2011 - Girl Friday Productions - Street Scene - 5 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

6/25/2011 - Workhouse Theatre - Torch Song Trilogy - 5 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

6/25/2011 - Park Square Theatre - Panic - 3 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

6/12/2011 - 20% Theatre Company - That Face - 1 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

6/9/2011 - Eat Street Players - The Red Tureen - 2-1/2 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

6/3/2011 - Jeffrey Peterson Dance - Fe/Male - 5 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version
Single White Fringe Geek version

5/26/2011 - New Theatre Group - The Debate Over Courtney O'Connell of Columbus, Nebraska - 3 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

5/16/11 The Moving Company - Come Hell And High Water - 2-1/2 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

5/12/11 Ordway Center for the Performing Arts - Next To Normal (national tour) - 5 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

5/8/11 Classical Actors Ensemble - All's Well That Ends Well - 3 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

5/2/11 Off-Leash Area - Now Eye See You, Now Eye Don't - 3 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

4/16/11 Jungle Theater - Next Fall - 4 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

4/5/11 Theater in the Round Players - Hamlet - 5 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

3/30/11 Mixed Blood - Avenue Q - 5 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

3/16/11 Live Action Set - The 7-Shot Symphony - 5 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

2/8/11 Jungle Theater - Shirley Valentine - 4 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

1/24/11 Park Square Theatre - The Odyssey - 2-1/2 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

1/10/11 Box Wine Theater - Raucous Caucus - 4 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

11/9/10 Jungle Theater - Fully Committed - 5 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

11/9/10 Classical Actors Ensemble - 'Tis Pity She's A Whore - 4-1/2 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

10/25/10 Theater Or - Broadway Bound - 4-1/2 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

10/23/10 Minnesota Jewish Theater - My Name Is Asher Lev - 5 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

10/17/10 Red Eye Theater - Iris - 2 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

9/27/10 Theatre Novi Most - The Oldest Story In The World - 5 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

9/19/10 Park Square Theatre - The Last Seder - 2-1/2 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

9/13/10 Theatre Pro Rata - The Taming of the Shrew - 5 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

9/10/10 Savage Umbrella - Leaves - 5 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

8/23/10 Illusion Theater - Always and Forever - 4-1/2 stars
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

Auditions for the tale of Medea and Jason, as a dark romantic comedy

The Flowershop Project is doing my Medea & Jason play, so I'm spreading the word about auditions where I can. If you're free for rehearsals starting at the end of August, for a production in October, send them an email as outlined below and sign yourself up for a slot.

Here's the notice...

The Flower Shop Project will be holding auditions for “Medea and Jason: Rubicon Waltz” by Matthew Everett and directed by Brenna Jones, on

June 13th and 14th, 7-9 pm

at Epworth Methodist Church (3207 37th Avenue South).

If necessary, callbacks will be held June 15th, same time and place.

To schedule an audition please email David Schlosser at

david@theflowershopproject.com

with your name, preferred audition time and phone number. You will get an email shortly confirming your audition time. There is a $100 stipend for each actor.

Readings will be from the script. Sides and the script are available at http://www.matthewaeverett.com/plays/scenes.php?playID=52, as well as http://www.theflowershopproject.com.

"Medea’s sons want her to tell them a story. So Medea tells the tale of an epic love story gone horribly wrong – the story of how the young adventurer Jason met the princess Medea, the story of how the boys’ mother met their father. Medea conjures the other players in the tale, unfolding the origin of the Golden Fleece, and the quest of Jason and the Argonauts. But truth is a slippery thing – depending on the person telling the story, and the reasons they’re telling it. The messier the story gets, the more variations appear. Throughout, the goddesses and gods of legend meddle in affairs of the human heart. Medea betrayed her father and her country in order to help Jason obtain the Golden Fleece. She helped murder her own brother to aid their escape. Before it was all over, a giant, two kings, and a princess, among others, were dead. And depending on which version you believe, Medea’s sons die as well. But who kills them, and why? Medea & Jason: Rubicon Waltz explores the stories and lies we tell others, and ourselves.”

(If you're unable to make the audition dates but would still like to audition, we're more than happy to make alternate arrangements! You can email David Schlosser at david@theflowershopproject.com or call Brenna at 612.280.2860.)

Rehearsals will begin at Epworth on August 29th and run through September; either Monday-Thursday (7-10pm) and Saturday afternoon, or Mon-Fri.There will be no rehearsal on the night of the Ivey’s.

Performances will be at the Bryant Lake Bowl, opening October 1st and running the rest of the Saturdays of the month.

“Medea and Jason: Rubicon Waltz” has 9 roles and is designed to be performed by an ensemble of actors both male and female. At some point, nearly all of them will play across gender lines. The only place where specific gender is vital is in the 2 central characters. Since this is in part a play about the inequity of gender roles in societies both ancient and not so ancient, it is important that Medea be played by a female actor, and that Jason be played by a male actor. The other 7 roles can be played by either gender.

Roles:

MEDEA - female, 20’s to 50’s

JASON - male, 20’s to 50’s

ACTOR 3 (male or female, 20s to 50s) - Oracle at Delphi, Apsyrtus #1, lead on Golden Fleece story, lead on Island of Dawn/Talus stories, Daughter #5

ACTOR 4 (male or female, 20s to 50s) - Cupid, Warrior #1, Apsyrtus #2, Daughter #4, lead on the Hera/Argo story, King Creon

ACTOR 5 (male or female, 20s to 50s) - Aphrodite, Apsyrtus #3, lead on the First Meet story, Daughter #3, Glauke

ACTOR 6 (male or female, 20s to 50s) - Hera, Warrior #3, Apsyrtus #4, lead on daughters story

ACTOR 7 (male or female, 20s to 50s) - King Pelias, Warrior #2, Alexander the Great

ACTOR 8 (male or female, 20s to 50s) - Fred, Talus, Daughter #2, lead on the Pelias story, lead on Apsyrtus story

ACTOR 9 (male or female, 20s to 50s) - King Aeetes, Daughter #1, King Aegeus

Review - Fe/Male - "I Have Never Wanted To Be A Wall So Much In My Life."

If two people are standing very close together, face to face, breathing hard, staring intently into one another's eyes, one of two things is probably going to happen - they'll kiss, or they'll hit each other. Doesn't seem to matter if the two people are both women, or both men - the tensions are the same. And when neither happens, that tension gets cranked up a notch. That's one of the many intriguing conceits involved in Fe/Male, the evening of dance at Intermedia Arts this weekend, choreographed by Jeffrey Peterson and Melissa Rolnick.

The concept of the evening is deceptively simple - three dances, two choreographed by Rolnick and one by Peterson, will each be performed twice, once by male dancers, once by female dancers, with an intermission between the repeated program. At first, my thoughts ran along the lines of, "It'll be interesting to see what difference the gender switch makes." But when we reached intermission, I was simply thinking, "Wow. I'm really glad I get to see those three dances again, right away. I almost don't care who does them."

Both halves of Fe/Male kick off with Rolnick's piece "Soaring" followed by her work "2x2," the combination of which would be a study in contrasts even without the gender flipping in the second half of the evening. "Soaring" is a solo set to the music of Mozart, while "2x2" has four dancers move to a piece of electronic percussive noise called "Battles." "Soaring" is all curves and sweeping movements. "2x2" traffics in a lot of sudden jolts and sharp angles.

The joy and openness involved in "Soaring" is clear (and strangely the same) whether it's Jeffrey Peterson dancing the solo at the start, or Heather Klopchin dancing it again just after intermission. The reluctance to permit even the briefest contact in "2x2" seems just as violent when first done by Katherine Arndt, Taylor Cook, Emily Hassenstab and Alyssa McGinty, as it does when the men (Bryan Gerber, Cade Holmseth, Jordan Klitzke, and Jeffrey Peterson) return to the same moves later in the night.

Peterson's Minnesota Fringe Festival collaboration with Rebecca Katz Harwood last summer, Thinkingaview/CorresponDance, was delightful because it played fast and lose with gender roles and stereotypes without being didactic. It simply tore down the physical walls people traditionally put up between each other, letting men and women mingle freely onstage in a variety of combinations. In Fe/Male, Rolnick and Peterson present the genders one at a time in isolation, repeating the same moves, proving that any human body with the proper strength, control and grace can blow your mind.

There comes a point in "Soaring" where the dancer spends time much lower to the ground than at the beginning. Though compressed in space, the dancer still creates the same sweeping moves as when they were freer, eventually opening up again and standing tall to conclude the piece. Whether it's Peterson or Klopchin executing the moves, the joy of that resilience is equally lovely. When the four dancers of "2x2," whether female or male, finally allow themselves the tentative possibility of a touch that might be lasting or tender, the moment is electric and moving, even as it carries with it the fear of rejection.

Peterson's work "Rouse" which closes both halves of the night is a compelling sequence of physical duets (even when there's only one, or up to three, people on stage). How is that possible, you ask? Well, "they're dancers," would be the short answer, but if you want specifics... Dancers 1 and 2 spend some time tumbling over and under each other, conflicted about how tangled up in each other's limbs they really wish to be. Moments of genuine tenderness are indulged, then quickly shut down. Once Dancer 2 finally makes up their mind to go for it, Dancer 1 decides they're not interested and walks off. Dancer 2, left alone and panting against a wall, decides to take out their frustrations, emotional and... uh... sexual, on the wall. (Hence the title of the review.) Bereft and spent on the floor, Dancer 2 is rejoined by Dancer 1, who has brought a friend, Dancer 3. The trio then spends the rest of their time coupling and uncoupling, with the odd person out always inserting themselves as a spoiler, until Dancers 1 and 2 find themselves up against the wall again, with a decidedly more positive, or at least hopeful, result. None of the preceding description does justice, of course, to the mind-boggling array of moves these two trios pull off - first the men (Gerber, Holmseth and Peterson), then later the ladies (Klopchin, Tamara Ober, and Leslie O'Neill). But let's face it, if you could put dance into words, it'd be a play. The contortions of the human body can often convey things in a way that makes words completely unnecessary.

I've discovered one of the things I like most about Peterson's work, and that of the other choreographers and dancers he works with, is the eye contact between the dancers. Yes, physical contact and the interaction of bodies in space is the main course here. But the looks between these people are all so loaded with intent, it takes the dance to another level. The dance that I have a hard time connecting with is the kind where everyone's face is blank and they go through their paces. Amazing though the moves may be, if they've got the dead stare of a runway model plastered on their face, I find it difficult to engage. It's like they're only performing from the neck down. Or worse yet they're like an actor who stands onstage only waiting for his next line, not listening to his acting partner or being present with them in the moment of the story being told between their characters.

The dancers in Rolnick and Peterson's works, even when alone, have faces you can actually read (or try to read - on some level, humans are always a mystery). It's just another form of connection, but I find it's a vital one. Also, I imagine it's a part of the puzzle that only snaps into place when the moves become second nature and the dancer no longer needs to obsess about them. Practice ingrains the motion in the body, so your eyes can leave your legs and arms to do their work, and you can throw some energy your partner's way. It sounds like a little thing, but the payoff is huge, and it's present in all of the best moments of Fe/Male (of which there are many).

The friend who accompanied me kept letting out little involuntary exclamations of "Wow!" under his breath watching the dancers in action. That about sums it up really. Wow.

See this thing. And quick. They only run this weekend (June 2nd through June 5th) at Intermedia Arts. Check out the calendar at intermediaarts.org for more information and reservations.

Jeffrey Peterson Dance will be back in the Fringe this year, as well as premiering a new piece at the Southern (both in August), but trust me, you want to see this one, too. Like all good performance, it exists in the moment between performer and audience, and then it's gone.

5 stars - Very Highly Recommended.

Off-season Fringey goodness this weekend

Just a heads up, since this is a "blink and you miss it" kind of thing. I'll be posting a review after, but I wanted to give an extra shout out because of the brief (this weekend only) run.

Jeffrey Peterson, who concocted one of my favorite Minnesota Fringe Festival shows last year (good lord, was it only last year?) Thinkingaview/CorresponDance has come up with a brand new dance piece (with co-director/choreographer Melissa Rolnick) to blend and bend genders for us, called Fe/Male for four performances only at Intermedia Arts. (I was not alone in loving the Fringe show - just check out their audience reviews.)

Thursday, June 2, 2011 - Sun, June 5, 2011
Tickets are $14 or $12 students and seniors ($2 off with Fringe Festival Button)

Thursday June 2nd, 8pm Preview (pay what you can)
Friday - Saturday June 3rd and 4th at 8pm
Sunday June 5th at 4pm

"Fe/Male choreographically hypothesizes on gendered power, intimacy, and joy. Repeating the same dances twice: once by an all-female cast and once by an all-male cast, Fe/Male seeks to uncover our preconceptions about the nature of gender. Choreography and direction by Jeffrey Peterson and Melissa Rolnick."

It's starting to fill up, so reservations in advance are recommended - email fe.maletickets@gmail.com

Also on tap this weekend, for a longer run, is the return of a Fringe musical from Fringe 2009, The Red Tureen, a cooperative production of Eat Street Players and Doolin & Dingle (which, seriously, for the names alone...)

Eat Street Players apparently also have a Fringe show coming up this summer called 19 Cows Leaving Beirut (which, again, for the title alone, aren't you curious?)

The Red Tureen runs
June 4th, 10th and 11th at 7:30
June 5th and 12th at 2:00

Ticket Prices:
Adults $15
Students/Seniors $10
Children Under 12 $5

Discounts
Get $2 off on any performance
or
2-1 for the performances on June 4th and 5th.
** Friends of the Irish Fair
** Fringe Button (any year)

For reservations visit eatstreetplayers.org

They perform on the Howard Conn Stage at Plymouth Congregational Church - 1900 Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis (corner of Nicollet and Franklin)

"Food is a Weapon and the Truth Starves in New Musical “THE RED TUREEN”

Returning to his boyhood home in western Ireland, young Father Padraig Bones is about to learn that in Famine Ireland, the truth is the first hungry casualty. “The Red Tureen”, a new musical to be presented by Eat Street Players at the Howard Conn Theater in Minneapolis, June 4-12, 2011, follows Padraig in his hungry struggle against British policies that turn food into a weapon. The fate of his beloved Kilkieran Valley lies in the balance.

According to composer Kevin Bowen, “The Red Tureen” is fiction, but based on real people who suffered in the Irish Famine and struggled to survive. “Their lives were simple, but remarkable, and we know only the bare outlines for certain. So now we attempt to fill the gaps.”

Bowen and librettist James Lundy, close friends since their days at Gustavus Adolphus College nearly thirty years ago, created “The Red Tureen” over the past five years. In abbreviated form at the 2009 Minnesota Fringe Festival, “The Red Tureen” was named a “Must See” production, and offered audiences “…history and mystery, but also the things singers love to sing about: romance, anguish, and humor” (Debra O’Connor, St. Paul Pioneer Press). The current production premieres the story and music in their entirety.

“The Red Tureen” is directed for the stage by Michael Sheeks, with musical direction by Andrew Kust, orchestration by Martha Davis, and dramaturgy by Jo Holcomb. “The Red Tureen” cast features Bill Marshall as Padraig Bones, Aly Westberg as Maeb McCullen, and Chris Deutsch as William Bones."

I'll be reviewing that one, too, but again, just a little wave to let you know it's out there.

Interregnum 2010-1011 - Blog of the Time Between - But Not for Love

So my play about gay marriage, "But Not For Love," gets an production out in Los Angeles, and shortly after that, the gay marriage issue blows up back home in Minnesota (sigh)...

5/16/11 Vote No - Where To Get The T-shirt
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

5/12/11 What Do I Tell My Goddaughter?
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

11/1/10 "Miss Me Yet?" (VOTE!)
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

Fringe 2011 - Lottery Posts

Here's a handy list of links to any posts referring to the 2011 Minnesota Fringe Festival's Lottery and the aftermath...

2/13/11 - Apparently Size Does Matter
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

2/9/11 - Wait Listed
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

2/7/11 - The New Fringe Lottery
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

Interregnum 2010-2011 - Blog of the Time Between - Leave

Urban Samurai Productions premiered a brand new expanded, full-length version of my play "Leave" in February 2011. When I wasn't busy with rewrites, here's what I managed to blog about the process and how it all turned out...

2/19/11 - The Audience Completes The Production
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

2/17/11 - The Unrelenting Power of a Mother's Love
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

2/13/11 - Happy Valentine's Day: I Hope You Like Guys In Their Underwear
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

2/12/11 - Things That Make It Real
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

2/12/11 - First Impressions
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

2/10/11 - Rented Lips and the Merits of Tongue
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

2/10/11 - All The Theater I'm Missing
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

2/8/11 - No, It's Not About Pedophilia
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

11/3/10 - Audition Jitters
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

8/19/10 - Bowling and Running and Writing (not necessarily in that order)
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

Interregnum 2010-2011 - Blog of the Time Between - 24 Hour Plays

Once again I served as playwright wrangler for Theatre Unbound's 24 Hour Play Project. But first, of course, the general public had to vote on what went into the plays

1/2/11 Theatre Unbound's 24 Hour Play Project: You Choose The Ingredients
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

Vote No - Where To Get The T-shirt

I've had some inquiries about the T-shirt associated with my Vote No essay (What Do I Tell My Goddaughter?) so, having just ordered a couple myself, I can walk you all through the process.

First, for those eagle-eyed proofreader friends of mine who noticed the first draft of the shirt misspelled "amendment" as "amendement" - the artist caught that and fixed it for the next test run. All shirts ordered will respect the laws of good spelling.

The shirts are by Fish Design, the brainchild of my friend James Fish, a recent graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. I own several other T-shirt designs he's created and count them among my favorites. So I can vouch for the guy and his business personally. (He also designed the covers for several of the published versions of my plays.)

The new photo of the T-shirt includes James' contact info (though the contact info doesn't actually appear on the shirt, fear not, just the Vote No art).

Send your order to

JamesWasFish@gmail.com

Indicate

T-shirt size
Cut - Male or Female
Type - Minnesota State version, or plain old Vote No version (I ordered one of each)
Shipping Address
Additional Contact Info like phone, if you want (just in case he needs to get in touch with you about the order - he'll already have your email, of course)

Locally (Twin Cities area) he might be able to arrange an in-person pickup, so inquire if that interests you, see if your schedules align. Me, my schedule's too nutty right now. Mailing is best. It's worth the extra five bucks to me.

T-shirts are $17.50 each for regular sizes (S, M, L, XL), $20.50 for XXL or XXXL

Shipping is $5.00

He'll be processing payments through PayPal, which means you need to factor in an additional 3 percent to zero out their fees.

A single shirt would be

17.50 - shirt
5.00 - shipping

22.50 subtotal, plus another $0.68 to negate the 3 percent PayPal fee

So that grand total would be $23.18

As for payment, you go to Paypal.com

Sign yourself in

Choose the Send Money option

Enter James' business email - JamesWasFish@gmail.com - in the To field

Enter the total cost of your purchase ($23.18 for a single T-shirt) in the Amount field

In the "This is a purchase of:" section, choose Goods

Click Continue

If you don't already have a credit card set up with them, the system will walk you through all that, plus the shipping address for your order, and there'll also be a place to put a message (I copied my order info there, just to be on the safe side. I'm anal that way.)

Then you finalize your order and you're on your way. You get an email confirmation, and James follows up as well.

All relatively painless as internet shopping goes.

James does quality work, and I consider that price a bargain to rally for a good cause, and also support a local artist starting up a business.

I was exchanging messages with James the other day and marveled that he'd designed a shirt in protest within hours of the state senate's vote and had it posted online. He replied...

"Yeah, I noticed the ruling and it just makes me mad because I have known people that are/were planning to get married out of state. You shouldn't have to leave your hometown to do what you want to because of your sexuality.

If there are any other social or political issues you feel NEED to be addressed, or like the idea with these shirts, please feel free to shoot me some input.

I'm not doing this for the money. This is something I truly believe in, and I'm sick of the way things are governed in our country. Mob rule someday? Who knows. But if it's an idea I can back I will use all the equipment and skills I have to help get it out there!"

Go, James! I know tons of great straight people. I don't know why it still (pleasantly) surprises me sometimes when they want to pitch in on behalf of a gay cause. I suppose they'd argue, "it's not a gay thing, it's a human thing." Guess I just figure somehow it's only "my fight." Nice to know so many people think it's their fight, too, regardless of where they fall on the Kinsey scale.

You'll see my proudly wearing my red T-shirts around town soon.

(Wouldn't it be nice if some legislative miracle happened and I didn't need them after all? We'll know soon enough.)

What Do I Tell My Goddaughter?

Because she's going to want an explanation.

What do I tell my goddaughter is the reason that in the state of Minnesota where her godfather lives, they are pushing an amendment to the constitution through the legislature to put it on the ballot for the November 2012 election? A popular vote to decide whether our constitution needs an amendment that would define marriage as being only between one man and one woman, and thus outlawing gay marriage?

Again.

Because we already have a law on the books to this effect, correct? Minnesota already took care of that.

So what do I tell my goddaughter?

Why is it necessary to also add it to the constitution?

Why is it necessary to put the rights of a group of citizens up for a vote?

Because that's what it is.

I heard a politician say that the good people of Minnesota are decent, caring, inclusive folks, and so they should be allowed to decide such a thing and not have the politicians or the courts decide it for them.

But this politician isn't putting this amendment on the ballot because he thinks these good folks will reject anti-gay bigotry. He's expecting them to embrace it, and enshrine the traditional, exclusive definition of marriage into the state constitution.

So what do I tell my goddaughter?

Is there a teeming hoard of gays and lesbians storming churches and the offices of justices of the peace demanding to be married and wreaking all kinds of havoc?

I think someone would have told me.

Does this amendment help solve any of our state's, or our country's, current challenges?

Does it feed one hungry person?

Does it educate one child?

Does it put a roof over the head of someone who is homeless?

Does it help shrink the budget and pay down the deficit?

Does it bring one soldier home from the war?

Does it help business to create jobs for the unemployed?

Does it heal the sick?

No?

OK, then what do I tell my goddaughter?

Because there has to be a good reason for it, right?

Because when I stood up for her parents and spoke at their wedding back in June of 2004, my goddaughter's future mother and father didn't want to have a political debate or make anybody uncomfortable. But when I asked them if there was anything they wanted in this prayer, the bride told me that she had many friends, myself included, who were not allowed to be married. She wanted them to be a part of this day, too, and she wanted people to remember that inequity still exists. We need to recognize it, we need to fight it. We need to not silently accept it as the way things are. We need to fight for the way things should be.

The wedding was in Taos, New Mexico, in the shadow of the Taos Mountain, a sacred Native American territory were non-Native Americans are not allowed to set foot.

So the wedding prayer began...

"God,
as we gather here in the sight
of the great Taos Mountain,
a sacred place we cannot go,
we celebrate the union
of Miriam and Jeremy,
and ask for your blessings
upon them -
that they may continue to find
in one another,
and in support from their
family and friends,
the things they have already been so fortunate to find -
laughter, acceptance,
forgiveness, safety,
patience, gratitude,
love and peace.
Hear us as we pray..."

and the wedding prayer continued, concluding with...

"Spirit,
as Miriam and Jeremy continue
the next chapter in their adventure together,
they are mindful of those who do not share the same rights and freedoms as they do,
including the ceremony we gather for today.
We pray for a world
in which there is no sacred space
where two people in love cannot go
to celebrate their union
with family and friends.
We ask that in this troubled world,
you offer hope for the sick,
the lonely, the outcast,
and comfort for the dying and their families.
We ask for peace in the world,
wisdom for our leaders,
and safety for those at war.
Finally, we ask individually
for the strength, understanding and love
we each will need
in order to leave this world,
and the people in it,
better than we found them.
All this we pray..."

This was the union into which my goddaughter was was born two years ago. These are her parents. These are their friends.

They asked me to be her godfather because they wanted me to be involved in her life, to be an influence in raising her.

So what do I tell my goddaughter about my adopted state? A state I moved to almost 20 years ago now to build a life. A state that has nurtured me and made me feel welcome and made me feel like the world was expanding and all things were possible.

A state that now seems to be telling me the opposite. That I am not welcome. That I am not the same, or as good or deserving, as everyone else who lives here. That the things which I am allowed and not allowed to do can be called up for a vote at any time. That my rights are not inalienable. That some pursuits of happiness are not to be tolerated.

What do I tell her when she asks me, "Why do you still live in Minnesota if they feel this way about you?"

Tell me, please, because right now I don't have an answer for her.

What do I tell my goddaughter?

(I am sending this to every member of the House Rules Committee in the Minnesota Legislature, the only body who can still stop this thing from coming to vote in the House that will most certainly put it on the ballot. I'm not feeling particularly hopeful, but I work with words, and I have to do something.)

Next To Normal - National Tour Pictures - 17

Full Cast (photo by Craig Schwartz)

Next To Normal - National Tour Pictures - 16

Full Cast (photo by Craig Schwartz)

Next To Normal - National Tour Pictures - 15

Asa Somers and Curt Hansen (photo by Craig Schwartz)

Next To Normal - National Tour Pictures - 14

Alice Ripley and Curt Hansen (photo by Craig Schwartz)

Next To Normal - National Tour Pictures - 13

Curt Hansen, Asa Somers and Alice Ripley (photo by Craig Schwartz)

Next To Normal - National Tour Pictures - 12

Curt Hansen and Alice Ripley (photo by Craig Schwartz)

Next To Normal - National Tour Pictures - 11

Jeremy Kushnier, Alice Ripley and Asa Somers (photo by Craig Schwartz)

Next To Normal - National Tour Pictures - 10

Alice Ripley and Curt Hansen (photo by Craig Schwartz)

Next To Normal - National Tour Pictures - 9

Emma Hunton and Alice Ripley (photo by Craig Schwartz)

Next To Normal - National Tour Pictures - 8

Emma Hunton, Curt Hansen, and Preston Sadleir (photo by Craig Schwartz)

Next To Normal - National Tour Pictures - 7

Full Cast (photo by Craig Schwartz)

Next To Normal - National Tour Pictures - 6

Preston Sadleir and Emma Hunton (photo by Craig Schwartz)

Next To Normal - National Tour Pictures - 5

Alice Ripley and Jeremy Kushnier (photo by Craig Schwartz)

Next To Normal - National Tour Pictures - 4

Emma Hunton (photo by Craig Schwartz)

Next To Normal - National Tour Pictures - 3

Curt Hansen (photo by Craig Schwartz)

Next To Normal - National Tour Pictures - 2

Asa Somers (photo by Craig Schwartz)

Next To Normal - National Tour Pictures - 1

Alice Ripley (photo by Craig Schwartz)

Review - Next To Normal - 5 stars

Curt Hansen, Alice Ripley and Asa Somers (photo by Craig Schwartz)


It takes a lot for a piece of theater to genuinely surprise me anymore. I've seen so much theater, and get involved in the nuts and bolts of storytelling and production myself with my own scripts. So when a theater production puts one over on me, and actually has me enjoy being pysched out, that's a rare and pretty neat trick. The national touring company of the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical "Next To Normal" surprised me not once but repeatedly throughout the evening. But "Next To Normal" isn't simply a cleverly rigged puzzle box. There's a deep emotional connection going on between the play and its audience as well. Just like I'm not often surprised anymore, I'm also not often moved - to laughter, to tears, to sighing, to sitting on the edge of my seat in suspense. "Next To Normal" pulled all of that out of me, too - my heart and brain spinning at once. It's a gorgeous piece of theater. It richly deserves all the awards that have been thrown at it over the last few years.

So, what's "Next To Normal" about - and how do I tell you without giving the game away? Fear not, this shall be relatively spoiler-free. But first, some things I hardly ever do...

I hardly ever stand at the end of a play. When the cast came out to take their bows, the friend who accompanied me asked, "Are we standing?" We stood and applauded.

I hardly ever buy a musical cast album, or libretto. For "Next To Normal," I made a beeline for the merchandise booth - at intermission, before I even knew how the thing was going to end yet. I bought both.

The music is powerful and lovely and has a lot of intriguing variety to it. The lyrics and libretto are funny and smart. The performances just keep knocking you back on your heels. Every time you think you have these characters figured out, they throw you another curveball. It's incredibly addictive.

"Next To Normal" starts out as if it's going to be a rock musical spin on standard-issue suburban angst. There's Diana (Tony winner Alice Ripley), who seems like a slightly overwhelmed wife and mother. There's Dan (Asa Somers), who seems like a slightly clueless husband and father. There's Gabe (Curt Hansen), their strapping athletic teenage son. There's Natalie (Meghann Fahy during week one of the run here, Emma Hunton in week two), their socially awkward musical prodigy of a teenage daughter. The family's day starts normally enough, until Diana suddenly starts her own manic assembly line of sandwich making... on the kitchen floor. Diana is more than just a little overwhelmed. In fact, she has a series of doctors (the key ones all portrayed by Jeremy Kushnier) providing her with the necessary therapy and prescriptions to keep her on a relatively even keel.

Daughter Natalie has attracted the attention of a genial slacker classmate named Henry (Preston Sadleir). Try as she might to keep Henry from meeting her peculiar family, eventually Henry gets pulled into an impromptu family dinner. And that's when the real whopper of a surprise gets pulled out. It makes the audience reevaluate everything they've seen up to that point, and spins the rest of the play off into much different territory. Let's just say Diana's problems go a lot deeper than garden variety suburban ennui, or even the phrase bipolar disorder. The focus of the family on Diana's problems has the unintended side effect of making Natalie feel more and more isolated, at precisely the time she starts worrying about whether what her mother has is a family gift that keeps on giving.

Though classified as a rock musical, with a driving rhythm that keeps the story barrelling forward, the reason the Tony-winning score bewitched me so was because of its ability to incorporate other kinds of musical storytelling. Key moments of variety included a folk music lament by Diana ("I Miss The Mountains"), a melancholy music box waltz for mother and son ("I Dreamed A Dance"), and a love song by a husband for his wife ("A Light In The Dark") that was so beautiful it had me in tears, right as the play reached intermission. That last number isn't just beautiful because of the tune or the way it was sung, though both those assessments are true enough. It was another of those surprises I keep talking about. This is a love song where a man asks his wife to do something horrible in the hopes that it can save not just her, but their marriage, and the family. It's all the more lovely and horrible because the audience can feel him winning the argument, and none of us are entirely sure he should. Like so many pivotal moments in the story, it feels like both a victory and a mistake.

In fact, act one burned through so much story (without ever feeling rushed) that I found myself wondering, what can they possibly do in act two? I needn't have worried. The play not only explores what it means to be a family, but keeps peeling back the layers of complicated questions like:

How much emotion is too much emotion? How little is too little?
How long can you grieve without endangering the rest of your life, or your sanity?
If you can eliminate a painful memory, should you?
How do you build a new life from scratch?
Is it possible for something or someone which gives you comfort to ever be bad for you?
How do you know when to let go, or walk away, and when to stand and fight?

All these questions get teased out in the give and take between husband and wife, parent and child, lovers and friends - and the answers are intriguing, amusing, and constantly shifting, right up until the conclusion of the play. The vision of composer Tom Kitt and librettist/lyricist Brian Yorkey teeters so daringly (and often) at that place where the whole thing could go off the rails that my friend noticed me leaning all the way forward in my seat in the middle of act two. As if I were willing the play from where I sat, "Oh please don't screw up."

It never did.

My friend noticed not too long after that I had settled back in my seat again. Relaxed, knowing I was in very capable hands. Not just the hands of the authors, but the hands of all those great performers and musicians, and the Tony-nominated directing and design team. Michael Greif's nimble direction had that cast zipping up and down all over the wondrous three story set of shifting scaffolding designed by Mark Wendland, lit to dazzling effect by Kevin Adams. Spectacle was always in service of the story, never burying it or shoving it aside.

It's wonderful and exciting to see something so different, and yet still so recognizably human. You should really see it for yourself. You deserve a surprise this good in your theatergoing life. I'm exceedingly glad they paid us a visit.

Very Highly Recommended

The national touring company of "Next To Normal" performs at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts (345 Washington Street in St. Paul) through May 22, 2011. For tickets and more information, visit ordway.org or nexttonormal.com