Tonight’s entertainment on Broadway, Peter and the Starcatcher, Brooks Atkinson Theater, New York, New York
I know there are some people who don’t like A Prairie Home Companion, but you have to admire the longevity and Americana that is live radio. Plus the show put the Fitzgerald and my hometown of St. Paul on the map and introduced me to a lot of music I wouldn’t otherwise hear. Last Saturday was no exception:
- Winnipeg-based Chic Gamine
- Minnesota singer Holly Jones
- Guitarist Dean Magraw
- Blues singer Hilary Thavis
In addition to the guests, there was the usual music from Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band, which included an awesome cover of Louis Armstong’s What a Wonderful World by Pat Donohue.
This was the first show I had seen in person since Tom Keith passed away, so it was weird to see Steve Kramer from The Wallets doing sound effects with Tim Russell and Sue Scott.
Garrison Keillor has had several skits in the past that hit home for me and he did it again during Tales from Lake Wobegon, we he started talking about the old English teacher visiting the casino.
Good stuff.
Alice in Wonderland, Deerwood Elementary 5th Grade Play, Eagan, Minnesota
Last night I took my mom to see the live stage production of It’s A Wonderful Life at the Saint Paul Hotel. My friend Phil Callen plays George Bailey in a cast that also includes Wild and Twins regular Jim Cunningham, Adena Brumer, Jennifer Edward-Hughes, Christopher Whiting and Ross Young. This is the fourth year of this production, but my first time seeing it.
The performances are held in the Promenade Ballroom on the main level of the hotel, with tables of eight people set up around the room. For the dinner performances, Executive Chef Lance Kapps created the following menu this year:
- First Course: Sliced Roasted Beets with Feta Cheese and Haricot Verts with Baby Greens served with Horseradish Vinaigrette
- Second Course: Chicken Breast filled with Spinach Mousse with Roasted Shallot Demi-Glace, Parmesan Risotto Cranberry Glazed Baby Carrots
- Third Course: Chocolate Dipped Ginger, Snap Mini Cranberry Trifle Martini, Candy Cane Chocolate-Raspberry Roulade
The food was excellent and the servers were swift and unobtrusive during the performance. An open bar was available in the foyer for drinks before the show and during the two short intermissions.
The performance itself was split into two parts: Christmas carols at the beginning, followed by the entire It’s A Wonderful Life play. The fictional radio station WBFR serves as the backdrop to the entire night and was reminiscent of watching A Prairie Home Companion – right down to the live sound effects performed by the very talented and funny Mr. Whiting and the radio notes from the audience read on stage after the second intermission.
The cast mingled with the audience during breaks and after the show, which was refreshing. Phil’s wife was there with her mother and I got to talk to Mr. Cunningham about the show I saw him in at Dudley Riggs a long, long time ago. He even remembered the name of the show, once I mentioned it had a lot of songs by Bread. Sex, Lies and Videogames was one funny show and was his first with that theater group.
It’s A Wonderful Life, A Live Radio Play runs through December 23. There are only a few tickets left for selected performances, so check out the schedule and call 651-228-3860 if you want to see the 2009 edition of this new St. Paul tradition. The afternoon tea performances are $55 and the dinner shows are $70.
Originally scheduled to make the U.S. premiere in St. Paul, Kooza is finally re-scheduled to come back. Shows start July 3rd and are currently on sale to Cirque Club members for various dates through July 26th (no shows on Mondays or on Tuesday the 21st).
The family attended a Sunday afternoon performance of Oklahoma! this weekend that was produced by the Eagan Summer Community Theatre. Colleen couldn’t wait to finally hear the real Surrey with the Fringe on Top after all of those When Harry Met Sally references.
The production quality of this show was quite high and we enjoyed the lead actors: Ashley Lemaire as Laurey and Jared Oxborough as Curley. Douglas Castle was also great as Ali Hakim and the kids liked Honey Ribar as Ado Annie the most.
The worst part of the show by far was the audience – why can’t people shut up for two hours? Aside from that, it was nice to finally see the play that every Okie is duty-bound to watch at some point in their life. Ok-la-hom-a, OK!
A few weeks ago, we went with our friends to see The Secret Fall of Constance Wilde at the Guthrie’s Proscenium Stage. That was the only stage at the new Guthrie that I hadn’t been in, and it was very nice: red everywhere, comfortable seats, good sight lines and strong acoustics.
We got there about an hour early to get rush tickets, which worked perfectly – four seats together for $20 a seat. The theater got some of that money back in concessions, but I was disappointed that none of the restaurants (both in the theater and those nearby) were open after the performance.
This was a busy family activity weekend – wedding on Saturday in Plainview, Minnesota, and a community theater presentation of Cats on Sunday in Maplewood.
Congratulations to Justin and Mindy Tentis on their marriage. How often to you get to see a bride and groom drive away in something like that? It probably cost more than I paid for my house too…
The Heritage Theater Company production of Cats at the Maplewood Community Center included two Smiths – my uncle Jeff playing Bustopher Jones and my cousin Peter playing Mungojerrie. They both had solos and were awesome. The three hours worth of makeup was impressive too. The show runs through May 18 if you want to catch some good community theater (40+ people in the cast and orchestra).
Colleen and I went to see Warm Beer Cold Women at the Guthrie’s Dowling Theater this weekend. The theater was set up the exact reverse way from when we saw Phil Callen in Pen this fall, which threw me off at first.
I’ve liked Tom Waits for a long time, but realized I’m not much of a Waits expert. This show had lots of songs I’d never heard before, but we still had a good time. Katy Hays was our favorite performer, but Dennis Curley had his moments and Robert Berdahl (who also wrote, directed and produced) did an admirable job with his torn Achilles and crutches.
This weekend my wife and I went to see our friend Phil Callen perform in the two act play Pen at the Guthrie’s Dowling Studio in Minneapolis. Phil was his usual great self, or as Star Tribune reviewer Rohan Preston called him, “a smooth and smarmy cad.”
Last month I ended my boycott of the new Guthrie (mad about the old one being torn down) to see my friend Phil Callen portray Georgia senator Lyman Hall in 1776.
On Sunday evening we took the family to the 5pm performance of Pippi Longstocking at the Children’s Theater in Minneapolis. This was the last of our season ticket package for the 2005-06 season, which included 4-ISH and Sleeping Beauty. There a number of good shows coming up next season, but we haven’t decided to renew yet.
Pippi was a fun show and the kids enjoyed it. Reed Sigmund has appeared in many of the shows we’ve seen over the years and he just knows how to make children laugh–very, very talented. Jessie Shelton was energetic in the title role and her style suited the role well.
The only disappointing thing about the night was CTC’s policy of not letting parents take pictures of their kids in their seats before the show and during intermission. It’s a public theater with no copyright issues during non-performance periods–how about some relief from the threatening P.A. warnings? Better yet, make it more fun for the kids by allowing pictures with the cast afterwards…DK