Twin Cities Community Theater Beat

Heathers: The Musical , based on the cult-classic 1989 film, is a darkly comedic take on high school drama. When nobody Veronica Sawyer is accepted into the cool clique (consisting of three girls named Heather), at first she's thrilled to be popular, go to parties, and feel beautiful — but she can't stomach the cruelty the Heathers dole out. She finds connection with outsider JD, a cynical, well-read new student who's not afraid of violence. Before long, people are dying and Veronica is caught up in an increasingly complex web of lies and hypocrisy. How many people will die before she can find a way to put things right? The stage musical is a little different from the film; it starts with an earlier, more innocent Veronica and streamlines by combining some side characters. The musical can't quite capture the particular weirdness of the film and so leans instead into style, color, and lots of high belting (very popular in modern musical theater). But both the film and th...

In 2020, there were a number of community theater groups in the area who were planning to put on Mamma Mia before things started getting canceled. Cross Community Players was among those groups, and is the first to actually bring it to the stage after a year’s delay. Mamma Mia is also the group’s first show performed outdoors, at the Maple Grove bandshell. While it must have been difficult for the cast to rehearse through the recent heat wave, the weather was perfect on opening night. What ambience for a show set on an island to be right next to a lake! Like any outdoor venue, it’s better to arrive early to get best pick of the seats, and just in case you don’t get a shady spot, I recommend sunscreen (and bug spray — but for heaven’s sake please move away from other audience members when putting it on). Mamma Mia is the story of a young girl who finds out she has three possible dads and invites them all to her wedding, without telling her mother. When they all show up, it brings ...

What a feeling it is to be back in a theater! After a year of cancelations and virtual performances, it’s a relief and a joy to return to live shows. There’s something so special about performers and audience members sharing the storytelling experience live, reacting to and energizing each other. I missed it, and judging from the enthusiasm of the audience at Ashland Productions’ Shrek the Musical , I’m not alone. Of course, it helps that Shrek is a very entertaining show! It’s a great show for community theaters because it’s a fun one for actors (and there are so many roles!) and it’s enjoyable for kids and adults alike to see it. Ashland Productions is coming into this season in full force, with three musicals scheduled over the summer. They must have started production of Shrek without knowing what regulations on masks and distancing would look like, and while I think audiences would still have shown up under any conditions, it’s nice that the majority of the actors were able t...