Twin Cities Community Theater Beat

If you’ve followed this blog from the beginning, you’ll know that Big Fish has not always been at the top of my list.   It took a few tries before it won me over–although I still have a few details I would like to change in the script (wouldn't “I Don’t Need a Roof” make more sense if Sandra were actually at risk of not having a roof??).   But I can appreciate now that this musical has a strong emotional core in the relationship between tall-tale-teller Edward Bloom and his cautious son Will, who’s eager to find out the truth about his father’s life before he himself becomes a father. Good Works Community Theater began rehearsals for Big Fish in 2020 and after multiple rescheduling attempts were finally able to perform this month at Wayzata Community Church.   The show was free to attend, with volunteers accepting donations for the theater group and for the non-profit organization World Central Kitchen.   The performance I attended was the Saturday matinee, which ...

Note: this post contains spoilers. If you want to go in fresh, save this review until after you have seen the show! *** In 1902, a baby in a suitcase was thrown off of a train in Eastern Missouri. He was bruised but not badly hurt, and he was quickly found and adopted - and quickly became famous. He lived a full life with his adopted family, but the mystery of why he was thrown off of the train, and who did it, was never solved.  Bright Star , the musical (loosely) based on this story, imagines a happier resolution than real life. In this version, written by Steve Martin and musician Edie Brickell, the story is set in North Carolina and alternates between the 1920s and the 1940s —t hese changes are presumably made to be a better showcase for Martin and Brickell's bluegrass soundtrack (and they do allow for a little more fun in other production aspects, like the costumes and choreography ). With the two timelines, we meet Alice Murphy quickly as both a young woman stifled by her sma...

The Marvelous Wonderettes is a jukebox musical in which four young women sing pop hits of the fifties and sixties. In the first act, they are performing at their 1958 senior prom, and in the second, they are back to sing at their 10-year reunion. The first act is often silly, as  their teen romances and rivalries sometimes conflict with their desire to put on a polished show. The second act, aided by the more soulful pop music sound of 1968, digs deeper into the characters and how their lives have been complicated since high school. This show reminded me of Nunsense  because of its small cast and interactions with the band and the audience, but the shows also have sequels in common, although The Marvelous Wonderettes only has three to Nunsense 's six. Cross Community Players returned to live theater last summer with a big outdoor production of Mamma Mia , but chose a smaller show for its first COVID-era indoor show, a very reasonable choice after the canceled performances that...