Past Reviews

Regional Reviews: Minneapolis/St. Paul

Romeo and Juliet, Hitchcock Blonde, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers and Dreamboys

Also see Liz' review of I Am a Camera


Children's Theatre Company Romeo and Juliet


Lindsey Hartley and Matt Rein
There's an easy temptation to fuss with Shakespeare. After all, audiences are familiar with his work and the scripts are open to interpretation. Often, this just becomes a silly trick—we've set "King Lear" on Mars!—but that's certainly not the case with Children's Theatre Company's tight and powerful reading of Romeo and Juliet.

Here, the staging becomes a major player. Presented in a promenade setting, there's no way to escape any of the action, be it the simmering rivalry between the Montagues and Capulets, or the red-hot passion of the teen lovers at the center of the story. Director/adaptor Greg Banks (also responsible for a similar Antigone at CTC a few seasons back) cuts the work down to its bare bones, and then presents it with such energy and passion that the audience gets swept up into the mad action. Just like the characters, we never have a chance to pause and question any of the actions the lovers make, hurtling us just as much as them to their tragic end.

A rock-solid 10-actor company (along with two musicians) flies through work, buoyed by the chemistry of Lindsey Alexandra Hartley as Juliet and Matt Rein as Romeo. Both are young enough to make you believe that they could be young teens, but talented enough to dive deep into the loving madness that possesses both characters. Other standouts include Autumn Ness as an earthy and loving Nurse and Dean Holt in a terrific double role as Lord Montague and Mercutio.

Credit is also due to the excellent work done by designer Joseph Stanley, who crafts a shabby Verona that is loaded with places for the actors to really play. Depending on stamina, your knees or feet may be complaining by show's end, but the temporary pain is more than the worth it for this memorable production.

Romeo and Juliet runs through March 15 at the Children's Theatre Company, 2400 Third Ave. S., Minneapolis. Tickets are $19 for students and $29 for adults, and is recommended for ages 13 and up. For information, call 612-874-0400 or visit childrenstheatre.org.

Photo: Dan Norman


Jungle Theater Hitchcock Blonde

Terry Johnson's Hitchcock Blonde centers on the mystery of a lost film by the famed director; or maybe its about a college professor with desires or a student with secrets; or maybe it's about Janet Leigh's body double from Psycho trying to deal with her own troubles at home. Or maybe ...

Johnson loads Hitchcock Blonde with ideas aplenty, but never brings them together but in the most obvious ways. This hamstrings the actors and designers at the Jungle Theater, who gamely make the best of this sow's ear of a play. Using a trio of settings and a mixture of live action and video, Hitchcock Blonde attempts to get under the skin of the famous director and his obsessions. This is most effective when the teacher/student pair investigate the mystery of a lost silent film from 1919. Using only a few remaining frames of film, they attempt to reconstruct the story, and ponder why it was lost. Far less effective is the middle sequence, which thrusts Hitchcock and the body double into a plot drawn straight from the films.

Johnson's script takes its own sweet time to get anywhere, and its revelations aren't all that interesting. Of more note are the performances, including Heidi Bakke and J.C. Cutler as the modern-day pair and Tom Sherohman, who has both the look and presence to pull off the "classic" Hitchcock. Director and designer Joel Sass pulls these diverse threads together quite well, and there are sequences amid the three-hour show that offer both thrills and insight. Those, however, aren't enough to make Hitchcock Blonde any more than an evening of frustrating potential.

Hitchcock Blonde runs through March 8 at the Jungle Theatre, 2951 Lyndale Ave., Minneapolis. Tickets are $28 to $36. For tickets, call 612-822-7063 or visit www.jungletheater.com


Chanhassen Dinner Theatres Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Ever wonder what a group of talented actors, directors and designers can do with truly terrible material? There's a case study in this playing for the next few months at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.

Based on dated 1954 musical, the 1980s-era stage version flopped on Broadway, playing for less than a week. It's easy to see why. Hopelessly corny and contrived, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers leaves meager scraps for the performers to work with throughout its breezy two hours. Oh, the performers try, and leads Keith Rice (as main brother Adam) and especially Norah Long (as headstrong bride Milly) really bring their characters to life, showing unexpected depths throughout the evening.

While the rest of the brothers don't get much more than a few ticks as characters, all of the performers are fine dancers and singers, which brings the various dance scenes to life. The rest of the brides are drawn even thinner (I didn't realize most of them had names until I checked the program), but the actors do their best with what is here.

That's a theme throughout the evening, with Michael Brindisi's thoughtful but light direction keeping everything fast enough to keep the tedium mostly at bay. And I'm not going to dwell on the Grand-Canyon-like plot holes, or the score that ranges from inoffensive (the original Johnny Mercer/Gene de Paul tunes) to another reason why the show flopped so hard in its first run (the rest).

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers runs through June 20 at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. Tickets are $56 to $73 ($44 to $63 without dinner). Call 952-934-1525 or visit www.chanhassendt.com.


Blue Umbrella Productions Dreamboys

Already tired from a long week not-fun, non-writing work and ceaseless bad economic news, I headed to St. Paul Friday night to take in the latest piece from the up-and-coming Blue Umbrella Productions. Toss in a Minnesota Wild hockey game that evening—forcing me to actually pay for parking in St. Paul—and it wasn't a surprise that I was a bit grumpy by the time I finally got to the Lowry Lab Theater.

Thankfully, Dreamboys quickly melted my mood. Starting with the rather beguiling concept of having men sing Broadway tunes written for women, Dreamboys builds on that with a quintet of talented singers who easily glide from tune to tune through the sharp 90-minute program.

It's fairly rare to find Broadway tunes where men sing of their love to other men, so an entire evening of it (albeit with songs not originally intended in that direction) provides some real thrills. The compilation—solidly directed by Suzanna Winter—also digs deep into the songbook, pulling out songs from the familiar (pieces from South Pacific and Company) to the downright obscure (the jolly "Mr. Hop-a-long Heartbreak" from Urban Cowboy. I didn't realize anyone actually saw Urban Cowboy).

The five performers blend well in their group numbers and all had moments to really strut their vocal stuff in solo numbers. The highlight comes with Tim Kuehl, who not only belts out the above Urban Cowboy number, but also a gorgeous ballad, "Lying There." While not perfect—there were a few flubbed lyrics and sound cues, along with sequences that dragged—Dreamboys provided what my soul needed Friday night.

That the Wild game got out at the same time as the show? Oh well.

Dreamboys runs through February 22 at the Lowry Lab Theater, 360 St. Peter St., St. Paul. Tickets are $15. For information, call 651-646-2943 or visit http://www.blueumbrellaproductions.net.


- Ed Huyck

Be sure to check the current schedule for theatre in the Twin Cities area