GHOST the Musical

In this musical based off of the hit movie, young couple, Sam and Molly, have just moved into an apartment in Brooklyn with help from their friend – and Sam’s business partner – Carl. Everything seems to be going well, if only Sam would say three little words. Everything changes when Sam is shot and killed. He becomes a ghost, unable to communicate with Molly except through a formerly fraudulent psychic, Oda Mae Brown. Together they work to solve Sam’s murder and bring the two lovers peace after death.

Wicked

by CHRISTINE SARKES Wicked is so good on so many levels, there really is no need to write a review – just go see it, if you can. The lyrics and music are achingly beautiful, the underlying messages touchingly resonant and topical, and the costumes and sets are simply fabulous. I love this show with…

West Side Story

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts and Teatro Del Pueblo present West Side Story, April 4-16. The musical, based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, places a new pair of star-crossed lovers in Manhattan’s Upper West Side during the 1950’s.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

  by Jacob Froelich I just can’t seem to write a traditional reflection on Michael Mayer’s production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, now playing at The Ordway in St. Paul. Normally I’d tell you a bit about the background of the show, some stand-out moments and give a final recommendation to see or skip…

MAMMA MIA!

By Jacob Froelich What more could possibly be said about one of the world’s most popular and successful Broadway shows? MAMMA MIA! is one of only five shows to have run for more than 10 years on Broadway and has been viewed by over 60 million people worldwide. It was made into a blockbuster of…

Fun Home

by CHRISTINE SARKES Fun Home at the Orpheum Theatre is devastatingly honest, achingly funny and worthy of all the praise it has received. The musical won five Tony Awards last year, including Best Musical, and made history as the first show written exclusively by women to win that award. Based on Alison Bechdel’s best-selling and award-winning graphic memoir, Fun Home introduces…

Cabaret

by ERIKA SASSEVILLE I’ll admit, I may have been a terrible theater major. Before this week, I’d never seen Cabaret, either in film or on stage. Even so, my companion and I were blown away by Roundabout Theatre’s production playing through October 23 at the Orpheum Theatre. Cabaret premiered on Broadway in 1966 and picked up eight…

Complicated Fun

by CHRISTINE SARKES Complicated Fun at the History Theatre through May 29 is a weirdly coincidental musical retelling of the history of First Avenue and the acts that made it famous, including Prince, who played frequently and filmed many scenes in Purple Rain there. In fact, Chris Osgood of The Suicide Commandos opened the show with a moving tribute…

Bullets Over Broadway

by  MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN The musical Bullets Over Broadway, an adaptation of the Woody Allen movie of 1994, is a crowd pleaser. The movie script was nominated for an Oscar, and this production features original direction and choreography by multi-Tony award winner Susan Stroman (also known for her work on The Producers). The production has…

A Chorus Line

by CHRISTINE SARKES The Broadway classic and iconic A Chorus Line receives reverential treatment at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, with spot on, heavily local casting and fabulous triple-threat performances (dancing, singing, acting). It is worth the price of admission to remember the 1970s groundbreaking themes of coming out and coming of age in the…