Bradley Greenwald News

?They say that the more specific something is, the more universal it is. That's certainly the case with the new original musical ONLY ONE SOPHIE by Illusion Theater's Artistic Director Michael Robins. Based on the life of his grandmother, the musical tells a very specific story about an American family centered around a strong, independent, loving Russian Jewish immigrant woman. But this tale of love, grief, family, and memories is a universal one that brings to mind one's own family history and memories. The specifics may be different, but we all have family traditions and memories and, if we're lucky, a loving grandmother that will never be forgotten. ONLY ONE SOPHIE is a beautiful, funny, poignant, inspiring story brought to life through lovely original music (by Roberta Carlson) and a terrific eight-person cast. If you're interested in sweet, simple, heartfelt stories told musically, head down (or rather, up) to Illusion Theater's 8th floor stage in the Hennepin Center for the Arts between now and March 5.

The Illusion Theater presents the world premiere of Only One Sophie, an engaging musical inspired by Director Michael Robins' remarkable family history. Opening February 12, the new work will be on stage through March 5 at the downtown Minneapolis theater, located on the eighth floor of The Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts, 528 Hennepin Ave.

2015 was my 5th full year as a Twin Cities Theater Blogger, and I saw a record high 200+ shows. When I look at those numbers, or at my busy schedule, I sometimes think, why do I do this? Why do I devote all of my free time to this part-time job for which I don't get paid? And then I see a show that reminds me why I do this. That reminds me why I started going to theater, why I started writing about theater, why I think theater (and specifically music-theater) is the most beautiful and powerful art form we have. LULLABY is one such show. This new original play-with-music is everything I want music-theater to be: funny, smart, relevant, relatable, moving, poignant, with awesome songs and a brilliant cast and creative team pouring their heart and souls into the work. This is the first of 20 new works of 'theater musically' that Theater Latte Da has committed to developing by 2020 in a project they're calling 'Next 20/20.*' It's an exciting thing to create the future of music-theater, and LULLABY has set the bar high for this project.

Children's Theatre Company (CTC) is proud to present the extraordinary classic musical, THE WIZARD OF OZ, now through January 10, 2016 on the UnitedHealth Group Stage. Extended by one week due to popular demand, audiences can expect all the splendor, magic, and excitement of the classic story beautifully captured in this production starring CTC Acting Company member Traci Allen Shannon as Dorothy. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Children's Theatre Company (CTC) is proud to present the extraordinary classic musical, The Wizard of Oz, November 3, 2015 to January 10, 2016 on the UnitedHealth Group Stage. Extended by one week due to popular demand, audiences can expect all the splendor, magic, and excitement of the classic story beautifully captured in this production starring CTC Acting Company member Traci Allen Shannon as Dorothy.

Theater Latte Da and Hennepin Theatre Trust have formed a beautiful partnership called 'Broadway Re-Imagined,' in which they combine the resources of the Trust with the creativity and innovation of Latte Da to produce a Broadway-sized musical with all local talent and that special Latte Da twist. After the powerful rock musical Aida and the brilliant Ivey Award-winning Cabaret, they return this year with Oliver!, the 1960 musical based on Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist. But don't let all those adorable moppets dancing around the stage and singing upbeat tunes fool you. Oliver! is not a light and fluffy happy musical, well, not solely anyway. It's also a dark and somber look at such serious issues as child abuse and neglect, the desperation of poverty, and violence. But fortunately, after all the death and darkness, the curtain call ends with a reprise of a happy number, so we can all leave the theater with that happy musical feeling. But perhaps we also leave with a deeper thought about the relevance and seriousness of what we just saw, wrapped up in a gorgeous musical theater package, to ponder further at a later date.

Musical theater loving friends, if you're not at Hell's Kitchen on the first Monday of the month, you are missing out. This is when Sheena Jansen and Max Wojtanowicz gather a few of their friends, who just happen to be among the most talented musical theater artists in town, for a little cabaret show. They've been doing it for over two years now, and it just keeps getting better and better. Each month has a theme, and this being February, the theme for this month's show was love. It was a fabulously entertaining night of musical theater, and it also served as a preview for shows to come this spring and summer. Read on for highlights and to find out where you can see the cast on stages around town.

OLIVER!, an re-imagining of the iconic musical based on Charles Dickens' classic Oliver Twist, directed by the nationally acclaimed Peter Rothstein, runs tonight, February 4-March 1, 2015, at the historic Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis.

It's your last week to vote for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Minneapolis Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 26th. Voting closes at the end of the year, in under one week!

Time is ticking on your last chance to vote for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Minneapolis Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 19th. Voting closes at the end of the year!

OLIVER!, an re-imagining of the iconic musical based on Charles Dickens' classic Oliver Twist, directed by the nationally acclaimed Peter Rothstein, runs February 4-March 1, 2015, at the historic Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis.

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Minneapolis Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 4th.

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Minneapolis Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 4th.

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Minneapolis Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of November 25th.

Vampires, werewolves, Egyptian mummies, English moors, haunted portraits, a sophisticated Lord and Lady, an Irish maid, a Scottish stable hand, and a euphonium. Mix it all up and you have the ridiculous and hugely entertaining farce that is THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP. This 2010 Jungle hit is back again this year with the same director/scenic designer, Joel Sass, and one of its stars, Bradley Greenwald (proving once again there truly is nothing he can't do). The role(s) previously played by Stephen Epp is played by another Stephen, Cartmell, and he brings his own kind of brilliance to the show. Watching these two actors fully commit to the distinct outrageousness of multiple characters is a joy.

Like the vampire and Egyptian princess who appear in Charles Ludlam's high-camp classic, THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP returns to life at the Jungle Theater (2951 Lyndale Ave. So., Minneapolis), tonight, August 29-October 19, 2014. One of the Jungle's 'most-requested' favorites, award-winning director Joel Sass reprises the over-the-top farce with Bradley Greenwald and brings Stephen Cartmell into the fray.

Like the vampire and Egyptian princess who appear in Charles Ludlam's high-camp classic, THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP returns to life at the Jungle Theater (2951 Lyndale Ave. So., Minneapolis), August 29-October 19, 2014. One of the Jungle's 'most-requested' favorites, award-winning director Joel Sass reprises the over-the-top farce with Bradley Greenwald and brings Stephen Cartmell into the fray.

For their annual summer festival, Skylark Opera is presenting the Leonard Bernstein classic operetta Candide and the musical revue Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill.

Theater Latte Da announces their 2014-2015 season. Check below for details. Season 17 includes a play with music, two musicals, a poignant holiday classic and a new work series--AND features some of the top talent in the Twin Cities. The curtain goes up on October 8. You won't want to miss a note! Purchase your season subscription now by visiting latteda.org/subscribe or by calling 612-339-3003.

It's hard to believe with the weather we've had, but summer is just around the corner. And if you're a musical theater fan like I am, it's going to be a great one! Here are a few summer musicals I'm looking forward to this year.