Kendall Anne Thompson

Theater Latte Da hosts the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT)'s New Work Roundtable from Thursday, July 19 - Friday, July 20 as part of this year's NEXT Festival.

BroadwayWorld is going inside Theater Latte Da's world premiere musical FIVE POINTS. Check out the cast in action in the video below!

Theater Latte Da announces extended performances of the rousing, world premiere musical FIVE POINTS thru May 13. This latest and most ambitious musical world premiere to date brings together the talents of a dynamic creative team. The score is the work of Douglas Lyons and Ethan D. Pakchar, a New York-based songwriting team with significant Broadway credits. The book is written by the prolific Twin Cities-based playwright Harrison David Rivers, who has penned three world premieres this season including FIVE POINTS, as well as productions at the History Theatre and Penumbra Theatre. Theater Latte Da Artistic Director Peter Rothstein directs the production with Resident Music Director Denise Prosek. Performances run now thru May 13 at the Ritz Theater (345 13th Avenue NE in Minneapolis). Single tickets go are on sale now and can be purchased at Latteda.org or by calling 612-339-3003.

BroadwayWorld has an exclusive first look at Theater Latte Da's Broadway-aimed world premiere musical FIVE POINTS. Check out the cast in action in the photos below!

BroadwayWorld has an exclusive first look at Theater Latte Da's Broadway-aimed world premiere musical FIVE POINTS. Check out the cast in action in the photos below!

A third new theater company is making its #TCTheater debut this month, following a charming new original musical RAGTIME WOMEN by Theatre Elision and LITTLE WARS, a powerful story of women in their prime brought to us by Prime Productions. Now we have Trademark Theater, whose mission is to 'expand the breadth of original theatrical works born in Minnesota by creating, developing, and producing dynamic stage productions.' Their first creation is a new adaptation of an old story - Robin Hood. And it most definitely is original and dynamic. I saw a reading of it as part of Illusion Theater's 'Fresh Ink' series last year and was impressed with the storytelling and original music. But now, with the added elements of movement, costumes, set, lighting, and all of the theater magic, plus a super talented and energetic young cast, it's something truly exciting.

Trademark Theater celebrates its inaugural year with The Boy and Robin Hood, a play-with-music written by Tyler Mills with score and lyrics by local composer David Darrow. The production, conceived and directed by Tyler Michaels, runs at the Ritz Theater in Minneapolis, May 24 - June 11.

There have been various responses to the new presidency and the current political climate, including Facebook groups, letter writing and calling campaigns, petitions, and a nation-wide women's march. But what do artists do in response to injustice? They make art. Last weekend 7th House Theater opened a short run of what they call a 'pop up production' of the 1959 play RHINOCEROS, written by Eugene Ionesco as a response to the rise in Fascism in pre-WWII Europe. As company member David Darrow explained before the show, their new original musicals take about a year to plan, write, create, and produce, which makes it challenging to stay current. But with this piece, 7th House is presenting 'a specific work at a specific time in history.' After just ten days of rehearsal, they very intentionally opened on the night of the inauguration, a work presented in what David called 'a mostly sort of way.' While the staging is minimal and actors have scripts in their hands, Rhinoceros is a work that is wholly entertaining, eerily relevant, and exactly what we need right now.

Musical theater is my favorite art form, and new original musicals are my favorite things in the world. I love seeing how music and theater can combine to tell a story in interesting forward-thinking ways. After re-imagining a couple of classic musicals (and one play), newish theater company 7th House Theater has turned to producing new original musicals. THE PASSAGE, OR WHAT COMES OF SEARCHING IN THE DARK, is the third such creation to be presented in the Guthrie Theater Studio. I've loved all of their work, but this one feels more personal and more modern and forward-thinking than what they've done before. THE PASSAGE feels like it's continuing along the trajectory of modern musicals like NEXT TO NORMAL and FUN HOME - an intimate family story told with a small cast and modern inventive staging. And the result is truly something special.

The new triple threat may just be actor - singer- playwright. Bradley Greenwald is well known for acting and singing on stage, and now may be just as well known for his writing abilities.

Freshwater Theatre Company begins our 2015-2016 season with the world premiere of Keith Hovis's moving new musical Pioneer Suite, detailing the lives of three women who settled the Minnesota prairie in the late 1800s. 

Helly my Broadway World Minneapolis friends. I know it's been a while since I've shared anything with you, but that's because I've been all-consumed by the 174-show 11-day festival that is the Minnesota Fringe. If you have not yet sampled from this glorious smorgasbord, don't worry, the fest continues through August 9 with 4-7 shows offered each day at 15 venues in Minneapolis, plus 9 site-specific shows. Believe me, I understand that this can be overwhelming, but I'm here to help. Read on to see a list of my 10 favorite shows of the Fringe so far. Now get out there, open your eyes and your heart and your mind, and see some of the beautiful, challenging, hilarious, disturbing, silly, profound, amazing theater that this festival has to offer.

I first saw the Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical fairy tale mash up INTO THE WOODS four years ago, and have seen it several times since then, including the recent star-studded movie. Every time I see it I like it more. I think Sondheim is like Shakespeare in that it has a very specific rhythm and cadence to it that takes a minute to get used to, but the more time you spend with it, the richer and deeper it becomes. Such has been my experience with INTO THE WOODS, so I was primed to love my favorite theater company Theater Latte Da's production of it. But it has exceeded my expectations, and even Sondheim newbies will be enthralled by this brilliant staging of a brilliantly written musical. Latte Da has pared down this big Broadway musical to something that feels intimate and innovative, using a small cast and orchestra, and inventive and thoughtful choices in every detail of the production. This, my friends, is Broadway re-imagined, or at least how I would like to see Broadway re-imagined. Simply put, it's sublime.

Friends, the future of Minnesota theater, and perhaps American theater, is here. It can currently be seen in the Guthrie Theater's 9th floor Dowling Studio, where a group of smart, talented, ambitious, dedicated, hard-working young music-theater artists have created a beautiful new original musical, based on the biblical story of Jonah. It's everything I want theater to be - fresh, innovative, delightful, heart-breaking, inspiring, genuine, and epic. This is 7th House Theater's fourth production in less than two years, and they continue to explore new ideas and push the boundaries of what theater can be. They've proven themselves with three low-budget but high-quality productions, and now have the resources of the Guthrie behind them to expand even further in this production. The result is beautiful and breath-taking. If 7th House is the future of theater, we're in good hands.

The Guthrie Theater presents the 7th House Theater production of Jonah and the Whale: A New Musical, a reimagining of the familiar Old Testament tale, set to original bluegrass and folk music.

Full disclosure: I'm a huge fan of Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion. He's the Mark Twain of our generation, and is Minnesota's best export. If A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION is one of the things that Minnesota is most known for, I am proud to be a Minnesotan. So of course, I absolutely love his new play RADIO MAN, the first he's written. I saw a reading of it early this year as part of the History Theatre's Raw Stages festival and loved it then, but this full production, now playing at the History Theatre, is so much more polished and complete, and really a thing unto itself and not just an episode of A Prairie Home Companion on stage. Yes there is the familiar music, the jingles for Powdermilk Biscuits, rhubarb pie, and ketchup, stories from Lake Wobegon, and beloved characters including Dusty and Lefty and Guy Noir. But there's also a story and a character (the host of a radio show called A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION who bears a striking resemblance to Garrison) who we get to know as he reminisces about his past and contemplates his future.

RENT gets me every time. Seeing it for the 14th time is just as thrilling, emotional, and epic as the first time I saw it 17 years ago. I can't even put into words why it has such a strong grip on my soul. It's just such a beautiful message of love, hope, community, and life, made all the more poignant by creator Jonathan Larson's untimely passing. Lyric Arts' new production is truly beautiful; the cast is energetic and talented, the sets and costumes have that cool rock show vibe, and the staging is different enough to make it feel fresh and original, but similar enough to the Broadway version to feel familiar to RENTheads like me. RENT is a brilliantly written piece of music-theater, and Lyric Arts has done Jonathan Larson proud. I can think of no higher praise.

History Theatre produces the world premiere of a new musical by local artists Dominic Orlando (book and lyrics) and the late Hiram Titus (composer). BroadwayWorld has a first look at the show below!

History Theatre will produce the world premiere of a new musical by local artists Dominic Orlando (book and lyrics) and the late Hiram Titus (composer). The Working Boys Band tells the story of Professor C.C. Heintzeman, a German-born educator who believed in the power of music to give structure and purpose to people's lives, especially for the children who worked in the mills and factories of Minneapolis in the years before Child Labor Laws. The story of the Minneapolis Working Boys Band and its founder was suggested to History Theatre back in 2010 when Titus handed a photo of the band circa 1915 and his first draft of the opening number to artistic director Ron Peluso. In September of 2013, Titus submitted the show's finale just days before suffering a fatal cardiac arrest; Raymond Berg joined the team to finish the musical arrangements.

History Theatre will produce the world premiere of a new musical by local artists Dominic Orlando (book and lyrics) and the late Hiram Titus (composer). The Working Boys Band tells the story of Professor C.C. Heintzeman, a German-born educator who believed in the power of music to give structure and purpose to people's lives, especially for the children who worked in the mills and factories of Minneapolis in the years before Child Labor Laws. The story of the Minneapolis Working Boys Band and its founder was suggested to History Theatre back in 2010 when Titus handed a photo of the band circa 1915 and his first draft of the opening number to artistic director Ron Peluso. In September of 2013, Titus submitted the show's finale just days before suffering a fatal cardiac arrest; Raymond Berg joined the team to finish the musical arrangements.