UMD Stages Brilliant Adaptation of Ibsen Classic
Sheryl Jensen
Duluth News Tribune
November 8, 2019
“Democracy is questionable if citizens do not know how to act rationally, morally, and environmentally.” — Dr. Yearn Hong Choi, from the playbill for An Enemy of the People.
As relevant today as it was when playwright Henrik Ibsen wrote it in 1882, UMD’s production of An Enemy of the People reverberates with issues ripped from the headlines: political corruption, moral bankruptcy, environmental crises, the role of the whistleblower and the need for a free press.
The star of the show is UMD professor Tom Isbell’s scintillating new adaptation, down from five acts to one taut 85-minute act, performed without an intermission. Some characters, scenes and plot elements are left out or altered, and the roles that the women play are now more integral, making the script laser-focused and as contemporary as the latest Tweet or evening news broadcast.
Filled with catch phrases and references to today’s political climate, the script still beats with the heart of Ibsen’s original themes. Isbell’s dynamic direction includes intricate movements in scenic designer Katie Cornish’s “boxing ring” set that gives space for different locales, eventually evolving into a “courtroom.”
Ibsen, the Shakespeare of Norway, tells the story of Dr. Thomas Stockmann (Addison Sim), a medical officer for the town’s major industry, a spa. Alarmed when he discovers that the spa’s water source has been contaminated by the tannery, Stockmann makes his explosive findings public.
His whistleblowing puts him in direct conflict with his brother, Peter Stockmann (Patrick Timmons), the town’s mayor and the spa’s board president. To fix the water issues would require closing the spa for two years, spending huge amounts of money, and disrupting the economy and the livelihoods of the town’s residents.
Sim and Timmons have some strong moments in their arguments about what happened originally to cause the problems, and, more significantly, what should or shouldn’t be done to fix them. While, at times the two actors could build to a bit more spark and passion, they represent well their opposite corners, one brother unwilling to accept an “inconvenient truth” and the other willing to go along with the status quo, with the health of the spa visitors be damned.
The evening’s strongest acting moments come from Rachel Williams as Petra Stockmann, the doctor’s daughter. Starting out as a funny, witty, sarcastic college student, Williams becomes the most impassioned advocate for her father. When she waves the fraudulent permit that knowingly allowed the location of the spa’s pipes in the first place, it becomes a banner, and her speech an anthem in the show’s climactic scene.
A crushing “afterword” includes a litany of the events surrounding Flint, Michigan’s water catastrophe and the dismantling of the EPA and regulations that will inevitably cause more disasters.
This production is a compelling cautionary tale of an impending ecological holocaust that requires the conscience, decency and activism of more than just Ibsen’s “strongest man … able to stand alone” but the collective voices and actions of governments, leaders and awakened populations around the globe.

Monday, November 11, 2019
Friday, October 4, 2019
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee - UMD Theatre
UMD’s Putnam Bee is spelled h-y-s-t-e-r-i-c-a-l
Sheryl Jensen
Duluth News Tribune
October 4, 2019
Can you spell phylactery or crepuscle? How about Weltanschauung, omphaloskepsis or staphylococcus? Hmmm … maybe you are not smarter than a sixth-grader.
Audiences at Thursday’s opening night performance of UMD’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee belly-laughed their way through the spelling, singing, dancing and middle-school antics of the six bee finalists and the four audience volunteers.
The Tony Award Winning musical features composer William Finn’s catchy score. UMD’s talented (and appropriately costumed) five-piece band is led by conductor Thomas Jacobsen.
Creating the adorable sextet of neurotic spellers, the six terrific actors at the heart of the show each have a chance to shine in their vocal numbers and with their distinctive character development and quirky personalities.
The egotistical William Barfée (Brendan Finn) uses his hysterical “magic foot” to help him spell out the words on the floor as he labors to deal with both his mucus membrane disorder and his peanut allergy.
Poor Chip Tolentino (Ben Knowlton) has to deal not only with the ridiculously impossible spelling list, but also an unfortunate and embarrassing physical “manifestation” inspired by a cute girl in the audience.
Logainne Schwartzandgrunenierre (Maddie Schafer) with her adorable lisp and fervent mini-manifestos does everything she can to make her two gay dads proud of her as she stomps her way through the competition.
One of the strongest singers in the show is Brett Burggraff, who also creates a funny Leaf Coneybear who finds his inspiration in timely trances that make the correct spelling just magically pop out of his mouth.
Playing Marcy Park, the anal-retentive “Miss Perfect,” Miranda Neuhaus had one of the evening’s vocal highlights in her “I Speak Six Languages” song. Neuhaus showed her physical humor as well, demonstrating some of the myriad things Marcy could do to perfection while still convincingly belting the song.
“The I Love You Song” gives Anna Matthes, playing the painfully shy and quiet Olive Ostrovsky, a chance to show her full, rich and beautiful voice, with echoes of “Spring Awakening” and the song “Mama Who Bore Me” coming through in a few spots.
Playing the three lead adults in the show, Hayley Rosenthal, Jack Senske and Nick Wright all had great fun with their roles as the grown-ups trying to keep the bee on track and often failing miserably.
Even the audience volunteers had some humorous moments trying to stay in the competition. Not sure, though, how much coaching they had, and if one of the four, the last volunteer standing, was a “ringer” who was part of the show.
Director Jenna Soloe-Shanks keeps the festivities on a crisp pace in this hour-and-40-minute production, performed without an intermission.
Sheryl Jensen
Duluth News Tribune
October 4, 2019
Can you spell phylactery or crepuscle? How about Weltanschauung, omphaloskepsis or staphylococcus? Hmmm … maybe you are not smarter than a sixth-grader.
Audiences at Thursday’s opening night performance of UMD’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee belly-laughed their way through the spelling, singing, dancing and middle-school antics of the six bee finalists and the four audience volunteers.
The Tony Award Winning musical features composer William Finn’s catchy score. UMD’s talented (and appropriately costumed) five-piece band is led by conductor Thomas Jacobsen.
Creating the adorable sextet of neurotic spellers, the six terrific actors at the heart of the show each have a chance to shine in their vocal numbers and with their distinctive character development and quirky personalities.
The egotistical William Barfée (Brendan Finn) uses his hysterical “magic foot” to help him spell out the words on the floor as he labors to deal with both his mucus membrane disorder and his peanut allergy.
Poor Chip Tolentino (Ben Knowlton) has to deal not only with the ridiculously impossible spelling list, but also an unfortunate and embarrassing physical “manifestation” inspired by a cute girl in the audience.
Logainne Schwartzandgrunenierre (Maddie Schafer) with her adorable lisp and fervent mini-manifestos does everything she can to make her two gay dads proud of her as she stomps her way through the competition.
One of the strongest singers in the show is Brett Burggraff, who also creates a funny Leaf Coneybear who finds his inspiration in timely trances that make the correct spelling just magically pop out of his mouth.
Playing Marcy Park, the anal-retentive “Miss Perfect,” Miranda Neuhaus had one of the evening’s vocal highlights in her “I Speak Six Languages” song. Neuhaus showed her physical humor as well, demonstrating some of the myriad things Marcy could do to perfection while still convincingly belting the song.
“The I Love You Song” gives Anna Matthes, playing the painfully shy and quiet Olive Ostrovsky, a chance to show her full, rich and beautiful voice, with echoes of “Spring Awakening” and the song “Mama Who Bore Me” coming through in a few spots.
Playing the three lead adults in the show, Hayley Rosenthal, Jack Senske and Nick Wright all had great fun with their roles as the grown-ups trying to keep the bee on track and often failing miserably.
Even the audience volunteers had some humorous moments trying to stay in the competition. Not sure, though, how much coaching they had, and if one of the four, the last volunteer standing, was a “ringer” who was part of the show.
Director Jenna Soloe-Shanks keeps the festivities on a crisp pace in this hour-and-40-minute production, performed without an intermission.
Friday, September 20, 2019
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Sister Act - UMD Theatre
It's All About Those Rockin' Nuns in UMD's Sister Act
Sheryl Jensen
Duluth News Tribune
April 19, 2019
Can I get a "Hallelujah" and a "Glory Be"? The sisters of the Queen of Angels Cathedral are rockin' the house at UMD in the musical Sister Act, directed by William Payne.
Based on the 1992 film comedy with Whoopi Goldberg, the musical is set in Philadelphia in the 1970s. A down-and-out singer named Deloris Van Cartier (Tolu Ekisola) fancies herself as the Donna Summer disco queen of South Philly.
When she witnesses a murder committed by her boyfriend, Curtis (Nic Reynolds), she is forced into an unlikely witness protection program in the convent at the Queen of Angels.
Deloris takes over their most discordant and ear-splitting nuns' choir and whips the sisters into a soulful group of disco-dancing backup singers who provide a space for her to showcase her talents and theirs.
While Ekisola has the comedic skills and stage presence to create a vivid character, her voice is a bit thin, especially in the early going. The show starts slowly with her two opening numbers lacking enough vocal punch. She does, however, build throughout the evening and finds her musical legs much more in Act II.
The early scenes with Curtis and his motley band of three stooges also don't create enough spark to do more than just get the plot rolling.
It is when the action switches to the convent, and we meet the funny, sweet and talented chorus of nuns, that the show starts building up steam. The jubilant 12-member group is filled with standout singers and wonderful character actresses.
Miranda Neuhaus, as the shy postulant Sister Mary Robert, has one of the evening's most soaring vocal moments in the plaintive "The Life I Never Led."
The other strongest voice in the company is Cally Stanich, as the beleaguered and sarcastic Mother Superior. Her opening number, "Here Within These Walls," is breathtaking, and her Act II "I Haven't Got a Prayer" highlights both her comedic style and her powerhouse voice.
Reese Britts, as the timid cop Eddie and Deloris' love interest, makes the most of his cute solo, "I Could Be That Guy." The ever-reliable character actor, Simon VanVactor-Lee, charms as Monsignor O' Hara, who finds his inner groove and soul brother kinship with the church's new choral stylings.
Because of some clunky, lumbering scene changes, the show's pacing seems labored at times. One shift in the middle of the Mother Superior's opening solo (by a set crew member in backstage black shirt and pants) was particularly intrusive.
While Curtis Phillips' set was serviceable, it lacked what could have been a much more Gothic and grandiose church where much of the action takes place.
The seven-piece band, under the direction of Thomas Jacobsen, was solid throughout and balanced well with the singers.
By show's end, the company with their rousing finale, "Spread the Love Around," and their big energy curtain call, "Raise Your Voice," had the audience clapping and dancing in the aisles.
Sheryl Jensen
Duluth News Tribune
April 19, 2019
Can I get a "Hallelujah" and a "Glory Be"? The sisters of the Queen of Angels Cathedral are rockin' the house at UMD in the musical Sister Act, directed by William Payne.
Based on the 1992 film comedy with Whoopi Goldberg, the musical is set in Philadelphia in the 1970s. A down-and-out singer named Deloris Van Cartier (Tolu Ekisola) fancies herself as the Donna Summer disco queen of South Philly.
When she witnesses a murder committed by her boyfriend, Curtis (Nic Reynolds), she is forced into an unlikely witness protection program in the convent at the Queen of Angels.
Deloris takes over their most discordant and ear-splitting nuns' choir and whips the sisters into a soulful group of disco-dancing backup singers who provide a space for her to showcase her talents and theirs.
While Ekisola has the comedic skills and stage presence to create a vivid character, her voice is a bit thin, especially in the early going. The show starts slowly with her two opening numbers lacking enough vocal punch. She does, however, build throughout the evening and finds her musical legs much more in Act II.
The early scenes with Curtis and his motley band of three stooges also don't create enough spark to do more than just get the plot rolling.
It is when the action switches to the convent, and we meet the funny, sweet and talented chorus of nuns, that the show starts building up steam. The jubilant 12-member group is filled with standout singers and wonderful character actresses.
Miranda Neuhaus, as the shy postulant Sister Mary Robert, has one of the evening's most soaring vocal moments in the plaintive "The Life I Never Led."
The other strongest voice in the company is Cally Stanich, as the beleaguered and sarcastic Mother Superior. Her opening number, "Here Within These Walls," is breathtaking, and her Act II "I Haven't Got a Prayer" highlights both her comedic style and her powerhouse voice.
Reese Britts, as the timid cop Eddie and Deloris' love interest, makes the most of his cute solo, "I Could Be That Guy." The ever-reliable character actor, Simon VanVactor-Lee, charms as Monsignor O' Hara, who finds his inner groove and soul brother kinship with the church's new choral stylings.
Because of some clunky, lumbering scene changes, the show's pacing seems labored at times. One shift in the middle of the Mother Superior's opening solo (by a set crew member in backstage black shirt and pants) was particularly intrusive.
While Curtis Phillips' set was serviceable, it lacked what could have been a much more Gothic and grandiose church where much of the action takes place.
The seven-piece band, under the direction of Thomas Jacobsen, was solid throughout and balanced well with the singers.
By show's end, the company with their rousing finale, "Spread the Love Around," and their big energy curtain call, "Raise Your Voice," had the audience clapping and dancing in the aisles.
Monday, March 18, 2019
Time's Up - UMD Theatre
UMD's Time's Up is Mystical and Mesmerizing
Sheryl Jensen
Duluth News Tribune
March 8, 2019
With a mostly barely stage and only a couple pieces of scaffolding, a table, a few remnants of fabric and some scattered gold pieces of paper, 10 UMD actors bring to devastating life a 10th century play by the medieval poetess and playwright Hrotsvit of Gandersheim.
Director Jenna Soleo-Shanks, a theatrical historian and medievalist, adapted the ancient text, The Conversion of the Harlot Thais, bringing a complex and imaginative vision to the production.
Time's Up is not an easy show to watch or at times to understand completely. Early on, an ensemble member says, "I'm so confused," and "This is pretty heavy stuff." The deep philosophical "lecture" that opens the performance makes it difficult for the audience to get their bearings of time and place.
Yet, it seems part of the intention to keep the audience uncomfortable, unsure and off balance with this slim plot of legendary courtesan Thais, and Paphnutius, the man obsessed with her, who feels compelled to rescue her from her sinful life.
Blending beautiful moments of lyrical movement with jarring angles and stylized poses, Rebecca Katz Harwood's masterful choreography is a significant part of the storytelling and establishment of the different groups of characters.
Using a mix of everything from Gregorian style chants to modern instrumental jazz, guest composer and music supervisor Andy Kust enhances the dramatic action with his witty musical motifs.
Jon Brophy's lighting is another significant theatrical element, opening with abrupt shifts of darkness and light as the cast moves into different tableaux. Brophy's use of color, isolation and movement is critical to the show's success.
As the narration of Paphnutius tells, "There is a woman, a shameless woman ..." whose beauty is legendary as "the flame of the world." Sarah Dickson, compelling as Thais, lures the audience into her shadowy world. Her dramatic arc from the arrogant, elegant harlot, queen of her domain, to the completely broken and increasingly mad prisoner locked away in her small, filthy convent cell, is the show's core.
Patrick Timmons, as Paphnutius, also travels an arc to madness as his character's "intervention" not only destroys the life of Thais but his own as well. Despite his youthfulness and "baby face," Timmons gives a mature performance in the less showy role.
The ensemble plays a variety of parts from the "locals" who have their West Side Story Jets vibe on, and later pay their creepy homage to The Handmaid's Tale. At times humorous and other times menacing, the ensemble members help to advance the story with song, dance and their panoply of characters.
In a recent interview, Soleo-Shanks said that the play is about how women have lived and found their way in the world over the centuries, noting how that dominant dramatic theme has not changed from the early Greeks to modern day.
This dark play gives us pause to decide who is the sinner and who is the sinned against and how control over another person, in any kind of physical or psychological bondage, can crush the human spirit.
Sheryl Jensen
Duluth News Tribune
March 8, 2019
With a mostly barely stage and only a couple pieces of scaffolding, a table, a few remnants of fabric and some scattered gold pieces of paper, 10 UMD actors bring to devastating life a 10th century play by the medieval poetess and playwright Hrotsvit of Gandersheim.
Director Jenna Soleo-Shanks, a theatrical historian and medievalist, adapted the ancient text, The Conversion of the Harlot Thais, bringing a complex and imaginative vision to the production.
Time's Up is not an easy show to watch or at times to understand completely. Early on, an ensemble member says, "I'm so confused," and "This is pretty heavy stuff." The deep philosophical "lecture" that opens the performance makes it difficult for the audience to get their bearings of time and place.
Yet, it seems part of the intention to keep the audience uncomfortable, unsure and off balance with this slim plot of legendary courtesan Thais, and Paphnutius, the man obsessed with her, who feels compelled to rescue her from her sinful life.
Blending beautiful moments of lyrical movement with jarring angles and stylized poses, Rebecca Katz Harwood's masterful choreography is a significant part of the storytelling and establishment of the different groups of characters.
Using a mix of everything from Gregorian style chants to modern instrumental jazz, guest composer and music supervisor Andy Kust enhances the dramatic action with his witty musical motifs.
Jon Brophy's lighting is another significant theatrical element, opening with abrupt shifts of darkness and light as the cast moves into different tableaux. Brophy's use of color, isolation and movement is critical to the show's success.
As the narration of Paphnutius tells, "There is a woman, a shameless woman ..." whose beauty is legendary as "the flame of the world." Sarah Dickson, compelling as Thais, lures the audience into her shadowy world. Her dramatic arc from the arrogant, elegant harlot, queen of her domain, to the completely broken and increasingly mad prisoner locked away in her small, filthy convent cell, is the show's core.
Patrick Timmons, as Paphnutius, also travels an arc to madness as his character's "intervention" not only destroys the life of Thais but his own as well. Despite his youthfulness and "baby face," Timmons gives a mature performance in the less showy role.
The ensemble plays a variety of parts from the "locals" who have their West Side Story Jets vibe on, and later pay their creepy homage to The Handmaid's Tale. At times humorous and other times menacing, the ensemble members help to advance the story with song, dance and their panoply of characters.
In a recent interview, Soleo-Shanks said that the play is about how women have lived and found their way in the world over the centuries, noting how that dominant dramatic theme has not changed from the early Greeks to modern day.
This dark play gives us pause to decide who is the sinner and who is the sinned against and how control over another person, in any kind of physical or psychological bondage, can crush the human spirit.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Love's Labor's Lost - UMD Theatre
Students do Justice to Shakespeare's Love's Labor's Lost
Dennis Kempton
Duluth News Tribune
February 8, 2019
Reportedly, the first performance of Love's Labor's Lost was done during the Christmas season in 1597 for Queen Elizabeth I at court. The enduring power of Shakespeare's sophisticated wordplay is evident, since, over 400 years later, students in the Fine Arts program at the University of Minnesota Duluth opened their own iteration of the comedy Thursday night at the Marshall Performing Arts Center.
Director Kate Ufema ascended the stage to thank the surprisingly well-attended performance for braving the elements and the drifts of snow to see the play. As the house lights dimmed and the action began, the beauty and thought put in to the set design by veteran Curt Phillips came fully into effect.
The story line is as classic as it is anachronistic in culturally problematic ways. The King of Navarre (Ole Dack) and his lords Longaville (Jake Nelson), Dumain (Samuel Keran) and Berowne (Addison Sim) have pledged to devote themselves to intense study and fasting for three years. This pledge includes an edict that no woman must come within a mile of court — ostensibly because men are simply unable to control themselves.
There is a lot of action packed into 94 minutes. And the play is especially challenging in its cadence and sophistication. Among the king's companions, Nelson and Keran handle their lines adroitly, but it is Dack and Sim who carry the performances of Shakespeare's voluminous vocabulary. Sim, in particular, is compelling on stage, providing emotional fluency with his lines and a steady, sure delivery. His facility with Shakespeare is again as apparent as it was the last time I saw him in performance for Much Ado About Nothing.
Bounding onto stage, Thomas Henry as the naughty Costard holds his own with wry comic chops, busted for a tryst with a town "wench," Jaquenetta, played mildly by Cally Stanich. But, his accuser, Armado, a Spanish visitor to court, is brilliantly played by Reese Britts with masterful elocution, comedic timing and movement on stage. His moments on stage leave one noticing his absences from the action — not a bad thing for an actor.
The plot is predictable, but not thin. The lords and the king fall for the Princess (Taylor Sexton) and her ladies, Maria (Laura Carlson), Katharine (Miranda Neuhaus) and Rosaline (Leah Walk), visiting Navarre on official business but staying in tents away from the palace due to the edict. Letters are shuffled to them and plots devised to woo them. Sexton had considerable presence on stage but seemed overburdened at times with her lines. In her defense, the dialogue is cumbersome. What would have flowed on the tongues of 16th century Londoners is wholly unfamiliar today. As a group, the women on stage have their own juicy witticisms getting the better of the men — as all women do.
Choreography by Rebecca Catz Harwood gives us the treat of seeing the king and lords dancing capably as disguised Muscovites with gorgeous costuming by Kelsey Bias. These details add flair, texture and pure comedy.
Notable is Simon Van Vactor-Lee as solicitor to the Princess and her ladies as Boyet. His subtle timing and ease with the complexities of the script add just the right measure of comedy that lifts the action when needed.
The company put on an exuberant and capable performance making it obvious that taking on the challenge of Love's Labor's Lost is a feather in a student's cap. The lauded Bard's appeal endures, and the UMD theater program did it justice in a show that is worth the perils of plowing through the snow to see on a winter's night.
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