One Fan Show

Welcome to One Show to See This Week. Every week I send out a newsletter with the one play or musical I think you should buy a ticket for in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in the next seven days, along with tips for discounts and things to do in the area, because I think theater should be part of your weekly routine. My inbox is always open, as are my DMs. Glad you’re here!

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One Show to See This Week

The Phantom of the Opera (Tour)
Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55403
November 21st – December 7th

or…

R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium
Park Square Theatre, 20 W. 7th Place, St. Paul, MN 55102
November 19th – December 14th

…or both! 

I’m going off script this week and recommending two shows. How could I not?

A “revitalized” production of The Phantom of the Opera is plunking down at the Orpheum for two weeks at the same time that St. Paul’s Park Square Theatre is doing Phantom of the Auditorium, a musical adaptation of the Goosebumps book that riffs on the former Phantom. Call it a bit of spectral serendipity. But I’m not highlighting these two musicals simply for the coincidence. I’d happily recommend either of these shows alone.

For the better-known endeavor, this is the first time a Phantom of the Opera tour has stopped in Minneapolis since 2019; since then, the musical’s presence on the national stage has changed dramatically. It ended its 35-year run on Broadway in 2023, and even though it’s popped back up in Manhattan in a new immersive guise titled Masquerade, there’s one gargantuan asterisk to that show: it uses mostly prerecorded music to back up the live singers. 

So if you want to hear a real deal orchestra play Andrew Lloyd Webber’s soul-stirring score, this run at the Orpheum is your chance. Plus, while this isn’t a local production, there are local musicians joining the orchestra (something that happens fairly regularly for touring Broadway shows), so go cheer them on! Oh, and the principal cast for this tour seems stellar…

As for Phantom of the Auditorium, I have to be honest and admit that I’ve never seen a production or even listened to the album (yes, it’s got an album — with Broadway vets Alex Brightman, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Noah Galvin, and Will Roland among the featured singers). But I’d buy a ticket for any musical that stars Sophie La Fave, an up-and-coming actress who helped make a scrappy production of Alice by Heart put on by the Emerging Professionals Ensemble one of my favorite theatergoing experiences of the past few years. There’s another tie-in to that musical, too: Jack Moorman, who served as a directing fellow on Alice, is the choreographer of Phantom, so I’m excited to see his contributions in that department. Seems like a lot of promising theater artists are coming out of the Performing Institute of Minnesota.

If you’re looking for a family-friendly show to see as relatives descend around Thanksgiving, the Phantom of the Auditorium plot revolves around high schoolers putting on a musical, and it’s recommended for ages seven and up, so go ahead and bring the nieces and nephews. And the O.G. Phantom has an age rating of ten and up, so that’s a great option too.

As a dad of two very young kids, I love when theaters include programming that simultaneously welcomes kids and appeals to adults. (Sound familiar?)

What to Do Before or After

A martini and fries at the Monte Carlo before The Phantom of the Opera is my ideal night out. And if you attend the Phantom of the Auditorium preview this Thursday, which is Give to the Max Day, head over to MetroNOME Brewery before: Not only will 10% of sales that day go to Theater Latté Da, but Artistic Director Justin Lucero and Managing Director Elisa Spencer-Kaplan will be hanging out and doing a giveaway from 5-9 p.m. Support two local theaters in one night!

Speaking of 2-for-1s, who’s up for a back-to-back Phantom extravaganza? There are a bunch of days where you could conceivably see both musicals in one day: November 23rd, November 28th, November 29th, November 30th, December 4th, and December 6th. Okay, that is actually my ideal night (and day) out.

How Much Are Tickets?

Opera tickets are selling fast, even though the prices are steep: starting around $70 for a limited-view seat and going up to around $250 for a premium ticket (this is based on a cursory search of a few nights, as they don’t make general price ranges easy to see). Auditorium tickets are $25 for previews (November 19th and 20th) and then $55 for general admission, $45 for seniors, and $15 for students afterwards. See their site for more info on discounted tickets.

Hey, I’m a Guest on This Week on Broadway! 

When I moved to New York City in 2015, I searched around for a theater podcast that would not only keep me in the loop about shows throughout the city, but that would help me become a better critic and writer. The one I landed on — and have been listening to ever since, even when I moved back to Minnesota — is called This Week on Broadway. Every single week, host James Marino and critics Peter Filichia and Michael Portantiere review productions they saw the week prior — and they’ve been doing this since 2009, making it “the longest-running Broadway and theatrical podcast.”

I’m bringing this up because…I was on the podcast! James invited me on last Sunday to talk about the pre-Broadway tryout of Purple Rain here in Minneapolis, and it was an absolute blast. I tweaked my review to fit an audio format, so even if you read my thoughts here on the site, I’d love if you gave the podcast a listen (I’m on starting around 7:55). Here are links to the episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 

A Note on Give to the Max Day…

Thursday, November 20th is Give to the Max Day. It’s a philanthropic holiday here in Minnesota where people are encouraged to donate to various organizations across the state. You may have seen just about every theater in Minnesota talking about it on social media, so I won’t go on long here. But if you have the financial means to give, think about it this way: What local theater company would you miss if they announced they were shutting down operations tomorrow? Then consider throwing them a few dollars (or a truckload of dollars) today.

Question of the Week

What local theater company are you donating to today?

See you here next week!
Alex

P.S. Apologies about the late edition this week. Life happens!

Top image credit: The Phantom of the Opera photo by Johan Persson