to see FAMILY DRAMA: 2 Norwegian Plays at Akvavit Theatre

On Sunday I went with mama to see FAMILY DRAMA: 2 Norwegian Plays at Akvavit Theatre. And it was super mega funny. 

Christopher Donaldson, Daniel Stewart and Karla A Rennhofer in The Returning

C.Donaldson, Karla A. Rennhofer, Daniel Stewart in The Returning

The first play was called The Returning by Frederik Brattberg (translated by Henning Hegland) directed by Lee Peters and it was super funny because it was about a kid named Gustav (played by Daniel Stewart) who kept disappearing (or dying) and then returning, which at first brought his parents (played by Karla A. Rennhofer and Christopher Donaldson) a lot of sadness (when he was missing) and then joy (when he returned) but it keeps happening and the more it happens the less his parents seem to care about his return. One of the funniest parts is when Gustav is tossed on the floor and treated like a rug and it seems like his parents are more sad about someone else who has died, than they are about their own son who is dead on the floor. 

Jordan McGinnis, Madelyn Loehr and Samuel Pate in Goliath

Jordan McGinnis and Madelyn Loehr in Goliath

The second play was called Goliath by Maria Trytti Vennerød (translated by May-Brit Akerholt) directed by my mom, Kirstin Franklin. This play is about two brothers named David (Samuel Pate) and Goliath (Jordan McGinnis) (yes just like the bible story) who have come together again to celebrate their mom's fiftieth birthday and to celebrate the soon birth of a new sister named Anette (Madelyn Loehr) who is still  inside her mom's tummy, but also living outside at the party, confusing I know but FUNNY! The mother (Borgny, played by Kelly Levander) tells a story about when David was eight and Goliath was twelve and David defeated his brother and his big bully friends. But Goliath doesn't like the way the story has been told and told again and he is really angry and seeks revenge in a fight scene (choreographed by R&D choreography) that looks really cool and violent but is done only with rhythm and motion. Wait and see what they use for blood, it is pretty funny.  My favorite part is when David puts himself in an ambulance and makes himself the ambulance out of objects from the party and puts the siren on his chest and it sings the ice cream truck song. 

Kelly Levander and Samuel Pate in Goliath

Madelyn Loehr, Samuel Pate and Kelly Levander in Goliath

Both plays are similar because the parents in both stories struggle staying kind to their kids and eventually cause harm, even if it was or wasn't intended. These plays have dark humor because there is actually a lot of intended violence in these plays and it's okay if you find it funny, cause it really is funny. 

I really thought the set (designed by Milo Bue, built by Harrison Ornelas) was interesting because they had the same structure for both plays but things just moved around to create a whole different set with a different feel.  For example the chairs that were used for the dining table in The Returning were used as party chairs for Goliath.  And the counter and oven unit used for The Returning just turned around and the sink was removed and a white table cloth was placed over it and it became a party table and then later an ambulance, hospital bed and coffin for Goliath. My favorite costume (designed by Lily Walls) was the Mother in Goliath who was pregnant and she really looked pregnant but she wasn't.  Just wait til you see what was actually under her dress! I'll give you a hint it's not a ball.  I really liked what Tony Adams did with the lighting design. I wonder how he made it look purple sometimes and green and yellow at the same time. The music (designed by Timothy McNulty) was funny especially in Goliath when the party was happening and it was weird disco music and another song that roared like a lion and death metal and when mother told the story about David and Goliath there was this funny Egyptian music. 

But the most impressive design element had to be the props designed by Letitia Guillaud. There was a huge turkey that looked really real in The Returning and in Goliath there were lots of beautiful cakes and a kransekake (krahn-seh-cock-ah---that's a special Norwegian cake). There was also a "Happy Birthday" banner that flipped around for the funeral that said "Happy DeathDay." 

Kelly Levander and Samuel Pate in Goliath

My favorite character in The Returning was the Dad played by Christopher Donaldson because he kept forgetting things about his own son and he tried to turn his son's room into a gym. My favorite character in Goliath was Anette because she's an unborn kid she told funny poems and she made other people feed her ice cream and cake because she didn't know how to eat and she sometimes even ate her own hat. I also liked Goliath (McGinnis) because he and Anette did funny things together like putting cups on party hats and funny things like that. 

Samuel Pate, Kelly Levander and Jordan McGinnis in Goliath

I think that both of these plays were interesting because they both had a theme of family and make us think about how we sometimes can be mean to our own family members, and the truth of that is what makes both plays super funny. 

I think that probably anyone who speaks English and all of my friends should see this play because its super funny but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under the age of eight because they might be scared at the violence. I give these plays each INFINITY STARS because they are mega super amazingly awesomely funny.   

photos by Karl Clifton-Soderstrom 

to see Hotel Cassiopeia

Last night I went to a play called "Hotel Cassiopeia" by Charles Mee and I saw it with Uncle Zach, Aunt Kerry and mommy.  And I went to see it at Filament Theatre which is the same theatre where we saw Pinocchio, but this show was performed by the North Park University Theatre. My mommy was the director of the play.

The play was about Joseph Cornell (Scott Todhunter) who was an artist who made boxes with birds and forks and pictures and things and it was also about his brother Robert (Kamren Smith) who I think had a sickness and never talked in the play but he was happy and funny sometimes.

There were three characters who wore white curly wigs and they kept talking about girls and birds and there hair was curly and white just like Joseph's hair, they were the Astronomer (Carri Stevens), Pharmacist (Raymond Hutchinson) and Herbalist (Tyler Skaffgard).  The other people in the play were the people in the movies (Annamarie Giodano, Stacey Klingberg, Olga Lebedeva, Ryan Sillins), and Joseph's mom (Bernadette Hagen) and the girls who used the puppet ballerina (Hannah Harper-Smith, Christiane Schaldemose, Emelie Ödén) there were also some silly and angry artists.

The play felt like FUN and happy and sad sometimes. It kind of seemed like it was a dream because things didn't even make sense sometimes.

There were some movies during the play and the characters in the movies came out and talked to Joseph and Robert and that was crazy because that couldn't really happen! Robert sang a song before the movies that reminded me of Star Wars and it was cool the way he sang it. And then Joseph sang a different song before the second movie.

There was one part where there was a guy with a toilet seat around his head, mommy said he was playing an artist named Duchamp (Tyler Skaffgard) who was silly and put a potty in a museum and said "this is art."  That was so silly!

The lights (by Maggie Fullilove-Nugent) were pretty and blue and sometimes red. The costumes (by Krissy Sneshkoff) were all white and blue and sometimes a little brown. The set by William Boles looked like a big box with a window, a ladder and a bed and some stools and the floor looked like the sky with stars. And one really cool thing was that I found a small square box of the set on a table in the lobby after the show it was just like the set.

There was lots of music (original music and arrangements by Michael Huey) and dancing (movement by Nicole Jordan) in the show. I heard a song in the show that I think I know from the Radio that everybody sang (well everyone except Joseph's mom) and I liked when they were stomping and clapping but that isn't in the song on the radio and at the end they said "Shhh" and that's not how the song goes on the radio but, that's ok. I loved the parts when Robert was dancing because he was a funny guy.

I liked some of the props (Archer Curry) because they were so big, I liked the huge fork and I liked the giant cups because they were very very very gigantic and so so big. One of my favorite parts was the big owl that always said "Hoot Hoot" every time he showed up in the window. There was also a ballerina puppet which was life size and it was just like a backpack but you could put in on your tummy and the girls could wear the puppet and become the ballerina. I bet it takes a lot of work to make a puppet like that, I don't even know how you do that.

My favorite part was when Robert was so excited when the guys with the wigs first came in and they were fighting over a hoop and then Robert finally got it but then the silly guy with the medicine on his head came back and ripped it out of his hands and that was so funny.

Everyone in the whole wide world should see this show because I think everyone in the whole wide world would love to know more about Joseph Cornell.

I give this show 10 points because I really liked it.

Love,
Gunnar

Hotel Cassiopeia has 3 more performances April 21, 22 and 23rd at 8pm. You can purchase tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hotel-cassiopeia-tickets-24449021682