The tagline for Sloppy Bonnie is simply irresistible.  This show is billed as “a roadkill musical for the modern chick.”  Is Bonnie sloppy?  Yes indeed but perhaps not sloppy enough.  This country western musical comedy does have inspired creative flourishes amidst the cartoonish and gleefully vengeful proceedings.

Bonnie is engaged to Jedidiah who is away for the summer.  He is a pastor in training at a retreat.  When old friend Sissy comes to town, Bonnie gets the idea to visit him since he has gone dark on emails, texts and phone calls.  This “little girl” from Tennessee takes a road trip through more than the dangerous southern roads past the “Dinosaur Creation Museum.”  Her journey is a warped feminist rant as well as a self-deprecating take on an idealized American stereotype.

Dr. Rob and Chauncy kick off the musical performing their Cosmic Country Radio show.  They announce that they are here to tell a morality tale about an American woman.  How does Bonnie define herself?  “By my purchases” is the tongue-in-cheek retort.  This leads into the opening number “You Might Call Me Basic.”  My favorite line:  “And ya I still say x-presso / I’m proud of what I don’t know.”

Jesus comes along for the ride, naturally.  Jumping in the car he notes he just purchased a 44 ounce refill.  He plans to turn it into wine later.  He will, at some point, take the wheel.  It’s good to have him around as “he healeth every pothole.”  Unfortunately Jesus is not along for the entire ride and the car breaks down.  A young lady all alone with Chris and Bryan pushing her and the vehicle.  They are described as “shirtless grifter drifters with California accents.”  All of the targets swung at in this show are big.

Bonnie’s journey turns from naively dingbatish to bizarrely deadly, in a most delightful way.  The storyline, however, careens wildly hitting guardrails on both sides of the highway.  There is the welcome radio station interludes and inexplicable numerous trips to the concept of the Nativity Chicken.  That does lead to one of the weirdest yet oddly compelling song “But Not For Birds.”  Bonnie sings in her best deadpan “when I grew older I would notice/ fellas focus mostly on two parts.”  The choreography is both a ridiculous and giddy tribute to Marilyn Monroe’s Diamonds number in Gentleman Prefer Blondes.

Playwright Krista Knight and Composer Barry Brinegar have smartly packaged their show into a sketch filled road trip movie wannabe.  Leah Lowe directed Sloppy Bonnie.  This online video was recorded from a previous live performance.  What makes the streaming extra interesting is the cartoon drawings layered on to the taped performance.  The often silly material benefits from a cheeky presentation style which lightens the dark clouds which threaten throughout this musical.  The screwdriver scene has to be more enjoyable when viewed online.

Amanda Disney is amusing as Bonnie.  She sings lyrics about wanting “just one small McNugget of your love” without irony which makes the songs work for this offbeat character.  Her male sidekicks, however, get to sink their teeth into comedic hijinks in multiple roles.  Curtis Reed and James Randolph II lend a SNL-like skit feel which is often entertaining.  The idea to inflate the heads for the radio announcers was hilariously spot on.

As may be appropriate for a roadkill musical, there are some unfortunate accidents.  The plot careens around many sharp turns which are unevenly steered.  The Book of Mormon tinged ending is probably the least effective section in the show.  That said, Sloppy Bonnie may exist to be a modern feminist manifesto.  Men, you better listen up.  You try ghosting your girl and risk the consequences.  Things might just get a little sloppy.

Sloppy Bonnie was recorded in June 2021 at OZ Arts Nashville.  This world premiere musical is available online through July 15, 2021.  Select the “canned” option for streaming tickets.

www.sloppybonnie.com

Stories of America have been mined for musical gold many times.  In Sweet Land, the musical, that gold takes on a hue of wheat.  The setting is Park Rapids, Minnesota.  A married couple is packing up the remains of a farm home.  Lars’ grandmother had died two years earlier.  Mementos from the past such as a photograph and a letter dated July, 1920 are the catalyst to a trip back in time.

Olaf Torvig (Robert Berdahl) was farming his land alone.  He was introduced to Inge Altenberg (Ann Michels) through relatives back in Europe.  From a written letter, she came to America at his asking carrying a gramophone and speaking not a word of English.  After landing here, she jumps on a train to the middle of the country for a new life.

This musical had its world premier in 2017.  The History Theatre is streaming that production this month.  The timing is ideal.  As our nation clashes over immigration policy, the themes of this show resonate loudly.  Sweet Land is a sweet little show that takes time to reveal goodness and grace within people.  Sweet Land also addresses hardship and conflict before healing.

A violinist is center stage as the jittery strings underscore tension.  World War I is over.  In 1917, Germans represented the largest single ethnic group in Minnesota.  German Americans were evaluated for their patriotic attitudes supported by a network of spies from the newly created Minnesota Commission of Public Safety.  Into this world arrives Inge, a German.

Olaf and Inge had agreed to marry but the church cannot sanction such a union.  The priest does not know her and she has no references.  Even the Judge will not marry them, saying “Why did she leave Germany?  She is not one of us.”  While all of this sounds like dour melodrama, there is a lightness to the storytelling which keeps the show in the zone of entertaining and heartwarming.  The struggles are real but our ability to consider them is refreshingly pleasant.  Both actors have great chemistry in addition to fully formed characterizations.  The whole cast and the musicians were additive to enjoying this piece.

The book was written by Perrin Post and Laurie Flanigan Hegge.  Words create vivid imagery such as “tired, bedraggled, covered in dust.”  The characters and situations are often humorous.  When Olaf shoots a pheasant, he tries to hand it over to Inge.  “You shoot, you pluck,” she retorts.  My favorite outburst written into the book was the “Nein” speech.

The plentiful songs in Sweet Land were written by Laurie Flanigan Hegge (lyrics) and Dina Maccabee (music).  There are nice nods to music and expressions from the period.  I thought I heard a few flashes of the scores for Thoroughly Modern Millie and Brokeback Mountain buried in there.  The dissonant tones of the score were very effective.

This musical was directed by Perrin Post.  For a small scale show, many transitions were particularly fluid such as a kitchen scene evolving into a porch scene.  The technical elements, particularly the lighting (Mike Grogan) and sound effects (C Andrew Mayer), were noticeably excellent.  The neighbor’s tractor ride can only be described as Green Acres realness with overalls instead of a suit and tie.

Quite a few themes emerge from this small tale of two people and the rural farming community that surrounds them.  What does it mean to really care about your fellow citizens?  What assumptions do we make about people based upon their race or background?  Is it properly called apple pie or is it really strudel?

The vilification of immigrants and also those who seem different than us remains a core American value, sadly.  Sometimes it is therapeutic to step back and listen.  People on both sides of a war might not simply be blind followers of their governments or political parties.  The search for personal happiness and fulfillment is deftly explored in Sweet Land, the musical.  Let’s hope America can find its way there too.

Sweet Land, the musical is streaming through October 22, 2020 from History Theatre at Home.  You can choose the level of your ticket price.

www.historytheatre.com

“When wilt thou save the people? / Oh God of mercy when? / The people, Lord, the people / Not thrones and crowns, / But men.”  Could there be a time when a revival of Godspell is more timely than right now?

Through perseverance and the watchful eye of Actor’s Equity, the Berkshire Theatre Group managed to stage the first live theatrical show in America since the pandemic shut the doors in March.  The solution was to erect a very large tent outside with limited – and distanced – seating capacity.  How to sing and dance?  Socially apart with transparent partitions.

I managed to catch the final weekend after the show extended its sold out run.  As someone who spends countless evenings in the theater, my anticipation level was high.  The 2011 Broadway revival was manic and overcooked.  My childhood friend, Gerry McIntyre, was the choreographer.  I saw this show countless times as a teenager in schools and churches.  Even staged on an altar, how radical!  I could not wait to sit and see what COVID-19 and decades of my ever-marbleizing atheism would do to this nostalgic and tuneful relic from my youth.

Lovers of the Godspell cast album who know every song by heart can rejoice here.  One of the highlights of this particular revival is the vocal arrangements by Music Director Andrew Baumer.  Instead of using recent trends which make old school lyrics unintelligible, this Godspell allows its cast to sing Stephen Schwartz’s words clearly and convincingly.  Oh bless the Lord my soul.

This Godspell, like the original 1970’s megahit, takes place today.  The cast assembles on the stage far apart and behind partitions.  It’s both surreal and exciting.  Each opens with a personal story about the pandemic and how it impacted their life.  Someone eventually gets to the “to wear or not to wear” mask battle happening in our country.  “I don’t know how to teach you to care about other people.”  Cue the opening song, “Prepare Ye” the way of the Lord.  An opening that was somehow both sobering and magical.

The messages and parables of Jesus freely flow through this show.  I found many of them jarring and intensely relevant today.  “Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled.”  “Not to make a show of religion before men.”  “No man can serve God and money.”  How about this lyric?  “This nation / this generation / shall bear the guilt of it all.”  Heady stuff if you immerse yourself in the now.

Godspell has always reflected current times, often using humor.  A parable about a Master results in the easy chide “guys, I don’t think we should use the word ‘Master’ anymore.”  There are mentions of Tik Tok, Netflix, Occupy Pittsfield and tweeting.  Police caps appear in Act II.  Wal-Mart becomes a stand-in for Hades.  That in particular came across as cultural elitism to me but the joke did land.

“When you feel sad / and under a curse” begins Jesus (Nicholas Edwards) and Judas’ soft shoe duet, “All For the Best.”  Both sanitize appropriately, wear rubber gloves and use yardsticks to measure six feet of distance.  There is plenty of whimsy to be had in this revival.  The darker elements of the tale approaching the ending were less successful and dragged on.  “Turn Back, O Man” was cleverly turned into a provocative (and overly raunchy) in-your-face gay number that was bizarrely out of sync with the rest of the show.

Hunter Kaczorowski and Elivia Bovenzi Blitz provided the inspired denim costumes.  From the cast, there were some nice high points to be savored.  A wistful “By My Side” from Alex Getlin.  A plaintive “All Good Gifts” from Najah Hetsberger.  Michael Wartella (“Light of the World”) and Tim Jones (Judas) memorably interacted throughout the tale from stage left.

Is this Godspell perfect?  Of course not.  But it exists and that is what’s important here.  Only the team who put this show on can say what it was like in rehearsals way back in July.  When the musical gets to the lovely ballad, “Beautiful City,” we get to reflect a little.  “Out of the ruins and rubble / Out of the smoke / Out of our night of struggle / Can we see a ray of hope?”  Will we be able to build a better and more beautiful city in the future?  “Yes we can” is the answer.

This was a sad week which included the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  The last time a justice died before a Presidential election, the Republicans stood up and held up the next confirmation until the people’s votes could be counted as a matter or principle.  With even less time this year, they have done another 180 degree spin.  I can only imagine what Jesus would think.  Oh… wait a minute, he just told me.  “Alas, alas for you / Lawyers and pharisees / Hypocrites that you be.”

www.berkshiretheatregroup.org