Dead Composers Society present a campy romp

By Sheila Regan Wed., Jan. 26 2011 at 8:23 AM

Categories: Theater

From the company that co-produced Tonya & Nancy: The Opera and Two Short Operas, a hit at the Fringe last summer, comes One More Friday. It's a campy romp about a family's Shabbes dinner that goes awry. Produced by the Dead Composers Society, the show will be performed as part of a double feature with the Twin Cities Jewish Chorale. The event happens this Wednesday evening as part of the 2011 Minneapolis Jewish Humor Festival at Sabes Jewish Community Center.

James Lekatz, the play's director, says that the show is a combination of opera pieces and show tunes mainly by Jewish composers, with just a bit of dialogue (a total of no more than a couple minutes) thrown in. Lekatz arranged the music and says that the story, whose central theme is about how to balance tradition with modern lives, is told through the songs. Its characters include two parents on the verge of embarking on a sadomasochistic relationship, a punk teen, his slutty sister, a little girl who likes rabbits, and an over the top Jewish grandmother. "It's a piece that's about the wacky situation that we're in," Lekatz says.

The show starts out with a song by Leonard Bernstein called "Four Recipes," followed by "Le Poisson" from The Little Mermaid. Other selections come from musicals like Fiddler on the Roof, Chicago, and Sunday in the Park with George, by Steven Soundheim (changed to "Friday in the Park with George" for this production). Also in the show is a song from Wild Wild Party (by Andrew Lippa), a tune from Bernstein's Mass, and a piece from Shostakovich's Jazz Suites (the one non-Jewish composer of the bunch.)

One More Friday features local opera singers Meredith Cain-Nielsen, Lauren Drasler, Neil Matthew Schneider, and Erik Pearson, who also all helped create the show. They are accompanied by live piano.

Also performing tonight will be the Twin Cities Jewish Chorale, a multigenerational concert choir which will present folksongs and comedic tunes. The 2011 Minneapolis Jewish Humor Festival runs through January 30 and includes one-act plays, one-person shows, music performances, standup routines, improvisational comedy, storytelling, film, and visual art. The festival takes place at Sabes JCC (4330 S. Cedar Lake Rd., Minneapolis).

Tickets to the one-night-only performance of One More Friday are $7. The show starts at 7 p.m. For more info, call 952.381.3499 or email tickets@sabesjcc.org