Jim Pounds has acted in over 100 shows in the Twin Cities and beyond. Every month he hosts a segment for The Gaily Show called Onstage with Jim Pounds, where he takes us through new and upcoming theater in Chicago, Madison and the Twin Cities.
Onstage with Jim Pounds
Jim Pounds:
Let’s start in the great city of Madison, capital city, Madison, Wisconsin. I have two events that are not theater. August is kind of a quiet time for the theater, but there’s two great things coming up that I want to call your attention to. One of them is a common friend of John’s and mine, Leslie Vincent, who I’ve worked with as an actress. She’s a great actress. She’s a fantastic singer and songwriter and a ranger. And she’s going to be at the North Street Cabaret, which you probably know of in Madison on September 17th. I think it’s a smaller venue. I’m not sure. So get your tickets. I promise you if you go, you’ll be so glad that I told you about it if you have not heard of –
John Parker:
Jazzy, great American songbook. I mean, she does amazing cabaret. Fun fact, Leslie was the first ever guest on The Gaily Show.
Jim Pounds:
That’s right. Oh gosh, I completely forgot.
John Parker:
Way back in December of 2023. Wow. 22, 24. Whenever it was.
Jim Pounds:
Every month she puts out a newsletter where she says, “I’m going to be here. I’m going to be in Michigan. I’m going to be there.” So she’s very active. She’s out a lot. And if you haven’t seen her, you must, you must, you must. Also, I’m going to mention your National Coming Out Day, pardon me, event, which is October 9th. That’s not so unusual. What’s cool to me is that in Madison, it’s a breakfast. And I think that’s so smart.
To start the day off with that kind of affirmation makes so much more sense to me than what we do with a luncheon. I don’t know why.
John Parker:
Wait a minute. Why don’t they do brunch? That’s way more gay. It shouldn’t be breakfast or lunch. It should be brunch.
Jim Pounds:
Well, it’s at the Overture Center for the Arts, and I’m sure people who go know that’s true. But if you’ve never been, I’ve not been to the one in Madison, but the notion of it is you’ll hear from some people that will tell their coming out stories. And it’s very inspirational. It’s inspirational every time I see it. I recommend it if you’ve heard of it, but never taken the steps to go. I recommend that you go do that in Madison. Moving to the big town.
John Parker:
Wait, so let’s recap. So Leslie Vincent will be at North Street Cabaret on September 17th, and then the National Coming Out Day breakfast at the Overture Center for the Arts on October 9th.
Jim Pounds:
Right.
John Parker:
All right. Where are we headed to next?
Jim Pounds:
To the big town of Chicago. I have two recommendations here. They’re really different from each other. The first is, I don’t even know what to call this. It’s hair for crying out loud. The musical hair, which is and was in its time kind of groundbreaking for the way it dealt with sexuality and sort of bodies and love, free love and all the things that you can imagine go along with it. Nudity, all of that. It’s running at the Chopin Theater, if I’m saying that correctly. July 2nd, it’s already open through September 13th. That’s a long run. And it seems like you’d have plenty of time to go over and see that. And all the music from the ’60s and you can sort of picture –
John Parker:
I’m sorry, did you just say, is it a touring production or is it locally produced?
Jim Pounds:
I think it’s locally produced. And I love when they did Angels in America there, it ran for a long time.
John Parker:
Don’t get me started. Why do you keep bringing that up?
Jim Pounds:
Well, the only thing I can think of is that maybe it’s a smaller theater and they’re like, “There are going to be a lot of demands that we’re going to run for eight or nine weeks,” which is a long run.
John Parker:
I still cannot believe that we finally got to Chicago the weekend after [Angels in America] closed.
Jim Pounds:
Are you willing to accept responsibility for that?
John Parker:
I don’t want to talk about it. And you keep bringing it up.
Jim Pounds:
I’m just saying.
John Parker:
And it was an amazing production and I didn’t get to go see it.
Jim Pounds:
The other thing that I want to call people’s attention to is a Chicago area premiere of a play called Adolescent Salvation. Now, this has been done elsewhere in other cities, in Los Angeles and other places, and gotten some really kinetic reviews. This play is supposed to be raw and it’s supposed to be in your face and unorthodox and words like searing. It’s about three adolescents. And yes, there is some LGBT notion to it. At least one of those characters is dealing with.
They’re dealing with all kinds of adolescents that merry-go-round. So everybody’s got probably a billion things that they’re dealing with, but sexuality is one of the things, one of the many things they’re dealing with. And it’s supposed to just be, I don’t know, it’s not with a soft glove. It’s kind of a punch in the gut. And so it sounds really interesting. It’s a theater wit from August 14th, so it opens next week through October 3rd.
Again, those are nice, long, healthy runs. So I hope, gosh, I’m envious of Chicago. We run here for three weeks and everybody’s exhausted and that’s the end of it. But they really put together a run and I’m impressed.
So I’ll do your recap for you. Hair at the Chopin Theater, July 2nd through September 13th. Can’t miss that classic. And Adolescent Salvation at Theater Wit, August 14th to October 3rd.
John Parker:
And don’t forget, there is some amazing productions coming up at About Face Theater. And if you missed our conversation with Megan Carney, who is the artistic director, please check that out on our YouTube channel or everywhere that you get your podcasts. I believe we’re headed to the Twin Cities next, right?
Jim Pounds:
That’s right. I’ve got several things in the Twin Cities. I’ve said before, August is not the greatest time. There’s a lot of things coming up in September, but I was trying to come up with –
John Parker:
Because it’s summer. The season’s starting fall. Right?
Jim Pounds:
Right. But I will mention Wicked because Wicked is a queer show. Whether you acknowledge whether there are any gay characters in it or not, it is the issue of othering. It is the issue of not fitting in and the sort of anger and frustration and torment that can come with being rejected for not conforming. In my mind, that makes it a queer show. So I’m taking a little bit of license there, but that’s at the Orpheum just through Sunday. So that’s a Broadway touring production.
John Parker:
Oh, it closes this weekend.
Jim Pounds:
Closes on Sunday.
Jim Pounds:
And that was a nice five-week run too, so that’s good for them. And then The Prom, which I’m going to tonight, is at Lyric Arts.
John Parker:
You went to it on Wednesday.
Jim Pounds:
I went to it on Wednesday, way back on Wednesday and it was, I’m sure, great.
John Parker:
Unless you want to go see it a second time.
Jim Pounds:
Thank you for the reality check. It’s up in Anoka for people in Twin Cities, northern suburbs. It’s really easy to get to. It’s a great theater, former movie theater. The Prom is two young, well, adolescent, I guess high school girls, if I can use that term, who want to go to prom together. And the school says, “No, we’re not going to let you do that. We’re going to just cancel prom.” And so some Broadway stars rush out to Midwest USA where I’m sure we’re portrayed as hayseeds. And they try to help them connect with love. Love is going to conquer ignorance. So lyric arts through Sunday, The Prom. Then I’m going
John Parker:
And we interviewed Andrew Newman from the show. So if you want to get more of a sense of what’s happening in there, definitely check out that episode. Also, you can find that everywhere you get your podcast or on YouTube. We had a fantastic chat with Andrew who plays the, I can’t believe I’m going to reference the movie version with Meryl Streep, but I think he’s playing the
Jim Pounds:
James Cordon.
John Parker:
James Cordon role. Yeah? Yeah.
Jim Pounds:
Yeah. Who’s the most, what would you say? All these Broadway stars are portrayed for comic effect because they think they’re the ones that can save the world. And so they’re going to go to this small town cow town and turn their attitudes around and all that stuff. And he’s the least, most clueless of all of them. He’s the most, I’ll use the word buffoonish or characterish, and I’m sure Andrew will be very good at that. So he is also the artistic director of Minneapolis Musical Theater who we’ve had on the air to talk about that. And that’s the next show I’m going to talk about.
Let’s talk about Head Over Heels. This is MMT. They perform at Lush. John, do you want to tell people about Lush, what Lush is in North Minneapolis? Northeast Minneapolis?
John Parker:
Okay. No, it’s a bar and it’s a club and they actually, they’re very nice. We’ve actually hosted a few of our live events for this queer book, Save My Life, our companion podcast. They’re on their stage. We’ve been there also for, what’s it called? Monthly, they do a musical review.
Jim Pounds:
Monday nights.
John Parker:
Yeah, the first Monday of the month, I think. And they do all sorts of different fun, queer-themed events. I think they also have a drag queen bingo that happens there on Wednesday nights, and they do lots of themed drinks. And it’s a really cool location in Northeast Minneapolis. Parking is pretty decent there. And they have an outdoor. You got to make use of the outdoor space while you can here in Minneapolis and St. Paul and Minnesota because winter is coming. But no, it is a really lovely space.
Jim Pounds:
Well, and it has, I don’t know if this is the right word. It has a kind of a showroom. It has, I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a theater. Well, yes, not in a turn the lights out traditional dark theater.
John Parker:
There’s lights, there’s a raised stage.
Jim Pounds:
Yeah.
John Parker:
There is seating, there’s booth seating.
Jim Pounds:
It feels more like a nightclub in my –
John Parker:
That feels fair, like a cabaret type space.
Jim Pounds:
Yeah.
John Parker:
Yeah.
Jim Pounds:
There’s tables on the sides. Anyway, it’s an unusual space. It’s not traditional theater seating, but it probably seats well over a hundred people, I would guess maybe. Oh, I don’t know. Close to that. And so they perform there, which is really smart because Andrew is obviously LGBT and it’s an LGBT-ish or adjacent theater. And so this play, this musical, which I’d never heard of before, is called Head Over Heels. And it takes the music from the Go-Gos, and it was written partly by, and it includes some music by Belinda Carlisle.
John Parker:
Oh, wow.
Jim Pounds:
And somebody on some post that I saw said, “Is this the queerest Broadway musical ever?” And I don’t know what that means. When you do a jukebox musical, it could mean all kinds of. I mean, I don’t know. So I don’t know what that quote meant, but it intrigued me, and I though, “Well, I better tell people about it.” So it’s at Lush Theater from September 18th to October 10th. And so there is a fall event, and it sounds really. You like the music of the Go-Gos, don’t you?
John Parker:
Who doesn’t like the music of the Go-Gos? Well, right. Are you kidding me?
Jim Pounds:
Right.
John Parker:
And Belinda Carlisle.
Jim Pounds:
But when you put. I mean, I don’t know what your opinion of jukebox musicals are, but when you try to take music that was not written to be part of a show, and then you weave it into. Like Mama Mia was probably the most successful of those where you really kind of though, “Oh, that kind of works. That song kind of goes there.” And it made a sort of bizarre sense, but a lot of times I think they feel it’s hard to do that. So I don’t know how much of the book Belinda wrote or how much of the linking. You’re a writer, so you know what that is, or you’re trying to justify something that already exists. It’s probably not easy. But anyway, it sounds really interesting. Head over Heels, it’s a great title, and it runs from September 18th to October 10th.
John Parker:
Well, we have a big event happening in the Twin Cities this month.
Jim Pounds:
Yeah, and this may be why theater is a little, not everywhere. I mean, there’s a show at the Guthrie and there’s a few things happening. Chanhassen obviously, but the Minnesota Fringe Festival, and I was trying to look up, it always occurs in August, and I can’t remember how many years it’s been going, but it’s been decades. I remember going in the 80s, and I know a lot of places have Fringe
John Parker:
Festivals. You’ve performed there.
Jim Pounds:
Performed there three times. But it has grown now to be, I think there are 99 pieces in The Fringe this year.
John Parker:
You mean 99 shows?
Jim Pounds:
Shows and 560 performances at, I’m going to say a dozen venues.
John Parker:
Oh, because they perform multiple times.
Jim Pounds:
And then you’re usually in the same place, but sometimes it’ll be a daytime performance, sometimes an evening. So it’s a very unusual, anyone that’s got a Fringe, I know Chicago must have a Fringe Festival there. You kind of get how that’s different. There are shorter pieces, they’re less than an hour. So you have to show up with your little bit of stuff, set it up, do your show, and get out and move on to the next one. So it’s a very different way of consuming theater, very different from the traditional sit down and with a program and watch this two-hour show. So what’s interesting, why I picked the Fringe Festival is that this year, and I’m sure this is, it’s by lottery, it’s supposedly blind lottery, so they just pick out of a hat kind of thing. I think they do favor some of the producers, but there are 21 LGBT themed or genre genre.
John Parker:
Genres.
Jim Pounds:
Okay. So 21 out of 99 have some sort of LGBT character content or something like that. And of course, when we go to French Festival, I always just look at that list. I know that’s shortsighted on my part.
John Parker:
Well, I mean, you’re gay and you’re on The Gaily Show, so that’s fair.
Jim Pounds:
And I do know a lot of artists, both playwrights and actors that are in Fringe shows and all of that. And sometimes people go to a particular venue and they just watch them in sequence. That’s one way to do it. Or you can chase around town and try to get the one that’s the most popular. So because it hasn’t started yet, there are no reviews online. So I’m –
John Parker:
When does it open?
Jim Pounds:
Thursday.
John Parker:
Thursday.
Jim Pounds:
It opens on tomorrow. So it’s –
John Parker:
No, it opened. It’s open.
Jim Pounds:
Oh, that’s right. It already opened.
John Parker:
What time is it on this? I’m very good at this,
Jim Pounds:
Am I? It’s like doing five – I
John Parker:
Was like, wait, it opened this weekend. So yeah, Thursday. It opens the 6th of August. Why don’t we say it that way? And it runs till the 20th. There’s a whole wide variety of things here. Some are sort of drag performances. Some are like a single performer talking about their life. But I did catch a few titles that caught my attention. And the one that I wanted to mention was, so you want a data bisexual. I don’t know what that means, but you got to admit that’s an intriguing title, don’t tou think? Wait, so if you go to the website, the Minnesota Fringe Festival’s website, you can look up by genre. Yes. So you can just click LGBTQ shows and then all these 21 will show up.
Jim Pounds:
Yes. And I love that because you can kind of shop, if you will, for what you’re looking for. And you may not know what you’re looking for. You may go, oh, there’s a dance thing. I’d like to. I know Gordy always likes the dance. So sometimes we would just look at the dance options and pick something from there. Or you can look at a particular venue and say, “We just want to stay at the University of Minnesota and we’ll just see stuff that’s walking distance.” And even so, it’s not terribly spread out, it’s all within Minneapolis, but it can be a few miles between the northernmost and the southernmost or something like that. So that Fringe Festival website is really valuable. And once the shows start running, then you’ll start seeing reviews by people that have gone. And some of the people –
John Parker:
And not just media outlets.
Jim Pounds:
Right, right. Just average just goers. Because the idea is with a fringe, you’re supposed to hear what the scuttlebutt is about, well, what’s a good show to catch? What’s something you liked? And people talk in line about things that they liked. And there’s producers of other shows when you’re leaving one show, they’re handing you a card for another one that they’re trying to promote. It’s very chaotic and energetic. And it’s, what is that? 12 days from the 6th to the 14 days.
John Parker:
I found it for you. So they did 52 shows in 1994, and now they’re going to have almost 560 performances over 99 shows in 2025.
Jim Pounds:
That was last year. So I don’t really know what this year’s numbers are. But if you go to that website, each show will have reviews from audience members, what they liked, what they didn’t like. And you can kind of peruse that and say that really sounds different, or that really sounds dumb, or whatever. And kind of put together a playlist for the day if you’re going for a day. And you can also get a pass. So you can get a season pass and see everything.
