Director Joel Sass did part of my job at Open Eye Theatre's "Hair Ball! A Bigfoot Musical Adventure" when he called the show "a live-action comic book musical."
Open Eye's 'Hair Ball!' is a bright, fun, Bigfoot-themed musical
Canada-set comedy is performed on the green roof of the Bakken Museum.
June 6, 2022 at 10:00AM
That's an apt description of the world premiere, which Open Eye is staging on the green roof of Minneapolis' Bakken Museum. Here are a few more observations on what to expect:
- Much like Open Eye's "Log Jam!" last summer, "Hair Ball" is an exclamation-pointed, folk tale-inspired, very broad show with Maren Ward playing a dude. This time, she's a nut who claims a Bigfoot-like creature called "Megapaw" is taking over the world, "working for Commie revolutionaries from Transylvania."
- You may think you're on a roof in Minneapolis but you're in Canada, where "Hair Ball!" takes place at a resort whose owners plan to replace the surrounding forest with "golf courses as far as the eye can see."
- It's a screwball show and, although Josef Evans' droll songs are interludes rather than plot-movers, it's swiftly paced. It's recommended for ages 10 and up but I suspect a few bawdy jokes will go over the heads of youngsters.
- Going over the heads of everyone are playful birds. Part of the fun of "Hair Ball!" is the setting, which included many avian friends on opening night Thursday, including a daredevil duck that buzzed so low that one cast member might have been able to touch it if he'd reached up.
- It's a multisensory performance, with the audience on three sides of a grassy playing space and a three-piece band on the fourth. On opening night, I occasionally heard volleyball players from the nearby sand courts. I smelled mowed grass, dirt and the perfume of the woman next to me.
- Be prepared to be a special effect. On the way in, you're handed an orange/yellow/red pom-pom to be deployed in the search for Megapaw, which also involves a delightful teen detective (Abilene Olson) and her snooty mother (Georgia Doolittle).
- You may be surprised by the singing. Yes, it's a silly show and, other than a nod to the reason we need stories, it's a lark. But there are some seriously good voices in the cast of eight.
- You can't see Bde Maka Ska — the trees have leafed in too much — but as you await the show, you'll spot neighboring ponds and a field of native plants.
- Bring a chair. Or not. Some are available on a first-come, first-served basis. (I was about 10 minutes early and snagged one.)
- The weather was perfect the day I went but the show goes on through light rain. Might want to bring a raincoat (and don't fret about Tamir Nolley's beautiful bass. The band has a canopy.)
- Sass and company have a great eye for detail, which pays off in clever bits such as a forest ranger (Luke Aaron Davidson) who has a canoe strapped over his shoulders and who shimmies out of it like it's a peignoir, or a horny townsperson (Lux Mortenson) who needs a cigarette and pauses to give a marmot puppet a puff, too.
- Aside from being beautiful, the rooftop setting also pays off when, for instance, Olson sings, "When I look at the trees/When I look at this forest," and we are, in fact, surrounded by trees.
- Unexpectedly, "Hair Ball!" is a romance, with a whiff of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and a lovely ballad by Evans, possibly called "Love Is Love Is Love."
- If you arrive early, your ticket gets you a free hour in the museum.
- A behind-the-scenes factoid: This is the 31st collaboration for Ward and Evans. Their first was back in 2004, for the now-defunct Bedlam Theater.
- Since the 80-minute show starts at 7 p.m., it'll probably be light outside when you get home, depending on where in the metro you live.
'Hair Ball! A Bigfoot Musical Adventure'
Who: By Josef Evans. Directed by Joel Sass.
When: 7 p.m. Wed., Fri., Sun. Ends June 19.
Where: Bakken Museum rooftop, 3537 Zenith Av. S., Mpls.
Protocol: Masks are optional.
Tickets: $30, 612-874-6338 or openeyetheatre.org.
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