Open Wardrobes

My second show on Saturday, sticking around the U of MN's Rarig Center was The Tenth Muse, written and performed by out-of-towner Elisa Korenne. I met Elisa recently at one of the library showcases and enjoyed the show she performed there, so I wanted to be sure and catch the full show.

The focus of the show is songs about oddballs in US history, from a lightbulb eater to cheerleading nuns. I loved the songs, nicely written and well-performed, and the people they were based on were definitely interesting. Elisa has a very nice stage presence and is clearly in her element when singing and playing. The framework of the tenth muse didn't work for me as much, as I would have preferred more background on the historical characters. (A more cabaret-type format would probably work better.) The people ARE very interesting and the song format only provides so much room to talk about them. Still, all in all I very much enjoyed the performance. With the sing-a-long element this is a great show for families. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.