St. Paul’s Ordway Center has just right tonic for the new American epidemic.
“The surgeon general is warning of a grave epidemic of loneliness,” said Ordway President and CEO Chris Harrington. “We have the antidote with stories of perseverance, resilience and joy that we can all share together at the Ordway.”
The performing arts center’s 2024-25 lineup includes “The Little Mermaid” in the all-important holiday slot, a Motown musical and two shows that were recently turned into feature films.
Things kick off with a work that’s close to the heart of Harrington, a Detroit native. “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations” is about one of the signature groups of Motown, Berry Gordon’s influential music label named in homage to the nation’s car capital.
The music-packed show played Minneapolis’ Orpheum Theatre in summer 2022. The story, by award-wining playwright Dominique Morisseau, charts the lives of the singers and the demons, both personal and societal, that they faced as they produced timeless music.
With hits such as “Just My Imagination,” “Get Ready” and “My Girl,” the Temptations brought audiences of all races together in the 1960s, using soulful, heartfelt music to help knock down the walls of segregation (Oct. 8-13).
“Mermaid,” Disney’s fishy underwater fable about a mermaid princess who falls in love with a human, follows with a monthlong run. Based on both Disney’s 1989 animated film and Hans Christian Andersen’s original story, the show is composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Glenn Slater and Howard Ashman. It features such songs as “Under the Sea,” “Part of Your World” and “Kiss the Girl” (Dec. 3-29).
“Dear Evan Hansen” was made into a 2021 feature film starring a too-old Ben Platt. The film did not get great notices, but the theater production has been lauded for its music, composed by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and its focus on finding connection in the digital age.
