Music Everywhere
Friday 01 June @ 11:13:15 |
 Bobbi Miller Strikes Again: Sin Cities 7
by DWIGHT HOBBES
You have to wonder, sometimes, about the mind of Bobbi Miller. She’s one hellacious singer and a charismatic performer, but that thinking of hers—well, it is, you could say, kind of off-center. For instance, a couple seasons ago, at the Minnesota Fringe Festival, she was producer, director and anthologist for something she called Intoxicating. It was a campy revue she did with song-and-dance cohort Michelle Langner, comparing falling head over heels in love to being drunk as a skunk. And it played like a house on fire.
Miller is back in madcap action, now, with a cabaret thing titled “Sin Cities 7.” Most people are pretty quiet about their foibles and guilty pleasures, right? Not Bobbi Miller. She’s celebrating ‘em straight out in the open—with a little help from her shameless friends.
Created and hosted by Miller and comedy writer Dave Mondy (Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion) with a changing cast, the show is a monthly music-and-storytelling series, with each month (it’s been going on since January) devoted to one or another of the proverbial seven deadly sins (lust must have been a trip). “It’s been working incredibly well with all of our guest artists,” says Miller. “We never know what the artists are going to be bringing to the table on any given performance. So, we could have a recipe for disaster, but instead, we’ve been consistently delighted and surprised by their choices.”
Said choices have been made by some pretty accomplished folk. In fact, as Bobbi puts it, “many of the Twin Cities’ top talents, including Leslie Ball, Kevin Steinman, Venus De Mars, Amy Salloway and Colleen Kruse.” Actually she named a whole lot more, but we’ve only got so much room here. Anyway, it’s been a rip-roaring success.
For June, the sin of the month is Pride. No, it’s not a coincidence: Yes, it is slated to go along The Twin Cities Pride Parade. And accordingly, features more than a few GLBT performers. Headlining are Kruse, Venus De Mars of All The Pretty Horses, Rik Reppe, Matty Schindler, Allegra Lingo and J. Tyler O’Neill. Miller recalls, “[Dave and I] pulled together these artists because we, quite simply, are in awe of their talents and want to share the stage with them. All of the artists have graced the Sin Cities 7 stage before, with the exception of Allegra, who is a superb, hilarious writer and Schindler of Faux Jean, whom I’ve known and admired since our service industry days together.” I’m sure no one will screen you at the door, so even if you’re straight, you probably can slip in and have yourself a fine time.
The run closes in July with a sendup of Envy. On board will be Charlie Bethel, Amy Salloway, Kevin Steinman and Daniel Kukielka. “For our last sin, [we have] a wide variety of guest artists.” After which, neither Miller nor Mondy are bothering to stop and catch their breath. “When Sin Cities wraps up, Dave and I are starting a brand new series at the Bryant Lake Bowl, again featuring a diverse array of local artists. Meanwhile, Dave has been hired to create a series of monologues for the website of a new literary magazine called The Smart Set. And I finally finished my solo album, with help from local and national producers and DJs.” Trust me, that’s an album you are going to want to buy. Meanwhile, along with co-hosting this show, Bobbi Miller does some contributing to the goings-on, airing those fantastic pipes of hers.
Sin Cities 7: PRIDE Edition will play on Friday, June 1 and Saturday, June 2 at 10 p.m., in the Cabaret Theatre of the Bryant Lake Bowl. Sin Cities 7 ENVY Edition is July 6 and 7. Bryant Lake Bowl, 810 W. Lake St., Mpls. $15 ($12 with Fringe button) at the door, or in advance through the Bryant Lake Bowl box office 612-825-8949), or at www.bryantlakebowl.com.
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