T. Mychael Rambo returns to LIVE at Lyndale Gardens. T. Mychael is an award-winning actor, vocalist, arts educator, and community organizer. He is a beloved member of our Twin Cities arts community. T. Mychael has performed on every professional theater stage in the Twin Cities.
A high-energy, fast-paced improv comedy show where everything is made up on the spot and no two performances are ever the same. Think Fast. Laugh Hard. Fast. Funny.
Fully Improvised. Your ideas ➡️ Our Comedy.
Leslie Vincent returns to LIVE at Lyndale Gardens. Leslie is a prolific songwriter and jazz vocalist. Equally at home singing the Great American Songbook, musical theater, and contemporary rock and pop.
For the second year in a row, the Minnesota State Fair rejects Richfield’s own Doris Rubenstein’s traditional kosher dill pickles. Doris realizes there’s more than pickles fermenting, there’s hell to raise. A Pickle is based on a true story. Cathy Fuller is familiar to Twin Cities audiences from her frequent work on stage, television, and radio.
Yazmin, pianist-singer-songwriter, and her powerhouse Latin-jazz trio Beat Zero return to LIVE at Lyndale Gardens with a mix of poignant songwriting and infectious Latin American rhythms.
We’ve made it a tradition to invite Kevin Kling, his favorite chanteuse Simone Perrin and fellow storyteller and musician Dan Chouinard to Lyndale Gardens with stories and music to lighten our hearts and souls.
The return of our favorite Afro-Caribbean Band. Music for your Dancing Soul!!!
Written by Kevin Kling. Directed by Michael Robins with Kevin Kling*, Dan Chouinard, Simone Perrin, and Stephen Yoakam*, with music from the House of Mercy Band (Chris Larson, Angela Talle, Jeremy Szopinski, and Doug Trail-Johnson), and Michelle Kinney.
*member Actors’ Equity Association
Conceived and directed by Isabel Nelson with Creative Team: Jack Bechard, Mark Benzel, Amber Bjork, Peyton McCandless, Derek Lee Miller, Adelin Phelps*, and Allison Vincent.
*member Actors’ Equity Association
CW // sexual violence
Written by Carlyle Brown. Directed by Victor Malana Maog and featuring: Peyton Dixon, Terry Hempleman*, Norah Long*, John Middleton*, Ashawnti Sakina Ford, Mikell Sapp*, and Stephen Yoakam*.
*member Actors’ Equity Association
Duck Soup is widely considered to be a masterpiece of comedy and the Marx Brothers' finest film….and it comes up frequently in Jeffrey Hatcher’s play, Groucho Marx Meets T.S. Eliot. 😊
Written by James Still. The reading is directed by Ellen Fenster and features Stacia Rice*, William McCallum*, Alex Church, Joey Miller*, Ninchai Nok-Chiclana, and Angie Haigh.
Written by Jeffrey Hatcher. Creative Consultant Evan Hatcher. Directed by Michael Robins and stars Jim Cunningham as Groucho and John Middleton as T. S. Eliot.
The Noel and Carlyle Show
Playwright Carlyle Brown and director Noel Raymond have been collaborating in their respective roles for nearly thirty years. Now, they are exploring working together as co-creators of a theatrical work in which they will both perform. “Something new is about to begin.”
The Noel and Carlyle Show
Playwright Carlyle Brown and director Noel Raymond have been collaborating in their respective roles for nearly thirty years. Now, they are exploring working together as co-creators of a theatrical work in which they will both perform. “Something new is about to begin.”
This year Miss R will explain, as only she can, Artificial Intelligence in Phony Baloney, Keeping it Real in an Artificial World. According to Miss Richfield 1981, “Don’t let my show’s title fool you, I am staying as genuine as my Sanka! But many things around us are not real! So, in my new show, I explore all things artificial, like flowers, toupees, and mayonnaise.” Once again, the red carpet is out for Miss Richfield 1981‘s Holiday Show -- her 26th year with ILLUSION! Russ King, the man behind Miss Richfield 1981, came up with this brazen and beloved character while he worked at the Minnesota Aids Project (MAP) in the 90’s. Michael Robins was on the MAP Board and offered Russ a spot in ILLUSION’s Fresh Ink Series to try this character out. Miss R has gone on from our stage to become a national treasure. Phony Baloney is written by Russ King and performed by Miss Richfield 1981 herself!
In This Moment Now: Count It All Joy hosted by T. Mychael Rambo, Aimee K. Bryant, and Ryan Bynum at the Theater at Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists in St. Paul.
Ryan Bynum’s original song, “I’m so proud and blessed to be…In This Moment…Now” kickstarts the show as T. Mychael and Aimee lead an ensemble of African American performers in poetry, spoken word, dance, and song. This is the third edition of In This Moment having been presented originally in 2020 as a response to the murder of George Floyd.
In This Moment Now: Count It All Joy is a powerful, joyful performance of the full range of feelings of what it means to be African American in these times, in this community, now. T. Mychael Rambo and Aimee K. Bryant are much loved performers who have appeared on ILLUSION stages for many years, in many shows, and in many events.
Live and Deal with Others Better: The Gift of Shakespeare’s Romances by Toni A.H. McNaron. Join us on Monday, September 30 6:30-9:30pm for an exciting, enlightening and inspiring. Ms. McNaron believes that Shakespeare realized continuing to write tragedies and history plays about powerful men was a dead-end street. So, he turned to a new form of drama that allowed for the possibility of rejuvenation, repentance, and even rebirth. We now call these plays romances (Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale, and The Tempest).
University of Minnesota BFA students under the direction of Steve Cardamone will be reading scenes from the plays.
A Celebration of ILLUSION THEATER’s 50th Anniversary Year
Dear Illusion and Richfield Friends,
Please join us on September 27th for our Bingo Benefit! We can’t wait to kick off our 50th Anniversary celebrations with you, Miss Richfield 1981, special guests, and bingo fun.
All the Best,
Bonnie & Michael
Friday, September 27
6:30pm VIP Reception
7:00pm General Congregation
If you are unable to attend, please consider a donation to ILLUSION THEATER by clicking here.
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Gay Man represents the first work in Patrick Scully’s autobiographical series Somewhere Along the Rainbow. The play begins in Scully’s high school in the 1960’s and takes us on a journey through his school, college years, and into his early professional life in the arts.
This first work ends in 1980, having traversed the ups and downs of Patrick’s coming out story, his redirecting his studies from medical school to dance, and eventually founding a dance company as well as Patrick’s charting the victories and defeats of LGBTQ+ individuals, not only in Minneapolis/St. Paul but across the country.
Nobody, No Time by ILLUSION Mellon Playwright in Residence, Carlyle Brown, is inspired by the life of Bert Williams, the famous and popular Vaudeville Negro entertainer. He was the headliner in the Ziegfeld Follies and at the beginning of the twentieth century he was one of the top recording artists in the world. He performed in black face and built his career and legacy on the exploitation of Negro stereotypes. W.C. Fields called him the funniest and the saddest man he ever knew.
Nobody, No Time is a new play with music that looks inside the most talented, complex and conflicted figure of the Vaudeville era. As the Mellon Playwright in Residence, Carlyle has been a part of Illusion's leadership team since 2020. Nobody, No Time will be the fourth play Carlyle has written since he began his Mellon residence with Illusion.
The return of our favorite Afro-Caribbean Band with music for your Dancing Soul.
Malamanya | Vintage Afro-Latin Music
*Note the earlier start time
A show usually only seen at the State Fair, with appearances by Betty Crocker, Paul Bunyan, and The Dough Boy comes to Richfield. The Minnesota History Center and the State Fair Foundation commissioned this musicale in 2015 and it has been entertaining Minnesota State Fairgoers ever since. Written and directed by longtime ILLUSION Artistic Associate Beth Gilleland with musical direction by Kevin Dutcher, featuring Bonni Allen, Aimee K. Bryant, Ricky Morisseau, and Jim Robinson. Hear the “Ten Thousand Lake Polka,” watch Betty Crocker host a quiz show with Minnesota icons, and listen to Paul Bunyan’s sweetheart Lucette sing “It’s All About Paul.”
Plus, Honeywine an all-original trio Dorian Chalmers, Becky Schlegel, and Dennis Curley step on the stage to share their pure, sweet Americana sound.
*Note this is a Tuesday performance
Dan Chouinard is familiar to many as a pianist, accordionist, storyteller, and writer of shows for public radio, clubs, and theater. Did you know he grew up in Richfield in the '60s and '70s? Join Dan and two other stellar Richfield musicians, both from legendary musical families – vocalist-radio host Patty Peterson and performer-educator Denny Malmberg as they walk us through their Richfield baby boomer childhoods and share stories about the people, places, and songs that inspired them.
Join Dane Stauffer, David Lohman (keyboards), Kris Stauffer (bass), and Matt Nielson (percussion) for a swinging, rocking, reflective night to salute the endless American fascination with the open road. Songs and stories from Johnny Cash to Nat King Cole, Joni Mitchell to Roger Miller, John Steinbeck to Jack Kerouac.
Aimee K. Bryant brings an expandable, improvisational chorus of Black women and non-binary artists based in the Twin Cities with ties around the world. Using a cappella singing and vocal improvisation, Give Get Sistet sing with great generosity and daring, the music they make is unlike any other ensemble you’ve heard.
It is a tradition to invite Kevin Kling, his favorite chanteuse Simone Perrin, and fellow storyteller Dan Chouinard to Lyndale Gardens with stories and music to lighten our hearts and souls.
Twin Cities vocalist Prudence Johnson proudly joins pianist/singer/songwriter Yazmin and her powerhouse Latin-jazz trio Beat Zero to kick off our 2024 Lyndale Garden Series with a mix of poignant songwriting and infectious Latin American rhythms.
Yazmin - singer-songwriter-artist-dancer-music & dance instructor-travel guide
Written and performed by Transatlantic Love Affair from a poem by Isabel Nelson
This is an invitation only event. Please email boxoffice@illusiontheater.org to receive an invitation.
Written and performed by Transatlantic Love Affair from a poem by Isabel Nelson
This is an invitation only event. Please email boxoffice@illusiontheater.org to receive an invitation.
Written by Jeffrey Hatcher
Director Michael Robins
Featuring Jim Cunningham and John Middleton
This is an invitation only event. Please email boxoffice@illusiontheater.org to receive an invitation.
Written by Jeffrey Hatcher
Director Michael Robins
Featuring Jim Cunningham and John Middleton
This is an invitation only event. Please email boxoffice@illusiontheater.org to receive an invitation.
Created and performed by Noel Raymond and Carlyle Brown.
Directed by Louise Smith.
This is an invitation only event. Please email boxoffice@illusiontheater.org to receive an invitation.
Written and performed by Patrick Scully
Director Michael Robins
Movement consultant Blake Nilles
Lighting collaborator Garvin Jellison
NOTE: If this were a movie it would probably be rated R.
This is an invitation only event. Please email boxoffice@illusiontheater.org to receive an invitation.
Written and performed by Patrick Scully
Director Michael Robins
Movement consultant Blake Nilles
Lighting collaborator Garvin Jellison
NOTE: If this were a movie it would probably be rated R.
This is an invitation only event. Please email boxoffice@illusiontheater.org to receive an invitation.
Join the incomparable T Mychael Rambo as MC for an uplifting afternoon. You’ll hear from students, teachers, and Illusion’s team of Teaching Artists; you’ll see scenes from KEEPIN’ IT REAL; you’ll hear how Illusion’s work in classrooms across the Twin Cities provides social and emotional skills, addresses the growing concerns about youth mental health, and helps teens to navigate the many challenges they face in our ever-changing world. Your contribution will make a world of difference to so many youth. Click for details.
The Myth of the Mountain is a fable-esque coming-of-age story about triplets Mia, Mateo, and Mo who live cut off from the outside world in their own structured life after the disappearance of their parents. After a distant song similar to one their parents used to sing wakes Mo in the middle of the night, they set out to find their parents at the peak of a nearby mountain, forcing their siblings to follow and turning their rigid world upside down.
Myth is an original musical with the surrealism of Lemony Snicket, the playfulness of Willy Wonka, and the wonder of Wes Anderson. It’s a 2-act quirky family-friendly dramedy that’ll make you belly laugh and then surprise you with tears through a captivating coming of age adventure story.
