OH S#!% @ ACADIA CAFE

April 28, 1999.By The Pulse of the Twin Cities.

The complete title of this New York smash that has returned to the motherland (no pun intended) is Oh S#!% I’m Turning Into My Mother. This homegrown cabaret-style show is overflowing with affectionate reflections of motherhood, outrageous comedy and music musings by Reba McEntire, Mama Cass and more Featured in NY Time Out’s cabaret line-up, this show features Tod Peterson drumming up hilarious monologues about his Midwestern mom and upbringing. My, don’t those cookies look yummy? 1931 Nicollet Ave. S., Mpls., Through May 23. 7 p.m.

For Mother and May

April 28, 1999.By Kathy Graves, Southwest Journal.

Just in time for Mother’s Day, Theater Latté Da is reviving its hit show, “Oh Shit, I’m Turning Into My Mother,” which played to sold-out houses last year at the Loring Playhouse. Despite its title, Peter Rothstein, artistic director of the company, says, “The show really is endearing. It’s outrageous, yes, but it’s an affectionate reflection on motherhood.”

A year ago, Rothstein was searching for a theme to unify the eclectic ideas and songs roaming around in his head when he happened upon his inspiration: a refrigerator magnet. Needing no further cue, he created a shoe with original material by Tod Petersen, Bridget Carpenter and Rob Hartmann, and with music ranging from Reba McEntire to Mama Cass to favorite lullabies. Rothstein says the lead performer, Tod Petersen, uses a Lily Tomlin technique, moving freely between characters in his reflections on maternal themes.

In March, Rothstein took the show to New York to the Duplex Cabaret Theater, the place where “Nunsense” got its start. A rave review in “Time Out Magazine” led to two extensions, but Rothstein said he was committed to bringing the show back to Minneapolis for an opening close to Mother’s Day. This time around, he will stage the show at the Acadia Café, at the corner of Franklin and Nicollet.

“The show originally previewed in a living room so I wanted a venue like that. This space works beautifully.”

Rothstein says one fun aspect of “Oh Shit, I’m Turning Into My Mother” is that is draws non-traditional audiences for his troupe. “Usually we have a pretty urban, Uptown kind of audience. But we found with this show we had groups of moms from the suburbs coming.”

And did they like it? “Oh yeah,” says Rothstein. “My own mother has seen it six times and she’s 75. She loves it. She just says ‘I wish you would change the title!’”

Tickets to the show, running April 30 through May a23 are available by calling 337-6MOM.

The Circuit

April 1, 1999.By Time Out New York.

Duplex 8pm: Oh Shit, I’m Turning into My Mother, musical. This Minneapolis import features screwball monologues about Tod Petersen’s hilarious Midwestern mom between pop and show tunes about motherhood powerfully sung by Sandy Binion and Cheryl Monroe. (Their Kander and Ebb number, “The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far from the Tree,” is a riot.) There’s not much cohesion, but who cares when you’re having so much fun? Stick around for the postshow cookies.

Theater: “…I’m Turning into My Mother”

1999.By Rohan Preston, Star Tribune.

Presented by Theater Latté Da. Opens at 8 p.m. today and continues at 7 & 9 p.m. Sat., 3 p.m. Sun., Acadia Cafe, 1931 Nicollet Av. S., Mpls. $10. 612-337-6666.

A sometimes heart-warming, sometimes campy tribute to over-mothering mothers everywhere, this musical had a successful Twin Cities run this past winter before going o to good notices in New York. Now, in time for Mother’s Day, the revue is back, with its cheery lode of maternal-themed songs and stories. As co-creator Todd Petersen ruminates about his Midwestern mother, his half-smile tells you that he may have eaten all the goodies in the cupboard. But don’t worry, in addition to the saccharine humor, he serves up some cookies after the show.

MOVERS & SHAKERS: Artsy Notes From Around the Twin Towns

November 5, 1998.By Revue of the Twin Cities.

We had to ask: just what does local director Peter Rothstein’s mother think of his company’s new show, “Oh S***, I’m Turning Into My Mother”?

“Well, she’s not much on the title,” cracked Rothstein, who actually got the show’s moniker from a kitschy refrigerator magnet. “She took one look at the [publicity] postcards we were planning to send out” – which, incidentally, do not use asterisks in the excrement-related title – “and said, ‘The U.S. Postmaster will not deliver these!”

While Rothstein does a marvelous imitation of his own mom, the director-performer (who theatergoers may remember for his out-there performance as Buzz in Park Square Theatre’s “Love! Valour! Compassion!” last year) will remain behind the scenes for this show. In addition to directing, he and Denise Prosek are co-producing the piece for their cabaret company, Theater Latté Da. The show is a montage of tunes by artists as diverse as Reba McEntire, Mama Cass and Broadway’s Kander & Ebb, mixed in with affectionate and outrageous reflections on motherhood by local actor Tod Petersen. And by the way, Rothstein is quick to point out that his mom put all her reservations aside when she saw a sneak preview last week. “She loved it – she was laughing and crying,” reports her proud son. For ticket information and a review of “Oh S***, I’m Turning Into My Mother,” see Center Stage on page 26.

Latté Da’s ‘Mother’ is a lode of laughs

November 5, 1998.By Rohan Preston, Star Tribune.

Show mines mother-son relationships

To lose weight or to be proud of your big ol’ butt: That is but one of the questions explored in the hilarious comedy and cabaret show “[Expletive]…I’m Turning Into My Mother.”

Produced by Theatre Latté Da under the direction of Peter J. Rothstein, “Mother” soars by plumbing universal experiences with mothers, mostly in a tender way. This lode of wit, which centers on Tod Petersen’s evocation of his mom in Mankato, Minn., features heart-felt singing and plenty of laughs.

The show intersperses music amid monologues, centering on actor Petersen’s take on the mother-son dynamic. It also features additional material by Rob Hartmann, Bridget Carpenter and Tim Murphy.

In one bit, Petersen saunters across the stage to demonstrate his mother’s pride and false modesty about shedding pounds. With his back to the audience at the Loring Playhouse in Minneapolis, he says: “She would put on some snug jeans and walk across the room expecting to be notices. I would compliment her on her figure and butt and she would say [Petersen smiles slyly an waves a hand across his rear end], ‘Oh, that big, ol’ thing!”

Such deadpan, portrayals are a part of “Mother’s” charm. When Petersen dons an apron checkered with scenes that could be from Noah’s Ark, then wrinkles his brow and looks out with a “come let Mama smooch you” expression, he summons not only his mother but Everymother.

Petersen uses his body, voice, hands and a few props to illustrate his vignettes, and he doesn’t overdo it. When he comes close – as when he whiningly recalls his family’s singing as a band in church – he keeps it mercifully short.

Petersen’s onstage colleagues – actor/singers Aimee Bryant and Katy Elsen – play it straight-laced against his off-kilter characterizations. Accompanied by supple pianist Denise Prosek, Bryant and Elsen sing maternal-themed numbers that both celebrate and amplify the role of “mother” beyond parenting and into the realm of pop culture.

For example, a medley of songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb – “Don’t Tell Mama” from “Cabaret,” and “When You’re Good to Mama” from the musical “Chicago” – treat “mama” as a source of sexual dynamism. And there’s the powerful woman who pulls the “Apron Strings” (the Tracey Thorn/Ben Watt song performed by the pop group Everything But the Girl), though she may be underappreciated (“Just a Housewife,” Craig Carnelia’s song from “Working”).

Bryant delivers in a sweet and dreamy voice while Elsen, whose timing is inexact, is best at low volume. Still, that’s a teeny quibble with “Mother.”

In a show that actually serves up homemade cookies before the end of the evening, who wants to worry about calories?

Oh…I’m Turning Into My Mother Who: Conceived and directed by Peter J. Rothstein with original material by Tod Petersen, Rob Hartmann, Bridget Carpenter and Tim Murphy. Where: Loring Playhouse, 1633 Hennepin Av. S., Minneapolis. When: 11 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14 and 21; 7 p.m. Sunday and Nov. 15; 8 p.m. Monday, and 1 and 3 p.m. Nov. 22. Review: A hysterical and touching tribute to Petersen’s mother, this comedy and cabaret show features music and vignettes. In summoning his mother from Mankato, Minn., Petersen summons a part of all mothers. Tickets: $10. 612-337-6666.

Oh S***, I’m Turning Into My Mother

November 5, 1998.By Carolyn Petrie, Twin Cities Revue.

Theater Latté Da

Director Peter Rothstein has found one of the world’s view universal themes for his company’s new original cabaret. Who hasn’t been shocked by a momentary glimpse of their mother’s eyes in their own reflection, or a familiarity maternal lilt in their own voice?

There’s a poignancy and a panicked amusement that comes with the revelation that, like our dear old moms, we’re aging – and in the parlance of American pop culture, that means we’re becoming less and less cool with every passing year. Through actor Tod Petersen’s Minnesota-flavored humor and a wide range of mom-themed songs, Oh S***, I’m Turning Into My Mother hits on a slew of emotions that surround parent and childhood. While it’s an entertaining survey, it emerges a bit unbalances in the telling.

The imbalance of the show comes from its wildly divergent perspectives: its songs, beautifully sung by Aimee Bryant and Katy Elsen, take the audience through a range of experiences, but its narrative remains frustratingly one-dimensional. Largely built around Petersen’s clowny impressions of his middle-class mom – who emerges as a strangely comic hybrid of Julie Andrews, Ethel Merman and Paul Lynde – the show’s non-musical segments as little more than a series of dork jokes.

It’s clear that Petersen’s impressions of his mother spring from a source of affectionate jest, and at times they are laugh-out-loud funny – particularly when he satirizes her apple-pie accent. Bust he consistently chooses to mimic the ways of his mother is unintentionally comic: the faux-hip way she dresses, the way she can’t remember celebrities’ names, and the problem she has “with the pretend part of theater.” Petersen’s charming delivery makes his material seem well-intentioned, but his jokes always always ask us to laugh at his mom, not with her. When he finally shares a small glimpse of his mother exercising her own lovely voice, it underscores how little we have really learned about her.

Packed with songs that take us all over the map – from the sex-drenched Kander & Ebb tune “Don’t Tell Mama” to Craig Carnelia’s poignant “Just A Housewife” – the show’s soul resides in its music. Singers Bryant and Elsen, both phenomenally talented, bring layers of meaning to the surface of every tune. They clearly love their material, as Petersen loves his – it just seems like this play’s music and its comedy belong on two separate stages. Oh S***, I’m Turning Into My Mother runs through Nov. 22 at the Loring Playhouse. 1633 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls., 337-6666.

“Oh Shit:” even your mother would like this one

November 4, 1998.By William Randall Beard, Focus Point.

The danger of a great title like “Oh Shit, I’m Turing Into My Mother” is that it might turn out to be the best thing about the show. But this revue, conceived and directed by Peter Rothstein, exceeds all such expectations. It pairs an autobiographical monologue by Todd Petersen, poking hilarious fun at his own mother, with a series of poignant songs about all things maternal, spectacularly sung by Aimee Bryant and Katy Elsen.

Petersen’s mother is a sweet, unsophisticated woman and he plays upon her silly idiosyncrasies. It’s scary how good her is at playing her! The remembrances would seem vicious if they weren’t so loving. And he saves some of the best ribbing for himself: Little Todd, not yet a queen, was very definitely a princess-in-training and his talent show performances are not to be believed.

Mrs. Petersen was there opening night and was a good sport about the teasing, though “there are a few things I have talked to him about,” she said. The songs are a combination of familiar tunes and those that should be. Songs by Kander & Ebb and Andrew Lloyd Webber are alongside tunes by Maury Yeston, Bobbie Gentry, and Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (of “Ragtime” fame). A new song by Rob Harmann and one by Tim Murphy and Bridget Carpenter complement the playlist.

It’s the balance of these elements that ensures the show’s success. The monologue is light as air, flip and somewhat frivolous. The songs ground it in an emotional reality that gives it added substance. Rothstein blends it all together in a very moving whole.

Petersen has recently returned to Minnesota after 15 years elsewhere. His is a welcome voice in the queer theatre scene. And this show, both funny and heartwarming, marks another triumph for Rothstein and his Theatre Latte Da.

Runs an intermittent schedule, Saturdays-Mondays, through Nov. 22 at the Loring Playhouse; 337-6666.

OH SHIT, I’M TURNING INTO MY MOTHER

1998.By Bridgette Reinsmoen.

Tod Petersen anchors his Theater Latté Da musical with ruminations about his mother, both recent and from his childhood. Through he’s a fine entertainer—he was seemingly born performing—his mom deserves credit for a lot of the material. There’s some ribbing at her expense (“Mary Poppins was her favorite actress,” Petersen claims), but it’s pretty tame stuff. (In fact, it’s hard to believe he can’t muster a bit more antipathy; most of the audience could probably lend him some.) Petersen’s monologue is broken up by songs from other cast members that explore different aspects of motherhood, including “Don’t Tell Mama” from Cabaret. Rather than being a distraction, these add greatly to the show: Both Aimee Bryant and Katy Elsen have standout voices. Ultimately, Oh Shit… (Petersen’s mom suggested “Oh Shoot,” or perhaps “Oh Shucks”) is a feel-good show—and what mother wouldn’t love that? 7 p.m. Sundays through November 15; 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday, November 22; 11 p.m. Saturdays through November 21; and 8 p.m. Mondays November 2 and 9. Loring Playhouse, 1633 Hennepin Ave., Mpls.; 337-6666. 

Theater: ‘…I’m Turning into My Mother’

1998.By Rohan Preston, Star Tribune

Directed by Peter Rothstein and produced by Theater Latte Dá, 7 p.m. today, 11 p.m. Sat., 1 & 3 p.m. next Sun., Loring Playhouse, 1633 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. $10. 612-337-6666.

Tod Petersen uses the kitchen as a backdrop and his mother as the foil to tell some warm and risible stories about growing up in Mankato, Minn. Petersen is joined by singers Aimee Bryant and Katy Elsen. They hoot it up in style, mining lodes of “mother” wit in heartfelt ways, mixing music with monologues to tug at or soft spots. The mother does not come out with hairpins dangling, but she’s just as unaware of how much she reveals. The show also gets a lift from Bryant’s dreamy singing and Elsen’s hearty renditions of mother-themed songs.

Theater: ‘…I’m Turning into My Mother’

1998.By Rohan Preston, Star Tribune

Directed by Peter Rothstein and produced by Theater Latte Dá, 7 p.m. today, 11 p.m. Sat., 1 & 3 p.m. next Sun., Loring Playhouse, 1633 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. $10. 612-337-6666.

Tod Petersen uses the kitchen as a backdrop and his mother as the foil to tell some warm and risible stories about growing up in Mankato, Minn. Petersen is joined by singers Aimee Bryant and Katy Elsen. They hoot it up in style, mining lodes of “mother” wit in heartfelt ways, mixing music with monologues to tug at or soft spots. The mother does not come out with hairpins dangling, but she’s just as unaware of how much she reveals. The show also gets a lift from Bryant’s dreamy singing and Elsen’s hearty renditions of mother-themed songs.