For this edition of the FringeFamous Five, we were lucky enough to grab a few minutes with Minneapolis Musical Theatre Artistic Director, Steven J. Meerdink. MMT’s upcoming production of The Robber Bridegroom opens June 6th under his direction.

First of all, congrats on the City Pages BEST COMEDY recognition. Did that surprise you?

STEVEN J. MEERDINK: I was thrilled to see the recognition from City Pages! To be really honest, I was more surprised the cast, and production, did not see more recognition. This is a show that truly speaks to the way people have begun to view only their small portion of the world and focus on issues that do not matter instead of problems of great global concern. People are too focused on their 15 minutes of fame…whatever that may mean. I’m glad City Pages wasn’t afraid to recognize the show because of how the message was delivered within the musical. I definitely think there were critics afraid to give praise to the show because they may then receive criticism for recommending a show with explicit language and very adult subject matter.

The Robber Bridegroom (opening Friday) was chosen by your audiences for production this season. Did they pick the right one?

SM: Absolutely! We needed a lighter show, partly to balance Jerry Springer - The Opera in the fall, but mostly for the summer slot. I am also very fond of this show because it is the first show that Kevin Hansen and I worked on as a “professional” team (Theatre in the Round in 1989). It’s one of those shows that not a lot of people know about but it really draws you in with the style of humor and toe-tapping music. You’ve got to love a blue grass score!

MMT tackles the seldom produced musicals. A lot of times, there’s a reason those musicals aren’t done very often. How challenging is it to continue to find obscure musicals that…well, that don’t suck?

SM: This is a continual challenge for us. And, to be perfectly frank, you don’t always know whether or not you’re avoiding a show that “sucks”. Although, I think we’ve learned a lot through the past years when selecting shows. I try to see other productions of shows we are considering…that will tell you a great deal. We’ve also learned not to go off of one person’s recommendation. However, the most interesting thing to me, is that there are a large number of off-Broadway musicals that are worth producing. Just because the show never made it to a Broadway production, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have merit or value. Bat Boy, Zombie Prom, and Convenience are all great examples of that. One of the harder issues for us at this point, is narrowing our list when we start selecting the next season.

MMT has been at Hennepin Stages for quite a while now. The location is great, but it seems to be a small-ish space for big musicals. How far off into MMT’s future is a larger space?

SM: MMT is actually “moving on up … to the 8th floor” to its new home at the Illusion Theater (8th floor of the Hennepin Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Minneapolis) beginning with its Fall 2008 area premiere of Bright Lights, Big City. Our June production of The Robber Bridegroom will mark our final production at Hennepin Stages (home since 2002). We are thrilled about our partnership with the Illusion Theater! With this move we continue to increase our artistic opportunities while providing an enhanced experience for our audiences. More comfortable seating, improved sight-lines and a more flexible performance space are just a few of the improvements audiences will immediately appreciate.

This is a very popular question when talking to people about MMT, so I’m just going to go ahead and ask it: Why hasn’t MMT done Reefer Madness?

SM: Reefer Madness has actually been on our “short list” for quite some time. However, since we only do three productions a year, we need to make sure we try to cover different musicals (in style, period, subject matter, etc). And, as you can imagine, there is quite a bit of negotiating over which musicals we should do each season and which ones to offer our audiences to select from. Having said that, this show remains on our list of definite options!

Steven J. Meerdink has been a member of the Twin Cities theatre community since 1981. He has worked as a performer, costume designer, choreographer, and director with many area theatres such as Theatre In The Round, Guthrie, Minnetonka Theatre, Lakeshore Players, Plymouth Playhouse, Centre Stage, Chimera Theatre, Dudley Riggs ETC, Phipps Center for the Arts, and Cricket Theatre. In 1989, he assumed the role of Director for Totino-Grace High School’s Theatre Program (a role he continues to fill today). Steven held the position of Artistic Director at the Paul Bunyan Playhouse for an unprecedented six summers (1995-2000). As co-founder and Artistic Director of the Minneapolis Musical Theatre, he has directed all of MMT’s productions with the exceptions of Summer of ‘42 and La Cage aux Folles.