The Logic Pit - St. Paul Academy & Summit School

I sometimes receive invites to shows that I can not get to due to my schedule, or shows that I have very little interest in seeing for various reasons. At the same time, please don't think that I get invites to everything because I don't. That being written, sometimes I get an invite to something that I typically would not attend (most High School/College productions) but there is something about it that intrigues me. And in cases like that, I say why not? I'm interested to see how this all comes together on stage - regardless of where that stage is, and who may be performing.

That was the case with The Logic Pit, a musical by Tim Kraack. It is an original work that performed this past weekend at the Huss Center for the Performing Arts at the St. Paul Academy and Summit School. Why was I intrigued? Well, the email I received was from Tim Kraack, who also ended up being the music director for the show. The description of the show is "The Logic Pit is a punk-rock musical about the modern work economy told though the lens of three employees starting the first day of their careers at a powerful tech company." So, brand new musical, using a punk-rock medium, about the current job market in tech... Clearly I was intrigued.

Here are my reflections on the show. I will be upfront and write that I did not stay through the end due to a previous commitment, however I did watch Act One, and the first two numbers of Act Two...and I wanted to stay to see how everything was resolved. Was it a high school production? yes. Though St. Paul Academy and Summit School clearly has puts money into their theatre program which is amazing to see. The performers, as a rule, sounded great! They all had mics, and while some of the quicker lyrics were lost, the voices were good and strong. I was sitting in the backrow, and I could hear everything (even when the mics were off), but some lyrics were difficult to understand due to a variety of things - enunciation, acoustics, my location, multiple voices singing very fast patter lyrics. That being written, musically it was a lot of fun. It reminded me a bit of RENT, as well as Spring Awakening (in the upbeat songs), and the cast was having a lot of fun. Speaking of the cast, 27 characters, along with a group of children who are on for one scene. The first act has ten songs while the second has six. 

The story revolves around a company named Logic Pitman and Bray, run by Tasha Logic. There are four groups of characters - Management, Engineering, R&D, and Automation. The goal of LPB is to get people to start using AI more. The show begins with us watching an introduction video along with three new hires: Kai in Engineering, Sheryl in R&D, and Seth in Automation. The mgmt team decides to hold a number of contests through out the day to see what teams and employees are best suited to continue to work there. However, you quickly notice that the first person to get fired quickly shows up on the Automation team and is acting not like themselves, as does the second person to be released from LPB. Curious...

So if you are running a community theater and typically have room for large cast shows, check this one out. At the same time, if you are in a city with a big theatre community, don't forget that there can be some new, and really good shows going on in non-standard locations. Take a look at your nearby college or university and see what they may be doing, or even your local high school. You may find a show that is really good, and generally unknown. That was my experience with The Logic Pit, and I hope to keep discovering new work to share.