Don't miss four tap-happy musicals and plays closing out summer's dog days

Extra! Extra! "Newsies" has been extended at Bloomington's Artistry theater.

Bowing to audience demand, Ben Bakken's zesty production of this musical about the 1899 David vs. Goliath newsboys strike in New York has become a summer sleeper hit. And it's one of several shows to catch before they close during these dog days of summer.

"Newsies" boasts Renee Guittar's clever and energetic dances, including a thunderous tap number by a village-sized cast. The production stars young heartthrob Will Dusek, who played Frankie Valli last year in "Jersey Boys" at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, as the lead newsboy Jack opposite Audrey Parker, another young talent who played Ann Miller in History Theatre's "Blended 和 (Harmony): The Kim Loo Sisters," as newspaper reporter Katherine.

Composer Alan Menken, lyricist Jack Feldman and book writer Harvey Fierstein have put together a musical that feels like it grabbed parts of other shows, including the orphan story from "Annie" and the rising young rebels of "Les Miserables," and blended them together.

But it's not only the story that's familiar. The music also often feels like a knockoff of things we know and love. But don't tell any of that to the crew in Bloomington. They bring heart and energy to this "Newsies," making it feel fresh and a not-to-be-missed delight. (Closes Aug. 18.)

Minnesota is having a bit of Menken mania this summer as the composer's breakout musical, "Little Shop of Horrors," which he did with the late lyricist Howard Ashman, is being staged at the Guthrie Theater.

Broadway actor Will Roland ("Be More Chill," "Dear Evan Hansen") and China Brickey headline Marcia Milgrom Dodge's humorous production about a plant with a penchant for human blood.

David Darrow almost steals the show as the sadistic dentist Orin. Darrow is part of a cast that has notable performances by T. Mychael Rambo as the plant, Robert Dorfman as flower shop owner Mr. Mushnik, and the Motown-esque singing trio of Vie Boheme, Gabrielle Dominique and Erica Durham. (Closes Aug. 18.)

And for something quieter and completely different, the Guthrie has programmed a provocatively subtle production of "English," Sanaz Toossi's Pulitzer Prize-winning play centered around students in a language class in Iran.

A co-production with Chicago's Goodman Theatre, "English" leans into the passions and foibles of these characters, showing us their conflicted feelings as they try out their identities in new sounds and mouth shapes. What does it mean to learn a language — is it additive or a source of loss? Is one giving up one's history or gaining new ways of seeing?

For Toossi, director Hamid Dehghani and this gifted Iranian American cast led by Roxanna Hope Radja as the teacher, the process becomes a prism through which we irrigate history, identity and love. "English" ultimately helps us to see these Iranians onstage not as cutouts from the polarized political discourse but as neighbors, fellow learners and humans we can empathically understand.

Minnesotans also get to see stage favorite Max Wojtanowicz, who was so memorable in "Art" at the Guthrie earlier this year. He teams up with Bergen Baker for the Sondheim revue, "Marry Me a Little." The show orbits the theme of love and is staged for Skylark Opera by artistic director James Barnett. (Closes Aug. 12.)

A little farther afield but closer to the political zeitgeist, Commonweal Theatre in Lanesboro, Minn., is offering "The Outsider," Paul Slade Smith's nonpartisan comedy about a policy wonk who gets thrust onto the mainstage after a political scandal.

Longtime Commonweal company member Jeremy van Meter plays title character Ned Newley in this comedy about a backgrounder who suddenly finds himself in a spotlight. (Closes Aug. 31.)