Orthogonal Productions

Orthogonal Productions is a queer-run, award-winning theater company based in Minneapolis Minnesota that seeks to produce high-quality theater and make every element of the process from front to back of house accessible to all.

Based in the Twin Cities, Orthogonal has a large audience among the LGBTQ community as well as the theatre/artistic community in general.

Our productions of the Rocky Horror Show and Karaoke After Dark have attracted significant followings over the years with many returning audience members and patrons. Our very first production was the Rocky Horror Show in 2021 which unexpectedly sold out every show, and quickly became a favorite for long time fans and new comers alike inspiring us to remount the production in 2022.

2024 was a huge year for Orthogonal. Our production of Cabaret was a smash hit with sold out shows every single night and multiple Broadway World nominations and wins. This included Broadway World 2024's Best Director (Brandon R. Caviness), and Best Supporting Actor in a Musical (Anna Lankin). Our third production of Rocky took place that same year, and secured a Best Actor in a Musical win for our lead actor, Frank Brutejcek.

Orthogonal has established itself as a company that allows new and old talent to find a place in the Twin Cities' theatre community. We are the first company many actors and musicians work with immediately after leaving educational theatre and have several actors and musicians who have returned to doing theatre for the first time in years. We pride ourselves on being inclusive and helping people to understand the professional requirements of the theatre industry so that we can be welcoming while still holding ourselves and our performers/team members to the highest possible standards.

The goal of this fundraiser is to remount our award-winning 2024 production of CABARET in a larger space with full funding for our artistic and production team. On top of providing artists and audiences the chance to experience a classic American musical, the goal of this production is to give a look at a place and time in history which is all too similar to our own.

The musical is set in during the Weimar Republic of Germany. The show begins on New Years Eve 1929 and takes us through election season (mid to late fall) of 1930. Unlike most stories from this era, Cabaret gives us a look at Germany before it fell to the Nazi party. In this time period we see a fringe group slowly amassing political favor and minority groups finding themselves on various chopping blocks as this fringe group gains support as the show progresses.

Funding will primarily be used to cover:

• Set construction
• Space rental at the Southern Theater
• Salaries for our Artistic Team
• Salaries for crew, and performers (actors and musicians)
• ASL interpreters

Our previous productions have often sold out for most if not all of their runs. This has generated a great deal of revenue, all of which has been used to pay production costs and stipends.

As an up and coming queer-run company, we want to give artists, actors, and musicians every opportunity to succeed in the arts.