I discovered opera through “Gilligan’s Island.” In one particularly clever episode, a Broadway producer played by Phil Silvers washed ashore, and the castaways created a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” with tunes from “Carmen” and “The Tales of Hoffman.” I still smile when I hear an instrumental version of the “Habanera” from “Carmen” on the radio and start to sing, “I ask to be, or not to be. …”

There’s a similarly witty combination of highbrow literature and lowbrow comedy going on at the Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis right now. Theater Latte Da is presenting the local premiere of “Scotland, PA,” which takes Shakespeare’s tragedy of the power-hungry Macbeth and transports it to a fast-food joint in mid-1970s, small-town Pennsylvania.

Based upon Billy Morrissette’s 2001 film, the stage musical premiered in 2019 in New York before composer Adam Gwon and librettist Michael Mitnick asked to workshop a new version at Theater Latte Da’s “Next” festival of freshly minted musicals. The completed product has now hit the boards, and it’s a very entertaining take on this tale of greed and murder.

Packing 21 original pop tunes into two hours, “Scotland, PA” boasts impressive performances from each of the 11 cast members, all selling Gwon’s songs with infectious energy and enthusiasm and creating characters about as believable as this somewhat cartoonish take on the “Macbeth” story will allow.

In this adaptation, Mac and Pat are a couple working at Duncan’s, where business is slow, the manager is embezzling, and the owner is out to cut the workers’ pay. But Mac is an imaginative guy, given to brainstorming concepts that are now staples of the fast food world. Inspired by prophecies delivered by a trio of weed-huffing wanderers, the couple seeks to seize control of the business. But then they have to create alibis to cover their crimes, get rid of potential witnesses, and deal with all of the attendant guilt and paranoia.

Tara Borman, Will Dusek, Katherine Fried and Deidre Cochran in Theater Latte Da’s season-opening production of “Scotland, Pa.,” Adam Gwon and Michael Mitnick’s musical comedy adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” in which two ambitious employees at a burger restaurant plot a rise in the profession that comes to involve prophecies and murder. The show runs through Oct. 27, 2024 at the Minneapolis theater. (Dan Norman / Theater Latte Da)

The inevitable darkness is brightened considerably by Gwon’s combination of hard rock, gospel, old-fashioned show tunes, and histrionic pop ballads. You’re unlikely to walk out of the Ritz humming any of them — although “Clairvoyant” does the best imitation of an earworm and pokes fun at it with placards encouraging a sing-along and lighters held aloft — but they all drive the story forward, which is more than you can say for a lot of modern musicals. And the upstage five-piece band does a fine job with the stylistic twists.

Under the co-direction of Lonny Price and Matt Cowart — and featuring the silly but well-executed choreography of Lorin Latarro and Travis Waldschmidt — “Scotland, PA” might be the most enjoyable critique of capitalism you’ll experience all year. It helps to have a Pat (our Lady Macbeth) who can belt out a tune with the pop pipes of Katherine Fried. And Will Dusek continues his local theater rookie-of-the-year campaign with a conflicted, powerfully voiced Mac.

Lending extra spice is Emily Gunyou Halaas’ portrayal of no-nonsense detective Peg McDuff, keeping the energy and laughs coming while we all know that things are going south for our ambitious protagonists. And that’s a big part of this production’s success: We know how the story goes, but the fun is in the cleverness of the adaptation.

Rob Hubbard can be reached at wordhub@yahoo.com.

Theater Latte Da’s ‘Scotland, PA’

When: Through Oct. 27
Where: Ritz Theater, 345 13th Ave. N.E., Minneapolis
Tickets: $86-$5, available at 612-339-3003 or latteda.org
Capsule: “Macbeth” as a musical comedy? Yep, and it’s pretty darn clever.

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By TOM KRISHER

DETROIT (AP) — The union representing 45,000 striking U.S. dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports has reached a deal to suspend their strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract, a person briefed on the matter says.

The union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, is to resume working immediately at least until January said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement has yet to be signed.

The agreement will allow the union and the U.S Maritime Alliance, which represents the shippers and ports, time to negotiate a new six-year contract. The person also said both sides reached agreement on wage increases, but details weren’t available.

The union went on strike early Tuesday after its contract expired in a dispute over pay and the automation of tasks at the ports from Maine to Texas. The strike came at the peak of the holiday shopping season at 36 ports that handle about half the cargo from ships coming into and out of the United States.

The walkout raised the risk of shortages of goods on store shelves if it lasted more than a few weeks. But most retailers had stocked up or shipped items early in anticipation of the work stoppage.

On Oct. 1, the sun unleashed a strong solar flare that propelled a gale of high-speed particles in Earth’s direction.

Astronomers expect the blast to arrive sometime Thursday afternoon, Oct. 3, and persist into the night. Should the forecast hold, we can expect to see a wild display of the northern lights Thursday night beginning as early as dusk.

Solar storms are rated according to their impact both high above our heads where the northern lights dance, and closer to home where satellites and poorly protected electrical grids can be affected. Thursday’s storm is predicted to be a strong one, rated G3.

For northern Minnesota, that means aurora spilling beyond the overhead point into the southern sky. Farther south, in Illinois and Iowa, for example, observers will also see the aurora, although primarily in the northern sky.

Storm levels are rated from G1 (minor), which are relatively common, to G5 (extreme). The last G5 storm to visit the region was the super-spectacular display last May. This one won’t quite reach that level but it should offer lots of color and action. And how fortunate that the moon is just a crescent and won’t spoil the show.

Should the forecast hold, the aurora will appear in the northern sky as early as dusk. If you’re in the Duluth region you can start looking as soon as 8 p.m. Activity will intensify through twilight into the early evening and then ramp up to a full G3 storm between about 9 p.m. and 1 a.m.

To see it best, find a location with a dark, light pollution-free northern sky. That’s the most important direction. Remember to be patient. The aurora follows its own schedule and sometimes takes a while to “get cooking.” As long as activity — brightness, motion, etc. — trends upward, it’s worth your while to stick around. I will post updates at facebook.com/astrobobking. Stop by and leave a comment or share a photo.

Smartphones work surprisingly well for northern lights photography. If you have an iPhone, just point it at the sky. It automatically puts itself in night mode and allows the user to take 3-second hand-held time exposures. That’s plenty of time to capture most auroras. For an Android phone, set it to night mode.

If you miss Thursday’s aurora, the storm will continue to rumble on all the way through Friday, Oct. 4. It reaches the G2 level early, so be ready to spring into action as soon as it gets dark.

Get this: An even larger solar flare erupted Thursday, Oct. 3, so we may be in line for yet another major aurora soon. What a year it’s been for aurora-watchers.

To learn more about the northern lights, you can buy my book, “Magnificent Aurora,” just published this fall. Contact me at duluthaurora@gmail.com to get a signed copy or stop by The Bookstore At Fitger’s in Duluth. I’ll be signing books there from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12.

OK, now cross our fingers and hope everything happens according to plan!

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Most of Minnesota will still be fast asleep on Friday morning when the Vikings’ flight lands across the pond. If everything goes according to plan, the Vikings are scheduled to touch down in London between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. British Summer Time (BST), or between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Central Time (CT)

There will be no naps for players upon arrival. They will immediately get on a bus, then drive about an hour outside of London to their hotel. There is a team meeting on the books once the Vikings arrive, then a practice scheduled for 3:15 p.m. BST.

Essentially, players need to get as much sleep as possible on red-eye over the Atlantic Ocean or be prepared to push through the jet lag.

“We’re leaving right after practice, trying to get that sleep on the plane, and not going back to sleep when we land,” star receiver Justin Jefferson said. “We’re on our feet, moving around, trying to stay active, and pretty much going right back into practice.”

The schedule is designed to help the Vikings adjust to the six-hour time change in short order. The thought process is simple: If the Vikings can get their body clocks in tune with their surroundings by staying awake on Friday, they will feel relatively normal on Saturday, then be ready to play the New York Jets on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It’s a similar script to a couple of years ago when the Vikings played the New Orleans Saints in London. Notably, the Vikings walked away with a 28-25 win in that game, so it makes sense they decided to stick to the status quo.

Asked about the logistics of the trip to London, head coach Kevin O’Connell deferred credit to vice president of player health and performance Tyler Williams and director of player performance Josh Hingst. Williams and Hingst have worked in concert to determine how the Vikings should be approaching the next 72 hours or so.

“They tell me what they think is best and I put this schedule together hand in hand with that information,” O’Connell said. “It’s all about the intent of making sure the players know exactly what to expect and what the challenges may be.”

As the Vikings navigate those challenges and some of the other hiccups that might pop up along the way, it helps that many players have been down this road before. It’s become customary for the NFL to travel to London, so many players have experienced what it’s like, even if they weren’t on the Vikings at the time.

An example is veteran running back Aaron Jones. He was on the Green Bay Packers a couple of years ago when they played the New York Giants in London. He joked that he realized the importance of getting sleep on the plane only after seeing some of his former teammates dozing off during a team meeting.

“I think I only got a few hours,” Jones said with a laugh. “This time I’m going to knock out and take advantage of it.”

Safety Josh Metellus plans to listen to whatever he’s told to do to get his body clock right but isn’t too worried about adjusting to time change.

“As soon as kickoff rolls around I’ll be ready to go,” Metellus said. “None of that stuff bothers me.”

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