REVIEW: Iolanthe Hilarious, Lovely (GSVLOC) Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - February 28, 2016February 28, 2016 Sort-of-maybe-star-crossed lovers The Lord Chancellor (Scott Benson), Phyllis (Sarah Wind Richens), and Strephon (Eric Sargent). 2015 was a good year for Gilbert & Sullivan fans in the Twin Cities. In a typical year, they might expect to see just one or two performances; in 2015, they got three: H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and Trial
REVIEW: Ruby! The Story of Ruby Bridges (Steppingstone Theatre) Arts Theatre by Bev Wolfe - February 27, 2016February 27, 2016 The history of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s is the story of individuals who, at great personal sacrifice, challenged the racial segregation practices in this country. Steppingstone Theatre’s production of Ruby! The Story of Ruby Bridges spotlights the quiet courage of one such individual: a six-year
REVIEW: A Heart-Thrumming Chorus Line (Ordway) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - February 26, 2016February 26, 2016 The cast of the Ordway's A Chorus Line. Photo by Rich Ryan. A Chorus Line is one of a very small number of large-cast musicals still performed by major companies. It features no fewer than 17 principals, 15 of whose job is to make you care about them and root for their being
Van Gogh/MIA Redux Arts Movies Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - February 26, 2016February 26, 2016 Vincent van Gogh has featured prominently in several exhibitions and events at the Minneapolis Institute of Art over the past year. Van Gogh's 1890 painting Irises made an appearance on loan and the museum went big with a giant, farmer's field-sized recreation of the painter's Olive Trees – a truly memorable spin on art.
PREVIEW: Nina Simone: Four Women (Park Square) Arts Music Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - February 26, 2016February 26, 2016 Nina Simone at a concert in Morlaix, France, May 1982. Did you like what you saw of Regina Marie Williams at the 2015 Ivey Awards? Did you love the Regina-Christina combo and think it deserved a sequel? If so, you might want to be grabbing a set of tickets for the world
RELAY: The Broadway…Ab Connection Arts Music Theatre by Hanne Appelbaum - February 26, 2016February 26, 2016 A promotional photo of James Craven for the 2015 Ivey Awards. Photo by William Clark; note the lack of abs, flesh, and eroticization compared to the links below. Several of the largest and most-established theatre companies in the Twin Cities holding both local and New York casting sessions. What do companies
RELAY: The New York Times on the Minnesota Orchestra Arts Music by Twin Cities Arts Reader - February 25, 2016February 26, 2016 The New York Times ran a feature today on the Minnesota Orchestra's brush with bankruptcy, shutdown, labor dispute, and revival.
REVIEW: Gypsy Takes Pantages (Latté Da) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Lydia Lunning - February 22, 2016February 23, 2016 Mama Rose (Michelle Barber) confronts reality and the ghost light of a darkened theatre. Photo by George Byron Griffiths. Audience members at the Pantages in Downtown Minneapolis last Saturday night were absolutely enamored with Theater Latté Da and Hennepin Theatre Trust’s production of Gypsy, directed by Peter Rothstein. The 1959 musical adaptation
PARIS REVIEW: Le Portrait de Dorian Gray (Lucernaire/Théâtre Rouge) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - February 20, 2016March 23, 2017 There aren't too many theatrical stops on the typical American in Paris tourist itinerary. It's not uncommon for tourists to visit the Opéra-Garnier, and perhaps see a show at the Moulin Rouge, but by and large they're missing out on a vital part of Parisian nightlife. Paris is home to more
REVIEW: Thrilling Horror in La Dame Blanche (PARIS: Théâtre du Palais-Royal) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - February 16, 2016November 26, 2017 You might not think about Paris as a theatre destination, but the French capital is home to more than a hundred professional theatres. If you speak even a little conversational French, it's worth checking it out. La Dame blanche ("The White Lady"), now playing at the Théâtre du Palais-Roy al, is not about