REVIEW: The 24 Hour Plays: The Second Half (Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - March 16, 2017March 18, 2017 There's always something exciting about a frenzied rush to create. Sometimes the work produced under pressure is brilliant, with daringness that would probably get sanded with too much reflection. Sometimes the results are...less than appealing, which is something that happens. Most often, the results are a mixed bag – which
PHOTOS: The Swanky Look of Grease (Chanhassen Dinner Theatres) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - March 16, 2017March 18, 2017 Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' new production of Grease features eye-popping costumes by the award-winning costume designer Rich Hamson. Hamson, who has 60 productions at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres under his belt, is a three-time Ivey Award recipient and was named Lavender Magazine's 2014 Theatre Artist of the Year and Best Large Theater Costume Designer. Here's a
REVIEW: Dinner at Eight, Performance Edition (Minnesota Opera) Arts Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - March 14, 2017March 15, 2017 The eponymous dinner party in Minnesota Opera's Dinner at Eight. Photo by Cory Weaver. Minnesota Opera's Dinner at Eight, which premiered on Saturday at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, is a vibrant new comedy with an engaging score and finely tune libretto. This review focuses on the performances in the
REVIEW: Dinner at Eight‘s Splendid Comic Melodrama (Minnesota Opera) Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - March 14, 2017March 15, 2017 New money socialites Dan Packard (Craig Irvin) and Kitty Packard (Susannah Biller) squabble in the world premiere production of Dinner at Eight by Minnesota Opera. Photo by Cory Weaver. Contemporary American opera is usually no laughing matter. At any given opera premiere, you can expect an occasional inserted joke and perhaps some moments of wry underscoring,
LIVE BLOG: The 24 Hours Plays – Bix Edition 2 Arts Theatre by Kit Bix - March 13, 2017March 14, 2017 We're just about 3 hours away from the biggest and best show in town. Because what a line up of talent! And it's for a great cause (see my earlier blog post.) If you don't have tickets yet, now's your chance: Go to: https://hennepintheatretrust.org/the-24-hour-plays/ Or straight to Ticketmaster at http://www1.ticketmaster.com/event/0600522DE23EBA57?brand=hennepin&f_tmol_checkout=true&ab=m_efeat4517v2Control#efeat4212 Let's start with
LIVE BLOG: The 24 Hour Plays: Ryan McCartan Inspires Arts Theatre by Sheree Curry - March 13, 2017March 14, 2017 Homegrown actor Ryan McCartan, best known for his recurring role as Diggie on the Disney Channel's sitcom Liv and Maddie, and for his role as Brad Majors in Fox's 2016 musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again, has come home to perform in The 24 Hour Plays at
LIVE BLOG: The 24 Hour Plays – Bix Edition Arts Theatre by Kit Bix - March 13, 2017March 14, 2017 It's half past midnight in Minneapolis. We had a big snowfall this afternoon and now the streets are icy and 17 degrees Farenheit. Most people here went to bed hours ago but the 6 playwrights who are participating in The 24 Hour Plays, hosted by Hennepin Theater Trust, are just
REVIEW: Sweeping Grease Rides Again (Chanhassen Dinner Theatres) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - March 11, 2017March 11, 2017 The ensemble of Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' new production of Grease. Photo by Dan Norman. Grease is still the word in Chanhassen. The classic rock-and-roll musical roared back to Chanhassen Dinner Theatres last night with eruptions of applause, hoots of approval, and some spontaneous hand jiving in the audience. The last time Grease played at
PREVIEW: Thurgood‘s Decisive Return (Illusion Theater) Arts Theatre by Bev Wolfe - March 10, 2017March 12, 2017 James Craven in the Illusion Theater's Thurgood. Photo by Lauren B Photography. The Illusion Theater is reprising its 2015 production of George Stevens, Jr.’s play Thurgood. Thurgood shines a light on the life of Justice Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993). Marshall was a legal superstar who successfully used the law to bring social and
WEEKEND PICKS: Grease, Gondoliers, Dinner at Eight, FOOR Folkz Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - March 10, 2017March 11, 2017 Aleks Knezevich as Danny Zuko in Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' production of Grease. Photo by Bernadette Pollard. Winter windchill has returned to the Twin Cities again and darn it if there isn't a forecast of snow on Sunday. Here are some indoor entertainments to keep you distracted and warm this weekend. Retro Fun: Grease at