REVIEW: Creaky Bridges of Madison County (Orpheum Theatre/Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Lydia Lunning - June 22, 2016June 22, 2016 Elizabeth Stanley (Francesca) and Andrew Samonsky (Robert) in the national tour of The Bridges of Madison County. The national tour of The Bridges of Madison County plays at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis through June 26. This 2014 Broadway musical adaptation of Robert James Waller’s 1992 best-selling novel offers few surprises to its audiences.
REVIEW: Kandor & Ebb Broadway Songbook (Ordway) Arts Music Theatre by Lydia Lunning - June 11, 2016June 14, 2016 James Rocco (right) and Raymond Berg (right) in Kander & Ebb & All That Jazz. In the latest in the Broadway Songbook series, James Rocco and company explore Kander & Ebb & All That Jazz, the songs and stylings of composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb, the creative team responsible for many
REVIEW: Falling in Love with Rigoletto (Capri Theater/Really Spicy Opera) Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre by Lydia Lunning - June 6, 2016June 7, 2016 Small-scale opera productions, when well executed, are some of the underrated joys for audiences lucky enough to catch them—while their appeal of lavish design and big-budget spectacle seem synonymous with the art form, opera in a pared-down, more intimate setting is a great way to foreground fresh talent and focus
REVIEW: The Book of Mormon‘s Newer Testament (Orpheum Theatre) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Lydia Lunning - May 12, 2016May 13, 2016 Photo by Joan Marcus. Before Hamilton shot onto the scene early last year, The Book of Mormon was the hottest ticket on Broadway. This smash musical hit won a hefty nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical...but does it live up to it's hype? Yes, yes it does. And you might actually have a decent chance
REVIEW: Jammed Bullets Over Broadway (Ordway) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Lydia Lunning - April 13, 2016April 14, 2016 Jemma Jane (Olive Neal) and the cast of Bullets Over Broadway. Photo by Matthew Murphy. The 1st National Tour of the Tony-nominated musical comedy Bullets Over Broadway has landed at the Ordway. These performers are doing their best to dance, sing, and mug with everything they’ve got to get you your money’s
REVIEW: Hanggai for More (Ordway) Arts Music by Lydia Lunning - April 8, 2016April 8, 2016 Photo by Yang Feng. You say you need more traditional Mongolian punk rock cowboy music in your life? I may have some excellent news for you… well, more excellent if you hadn’t missed the performance, but you can still buy their music! The latest entry in the Ordway’s World Music and Dance series
REVIEW: Explosive Janis Joplin at the Ordway Arts Music Theatre by Lydia Lunning - March 30, 2016March 30, 2016 Hair, music, and lights in A Night with Janis Joplin, original Broadway cast. Photo by Joan Marcus. If you notice more construction near the Ordway in St Paul in the coming week, it may be because Mary Bridget Davies and the cast of A Night with Janis Joplin: A New Musical
REVIEW: Startling, Exciting A Man’s Requiem by SEOP Dance Company (Ordway) Arts Dance by Lydia Lunning - March 6, 2016March 7, 2016 Saturday night saw the South Korean dance ensemble SEOP Dance Company descend on Rice Park to perform at the Ordway. Stated simply, lovers of classical and modern dance should both make it a life goal to see the SEOP Dance Company perform. The show seen on Saturday, A Man’s Requiem, has been
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
REVIEW: Lush Rusalka Delights (Minnesota Opera) Arts Music Opera Theatre by Lydia Lunning - January 24, 2016March 11, 2017 Minnesota Opera’s production of Antonín Dvořák’s Rusalka, with soprano Kelly Kaduce in the title role, has returned to the Ordway after its premiere in 2008. This fairy tale opera had not appeared in United States until the mid-1970s, but this richly textured staging and Dvořák’s full-bodied score should be an