The Star Tribune’s 2015 Theatre Awards Arts Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - December 27, 2015 Roger Guenveur Smith in Penumbra Theatre's production of Rodney King. Photo: Craig Schwartz. It's the end-of-the-year awards sweeps at our sister publication. The Star Tribune's 2015 Artist of the Year is Ivey Award-winning director Peter Rothstein; honorable mentions went to: Jesse Bishop, the programming director the Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul; Sha Cage, an
PREVIEW: Carnaval Brasileiro Arts Dance Lifestyle Music by Twin Cities Arts Reader - December 24, 2015 Beira Mar Brasil in concert. The Brazilian festival Carnaval Brasileiro returns to Minneapolis on Saturday, February 13, 2016. This long-running festival, now in its 14th year, will take place at International Market Square and is divided into two portions: 3-6 PM: Carnaval Brasileiro 2016 (including the BrazilFest Family Matinee). 9 PM-2 AM: Carnaval Brasileiro Masquerade Ball. The festival will be hosted
REVIEW: Great The Great Work (7th House Theater) Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - December 23, 2015December 23, 2015 Hans Gartner (David Carey) shares a heart-to-heart with daughter Charlotte Gartner (Kendall Anne Thompson). Photo by Amy Anderson. One of the hottest tickets in town last holiday season was 7th House Theater's production of Jonah and the Whale, the ensemble's first original musical. Jonah was a hot ticket for a cold time of year;
PREVIEW: Christmas Queens (Pantages Theatre) Arts Music by Twin Cities Arts Reader - December 20, 2015December 20, 2015 The reality-TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race has been running for seven seasons and shows no sign of losing momentum. This Tuesday, some of the contestants land at the Pantages Theatre for some holiday songs, mascara, and a bit of tucking. Here's a look at some of the ladies taking the
PREVIEW: 2016 Concerts at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres Arts Music by Twin Cities Arts Reader - December 20, 2015December 19, 2015 Chanhassen Dinner Theatres has announced the first half of its 2016 Concert Series. These performances take place at The Fireside Stage and are curated by CDT's Tamara Kangas Erickson. Most are organized around the music of a particular band or musician; theatergoers who didn't get enough of Beautiful while it was
REVIEW: Liberty Falls, 54321 (The Moving Company) Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - December 19, 2015December 20, 2015 Back in the days of Theatre de la Jeune Lune, reviewers trying to describe the company's shows often used the term mise-en-scène. A literal translation of this term is deceptively simple: "placing on stage." In practice, the term refers to the importance of how everything fits together as a whole –
PREVIEW: Twin Cities Winter Jazz Festival Arts Music by Twin Cities Arts Reader - December 19, 2015 Mother Nature may have delivered mixed signals this past month about whether or not winter is coming, but the planners for the Twin Cities Winter Jazz Festival have nevertheless locked in all of their performers. The lineups for the four festival stages at the Saint Paul Hotel are: Ballroom Dance 2:00 PM:
REVIEW: Blue Man Group (Orpheum Theatre) Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - December 19, 2015December 19, 2015 Blue Man Group bills itself as the "enemy of monotony, remedy for boredom, promoter of overjoy and elation." While these sound hyperbolic, they are also quite true. The show, which touched down at the Orpheum Theatre on Friday night, is a refreshing piece of alternative theatre that blends wordless situational
REVIEW: Hills of St. Paul = Alive with Music. Huzzah! Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - December 18, 2015December 20, 2015 The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts is not what it once was – and that's a good thing. Since 1980, when Sally Ordway Irvine donated the seed money for a new concert hall, the building and host organization have grown by leaps and bounds. Tours and headliner performers still
WEEKEND PICKS: Sound of Music, Blue Man Group, Snow Queen Arts Music Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - December 18, 2015December 20, 2015 Pictured: Blue Man Group. November-December are some of the busiest months in the Twin Cities theatre season, with umpteen holiday shows and more Christmas Carol and Nutcracker variations than you can shake a stick at. Here's a non-holiday sampler of shows to take the kids to this weekend: Blue Man Group. This hard-to-describe