FEATURE: The End of an Era: Minnesota Centennial Showboat’s Farewell Season Arts Dance Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - June 30, 2016September 25, 2017 The original Minnesota Centennial Showboat. April 19, 2016 was a sad day on the Mississippi. That day, the University of Minnesota’s Department of Theater and Dance announced that the Minnesota Centennial Showboat – a staple on the river since 1958 and the first paid theatre position to many past and present theatre professionals
REVIEW: Fun, Playful Calendar Girls (Park Square) Arts Theatre by Bev Wolfe - June 26, 2016June 26, 2016 Linda Kelsey (Jessie), Carolyn Pool (Celia), Laurel Armstrong (Cora), Charity Jones (Chris), Christina Baldwin (Annie). Photo by Petronella J. Ytsma. Calendar Girls, now playing at Park Square Theatre, is an uncommon theatre experience and a play dominated by older female characters. Written by Tom Firth, this play is an adaptation of the 2003 movie by the same name
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.
Artistic Responses to Tragedy Arts Music Opera Theatre by Hanne Appelbaum - June 22, 2016June 22, 2016 Not a free seat was to be found on Tuesday night at Augsburg College as audiences gathered for the latest installment of Nautilus Music-Theater's Rough Cuts series of opera and musical theater (and things in the middle) excerpts. The performance kicked off some 15 minutes after the official 7:30 pm start time,
PREVIEW: The 2016 Minnesota State Fair’s New Foods Lifestyle by Twin Cities Arts Reader - June 21, 2016 SPAM® Sushi. All pictures courtesy of the Minnesota State Fair. The Minnesota State Fair has announced the new foods that will be featured this year. SPAM® makes a savory comeback with SPAM® Sushi and SPAM® Curds, while dishes like Burnt Butt Ends and the Candied Bacon BLT seem designed to roll off
PREVIEW: Queer Voices Season Finale Arts Lifestyle by Twin Cities Arts Reader - June 20, 2016June 20, 2016 Most organizers don't set out to create an institution that will last for a long time. Instead, when a good cause is being pursued, energy and momentum take over, and then—BAM—you wake up and find things have gone on much longer than you dreamed. Whatever the start, the reading series Queer Voices has
CONCERT PICK: Nautilus Music-Theater Rough Cuts Arts Music Theatre by Hanne Appelbaum - June 19, 2016June 19, 2016 One of the most interesting parts of developing music-theatre is the point where the musical numbers are full-fledged, standalone songs. As a show moves through its development, concessions must be made to pacing, context, exposition, and other dramaturgical demands. By the time a fully written and refined show hits the stage, there
Open Studios: Jazz KBEM 88.5 FM Arts Lifestyle Music by Basil Considine - June 16, 2016June 19, 2016 The Art-A-Whirl may have come and gone, but it's open studio time this afternoon at Jazz KBEM 88.5 FM from 5:30-8:30 pm. What's on exhibition? A revamp of the KBEM's Studio A as a performance and recording space. When can you drop in? 5:30 pm-8:30 pm tonight Where? 1555 James Avenue North, Door #
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: Snagged by a Ballad of the Pale Fisherman‘s Line (Transatlantic Love Affair) Arts Dance Theatre by Bev Wolfe - June 7, 2016June 7, 2016 Transalantic Love Affair (“TLA”) staged a revival this past weekend of its famed Ballad of the Pale Fisherman as part of the Southern Theatre’s Artshare program for 2016. Director Isabel Nelson conceived the play based upon a Celtic legend about seals called Selkies who transform into women by removing their