Events start to go to hell in a handbasket for Margot (Emily Dussault) and Tony (Peter Christian Hansen) in Gremlin Theatre's production of Dial M for Murder. Photo by Alyssa Kristine Photography. 1950s television has a certain romance for theatre fans. It was then and there that Neil Simon refined his craft,
Author: Amy Donahue
Amy Donahue is a staff reviewer at the Twin Cities Arts Reader. She interned with the magazine during the summer of 2017, served as a guest contributor while studying abroad in Europe that fall, and has moved up to regular old reviewing. She admits to being at least 50% terrified of contemporary German opera.
REVIEW: Fun, Different Little Women (Jungle Theater)
The March sisters and their mother in the Jungle Theater's world premiere of Kate Hamill's Little Women. L-R: Beth March (Isabella Star LaBlanc), Marmee (Christina Baldwin), Meg March (Christine Weber), Amy March (Megan Burns) and Jo March (C. Michael Menge). Photo by Rich Ryan. Little Women is a literary gift that keeps on
REVIEW: A Tale of Light and Darkness in Wait Until Dark (Theatre in the Round)
If ever there was a play where sound and lighting take center stage, it's Jeffrey Hatcher's Wait Until Dark. This update of the 1966 Frederick Knott play, now running at Theatre in the Round in Minneapolis, has as its protagonist Susan (Heather Burrmeister), a newlywed who happens to be blind. Susan solves mysteries while
Fringe File 2018 #25 – The MN Fringe-Official Awards
A collage of Minnesota Fringe Festival images. The Minnesota Fringe announced its inaugural Golden Lanyard Awards this evening. The awards for the 2018 Minnesota Fringe Festival were free-flowing, to say the least, with some 26 given out in sometimes confusingly labeled categories: Spirit of the Fringe Award: Hamlet, but Hamlet's a Chicken
REVIEW: Hilarious and Moving Korean Drama Addict’s Guide to Losing Your Virginity (Mu/Park Square)
A promotional image for Theater Mu/Park Square Theatre's co-production of The Korean Drama Addict’s Guide to Losing Your Virginity. If you've traveled to Los Angeles or Hawaii a lot, chances are that you'll have heard of or seen Korean television dramas (K-dramas). An international entertainment phenomenon, these television staples have a
Fringe File 2018 #20 – Look at this Fringe, Isn’t It Neat?
A scene in Gunplay! by Tom Reed at the 2018 Minnesota Fringe Festival. Photo by Debbie Tallen. Wouldn't you say that your show list's complete? Wouldn't you think it's a Fringe That has everything? Look at this schedule: So many great shows! But how many guests can Red Stag's bar hold? Lookin' around here you'd think (Sure) Dawn's
Fringe File #18 – PREVIEW: The Revolt of the Beavers (Say It Loud Productions)
It should surprise no one that the American theatre tradition is frequently political. Of the 132 shows in the Minnesota Fringe Festivals this year, 22 (about 16%) are self-classified as having political content. Browse their show descriptions and you'll see that women's rights, LGBTQ rights, immigration, and refugees are common
Fringe File 2018 #14 – Buttslashing and Amy Donahue’s 10 Shows to See
Glen L. Dawson in New Endeavours' production of The Buttslasher. Photo by Geoffrey Conklin. You usually don't get a second chance to see a Fringe show. Usually. Normally, the festival closes, one or two remounts play at Bryant Lake Bowl, and maybe if you're super lucky you could see the odd touring show on
REVIEW: Baskerville a Splendid Farce (Park Square)
The ensemble for Park Square's Baskerville. Photo by Petronella J. Ytsma. Officially, the show currently playing at Park Square Theatre's proscenium stage is called Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery. This somewhat fatuous, pompous title belies the earthy farce that is at the heart of Baskerville. It's a Sherlock Holmes
REVIEW: Excess and Glitter in Thaïs (Minnesota Opera)
Gerard Schneider as Nicias, Kelly Kaduce as Thaïs, and Lucas Meachem as Athanaël with the cast of Thaïs. Photo by Cory Weaver. Sometimes, going to the theatre means checking your attitudes at the door. There's a certain market for pieces that have been edited to be politically correct and/or align with