REVIEW: Lackluster Rent Crashes at the Orpheum (Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - August 15, 2019August 23, 2019 The cast of the National Tour of Rent, now playing at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. Photo by Carol Rosegg. After 24 years, there's not exactly a lot new to say about Rent. This award-winning musical was written by Jonathan Larson as a paean to a rapidly vanishing part of New York
Fringe File #17: The 2nd Annual Golden Lanyard Awards Arts Comedy Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - August 12, 2019August 12, 2019 Last night, the Minnesota Fringe Festival announced the recipients of the 2nd Annual Golden Lanyard Awards. These awards honor, among other things, the best-selling shows in each venue, several audience and artist voting categories, and Fringe staff favorites. A total of 28 awards were bestowed on 23 shows and 1
REVIEW: Delicious Floyd’s (Guthrie Theater) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - August 6, 2019August 6, 2019 The cast of the world premiere production of Lynn Nottage's Sweat at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Photo by T Charles Erickson. Lynn Nottage's new play Floyd's, which opened last weekend at the Guthrie Theater, is a sensual ode to many things. On the face of it, the play is stuffed
Fringe File #12: INTERVIEW: Aidan Jhane Gallivan on Chocolate Covered Chicken Wings Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - August 3, 2019August 4, 2019 A scene from Chocolate Covered Chicken Wings, now playing at the Minnesota Fringe Festival. One of the Minnesota Fringe Festival shows playing at the Augsburg Studio is Chocolate Covered Chicken Wings. This play with an unusual culinary title was written by Catherine Hansen and is produced by Paradox Productions. The Arts
REVIEW: Rare Dafne Brought to Light (Twin Cities Early Music Festival) Arts Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - August 3, 2019August 3, 2019 A 16th-century painting of the Greek legend of Apollo and Daphne by Paolo Veronese, showing Daphne morphing into a tree in front of Apollo's anguished eyes. The featured portions of the Twin Cities Early Music Festival launched yesterday with a performance of Marco da Gagliano's 1608 opera La Dafne. The rarely performed
REVIEW: Energetic Fiddler on the Roof Arrives (Orpheum Theatre/Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - July 31, 2019July 31, 2019 The cast of the Fiddler on the Roof national tour, now playing at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. Photo by Joan Marcus. There's not much new that can be written about Fiddler on the Roof, one of the most-beloved and most-performed shows in the American musical theatre canon. Its songs are as
REVIEW: Tony Bennett Rocks the Orpheum (Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Music by Basil Considine - July 29, 2019July 31, 2019 The legendary singer Tony Bennett. Photo by Larry Busacca. Nonagenarian or not, Tony Bennett has a lot of living and singing to do. During last night's concert at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, the 92-year-old singer delighted fans young and old. The music was an engaging set of classic jazz and
REVIEW: Unexpected Depth in Footloose (Artistry) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - July 27, 2019July 28, 2019 Ethan Davenport (Ren McCormack), Angela Steele (Ariel Moore), and Erin Nicole Farsté (Rusty) with the cast of Artistry's Footloose. Photo by Devon Cox. The musical Footloose is usually done as a caricature: "Look how narrow-minded and simple those small-town, Bible-thumping folks are, scared of dancing! They're so backwards, all they really need
INTERVIEW: Antonia Bennett on a New Album, Opening for Tony Bennett Arts Music by Basil Considine - July 26, 2019July 26, 2019 Singer Antonia Bennett performs at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis on Sunday, July 28. This Sunday, legendary singer Tony Bennett brings his I Left My Heart tour and classic vocal style to the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. Also on the lineup? His songstress daughter Antonia Bennett, who will open the program
REVIEW: Stripping Away Dignity in Stinkers (Jungle Theater) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - July 22, 2019July 23, 2019 Sally Wingert and Josh Catron in the Jungle Theater production of Stinkers. Photo by Jessica Eckstrand. Josh Tobiessen's play Stinkers, now playing at the Jungle Theater in Minneapolis, is in many ways a paean to the rollercoaster journey that is modern parenting. Characters deal with short-term and long-term resentments, recasting their