INTERVIEW: Visualizing Unexploded Ordnances (UXO) and Nuclear War: A Chat with Claire Nolan (Guthrie Theater) Arts Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - January 31, 2019July 10, 2019 Peggy Shaw in the Split Britches production of Unexploded Ordnances (UXO), now playing at the Guthrie Theater. Photo by Matt Delbridge. When Joseph Haj started at the Guthrie Theater, he announced plans to reach and move audiences through the ambitious Level Nine Initiative. Three seasons later, the initiative has manifested in
PREVIEW: Potted Potter – The Unauthorized Harry Experience (Pantages/Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - January 30, 2019January 30, 2019 A promotional photo for Potted Potter. Photo by Dahlia Katz. Twelve and a half years ago, a little parody show called Potted Potter premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. There must have been something substantial in that pot, because this one-time Fringe show moved up sold-out runs in London's West End
INTERVIEW: David Cote and Adapting a Children’s Classic The Scarlet Ibis Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - January 14, 2019January 16, 2019 A page from the libretto of David Cote and Stefan Weisman's opera The Scarlet Ibis, which opens Thursday in Cambridge, MA in a production by Boston Opera Collaborative. January may be a frigid stormy time in much of the United States, but it's a florid time for new opera in the
INTERVIEW: Singer-Songwriter-Actor Emily Dussault – Gone Missing, Champagne Drops, and Songwriting Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - January 12, 2019August 13, 2019 The cast of Theatre Elision's production of Gone Missing in rehearsal. On Thursday, 1/17, Theatre Elision opens its production of the musical Gone Missing. This is the Minnesota premiere of a 2003 musical by the late composer Michael Friedman (The Abominables, Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson) and book writer Steve Cosson. An
REVIEW: Classic Farce in Lend Me A Tenor (Old Log Theatre) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - January 4, 2019January 12, 2019 Opera Guild Chairwoman Julia (Melanie Wehrmacher) meets with Tito Merelli (Luke Davidson), the famous opera star – or is he? – in the Old Log Theatre's production of Lend Me a Tenor. Photo courtesy of the Old Log Theatre. Ken Ludwig's Lend Me a Tenor owes a lot to P.G. Wodehouse's Bertie
INTERVIEW: NYC’s PROTOTYPE Festival Leaders Talk New Opera and Music-Theatre Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - January 3, 2019January 3, 2019 A promotional image for The Infinite Hotel at the NYC PROTOTYPE Festival of new operas. Artwork based on photos by Matthew Soltesz and Rachel Shane. Minnesota has long had a tradition of artistic leadership, influence, and practice beyond its borders. Whether in choral or popular music (or the odd Grammy-nominated orchestra
REVIEW: Disturbing Depths in Blackbird (Dark and Stormy) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - December 28, 2018December 28, 2018 Una (Sara Marsh) and Ray (Luverne Seifert)'s discomforting reunion in Dark & Stormy's production of Blackbird. Photo by Rick Spaulding. It's been a decade since Blackbird took home London's Olivier Award for Best New Play. The current staging by Dark & Stormy Productions, now playing at the Grain Belt Warehouse in
INTERVIEW: Actor McKinnley Aitchison on Tenor Problems and Resolutions Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - December 28, 2018December 28, 2018 Melanie Wehrmacher and McKinnley Aitchison in the Old Log Theatre production of Lend Me a Tenor. Photo courtesy of the Old Log Theatre. Down at the Old Log Theatre, the Cast & Cru restaurant is dishing out desserts like the Berry Macaron Melange. What is this dairy-free, gluten-free treat, you say? Just
REVIEW: Uproarious Family Drama in The Wickhams (Jungle Theater) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - December 27, 2018December 27, 2018 Cassie (Roshni Desai), one of the staff at Mr. and Mrs. Darcy's Pemberley estate lights a candle as the holidays return to Jane Austen's world. Photo by Rich Ryan. If you're wondering how big a deal Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice is some two centuries after its publication, consider the
REVIEW: The Last Cantus Concert (Of the Year) Arts Music by Basil Considine - December 26, 2018December 31, 2018 A promotional photo of Cantus. Cantus brought its 2018 performances to a close on Sunday with the final installment (for now) of its Christmas with Cantus concerts. The performance featured an array of classic music, some more contemporary numbers such as Joni Mitchell's "The River", and a new vocal work by Catherine Dalton. That