REVIEW: Stunning Hamilton Erupts on Hennepin (Orpheum/Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - September 1, 2018September 10, 2018 Joseph Morales and Nik Walker as Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, in the second national tour of Hamilton. Photo by Joan Marcus. The most remarkable thing about Hamilton is not that each song is so good. The most remarkable thing is that each element – the striking choreography, the immense variety
Fringe File 2018 #26 – Official Numbers; MN Fringe No Longer Largest in United States Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - August 23, 2018September 1, 2019 A scene from Lions and Peacocks and Snakes – OH MY! by CAAM Chinese Dance Theater, one of several shows at the inaugural Family Fringe festival. Photo by Dan Norman. The numbers are in for the 2018 Minnesota Fringe festivals: this year's Fringe fests were a heck of a lot smaller
NEWS: Fallout from Classical Music’s Sexual Misconduct Disclosures Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - July 29, 2018July 29, 2018 The Covent Garden Theatre in London burns in 1856. The day after the Arts Reader ran its feature on sexual misconduct in opera, the Star Tribune ran its own feature on lapses in sexual assault and rape investigations in the State of Minnesota. Four days later, the Washington Post published the
Fringe File 2018 #16 – A View from the Set with Joshua Barnd Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - July 27, 2018July 28, 2018 An example of River Bottom Productions' industrial work. Joshua Barnd is the owner and operator of River Bottom Productions, a Jordan, MN-based production company that has provided multifaceted production services to the greater Twin Cities area since 2008. On any given day, Joshua might be working on scenic design, lighting, sound,
INTERVIEW: Laura Osnes and the Broadway Princess Party Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - July 26, 2018July 26, 2018 A promotional photo for the Broadway Princess Party, which comes to the Pantages Theatre on August 18. Eagan, MN native Laura Osnes has been to Broadway and back with the Tony nominations to prove it. Besides Broadway, she's starred in shows at Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center, and sung concerts
Fringe File 2018 #13 – Brid Henry on Diving Into Theatre Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - July 23, 2018July 23, 2018 Actor Brid Henry (bottom) on a skydiving trip. Brid Henry plays Roxanne in the Red Dice Collective's upcoming Fringe production of Cyrano on the Moon. Brid spoke with the Arts Reader about diving into the local theatre scene. You worked on last year's The Future Is Female Festival in its Minneapolis branch. What was that experience
Fringe File 2008 #12 – Erin Roberts on Mental Disintegration and Integration Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - July 22, 2018July 22, 2018 Actor Erin Roberts in rehearsal for Nightfox Stage Productions' My 4 Bodies. Erin Roberts is the star of My 4 Bodies, a solo show at the 2018 Minnesota Fringe Festival that delves into stress, illness, pressure, and loneliness. Naturally, these issues exist entirely in the world of environment and have no real-world
FEATURE: Opera, Sexual Misconduct, and Daylight Arts Comedy Dance Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - July 21, 2018August 1, 2018 This story includes a graphic discussion of sexual assault. One night in July, wigmaster Jolie O’Dell turned out the lights and went to bed. She awoke, she says, to find herself being groped by her house guest, a bass-baritone opera singer named Matthew Stump. Stump masturbated as he fondled her; amidst
Fringe File 2018 #11 – Denzel Belin on The Breakfast Club: The Musical! Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - July 21, 2018July 22, 2018 The cast of The Breakfast Club: The Musical! in a promotional photo replicating the classic movie's poster. The Breakfast Club begins with an old dramatic standby. You isolate a group of people in a room, you have them talk, and eventually they exchange truths about themselves and come to new understandings.
Fringe File 2018 #10 – Thomas Buan and a new Don Quixote Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - July 20, 2018July 22, 2018 A rehearsal photo from Threepenny Productions' production of Fools, Errant. Photo by Scott Gilbert. This latest installment of the Fringe File series shines a spotlight on Thomas Buan, an actor in Threepenny Productions' production of Fools, Errant. This spin on the classic novel Don Quixote was written by Amy Seham and engages