PREVIEW: The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - March 23, 2018March 23, 2018 Soprano Jessica Faselt singing at Bethel University in the 2017 round of the Metropolitan Opera National Council – Upper Midwest Region Auditions. Faselt won the Regional audition and competed in New York City in the Semi-Final Round of the auditions. Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera National Council – Upper Midwest
REVIEW: Reliable Horses in Old Log’s Guys and Dolls Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - March 18, 2018June 24, 2018 The famous "Fugue for Tinhorns" in the Old Log Theatre's production of Guys and Dolls. Pictured: Jordan Oxborough, Aaron Booth, and Austin Stole. Photo courtesy of the Old Log Theatre. You won't find any surprises in the Old Log Theatre's new production of Guys and Dolls, but that's not why you
REVIEW: Princess Ida‘s Steampunk Bursts (GSVLOC) Arts Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - March 17, 2018March 17, 2018 The women of Castle Adamant preparing for war in the Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company's new production of Princess Ida. Photo by Stephen Hage. Some of the jokes in Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operas have stood the test of time better than others. This is one of the reasons
REVIEW: Designing Laughter in Corduroy (Children’s Theatre Company) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - March 16, 2018March 29, 2018 Ileri Okikiolu as Lisa in the Children's Theatre Company production of Corduroy. Photo by Dan Norman. I grew up with Don Freeman's classic children's picture book Corduroy. It's a story so simple, endearing, and timeless that it seems odd to learn that the book dates back to 1968 – fifty years' old, to
REVIEW: It’s the Time for Newsies (Chanhassen Dinner Theatres) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - March 14, 2018March 14, 2018 Aleks Knezevich (center) leads a ragtag group of newspaper boys (and one girl) in sticking it to the man in Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' production of Newsies. Photo by Rich Ryan Photography. There is a moment in Newsies when Aleks Knezevich (as lead newsboy Jack Kelly) gives a speech about standing together. "All across this
INTERVIEW: Grace Chermak on Playing a Doll (in Guys and Dolls) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - March 10, 2018June 24, 2018 Grace Chermak (second from the left) stars in the Old Log Theatre's upcoming production of Guys and Dolls. Also pictured: Eric Sargent, Charlie Clark, and Kym Chambers Otto. Photo courtesy of the Old Log Theatre. The Old Log Theatre's production of the classic musical Guys and Dolls opens today in Excelsior,
PREVIEW: The Still Days – SPCO’s The Last Seven Words of Christ Arts Music by Basil Considine - March 4, 2018March 5, 2018 A page from an 1801 printing of Joseph Haydn's The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross. The Triduum - the three days before Easter - are one of the holiest parts of the Christian calendar. In many parts of Europe, the Triduum were observed with silence in churches and
INTERVIEW: Sami Pfeffer on Children’s Play and the Hideous Monster Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - February 28, 2018March 1, 2018 Playwright Sami Pfeffer in December 2017 while working on an Art Shanty Project. Tomorrow, Gadfly Theatre Productions will premiere Children's Play, a new theatrical work by Sami Pfeffer. This play for adult audiences explores melancholy and symptoms of mental health. Pfeffer spoke with the Arts Reader's Basil Considine about bringing this work to
BREAKING NEWS: Patrick’s Cabaret to Close Permanently Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - January 30, 2018January 30, 2018 A scene from the 2014 Culture Wars Cabaret hosted by Patrick's Cabaret. Photo by Ryan Stopera. Patrick's Cabaret announced today that it will close permanently this summer. The surprise announcement stunned many in the Twin Cities; the organization has been a fixture in the Twin Cities performing arts scene for 31
INTERVIEW: Kimbra on Her Primal Heart and the Cedar Cultural Center Concert Arts Music by Basil Considine - January 22, 2018January 24, 2018 A promotional photo for Kimbra's third studio album, Primal Heart, which drops April 20. Photo by Micaiah Carter. New Zealand singer-songwriter Kimbra first burst onto American airwaves in 2012, when her duet "Somebody I Used to Know" with Australian recording artist Gotye rocketed to the top of the Billboard 100. This was