REVIEW: Sensitive Movings, Nuanced Beauty in The Band’s Visit (NYC/Broadway) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - November 10, 2017November 11, 2017 Dina (Katrina Lenk) and Tewfiq (Tony Shahoub) metaphorically cross international lines. Photo by Matt Murphy. The Band's Visit is a verismo tale about intercultural dialogue, hospitality, and the search for happiness. The musical (which opened last night at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York City) is intimate in focus, charming in
PREVIEW: One-Third of a Nation: The Doom of the Federal Theatre Project Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - November 5, 2017November 5, 2017 A tenement apartment burns in the opening scene of One-Third of a Nation in the play's original 1938 production. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress. It's easy to see why the 76th Congress was upset with the play One-Third of a Nation. On the eve of World War II, fascist movements across
REVIEW: Orpheus in the Underworld Goes Suburban (GSVLOC) Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - November 2, 2017November 3, 2017 Orpheus (Jim Ahrens) with his alternating Euridices (Jennifer LeDoux and Nelle June Anderson) in the Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company's current production of Orpheus in the Underworld. The Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company is back this fall with Orpheus in the Underworld, an English-language translation of the Jacques Offenbach
INTERVIEW: Johanni van Oostrum on Figaro, Travel, and the Quest for the Perfect Burger Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 31, 2017November 2, 2017 Soprano Johanni van Oostrum. Photo by S. N. de Vries. Soprano Johanni van Oostrum stars in Minnesota Opera's upcoming production of The Marriage of Figaro. The international opera star's career has taken her from her native South Africa to Europe, North America, and Asia. The Arts Reader's Basil Considine caught up with van
REVIEW: Thrilling Dracula (COLLIDE) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 31, 2017November 11, 2017 A scene from COLLIDE's Dracula. COLLIDE Theatrical Dance Company is getting creepy this season with its dance extravaganza Dracula. This action-packed piece, a revival of last year's hit, opened on Saturday. This contemporary twist on the classic vampire tale by Bram Stoker is set to a pounding modern soundtrack of pop songs. This
INTERVIEW: 2017 Ivey Awards Emerging Artist Meghan Kreidler Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 30, 2017October 30, 2017 Meghan Kreidler (center) in the Mu Performing Arts/Park Square Theatre co-production of Flower Drum Song. Photo by Rich Ryan. Actor Meghan Kreidler received the Ivey Awards' Emerging Artist Award for 2017. In recent years, she's appeared on the stages of the Guthrie Theater, Mixed Blood, Park Square Theatre, Ten Thousand Things, the
REVIEW: Classic Neil Simon Laughs in Come Blow Your Horn (St. Croix Off Broadway Dinner Theatre) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - October 27, 2017October 29, 2017 It's not often that a first play stands the test of time as well as Neil Simon's Come Blow Your Horn, now playing at the St. Croix Off Broadway Dinner Theatre in Hudson, WI. Come Blow Your Horn is filled with all the situational humor and relatable character clashes that suffuse Simon's
REVIEW: Striking Music Man (Artistry) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 23, 2017October 24, 2017 The townsfolk prepare to put Harold Hill (Michael Gruber, center) on musical trial. Photo by Devon Cox. Artistry is on a musical roll. The company's striking new production of The Music Man follows last spring's thrilling, melodramatic production of The Secret Garden. After years of flashy productions weighed down by muddy sound mixes
REVIEW: On Driving Miss Daisy (Happy for That Theatre) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - October 22, 2017October 23, 2017 Mary Kay Fortier Spalding as Daisy, Eric Wood as Hoke, and Dann Peterson as Boolie in Happy for That Theatre's production of Driving Miss Daisy. Happy for That Theatre's production of Driving Miss Daisy is a straightforward piece of theatre. It is interesting, often humorous, and strongly delivered with its simple staging. The basic setup
REVIEW: Doo Wop You Will in Life Could Be a Dream (Old Log Theatre) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 20, 2017June 24, 2018 The cast of the Old Log Theatre's production of Life Could Be a Dream. From left to right: Austin Stole, Lucas Wells, Grace Lowe, Eric Sargent, Brian Winter. Those oldies but goodies remind me of you. The songs of the past bring back memories of you. I always remember the first night we