PREVIEW: Skylark Opera to Stage Transgender Tale As One Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - October 18, 2017October 18, 2017 A promotional image from San Diego Opera's 2017 production of the chamber opera As One. Skylark Opera Theatre announced today that it will produce the opera As One as part of its spring season. This 2014 chamber opera by Laura Kaminsky, Mark Campbell, and Kimberly Reed has caught fire, with 20 past
PREVIEW: The Roots of Peter Pan in Finding Neverland (Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 16, 2017October 16, 2017 Billy Harrigan Tighe and John Davidson in Finding Neverland. Photo by Jeremy Daniel. If you follow Broadway musicals, you've probably heard the name Diane Paulus. Paulus is one of the most influential producers and directors on Broadway today. One of the founders of the Project 400 Theatre Group, she launched her career
REVIEW: Pounding St. John Passion (Lyric Opera of the North) Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - October 15, 2017October 16, 2017 Jesus (Jarrett Ott) sprawls on the ground after a savage beating in LOON Opera's staged production of the St. John Passion. Illustration by Basil Considine. LOON Opera kicked off its 2017-2018 season on Saturday with Johann Sebastian Bach's St. John Passion. Yes, you read that correctly – winter isn't anywhere close to officially
REVIEW: The Tap’s the Thing in Irving Berlin’s Music Box Revue 1921 (Theatre of the Ridiculous and Absurd) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 13, 2017October 13, 2017 A 1921 advertisement for the original Music Box Revue. There's a saying in show business that every show must have a pressing reason to exist. Irving Berlin’s Music Box Revue 1921's reason is clearly to be a love note to one of America's most beloved songwriters. The origins of Irving Berlin's Music Box Revue
REVIEW: Brilliant Music, Inconsistent Tone in Don Pasquale (Minnesota Opera) Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - October 12, 2017June 24, 2018 Craig Colclough as the titular Pasquale in Minnesota Opera’s Don Pasquale. Photo by Dan Norman. Minnesota Opera's production of Don Pasquale, currently playing at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, is suffused with all the lovely music that you've come to know and expect, well-performed and a joy to hear. The updated
REVIEW: Finely Tuned, Stomach-Churning The Nether (Jungle Theater) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - October 11, 2017October 12, 2017 Sims/Papa (Stephen Yoakam) and Morris (Mo Perry) in a promotional photograph for the Jungle Theater's production of The Nether. The Nether, currently playing at the Jungle Theater, is the best-made play that I despise. I despise this play even more than I dislike writing a review from the first person perspective. However, it
INTERVIEW: Brian Stuart on Taking the Boston Early Music Festival On Tour Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 3, 2017October 3, 2017 The Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble in concert. The summer portion of the Boston Early Music Festival has long-since wrapped up along with the warm and dry weather, but for some BEMF musicians things are still running strong. The BEMF Chamber Ensemble has been criss-crossing North America on a 10-day,
FEATURE: On Neil Simon’s First Play, Come Blow Your Horn Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - October 3, 2017October 3, 2017 John Haynes, Sue Gerver, Nicole Korbisch, Dylan Rugh, and Grant Hooyer in St. Croix Off Broadway Dinner Theatre's current production of Come Blow Your Horn, now playing in Hudson, WI. There are so many Neil Simon plays in the repertory that you might not realize that the playwright is still among
PREVIEW: Life Could Be a Dream is a Doo Wop Fantasia (Old Log Theatre) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 2, 2017June 24, 2018 The cast of the Old Log Theatre's upcoming production of Life Could Be a Dream. From left to right: Austin Stole, Lucas Wells, Grace Lowe, Eric Sargent, Brian Winter. There's something about the music of the 1950s that forms a quintessential part of American nostalgia and culture. This comes in part
FEATURE: 8 Illustrations Showing Intermedia Arts’ Plight Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - October 1, 2017October 1, 2017 A bar chart illustrating the deficit cycle faced by Intermedia Arts, its board, and its staff since 2000. The organization's financial reserves were severely eroded even before the Great Recession hit; post-Recession, soaring expenses quickly eroded Intermedia's financial gains. Thursday evening, Intermedia Arts sent out a short, succinct to its media