PREVIEW: Steamy Accordion Tango in María de Buenos Aires (Mill City Summer Opera) Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - July 13, 2017July 13, 2017 Catalina Cuervo as María in a 2014 Syracuse Opera production of María de Buenos Aires. Photo by Douglas Lee Wonders. Mill City Summer Opera's upcoming María de Buenos Aires was written by Astor Piazzola, one of the most renown tango composers of the 20th Century. If that seems an odd pedigree for
Fringe File 2017, #4: Joseph Fletcher and Willi Carlisle on There Ain’t No More: Death of a Folk Singer (MN Fringe) Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - July 12, 2017July 21, 2017 Willi Carlisle in There Ain't No More: Death of a Folksinger. Photo by Robin Farrin. One of the hottest out-of-town acts coming to the 2017 Minnesota Fringe Festival is a solo show out of Arkansas. Willi Carlisle's folk operetta There Ain't No More: Death of a Folksinger gives a slice-of-life view of Americana,
FEATURE: Ed Jenkins on Lalo’s Lunchbox, Cooking, and Food Education Arts Lifestyle by Basil Considine - July 11, 2017July 12, 2017 Lalo (Ed Jenkins) and Daisy (Boo Segersin) on the set of Lalo's Lunchbox. The Slow Food movement is now 30 years old. In 1986, Carlo Petrini rallied the citizens of Rome against a proposed McDonalds near the Spanish steps, promoting traditional cuisine, local sourcing, and enjoying the art of preparing and sedately
REVIEW: Glensheen is Murderously Good (History Theatre) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - July 10, 2017July 11, 2017 Sandra Strughers, Gary Briggle, Jen Maren, Ruthie Baker, and Adam Qualls re-enact an iconic photo moment in the Glensheen murders scandal. Photo by Scott Pakudaitis. A year and a half ago, I heard that a murder mystery of a musical set in Duluth was making a killing at the History Theatre.
INTERVIEW: Venessa Fuentes and Dameun Strange on Mother King Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - July 10, 2017July 10, 2017 The cast of Mother King in rehearsal. On the 1st of July 1974, an organist at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, was shot and killed by a deranged man who burst into the sanctuary. The victim, Alberta Christine Williams King, was an active church leader and NAACP member, the founder of
THE CURMUDGEON: Vol. 3 – Photos and the Visual Arts Arts Dance Music Opera The Curmudgeon Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - July 7, 2017July 8, 2017 The above blank image is like a student copying Kandinsky's white canvas for a class assignment: it says nothing. This is usually not what is desired. Dear Visual Artist PR Person, Thank you for your recent email. While you certainly used a great number of words to describe art created in an
THE CURMUDGEON: Vol. 2 – Who is in this show? Arts Dance Music Opera The Curmudgeon Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - July 6, 2017July 6, 2017 Dear Press Release Writer, Nice minimalist press release! You had full contact info and all the details there about when and where the performance will take place – good start! However, it says nothing about who's in it or who wrote it. In fact, the only name at all included in the
THE CURMUDGEON: Vol. 1 – How Should We Contact You? Arts Dance Music Opera The Curmudgeon Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - July 5, 2017July 19, 2017 Dear _____ Company, Lovely press release with a note to request tickets through the contact form on your website (Strike 1). I can't help notice that you sent this from a do-not-reply address (Strike 2) and that your website does not have a clearly labeled contact form (Strike 3) or any
REVIEW: Slick Sunday in the Park with George Shines (Guthrie Theater) Arts Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - June 30, 2017June 30, 2017 The grand arch and backdrop in the Guthrie Theater's current production of Sunday in the Park with George. A sailboat and water from the source painting (see below, upper-left) appear on the right-hand side. Lighting design by Jane Cox, projection design by Caite Gevner, and scenic design by Jan Chambers. Photo by
PREVIEW: The Fierce Femme Feelings Cabaret (Troubadour Wine Bar) Arts Music by Basil Considine - June 25, 2017June 26, 2017 Leslie Vincent (right) and Emily Dussault (left). Photo by Carl Atiya Swanson. There's a little green storefront in Uptown that's perfect for a glass of wine and a song. Head south on Hennepin towards Lake; just across from the YWCA, look left and there's the Troubadour Wine Bar – an unassuming gem