Author: Basil Considine

Basil Considine was the Editor of the Twin Cities Arts Reader from 2018-2022. He served as Performing Arts Editor and Senior Classical Music and Drama Critic for the Arts Reader's first five years, before succeeding Hanne Appelbaum. He was previously the Resident Classical Music and Drama Critic at the Twin Cities Daily Planet and remains an occasional contributing writer for The Boston Musical Intelligencer and The Chattanoogan. He holds a PhD in Music and Drama from Boston University, an MTS in Sacred Music from the BU School of Theology, and a BA in Music and Theatre from the University of San Diego. Basil was named one of Musical America's 30 Professionals of the Year in 2017. He was previously the Regional Governor for the National Opera Association's North Central Region and the 2021-2022 U.S. Fulbright Faculty Scholar to Madagascar.

REVIEW: Pleasant, Familiar Sounds in Christmas Carol (Guthrie Theater)

by Basil Considine - November 22, 2016November 22, 2016

Ryan Colbert (Fred) and J.C. Cutler (Ebenezer Scrooge) at work. Photo by Dan Norman. The Guthrie's 2016 production of A Christmas Carol will not surprise you if you've seen it in recent years. J.C. Cutler is still excellent as Scrooge, Mathew LeFebvre's costumes are still pretty dandy, and the music is just

REVIEW: Leaky Passage (7th House Theater/Guthrie)

by Basil Considine - November 20, 2016November 20, 2016

Mary Bair and Alejandro Vega in The Passage. Photo by Amy Anderson. The Passage or What Comes of Searching in the Dark has a lot of good things going for it. The visuals are engaging, the child actors are fantastic, and Grant Sorenson is a standout member of the ensemble. Musically, however, it is as eminently

INTERVIEW: On Orphans and Orphan Trains – A Chat with the History Theatre’s Ron Peluso and Anya Kremenetsky

by Basil Considine - November 13, 2016November 13, 2016

A group of orphans with their chaperones in New York City's Grand Central Station in 1923, prior to being sent to Minnesota. On Saturday, November 19, the History Theatre opens its holiday revival of Orphan Train, a critically praised musical about orphan children from New York City who were shipped off

INTERVIEW: Shoot the Glass’s Ryan Nielsen on Company

by Basil Considine - November 9, 2016November 12, 2016

The cast of Shoot the Glass Theater's upcoming production of Company. Tomorrow, Shoot the Glass Theater opens its second-ever production: Stephen Sondheim's classic 1970 musical Company. This show, which plays at the New Century Theatre in Minneapolis through Sunday, November 20th, was lauded at its premiere for its exploration of changing

REVIEW: Sarah Ruhl’s The Oldest Boy (Jungle Theater)

Arts
Theatre

by Basil Considine - November 7, 2016November 8, 2016

The Oldest Boy, which opened on Friday at the Jungle Theater, is in many ways emblematic of the Jungle's first season under Artistic Director and show director Sarah Rasmussen. It is edgy, delves into themes and problems that have no easy answers, and plays with the audience's sense of what

FEATURE: Provocative Ideas at ASTR Conference

by Basil Considine - November 4, 2016November 4, 2016

Kellen Hoxworth of Stanford University presents his paper "Transoceanic Blackface; or, The Silver Belt Jig" at ASTR 2016. The early morning session at an academic conference is usually considered the kiss of death for attendance, but more than 150 people showed up for the opening plenary on Day 2 of the

INTERVIEW: The Last Days of Bedlam, with Maren Ward

by Basil Considine - October 21, 2016October 21, 2016

When news broke yesterday of the November 2 closure of Bedlam Lowertown, it didn't take long for Bedlam Theatre's Lowertown and general Facebook pages to start filling up with tributes, thank yous, and laments. Amidst the aftershocks, the scramble to rebook acts, and the general unhappiness, the Twin Cities Arts

BREAKING NEWS: Bedlam Lowertown to Close Nov. 2

by Basil Considine - October 20, 2016October 20, 2016

The Bedlam Lowertown storefront. Photo by Rachel Stocker. On May 31, 2014, Bedlam Theatre formally opened its new home in St. Paul, the succinctly named Bedlam Lowertown. On November 2, 2016, Bedlam Lowertown will close. In an email sent to Bedlam newsletter subscribers, the organization cited construction delays, cost overruns, and overwhelming

REVIEW: Roundabout’s Cabaret Packs Roundhouse Kick (Hennepin Theatre Trust)

by Basil Considine - October 19, 2016October 20, 2016

Andrea Goss as Sally Bowles and the Kit Kat Girls (Gayle Rankin, Kaleigh Cronin, Kristin Olness, Jessica Pariseau, Kelly Paredes, and Stacey Sipowicz). The Hennepin Theatre Trust opened its 2016-2017 Bank of America Broadway on Hennepin Season on Tuesday (say that three times fast) with a smash production of Cabaret developed

REVIEW: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (Washington, DC: UrbanArias)

by Basil Considine - October 19, 2016July 11, 2017

On Saturday in Washington, DC, UrbanArias opened The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. It was a splendid production of an opera that is unfortunately unlikely to play in the Twin Cities any time soon. Note: This review has been updated to correct the name of the conductor. One of