INTERVIEW: Combustibility, Theatre, and Doors You Shouldn’t Enter Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - September 9, 2016September 9, 2016 For some people, summer is a magical time filled with craft breweries and standup paddleboarding. For others, summer is an offensively warm time getting in the way of the best season filled with falling leaves, sweater weather, and haunted houses. Combustible Company clearly falls in the latter category: before the
HUMOR: Renée Fleming and the Ninjas Arts Music Opera Visual Arts by Basil Considine - September 8, 2016September 8, 2016 Renée Fleming in an undated file photo by Andrew Eccles/DECCA. Following yesterday's article about Renée Fleming's sold-out Schubert Club concert, our staff have collected a series of photographs of past performances and publicity appearances by Ms. Fleming. These photos document the sometimes extensive lengths to which fans of Ms. Fleming will go to
NEWS: Renée Fleming Recital Sold Out, How to Get In Arts Music by Basil Considine - September 7, 2016September 9, 2016 American soprano Renée Fleming. Photo by Timothy White, courtesy of DECCA Records. Someone should send the Schubert Club the memo: Classical music is supposed to be dead. While detractors bemoan music graduates' job prospects (which are actually better than average) and "put down that violin" campaigns backfire, ticket sales are booming at the
NEWS: Alexandria, VA Opera Singer Arrested for Busking Arts Music Opera by Basil Considine - September 3, 2016September 7, 2016 William Hobarth's An Election Entertainment, an illustration of disorderly musicianship. [Note: This story has been updated to incorporate an additional statement from the Alexandria Police Department. – 9/03/2016] [Additional note: A statement from the City of Alexandria has been added at the end. – 9/07/2016] It started out as a normal day for Krista
INTERVIEW: Donald Livingston on the Twin Cities Early Music Festival Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - August 31, 2016August 31, 2016 The Twin Cities Early Music Festival has just wrapped up – a month-long cavalcade of concerts, workshops, master classes, and intimate recitals. The director of the festival, Donald Livingston, agreed to chat with the Twin Cities Arts Reader's Basil Considine about the festival's explosive growth, wearing multiple hats as a
REVIEW: Lively, Slick Drowsy Chaperone Wryly Delivered (Artistry) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - August 25, 2016August 26, 2016 Brittany Parker and Angela Steele in Artistry's production of The Drowsy Chaperone. Photo by Hilary Roberts. Slick dancing and choreography are longtime features of Artistry-produced musicals, but the company's current production of The Drowsy Chaperone delivers strongly in the musical and acting departments as well. This production, playing through September 11 at the Bloomington Center for the Arts, is
PREVIEW: The Look of The Drowsy Chaperone (Artistry) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - August 16, 2016August 26, 2016 Just as the Minnesota Fringe Festival was closing this past weekend, a Fringe-related show was opening down in Bloomington. The Drowsy Chaperone, presented by Artistry, actually has a history as a fringe festival show. This musical began its life as a spoof written for a bachelor party. One wedding later, the
Fringe File #13: Box Offices Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - August 15, 2016August 15, 2016 Julie Marie Muskat in RUNE presented by Vox Medusa at Intermedia Arts. Photo by Alex Wohlhueter. Note: This story has been updated to correct some inaccurate information. It originally stated that the MN Fringe Festival Ultrapassers Emeriti Facebook group was founded in response to the discontinuation of the Ultrapass; this group
REVIEW: Paint Your Wagon Gets a Power Spray Nozzle (Ordway) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - August 11, 2016August 13, 2016 Photo by Tracy Martin. Updating classic musicals is tricky. People have their favorite moments, lyrics, and renditions that get a pleasant polish from nostalgia. If you're picking a show to update, Lerner and Loewe's Paint Your Wagon is a pretty good pick – the original show has a number of script problems
NEWS: Hennepin Theatre Trust Expands Its Block Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - August 8, 2016August 8, 2016 Solera Restaurant in former times. The Hennepin Theatre Trust announced on Friday that it had reached an agreement with the City of Minneapolis to purchase the former Solera building (900 and 906 Hennepin Ave.) in downtown Minneapolis. This purchase marks HTT's latest step in expanding its role as a curator of the