REVIEW: Sweet Sense and Sensibility (Guthrie Theater) Arts Theatre by Bev Wolfe - September 22, 2016September 22, 2016 Alejandra Escalante (Marianne Dashwood), Suzanne Warmanen (Mrs. Dashwood), John Catron (Edward Ferrars) and Jolly Abraham (Elinor Dashwood) in the Guthrie Theater's production of Sense and Sensibility. The Guthrie Theater opens its 2016-2017 season with Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. In this new adaptation by playwright Kate Hamill, Sara Rasmussen (artistic director
REVIEW: Bars and Measures Somewhat Square (Jungle Theater) Arts Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - August 31, 2016August 31, 2016 Darius Dotch as Eric in the Jungle Theater's production of Bars and Measures. Photo by Dan Norman. The Jungle Theater is showcasing playwright Idris Goodwin in his Twin Cities debut with his play Bars and Measures. The title refers to a passion for music shared by two brothers, one who is barred from
Fringe File #15: The After-Reviews Arts Dance Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - August 22, 2016August 22, 2016 Official show image: For Worse, presented by Theatre Unbound. Just when you thought Fringe was entirely over for the year...out came a sequel. Here are a few more 30-second show reviews providing parting thoughts on some shows whose memories have lingered in our staff's memories: Gilligan: A Tropical Musical by Literally Entertainment Productions The 60s television show
REVIEW: Under the Gaslight is a Grand Finale (MN Centennial Showboat) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - July 14, 2016July 14, 2016 A scene from Under the Gaslight. Photo by Dan Norman. At the end of this summer, an era of Minnesota theatre comes to an end when the Minnesota Centennial Showboat closes its final season after 55 years on the waterfront. As things, began, so they end: the final production, Augustine Daly’s 1861 melodrama
REVIEW: Lady and the Trump (Brave New Workshop) Arts Theatre by Bev Wolfe - July 12, 2016July 13, 2016 Lady and the Trump is the latest comedy show from Brave New Workshop (BNW) and opened last week. BNW is well-known for its social and political humors based on certain themes. Like the Saturday Night Live television show, BNW is probably at its best when it weaves together comedy skits
REVIEW: The Lion King (National Tour/Orpheum Theatre) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - July 10, 2016July 10, 2016 Mukelisiwe Goba as Rafiki in The Lion King North American Tour. Photo by Matthew Murphy. The Lion King has touched down at the Orpheum Theatre for a five-week run. This show not only famously adapts the hit animated musical movie to the stage, but manages to raise the show to new artistic heights in the
REVIEW: Murder’s Still Got It in Glensheen (History Theatre) Arts Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - July 8, 2016July 12, 2016 Last fall, the Minnesota History Theatre had a sell-out hit with its original production of the musical Glensheen. Fortunately, I and many other theatre goers who missed the show the first time around are lucky to see it in a summer reprise of the show. Under the swift direction of
FEATURE: The End of an Era: Minnesota Centennial Showboat’s Farewell Season Arts Dance Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - June 30, 2016September 25, 2017 The original Minnesota Centennial Showboat. April 19, 2016 was a sad day on the Mississippi. That day, the University of Minnesota’s Department of Theater and Dance announced that the Minnesota Centennial Showboat – a staple on the river since 1958 and the first paid theatre position to many past and present theatre professionals
REVIEW: Fun, Playful Calendar Girls (Park Square) Arts Theatre by Bev Wolfe - June 26, 2016June 26, 2016 Linda Kelsey (Jessie), Carolyn Pool (Celia), Laurel Armstrong (Cora), Charity Jones (Chris), Christina Baldwin (Annie). Photo by Petronella J. Ytsma. Calendar Girls, now playing at Park Square Theatre, is an uncommon theatre experience and a play dominated by older female characters. Written by Tom Firth, this play is an adaptation of the 2003 movie by the same name
REVIEW: Snagged by a Ballad of the Pale Fisherman‘s Line (Transatlantic Love Affair) Arts Dance Theatre by Bev Wolfe - June 7, 2016June 7, 2016 Transalantic Love Affair (“TLA”) staged a revival this past weekend of its famed Ballad of the Pale Fisherman as part of the Southern Theatre’s Artshare program for 2016. Director Isabel Nelson conceived the play based upon a Celtic legend about seals called Selkies who transform into women by removing their