REVIEW: Terrifying Assassins (Theater Latté Da) Arts Theatre by Bev Wolfe - February 18, 2018February 18, 2018 Dieter Bierbrauer as John Wilkes Booth in Theater Latté Da's production of the Sondheim musical Assassins. Photo by Dan Norman. “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life.” Oscar Wilde's words haunted me as I was finishing this review and learned the horrific news of the shooting in Broward County,
REVIEW: The Royale Knockout (Yellow Tree Theatre) Arts Theatre by Bev Wolfe - February 12, 2018February 12, 2018 Santino Craven and David Murray in Yellow Tree Theatre's production of The Royale. Photo by Justin Cox. "BAM", "POW", "KAPOW" – A Knockout Bam goes the fist. Pow – another punch and someone’s seeing double. Kapow – the countdown is on and the play begins. Such is the flow of The Royale, an experiential telling of the
REVIEW: Stunning Sights and Dancing in The Wiz (Children’s Theatre Company) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - January 30, 2018January 30, 2018 Aimee Bryant as Addaperle in the Children's Theatre Company production of The Wiz. Photo by Dan Norman The Children’s Theatre Company and Penumbra Theatre co-production of The Wiz is an engaging endeavor that makes you wish these two theatre companies had teamed up earlier. Director Lou Bellamy and choreographer Patdro Harris have created
REVIEW: Ishmael Chases a White Whale (Jungle Theater) Arts Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - January 26, 2018January 26, 2018 A promotional image for the Jungle Theater's Ishmael. The Jungle Theater's new season – its last before it moves to a traditional fall-summer format – casts off with a hunt for a great white whale. Ishmael, now playing at the Jungle, is an adaptation of the classic Herman Melville novel Moby Dick. Director-playwright Leo
TOP 10: Bev Wolfe’s 10 Best Plays and Musicals of 2017 Arts Dance Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - January 4, 2018January 4, 2018 A less happy moment between Eisinin (Sergei Andreev) and Duncan (Lisa Channer) in Theatre Novi Most's production of Dancing on the Edge. In reading through the top 10 lists of other reviewers, I realized there were a lot of great shows that I missed this year. The Twin Cities is blessed with
REVIEW: The Tech and Design Sides of Annie (Ordway) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Bev Wolfe - December 31, 2017January 4, 2018 The presidential cabinet: Kersten Rodau, Adam Qualls, Randy Schmeling, Bill Scharpen, Carl Schoenborn, and Charles Fraser in Annie. Photo by Rich Ryan. A locally produced holiday production of Annie is ending is its run at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. Since its original opening on Broadway in 1977, Annie
REVIEW: A Christmas Carole Petersen Strikes Back (Latté Da) Arts Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - December 10, 2017December 10, 2017 Tod Petersen stars in Theater Latté Da's A Christmas Carole Petersen. Theater Latté Da is currently reprising its holiday staple, the oft-talked-about A Christmas Carole Petersen. The show was first presented in 2000, was an annual Latté Da tradition for 10 years, and returned last year after a 7-year absence. The show
REVIEW: Spritely Spirit, Classic Laughter in Blithe Spirit (Guthrie Theater) Arts Theatre by Bev Wolfe - December 6, 2017December 9, 2017 Amy Warner (Mrs. Bradman), Bob Davis (Dr. Bradman), Sally Wingert (Madame Arcati) and Quinn Mattfeld (Charles Condomine) in the Guthrie Theater’s production of Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward. Photo by Dan Norman. Noël Coward’s comedy Blithe Spirit is the ghost that keeps on giving. On Friday, the Guthrie Theater opened its
REVIEW: Delightful Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (Jungle Theater) Arts Theatre by Bev Wolfe - November 19, 2017November 20, 2017 Fitzwilliam Darcy (James Rodríguez), Charles Bingley (Sam Bardwell), Jane Bingley (Adia Morris), Mary Bennet (Christian Bardin), Arthur de Bourgh (JuCoby Johnson), Lydia Wickham (Kelsey Didion), Elizabeth Darcy (Sun Mee Chomet), and Anne de Bourgh (Anna Hickey). Photo by Dan Norman. The Jungle Theater’s production of Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, which opened
REVIEW: Another Look at Dracula‘s Bite (COLLIDE) Arts Dance by Bev Wolfe - November 12, 2017November 13, 2017 The cast of COLLIDE Theatrical Dance Company's Dracula. COLLIDE Theatrical Dance Company reprises its 2016 production of Dracula for the Halloween season at the Ritz Theatre. I decided to see it because I have been interested in Dracula-themed productions ever since I learned that my paternal grandfather was originally from Romania's Transylvania