A promotional photo for The Capitol Steps, a DC-based troupe that performed on June 30, 2018 at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul, MN. Photo by Violet Crown Photo Works. The Capitol Steps is a unique comic ensemble that performs political satire set to the melodies of pop
Author: Dan Reiva
Daniel P. Reiva (Staff Reviewer) is a Twin Cities theatre professional. Prior to joining the Twin Cities Arts Reader, he wrote for the Twin Cities Daily Planet.
REVIEW: Jackson Browne’s Still Got Steam (State Theatre)
A collage of recording artist Jackson Browne's numerous album covers. Jackson Browne’s concert last Tuesday at the State Theatre in Minneapolis demonstrated that he is in fine voice and far away from running on empty. The concert provided fans a golden opportunity to hear the best examples of Browne’s more than
REVIEW: Good News, Bad News, Well… (Guthrie Theater)
JoAnne Akalaitis, the creator of BAD NEWS! i was there. Director JoAnne Akalaitis had a great idea: compile a dozen Ancient Greek dramas focusing on messenger scenes. She euphemistically calls the work, BAD NEWS! i was there... [sic], a humorous understatement since the messengers are inevitably revealing tragic events in the lives of the
REVIEW: Dat Black Mermaid Man/Lady/Show (Pillsbury House + Theatre)
Kenyai O'Neal and PaviElle French in Pillsbury House Theatre's Dat Black Mermaid Man/Lady/Show. Photo by Rich Ryan. I attended the opening performance of Dat Black Mermaid Man/Lady/Show at the Pillsbury House Theatre. Sharon Bridgforth wrote the play in the avant-garde theatre form called theatrical jazz. Under the direction of Ebony Noelle
REVIEW: Orphans and NHCC’s New Blackbox (North Hennepin Community College)
It seems like every other month that another long-time theatre in the Twin Cities announces its closure, caught between rising property values and fundraising woes. Discovering a new performance spaces being created is a welcome counter-current of good news. Last week, I attended an incredible dramatic performance of Lyle Kessler's play Orphans in
REVIEW: Art/Disempowerment/Juxtaposition: The Inequality Dance in Rap on Race (Ordway)
A promotional image for Spectrum Dance Theater's A Rap on Race. Seattle's Spectrum Dance Theater dropped on St. Paul's Ordway Music Theater on Saturday. In its best moments, the event was a notable experiment that illustrates how art can further discussions of racial inequality in America. Some moments were marvelously expressive and expressionist.
REVIEW: Finding Neverland (National Tour/Hennepin Theatre Trust)
The cast of Finding Neverland. Photo by Jeremy Daniel. If you have loved the story of Peter Pan since childhood, it’s only natural to love the musical Finding Neverland as well. The national tour of Finding Neverland, which closes at the Orpheum Theatre today, is sparkling, whimsical, and fantasy-filled. To say that the
REVIEW: Dislocation and Danger in Refugia (The Moving Company/Guthrie Theater)
REVIEW: TU Dance – TU Be…or Not (Ordway)
Saturday night’s performance by TU Dance at the Ordway in St. Paul showcased the company’s classical styling mixed with an edgy modern urban aesthetic. One goal of TU’s choreographers and dancers is to create original dance works that raise audience awareness of significant cultural issues and take on important social
REVIEW: Legendary Battlefield: The Brook Experience (Guthrie Theater)
The longest known poem in the world, the Mahabharata, contains more than 200,000 lines of verse. This epic poem is one of the most important works in Sanskrit, with an importance rivaled only by the relatively short Ramayana, which "only" contains about 24,000 lines. Jean-Claude Carriere's 9-hour theatrical adaptation of the Mahabharata, which was staged