REVIEW: Jackson Browne’s Still Got Steam (State Theatre) Arts Music by Dan Reiva - June 27, 2018June 27, 2018 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) Arts Theatre by Dan Reiva - June 17, 2018June 17, 2018 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) Arts Theatre by Dan Reiva - June 14, 2018June 14, 2018 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) Arts Theatre by Dan Reiva - March 11, 2018March 11, 2018 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) Arts Dance by Dan Reiva - January 18, 2018January 18, 2018 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) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Dan Reiva - November 5, 2017November 20, 2017 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) Arts Theatre by Dan Reiva - May 30, 2017June 1, 2017 Steven Epp and Jamal Abdunnasir in The Moving Company's production of Refugia. Photo by Dan Norman. Hang around the Twin Cities theatre scene long enough and the name Theatre de la Jeune Lune is sure to come up. Since that ensemble dissolved in 2008, its performing space became Aria at the Jeune
REVIEW: TU Dance – TU Be…or Not (Ordway) Arts Dance by Dan Reiva - May 7, 2017May 7, 2017 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) Arts Theatre by Dan Reiva - April 20, 2017April 20, 2017 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
REVIEW: Ladysmith Black Mambazo Still Smithing Strong (State Theatre) Arts Music by Dan Reiva - February 12, 2017February 12, 2017 Photo by Luis Lea. Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s recent performance at the State Theatre was as much about educating the audience on the group’s African musical heritage as it was about entertainment. Most of the songs they performed were from their most recent album Walking in the Footsteps of Our Fathers, which