REVIEW: Orphan-Strong Annie (Ordway) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - December 9, 2017December 9, 2017 The cast of the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts' production of Annie. Photo by Rich Ryan. There was a strong current of energy in the air at the Ordway last night for the press opening of Annie. As streams of parents and younger children stepped in from the cold outdoors,
REVIEW: Houston, Bohème in Space Has a Problem (Opéra de Paris) Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Amy Donahue - December 4, 2017December 6, 2017 A scene from the new production of La Bohème at the Paris Opera. Photo by Geert Goiris. Words cannot describe my feelings at getting assigned to review La Bohème at the Paris Opera. My gateway to opera was Musetta's waltz in Rent, played on a thrilling electric guitar. Then came Youtube, friends'
REVIEW: Rarely Performed Chess Check-Mates (Chameleon Theatre Circle) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - December 4, 2017December 11, 2017 The cast of the Chameleon Theatre Circle production of Chess. Photo by JHinz Design and Photo. Chameleon Theatre Circle is now an itinerant company, freed of the black box constraints of its longtime home at the Ames Center. As the company dances around the metro region from production to production, it's
EDITORIAL: On Abuse and the Performing Arts Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - December 4, 2017December 11, 2017 Artemisia Gentileschi's Judith Decapitating Holofernes (1620). Events in the pioneering female painter's own personal life four centuries' past illustrate some of the complicated ways that sexual abuse has been and continues to be handled legally and socially in the arts. Weinstein. Spacey. CK. Lauer. Keillor. The list goes on of powerful
NEWS: 2018 MN Fringe to Shake Up Venues, Add Family-Friendly Offshoot Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - December 1, 2017July 8, 2018 A photo of Blackout Improv's award-winning performance at the 2017 Minnesota Fringe Festival. Photo by Keith N'Dong, courtesy of the Minnesota Fringe Festival. Applications are now open for the 2018 Minnesota Fringe Festival lottery. The annual theatre festival will return with some hefty changes in the coming year, including new venues,
ANNOUNCEMENT: Editorial Changes at the Arts Reader Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - November 30, 2017November 26, 2017 Effective December 1, Editor-in-Chief Hanne Appelbaum will be on maternity leave through June 1, 2018. During the interim, Performing Arts Editor Basil Considine will assume the title of Editor-Ad-Interim.
REVIEW: Waitress: The Musical Serves Something Different (Orpheum Theatre) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - November 22, 2017November 22, 2017 Charity Angel Dawson, Desi Oakley, and Lenne Klingaman in the National Tour of Waitress: The Musical. Photo by Joan Marcus. The Broadway tour of Waitress: The Musical opened for business at the Orpheum Theatre Tuesday night, complete with the intoxicating aroma of hot pie filling the lobby during intermission. The evening was
FEATURE: Jane Austen’s Living Legacy in Art Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - November 15, 2017November 15, 2017 A promotional image of the Élan Ensemble, a group performing music from Jane Austen's family's music collection. July 18, 2017 formally marked the bicentennial of Jane Austen's death. The milestone occasioned many literary, scholarly, and artistic endeavors across the world, exploring varied aspects of her legacy. While her works may now
REVIEW: Sister Act‘s Triumphant Return (Chanhassen Dinner Theatres) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - November 14, 2017November 14, 2017 Delores Van Cartier (Regina Marie Williams, center) "keeps a low profile" while on the run from the mob in Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' spirited revival of Sister Act. Photo by Heidi Bohnenkamp. Those darn singing nuns are at it again. Just when you think it's safe to go back to the convent, Chanhassen
PREVIEW: Sparkling Waitress: The Musical Comes to Minneapolis (Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - November 14, 2017November 15, 2017 Ryan G. Dunkin and the cast of the National Tour of Waitress. Photo by Joan Marcus. There are two classic definitions of pornography: material that is designed to arouse the senses, and something that you know when you see it. As far as food porn goes, Waitress: The Musical matches those