REVIEW: Rockin’ Old-School Hip Hop Nutcracker (Ordway) Arts Dance by Basil Considine - November 23, 2016December 5, 2016 Photo by United Palace of Cultural Arts. At this point the official Hip Hop Nutcracker tour is rather like the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Mannheim Steamroller, or the Bolshoi Ballet Nutcracker – you know exactly what you're going to get each year, and that's not such a bad thing. If you're not familiar with Hip Hop
REVIEW: Aging 105 Proof (Transatlantic Love Affair/Illusion Theater) Arts Dance Theatre by Bev Wolfe - November 13, 2016November 13, 2016 The Transatlantic Love Affair Ensemble. Photo by Lauren B Photography. Transatlantic Love Affair’s latest production, 105 Proof or, the Killing of Mack “the Silencer” Klein, opened last week at Illusion Theater. Diogo Lopes directs this expanded version of the original 2015 Minnesota Fringe Festival production. The work delves into the world
REVIEW: Crashing STOMP (Ordway) Arts Dance Music by Dan Reiva - October 30, 2016October 30, 2016 Photo by Steve McNicholas. The performance of this year’s STOMP tour at the Ordway Center in St. Paul, met audience expectations, and then some. It is a most unique theatre experience, being a mix of dance, vaudeville, symphonic percussion, avant-garde theatre, performance art and musique concrète (music from found objects). Like
INTERVIEW: The Last Days of Bedlam, with Maren Ward Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 21, 2016October 21, 2016 When news broke yesterday of the November 2 closure of Bedlam Lowertown, it didn't take long for Bedlam Theatre's Lowertown and general Facebook pages to start filling up with tributes, thank yous, and laments. Amidst the aftershocks, the scramble to rebook acts, and the general unhappiness, the Twin Cities Arts
BREAKING NEWS: Bedlam Lowertown to Close Nov. 2 Arts Dance Lifestyle Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 20, 2016October 20, 2016 The Bedlam Lowertown storefront. Photo by Rachel Stocker. On May 31, 2014, Bedlam Theatre formally opened its new home in St. Paul, the succinctly named Bedlam Lowertown. On November 2, 2016, Bedlam Lowertown will close. In an email sent to Bedlam newsletter subscribers, the organization cited construction delays, cost overruns, and overwhelming
REVIEW: Roundabout’s Cabaret Packs Roundhouse Kick (Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 19, 2016October 20, 2016 Andrea Goss as Sally Bowles and the Kit Kat Girls (Gayle Rankin, Kaleigh Cronin, Kristin Olness, Jessica Pariseau, Kelly Paredes, and Stacey Sipowicz). The Hennepin Theatre Trust opened its 2016-2017 Bank of America Broadway on Hennepin Season on Tuesday (say that three times fast) with a smash production of Cabaret developed
NEWS: Southern Theater Executive Director Steps Down Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 19, 2016October 20, 2016 The Southern Theater in 2010. Photo by Tony Webster; used in accordance with the CC BY-SA 3.0 license. The Southern Theater's Executive Director Damon Runnals is stepping down on October 29. This latest step in a round of reshuffling and transitions in the Twin Cities theatre scene marks the end of an 8-year tenure at the
REVIEW: Energetic Shaping Sound Makes a Mark (Ordway) Arts Dance Music by Lydia Lunning - October 18, 2016October 19, 2016 The Mosh Pit in Shaping Sound. You could feel the exuberance in the audience even before the house lights went down for Travis Wall’s Shaping Sound: Dance Reimagined at the Ordway Music Theater. This was understandable: artistic Director Travis Wall began as the runner-up in the second season of Fox’s So
NEWS: 24th Annual Sally Ordway Irvine Award Recipients Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 17, 2016October 19, 2016 The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts announced the recipients of the 24th annual Sally Ordway Irvine Awards this evening. These prestigious, state-wide awards recognize individuals and institutions whose work has strengthened and enriched the state through their commitment to the arts and arts education. The awards were awarded in five categories to
REVIEW: Zesty, Dirty Avenue Q (Chameleon Theatre Circle) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 11, 2016October 11, 2016 It's always fun to watch a completely unprepared theatre audience realize just what they bought tickets to. Such a scene unfolded on Saturday night at the Ames Center in Burnsville, when about half of the audience learned that Avenue Q is a) a Sesame Street parody, and b) definitely not a comedy for little