REVIEW: The All-Too Brief Summer: The Donna Summer Musical (Ordway) Arts Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - December 31, 2021January 2, 2022 The cast of the national touring company of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. Originally scheduled to run through January 2, the show's remaining performances at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in Saint Paul, MN have been cancelled due to COVID-19. With many touring shows, you can blink and miss
NEWS: First Avenue Reschedules End-of-Year Shows Arts Music by Twin Cities Arts Reader - December 28, 2021December 28, 2021 Graphic: New Year's Eve Cancellation Notice. With COVID-19 numbers rising steeply in the United States, performing arts organizations everywhere are taking stock of how to end the year. In a spirit of caution, First Avenue in Minneapolis has rescheduled several end-of-year concerts:The Suburbs @ Palace Theatre (New Date: Saturday, February 12, 2022) The
REVIEW: David Benoit and A Charlie Brown Christmas at The Dakota Arts Music by Brian Bix - December 10, 2021December 11, 2021 Jazz pianist David Benoit, percussionist Dan Schnell, vocalist Courtney Fortune, and bassist Roberto Vally played the Dakota Jazz Club last night in Minneapolis, MN. Last night’s performance at The Dakota traces back to a television show from 1965, A Charlie Brown Christmas. The music for that animated special – the first to
REVIEW: Anastasia Opens, Prodigal Princess Returns (Orpheum Theatre/HTT) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Boo Segersin - December 8, 2021December 8, 2021 The North American touring company of Anastasia, now playing at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, MN. Photo by Jeremy Daniel. The Broadway tour of the stage musical Anastasia opened at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis last night. It was a long time coming: after originally being slotted to perform in Minneapolis
PREVIEW: Weekly Concert Picks: Post-Thanksgiving to Christmas Arts Music by Amy Donahue - November 25, 2021November 25, 2021 The Champagne Drops (Emily Dussault, left; Leslie Vincent, right) will make their debut on Crooners' Mainstage in Fridley, Minnesota on December 19. A dinner with family might make you feel clammily, but a concert a week makes you feel pretty chic. Aphorisms and strained rhymes notwithstanding, Thanksgiving marks the formal start of
PREVIEW: JazzMN’s Holiday Show (Chanhassen Dinner Theatres) Arts Music by Twin Cities Arts Reader - November 22, 2021November 22, 2021 The JazzMN Orchestra will play its annual holiday concert at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres on December 13. Around the Twin Cities, households are stocking up on turkeys, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin, and other fall foods. Thanksgiving feasts are just around the corner, which by all predictions will bring many long-separated families back together.
REVIEW: Chris Botti’s All-Star Variety Show (Dakota Jazz Club) Arts Music by Brian Bix - November 19, 2021November 19, 2021 Trumpeter Chris Botti and his all-star lineup played at the Dakota Jazz Club last night, with five more shows to come over the weekend. For those who are shy and introverted, the lockdown isolation of the early-stage COVID-19 Pandemic was tolerable, perhaps even welcome. But for someone like Chris Botti, who
REVIEW: Oklahoma! Retrospective: Reworking and Reviving a Classic Through Tone (Orpheum/Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - November 18, 2021November 20, 2021 The national touring company of Oklahoma! played the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota from November 9-14, 2021. Photo by Matt Murphy. The national tour of Oklahoma! did not linger in town for too long. The Minnesota engagement was the formal launch of this tour, which sprouted from a famous (and Tony
FEATURE: The Children’s Theatre Company’s Bet on Warbucks – Annie Warbucks Arts Music Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - November 13, 2021November 13, 2021 The cast of the musical Annie, now playing at the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Lola Ronning (center) alternates as the titular little redheaded girl. Photo by Glen Stubbe Photography. Doors are open again at The Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After many long months of morphing content online
INTERVIEW: Eva Price on Producing Oklahoma! in New York and on the Road Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - November 6, 2021November 6, 2021 The recent revival cast of Oklahoma! on Broadway. A national tour branching off from this production performs at the Orphuem Theatre in Minneapolis, MN from November 9-14. Photo by Little Fang Photo. On Tuesday, Oklahoma! comes to Minneapolis. It has been a long time since this adaptation of Lynn Riggs' play Green