REVIEW: Long La Rondine Worth the Wait (Minnesota Opera) Arts Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - October 14, 2018November 17, 2018 Celine Bryne as Magda, Leonardo Capalbo as Ruggero, and the Minnesota Opera Chorus in Minnesota Opera’s new production of La Rondine. Photo by Cory Weaver. There is a temptation that directors and designers face to re-encapsulate or reframe an old stage work for today's audience. Sometimes it is about trying to highlight
PREVIEW: Chanhassen Dinner Theatres to Open Holiday Inn Arts Dance Music Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - October 9, 2018 A promotional image for Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' production of Holiday Inn, which opens this Friday in Chanhassen, MN. Chanhassen Dinner Theatres is going to open a Holiday Inn. Wait, that's not quite right – CDT is opening Holiday Inn, a stage adaptation of the beloved 1942 holiday film of the same name. Holiday
PHOTOS: I Come from Arizona (Children’s Theatre Company) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - October 9, 2018October 9, 2018 Luca La Hoz Calassara and Ayssette Muñoz in the Children's Theatre Company world premiere production of I Come From Arizona. Photo by Dan Norman. Tonight, the Children's Theatre Company opens its latest production, the world premiere of I Come from Arizona by Carlos Murillo. Murillo, an award-winning playwright of Colombian and Puerto
PHOTOS: Minnesota Opera’s La Rondine Takes Flight Arts Music Opera Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - October 6, 2018October 9, 2018 Celine Bryne as Magda, Leonardo Capalbo as Ruggero, and the Minnesota Opera Chorus in Minnesota Opera’s new production of Puccini's La Rondine. Minnesota Opera's 2018-2019 season kicks off tonight with Giacomo Puccini's La Rondine, a tale of new love and spectres of the past. [Editor's note: Naturally, this plot has no bearing at all
PREVIEW: DaVina and the Vagabonds Return to the Dakota Jazz Club, 10/6-10/7 Arts Music by Amy Donahue - October 3, 2018October 3, 2018 Davina Lozier of Davina and the Vagabonds at the piano. Photo by Garrett Born. One of the oft-trotted phrases in music criticism is "Jazz is dead." Like many popular aphorisms, it's a fun but false soundbyte. Don't believe me? Just try to buy same-day tickets to see local jazz blues band
REVIEW: Moving Solo Songbook Show by Kenny Barrons (Crooners) Arts Music by Brian Bix - October 3, 2018October 3, 2018 A publicity photo of jazz master Kenny Barron. Photo by Philippe Lévy-Stab. It has been a great week in the area for jazz piano, with Cyrus Chestnut leading a trio last week at Vieux Carre and Kenny Barron giving a magnificent solo performance last night at Crooners Lounge and Supper Club's Dunsmore
REVIEW: Faded Novelty, Enticing Melody in Once (Latté Da) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Dan Reiva - September 29, 2018September 29, 2018 Britta Olmann in Theater Latté Da's production of Once. Photo by Dan Norman. Once, I saw a play that was a romantic story about a Girl and Guy who make an unlikely couple connected by a love for music. The production was full of songs with folksy melodies played on guitar
REVIEW: A Sweet, Sweet Spirit with the Cyrus Chestnut Trio (Vieux Carré) Arts Music by Brian Bix - September 27, 2018September 29, 2018 The Cyrus Chestnut Trio featuring Buster Williams and Lenny White. Photo courtesy of the AMI Agency. Some consider Cyrus Chestnut the finest jazz pianist of this generation. Without a doubt, he is one of the most entertaining; last evening at Vieux Carré, he arrived boosted by two excellent recent albums (2017's There’s
NEWS: Crystal Manich to Take Reins at Mill City Summer Opera Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - September 26, 2018September 26, 2018 Today, Mill City Summer Opera announced the appointment of Crystal Manich as its new artistic director. Manich, a lauded stage director, will take the artistic reins for the company's 2019 season and direct its production of Mozart's Così fan Tutte. Read an interview with Crystal Manich on directing. Manich takes over
NEWS: The 2018 MN Theater Award Honorees Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre by Hanne Appelbaum - September 25, 2018September 25, 2018 The 2018 Minnesota Theater Awards took place on Monday, September 24 at ARIA in Minneapolis. Last night, the 2018 Minnesota Theater Awards party unfolded at Aria. Unusually, there were no award recipients announced – only honorees who had been nominated. In a typically Minnesotan development, the organizers announced last week that they