REVIEW: Excess and Glitter in Thaïs (Minnesota Opera) Arts Music Opera Theatre by Amy Donahue - May 27, 2018June 24, 2018 Gerard Schneider as Nicias, Kelly Kaduce as Thaïs, and Lucas Meachem as Athanaël with the cast of Thaïs. Photo by Cory Weaver. Sometimes, going to the theatre means checking your attitudes at the door. There's a certain market for pieces that have been edited to be politically correct and/or align with
REVIEW: Mixed Midtown Men (Ordway) Arts Music by Bev Wolfe - May 24, 2018May 24, 2018 This retrospective review looks back on the Midtown Men (above)'s performance last month at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. I attended The Midtown Men at the Ordway Concert Hall the same week I saw Jersey Boys for the first time. When I arrived at the concert it, seemed to
REVIEW: Rapid Laughs in Lord Gordon Gordon (History Theatre) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - May 21, 2018May 21, 2018 The cast of the History Theatre's Lord Gordon Gordon. Photo by Scott Pakudaitis. A fast moving evening of comedy and song awaits all who attend Lord Gordon Gordon (the name repetition is not a typo) at the History Theatre. It is the third collaboration between Jeffrey Hatcher (who wrote the book)
PREVIEW: Cirque Goes to the Movies (MN Orchestra) Arts Dance Music by Twin Cities Arts Reader - May 16, 2018May 21, 2018 A photo collage of Cirque de la Symphonie in action. Love a live orchestra, wish there was more to look at? Then the Minnesota Orchestra's upcoming weekend concerts are just what the doctor ordered. The program Cirque Goes to the Movies mixes two great things: the orchestra's popular film music series and
REVIEW: Arturo Sandoval, Trumpet Grandmaster (Dakota) Arts Music by Brian Bix - May 15, 2018May 15, 2018 A promotional photo of jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval. Last night, the trumpeter Arturo Sandoval played at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis. Over the course of the evening, he showcased his versatility in a performance filled with the charisma that attracts top-quality stars to his recording albums. Sandoval's new album Ultimate Duets!
FEATURE: On the Sweet, Seductive Decadence in Minnesota Opera’s Thaïs Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - May 11, 2018June 24, 2018 A scene from Jules Massenet and Anatole France's classic opera Thaïs, opening tomorrow at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul, MN. Photo by Cory Weaver. Thaïs opens tomorrow at Minnesota Opera. The opera features some of the most beautiful music ever written, notably the famous Meditation (see below)
PREVIEW: Five Fifths of the Matrix Runs Down the Rabbit Hole (Minnesota Fringe) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - April 29, 2018April 29, 2018 A promotional image for Five Fifths of The Matrix. On Monday, May 7, the Minnesota Fringe Festival rings in its approaching silver anniversary with the latest installment of its annual Five Fifths fundraiser. Each year, the festival selects a new movie to parody and riff on; this year, executive director Dawn Bentley
BREAKING NEWS: Iowa Soprano 1 of 5 Winners at Met Opera Grand Finals Concert Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - April 29, 2018April 29, 2018 Soprano Jessica Faselt (right) during the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions at Bethel University in March. Photo courtesy of the Met National Council Upper Midwest Region. The votes are in for the final round of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. The five winners, chosen based on their performances in the
REVIEW: The Lorax‘s Striking Cautionary Tale (Children’s Theatre Company) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Bev Wolfe - April 28, 2018April 28, 2018 The ensemble of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, now playing at the Children's Theatre Company. Photo by Dan Norman. “[U]nless someone likes you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” These words sum up the essence of the Children’s Theatre Company’s current musical production of the Dr.
REVIEW: Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons Are Back in Jersey Boys (Orpheum/HTT) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - April 27, 2018April 27, 2018 Chris Stevens, Corey Greenan, Jonny Wexler, and Tommaso Antico as Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons in the national tour of Jersey Boys. Photo by Joan Marcus. The excitement of the Broadway touring company playing this week at the Orpheum Theatre demonstrates why Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Valli &