REVIEW: Ladysmith Black Mambazo Still Smithing Strong (State Theatre) Arts Music by Dan Reiva - February 12, 2017February 12, 2017 Photo by Luis Lea. Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s recent performance at the State Theatre was as much about educating the audience on the group’s African musical heritage as it was about entertainment. Most of the songs they performed were from their most recent album Walking in the Footsteps of Our Fathers, which
REVIEW: Mamma Mia! – The Last Tour (Orpheum Theatre) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - February 12, 2017February 12, 2017 Photo by Kevin Thomas Garcia. The vivacious spirit of ABBA has returned to the Orpheum Theatre in the form of the Broadway hit Mamma Mia! This is the megamusical's eighth run in Minneapolis and is reportedly the last tour for a while. (Proving that nature abhors a vacuum, an ABBA tribute band
PREVIEW: Minnesota Opera’s 2017-2018 Season Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - February 12, 2017March 11, 2017 One of the production designs for Minnesota Opera's November 2017 production of The Marriage of Figaro. Photo by Dana Sohm. Minnesota Opera formally announced its 2017-2018 season today. The slate of some of opera's greatest hits is sure to please even fans who were pulling hard for the company to continue its journey
NEWS: Nina Simone: Four Women Opens, Gets Extended (Park Square Theatre) Arts Music Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - February 11, 2017February 11, 2017 Regina Marie Williams in Nina Simone: Four Women. Photo by Tom Wallace. Park Square Theatre's revival of last season's Nina Simone: Four Women just opened last night, but the company has already extended the show's run by one week. Last year, the world premiere of this musical by Christina Ham sold out houses, leading to
INTERVIEW: A Dialogue with Dead Man Winter Arts Music by Ali O'Reilly - February 10, 2017February 10, 2017 I’m waiting in the Minnesota Public Radio lobby holding a baby that isn't mine when Dave Simonett takes the seat across from me and asks if it’s sleeping. At first, I don’t recognize the singer-songwriter, frontman of the long-celebrated folk-fixture Trampled By Turtles as Dead Man Winter. He’s with JT Bates, Erik Koskinen,
PREVIEW: Those Darn Sneetches – A Look at CTC’s Dr. Seuss Adaptation Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - February 8, 2017 Standleen (Natalie Tran) meets a crustacean in CTC's production of Dr. Seuss's The Sneetches: A Musical. Photo by Dan Norman. Way back in 1953, Dr. Seuss wrote a collection called The Sneetches and Other Stories. Fifty-four years later, a poll by the National Education Association ranked it as #1 on their Teachers' Top 100
INTERVIEW: Skylark Opera Theatre’s Bob Neu on The Tragedy of Carmen Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - February 7, 2017February 7, 2017 Tess Altiveros as Carmen in Skylark Opera Theatre's The Tragedy of Carmen. Photo by Elisabeth. Skylark Opera Theatre had some rough times in 2016, but the organization has regrouped, rebranded, and relaunched itself. On Friday, its 2017 season formally kicks off with the opening of The Tragedy of Carmen at the Midpointe Event Center
FEATURE: How to Score Lady Gaga Tickets Arts Music by Twin Cities Arts Reader - February 7, 2017February 7, 2017 Hot off her Superbowl LI half-time solo show, Lady Gaga announced the dates for her Joanne World Tour concert series on Monday. The Mother Monster herself is coming to St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center on August 21...but how can you score tickets? Not being able to buy tickets can be a
REVIEW: Reborn Flower Drum Song (Mu/Park Square) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - February 4, 2017February 4, 2017 Photo by Rich Ryan. It was particularly poignant that Mu Performing Arts and Park Square Theatre chose this past weekend to open their co-production of the musical Flower Drum Song with its story of immigrants and their assimilation into American life. This updated version of the 1950s musical by Richard Rodgers
INTERVIEW: Damon Runnals, Minnesota Playlist’s New Head Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - February 3, 2017February 10, 2017 Damon Runnals. On February 1, Damon Runnals became the head and owner of Minnesota Playlist, an online magazine that hosts artist profiles and functions as the state's central online clearinghouse for theatre audition notices. Runnals, who stepped down at the Southern Theater in October after spearheading the once-troubled theatre's financial and operational rebirth, is