INTERVIEW: On Orphans and Orphan Trains – A Chat with the History Theatre’s Ron Peluso and Anya Kremenetsky Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - November 13, 2016November 13, 2016 A group of orphans with their chaperones in New York City's Grand Central Station in 1923, prior to being sent to Minnesota. On Saturday, November 19, the History Theatre opens its holiday revival of Orphan Train, a critically praised musical about orphan children from New York City who were shipped off
INTERVIEW: Shoot the Glass’s Ryan Nielsen on Company Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - November 9, 2016November 12, 2016 The cast of Shoot the Glass Theater's upcoming production of Company. Tomorrow, Shoot the Glass Theater opens its second-ever production: Stephen Sondheim's classic 1970 musical Company. This show, which plays at the New Century Theatre in Minneapolis through Sunday, November 20th, was lauded at its premiere for its exploration of changing
FEATURE: Anti-Women’s Suffrage Cartoons Arts Lifestyle Music Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - November 8, 2016November 8, 2016 Today is Election Day in the United States, when Americans cast votes for presidential, congressional, state, and local elections. Art and politics are rarely separated for long; one form of art, editorial cartoons, feature a long history of engagement with politics. One of the fallacies often said of art is that
FEATURE: Provocative Ideas at ASTR Conference Arts Lifestyle Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - November 4, 2016November 4, 2016 Kellen Hoxworth of Stanford University presents his paper "Transoceanic Blackface; or, The Silver Belt Jig" at ASTR 2016. The early morning session at an academic conference is usually considered the kiss of death for attendance, but more than 150 people showed up for the opening plenary on Day 2 of the
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
REVIEW: Joan Baez (State Theatre) Music by Bev Wolfe - October 30, 2016October 30, 2016 Joan Baez, an icon of the folk music scene for the past 55 years, returned to the Twin Cities this week with a concert at the State Theatre. Coming out to greet her audience, Baez generated loud cheers when she revealed her “Nasty Woman” Tee shirt and her “Bad Hombre”
REVIEW: Pleasing Palettes Painting Joni (Ordway) Arts Music by Lydia Lunning - October 24, 2016October 24, 2016 Photo by Bonni Allen. Sometimes there is nothing better on a Sunday evening than sitting back with a few friends, listening to great music, and swapping stories about your favorite artists. This easy Sunday vibe is exactly the intimate environment Lori Dokken and company achieved with Painting Joni: Celebrating the Music
NEWS: Jungle Theater Announces 2017 Season Arts Music Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - October 21, 2016October 22, 2016 Anna in the Tropics. Photo by William Clark. The Jungle Theater has announced its 2017 season. The five shows are: Nilo Cruz's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Anna in the Tropics. Opens 2/11/17. Josh Tobiessen's comedy Lone Star Spirits. Opens 4/8/17. Will Connolly, Michael Mitnick, and Kim Rosenstock's Drama Desk-nominated Fly By Night:
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
REVIEW: Pleasing Die Fledermaus (St. Olaf College) Arts Music Opera Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - October 21, 2016December 1, 2016 Note: This is a review of Cast B from St. Olaf's production of Die Fledermaus. St. Olaf College's barebones staging of Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus is light on set pieces, high on boudoir comedy, and filled with pleasant musical performances. Dale Kruse conducts a chamber sextet that adds a little oomph compared