REVIEW: Disturbing Depths in Blackbird (Dark and Stormy) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - December 28, 2018December 28, 2018 Una (Sara Marsh) and Ray (Luverne Seifert)'s discomforting reunion in Dark & Stormy's production of Blackbird. Photo by Rick Spaulding. It's been a decade since Blackbird took home London's Olivier Award for Best New Play. The current staging by Dark & Stormy Productions, now playing at the Grain Belt Warehouse in
INTERVIEW: Actor McKinnley Aitchison on Tenor Problems and Resolutions Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - December 28, 2018December 28, 2018 Melanie Wehrmacher and McKinnley Aitchison in the Old Log Theatre production of Lend Me a Tenor. Photo courtesy of the Old Log Theatre. Down at the Old Log Theatre, the Cast & Cru restaurant is dishing out desserts like the Berry Macaron Melange. What is this dairy-free, gluten-free treat, you say? Just
REVIEW: Uproarious Family Drama in The Wickhams (Jungle Theater) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - December 27, 2018December 27, 2018 Cassie (Roshni Desai), one of the staff at Mr. and Mrs. Darcy's Pemberley estate lights a candle as the holidays return to Jane Austen's world. Photo by Rich Ryan. If you're wondering how big a deal Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice is some two centuries after its publication, consider the
REVIEW: The Last Cantus Concert (Of the Year) Arts Music by Basil Considine - December 26, 2018December 31, 2018 A promotional photo of Cantus. Cantus brought its 2018 performances to a close on Sunday with the final installment (for now) of its Christmas with Cantus concerts. The performance featured an array of classic music, some more contemporary numbers such as Joni Mitchell's "The River", and a new vocal work by Catherine Dalton. That
AWARDS: The Inaugural Spice Awards in the Performing Arts Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Hanne Appelbaum - December 25, 2018December 28, 2018 It's been a whiplash year for awards and the Twin Cities performing arts scene. In fact, it's just been a whiplash year, period. In 2018, allegations of sexual assault and other misbehavior emerged at several local arts organizations. Cornerstone organizations such as Intermedia Arts and the Soap Factory remain shuttered
PREVIEW: Welcome to Fight Night Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - December 20, 2018December 20, 2018 An array of characters from Theatre Coup d'Etat's Fight Night performance series. Photos by Craig James Hostetler. If you saw a poster that said "Celebrity Deathmatch meets Highlander" and promised characters from Miley Cyrus to Darth Vader fighting it out with words, axes, knives, bricks, bats, hand-to-hand, and rubber chickens, you'd probably have a lot
REVIEW: The Memorable Return of Les Miserables (Orpheum/Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Brian Bix - December 19, 2018December 19, 2018 The cast of the national touring company of Les Miserables takes to the barricades. Photo by Matthew Murphy. In 1832 in Paris, at a time of growing inequality, the funeral procession for a popular public figure led to an eruption of violence. Hundreds died fighting at makeshift barricades with stolen weapons.
INTERVIEW: Becca Hart on Jungles, Spoonfulls of Sugar, and Returning to the Wolfpack Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - December 17, 2018December 18, 2018 The cast of the Jungle Theater's 2018 and 2019 productions of The Wolves. Photo by Dan Norman. The Jungle Theater's hit 2018 production of Sarah DeLappe's The Wolves is coming howling back in 2019. In a bit of sleight of hand, however, the January 31-February 17 revival jumps from the company's longtime home in Uptown
PHOTOS: Lend Me a Tenor at the Old Log Theatre Arts Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - December 15, 2018December 16, 2018 Parallel lives (for an evening) in the Old Log Theatre's production ofLend Me a Tenor: Max (David Beukema) and Tito Merelli (Luke Davidson)'s lives become unexpectedly mirrored. Photo courtesy of the Old Log Theatre. Out Excelsior-way, the Old Log Theatre has been playing Lend Me a Tenor. This is the play
INTERVIEW: Catherine Dalton and Rough Cuts at Nautilus Music-Theater Arts Dance Music by Basil Considine - December 14, 2018December 14, 2018 A blue background. Today, the term "rough cut" generally refers to an early draft of an edit for audio or video recordings. The term, however, comes to us from sewing and cooking, which used the term freely in the 19th century before A/V recording was even a glimmer in an inventor's