FEATURE: Jane Austen’s Living Legacy in Art Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - November 15, 2017November 15, 2017 A promotional image of the Élan Ensemble, a group performing music from Jane Austen's family's music collection. July 18, 2017 formally marked the bicentennial of Jane Austen's death. The milestone occasioned many literary, scholarly, and artistic endeavors across the world, exploring varied aspects of her legacy. While her works may now
REVIEW: Sister Act‘s Triumphant Return (Chanhassen Dinner Theatres) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - November 14, 2017November 14, 2017 Delores Van Cartier (Regina Marie Williams, center) "keeps a low profile" while on the run from the mob in Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' spirited revival of Sister Act. Photo by Heidi Bohnenkamp. Those darn singing nuns are at it again. Just when you think it's safe to go back to the convent, Chanhassen
REVIEW: Music, Laughter, Locked in a Closet: The Marriage of Figaro (Minnesota Opera) Arts Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - November 14, 2017June 24, 2018 Johanni van Oostrum as Countess Almaviva, Richard Ollarsaba as Figaro, Angela Mortellaro as Susanna, Jacques Imbrailo as Count Almaviva, Andres Acosta as Don Basilio, Nadia Fayad as Marcellina and Matt Boehler as Doctor Bartolo in Minnesota Opera’s The Marriage of Figaro. Photo by Dan Norman. Minnesota Opera's The Marriage of Figaro opened on
PREVIEW: Sparkling Waitress: The Musical Comes to Minneapolis (Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - November 14, 2017November 15, 2017 Ryan G. Dunkin and the cast of the National Tour of Waitress. Photo by Joan Marcus. There are two classic definitions of pornography: material that is designed to arouse the senses, and something that you know when you see it. As far as food porn goes, Waitress: The Musical matches those
REVIEW: The Grinch and the Who Steal the Show (Children’s Theatre Company) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - November 12, 2017November 13, 2017 The cast of the Children's Theatre Company 2017 production of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Photo by Kaitlin Randolph. There are two stand-out reasons to see Dr. Seuss's The Grinch Who Stole Christmas at the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. One is Reed Sigmund, whose portrayal of the titular
REVIEW: Another Look at Dracula‘s Bite (COLLIDE) Arts Dance by Bev Wolfe - November 12, 2017November 13, 2017 The cast of COLLIDE Theatrical Dance Company's Dracula. COLLIDE Theatrical Dance Company reprises its 2016 production of Dracula for the Halloween season at the Ritz Theatre. I decided to see it because I have been interested in Dracula-themed productions ever since I learned that my paternal grandfather was originally from Romania's Transylvania
REVIEW: The Privateer (Transatlantic Love Affair/Illusion) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - November 11, 2017November 13, 2017 John Stephens, Antonio Duke, Heather Bunch, Nora Montañez, China Brickley, Allison Witham, and Eric Marinus in Transatlantic Love Affair's The Privateer. Photo by Lauren B Photography. If you're a scholar of high seas piracy, you might not like everything that you see in Transatlantic Love Affair's The Privateer. The piece is engaging, dynamic, and very humorous
REVIEW: Sensitive Movings, Nuanced Beauty in The Band’s Visit (NYC/Broadway) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - November 10, 2017November 11, 2017 Dina (Katrina Lenk) and Tewfiq (Tony Shahoub) metaphorically cross international lines. Photo by Matt Murphy. The Band's Visit is a verismo tale about intercultural dialogue, hospitality, and the search for happiness. The musical (which opened last night at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York City) is intimate in focus, charming in
REVIEW: Finding Neverland (National Tour/Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Dan Reiva - November 5, 2017November 20, 2017 The cast of Finding Neverland. Photo by Jeremy Daniel. If you have loved the story of Peter Pan since childhood, it’s only natural to love the musical Finding Neverland as well. The national tour of Finding Neverland, which closes at the Orpheum Theatre today, is sparkling, whimsical, and fantasy-filled. To say that the
PREVIEW: One-Third of a Nation: The Doom of the Federal Theatre Project Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - November 5, 2017November 5, 2017 A tenement apartment burns in the opening scene of One-Third of a Nation in the play's original 1938 production. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress. It's easy to see why the 76th Congress was upset with the play One-Third of a Nation. On the eve of World War II, fascist movements across