REVIEW: Protest, Subversion, Innuendo in Ex-Gays (Savage Umbrella) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - September 27, 2017September 27, 2017 The cast of Savage Umbrella's Ex-Gays: Not a Str8 Remount. Photo courtesy of Savage Umbrella. I was immediately offended when I first walked into Savage Umbrella's Ex-Gays: Not a Str8 Remount. I'm glad that I stayed. The reasons for my offense were two-fold: an oft-over-used Sanskrit greeting at the door that should be
NEWS: 2017 Ivey Award Recipients Announced Arts Dance Music Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - September 26, 2017 A Staged Expression, featuring Ryan Colbert and Traci Allen Shannon. Photo by William Clark Photography. Last night, the 2017 Ivey Awards for professional theatre were announced at the State Theatre in Minneapolis, MN. Highlights included performances by a variety of companies that had previously won Ivey Awards, as well as a
REVIEW: The Abominables Takes a Musical Swing at Hockey (Children’s Theatre Company) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - September 25, 2017September 25, 2017 A reporter (Stephanie Bertumen) catches a Yeti (Ryan Colbert) on the ice in The Abominables, now playing at the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. Photo by Dan Norman. The Abominables, a new musical playing at the Children’s Theatre Company, is an entertaining story about acceptance, team work, and the belief that
REVIEW: The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Comes to Minnesota (Orchestra Hall) Arts Music by Brian Bix - September 25, 2017September 25, 2017 A photo collage of the current Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra roster. One of the pleasures of being a jazz fan is hearing great musicians in small club settings where the feel is intimate and many of the seats are just a few feet away from the stars. Occasionally, though, there
INTERVIEW: Crystal Manich on Directing Tosca in Boston (Boston Lyric Opera) Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - September 24, 2017September 25, 2017 Opera director Crystal Manich. Photo by Laura Marie Duncan Photography. Boston Lyric Opera's new production of Tosca, a co-production with Opera Omaha, opens October 13 at the historic Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston. Its director is Crystal Manich, a vibrant force in the world of opera stage directors. Over the last decade,
REVIEW: Superb In the Heights Runs to the Finish (Ordway) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - September 22, 2017September 22, 2017 Debra Cardona stars as Abuela Claudia in the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts production of In the Heights. Photo by Rich Ryan. The biggest thing wrong with the Ordway's production of In the Heights is that it's only running for two weeks. This powerhouse production deserves a much longer run, with
REVIEW: Stellar, Magnificent Aladdin Tour (Orpheum/Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - September 20, 2017September 20, 2017 The Genie (Anthony Murphy) gives Aladdin the friendship sell in "Friend Like Me" in the national tour of Aladdin. Photo by Deen van Meer. There's a song in Aladdin with a well-known lyric: "You never had a friend like me." Well, you've never seen a show like this – the Broadway tour of Aladdin is
INTERVIEW: Sam Graber on Creating mONSTER Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - September 20, 2017September 19, 2017 On September 29, Swandive Theatre premieres Sam Graber's play mONSTER at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis. This play is set entirely in a college dorm room in August 1994, during what's billed as "the dark beginnings of the World Wide Web." Some of the play's themes include the mechanics of
REVIEW: SPCO’s Season Opener Arts Music by Basil Considine - September 19, 2017September 19, 2017 The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in a 2015 performance. Photo by Ash & James Photography. Sunday's SPCO concert began with a series of rambling and entirely unnecessary political remarks. It has become something of a fashion to use the podium in this manner, to which one might simply say that this
PHOTOS: Leslie Vincent at the Troubadour Wine Bar Arts Music by Twin Cities Arts Reader - September 18, 2017October 13, 2017 Brian Pekol, Leslie Vincent, Emily Dussault, and Jordan Hedlund performing at the Troubadour Wine Bar in Minneapolis. Photo by Basil Considine. Uptown Minneapolis is gentrifying like crazy, but it still has a few comfortable, cozy spots to enjoy wine and music that won't make your ears bleed. One of these is