INTERVIEW: David Cote and Adapting a Children’s Classic The Scarlet Ibis Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - January 14, 2019January 16, 2019 A page from the libretto of David Cote and Stefan Weisman's opera The Scarlet Ibis, which opens Thursday in Cambridge, MA in a production by Boston Opera Collaborative. January may be a frigid stormy time in much of the United States, but it's a florid time for new opera in the
REVIEW: Dementia’s Taunts in The Father (Gremlin Theatre) Arts Theatre by Dan Reiva - January 14, 2019January 14, 2019 The calm before the storm: Craig Johnson (center), Miriam Schwartz (rear-left), and Peter Christian Hansen (background-right) in Gremlin Theatre's production of The Father. Photo by Alyssa Kristine. The Father, now playing at Gremlin Theatre, is an engrossing play about a man in his sixties suffering from dementia and his daughter's efforts
INTERVIEW: Singer-Songwriter-Actor Emily Dussault – Gone Missing, Champagne Drops, and Songwriting Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - January 12, 2019August 13, 2019 The cast of Theatre Elision's production of Gone Missing in rehearsal. On Thursday, 1/17, Theatre Elision opens its production of the musical Gone Missing. This is the Minnesota premiere of a 2003 musical by the late composer Michael Friedman (The Abominables, Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson) and book writer Steve Cosson. An
REVIEW: Whence Cometh These Sweet Sounds? Marie and Rosetta (Park Square Theatre) Arts Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - January 9, 2019January 15, 2019 Rajané Katurah Brown (as Marie) and Jamecia Bennett (as Rosetta) in Park Square Theatre's production of Marie and Rosetta. Photo by Petronella J. Ytsma. Rosetta Tharpe was a swinging gospel music star who also played rocking secular music. A well-known name during World War II, she was a major influence on a variety
REVIEW: Classic Farce in Lend Me A Tenor (Old Log Theatre) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - January 4, 2019January 12, 2019 Opera Guild Chairwoman Julia (Melanie Wehrmacher) meets with Tito Merelli (Luke Davidson), the famous opera star – or is he? – in the Old Log Theatre's production of Lend Me a Tenor. Photo courtesy of the Old Log Theatre. Ken Ludwig's Lend Me a Tenor owes a lot to P.G. Wodehouse's Bertie
INTERVIEW: NYC’s PROTOTYPE Festival Leaders Talk New Opera and Music-Theatre Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - January 3, 2019January 3, 2019 A promotional image for The Infinite Hotel at the NYC PROTOTYPE Festival of new operas. Artwork based on photos by Matthew Soltesz and Rachel Shane. Minnesota has long had a tradition of artistic leadership, influence, and practice beyond its borders. Whether in choral or popular music (or the odd Grammy-nominated orchestra
PHOTOS: A Look at The Father at Gremlin Theatre Arts Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - January 3, 2019January 3, 2019 Craig Johnson and Olivia Wilusz in Gremlin Theatre's production of The Father. Photo by Alyssa Kristine. Tonight, Gremlin Theatre's production of Florian Zeller's The Father opens in St. Paul. This play, originally written in French and translated by Christopher Hampton, is a darkly humorous exploration of the ravages of dementia. The play's
REVIEW: Miracle at Christmas Lake‘s Joyous Return (Yellow Tree Theatre) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - December 31, 2018January 3, 2019 Mary Fox, Miriam Monasch, Ryan Nelson, Jessie Rae Rayle, and Jason Peterson in Yellow Tree Theatre's production of Miracle at Christmas Lake. Photo by Justin Cox. The first year that Yellow Tree opened, it lost its rights to its planned holiday show and theatre co-founder Jessica Lind wrote an original show,
REVIEW: Baked Holidays at Angels We Have Heard Are High (Brave New Workshop) Arts Music Theatre by Amy Donahue - December 28, 2018December 28, 2018 A promotional photo for Brave New Workshop's holiday production, Angels We Have Heard Are High. Photo by Dani Werner. Holidays bring snacks, stress, and (often) self-medication. Brave New Workshop's current holiday show throws these together as Angels We Have Heard Are High (O Holy Crap!). As the title suggests, the "baked" part
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