INTERVIEW: Sami Pfeffer on Children’s Play and the Hideous Monster Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - February 28, 2018March 1, 2018 Playwright Sami Pfeffer in December 2017 while working on an Art Shanty Project. Tomorrow, Gadfly Theatre Productions will premiere Children's Play, a new theatrical work by Sami Pfeffer. This play for adult audiences explores melancholy and symptoms of mental health. Pfeffer spoke with the Arts Reader's Basil Considine about bringing this work to
NEWS: The Southern Theater’s New Leadership Arts Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - February 26, 2018 Today, The Southern Theater announced the selection of Janette Davis as its new acting Executive Director. The nonprofit theatre in Minneapolis's Cedar-Riverside neighborhood has been led by Interim Executive Director Jamie Schumacher for the past year; Schumacher succeeded Damon Runnals, who resigned in October 2016 to pursue other endeavors and ultimately
REVIEW: A Crack in the Sky and the Quiver of Truth (History Theatre) Arts Theatre by Amy Donahue - February 26, 2018March 14, 2018 Ahmed (M. Hajji Ahmed) meets Maya Angelou (Ashawnti Sakina Ford) in the History Theatre's A Crack in the Sky. Photo by Scott Pakudaitis. Not all paths lead where you expect. That's one of the takeaways from Ahmed Ismail Yusuf's striking new play A Crack in the Sky, which is now playing at the History
REVIEW: New Twist on The Pirates of Penzance (Park Square Theatre) Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre by Bev Wolfe - February 26, 2018February 26, 2018 Christina Baldwin (center) as the Major General in Park Square Theatre's The Pirates of Penzance. Photo by Petronella J. Ytsma. Park Square Theatre's current production of The Pirates of Penzance is a refreshing spin on the classic comic opera. This comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and lyrics by W.S. Gilbert premiered in New York City in
REVIEW: Dire Laughs and Send-Up in Two Mile Hollow (Mu Performing Arts/Mixed Blood) Arts Theatre by Amy Donahue - February 25, 2018February 25, 2018 A case of deadly ennui strikes a wealthy family in Two Mile Hollow. Pictured: Sun Mee Chomet, Eric Sharp, and Kathryn Fumie. Photo by Rich Ryan. One of Karl Marx's most famous soundbytes states that history repeats itself twice: first as tragedy, then as farce. Marx wrote this turn of phrase
NEWS: Silent Nights Return in Minnesota Opera’s 2018-2019 Season Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - February 20, 2018February 26, 2018 A scene from Minnesota Opera's 2011 production of Silent Night. Photo by Michal Daniel. Minnesota Opera announced its 2018-2019 season last night. The company, one of the ten largest opera companies in the United States, will produce five mainstage operas at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul, MN:
NEWS: Theatre Unbound Drops Wives’ Tale for Bard’s Tale Arts Theatre by Amy Donahue - February 18, 2018February 21, 2018 Illustration by Amy Donahue. Theatre Unbound's premiere of Christina Ham's A Wives' Tale is going to have to wait. With opening night just five weeks away, the script wasn't finished – and so Theatre Unbound announced today that A Wives' Tale will be replaced by a predominantly female production of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. This
REVIEW: Terrifying Assassins (Theater Latté Da) Arts Theatre by Bev Wolfe - February 18, 2018February 18, 2018 Dieter Bierbrauer as John Wilkes Booth in Theater Latté Da's production of the Sondheim musical Assassins. Photo by Dan Norman. “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life.” Oscar Wilde's words haunted me as I was finishing this review and learned the horrific news of the shooting in Broward County,
REVIEW: Moving Humanity in the Downtrod of The Humans (Orpheum/Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Theatre by Kit Bix - February 17, 2018February 17, 2018 The cast of the national tour of The Humans: Richard Thomas, Pamela Reed, Daisy Eagan, Luis Vega, and Therese Plaehn. Photo by Julieta Cervantes. To paraphrase Tolstoy, all dysfunctional families are not alike. This is a good thing, because there are an awful lot of American dramas that seem to revolve
REVIEW: Will They or Won’t They Slay in The Ravagers? (Savage Umbrella) Arts Theatre by Amy Donahue - February 15, 2018February 17, 2018 A promotional photo for Savage Umbrella's 2018 production of The Ravagers. Photo by Anna Schultz. It's been a long time since Savage Umbrella first presented its drama The Ravagers. If you look back at reviews of the premiere, you get insight into a different landscape of theatrical coverage - Ed Huyck