FEATURE: Provocative Ideas at ASTR Conference Arts Lifestyle Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - November 4, 2016November 4, 2016 Kellen Hoxworth of Stanford University presents his paper "Transoceanic Blackface; or, The Silver Belt Jig" at ASTR 2016. The early morning session at an academic conference is usually considered the kiss of death for attendance, but more than 150 people showed up for the opening plenary on Day 2 of the
LIVE FEED: Tweets from the American Society for Theatre Research Conference Arts Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - November 3, 2016November 4, 2016 The American Society for Theatre Research is meeting in Minneapolis at the Marriott City Center from Thursday, November 3-Sunday, November 6. Wondering what's going on but don't have time to read the program? There are performances, sessions on viral videos, papers on the gendering of ideas and performance, discussions of
NEWS: Jungle Theater Announces 2017 Season Arts Music Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - October 21, 2016October 22, 2016 Anna in the Tropics. Photo by William Clark. The Jungle Theater has announced its 2017 season. The five shows are: Nilo Cruz's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Anna in the Tropics. Opens 2/11/17. Josh Tobiessen's comedy Lone Star Spirits. Opens 4/8/17. Will Connolly, Michael Mitnick, and Kim Rosenstock's Drama Desk-nominated Fly By Night:
INTERVIEW: The Last Days of Bedlam, with Maren Ward Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 21, 2016October 21, 2016 When news broke yesterday of the November 2 closure of Bedlam Lowertown, it didn't take long for Bedlam Theatre's Lowertown and general Facebook pages to start filling up with tributes, thank yous, and laments. Amidst the aftershocks, the scramble to rebook acts, and the general unhappiness, the Twin Cities Arts
REVIEW: Pleasing Die Fledermaus (St. Olaf College) Arts Music Opera Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - October 21, 2016December 1, 2016 Note: This is a review of Cast B from St. Olaf's production of Die Fledermaus. St. Olaf College's barebones staging of Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus is light on set pieces, high on boudoir comedy, and filled with pleasant musical performances. Dale Kruse conducts a chamber sextet that adds a little oomph compared
BREAKING NEWS: Bedlam Lowertown to Close Nov. 2 Arts Dance Lifestyle Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 20, 2016October 20, 2016 The Bedlam Lowertown storefront. Photo by Rachel Stocker. On May 31, 2014, Bedlam Theatre formally opened its new home in St. Paul, the succinctly named Bedlam Lowertown. On November 2, 2016, Bedlam Lowertown will close. In an email sent to Bedlam newsletter subscribers, the organization cited construction delays, cost overruns, and overwhelming
REVIEW: Roundabout’s Cabaret Packs Roundhouse Kick (Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 19, 2016October 20, 2016 Andrea Goss as Sally Bowles and the Kit Kat Girls (Gayle Rankin, Kaleigh Cronin, Kristin Olness, Jessica Pariseau, Kelly Paredes, and Stacey Sipowicz). The Hennepin Theatre Trust opened its 2016-2017 Bank of America Broadway on Hennepin Season on Tuesday (say that three times fast) with a smash production of Cabaret developed
REVIEW: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (Washington, DC: UrbanArias) Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - October 19, 2016July 11, 2017 On Saturday in Washington, DC, UrbanArias opened The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. It was a splendid production of an opera that is unfortunately unlikely to play in the Twin Cities any time soon. Note: This review has been updated to correct the name of the conductor. One of
REVIEW: Touching Parchman Hour Cometh (Guthrie) Arts Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - October 19, 2016October 19, 2016 The cast of the Guthrie Theater's The Parchman Hour. Photo by Dan Norman. The Guthrie Theater's production of The Parchman Hour is a socially significant play detailing the outrageously brutal treatment of the Freedom Riders in 1961 as they rode in integrated Greyhound buses through the deep South. Patrick McGregor directs Mike
NEWS: Southern Theater Executive Director Steps Down Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 19, 2016October 20, 2016 The Southern Theater in 2010. Photo by Tony Webster; used in accordance with the CC BY-SA 3.0 license. The Southern Theater's Executive Director Damon Runnals is stepping down on October 29. This latest step in a round of reshuffling and transitions in the Twin Cities theatre scene marks the end of an 8-year tenure at the