REVIEW: Zesty, Dirty Avenue Q (Chameleon Theatre Circle) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 11, 2016October 11, 2016 It's always fun to watch a completely unprepared theatre audience realize just what they bought tickets to. Such a scene unfolded on Saturday night at the Ames Center in Burnsville, when about half of the audience learned that Avenue Q is a) a Sesame Street parody, and b) definitely not a comedy for little
PHOTOS: The Last Firefly (Children’s Theatre Company) Arts Theatre Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - October 10, 2016October 10, 2016 Boom (Ricardo Vazquez) and Lightning (Stephanie Bertumen) fight in The Last Firefly. Photo by Dan Norman. Epic action might not be what you think of with children's theatre, but even a cursory look at The Last Firefly (currently playing at the Children's Theatre Company) will show you otherwise. Here's a look at this striking
REVIEW: Queen (Heart of the Beast) Arts Theatre Visual Arts by Dan Reiva - October 9, 2016October 9, 2016 Photo by Bruce Silcox. A boy is shot on a neighborhood street in the midst of the inner city. He was shot and killed even though he had a grandmother who considered him to be her holy child. Her adorning love did not protect the child in that one, tragic moment. In
REVIEW: Fanciful Camelot Rides Again (Chanhassen Dinner Theatres) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - October 8, 2016October 8, 2016 Photo by Heidi Bohnenkamp. First the original, then the dark and edgy, now the whimsical. The Camelot that opened last night at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres is several steps removed from the original version that opened on Broadway in 1960, winning 4 Tony Awards and running for a then-stellar 873 performances. It is not at
BREAKING NEWS: Executive Director of the Minnesota Fringe Festival Steps Down Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - October 5, 2016 Last Friday, the New York International Fringe Festival announced that it was closing for a year to re-evaluate its institutional priorities and directions. The Minnesota Fringe Festival's riposte today was less seismic, but still a significant change for one of the anchors of the Twin Cities performing arts scene. Executive
NEWS: Skylark Opera’s Revival Plan Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - October 5, 2016October 6, 2016 Cecilia Violetta Lopez and Won Whi Choi in Skylark Opera's 2015 production of Puccini's La Rondine. Photo by Matt Bellin. Last spring, Skylark Opera astonished Twin Cities opera fans with a sudden announcement that its 36th season was not to be. In a March 18 letter to subscribers, President Carrie Wesley wrote, "Skylark is
REVIEW: Still Resonant Ragtime (Latté Da) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - October 3, 2016October 3, 2016 A police action and protest turn violent in Latté Da's production of Ragtime. Photo by Dan Norman. Is musical theatre relevant or mere entertainment? The musical Ragtime deals with immigration, economic disparity, and the killing of unarmed blacks by police. Although Ragtime is a period drama set in the United States near the start of
REVIEW: Hill House Overrun by Disturbia in Bluebeard’s Dollhouse (Combustible Company) Arts Theatre by Lydia Lunning - October 2, 2016October 2, 2016 Photo by Kym Longhi. Although many things were doubtless envisioned when the James J. Hill House was constructed, a future as a go-to place for site-specific theatre was probably not one of them. Nevertheless, this Gilded Age mansion has taken on a new face at night as theatre companies increasingly explore
REVIEW: Waiting and Missing Waiting for Waiting for Godot (Loudmouth Collective) Arts Theatre by Dan Reiva - October 1, 2016October 2, 2016 Photo by Justin D. Gallo Photography. The concept of a character waiting for Waiting for Godot rather intrigued me. When I heard the Loudmouth Collective was presenting a play with that title at the Open Eye Figure Theatre space, I simply had to see it. Ironically, I arrived an hour early
REVIEW: Toruk: The First Flight (Cirque du Soleil / Target Center) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - September 29, 2016September 29, 2016 Photo by Lawrence Erisson. TORUK - The First Flight opened last night at Target Center in Minneapolis. The latest show from Cirque du Soleil is a tour de force of visual design paired with elaborate acrobatics, dancing, and magical transformation after magical transformation. It's also a brilliant showcase of the world from James