REVIEW: Ruby! The Story of Ruby Bridges (Steppingstone Theatre) Arts Theatre by Bev Wolfe - February 27, 2016February 27, 2016 The history of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s is the story of individuals who, at great personal sacrifice, challenged the racial segregation practices in this country. Steppingstone Theatre’s production of Ruby! The Story of Ruby Bridges spotlights the quiet courage of one such individual: a six-year
REVIEW: A Heart-Thrumming Chorus Line (Ordway) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - February 26, 2016February 26, 2016 The cast of the Ordway's A Chorus Line. Photo by Rich Ryan. A Chorus Line is one of a very small number of large-cast musicals still performed by major companies. It features no fewer than 17 principals, 15 of whose job is to make you care about them and root for their being
PREVIEW: Nina Simone: Four Women (Park Square) Arts Music Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - February 26, 2016February 26, 2016 Nina Simone at a concert in Morlaix, France, May 1982. Did you like what you saw of Regina Marie Williams at the 2015 Ivey Awards? Did you love the Regina-Christina combo and think it deserved a sequel? If so, you might want to be grabbing a set of tickets for the world
RELAY: The Broadway…Ab Connection Arts Music Theatre by Hanne Appelbaum - February 26, 2016February 26, 2016 A promotional photo of James Craven for the 2015 Ivey Awards. Photo by William Clark; note the lack of abs, flesh, and eroticization compared to the links below. Several of the largest and most-established theatre companies in the Twin Cities holding both local and New York casting sessions. What do companies
REVIEW: Gypsy Takes Pantages (Latté Da) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Lydia Lunning - February 22, 2016February 23, 2016 Mama Rose (Michelle Barber) confronts reality and the ghost light of a darkened theatre. Photo by George Byron Griffiths. Audience members at the Pantages in Downtown Minneapolis last Saturday night were absolutely enamored with Theater Latté Da and Hennepin Theatre Trust’s production of Gypsy, directed by Peter Rothstein. The 1959 musical adaptation
PARIS REVIEW: Le Portrait de Dorian Gray (Lucernaire/Théâtre Rouge) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - February 20, 2016March 23, 2017 There aren't too many theatrical stops on the typical American in Paris tourist itinerary. It's not uncommon for tourists to visit the Opéra-Garnier, and perhaps see a show at the Moulin Rouge, but by and large they're missing out on a vital part of Parisian nightlife. Paris is home to more
REVIEW: Thrilling Horror in La Dame Blanche (PARIS: Théâtre du Palais-Royal) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - February 16, 2016November 26, 2017 You might not think about Paris as a theatre destination, but the French capital is home to more than a hundred professional theatres. If you speak even a little conversational French, it's worth checking it out. La Dame blanche ("The White Lady"), now playing at the Théâtre du Palais-Roy al, is not about
GENERAL ADVISORY: Snow Emergency and Show Cancellations Arts Dance Lifestyle Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - February 2, 2016 The Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have declared snow emergencies for Tuesday, February 2. In addition to the normal travel and parking advisories, the staff of the Twin Cities Arts Reader would like to remind you to check before heading out to an evening's entertainment. Although some performing arts organizations
REVIEW: Lush Rusalka Delights (Minnesota Opera) Arts Music Opera Theatre by Lydia Lunning - January 24, 2016March 11, 2017 Minnesota Opera’s production of Antonín Dvořák’s Rusalka, with soprano Kelly Kaduce in the title role, has returned to the Ordway after its premiere in 2008. This fairy tale opera had not appeared in United States until the mid-1970s, but this richly textured staging and Dvořák’s full-bodied score should be an
INTERVIEW: Costume Designer Raquel Barreto Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - January 23, 2016January 24, 2016 Raquel Barreto's costume designs in the 2016 staging of Pericles at the Guthrie Theatre. Photo by Jenny Graham. It's been 25 years since the Guthrie Theater's artistic director Joseph Haj first staged the Shakespearean play Pericles, Prince of Tyre. The production that opened last night at the Guthrie is the third incarnation of a critically