PREVIEW: The Look of Tosca Arts Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - March 11, 2016 Scarpia (Stephen Powell) revels in his diabolical plan. Photo by Dan Norman. Minnesota Opera's Tosca opens tomorrow. Here's a look at the production and the gorgeous sets and costumes by Lorenzo Cutùli; all photos by Dan Norman.
REVIEW: If/Then = Yes/But (Orpheum Theatre) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - March 9, 2016March 11, 2016 It's entirely possible that you'll leave If/Then (now playing at the Orpheum Theatre) without any certainty about what actually went on onstage. The basic schtick of this show is to play out the "what ifs" at different decision points, but it's not always clear where one version of events begins and ends. This
REVIEW: Katherine Ferrand Rules the Seance in Old Log’s Blithe Spirit Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - March 8, 2016June 24, 2018 The living cast of Blithe Spirit gets a surprise visitor (Elvira, played by Summer Hagen, right) from beyond. You sometimes wonder what was going on in theaters in the age just before television. In London, enough British lords started marrying chorus girls to inspire a whole slew of P.G. Wodehouse characters, repertory
PREVIEW: Women of Substance Festival (St. Catherine University) Arts Dance Lifestyle Music Theatre Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - March 3, 2016March 3, 2016 The year 2016 has many milestones, but in the case of St. Catherine's University it marks the 20th anniversary of the university's celebrated Women of Substance Series. For two decades, this series has brought a brilliant succession of work by and featuring women to St. Paul, filling the O'Shaughnessy with innovative and
REVIEW: Iolanthe Hilarious, Lovely (GSVLOC) Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - February 28, 2016February 28, 2016 Sort-of-maybe-star-crossed lovers The Lord Chancellor (Scott Benson), Phyllis (Sarah Wind Richens), and Strephon (Eric Sargent). 2015 was a good year for Gilbert & Sullivan fans in the Twin Cities. In a typical year, they might expect to see just one or two performances; in 2015, they got three: H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and Trial
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