REVIEW: Old Log’s Wedding Singer = Fun Retro Trip Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - November 23, 2015June 24, 2018 The Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore film The Wedding Singer was a surprise hit in 1998. Its stage adaptation landed on Broadway in 2006 and was less so, running for just 284 performances – quite respectable 40 years ago, but much less than stellar with current Broadway economics. The show was hailed as generally appealing,
REVIEW: Beautiful = Beautiful Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - November 19, 2015November 19, 2015 Carole King (Abby Mueller) busts out in "Natural Woman." Background: (L to R) Britney Coleman, Sarah Bockel and Ashley Blanchet. Photo by Joan Marcus. On Wednesday, the Hennepin Theatre Trust opened two related but very different affairs. One was the branding launch of WeDo™, the recently christened West Downtown Cultural District
REVIEW: Silent Movie Magic Flute Extravaganza Still Has It Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - November 18, 2015November 20, 2015 It's been a year and a half since Minnesota Opera opened its striking and iconoclastic take on The Magic Flute. This production wowed audiences, who came in droves; at the time, the two-week run was the best-selling show in the company's 41-year history (it was dethroned by last spring's Carmen). Not everyone
REVIEW: emilie/eurydice (Transatlantic Love Affair) Arts Dance Theatre by Basil Considine - November 16, 2015November 18, 2015 Transatlantic Love Affair's emilie/eurydice is a difficult show to describe. This is not due to a particular complexity of plot – the scenario is fairly straightforward – but due to the impossibility of pinning what makes this show so moving on a single part. Many elements that by themselves might have
REVIEW: The Night Alive (Jungle Theater) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - November 10, 2015November 16, 2015 There's a surprising amount of violence in The Night Alive, Conor McPherson's new play at the Jungle Theater, given that the piece is fundamentally a situational comedy. A bit of a black comedy at times, yes, but the show having a body count matching Sister Act is just one of the unexpected things
REVIEW: The Wizard of Oz (Children’s Theatre Company) Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - November 8, 2015November 16, 2015 The Wizard of Oz is a show that needs no introduction, so let's dive right into some of the elements that make the current Children's Theatre Company production the endearing gem that it is. First, this show (which opened on Friday) is visually fun to look at. The Kansas is
REVIEW: Uncomfortable by Design: Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - November 6, 2015November 6, 2015 Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune is designed to be discomforting. The Casting Spells Productions staging of this 1987 Terrence McNally play, which opened last night at the Theatre Garage, does not shy from this. The resulting experience is raw, uncomfortably intimate in its closeness, and unrelenting. Whether this
PREVIEW: Walt Whitman, Puppets Invade Intermedia Arts Arts Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - November 3, 2015November 3, 2015 Do you like alliteration like Walt Whitman and puppets and poetry? Do you think that all of the above should be combined? If so, Intermedia Arts' upcoming Ode to Walt Whitman might be what you're looking for. This show by Bart Buch is billed as "an intimate puppet poem and cosmic dialogue between queer
FOR SALE: Music Box Theatre, Lightly Used Arts Lifestyle Music Theatre by Basil Considine - November 1, 2015November 1, 2015 Is your company looking for a 400-seat theatre in Minneapolis? Can you pull off a $2 million fundraising drive? Were you alternately planning on buying a mansion on the shores of Lake of the Isles but would secretly like to have your bed onstage, like in the film Stage Beauty? If your
PREVIEW: Minnesota Opera’s The Magic Flute in Duluth Arts Music Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - October 31, 2015March 11, 2017 Minnesota Opera's revival of The Magic Flute isn't playing in the Twin Cities for two weeks, but the production opens out of town this afternoon for a special 2 PM Halloween performance in Duluth. Here are some pictures from the tour: All photos courtesy of Minnesota Opera. MN Opera's Duluth tour is sponsored by