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
PREVIEW: Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Casting Spells Production) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - October 29, 2015October 29, 2015 Casting Spells Productions' staging of Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune opens on Thursday, Nov. 5 at the Theater Garage in Minneapolis. This unusual and provocative play premiered Off-Broadway in June 1987 for a critically acclaimed 2-week run at the Manhattan Theatre Club. That production, which starred Kathy Bates and
INTERVIEW: Dale Johnson on Minnesota Opera’s Magic Flute Madness Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - October 29, 2015March 11, 2017 Minnesota Opera Artistic Director Dale Johnson. Photo by Michal Daniel. Minnesota Opera's innovative 2014 production of The Magic Flute was one of the surprise hits of the 2013-2014 season. This adaptation of the classic Mozart opera smashed the company's box office records, selling 14,584 tickets and bringing in $951,000 in ticket revenue. A year and