FEATURE: Trump’s Proposed NEA Cuts and the Legacy of Piss Christ Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - March 19, 2017July 11, 2017 Nikolay Petrovich Lomtev's Girolamo Savonarola preaching in Florence. Father Savonarola's incendiary critique of luxury led to the infamous Bonfires of the Vanities, the largest of which on Feb. 7, 1492 including the burning of several paintings by Renaissance masters. Among other achievements, Savonarola successfully advocated for laws banning sodomy and declared that
PHOTOS: The Swanky Look of Grease (Chanhassen Dinner Theatres) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - March 16, 2017March 18, 2017 Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' new production of Grease features eye-popping costumes by the award-winning costume designer Rich Hamson. Hamson, who has 60 productions at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres under his belt, is a three-time Ivey Award recipient and was named Lavender Magazine's 2014 Theatre Artist of the Year and Best Large Theater Costume Designer. Here's a
REVIEW: Dinner at Eight, Performance Edition (Minnesota Opera) Arts Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - March 14, 2017March 15, 2017 The eponymous dinner party in Minnesota Opera's Dinner at Eight. Photo by Cory Weaver. Minnesota Opera's Dinner at Eight, which premiered on Saturday at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, is a vibrant new comedy with an engaging score and finely tune libretto. This review focuses on the performances in the
WEEKEND PICKS: Grease, Gondoliers, Dinner at Eight, FOOR Folkz Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - March 10, 2017March 11, 2017 Aleks Knezevich as Danny Zuko in Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' production of Grease. Photo by Bernadette Pollard. Winter windchill has returned to the Twin Cities again and darn it if there isn't a forecast of snow on Sunday. Here are some indoor entertainments to keep you distracted and warm this weekend. Retro Fun: Grease at
PREVIEW: 2017 Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival Arts Movies Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - March 6, 2017 A production still from The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki. The Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, which bills itself as the Midwest's largest international film event, returns April 13-29, 2017. This year's festival includes 10 feature films and a variety of shorts. Films will be presented at five
REVIEW: Sumptuous R&H Magic in The King and I (Orpheum/HTT) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - March 1, 2017March 2, 2017 Laura Michelle Kelly, Baylen Thomas, and Graham Montgomery in Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I. Photo by Matthew Murphy. It was a full house at the opening of the Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I tour on Tuesday night. The Orpheum Theatre's seats were packed with an unusually broad balance of ages, waiting to
PREVIEW: Getting to Know Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King & I (Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - February 27, 2017 One of the many expansive dance numbers in Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King & I. Photo by Matthew Murphy. New musical writers have it tough: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II have an immense head start. By the time the most famous dynamic duo of musical theatre first teamed up, Rodgers
PREVIEW: Those Darn Sneetches – A Look at CTC’s Dr. Seuss Adaptation Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - February 8, 2017 Standleen (Natalie Tran) meets a crustacean in CTC's production of Dr. Seuss's The Sneetches: A Musical. Photo by Dan Norman. Way back in 1953, Dr. Seuss wrote a collection called The Sneetches and Other Stories. Fifty-four years later, a poll by the National Education Association ranked it as #1 on their Teachers' Top 100
NEWS: Swedish Institute Throws Open Doors to Migration Arts Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - January 31, 2017 Photo by Magnus Wennman.Doors for migration have slammed shut across the globe, but the American Swedish Institute is bucking the trend and throwing open its doors to migration each Wednesday during the month of February. The occasion? Free access to its 2017 themed exhibition series Migration, Identity and Belonging. One
INTERVIEW: Christopher Ash on Set Design, Lions Arts Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - December 9, 2016December 9, 2016 A humble throne (upstage center) is dwarfed by the massive staircase in the Guthrie Theater's production of The Lion in Winter. Photo by Heidi Bohnenkamp. Sit down to watch a production of The Lion in Winter at the Guthrie and one of the first things you'll notice is the monumental set design. This evocative