REVIEW: Unexpectedly Deep Tenderly (Old Log Theatre) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - March 8, 2019March 8, 2019 Gracie Anderson and C. Ryan Shipley star in Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical at the Old Log Theatre in Excelsior, MN. Photo courtesy of the Old Log Theatre. There are jukebox musicals that pass like a piece of cotton candy dissolving on the tongue, and there are jukebox musicals that surprise
REVIEW: Holy Caramels in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Orpheum/HTT) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - March 6, 2019March 7, 2019 Noah Weisberg as Willy Wonka with the cast of the national touring company of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Photo by Joan Marcus. It's a little ironic that a musical about candy opened in Minneapolis on Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting in many Christian traditions. By all rights,
INTERVIEW: Visualizing Unexploded Ordnances (UXO) and Nuclear War: A Chat with Claire Nolan (Guthrie Theater) Arts Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - January 31, 2019July 10, 2019 Peggy Shaw in the Split Britches production of Unexploded Ordnances (UXO), now playing at the Guthrie Theater. Photo by Matt Delbridge. When Joseph Haj started at the Guthrie Theater, he announced plans to reach and move audiences through the ambitious Level Nine Initiative. Three seasons later, the initiative has manifested in
AWARDS: The Inaugural Spice Awards in the Performing Arts Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Hanne Appelbaum - December 25, 2018December 28, 2018 It's been a whiplash year for awards and the Twin Cities performing arts scene. In fact, it's just been a whiplash year, period. In 2018, allegations of sexual assault and other misbehavior emerged at several local arts organizations. Cornerstone organizations such as Intermedia Arts and the Soap Factory remain shuttered
REVIEW: The Memorable Return of Les Miserables (Orpheum/Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Brian Bix - December 19, 2018December 19, 2018 The cast of the national touring company of Les Miserables takes to the barricades. Photo by Matthew Murphy. In 1832 in Paris, at a time of growing inequality, the funeral procession for a popular public figure led to an eruption of violence. Hundreds died fighting at makeshift barricades with stolen weapons.
PHOTOS: A Christmas Carol (Guthrie Theater) Arts Theatre Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - November 19, 2018November 19, 2018 The Guthrie Theater's holiday production of Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol is an annual tradition for many area theatregoers. The show has been through several incarnations; the current one, now playing at the Wurtele Thrust Stage in Minneapolis, was adapted by British playwright Crispin Whittell and is directed by Guthrie Associate
PREVIEW: Prancer at Lyric Arts of Anoka Arts Theatre Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - November 16, 2018November 17, 2018 Val Heideman (as Jessica Riggs) discovers Christmas lights in an attic in the Lyric Arts Company of Anoka's upcoming production of Prancer. Photo by Twin Cities Headshots. The Lyric Arts Company of Anoka opens its production of Prancer tonight. What is Prancer? It's the first of Lyric Arts' two holiday shows, for starters.
REVIEW: Long La Rondine Worth the Wait (Minnesota Opera) Arts Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - October 14, 2018November 17, 2018 Celine Bryne as Magda, Leonardo Capalbo as Ruggero, and the Minnesota Opera Chorus in Minnesota Opera’s new production of La Rondine. Photo by Cory Weaver. There is a temptation that directors and designers face to re-encapsulate or reframe an old stage work for today's audience. Sometimes it is about trying to highlight
Fringe File 2018 #17 – Hanne Appelbaum’s Top 10 Must-Sees Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Hanne Appelbaum - July 28, 2018July 28, 2018 A photo from last year's Fringe production of MEDUSA by Vox Medusa and Infiammati FireCircus. Photo by Max Haynes. If in doubt, set it on fire. That's my mantra for this year's Fringe festival: if you're not at all sure where to start, hit up Vox Medusa with Infiammati FireCircus's MEDUSA. This
NEWS: Jerome Foundation Announces Inaugural Organization Grant Recipients Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - June 15, 2018June 15, 2018 A photo collage of artists and art funded by the Jerome Foundation. The Jerome Foundation today announced $4,159,500 in grants to 84 arts organizations in Minnesota and New York City. These grants to nonprofit arts organizations comprise inaugural offering of the foundation's new Organization Grants Program. The two-stage application process attracted 254