NEWS: Chanhassen Dinner Theatres to Resume Concerts & Comedy Jan. 15 Arts Comedy Music Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - January 8, 2021 Michael Gruber (as traveling conman Harold Hill) and Ann Michels (as Marian Paroo) in Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' The Music Man, whose performances were suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by Dan Norman. Chanhassen Dinner Theatres announced today that it will resume its live concerts and comedy shows beginning
INTERVIEW: Colin Mochrie on HYPROV: Improv Under Hypnosis (Ordway) Arts Comedy by Basil Considine - October 22, 2019October 23, 2019 Comedian Colin Mochrie, of Whose Line Is It Anyway? fame, performs with hypnotist Asad Mecci at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday in Saint Paul, MN. Canada's Comedy Person of the Year. The Second City. The Vancouver TheatreSports League. Whose Line Is It Anyway? What do these have in common? Comedian and
REVIEW: Mike Birbiglia’s The New One Hit (Ordway) Arts Comedy by Basil Considine - October 18, 2019October 18, 2019 Comedian Mike Birbiglia. A clean comic can be hard to find these days. Not in terms of personal hygiene – that's something we wouldn't presume or want to have to judge – but in terms of content. Shock-value, fame, and R-rated comics seem to go hand-in-hand, which does tend to segment
INTERVIEW: Mike Birbiglia on The New One and Opting Out of Winter Arts Comedy by Basil Considine - October 15, 2019October 15, 2019 Comedian Mike Birbiglia, who performs at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul from Oct. 17-19. When reviewing comedian Mike Birbiglia's latest solo show The New One, the New York Times' Ben Brantley decided to wax poetic. "Mr. Birbiglia’s voice," he wrote, "becomes a low, wraparound, pleasure-drenched caress.
Fringe File #17: The 2nd Annual Golden Lanyard Awards Arts Comedy Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - August 12, 2019August 12, 2019 Last night, the Minnesota Fringe Festival announced the recipients of the 2nd Annual Golden Lanyard Awards. These awards honor, among other things, the best-selling shows in each venue, several audience and artist voting categories, and Fringe staff favorites. A total of 28 awards were bestowed on 23 shows and 1
Fringe File #16: The Arts Reader Awards Arts Comedy Dance Music Theatre by Hanne Appelbaum - August 10, 2019August 12, 2019 The Minnesota Fringe Festival's annual domination of the Arts Reader's coverage is almost complete. Each year, for a period of around six weeks, coverage of the region's largest performing arts festival takes over our homepage. This focus reflects a larger action in the industry: many theatres and musical organizations simply choose
Fringe File #15: Mini-Reviews #4 Arts Comedy Dance Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - August 9, 2019August 9, 2019 A collage of promotional images for shows discussed in this article. Note: So as to capture different reviewers' varying perspectives, the Arts Reader sometimes reviews the same show twice. Chisago Haute Dish Productions parodies the musical Chicago, by changing the story from two female killers in Chicago, to an Orlando, Florida woman who
Fringe File #14: Mini-Reviews #3 Arts Comedy Dance Music Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - August 6, 2019August 9, 2019 A collage of promotional images of shows reviewed in this article. All is Bright Five years after its last Minnesota Fringe appearance, the New York City-based Shelby Company is back with a hilarious new comedy. Underneath All is Bright's "people talking at a bar" schtick is a powerful comedy executed with exquisite
Fringe File #10: The Out-of-Town Previews Arts Comedy Dance Music Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - August 1, 2019August 2, 2019 A collage of promotional images from the Minnesota Fringe Festival's out-of-town preview event. 'Twas the night before Fringe, and all through the house, there were squeakings and stirrings of Mr/Ms Theatre Mouse. The last step in the Minnesota Fringe Festival's preview process is in many ways one of the most exciting:
Fringe File #8: The Second Round of Previews Arts Comedy Dance Music Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - July 30, 2019August 2, 2019 A collage of publicity photos from shows featured at the 2nd official Minnesota Fringe Festival preview event. With no further ado, here are all the videos from the second round of Minnesota Fringe Festival previews. #OrdinaryHeroes (presented by Minneapolis Ballet Dancers) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoB75dWCCFM 10 Minutes Between 1:50 and 2AM by Melancholics Anonymous) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm7GAadqb1I Ancient Future Division: Battle