REVIEW: Religion, Rigidity, and Rebellion in The Convert (Frank Theatre) Arts Theatre by Dan Reiva - February 25, 2020February 25, 2020 A scene from Frank Theatre's The Convert, now playing at the Gremlin Theatre in St. Paul, MN. Photo by Tony Nelson. It took eight years for Wendy Knox to secure the rights for Frank Theatre to stage Danai Gurira's play The Convert. This play, set against the backdrop late-19th-century Zimbabwe, tells
REVIEW: Intriguing A Doll’s House, Part 2 (Jungle) Arts Theatre by Bev Wolfe - February 17, 2020February 18, 2020 Steven Epp (as Torvald) and Christina Baldwin (as Nora) in the Jungle Theater production of A Doll's House, Part 2, now playing in Minneapolis, MN. Photo by Lauren B. Photography. What happens to Nora? This question has lingered with theatregoers ever since Nora first walked out on her family at the
REVIEW: The Collapse of the Blue Collar Dream in Skeleton Crew (Yellow Tree Theatre) Arts Theatre by Bev Wolfe - February 10, 2020February 10, 2020 Darius Dotch, Jamecia Bennett, and Mikell Sapp in Yellow Tree Theatre's production of Skeleton Crew, now playing in Osseo, MN. Photo by Justin Cox. Feelings of hopelessness and perseverance pervade in Dominque Morisseau’s play Skeleton Crew, the last in Morisseau’s trilogy on life in her hometown of Detroit, Michigan. This third
REVIEW: Striking, Grim Bernarda Alba (Theater Latté Da) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Bev Wolfe - February 4, 2020February 4, 2020 Stephanie Bertuman and the cast of Theater Latté Da's Bernarda Alba, now playing at the Ritz Theater in Minneapolis, MN. Photo by Dan Norman. For decades, the Spanish playwright Federico García Lorca's last play, The House of Bernarda Alba (1936), has been a staple of regional, community, and educational theatres across
REVIEW: Another Look at Jesus Christ Superstar (Orpheum Theatre/HTT) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Dan Reiva - January 26, 2020January 27, 2020 A scene from Jesus Christ Superstar, now playing at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. Photo by Matthew Murphy. In the 50th Anniversary Broadway touring version of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, Jesus is a rock star messiah. This is portrayed quite literally: Aaron LaVigne, as
REVIEW: Engaging Noura Belies Marketing (Guthrie Theater) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - January 26, 2020January 27, 2020 Gamze Ceylan (Noura) and Akshay Krishna (Yazen, alternate performances) in the Guthrie Theater’s production of Heather Raffo's Noura. Photo by Dan Norman. Some stories run too long in the telling, making you wish for a good editor's or dramaturge's pen. Others end naturally, like Ibsen's A Doll's House, where the only way
REVIEW: The Unadvertised Jesus Christ Superstar Concert Experience (Orpheum Theatre) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Amy Donahue - January 24, 2020January 26, 2020 The national touring company of Jesus Christ Superstar, playing through Sunday, 1/26 at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. Photo by Matthew Murphy. The tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, now playing at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, has a lot in common with last month's run of Six at the Ordway. If you
PREVIEW: Jesus Christ (Superstar) Returns (Orpheum/Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - January 15, 2020January 26, 2020 James Delisco Beeks and the company of the North American Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, which plays at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis from January 21-26. Photo by Matthew Murphy. In 1969, a pair of little-known musical theatre writers named Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber decided to try and enter
REVIEW: All is Calm Retains Its Sweet Potency (Latté Da) Arts Music Theatre by Dan Reiva - December 18, 2019December 18, 2019 The cast of Theater Latté Da's All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914. Photo by Dan Norman. World War I was hell. Some of us knew it from reading the book The Guns of August and some of us learned it from watching the movie Wonder Woman with its astoundingly
AWARDS: Keith Hovis = Composer of the Year Arts Music Theatre by Hanne Appelbaum - December 7, 2019December 7, 2019 The Twin Cities is gifted with a wealth of residents who engage in generative art creation: writers, composers, painters, sculptors, choreographers, weavers, and more. With the end of 2019 approaching, the Arts Reader is recognizing several of these creators who stand out from the pack. The Arts Reader's 2019 Composer