INTERVIEW: Rick Shiomi on Updating The Mikado, Combatting Yellowface, and Post-Mu Life Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - March 5, 2019March 5, 2019 Director Rick Shiomi and Music Director Randy Buikema look at an updated score for Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Mikado. On March 15, the Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company opens a very different look at The Mikado. The updated version of this classic light opera, which plays at
REVIEW: Evocative, Lush My Àntonia Returns (Illusion Theater) Arts Music Theatre by Amy Donahue - March 3, 2019March 3, 2019 The cast of the Illusion Theater's 2019 remount of My Àntonia, now playing in Minneapolis. Photo courtesy of the Illusion Theater. My grandparents' bookshelf had some novels whose titles caught my eye, long ago: Willa Cather's O Pioneers! and The Song of the Lark. Peek into senior centers and community libraries
REVIEW: Retrograde Alignment in The Skin of Our Teeth (Park Square) Arts Theatre by Dan Reiva - February 28, 2019February 28, 2019 The era-spanning cast of characters in Thornton Wilder's play The Skin of Our Teeth, now playing at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul, MN. Photo by Petronella J. Ytsma. The Skin of Our Teeth, produced by Girl Friday Productions and now playing at Park Square Theatre, seems to be a favorite
NEWS: Ordway Announces 2019-2020 Season Arts Dance Music Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - February 26, 2019February 27, 2019 A groundhog, an animal whose mid-winter emergence is immortalized in the 1993 film Groundhog Day – one of several famous films whose musical versions will be appearing at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul in 2019-2020. Photo by Linnaea Mallette. The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
REVIEW: Buddy Guy & Mavis Staples: Two Icons, Still Going Strong (Mystic Lake) Arts Music by Brian Bix - February 25, 2019February 25, 2019 Songstress legend Mavis Staples in concert. Last night at Mystic Lake, the audience was privileged to see two icons of American popular music, Mavis Staples and Buddy Guy. Staples may be best known as the lead singer for the family group the Staples Singers, whom she started singing with them at
REVIEW: Captain Fantastic’s Last Trip – Elton John (Target Center) Arts Music by Brian Bix - February 22, 2019February 23, 2019 Elton John performing at Target Center on Thursday night. Photo courtesy of Elton John. Elton John is saying good-bye to concerts, but not before he has one last, multiple-year, trans-world “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour. Last night the tour stopped in the Target Center, and he will be there for
REVIEW: Thrilling A Bronx Tale Opens (Orpheum/Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - February 20, 2019February 20, 2019 The cast of the national touring company of A Bronx Tale, which opened at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, MN on Tuesday. Photo by Joan Marcus. The real crime in A Bronx Tale is that child actor Frankie Leoni isn't featured after the first several scenes. Sure, there's violence, gambling, and outright murder
REVIEW: Endearing Animals, Story in Biggest Little House (Children’s Theatre Company) Arts Theatre by Dan Reiva - February 16, 2019February 16, 2019 A mouse moves into The Biggest Little House in the Forest at the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. Pictured: Autumn Ness. Photo by Dan Norman. A joyful, immersive experience awaits children attending The Biggest Little House in the Forest, a Children’s Theatre Company’s original adapting the novel by Djemma Bider. The show
REVIEW: Potted Potter Not Just for Harry Potter Buffs (Pantages Theatre/Hennepin Theatre Trust) Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - February 14, 2019February 14, 2019 Harry Potter (left) and Professor Albus Dumbledore (right) prepare to battle dark wizardry in the Harry Potter mashup parody Potted Potter. Photo by Dahlia Katz. If you ever wondered how broadly Harry Potter cuts across demographics, look no further than the spread of ages at Potted Potter's opening night at the Pantages Theatre. The
NEWS: The Grammy Award Winners and Nominees (Complete List) Arts Music by Twin Cities Arts Reader - February 11, 2019February 12, 2019 The 61st Annual Grammy Awards celebration took place last night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Hosted by Alicia Keys, the music industry awards featured a massive performing lineup, and winners ranging from Jimmy Carter (!) to Lady Gaga and Childish Gambino. Here is the complete list of nominees