Mixed Blood Theatre once again takes us someplace we haven’t been before with The House of Spirits, a bilingual adaptation by Caridad Svich of Isabel Allende’s acclaimed novel. Using the tragedy of Chile’s 20th century politics as a backdrop for the more personal story of three generations of the Trueba family, we are carefully...
Read more »
Wednesday’s bill at the 400 Bar featuring Portland, Oregon’s Black Prairie (members of the Decemberists and friends) and Chicago’s Canasta was more than enough to bring me out of music writer retirement. And I wasn’t disappointed. It turned out to be one of the most enjoyable weeknights of music I’ve seen anywhere in some...
Read more »
Get ready to rock, folks, Broadway is finally sharing its star-building power with music’s bad boys and their millions of fans. The national touring production of Rock of Ages, which opened at the Orpheum in downtown Minneapolis last night, is no Motley Crue concert, but it certainly pays homage to the power of the...
Read more »
At first it’s off-putting, the lack of any stage lighting at a Ten Thousand Things play. Blinking fluorescents, the glare of the late morning sun, the institutional playing space (conference rooms, cafeterias). But soon you find yourself leaning forward, eager to catch the tiniest change in the actors demeanor, the subtlest vocal shift. Flashing...
Read more »
Let yourself be ushered into the shadowy and dusty confines of the ancient BLB theater. A creaky wooden floor – is that the waitress? I hope so. A blood red curtain. An eerie 19th century organ. Is that the distant crash of bowling pins, or is it… could it possibly be…? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I do...
Read more »
Theater Latte Da’s production of Evita at the Ordway’s McKnight Theater is a fitting meld of visual elements set in the perfect space. A versatile cast, limited in numbers but brimming with talent, created a seamless flow of scenes from the life of Argentina’s most famous first lady, cannily envisioned and executed by director...
Read more »
Director Greg Banks is the maestro of the small cast classic. His m.o.: keep the story-line as simple as possible, the characters one-dimensional, and the set filled with playable levels. Bring the audience as close to the action as possible (sometimes in the action, as he did with his astonishing Romeo And Juliet a...
Read more »
Yellow Tree Theatre has launched an original comedy by theater co-founder, Jessica Lind that quite obviously is a comfortable fit for the area. Tucked away in a strip mall in Osseo, the relatively new theater has turned out a reasonably wholesome show, cleverly staged and skillfully performed before a full and appreciative audience. String,...
Read more »
