Steampunk Delusions features two plays, one produced by Hardcover Theater and the other by English Scrimshaw Theatrical Novelties. Hardcover Theater fills a curious niche in the Twin Cities, bringing to life somewhat obscure books and stories in sparsely but cleverly staged plays. The Diamond Lens: a Microscopic Fantasy of Love & Murder, written, produced...
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In the 1950s, there was a contingent in American politics with an intense fear of the rise of communism, fueled by the belief that communist infiltrators were everywhere, trying to bring down the American way of life. Headed up by Senator Joe McCarthy, this paranoia led to a systematic harassment of many of the...
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The pitch for the Broadway touring production of Mamma Mia! is “You already know you’re gonna love it!” Judging by the opening night audience, at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis, I’d say that’s fairly accurate. A good portion of the audience was laughing before the gag and applauding an entrance before it happened....
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The Mill, a new play by International Falls, Minn., native Jeannine Coulombe presented at The Playwrights’ Center by The Workhaus Collective, looks at what it really means to live in a town that is dependent on one major industry and employer for its survival. The town’s history with its life support, a paper mill...
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It’s a challenge for writers to get their own work produced; it gets even more complex to produce a new musical. Furthermore, if the new musical does not have a “name” – either one of the writers or recognized subject matter – the effort to mount a new show can be overwhelming. That’s one...
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Illusion Theater has renewed their collaborative relationship with local playwright Jeffrey Hatcher in a commissioned work that also honors producing directors Michael Robins (who directs this production) and Bonnie Morris for their commitment to developing and producing new plays. The relationship and friendship between playwright and theater, in this case, has been a long...
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We’ve learned to expect imaginative surprises from The Moving Company. The members of this relatively new company of familiar local theater artists just see theater differently. Werther and Lotte, the Passion and the Sorrow, created by company members Nathan Keepers (who plays Werther), Christina Baldwin (Lotte) and Dominique Serrand (director), is an enchanting pas...
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Park Square Theatre, in association with Carlyle Brown & Company, has premiered a new play by Carlyle Brown, taking Park Square down an adventurous path. A commissioned piece by the theater, American Family explores the idea of a mixed-race marriage in 1960’s Alabama. Laura Collins (Noël Raymond) is determined to overcome the societal taboo...
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Broadway touring shows can settle in and enjoy a long run in places like L.A. and Chicago, but in Minneapolis the routine is often “open on a Tuesday and close on Sunday.” Just long enough to record a single. In the case of American Idiot at the Orpheum Theater, which I reviewed, my S.O....
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The Guthrie Theater has opened a tantalizing little show, familiar in name due to its famous film counterpart. “The Birds” by Conor McPherson is based on a post W.W. II novelette by Daphne du Maurier, and bears only a passing resemblance to the Alfred Hitchcock movie. In this show, huge flocks of birds are...
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