August: Osage County at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts on 3/16/10

By: John Olive
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Estelle Parsons as Violet in August: Osage County - Photo credit Robert J. Saferstein The setup of Tracy Letts's wonderful August: Osage County (at the Ordway, through March 21, ordway.org) is familiar: the family patriarch has died under mysterious circumstances and his three daughters, the "agitated Weston sisters", have arrived at the family manse in rural Oklahoma with t...

Iron Ring on 3/12/10

By: John Olive
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Ansa Akyea as King Jaya in the CTC's production of Iron Ring - Photo by Dan Norman Iron Ring (on the Children’s Theatre Company mainstage, 2400 Third Ave, through April 10, childrenstheatre.org) adapted by Charles Way from a novel by the gifted Lloyd Alexander is a journey story in the grandly mythic Joseph Campbell tradition. Way (one of the best and best known writers of ...

Music Lovers, a Workhaus Collective Production at The Playwrights' Center on 3/12/10

By: David de Young
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Nathan Christopher, Lindsay Marcy, Randy Reyes in MUSIC LOVERS - Photo by Travis Anderson There are plenty of things to like about Alan Berks’ new play Music Lovers (March 12th-28th at the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis). The aphorism-laden and witty script will have you leaving the theater comparing memorable lines with your companions, and the music referen...

The Vaudevillian, Spirit of the American Dream at Southern Theater on 3/12/10

By: Janet Preus
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The Vaudevillian - Photo by Marc Norberg Photography Attending an event at the Southern Theater feels like taking a step back in time. Layers of remodeling and redecorating, one imagines – along with its history – have been stripped down to the bare and imperfect brick walls and proscenium façade. In celebration of its 100th anniversary, ...

Patches & Gretchen CD Release with Kevin Bowe, Adam Levy and Dan Israel at The Varsity Theater on 3/11/10

By: David de Young
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Gretchen Seichrist of Patches & Gretchen - Photo by Pamela Diedrich (See more of Pamela's photos from this show here.) I arrived at the Patches & Gretchen Sugar Head Pie CD Release Party so early that the recently remodeled (yet again) Varsity Theater (it’s still not done, but it’s awesome – you must check out the bathrooms!) was still mostly empty.   ...

Q&A with playwright Alan Berks about his new play, Music Lovers on 3/8/10

By: David de Young
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Nathan Christopher, Lindsay Marcy and Randy Reyes in MUSIC LOVERS - Photo credit - Travis Anderson Those of us who regularly see both music and theater events in the Twin Cities know that the scenes overlap a lot more than people might suspect. Musical theater aside, as exemplifed by the recent production of Rent which featurng Twin Cities Hip Hop and R&B ...

Slideshow: SXSW Sendoff Party at First Avenue at First Avenue on 3/6/10

By: Meredith Westin
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HowWasTheShow is proud to present Meredith Westin's photo slide show from The SXSW Sendoff show at First Avenue on Satrday, March 6th.  The slideshow is set to Peter Wolf Crier's "Crutch and Cane" from his album Inter-Be. Photos in this set include Peter Wolf Crier, City on the Make, Jeremy Messersmith, Lookbook, The Pines, and Romantica.  ...

Song of Zarathustra at Triple Rock Social Club on 2/27/10

By: Dan Alvin
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Travis Bos of Song of Zarathustra - Photo by Adam Bubolz (See more of Adam's photos from this show here.) My screenplay-fixing bike-fixated friend Kraus said "Yeppers!" to close the evening on the way out the door and the next day I deconstructed a few pages of Derrida and felt karaoke (a lil' bit a' Lil' Wayne) -- it was what many of us would call a good old-fashioned ...

Kill The Vultures at Walker Art Center on 2/26/10

By: Dan Alvin
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Kill The Vultures in the Walker's Gallery 8 - Photo by Emily Crenshaw As the haunting introduction of their classic "Beasts of Burden" provoked the mingling attendees to occupy a state somewhere between bewilderment and apprehension, Kill the Vultures' poet Crescent Moon and DJ Anatomy capped a wave of unbridled tension last Friday night from the stage of Gallery 8 during th...

Slideshow: Electric Fetus Benefit at First Avenue on 2/26/10

By: Meredith Westin
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HowWasTheShow is proud to present Meredith Westin's photo slide show from The Electric Fetus Benefit at First Avenue on Friday, February 26th.  The slideshow is set to Unknown Prophets "Face The Storm" from their 2009 album Le System D. Photos in this set include Cloud Cult, Peter Wolf Crier, Roma di Luna, Total Babe, Jeremy Messersmith, Caroline Smith and the Good Night Sleeps, Ruby Isle, Trailer Trash and Unknown Prophets. Proceeds from the show went to both help re...