Twin Citieans are regular visitors to Duluth, escaping to the shores of Lake Superior, cooled by the big lake, maybe in search of a semi-wilderness experience “up the shore,†accompanied by fresh fish and fine local brews. I can give…
Author: Janet Preus
The Cat in the Hat at the Children’s Theatre Company
Children’s Theatre Company has just opened a show for the little ones with the Katie Mitchell adaptation of the definitive book by Dr. Seuss, “The Cat in the Hat.†For the two or three people who may not know the…
The Working Boys Band at The History Theatre
The History Theatre has premiered a new musical that uses a relatively obscure bit of history to illuminate a corner of the dynamic environment of Minneapolis in 1917, just as America was entering W.W. I. The show’s composer, the late…
Mercy Killers at Pillsbury House Theatre
The best theater kicks down walls, pulls off the gloves and starts swinging. Mercy Killers, written and performed by Michael Milligan and produced by Pillsbury House Theatre, is that kind of play – a piece that rages against America’s broken…
Detroit at the Jungle Theater
A friendly backyard barbeque with the neighbors builds to the frayed edges of an absurd but frighteningly believable premise in the Jungle Theater’s production of “Detroit†by Lisa D’Amour. You just won’t believe what happens and it’s not what you…
Romeo and Juliet by Collide Theatrical Dance Company at the Lab Theater
Collide Theatrical Dance Company came flying out on the stage last night with an exuberant, fresh interpretation of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.†Have you not imagined Juliet tap dancing her despair over her banished Romeo, to Michael Jackson’s “Beat It? 
Porgy and Bess at the Ordway
Soaring melodies! Big orchestrations and choruses of voices big enough to take it on! Diva voices larger than life! Oh, this is gorgeous! Thank you, Ordway, for bringing us our beloved “Porgy and Bess†in a form that befits this…
Cyrano at Park Square Theatre
Park Square Theatre is now presenting the regional premiere of Cyrano, the Michael Hollinger translation of Edmond Rostand’s classic play. Hollinger also adapted with Aaron Posner, who directed its first production. I’ll talk about the adaptation, but first, this production:…
Peter and the Starcatcher at the Orpheum Theatre
Throw out your idea of what a Broadway show is supposed to be. Peter and the Starcatcher, now playing at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, has a new take: silly (but it’s clever-silly) goofy fun, fun, fun. If you like…
Freud’s Last Session produced by the Guthrie Theater at the Dowling Studio
The Guthrie has borrowed from the current Off-Broadway theater for its new play, Freud’s Last Session by Mark St. Germain. It’s cropping up from one coast to the other. Apparently there’s a hunger for a straightforward, intellectual, “talky†play –…