I approached the production of Dominic Taylor‘s powerful I Wish You Love (Penumbra Theatre, through May 22) with some trepidation. Dennis W. Spears is lavishly talented, tall and charismatic, with a presence as big as the grand outdoors. We recently…
Author: John Olive
Annie at the Children’s Theatre Company
Jumpin’ Jehosaphat, but those orphans are cute. Led by the inimitable Annie, belting out the uptempo “Maybe”, a niftily drawn 1930s NYC skyline looming in the background, the girls dance and mug winningly and by golly they steal our hearts. …
Man Of La Mancha by Ten Thousand Things Theater
When Ten Thousand Things applies their patented Poor Theater style to a musical warhorse – as they did with last year’s My Fair Lady and now do again with Man Of La Mancha (various venues; the public performances are at…
Stomp at the Ordway
The amazing Stomp (at the Ordway, through April 3) has rolled into St. Paul for a breathless one week run. Created way back in 1991, the show has enjoyed lengthy runs in London, New York, Sydney, Rio, San Francisco, Athens,…
Arms And The Man at the Guthrie Theater
In Arms And The Man (on the Guthrie‘s McGuire Stage, through May 8 ) George Bernard Shaw hides deep cynicism in plain sight, behind a veneer of flashy dialogue, sweet romance, giddy farce, lovable preening upperclass characters. We laugh, get…
Little Shop Of Horrors by Mu Performing Arts, at the Ritz Theater
Spring! Ah. The snowbanks are melting, temps are soaring (sort of), the sun has a delicious new bite. There will be no more snow. In honor of the new season, CTC is producing Annie, Penumbra is exploring the music of…
Broke-ology at Pillsbury House Theatre
Broke-ology (Pillsbury House Theatre, through April 10) breaks no new ground. Playwright Nathan Louis Jackson‘s writing is lovely, but it’s straight forward realism, a father-son drama played in a modest and tidy living room/kitchen. The designers, led by the estimable…
Hair at the Orpheum
I was an earnest schoolboy in a small southern Minnesota town when Hair (at the Orpheum, through March 6, produced by the Hennepin Theater Trust) first came out. It blew me away. I never saw the actual show, of course;…
Song Of Extinction by Theater Latté Da performing on the Guthrie’s Dowling Stage
Normally Latté Da specializes in intelligent but feel-good music theater: All Is Calm, La Bohème, The Full Monty, etc. But here they are, tackling E.M. Lewis‘s challenging straight play (such an odd term) Song Of Extinction (Theater Latté Da performing…
Agnes Under The Big Top at Mixed Blood Theatre
Agnes Under The Big Top (Mixed Blood Theater, through March 6) is like the New York City subway on which much of it is set: dark, scary, echoey, pulsing, with sudden flashes of bright and harsh illumination. Playwright/director Aditi Kapil…