Rarely does the need arise to talk someone off a cliff. In popular art, when this situation is dramatized, exceptional people often find the perfect words to provide hope. Marsha Norman‘s stunning play Night, Mother rejects this contrivance and shows…
Category: Reviews
Review | The Legend of Georgia McBride: a joyous, charming celebration
At the Guthrie Theater, through August 26Since taking the helm, Guthrie artistic director Joseph Haj has pushed the venerable theater into greater diversity, both in tone and in representation. With The Legend of Georgia McBride, the theater ventures into new territory on both fronts with a…
Review | Legally Blonde: zippy and zesty, if a touch contrived
Artistry Theater, through Aug 19Snappy. Snazzy. Fizzy and frothy. Abrim with pizzazz and pure musical intensity. Real good. All these adjectives (and then some) apply to Artistry Theater‘s amazing production of Legally Blonde (in Artistry’s comfortable Schneiderman Theatre, through August 19). The plot of…
Review | Hand To God: brilliant puppetry
The Jungle Theater, through Aug 19By far the most interesting character in Robert Askins‘s hootful Hand To God (the Jungle Theater, though Aug 19) is a puppet, Tyrone. Seriously. Tyrone goes from a meek rendition of “Jesus Loves Me” to laugh-out-loud potty-mouth, to owning a…
Review | West Side Story: a lovely production of a true American classic
At the GuthrieTheater, through August 26West Side Story (at the Guthrie, through Aug 26) was first produced on Broadway in 1957 and since then it has emphatically entered the international canon, averaging 5,000 productions per year. No other play has this kind of presence. Shakespeare?…
Review | Equivocation: Jacobean swells having fun
Walking Shadow Theatre Company, performing at the Gremlin, 550 Vandalia, St. PaulSince 2004, Walking Shadow Theatre Company has been the area’s premier provider of historical drama: Hatchet Lady, Carrie Nation, Angel Of Destruction (19th century U.S.); Marie Antoinette (18th century France); Gross Indecency, The Three Trials Of Oscar Wilde (19th century…
Review | Underneath The Lintel: a hoot
Theater Latté Da, through July 1Underneath The Lintel (Theater Latte Da, at the Ritz Theatre) is, to say the least, an unexciting title, but Glen Berger‘s rollicking and rip-roaring play is the bomb. In it, a “librarian” (she has no other name) finds a book returned…
Review | dat Black Mermaid Man Lady/The Show: promising
Pillsbury House Theater, through June 24Editor’s Note: due to an injury to a cast member, Pillsbury House Theater decided to mount a “reader’s theater” version of the play. I.e., script-in-hand. This is the version being reviewed by Mari Wittenbreer, below. HWTS will use its best…
Review | Taking Shakespeare: an overly slight take on the Bard
Gremlin Theatre, through June 3rdFor those with mentors willing to invest in them, it can prove invaluable and leave a lifelong impact. In the best of these relationships, inevitably both mentor and mentee are left as stronger, better people. John Murrell‘s Taking Shakespeare, at…
Review | An Enemy of the People: a searing, must-see political thriller
The Guthrie, through June 3Copper pipes, venture capital, scientific ethics. Who knew combining these elements could make for stimulating, prescient drama? Brad Birch’s new adaptation of the Henrik Ibsen classic, An Enemy of the People, running through June 3 at the Guthrie, uses these…