Beale Street. Few places figure so centrally in American musical culture. A case could be made for Congo Square in New Orleans, for the now-disappeared jazz clubs along 52nd Street, Laurel Canyon in the 1960s, the Grand Ole Opry. But…
Category: Reviews
T Bone N Weasel at Theatre Pro Rata, performing at the Gremlin
T Bone N Weasel (Theatre Pro Rata, through March 18, performing at the Gremlin Theatre) is showing its age. First produced in 1986 (and dozens of times since), playwright Jon Klein‘s endlessly amusing tale of the two hapless doofuses bouncing…
Hugh Cornwell, Glen Matlock and Clem Burke at Nick & Eddie, Minneapolis
I grew up in rural Minnesota in the 1970’s and enjoyed all the cultural benefits you would expect when living mere minutes from Fargo, ND. Like most men of my vintage, I acquired an early taste for classic rock but…
While you’re in town, let’s record a single
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.â€Â Just long enough to record a single. In…
The Birds at the Guthrie Theater, Dowling Studio Theater
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…
Talley’s Folly at Workhouse Theatre Co.
Talley’s Folly (Workhouse Theatre Co., through March 11) is the late and greatly lamented (he died not quite a year ago) Lanford Wilson‘s most-performed play. In part, the reason for this is practical: Talley’s Folly is a two-hander, featuring two…
Beautiful Thing produced by Theater Latte Da at The Lab Theater
Theater Latté Da has stepped to the edges of its musical milieu with the local premier of Beautiful Thing by Jonathan Harvey, with Playwrights’ Center artistic director, Jeremy B. Cohen, making his local directing debut. It’s a wonderfully entertaining play…
American Idiot at the Orpheum Theater
Green Day’s “American Idiot†is one smashing great show. You’re going to have to like rock, but if you do, you will be moved by this refreshingly original musical. Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day front man, lyricist and co-bookwriter) is…
Buzzer at Pillsbury House Theatre
The past is painfully present in Tracey Scott Wilson‘s evocative (and challenging) Buzzer (Pillsbury House Theatre, through March 18). Jackson is the very model of a successful three piece suited attorney: perfect pedigree (Exeter/Harvard University/Harvard Law School), salary augmented by…
As You Like It by Ten Thousand Things Theater performing at Open Book
If ever a play were to test the light-free, minimalist, performer-centric technique employed by the unique Ten Thousand Things Theater, it would be William Shakespeare‘s opulent As You like It (TTT performing at Open Book, through March 11). The shift…