Great balls of Gospel fire! Toe tapping tuneage! Satan-busting religiosity! Take me now, Lord! If Black Nativity (Penumbra Theatre, through, appropriately, Dec 24) doesn’t utterly transport you into an exquisite world of Gospel-fueled Christmas passion, well then, you have deep…
Review | Miss Bennet: Christmas At Pemberley: a delight
At the end of Miss Bennet: Christmas At Pemberley (at the Jungle) director Christina Baldwin brings the cast together for a final smiling pose. Playing underneath, appropriately, is Beethoven‘s Ode To Joy. That’s what Miss Bennet: Christmas At Pemberley is about:…
Roller Derby Queen: overlong, yes, but still effective
The central conceit of Michele Lepsche‘s affecting (and challenging) Roller Derby Queen (SOS Theater, performing in the wonderful Gremlin space – 550 Vandalia in St. Paul – through Nov 26) is terrific: Florence has ensconced herself in a junk-choked house…
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time: fascinating
Mixed Blood Theatre has just opened “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time,†and what a fascinating show it is! And on so many levels! Here’s a thought-provoking story that elucidates an enigmatic protagonist, supported with a theatricality…
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time: brilliantly skewed
The powerful and touching drama, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mixed Blood, through Dec 3), opens when Christopher, an English lad who lives with his father in a working-class community, discovers the neighbor’s dog dead in the…
The Privateer: an amusing, uneven swashbuckler
If you consider yourself a Twin Cities theater devotee and haven’t seen a production from Transatlantic Love Affair, you must. Their unique approach to theater, with actors offering their bodies and voices as versatile replacements for physical sets, props, and…
Hamlet: timeless and brand new
If there is one word in theater that’s recognized globally, it must be “Hamlet;†to take on this play is a somber responsibility. Park Square Theatre, under the guiding hand of director and scenic designer Joel Sass, has opened a…
Wedding Band: a frightening love story
Interracial marriage used to be illegal? Yikes. That was in the Bad Old Days. We now live, thank heaven, in an era in which love = love. Thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court (Loving v. Virginia in 1967; the recent…
The Music Man: seeworthy
To begin on a mercantile note: Artistry Theater charges $41 for a ticket to The Music Man (Artistry, 1800 Old Shakopee Road in Bloomington, through Nov 5). This is 1/4 of what they get at the Orpheum, 1/3 of what…
Electra: a two thousand five hundred year old gem
In Ten Thousand Things’ delicious Electra (various venues, opening at Open Book Oct 13; see TTT’s website for specifics; scheduled through Nov 5), Electra’s brother Orestes brings in the recently severed head of Aegisthus – his and Electra’s father’s murderer…
Watch on the Rhine: a resonant political thriller
In the perpetual struggle for freedom and human rights, there are heroes, villains, bystanders, and opportunists. Lillian Hellman’s Watch on the Rhine, now at the Guthrie’s proscenium stage through November 5th, examines the complex webs of interaction between these groups…
How To Use A Knife: sharp and entertaining
Will Snider‘s raucous How To Use A Knife (Mixed Blood, through Oct 15) niftily captures the cascading chaos of a modern American restaurant kitchen. Chef George rides herd – well, tries to – on his crazed Guatamalan line chefs, Miguel…