The rosy red fingers of dawn steal over the wine dark Aegean Sea. The rising (and eternal) Grecian sun shines down on wandering Odysseus, as he leads his battered fleet home from Troy. Odysseus! He of the unflagging spirit, unending…
The Scarecrow And His Servant at Children’s Theatre Company
“Bigger!” the wonderful Doc Whiting used to shout at us in the olden days. “Make it bigger!” One step backward wasn’t enough; Doc wanted two step reactions. Leaps of wild horror. Pop-eyed grimaces. Takes to the audience. Always run. Most…
Othello at the Guthrie Theater
In the dark and affecting Othello (at the Guthrie, through April 20) director Marion McClinton and costumer Esosa dress the Moor (played thrillingly by Peter Macon) in thick leather and stiff boots. This imparts to him a lumbering, dominating authority. …
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 –…
Walking Shadow Theatre Company presents Schiller’s Mary Stuart at Red Eye Theater
Walking Shadow Theatre Company takes on a centuries-old mystery in a modernized version of Schiller’s Mary Stuart. On an art deco-suggestive unit set, courtiers in dark suits stride in and out with their urgent pleadings before the Queen. Elizabeth, played…
Ash Land by Transatlantic Love Affair, performing at Illusion Theater
Here’s the ensemble-created plot of the affecting Ash Land (Transatlantic Love Affair, performing at Illusion Theater as part of their Lights Up! series, through Feb 22): John and Mary Stone’s farm is suffering the triple whammy of Drought, Dust and Depression.…
Push Button, Get Bacon produced by The Recovery Party at Bryant-Lake Bowl
The Recovery Party returns to the Bryant-Lake Bowl with another serving of Push Button, Get Bacon. Sketches and satire, but no bacon. You’ll have to wait until the absolute last moment (no, not yet, not that moment… ok, now, this…
The Very Hungry Caterpillar produced by Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia at Children’s Theatre Company
Children’s Theatre Company is ready to brighten up a cold, dark winter evening – with black light. And what a dandy way it is to bring the stories of children’s book illustrator and writer, Eric Carle, to life on stage.…
NIWA GEKIDAN PENINO–“Out There” at The Walker
I think I’m going to stick with the theme of upended expectations while reviewing this year’s “Out There†Series at The Walker. Last night’s production, Kuro Tanino’s “Nikwa Gekidan Penino†(The Room Nobody Knows) was the poster boys (boys?) for that…
Cabaret by Theatre Latté Da, performing at the Pantages
A match made in Thespic heaven: Theatre Latté Da, our premier purveyor of music theater, known for its non-treacly and trenchant intelligence and its astonishing ability to produce super-high-quality theater on a strict budget. And Cabaret, (John) Kander and (Fred)…
The School For Lies at Park Square Theatre
A play has two primary sources of appeal. First, there is the moment-by-moment texture. Is it fun to act? Fun to watch? Does the language enthrall, are there compelling nooks and crannies in the characters? Does the design provide good…