Only the great Stephen Sondheim can do this: hunched over a (grand, naturally) piano, he plunks out a simple melody. One five-five-five. “Isn’t it rich? / Don’t you approve?” And suddenly – hey, presto! – Sondheim has created “Send In…
Review | The Great Leap: a leap across time and culture
The Guthrie Theater, through Feb 10The first time I heard Lauren Yee’s The Great Leap at a reading, I was close to crying most of the time. Not because the play is sad—it’s very funny—but because the play made me the most homesick I’d ever…
Review | Les Misérables: breathtaking
Hennepin Theatre Trust, performing at the Orpheum, through Dec 30After a hugely successful two- and half-year Broadway run, Les Misérables returns to the Orpheum for a new take on the musical like you’ve never seen before. The lush score conducted by Brian Eads and innovative new set designs showcasing…
Review | Blackbird: powerful, creepy
Dark And Stormy Productions, 77 13th Ave NE — in the Grain Belt Brewery complex — through Jan 5The past, as the swamis never tire of telling us, is a meaningless abstraction. Ditto the future. There is only the ineffable Now, the shining wellspring of happiness and contentment. But what do you do when the past is the…
Review | The Wickhams: a holiday treat
The Jungle Theater, through December 30If you’re looking for the perfect gift for the Jane Austen fan in your life – and there are many – a night at the theater to see The Jungle Theater‘s production of The Wickhams is just the ticket. The Wickhams…
Review | Dr. Suess’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas: green holiday fun
Children’s Theatre Company, through Jan 6Ready or not, the 2018 Christmas season has started. How do I know this? It’s because of the discombobulating rush of holiday shows: the big G begins (on Nov 13) its kazillionth production of A Christmas Carol; there’s the myriad…
Review | The Book Of Mormon: singin’ and dancin’ racism
The Orpheum, through Nov 18The Book Of Mormon is an energy packed and very funny show now playing at the downtown Orpheum Theatre until November 18th. Its pacing is tireless, starting at the opening song “Hello” when we meet Elder Price, (Kevin Clay) a…
Review | The Clean House: clean, but not clean-cut
Theatre Unbound, performing at the Gremlin, thru Nov 18Theatre Unbound’s production of Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House (Theatre Unbound,performing at the Gremlin Theater until November 18) is only one of at least ten productions of this play in the country over the next four months. Some reasons why…
Review | The Laramie Project and The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later
When 21-year-old Mathew Shepard was brutally murdered in Laramie, Wyoming, the victim of an unspeakable hate crime, it shocked the nation and left Laramie unraveled in the midst of a media maelstrom. Forced to both pick up the pieces of…