The creak of shifting ice and horror-film undertones are the first sounds welcoming audience members into the Wurtle Thrust stage at Guthrie Theater. A gleaming black, sloping mound dominates the set; a black disk of a sun glows ominously in the upper-left corner of the stage. The sounds, composed and designed by Cliff Caruthers, and … [ Read more]
A lesson in drag at Guthrie Theater
August 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment
It takes more than putting on a dress and squeezing into nylons and high heels to be a true drag queen. You have to know the history of it, the community of it, the art of it. You have to know who you are and who you’re hoping to become. You have to commit to … [ Read more]
The Mill: “Black Panther” star brings her play to the Guthrie
March 20, 2018 by
Iowa-born, Macalester-educated Danai Gurira, who co-starred as a warrior of Wakanda in “Black Panther,” is bringing her newest play to the stage at the Guthrie. Now more than ever, Gurira is juggling the roles of playwright and actress, as she reckons with the star status she’s acquired since starring in Marvel’s “Black Panther,” which has … [ Read more]
‘The Wiz’ is coming to the Children’s Theatre Company stage
January 4, 2018 by
Tie up those laces and get ready to ease on down the road: “The Wiz,” the 1978 film adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz” featuring a singing, dancing Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, will be brought to the Children’s Theatre Company stage in an exciting collaboration with CTC and St. Paul’s Penumbra Theatre. “It is … [ Read more]
Their Story Is Our Story: Veterans are finding a voice to share their stories of service
October 31, 2017 by
Ever since I left the Air Force in 2011, I’ve often endured a strange little question-and-answer dance. You chose to move to Minnesota? Really? Why? While it’s hard to sell the value of community against the prospect of hypothermia, I’ve been warmed enough by the support of the former to ward off the latter. I … [ Read more]
Positions, Please: Confronting gender inequality in American theater
June 1, 2017 by
I sit at a table with five other women and one man. I fidget with the papers in front of me, aware that no matter how prepared I am, this meeting might not go my way. I had told them, the other board members at this community theater, that I had something to discuss. Their … [ Read more]
What ‘The Sneetches’ teaches
February 13, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Dr. Seuss may have published “The Sneetches and Other Stories” back in 1961, but the Children’s Theatre Company’s musical adaptation “Dr. Seuss’s The Sneetches The Musical” proves the short story is still as relevant as ever. Composed by David Mallamud, written by Philip Dawkins, and directed by Peter C. Brosius, the Children’s Theatre Company’s inventive theatrical … [ Read more]
Everything you need to know for the 2016 Minnesota Fringe Festival
July 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The 2016 Minnesota Fringe website, along with the official festival schedule and tickets sales, is officially live at fringefestival.org. The festival, dubbed “Minnesota’s Summer Theater Crawl,” takes place August 4-14. The official list of shows is still in flux, but, when finalized, will be posted there. Currently, there are 169 slotted for performances. In the meantime, here … [ Read more]
New and veteran theater producers look to strike it big at annual Fringe Festival
June 28, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Natalie Rae Wass enjoys the special energy surrounding the Minnesota Fringe Festival. “It’s almost a small-town culture,” she says. “It’s like a commune of people that have found a thing that they enjoy and enjoy talking about it.” Wass, who performs in professional productions throughout the year, has been a fixture at the Fringe since … [ Read more]
Penumbra marks 40 years of illuminating the African-American experience through art
June 28, 2016 by Leave a Comment
When you pull up to St. Paul’s Penumbra Theatre, considered one of the largest and most important African-American theater companies in the nation, the first thing you notice is the playground. Tots toddle down teal-colored slides. Little yellow dump trucks sit bedded in a swath of wood chips. The fence that borders the property is … [ Read more]
Two new theaters coming soon to a neighborhood near you
June 16, 2016 by Leave a Comment
If all goes according to plan, two new theaters will have opened their doors in Minneapolis–St. Paul by this winter, reports City Pages. On West Seventh Street, Ryan and Tina North have just saved a historic theater from the wrecking ball. The Garden Theater originally opened exactly 100 years ago as a movie house, but … [ Read more]
The Shining at the Minnesota Opera
May 11, 2016 by Leave a Comment
A hotel in a blizzard. All work and no play. Lloyd the bartender. Room 217. The boiler room. Croquet mallets smashing through doors. One man’s descent into madness. The Shining made its world premiere from the Minnesota Opera at the Ordway Center for Performing Arts Saturday, May 7—a mix of dazzling multimedia and heartfelt, frantic vocals. You … [ Read more]
Mixed Blood Theatre to hold anniversary gala at Paisley Park
April 27, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Mixed Blood Theatre, a Minneapolis-based theater known for its unique brand of provocative, inclusive, and “predictably unpredictable theater” since 1976, will celebrate its 40th anniversary by hosting a gala, as previously scheduled, on May 14 at Paisley Park Studios, they announced via press release today. “Paisley Park staff has assured us that ‘Prince wanted this event … [ Read more]
Guthrie Theater awarded $1 million grant to create a ninth floor “theatrical hub”
April 13, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The Guthrie Theater today announced it has been awarded a $1 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to underwrite a groundbreaking initiative for the theater’s entire ninth floor, home to the 200-seat Dowling Studio, the Citizens of Minnesota Overlook—a signature feature of the lobby known as the “amber box”—and a unique retractable wall … [ Read more]
Patrick’s Cabaret loses lease and looks to the future
March 23, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Scott Artley, executive director of Patrick’s Cabaret, in South Minneapolis, announced today on their website that the firehouse that has housed the performance arts space for 16 years has been sold, forcing Patrick’s to leave the building by May 31. “While we are disappointed, we embrace this development as an opportunity to refresh and restructure how we … [ Read more]
