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BWW Review: With DR. FALSTAFF, Mixed Precipitation Once Again Delivers a Delightful Mash-Up of Classic Opera and Pop Songs, Outdoors while Serving Fresh Local Food
Cooler weather, back to school sales, and the Minnesota State Fair may signal the end of summer, but one of #TCTheater's summer highlights is in full swing. This is my 5th year attending Mixed Precipitation's annual picnic operetta (now celebrating their 10th anniversary), and if you haven't seen th...
BWW Review: Chronofon Productions and Open Eye's DEAR LENNY: BERNSTEIN'S LIFE IN SONGS AND LETTERS is a Delightful 90 Minutes of Music, History, and Inspiration
Leonard Bernstein. I know him mostly as the composer of one of my all-time favorite musical theater scores, WEST SIDE STORY (closing this weekend at the Guthrie), as well as other works ranging from classical to popular. But I never really knew much about the man behind the music or what his life wa...
BWW Review: The Solo Play WHAT I THOUGHT I KNEW is a Remarkable True Story, Beautifully Told by Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company
NYC-based theater artist Alice Eve Cohen had a surprise late-in-life pregnancy filled with traumatic experiences and decisions. So she wrote a play about it, because that's what artists do. The result is a frank, funny, and almost unbelievable story that touches on many common and relatable issues. ...
BWW Review: Dark and Stormy's 'NIGHT, MOTHER is a Difficult Ride, but Beautiful, Heart-Breaking, Thought-Provoking, Conversation-Starting Theater
Friends, this is a tough one to watch. And I don't necessarily recommend it for everyone, especially people who might be triggered by the events of the play. Proceed with caution, because Marsha Norman's Pulitzer Prize-winning play 'NIGHT, MOTHER is 90 minutes of the most frank discussion of suicid...
BWW Review: Artistry's LEGALLY BLONDE Proposes Illegal, Incomparable Delight in Pink
Woods comma Elle descended upon the cultural scene wrapped up as Reese Witherspoon in the 2001 film "Legally Blonde." "Legally Blonde 2" followed shortly after. Bloomington's Artistry Theater at the Bloomington Center for the Arts opened the Broadway version of the film based on the musical's New ...
BWW Review: Theater Mu's Sweet, Funny, Fantastical New Play THE KOREAN DRAMA ADDICT'S GUIDE TO LOSING YOUR VIRGINITY is about Love, Friendship, and the Melodrama of Life
A romantic comedy about a rich Asian man and a hard-working Asian American woman featuring an all Asian cast. No, I'm not talking about the soon-to-be smash hit movie CRAZY RICH ASIANS, I'm talking about a world premiere new play written by a local Hmong playwright and featuring a charming 10-person...
BWW Review: Guthrie Theater's THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA MCBRIDE is a Sweet and Fun Story of Love, Friendship, Community, and Finding Oneself
Reminiscent of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES and KINKY BOOTS, but with a spirit and humor all its own, THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA MCBRIDE is a drag show with a beautiful message of finding one's identity and embracing those you love as they discover their identity. What it doesn't resemble so much is playwright M...
BWW Review: The Jungle Theater's Regional Premiere of the Broadway Hit HAND TO GOD is Hilarious, Shocking, and Not a Little Sad
HAND TO GOD is a little like AVENUE Q, but with less singing, more frequent cursing, and more graphic simulated puppet sex. The 2015 Tony nominee for best play is having its regional premiere in a fantastic production at Jungle Theater, and if you don't mind being a little uncomfortable at the thea...
BWW Review: Lyric Arts Empowers Romance in Endearing GUYS AND DOLLS
Guys and Dolls, a charming musical opening a half century ago on Broadway in 1951, reminisces New York's hidden society-gamblers, exotic dancers and 'sinners'-along with the missionaries who tried to redeem them. A story based on a series of short stories by Damon Runyon, Jo Sweeney and Abe Burrows...
BWW Review: Gremlin Theatre's Regional Premiere of IDEATION is a Taut, Thrilling, Engrossing, and Funny 90 Minutes
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you. The characters in the play IDEATION are definitely paranoid, entertainingly so, but whether or not someone is out to get them is still a question mark at the end of the play. The regional premiere of IDEATION by Gremlin Theatre ...
BWW Review: Flying Foot Forum's FRENCH TWIST Frolics at Park Square Theatre
Flying Foot Forum is one of the Twin Cities' most original performing companies. What they do-full evenings of original percussive dance, often with a historical or cultural jumping off point, and always with a big dose of humor-is unique. FRENCH TWIST (or parts of it) has been in their repertoire s...
BWW Review: Park Square Theatre Reinvents a Classic Tale in the Endlessly Delightful BASKERVILLE: A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY
Staging a mystery play during the summer is a longstanding tradition at Park Square Theatre, and I've come to look forward to it every year. It's always fun to immerse yourself in the light yet brain-teasing summer blockbuster fare. But their production of KEN LUDWIG'S BASKERVILLE: A SHERLOCK HOLMES...
BWW Review: Enjoy the Comedy&Tragedy of ROMEO&JULIET whilst Sitting Outside on a Minnesota Midsummer Night in Classical Actors Ensemble's Free Shakespeare in the Park
The best thing about summer in Minnesota is outdoor theater. And the lakes, of course. But I love nothing more on a lovely summer evening than to sit outside in a park or a garden somewhere while someone tells me a story. Classical Actors Ensemble continues their tradition of bringing Shakespeare to...
BWW Review: After Sixty Years, Guthrie's WEST SIDE STORY Still Sparks Cultural Controversy
On stage the past weekend, Minneapolis's Guthrie Theater opened a production of of the iconic musical West Side Story in the Wurtlele Thrust Stage. The following Tuesday, June 26, the United States Supreme Court upheld the country's travel ban for seven countries, mainly located in the Middle East,...
BWW Review: Shoot the Glass Theater's Minimalist Production of Sondheim Favorite INTO THE WOODS is a Delight
I've seen INTO THE WOODS twice in the last six weeks, and six times in the last seven years (not counting the recent movie adaptation). And while I would love #TCTheater to diversify its choice of shows (there are quite a few duplicates and triplicates this season), I'm not going to complain about t...
BWW Review: Banned in Burnsville, Brilliant in Bloomington! CAUCASIAN-AGGRESSIVE PANDAS AND OTHER MULATTO TALES is Smart, Funny, Thoughtful Commentary on Race in America
Duck Washington's funny, engaging, personal, and very honest sketch comedy show about being biracial in America has traveled a long road to its current home in Bloomington. CAUCASIAN-AGGRESSIVE PANDAS AND OTHER MULATTO TALES began as a Fearless Comedy show at Bryant Lake Bowl, and then had a success...
BWW Review: Pushing the Existential Envelope: UNDERNEATH THE LINTEL at Theater Latte Da
This one character philosophical scavenger hunt of a play has been staged all over the US and Europe since it premiered in 2001. It follows a fictional Dutch librarian who tries to track down the patron who returned a book to the overnight slot 113 year late. Her starting clues include hand written ...
BWW Review: Theatre Elision's Original Musical AIN'T IT A GRAND AND GLORIOUS FEELING Reimagines Music of Jerome Kern as Modern Day Rom-Com, Performed in a Coffee Shop!
Just over a year after their debut with the original musical RAGTIME WOMEN, featuring little known Ragtime gems by female composers, Theatre Elision closes their first fill season with another original musical. In AIN'T IT A GRAND AND GLORIOUS FEELING: CELEBRATING THE PRINCESS MUSICALS, book writer ...
BWW Review: Ten Thousand Things' Magical THE GOOD PERSON OF SZECHWAN is a Fitting Swan Song for Artistic Director Michelle Hensley
Michelle Hensley, retiring Artistic Director and Founder of Ten Thousand Things, is a gift. A gift to theater, a gift to Minnesota, a gift to the world. She taught us a new way to do theater, a new way to experience theater, one that considers who the audience can and should be, which is everyone. R...
BWW Review: Accomplished and Raw Performance Centers LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR AND GRILL at Jungle Theater
Twin Cities native Thomasina Petrus and legendary director Marion McClinton have teamed up to mount a definitive production of this famous concert show about the great jazz singer Billie Holiday. The show is structured as a club performance late in Holiday's career in a small Philadelphia venue, aft...
BWW Review: Stages Theater Presents the Magic of Humanity in WHOEVER YOU ARE
Housed on Main Street in Hopkins, Minnesota, Stages Theatre Company (STC) persevered for almost 35 years by producing exceptional, professional theater for young audiences. Believing in the enchantment, images and power of theater, especially for youth, the company produces world premiere productio...
BWW Review: Heightened Silliness Meets Speculative History: LORD GORDON GORDON at History Theatre
The History Theatre is having fun this month, with a world premiere by the popular writing duo known as 'Hatchling': Jeffrey Hatcher (book) and Chan Poling (music and lyrics). LORD GORDON GORDON is a romp of a musical in the tradition of con man stories like THE MUSIC MAN. It's based on little kno...
BWW Review: A Brand New Look for AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE at the Guthrie Theater
The plot of AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE seems ripped from today's headlines: think Flint, think Detroit. Of course, Norwegian Henrik Ibsen (an iconoclast in his day, generally regarded as "The Father of Social Realism" in western theater history) penned this prescient piece back in 1882. What the Guthr...
BWW Review: Tender and Topical THIS BITTER EARTH in Regional Premiere at Penumbra Theatre
In this 50th anniversary year of the Loving vs. State of Virginia Supreme Court case that made interracial marriage legal in all 50 states, it is right that the renowned Penumbra Theatre, which puts questions of social justice at the center of its artistic mission, should take up gay rights. THIS B...
BWW Review: Yellow Tree Theatre's World Premiere New Play STILL DANCE THE STARS is a Heart-Wrenching and Heart-Warming Story of Grief, Love, and Family
Last week in the cozy intimate space of Yellow Tree Theatre, in a strip mall in Osseo, I saw a world premiere new play that's unlike anything I've seen before. As someone who sees a lot of theater (and I mean a lot), that's a rare occurrence. While playwright Jayme McGhan's STILL DANCE THE STARS re...
Videos
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Footloose: The Musical Open Door Community Theatre (6/20-6/28) |
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Rockin’ The Island: Stone Temple Pilots, Skillet & Theory Of A Deadman – 2 Day Pass Treasure Island Amphitheater (6/26-6/26) |
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Shrek The Musical Stages Theatre Company (6/20-8/02) |
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Nobody's Perfect Scottish Rite Temple (6/03-6/27) |
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Outlander in Concert State (10/22-10/22) |
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Rocky Horror Spooktacular Tour State Theatre (10/01-10/01) |
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The Music Man Ordway Center for the Performing Arts (12/08-12/27) |
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Explorasaurus: A Dinosaur Adventure Stages Theatre Company (8/05-8/23) |
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A Taste of Ireland - The Irish Music and Dance Sensation Richard G. Hardy Performing Arts Center (6/10-6/10) |
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A Taste of Ireland - The Irish Music and Dance Sensation Gichi-ziibi Center for the Arts (6/11-6/11) |
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