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BWW Review: THE PARCHMAN HOUR at The Guthrie Theater
In 1961, Parchman Penitentiary served as a detention site for the Freedom Riders, mixed race and mixed gender groups of activists who put their lives on the line to protest segregation. To keep their spirits up in jail, they sang. This documentary theater piece is rich in music, and tells their sto...
BWW Review: For Just $9 in the Guthrie Theater's Level 9 Dowling Studio, You Can See the Relevant and Moving One-Man Show HOLD THESE TRUTHS
'We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal.' I remember learning this quote in history class. And I remember my teacher saying that what the authors of the Declaration of Independance really meant was, firstly, men and not women, and secondly, the implied qualifiers of ...
BWW Review: THE LAST FIREFLY at Children'sTheatre Company
This pre-eminent children's theatre company is one of the wellsprings of new plays for young audiences, and has twice commissioned playwright Naomi Iizuka in that effort. This time, Iizuka has woven together aspects of seven different Japanese folktales to create THE LAST FIREFLY, the tale of a bo...
BWW Review: Park Square Theatre Brings Will Eno's Funny, Weird, and Moving Play THE REALISTIC JONESES to Life with a Fantastic Four-Person Cast
THE REALISTIC JONESES is an odd little play. But I shouldn't be surprised; the other Will Eno play I've seen (THOM PAIN (BASED ON NOTHING) by Loudmouth Collective) is exceedingly odd. But odd in the best way. THE JONESES is a little more, well, realistic, than the one-man show THOM PAIN, with an ...
BWW Review: Playwright Michael Elyanow Reimagines MEDEA in the Uncategorizable THE CHILDREN at Pillsbury House Theatre
Medea. Even if, like me, you've never seen or read the play, we all know the story of the mother who kills her children. Worst mother ever, right? But maybe, as they say on CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND, the situation is a bit more nuanced than that. Maybe there's more to the story, maybe other people in the ...
BWW Review: Loudmouth Collective WAITING FOR WAITING FOR GODOT is a Clever, Funny, and Silly Companion Play to the Beckett Classic
WAITING FOR WAITING FOR GODOT is definitely the lightest and funniest show Loudmouth Collective has done in their five seasons. And friends, it's really funny. Playwright Dave Hanson has written a clever, smart, and silly companion play to Beckett's classic absurdist play WAITING FOR GODOT, in which...
BWW Review: SENSE AND SENSIBILITY at Guthrie Theater
The Guthrie's well cast, wittily directed, beautifully costumed production of a new adaptation of one of Jane Austen's beloved novels is a delightful concoction, firmly set in period but updated to our time in terms of thematic emphasis. This upbeat show is well worth a visit, even if you are someo...
BWW Review: THE TAMING at Theatre Unbound
Lauren Gunderson is the 8th most produced playwright in the US in the 2015 - 16 theater season, according to AMERICAN THEATRE. Make that 9th, if you count Shakespeare. And part of the reason is her 2013 farce, THE TAMING, which riffs loosely off Shakespeare's famously problematic sex comedy, THE T...
BWW Review: Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre and St. Paul's Ordway Center Bring Us a Reinvigorated PAINT YOUR WAGON About the Diverse Cultures that Built the American West
I had never even heard of the 1951 Lerner and Loewe musical PAINT YOUR WAGON when the Ordway announced it as part of their season. I guess that's not too surprising; it ran for less than a year on Broadway and has never been revived. The story was significantly rewritten for the 1969 movie adaptatio...
BWW Review: A Few Suggestions at the Halfway Point of the Minnesota Fringe Festival, or, Time to Get Your Fringe On!
It's the halfway point of the 11-day, 168-show Minnesota Fringe Festival. I've seen 29 shows in the last 6 days, with 20+ more scheduled for the final 5 days of the fest. The new system of daily wristbands that get you into any and all shows that day seems to be working great. The handy Fringe websi...
BWW Review: Head to Charming Excelsior for a Nostalgic and Musically Thrilling MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET at Old Log Theatre
Carl Perkins, 'the king of rockabilly.' Jerry Lee Lewis, 'rock and roll's first great wild man.' Johnny Cash, 'one of the best-selling musicians of all time.' Elvis Presley, simply 'the king.' In 1956, these four men were in their 20s and at the early stages of their influential and prolific careers...
BWW Review: After Nearly 60 Years, The University of Minnesota Concludes their Summer Melodrama on the Showboat with the Delightful UNDER THE GASLIGHT
For nearly 60 years, the University of Minnesota has been presenting a summer melodrama on a docked showboat on the Mississippi River, currently across from downtown St. Paul. The Minnesota Centennial Showboat was christened in 1958, as those who know their Minnesota history could guess. The first s...
BWW Review: Jungle Theater's New Play LE SWITCH is a Feel-Good Summer Rom-Com with a Little More Depth and Significance than the Usual Rom-Com
Two years ago I saw Philip Dawkins' one-act play FAILURE: A LOVE STORY at the Minnesota Fringe Festival, and it was one of my favorite things I've ever seen at the Fringe. In fact I called it 'everything I want in theater,' a perfect blend of comedy and tragedy, with tons of heart. At the time I di...
Videos
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Footloose: The Musical Open Door Community Theatre (6/20-6/28) |
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The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley Commonweal Theatre Company (11/07-12/21) |
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The Most Happy Fella at 825 Arts 825 Arts (6/04-6/07) VIDEOS |
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The Who's Tommy Orpheum Theatre Minneapolis (3/30-4/04) |
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Paul Taylor Dance Company Northrop (9/26-9/26) |
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Eelpout Commonweal Theatre Company (9/12-11/01) |
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A Taste of Ireland - The Irish Music and Dance Sensation Symphony Hall (6/07-6/07) |
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Jewelry Power Elite Dudley Riggs Theatre First Floor (7/24-8/01) |
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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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Clay Walker Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center (8/28-8/28) |
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