Jennifer Baldwin Peden

James A. Rocco (Minneapolis/St. Paul based producer, director, writer and performer) and Jayme McDaniel believe #NothingCanStopLiveTheatre, not even a pandemic. Reviving a project that works well as audio, A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS CAROL, ON AIR, comes to Audio Stages tonight, Dec. 19; star-studded cast album drops Monday, Dec. 21

The Minnesota Orchestra announced plans for Sommerfest 2019 today, unveiling a four-week July festival, presented under the banner Musica Juntos (Music Together), that spotlights Latin American music and culminates in performances of Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov's La Pasion segun San Marcos, a much-celebrated, genre-blurring retelling of the biblical passion of St. Mark, described by critics as "a work of genius" and "the first indisputably great composition of the 21st century."

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 known true events in Minnesota and New York in the 1870s-events that eventually led to the fleecing of a bunch of investors (including the wealthy robber baron Jay Gould) and a Minnesota militia marching on Canada.

As chilly weather settles into Minnesota, local playwright Kira Obolensky has a wintery new musical to share. 'The Overcoat: A Low-Fi Musical' is the first play in the Playwrights' Center's 2017-18 Ruth Easton New Play Series, a long-running series offering Playwrights' Center Core Writers 20 hours of workshop time to develop a new play and giving theater fans a chance to see free public readings of the plays in progress.

It may be spring (almost) outside, but inside Nautilus Music-Theater's tiny studio space in Lowertown St. Paul, it's most definitely September. The kind of September 'where grass is green and grain is yellow,' and 'no one weeps except the willow.' A lovely hopeful youthful September that slowly fades into a wiser, darker, and nostalgic December. While Nautilus is primarily dedicated to developing new works of music-theater, with their newest full production, they are presenting a new take on the longest running musical in the world. 56 years ago, THE FANTASTICKS was just the kind of piece that Nautilus would have developed, supported, and produced - an inventive piece of music-theater storytelling that pushes the envelope of what the genre can do. While that glow of newness and inventiveness has somewhat faded over the years, Nautilus is bringing it back in a new way with age-conscious and gender-conscious casting, and by presenting the piece as it originally was - in an intimate small-scale setting that allows the simple beauty and humor of the piece to shine. With limited seating and only 12 performances, make plans soon for this rare opportunity to see this classic musical performed by some of the Twin Cities best theater artists up close and personal.

Young love is a distant memory when Matt is 64 and Louisa is 72.

For their annual summer festival, Skylark Opera is presenting the Leonard Bernstein classic operetta Candide and the musical revue Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill.

It's hard to believe with the weather we've had, but summer is just around the corner. And if you're a musical theater fan like I am, it's going to be a great one! Here are a few summer musicals I'm looking forward to this year.

On Saturday night, BEHOLD: A Gala Performance, honoring 50 years of the Guthrie, took place on the theater's Wurtele Thrust Stage before a packed house. The performance featured a glittering array of contributors including actors and artists linked to all aspects of the Guthrie's past and its vision for the future. BEHOLD, the centerpiece of a weekend that captivated the Twin Cities and marked the long and vital relationship between the Guthrie and the community that it calls home, marked the half-century milestone for the flagship of the American regional theater movement that first opened its doors in 1963.

The Guthrie welcomes 17 accomplished local actors and vocalists who have all appeared on the Guthrie's stages during their careers to complete the artist line-up as the vocal ensemble for BEHOLD: A Gala Performance, honoring 50 years of the Guthrie, tonight, June 22, 2013. Accompanied by a 12-piece orchestra helmed by Musical Director Andrew Cooke, the ensemble will perform songs from some of the greatest musicals of all time, in unexpected ways.

The Guthrie today announced that 17 accomplished local actors and vocalists who have all appeared on the Guthrie's stages during their careers will complete the artist line-up as the vocal ensemble for BEHOLD: A Gala Performance, honoring 50 years of the Guthrie, on Saturday, June 22, 2013. Accompanied by a 12-piece orchestra helmed by Musical Director Andrew Cooke, the ensemble will perform songs from some of the greatest musicals of all time, in unexpected ways.

Minnesota Dance Theatre will shine the spotlight in a one-of-a-kind performance creating bold, breathtaking works for the stage in Fierce/Feminine: Dance by Women Choreographers.

Minnesota Dance Theatre will shine the spotlight in a one-of-a-kind performance creating bold, breathtaking works for the stage in Fierce/Feminine: Dance by Women Choreographers.

The Ordway will say farewell to the McKnight Theatre in grand style tonight, April 28 at 7:30 pm, in a special performance called, 'The Night of a Million Stars.' The concert production will highlight area artists and feature musical pieces from productions previously held in the McKnight Theatre.

James Rocco is the vice president of programming and producing artistic director of the Ordway Center for Performing Arts in Saint Paul, Minn. He is also the director, host and a performer in the Ordway's latest edition of BROADWAY SONGBOOK, this time, focusing on American musical theatre master, Cole Porter. I recently sat down to learn about James, the BROADWAY SONGBOOK: Cole Porter and what's next for the theatre.

The Ordway will say farewell to the McKnight Theatre in grand style on Sunday, April 28 at 7:30 pm, in a special performance called, "The Night of a Million Stars." The concert production will highlight area artists and feature musical pieces from productions previously held in the McKnight Theatre.

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts presents its second installment of the popular Broadway Songbook Series for the 2012-2013 Theater Season, 'The Words and Music of Stephen Sondheim,' tonight, Jan. 18-27 in the Ordway's McKnight Theatre. This three-event series highlights the lives, histories and stories of musical theater legends.

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts presents its second installment of the popular Broadway Songbook Series for the 2012-2013 Theater Season, 'The Words and Music of Stephen Sondheim,' Jan. 18-27 in the Ordway's McKnight Theatre. This three-event series highlights the lives, histories and stories of musical theater legends.