Enjoy a rare thing: A black musical rooted in the blues that conjures up mythic characters and is also, fundamentally, a feel-good family story. THUNDER KNOCKING ON THE DOOR in the hands of the social activist theater company Ten Thousand Things is a celebration of love, music, movement, and the mystical moments that cause us to transform into new, fuller versions of ourselves.
Theater Latte Da hosts the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT)'s New Work Roundtable from Thursday, July 19 - Friday, July 20 as part of this year's NEXT Festival.
Theater Latte Da announces extended performances of the rousing, world premiere musical FIVE POINTS thru May 13. This latest and most ambitious musical world premiere to date brings together the talents of a dynamic creative team. The score is the work of Douglas Lyons and Ethan D. Pakchar, a New York-based songwriting team with significant Broadway credits. The book is written by the prolific Twin Cities-based playwright Harrison David Rivers, who has penned three world premieres this season including FIVE POINTS, as well as productions at the History Theatre and Penumbra Theatre. Theater Latte Da Artistic Director Peter Rothstein directs the production with Resident Music Director Denise Prosek. Performances run now thru May 13 at the Ritz Theater (345 13th Avenue NE in Minneapolis). Single tickets go are on sale now and can be purchased at Latteda.org or by calling 612-339-3003.
BroadwayWorld has an exclusive first look at Theater Latte Da's Broadway-aimed world premiere musical FIVE POINTS. Check out the cast in action in the photos below!
Children's Theatre Company, in collaboration with Penumbra Theatre, presents THE WIZ. At the time of its opening on Broadway in 1974, THE WIZ was a modern retelling of The Wizard of Oz, featuring Soul-inspired songs and an entirely African-American cast. It was later adapted into a popular 1978 film starring Diana Ross and a young Michael Jackson. The Children's Theatre Company's production of THE WIZ opened on January 23rd and will run through March 18th.
'Combining CTC's critical literacy work and Penumbra's racial justice work allows us to forge something together that neither could do alone.' These words in the playbill of THE WIZ, the first collaboration between these two acclaimed #TCTheater companies, brought tears to my eyes before the show even started. Especially after wading through a sea of children of all shapes, sizes, colors, and creeds. In an increasingly divided world, Penumbra (one of the longest-running and most acclaimed African American theater companies in the nation) and Children's Theatre (ditto for children's theater) give me hope, as individual companies and especially in this collaboration in which an all-black cast tells a story of a young black woman who discovers her own power through the help of friends. They give me hope that maybe we can overcome our seemingly insurmountable differences and join together in song and awesome dance to solve our problems. It's possible, right? Can't you feel a brand new day? Indeed I can.
Children's Theatre Company (CTC) in partnership with Penumbra Theatre will present The Wiz, adapted from L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Children's Theatre Company (CTC) in partnership with Penumbra Theatre will present The Wiz, adapted from L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; directed by Lou Bellamy, Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus of Penumbra Theatre Company, assistant directed and choreographed by Patdro Harris (Broadway credits as Choreographer for A Raisin in the Sun), with music direction by Sanford Moore (Musical Director at Penumbra Theatre).
Children's Theatre Company (CTC) in partnership with Penumbra Theatre will present The Wiz, adapted from L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The Playwrights' Center held its 45th Anniversary Gala May 4, 2017 at The Blaisdell in Minneapolis. The Center's Producing Artistic Director Jeremy B. Cohen called the event "a benefit to support the creators, the legacy-builders and innovative theater-makers who transport us through the art of storytelling." Scroll down for photos from the event!
The Guthrie Theater has announced casting for the theater's summer musical, Sunday in the Park with George. Leading the cast will be Randy Harrison (Guthrie: The Glass Menagerie) who will play French pointillist painter George Seurat, a role originated by Mandy Patinkin in the 1984 Broadway production, and Erin Mackey (Guthrie: South Pacific) who will play Seurat's lover and model, Dot, a role originated by Bernadette Peters.
Due to a high demand for tickets, Penumbra Theatre will be extending its run of Jitney through Sunday, November 13, 2016. Directed by Lou Bellamy and featuring an all-star cast of company members and Wilson veterans, Penumbra Theatre's production of Jitney has been met with critical acclaim from both press and audiences alike.
Fresh off its world-premiere run in Minneapolis, where Star Tribune declared "Akeelah and the Bee triumphs," Children's Theatre Company's new production about an 11-year-old spelling prodigy comes to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. The show is adapted for the stage by veteran playwright Cheryl L. West (Arena's Pullman Porter Blues, Jar the Floor), who partners with celebrated director Charles Randolph-Wright (director of Broadway's Motown and an inaugural resident playwright with Arena Stage, where he premiered his play Love in Afghanistan). Akeelah and the Bee runs November 13-December 27, 2015 in the Kreeger Theater.
To celebrate the conclusion of its 40th Anniversary Season, Illusion Theater is excited to present a concert version of its beloved musical, ALWAYS AND FOREVER, for four performances only, September 24-27, at its downtown Minneapolis theater, located on the eighth floor of the Cowles Center, 528 Hennepin Ave.
2014-15 McKnight Theater Artist Fellows Austene Van and Sally Wingert, along with their collaborators, will present selections from works in progress on June 29 at 7 p.m. at the Illusion Theater.
Gary Hines, an accomplished talent who's best known for his 45-year career with The Sounds of Blackness, is music director for the acclaimed run of THE COLOR PURPLE at St. Paul's Park Square Theater. We got to know a little more about this production and Gary in this BWW Interview.
At first glance, the musicals THE COLOR PURPLE, CALVIN BERGER, and LA CAGE AUX FOLLES may not seem to have much in common. The settings couldn't be more different - the rural South in the early 20th century, a modern day high school, and a drag club in 1970s France. But since I happened to see them all on the same weekend, I couldn't help but draw parallels between them. All three musicals all speak to themes of beauty, identity, self-worth, and having the courage to be who you really are, despite what the world is telling you. In THE COLOR PURPLE, a young, poor, black woman is told that she's ugly and worthless, but after a lifelong journey she arrives at a place of strength and self-love. CALVIN BERGER sets the classic play Cyrano de Bergerac in a modern high school, where a young man feels that his large nose prevents him from getting what he wants in life and chooses to hide behind the handsome popular guy, both of whom eventually learn it's better to be loved for who you are. Finally, in LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, a middle aged man who feels more comfortable dressed as a woman is asked by his own son to hide who he is, but confidently declares 'I am who I am!' Another thing these three musicals have in common is that they can all currently be seen on Twin Cities stages featuring talented local casts. Read on for more details on each, pick one that suits your fancy, and go see a local musical that just may inspire you to love you you really are!
Park Square Theatre will produce the musical The Color Purple featuring a cast of 20 actors, a live orchestra, and some of the finest talent in the Twin Cities on its Proscenium Stage January 16 - February 15, 2015.
With Sexy Laundry opening tonight, the entire cast roster for the theatre's biggest season is almost complete. Nearly 300 Minnesota artists - including actors, directors, designers and technical operators - will mount 18 productions on two stages. The season lineup confirms Park Square's commitment to the work of women writers like Amy Herzog, Michele Riml and Alice Walker. The casting emphasizes Park Square as a home for local artists of color, from returning favorites like James A. Williams, T. Mychael Rambo and Regina Williams to dozens of debuts like Dominique Wooten, Kurt Kwan and Sarah Ochs.
Prudence Johnson has been one of SteppingStone Theatre's Music Directors for years, and now she's bringing her friends Kevin Kling and T. Mychael Rambo to the SteppingStone Theatre stage for one beguiling evening. The SteppingStone Theatre is proud to host this special concert, Tales of a Misspent Youth, by Prudence and her friends to benefit SteppingStone Theatre and their programs.
Videos
