by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN The bones of the story will be familiar to anyone who has taken a survey course in English literature. Hamlet, the heir to the throne of Denmark sees the ghost of his father who demands that his son avenge his death. The tricky thing is that, according to this ghost, the…
by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN Inevitably, talking about Yellow Tree Theatre productions starts with talking about the space. Often the first thought on pulling up to the building is something like ‘is this it?’ Or ‘am I here?’ The theater lives in a lowrise line of storefronts in Osseo, welcoming but nondescript. This first impression never…
by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN The two productions that constituted “Puppet Weekend” with my toddler daughter were startlingly different approaches to celebrating the natural world. In attempting to figure how to write about the performances, I thought about Kid Enkidu’s inclusion of a bit of Walt Whitman’s poetry and the contrast between his writing and Emily…
by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN This play is a holiday favorite, particularly for many who don’t much like the holidays. Based on David Sedaris‘ cynical & searing true chronicles of working as an elf at Macy’s during the holidays, the Santaland Diaries were first read on National Public Radio 20 years ago. In the Frank Theatre…
by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN Peter Nichols’ A Day in the Death of Joe Egg is a provocative play, disturbingly frank in its portrayal of a couple’s experience raising a daughter with cerebral palsy. Nichols is unflinching in his depiction of Bri (Randy Schmeling) and Sheila (Mary Fox) and the emotional strain of parenting a child…
by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN Keri Alkema as Anna Bolena in the Minnesota Opera production of “Anna Bolena” Anyone with a glancing knowledge of British history knows all does not end well for Anne Boleyn. Anne was Henry VIII’s second wife (“divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived”), and, after specious charges of adultery and treason, spent…
by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN The funny I expected, the poignancy I didn’t. 2 Sugars, Room for Cream is a surprisingly moving collection of comic vignettes draped over incidental meetings with coffee, and some harder stuff here and there (“I keep a spare in the trunk” does not refer to a tire). Written and performed by…
by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN The Children’s Theatre productions are so masterful, so pleasurable, so dynamic and so consistently great that it can be easy to take the constant excellence for granted. Adapted for the stage by Katie Mitchell for Britain’s Royal National Theatre, The Cat in the Hat premieres in the United States here. There…
by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN & EVA VON DASSOW Minnesota Opera’s 50th Anniversary Season opens with the company’s first presentation of Verdi’s Nabucco, the opera that Verdi considered to be the beginning of his artistic career. The composer fully exploited the orchestra’s expressive capacity, and the musicians give a persuasive account of Verdi’s potent score. We’re fortunate…
Aisle Say - Twin Cities 