By TAMAR NEUMANN: The story of Merlin and King Arthur has been re-told in a thousand different ways with almost as many different interpretations of each character. Phillip Andrew Bennet Low states, “The value of a . . . good yarn lies . . . not in invention—but re-invention,” and his words readily apply to the…
By TAMAR NEUMANN: Balloonacy, the Children’s Theatre Company’s (CTC) new play for preschoolers, is a delightful little play about a man and a red balloon. While the play is not long (a running time of only 30 minutes—it is designed for children with short attention spans), it manages to capture a range of emotions. This is…
By TAMAR NEUMANN: Othello has long been my favorite Shakespeare tragedy. It may not have star-crossed lovers or scorned nephew-sons, but it has one character that outshines everything else—Iago. While I can understand why the play is called Othello, it might be better named Iago: it is Iago who pulls the strings, and without him, there would be little to…
By TAMAR NEUMANN: I often forget that theatre can be magical. That was theatre’s original purpose—creating an enchanting world where you could escape your everyday problems. Now, theatre is often used for a different purpose, because movies provide escape and theatricality, but when I see a show at The Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) I am reminded…
By TAMAR NEUMANN: When you walk into the mainstage area for Mixed Blood Theatre’s new production The Sun Serpent, you might be immediately struck by the simple, yet elaborate set design. It looks like a jungle. It sounds like a jungle, and if you hadn’t just walked in from the Minnesota tundra, it might even…
Aisle Say - Twin Cities 