by SOPHIE KERMAN Memorial Day weekend might officially kick off the wedding season for most of the population, but for same-sex couples in most states, all those weddings are just a reminder of one way that their love can not be legally recognized. And despite all of the political rhetoric about rights and principles,…
by SOPHIE KERMAN When it comes time to justify their work, the testimony of an artist speaks to much more than simply the words on the page. Although Are You Now or Have You Ever Been… is framed around Langston Hughes’ 1953 hearing in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee, it is not Hughes’ sympathies…
by SOPHIE KERMAN Whether because of the country’s harsh climate or its historically significant peasant population, the Russians certainly know how to deal with life’s hard knocks. Even the relatively privileged characters that inhabit Anton Chekhov‘s The Three Sisters do not have it easy. In many ways, The Three Sisters is all about the inevitable compromises we make –…
by SOPHIE KERMAN It takes a lot of guts to put on a Charles Mee play, and even more to stage it in Burnsville, a city not known for its experimental theater scene. Well, with its production of Mee’s True Love, the Chameleon Theatre Circle shows it has the courage and the chops to tackle the…
by SOPHIE KERMAN Good news: Osseo really isn’t that long a trip down I-94. This is good news, because whatever mysterious force drove the Yellow Tree Theatre to set up shop in a suburban strip mall does not prevent the company from putting on downtown-quality theater. In fact, The Glass Menagerie is better than a lot…
by REBECCA HALAT, Guest Reviewer The Minnesota Opera’s production of Madame Butterfly left me saddened—which is exactly the goal of this story. Soprano Kelly Kaduce was impressive as Cio-Cio-San, the tragic young heroine whose life is altered by her marriage with an American lieutenant, Pinkerton (played by Arturo Chacón-Cruz). One side character of note was…
by SOPHIE KERMAN Despite its being a world premiere, the Illusion Theater’s latest production is strangely undersold. On its website and in press materials, What’s the Word For is presented as the story of inter-generational support between a middle-aged man and an older woman who somehow bond over crossword puzzles. This doesn’t necessarily come across as a play…
by SOPHIE KERMAN All laughter is both highly personal and intensely social. We don’t laugh much when we’re alone, but the experience of shared laughter can bring a roomful of people together. Mary à la carte, which has just opened at the New Century Theatre after previous runs at the Bryant Lake Bowl, finds this common bond in…
by SOPHIE KERMAN It’s hard to stage a play based on a story the entire audience already knows; when the story is about Jesus, this is doubly true. Very few people have neutral reactions to the story of the crucifixion, but – whether positive or negative – each person’s associations to it are highly individual.…
by SOPHIE KERMAN In 1925, when Noël Coward wrote Hay Fever, going to the theater could be thought of as the pre-TV equivalent of staying in and watching Netflix. And just like a good night of TV, the theater has the potential to offer something for everyone – suspenseful drama, for those who want to…
Aisle Say - Twin Cities 