by KAREN BORCHERT, guest reviewer The musical parody of the 1936 film by the same name, Reefer Madness, presented by Minneapolis Musical Theatre and Hennepin Theatre Trust, is well-timed given the sensation around marijuana legislation in recent months. The 1936 film, which warned of the evils of the “leafy green substance,” had somewhat of a cult following for its…
by SOPHIE KERMAN Although the Jungle Theater‘s decision to produce Venus in Fur may be capitalizing on the spotlight “50 Shades of Grey” has placed on BDSM relationships, David Ives’s play – which pre-dates the publication of “50 Shades” by about a year – has greater ambitions than simply titillating its viewers. A play about a theatrical adaptation of Leopold…
The Minnesota Opera is inviting readers to purchase $20 tickets to Doubt for tonight, Jan 26, or Tuesday, Jan 29! Here is a link to our review, and check out the offer details below. You can also see preview videos on the MN Opera’s YouTube channel! $20 tickets* to Doubt Saturday, January 26 or Tuesday, January 29 Use…
by SOPHIE KERMAN The Minnesota Opera has done a brave thing by commissioning John Patrick Shanley and Douglas J. Cuomo to write an opera based on Shanley’s Pulitzer- & Tony-winning play (and Oscar-nominated movie) Doubt. With the amount of acclaim the play and the movie have gotten over the years, a third adaptation could be seen as either redundant or…
by SOPHIE KERMAN Though widely acclaimed as an American masterpiece and one of Eugene O’Neill‘s greatest plays, Long Day’s Journey Into Night is not a play that anyone particularly enjoys watching. The story of the Tyrone family’s struggles with addiction, money, and illness, Long Day’s Journey begins on a note of underlying anxiety and ends with the dissolution of trust,…
by LIZ PANTING, guest reviewer The Ultimate Pajama Party is advertised as “the ultimate girls-night-out show”. Going in, I admit to feelings of skepticism; pajamas, pink feather boas, and cabana boys are not my style. And how can a girls’ night out be had at a play? Well, it isn’t a play, really. What producers…
by SOPHIE KERMAN You know that quirky teacher you had in high school or college, the one whose tangents were always more interesting than whatever the lecture was supposed to be about? The teacher whose class you secretly loved going to, just to hear them ramble about their preoccupations of the day? Thom Pain (Based on…
by SOPHIE KERMAN Priscilla, Queen of the Desert the Musical is the reason why musicals were born. Adapted by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott from the 1994 movie starring Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving, Priscilla the Musical takes the film’s original heart and love of glamour, and cranks up the volume, the budget, and exuberance to create a spectacle that takes you…
by SOPHIE KERMAN In the new production of Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida, the Hennepin Theatre Trust and Theater Latté Da present us with an excellent performance of a deeply problematic musical. The show opens a new collaborative series between the HTT and Latté Da called Broadway Re-Imagined, which casts local Minnesota talent in high-profile Broadway shows under…
by SOPHIE KERMAN It is too bad that God Rest Ye Scary Gentlemen is such a good idea, because that makes its execution all the more disappointing. The mission of the Hardcover Theater is to adapt texts for the stage, and for their latest production, they have chosen to spook up the holidays with three 19th-century ghost…
Aisle Say - Twin Cities 