by CHRISTINE SARKES In Disgraced at the Guthrie Theater, playwright Ayad Akhtar lays bare the deepest, darkest prejudices and fears of his diverse cast. In some ways, this is the most important review I’ve written to date and, like the play itself, the pressure to get it right is intense. What is it like for…
by CHRISTINE SARKES La vie est belle, life is beautiful, on the set of South Pacific at the Guthrie Theater through August 28. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1949 Broadway musical (and 1958 film) is romantic and lush, with such indelible music and lyrics that many left the theater whistling the tunes. It takes on prejudice and…
I’m just going to come right out and say it: I loved Le Switch. I feel a little guilty about this, mainly because it’s a pretty standard form rom-com complete with quirky characters and convenient coincidences and the overarching message that the best, most important thing you can do in life is fall in love and get…
tot is Mu Performing Arts‘ 50th World Premiere of a new play; in this case, playwright Victor Maog‘s quirky piece about a ten-year-old boy who immigrates from the Philippines to the San Francisco Bay Area to be reunited with his parents. Tot’s parents had departed from then military-ruled Philippines to seek a better life, leaving their only son…
by CHRISTINE SARKES Complicated Fun at the History Theatre through May 29 is a weirdly coincidental musical retelling of the history of First Avenue and the acts that made it famous, including Prince, who played frequently and filmed many scenes in Purple Rain there. In fact, Chris Osgood of The Suicide Commandos opened the show with a moving tribute…
BY TAMAR NEUMANN: Have you ever stopped to think about the sounds you hear every day? Do you notice the soft click, clack of a button in the dryer, the low purr of a lawn mower in the backyard, a joyful screech from a toddler, or the tap, tap of the keys on your keyboard? What…
Anatomy of Gray marks the first non-musical I have seen at Anoka’s Lyric Arts Main Street Stage, and to put it succinctly, I was glad I went. The show is a little bit drama, a little bit comedy, a little bit medical mystery, and a little bit fantasy (I mean, come on, one of the main characters…
Hope Theater Company has been around since 2013, but Recent Experiences is only their second production to date. Touted as a “mini-epic”, the play sets out to explore the political events and cultural shifts that took place through the 20th century as seen through four generations of a single family. It’s an ambitious task, particularly for a 75-minute…
by CHRISTINE SARKES Harvey, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Mary Chase and film, starring Jimmy Stewart, gets the screwball comedy treatment at the Guthrie Theater through May 15. The play will entertain all audiences with its broad comedic turns, gentle rebuke of social conformity and support of individuality and joyful innocence. Harvey is superbly acted and laugh-out-loud…
by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN The musical Bullets Over Broadway, an adaptation of the Woody Allen movie of 1994, is a crowd pleaser. The movie script was nominated for an Oscar, and this production features original direction and choreography by multi-Tony award winner Susan Stroman (also known for her work on The Producers). The production has…
Aisle Say - Twin Cities 