If I could review the entire experience of seeing Between the Worlds in one word, it would be “beautiful” and if I could do it in only two words, they would be “exceptionally beautiful”. However, I feel that even those two words are insufficient. Through song, dance, puppets, storytelling, music, and movement, the show celebrates the…
by CHRISTINE SARKES SASSEVILLE Russ King’s hilarious holiday drag satire pokes fun of ethnic groups, religion, lesbians, bad sweaters and Rosemount. No group is safe from Miss Richfield 1981’s sharp-tongued, spike-heeled humor. King’s hysterically funny Miss Richfield 1981’s Christmas Cone of Silence is a holiday tradition for many repeat audience members and a break from treacly holiday fare for newcomers. King’s beauty queen alter ego,…
Much like Christmas carols, Christmas plays already exist in such numbers that creating a new one that puts a fresh new spin on things is quite the challenge. Kudos to Lyric Arts, then, for accepting that challenge by commissioning and mounting Christmas in the Airwaves by playwright John Patrick Bray. Set in 1944, Christmas in the Airwaves follows the adventures of a…
In only their second ever production, Casting Spells Productions takes on Terrence McNally‘s late-80s play, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. It’s a bold choice, given that it’s a two-hour production with a very intimate setting and features only two characters; with a weak performance by either actor or mismatched chemistry, the whole thing would fall apart. Luckily,…
BY TAMAR NEUMANN: Mixed Blood Theatre’s opening show, An Octoroon, is a fitting show for the talents of Mixed Blood. Known for their plays on, about and for diversity, An Octoroon, fits right in. By way of a brief synopsis, An Octoroon is a play within a play (somewhat). It’s about a playwright who adapts an…
BY TAMAR NEUMANN: If you have been following Aisle Say you will know that there are a couple of current Shakespeare and Shakespeare contemporary plays being performed in the Twin Cities right now. Since it is Fall, that means two of those productions are being done by the Classical Actors Ensemble. This year they have chosen…
BY TAMAR NEUMANN: Every once in a while I see a Shakespeare play that completely redefines the way I think about a particular play. It doesn’t happen often. I happen to see quite a bit of Shakespeare and I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to see some of the world’s best acting companies perform it. I’ve…
By LIZ BYRON. One of the first things most sources say about Christopher Marlowe is that he was a contemporary of William Shakespeare. This, of course, instantly sets up a comparison between the two, with Shakespeare frequently coming out on top. However, as far as the Classical Actors Ensemble‘s fall repertory goes, it’s Marlowe who’s the…
By LIZ BYRON. I was a little wary as the lights dimmed around me before Saturday’s opening of Pioneer Suite. It’s a new musical by Keith Hovis that explores the lives of three Minnesotan women in the 19th century. Why was I wary? Well, I’m always apprehensive when it comes to new musicals; there are just so many moving…
by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos is an oddball opera, and requires a deft hand to stage. Understanding its conception helps provide some context for the compositional and constitutional strangeness. The opera was originally conceived as a thirty-minute divertissement intended to be performed at the end of a Molière adaptation. The opera ended…
Aisle Say - Twin Cities 