by SOPHIE KERMAN Political theater has a fine line to walk between didacticism, partisanship, and voyeurism into trauma. This is something that co-creators Michael Opperman and Nathan Tylutki were deeply aware of when constructing Red, White, [Black & Blue]: Uncharged at Guantánamo, a performance piece about the detainees currently remaining uncharged at Guantánamo. The term “performance piece” (my…
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 CHRISTINE SARKES SASSEVILLE Peter and the Starcatcher at the Orpheum Theatre, through this weekend only, is a high-octane and hilarious voyage to Neverland, with wildly innovative staging and scene-chewing acting that will have you laughing out loud and marveling at the inventiveness of it all. The five-time Tony Award winning adaptation by Rick Elice is based…
by SOPHIE KERMAN How many ping pong balls can you pick up in 30 seconds? In 15 seconds, can you come up with 5 different things that you’d like to put in a mailbox but probably shouldn’t, because you’re pretty sure it’s a felony? Game shows are weird, unpredictable, and completely arbitrary, and this might…
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…
by JAMES JOHNS, guest reviewer* Described as a play of “what if” by director Rob Melrose, Freud’s Last Session imagines a conversation, bordering on debate, between Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis as they struggle to understand each other’s positions on logic, faith, and the existence of God. An older atheistic Freud, suffering from late stage oral cancer, requests a…
As the lights dimmed in the Bryant Lake Bowl theatre, and Seth Lepore started his performance, I was confused. Lepore sat on stage, nervously glancing around the audience, making disjointed comments about being in Antarctica. The audience was laughing — because this was an inside joke I didn’t get? Because they were uncomfortable? Because they…
by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN On Friday, March 21, one of the world’s most innovate dance ensembles will be performing at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. Under the artistic direction of Judith Smith, AXIS Dance Company “challenges the possibilities of movement.” Founded in 1987, they have paved the way for a powerful contemporary dance…
by SOPHIE KERMAN The story of Tristan and Yseult (or Isolde) has been told and re-told for centuries, from the original 12th-century French romance to Wagner’s 19th-century opera to Ridley Scott’s fairly atrocious 2006 adaptation. Such a long history provides the freedom to take a few liberties, to push and pull the tale into new forms…
by TAMAR NEUMANN This February experiences a different kind of love story – one that doesn’t stick to traditional heterosexual or homosexual norms. Instead it focuses on stories that are rarely heard, stories that explore queer and trans* experiences. The 20% Theatre Company, known for promoting the work of female and transgender theatre artists, has…
Aisle Say - Twin Cities 