by SOPHIE KERMAN A short story by Jorge Luis Borges is like a strange, otherworldly onion: it looks finite and compact, as throwable as a baseball, but the moment you start to peel away the outer layers, you discover that there is more to it than you thought there was, and the flavor just gets…
by SOPHIE KERMAN There is a thin line between satire and mockery, and when it comes to racial or regional stereotypes, that line can get uncomfortably thin. T Bone N Weasel, an “underdog comedy” that tries to tackle issues such as racism and social class through the voyage of two ex-cons in South Carolina, steps a…
by ANNA ROSENSWEIG Although Conor McPherson’s The Birds shares a title with Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 film, this new play, currently in its American premiere at the Guthrie Theater’s Dowling Studio, is not a stage adaptation of the film. The two works do share the same source material; both take Daphne du Maurier’s 1952 short story…
by SOPHIE KERMAN The Minnesota Opera can’t be accused of playing it safe in its recent production of Lucia di Lammermoor. The opera, written in 1835 by Gaetano Donizetti, has long been considered as a star vehicle for its leading lady – a singers’ opera, with long bel canto lines that showcase a performer’s virtuoso talents. Traditionally, opera…
by ANNA ROSENSWEIG Conceived by Open Eye Figure Theatre’s co-founder Michael Sommers, this new marionette play, A Sorcerer’s Apprentice, is an adaptation of Goethe’s 1797 poem Der Zauberlehling. Most viewers, however, will be more familiar with the version featured in Disney’s Fantasia (1940). Remember the famous scene with Mickey Mouse and the brooms? Sommers’ version…
by ANNA ROSENSWEIG It’s easy to forget just how many common English expressions and turns of phrase come from Shakespeare’s plays. One of the pleasures of hearing his plays performed today is noticing these expressions and situating them in their Shakespearean contexts. Take As You Like It. We’re all familiar with the famous declaration “All…
by SOPHIE KERMAN As a general rule, my inner skeptic is not a fan of musicals – but a killer concert, on the other hand, I can totally get on board with. American Idiot, a recent addition to a slew of one-dimensional pop-inspired musicals (Mamma Mia!, Spring Awakening, etc.), bypasses all of my cynicism by presenting…
by SOPHIE KERMAN American audiences seem to have a special fascination with the world of the British upper-classes. Whether it is a fixation on the fates of Jane Austen’s characters or an addiction to BBC’s “Downton Abbey,” there is something about the poise and apparent ease with which the British conduct their financial and romantic…
by ANNA ROSENSWEIG What happens when two over-privileged adult children throw a birthday party for their wealthy father? This is the premise of Crashing the Party, a new play by Josh Tobiessen that wonders whether the tenacity needed to achieve the “American Dream” can be passed from one generation to another. Once one generation has…
by SOPHIE KERMAN Blair Thomas may have just changed the way I think about puppet shows. While In the Heart of the Beast has made itself known for its kid-friendly, large-scale puppet theater, Thomas’s Hard Headed Heart is not for children and only partly about puppets. This trio of short pieces, each an adaptation of a different…
Aisle Say - Twin Cities 