I love seeing new shows on the first day of Fringe. No reviews, no rumours, no spoilers; just me and my program. Unfortunately, Day 1 was not just me and my program, it was me and my program and my job that prevented me from seeing any shows before 10 PM, but I’ll take one…
Over 60 million people worldwide have seen the powerhouse musical Les Misérables since it opened in Paris in 1980 (the first English-language production was in London’s West End five years later). Les Misérables is the kind of show for which people will buy tickets regardless of the cast, venue, or dates; they just want to…
What is there to write about Clybourne Park that has not already been written? The hype around this play can feel a bit stifling. Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize, this “strong, ferociously smart play” has traveled from New York to the UK, Rhode Island, Philadelphia, and now to the Guthrie. The English teacher in…
Hollywood has a reputation of creating new stars, throwing them into the spotlight, and then casting them aside. Sunset Boulevard tells the story of a faded star and her desperate attempts to claw her way back into the limelight. It’s a wonderful story full of great music, performed well by Minneapolis Musical Theatre, and yet…
Rock of Ages is an 80s rock concert with a plot. What can I say? It is so much fun. If you’re looking to be well and thoroughly entertained this weekend, go see it. Just go see it, and have a good time. You might even want to think about dressing up in your best…
One of the shocks of childhood is the realization that adults can be even more capricious and absurd than children. Although some pretend that life is predictable and logical, adulthood is often chaotic, replete with characters whose motivations are difficult to decipher. Enter the Alice in Wonderland at the Children’s Theater Company, a flashy and high-energy production…
Mission Theater promises that its production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a “highly physical, energetic production”, and they aren’t lying. From start to finish, the play is bursting with energy. Characters dance, fight, frolic, and do just about anything but stay still. Australian director Penelope Parsons-Lord cleverly decided to use physicality to help…
Ever sat through a bad play? Afraid you’re about to? Never fear: we have tips to make the theater-going experience fun, no matter what appears on the stage. by JIM JOHNS, guest writer There are two ways to look at going to the theater. The first way is to condemn yourself to the evening and hope…
by CHRISTINE SARKES SASSEVILLE Jon Robin Baitz’s Other Desert Cities is a cunningly crafted family drama set in a plush Palm Springs living room. The play, directed by Peter Rothstein at the Guthrie Theater is superbly acted and written, with powerhouse female performances by Sally Wingert, as Polly, the Wyeth family matriarch, Michelle Barber, as her sister Silda,…
by CHRISTINE SARKES SASSEVILLE The Guthrie Theater and The Acting Company’s staging and interpretation of William Shakespeare’s whimsical romantic comedy, As You Like It, is wonderfully inventive, superbly acted and suprisingly accessible to modern audiences. Everything from the mystical set design, roaring twenties costume vibe, musical interludes and the modern cadence of the monologues cleverly evokes Shakespeare’s motifs…
Aisle Say - Twin Cities 