By ELLEN FERRY On Friday, December 1st, I had the pleasure of seeing the Orchard Theatre Collective debut their first public production, A Doll’s House. What a better setting for Henrik Ibsen’s 19th century drama than the iconic James J. Hill House in St. Paul. The intimate space—a second story schoolroom turned into a theatre-in-the-round…
By ERIKA SASSEVILLE and JACOB FROELICH Waitress is baked with love by an all-female creative team. Based upon the motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly with music and lyrics by 6-time Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles (“Love Song”, “Brave”), book by Jessie Nelson, and direction by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus (Finding Neverland, Pippin, Hair).…
by CHRISTINE SARKES If you are searching for a fun and festive holiday farce, I recommend wholeheartedly Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley at the Jungle Theater now through December 30. This adorable and funny Georgian-era play answers the burning question among Jane Austen fans: Would Mary Bennet (Christian Bardin) find love or would she remain…
Finding Neverland is the most fun, most magical, and most touching piece of theater these reviewers have seen all year. From top to bottom, this show is nonstop wonder.
by CHRISTINE SARKES Although this review is published after the brief run of Birds Sing Differently Here at the Guthrie Theater’s Dowling Studio, it serves as recognition of the important collaboration between the Guthrie and the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project to give voice to the Iraqi-Minnesotan experience. As part of Guthrie’s innovative Level Nine…
By JACOB FROELICH Nothing stops a show quite like magic. That is, besides spectacle beyond compare and a dazzling tap dance number. You can find all of the aforementioned delights in Disney’s Aladdin, playing now through October 8 at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis. Relive the classic rags to riches tale in all its…
by CHRISTINE SARKES Romeo and Juliet at the Guthrie Theater through October 28 is fresh, sexy and brilliantly directed by Guthrie’s artistic director Joseph Haj. I especially loved the humor and vibrancy of the staging and the modern cadence of Shakespeare’s words. The play sizzles with energy and will absolutely appeal to younger middle and…
By ERIKA SASSEVILLE Lin-Manuel Miranda, son of Puerto Rican immigrants Luz Towns and Luis A. Miranda, Jr. first made a splash when In The Heights (book by Quiara Alegría Hudes) debuted on Broadway in 2008, combining his childhood loves of musical theatre, hip-hop and salsa. Since then, he has won a Pulitzer Prize, three Tony Awards,…
by LISSI CORBETT The Guthrie Theater’s production of Native Gardens, a topical and often hilarious new play written by Karen Zacarías and directed by Blake Robison, is “not about flowers,” as one of its characters asserts, “it’s about principles.” In a mere 90 minutes, Native Gardens confronts some of the most salient and complex sociopolitical…
by JACOB FROELICH The lesser-known story behind the founder of one of the most influential record labels in history makes for quite the Broadway musical. Motown the Musical is captivating and enthralling from the opening number through the tribute mini-concert finale. The show is a sing-along for many and the music appeals to a broad…
Aisle Say - Twin Cities 