by SOPHIE KERMAN A lot of theater companies and filmmakers seem to think that in order to make Shakespeare comprehensible to modern audiences, they need to place his plays in a modern setting. But it turns out that – wait for it, this might come as a surprise – Shakespeare was actually a really great writer of the English…
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…
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 CHRISTINE SARKES SASSEVILLE Fans of the 1950s classic movie, Born Yesterday, starring Judy Holliday and William Holden, will find much to enjoy in Guthrie Theater’s version, which is based on playwright Garson Kanin’s original Broadway play. Born Yesterday at the Guthrie is an amusing, well-acted romantic comedy and political satire, whose indictment of congressional corruption…
by SOPHIE KERMAN The 2013 Ivey Awards, the Twin Cities’ celebration of the best of theatre, have been awarded! How many have you seen? Lifetime Achievement Award: playwright Jeffrey Hatcher, nationally-renowned playwright, the Lifetime Achievement Award, Aisle Say reviews of a few of his plays: Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club, Standing on Ceremony (contributor),…
The 2013-2014 season at the Guthrie Theater‘s Wurtele Thrust Stage opens with a production of the Russian classic Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov. It’s a fairly safe bet, since the play has enjoyed considerable popularity and critical acclaim since it first debuted in Moscow in 1899. This is with good reason; Chekhov‘s story is comic enough to be entertaining, and dramatic enough…
by SOPHIE KERMAN In the artistic process, from the initial spark of an idea to the final performance of a show, a lot can go wrong. Moon Show 143, in a limited run at the Guthrie’s Dowling Studio, began as an intriguing idea: an exploration of humankind’s relationship to the moon. Adding puppets and an electronic soundtrack to…
It seems that everyone has decided to open their shows around the weekend of September 20 this year, and we just can’t cover it all! You can stay tuned for reviews of Moon Show 143 at the Guthrie (Sept 14-18), Good People at the Park Square (previews Sept 13, opens Sept 20) and Uncle Vanya at the Guthrie (again, previews…
by CHRISTINE SARKES SASSEVILLE Director Joe Dowling and the entire cast and crew of the Guthrie Theater’s Pride and Prejudice can surely be proud of their stage adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved novel, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. The play is hugely entertaining, unexpectedly hilarious–while remaining true to the novel’s more thoughtful themes–and can…
by CHRISTINE SARKES SASSEVILLE Homer’s the Iliad is among the oldest works of Western literature and its illumination of the heroism and horrors of war has resonated with listeners and readers throughout history. One of the most moving segments of An Iliad, now at the Guthrie Theater through May 26, was actor Stephen Yoakam’s minutes-long listing of every war in human history since the Trojan…
Aisle Say - Twin Cities 