by LIZ PANTING, guest reviewer When most people hear the name C.S. Lewis, they think of The Chronicles of Narnia or The Screwtape Letters. They may think of Christian theology, of an author who was friendly with J.R.R. Tolkien, or maybe even of a stuffy British man in tweed. What they probably do not think…
by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN Inevitably, talking about Yellow Tree Theatre productions starts with talking about the space. Often the first thought on pulling up to the building is something like ‘is this it?’ Or ‘am I here?’ The theater lives in a lowrise line of storefronts in Osseo, welcoming but nondescript. This first impression never…
by SOPHIE KERMAN Wholesomely all-American, with unrelenting optimism and unquestioning zeal: am I talking about musical theater, or about the Mormon Church? In The Book of Mormon, Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone have found the perfect subject for a Broadway musical. Religious conviction, fear of hell-fire and idealistic missions seem to have been made for nothing if not…
by KAREN BORCHERT, guest reviewer The musical parody of the 1936 film by the same name, Reefer Madness, presented by Minneapolis Musical Theatre and Hennepin Theatre Trust, is well-timed given the sensation around marijuana legislation in recent months. The 1936 film, which warned of the evils of the “leafy green substance,” had somewhat of a cult following for its…
by SOPHIE KERMAN Although the Jungle Theater‘s decision to produce Venus in Fur may be capitalizing on the spotlight “50 Shades of Grey” has placed on BDSM relationships, David Ives’s play – which pre-dates the publication of “50 Shades” by about a year – has greater ambitions than simply titillating its viewers. A play about a theatrical adaptation of Leopold…
by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN The two productions that constituted “Puppet Weekend” with my toddler daughter were startlingly different approaches to celebrating the natural world. In attempting to figure how to write about the performances, I thought about Kid Enkidu’s inclusion of a bit of Walt Whitman’s poetry and the contrast between his writing and Emily…
by SOPHIE KERMAN Though widely acclaimed as an American masterpiece and one of Eugene O’Neill‘s greatest plays, Long Day’s Journey Into Night is not a play that anyone particularly enjoys watching. The story of the Tyrone family’s struggles with addiction, money, and illness, Long Day’s Journey begins on a note of underlying anxiety and ends with the dissolution of trust,…
by LIZ PANTING, guest reviewer The Ultimate Pajama Party is advertised as “the ultimate girls-night-out show”. Going in, I admit to feelings of skepticism; pajamas, pink feather boas, and cabana boys are not my style. And how can a girls’ night out be had at a play? Well, it isn’t a play, really. What producers…
by SOPHIE KERMAN You know that quirky teacher you had in high school or college, the one whose tangents were always more interesting than whatever the lecture was supposed to be about? The teacher whose class you secretly loved going to, just to hear them ramble about their preoccupations of the day? Thom Pain (Based on…
by SOPHIE KERMAN Priscilla, Queen of the Desert the Musical is the reason why musicals were born. Adapted by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott from the 1994 movie starring Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving, Priscilla the Musical takes the film’s original heart and love of glamour, and cranks up the volume, the budget, and exuberance to create a spectacle that takes you…
Aisle Say - Twin Cities 