Road to the City of Apples; A Clown in Exile; In Algeria They Know My Name: Three Plays at the New Arab American Theatre Works Festival

by CHRISTINE SARKES SASSEVILLE  How do you navigate the cultures of the Middle East and America’s heartland as an Arab-American experiencing an identity crisis? A trio of plays by impressively talented local Arab-American playwrights and artists explore this theme and are showcased this week through July 12 at Mixed Blood Theatre. The festival is organized by a group of  Minneapolis-based artists of the…

The Elixir of Love

by  MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN Act I opens on a piazza floating in a bucolic Italian countryside. As idyllic as a scene from a Sophia Loren movie. Field workers and townspeople move around the square.  We see our first glimpse of Nemorino (Leonardo Capalbo), the erstwhile hero of the story.  Expressive and charismatic, Capalbo wanders the…

Hansel and Gretel

by  MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN The Minnesota Opera’s production of Hansel and Gretel is a great introduction to opera for friends and family who are intimidated or reluctant to give the form a try. The story is familiar, the music is approachable (and lovely), and the staging is fantastic – in all definitions of the word. …

The Iveys, and a fond farewell

by SOPHIE KERMAN Like so many of you, last Monday evening I went to celebrate the Twin Cities theater community by getting dressed up and applauding the achievements of so many talented theater professionals at the Ivey Awards. This year, as the Iveys’ 10th anniversary, has given critics ample food for thought; for instance, Tad Simons has a great article about how wonderful…

Nature: a walking play

by SOPHIE KERMAN I did Nature wrong, and I have to say that I am a little ashamed of myself. Rather than arriving early at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, I had a rushed lunch at home and then sped my way down 494 to make it to Chaska on time. This was my first time at the…

King Arthur: A Picnic Operetta

by SOPHIE KERMAN There is a danger in having a formula that works as well as Mixed Precipitation‘s annual picnic operettas. We know the recipe hits all the right notes (so to speak): first, start with an operetta – guaranteed good-quality music – and add in some more contemporary songs and an anti-corporate message to reach a target audience of modern adults…

Neverland

by SOPHIE KERMAN As a source text for a youth circus production, you can’t get much better than Peter Pan. Neverland is a country of eternal youth and constant adventure, and circus arts rekindle our sense of incredulity in a way that not many other forms of theatre can match. Maybe the death-defying leaps, staggering feats…

Crazyface

by  MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN “Be regular and orderly in your life, that you may be violent and original in your work.” Clive Barker Perhaps knowing that Barker is regular and orderly in life is a relief (or a consolation). After experiencing Crazyface, I’m imagining him in a rocking chair sipping tea as the sun rises,…

Stripe and Spot (learn to) Get Along

by SOPHIE KERMAN Summer sees a nice trend in the Twin Cities: just like local produce, theater starts to appear that is local, affordable, and fresher than your average mass-market products. Mixed Precipitation does it with their annual Picnic Operettas, the Classical Actors Ensemble takes Shakespeare to the parks, and Off-Leash Area has their garage tour. I was lucky enough to preview their new…

Our Country’s Good

by SOPHIE KERMAN “Theatre,” says Governor Phillip early on in Our Country’s Good, “is an expression of civilization.” In Timberlake Wertenbaker‘s 1988 play, now on the Guthrie Theater‘s McGuire Proscenium Stage, certainly makes a case that theatre has the power to provide dignity and self-respect in the most abject places. Set in 1788 in New South Wales (now Australia), the play…