Theater Reviews of theater productions, both traveling and originating in Minnesota.
Reviews of theater productions, both traveling and originating in Minnesota.
May 17 2018
Theater Mu’s The Princess’ Nightingale Is a Dazzling Flight of Fancy
Delightful. That’s the word that captures the experience of seeing The Princess’s Nightingale, directed by Randy Reyes of Theater Mu at SteppingStone Theatre in St. Paul. Incorporating singing, dancing, and fighting (plus writing), the show will grab your attention from the moment the curtain…
Mar 04 2018
Rated G: The Improvised Family Friendly Musical Is Rated H For Hysterical
One of the great things about improv is that it results in shows that are never the same twice—which really takes the pressure off a reviewer vis-à-vis any possible spoiler infractions. More surprising to those unfamiliar with the form is how, in the hands of skilled artists, what results from a simple…
Feb 12 2018
In Fearless Five: Conspiracies, They Are Out to Get You—to Laugh
As soon as I walked in out of the frigid February night and saw the vintage Simplex film projector in the lobby of the Mounds Theatre, casually aimed at a signboard displaying a poster for A Klingon Christmas Carol, I thought I was in a pretty nifty theater. When I moved into the auditorium itself and saw…
Jan 15 2018
Dance and Theater Combine for A Rap on Race, Revamped
It was a simple conversation that changed the nation. Two people, black author James Baldwin and white anthropologist Margaret Mead, sat down and talked about race back in 1970.
Nearly five decades later, that moment in time is being brought back to life in the form of an arts hybrid of sorts by Spectrum…
Jan 15 2018
The Way Out Experiment Lives Up to Its Name
Arriving early so I could get a good seat, I sat, knees practically touching the stage. The Bryant-Lake Bowl theater slowly filled up to the accompaniment of unsettling music: a soft bell tolling in the distance, anxious descending strings, alarmed horns, and occasionally that most disturbing instrument…
Dec 21 2017
Farewell, Mary Jo Pehl (Until the Next Time)
If you’re a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000, you surely know the manic and maniacal Pearl Forrester, played with incessant intensity by the hilarious Mary Jo Pehl—or you’ve spotted Pehl in one of her smaller parts, like Jan in the Pan, Magic Voice, or Minnewegian Amazon. Her presence has been…
Dec 05 2017
Adam Savage and Michael Stevens Satiate the Mind with Brain Candy Live
For generations, being interested in science made you an outcast—forced into the depths of basement laboratories, backyard telescopes, and dusty library sections. But over time, popular science started to break through to the masses, with shows like Mr. Wizard, Beakman’s World, and …
Dec 04 2017
Klingons, Gender, and Disability on the Feast of the Long Night
The concept of transformative works is not new; it dates back as far as history goes. Typical examples include the Gospels (written hundreds of years after the life of the historical figure of Jesus) and Dante’s Divine Comedy (a self-insert version of the author palling around with his favorite…
Dec 04 2017
Imagination Is the Ultimate Escape in The Terror Fantastic
There’s something refreshing about attending a play put on by a smaller theater company. Larger productions can certainly be dazzling, yet they can also feel a trifle overproduced. The expensive sets, the slickly tailored costumes, the perfect sound and effects can actually distance an audience…
Nov 11 2017
The Marriage of Figaro Is a Modern Story of Class Struggle, Dressed in Wigs
Overdressing, cross-dressing, undressing, and a healthy dose of social critique are just a few of the delights offered by the Minnesota Opera’s production of classic opera The Marriage of Figaro.
Figaro, our charismatic hero and the personal valet to Count Almaviva, just wants his wedding…