Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (at the Ordway, through Jan 2) tries so hard to make you love it. First, there are the colorfully dressed children (30 at least), bouncing balls and grinning with relentless cheerfulness. Then, naturally, there’s…
Category: Reviews
“Cinderfella” by Ballet of the Dolls at the Ritz Theater
Ballet of the Dolls has just opened its holiday offering at the Ritz Theater and it’s an absolute charmer. Conceived, choreographed and directed by Myron Johnson, who also designed the set, Cinderfella is a fresh take on the Cinderella story,…
Super-Powered Revenge Christmas #1 by Joking Envelope
The (thin and svelte) Red Avenger is flying his snow vehicle over the wintry City, along with his (rather less than svelte) sidekick Caribou Man (aka Rudy). Suddenly, the air is filled with flying droids from the dreaded H(erod) Corporation,…
Miss Richfield 1981’s Bingo Bonanza For The Holidays at the Illusion Theater
Miss Richfield 1981 has ridden her rusty and trusty Buick sleigh into downtown Minneapolis and double parked it outside the Hennepin Center for the Arts (no cop with any instinct for self-preservation would dare ticket her). She is now ensconced…
“Black Nativity: Now’s the Time” at Penumbra Theatre
This year’s Black Nativity, an annual tradition at Penumbra Theatre, takes a modern approach, hanging the nativity story on a contemporary American family. Conceived by Lou Bellamy and T. Mychael Rambo, and directed by Dominic Taylor, Black Nativity: Now’s the…
“A Christmas Carol” at the Guthrie Theater
The Guthrie Theater has faithfully delivered on our secret holiday wish: a fresh, new version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, this one adapted by Crispin Whittell and directed by Artistic Director Joe Dowling. This script has a decidedly lighter…
“A Christmas Story” at The Children’s Theatre Company
The Children’s Theatre Company is among the first to roll out this year’s holiday offering with an adaptation by Philip Grecian A Christmas Story by Jean Shepherd. Grecian, with director Peter Broshius (also CTC’s artistic director) steeps us in the…
Cowboy Versus Samurai by Mu Performing Arts at the Guthrie’s Dowling Studio
Michael Golamco‘s amiable Cowboy Versus Samurai (Mu Performing Arts performing in the Guthrie‘s Dowling Studio, through Nov 28) is loosely based on Edmond Rostand‘s 1897 classic, Cyrano de Bergerac. Ah, but with one crucial distinction: Golamco’s letter composer, Travis, lacks…
Table 12 and An Adult Evening Of Shel Silverstein by Freshwater Theatre at the Minneapolis Theatre Garage
For its premiere production, Freshwater Theatre remounts two (successful) comedies from the Fringe Festival: Table 12, A Play At A Wedding and An Adult Evening Of Shel Silverstein (Freshwater Theatre performing at the Minneapolis Theatre Garage, Franklin and Lyndale, through…
Dawes at First Avenue
There is something about the sincerity of a Dawes performance that hits you like a punch to the gut and leaves you a little shell-shocked. Frontman Taylor Goldsmith spits out lyrics like he’s been bottling them up for years—and maybe…