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Performing Arts

Nov 18, 2009
To Appreciate or to Feel? That is the Question
Lightsey Darst

Lightsey Darst elegantly deconstructs her experience of "The Good Dance," as envisioned by Brooklyn's Reggie Wilson and Senegal's Andreya Ouamba; in the process, she offers trenchant insights about the varied ways art may work on the viewer.
Nov 3, 2009
Musings on "World-Premiere, Full-Length" Ballet in Twin Cities Art and Culture
Camille LeFevre

Dance critic Camille LeFevre weighs in on what makes for truly extraordinary big-ticket ballet, and specifically, on the latest world premiere at Northrop, "Moulin Rouge" by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
Oct 28, 2009
The Boundaries of Force and Harm
Quinton Skinner

Theater critic Quinton Skinner weighs in on Mixed Blood's new production, Lynn Nottage's "Ruined", directed by Aditi Kapil. He calls it a "play of startling intelligence and acuity," a powerful story of survival in extremity.
Oct 22, 2009
Old-Time Radio 2.0
David Doody

Writer David Doody profiles the creative team behind Radio Happy Hour, two guys who have been refashioning playfully zany old-time radio shows for hip, young audiences -- first in Minneapolis and now, New York City.
Oct 7, 2009
What the Heart Wants
Lightsey Darst

Lightsey Darst gives a glimpse into the underpinnings of Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater's new production, "Tales from the Book of Longing," which investigates the adult complexities of want, desire, and yearning.
Sep 23, 2009
Dance the Unending Monsoon
Lightsey Darst

Lightsey Darst weighs in on Ananya Dance Theatre's new work, "Ashesh Barsha,", the final installment in their performance trilogy on the environmental crisis. Plus: A preview of Ragamala's "Dhvee (Duality)", created with Çudamani, Oct 1 & 2.
Sep 18, 2009
Winners by any other name: The Ivey Awards
Jaime Kleiman

Jaime Kleiman offers a mini-history of the TC theater bash-that-could, the democratic-minded Ivey Awards. This year's "honorees," selected by a pool of 150 avid theatergoers, will be recognized in an awards ceremony September 21 at LaSalle Plaza.
Sep 16, 2009
The Play and Power of Women in Hip-hop: B-Girl Be
Lightsey Darst

Lightsey Darst reflects on Intermedia Arts' annual month-long celebration of women in hip-hop -- think you don't like this kind of thing? "Go anyway," Darst says. These b-girls will surprise and delight you.
Sep 9, 2009
A First Look at "smithsoniansmith (as is)"
Lightsey Darst

Lightsey Darst previews the densely layered "smithsoniansmith," a new dance work by the HIJACK duo and Scott Heron. Darst will review the show again this spring, when the artists plan to perform it as a larger-scale production.
Aug 18, 2009
Love, According to Dave
Britt Aamodt

Britt Aamodt offers an in-depth profile of emerging screenwriter turned playwright, David Ash -- the local writer/director of the underground film festival favorite, "Love: A Documentary," and a new play, "Connected."
Aug 7, 2009
FRINGE SHORTS: "Tales ... of the Expected" by Ari Hoptman
Max Sparber

Max Sparber appreciated Ari Hoptman's dry, quirky wit very much -- read on for Sparber's take on the production, which he says is inspired by early MAD MAGAZINE and Jay Ward's "Fractured Fairy Tales" in equal measure.
Aug 7, 2009
FRINGE SHORT: "You/Provoke/Me" by Same Planet Different World Dance Company
Lightsey Darst

Lightsey Darst weighs in on the crowd-pleasing dance concert by this Chicago company -- she found it agreeable if not groundbreaking, on the whole.
Aug 7, 2009
FRINGE SHORTS: "Bard Fiction" by Tedious Brief Productions
Matthew Everett

Matthew Everett and his Mom both loved this Elizabethan, versified retelling of Tarantino's now-classic film, PULP FICTION. Read on to hear about what he calls "an enormous, successful in-joke."
Aug 6, 2009
FRINGE SHORTS: "Rumspringa - The Musical" by Best Weird Dog
Matthew Everett

Matthew Everett had mixed feelings about this musical theater production -- he loved he inventive Amish girl-meets-robot premise, but found the story's execution to be only so-so.
Aug 6, 2009
FRINGE SHORTS: RAW Dance Collective's "Re: Trace"
Lightsey Darst

Lightsey Darst loved "Re: Trace," a clever bit of site-specific improv movement theater, and says the audience with her did, too--read on to find out why.
Aug 6, 2009
FRINGE SHORTS: "The Harty Boys in the Case of the Limping Platypus"
Max Sparber

Max Sparber thoroughly enjoyed this spoofy production by Joshua Scrimshaw and Levi Weinhagen -- he found this clever satire on the classic boys' mysteries to be rife with madcap fun and sharp wit.
Aug 5, 2009
FRINGE SHORTS: "Love Me Or Die!" by Savage Umbrella
Matthew Everett

Playwright and Fringe-devotee Matthew Everett explains why this show by Savage Umbrella is, after all he's seen, his top pick from this year's offerings.
Aug 4, 2009
FRINGE SHORTS: "Tragedy of You" by Joseph Scrimshaw Productions
Max Sparber

Max Sparber, one of our theater critics on the scene at this year's Fringe Festival, offers his enthusiastic recommendation for Joseph Scrimshaw's wildly inventive, comic take on Shakespearean tragedy.
Aug 4, 2009
FRINGE SHORTS: "The Three Bonnies" by DA Dance
Lightsey Darst

Lightsey Darst took in the horse-filled, cowboy-themed dance show "The Three Bonnies" by founding Zenon member Denise Armstead and found it to be an ambitious but puzzling production.
Aug 3, 2009
FRINGE SHORTS: "Fearsome Critter" by Mother/Destroyer
Matthew Everett

Playwright Matthew Everett will be sending back dispatches from the festival all week. Here's his take on "Fearsome Critter," a show, which he was happily surprised to discover, that totally faked him out.
Aug 3, 2009
FRINGE SHORTS: Cathy Wright's "Thrower of Light"
Lightsey Darst

Dance critic Lightsey Darst will be sending in dispatches and short reviews throughout this year's Fringe Festival. Here, she kicks off our Fringe coverage with a brief on Cathy Wright's itch-and-grit movement piece, "Thrower of Light."
Jul 29, 2009
Agony and Ecstasy: Inside the Fringe
Jaime Kleiman

Jaime Kleiman's engaging feature gives an inside glimpse into the pressure-cooker of making a Fringe show, as seen through the eyes of a few first-time producers.
Jul 28, 2009
MOMENTUM: Sally Rousse and Megan Mayer
Lightsey Darst

In this, the second in her two-part review of this year's MOMENTUM: New Dance Works offerings, Lightsey Darst gives her thoughts on the performances created by Sally Rousse and Megan Mayer.
Jul 21, 2009
MOMENTUM: Vanessa Voskuil and Sachiko Nishiuchi
Lightsey Darst

Lightsey Darst took in the first weekend's MOMENTUM: NEW DANCE WORK performances, and she weighs in on the madding crowd and fiery flamenco of this year's first shows, by Vanessa Voskuil and Sachiko Nishiuchi.
Jul 7, 2009
The Accidental Playwright
Jaime Kleiman

Actor and theater critic Jaime Kleiman profiles Aditi Kapil -- an Ivey Award-winning writer, actor, and director -- about her new work, the benefits of an international perspective, and the lucky happenstance that's bolstered her career crafting plays.

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