Theater

If you love local theater, consider the Theater All Year program offered by the Twin Cities Media Alliance, the Daily Planet's parent nonprofit. For only $99, you can buy six vouchers good for tickets to shows by dozens of top local theater companies.

(The Theater All Year program is run independently of the Daily Planet's editorial coverage, and participation in the program does not affect the likelihood or content of any Daily Planet previews or reviews.)

The Guthrie Theater at 50: A legacy of artistic excellence, if not always diversity

By Sheila Regan, Behind the Story

Photos, top to bottom: Nancy Wickwire and Robert Jackson in the Guthrie's 1966 production of The Dance of Death; the Guthrie's original building as photographed that same year; the Guthrie's opening night audience in 1963 (all from the collection of the Minnesota Historical Society); the Guthrie today (photo by Mark Vancleave, courtesy Guthrie Theater).

This week marked the 50th anniversary of the first play staged at the Guthrie Theater. On May 7, 1963, Sir Tyrone Guthrie’s bold new experiment opened its production of Hamlet, directed by the Guthrie at their brand new theater adjacent to the Walker Art Center. Whether you love Minnesota’s largest theater or hate it—or, like me, have intensely mixed feelings about it—there’s no denying the impact that the institution has had on the Twin Cities' cultural life.

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Dominique Serrand talks about the Moving Company's "Out of the Pan Into the Fire"

By Rene Meyer-Grimberg, Arts Orbit

The Moving Company's new show Out of the Pan Into the Fire is now playing at the Southern Theater. Director Dominique Serrand talked with me about the process of creating the show in collaboration with students at the University of Iowa.

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Arts Orbit

THEATER REVIEW | The Moving Company's "Out of the Pan Into the Fire" is a fairy tale treat

By Rene Meyer-Grimberg, TC Daily Planet

Nathan Keepers, Steve Epp, and Christina Baldwin in Out of the Pan, Into the Fire. Photo courtesy the Moving Company.

“As every child knows, a fairytale is like giving candy to your imagination.”  - program notes

Out of the Pan Into the Fire, a new fairy tale directed by Dominique Serrand, which opened at the Southern Theater on Friday May 4 and plays until May 26, is a candy shop full of every individual’s favorite treats.

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THEATER REVIEW | "Country Roads" with Dennis Curley: At the Bryant-Lake Bowl, John Denver's music is as sweet as ever

By Jean Gabler, TC Daily Planet

Dennis Curley. Photo courtesy the Theater of Public Policy.

Dennis Curley brings the music of John Denver to the Bryant-Lake Bowl in Country Roads: Dennis Curley Sings the Music of John Denver. If you are not familiar with the theater at the Bryant-Lake Bowl, let me tell you that on May 4 I felt like I was sitting in Curley’s living room surrounded by friends and family. This is the magic of John Denver’s music: it connects people to a simpler time and to shared memories. Not to mention that the audience did consist of friends and family of Curley and the four musicians who shared the stage with him—along with people like me, who love the music of John Denver.

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A more lively theater scene: What the Twin Cities are doing well

By Sheila Regan, Behind the Story

Audience engagement at a Guthrie Theater Open Call event. Photo by Heidi Bohnenkamp, courtesty Guthrie Theater.

I had quite a few responses to the column I wrote about a month ago about how theater should be more like rock shows. Most of the commenters did not at all like what I had to say. I’m always happy to generate discussion, but I feel like I’ve been pissing people off right and left with this column lately (people were just livid about my caucuses are stupid piece), which confuses me because I don’t mean to be contrary, it’s just that I write in my column whatever I happen to be thinking that day.

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MayDay Parade- 39th Annual MayDay Parade and Festival: Sunday, May 5, 2013

By Staff, Corcoran News

In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre’s annual MayDay Parade, Ceremony, and Festival has been a vibrant example of art as community building in the Twin Cities area for 38 years.

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"I Love to Eat": James Beard tells all at Illusion Theater

By Jeremy Iggers, Iggers Digest

Gary Geiken in I Love to Eat. Photo courtesy Illusion Theater.

Attention foodies: Garry Geiken serves up a delicious impersonation of legendary American foodie James Beard in Illusion Theater's production of I Love to Eat: a love story with food. The one-man show is more character study than drama, but Geiken succeeds in bringing a fascinating character to life. During the performance, Geiken prepares some of Beard's signature onion sandwiches, and a few lucky audience members get a chance to taste them.

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Remembering John Munger: The best of his writing for the Twin Cities Daily Planet

By Jay Gabler, Front Row Seat

Video by 3 Minute Egg, 2008

Along with the rest of the Twin Cities arts community, I was saddened this week to learn of the death of John Munger, a great talent, enthusiastic supporter, and vibrant presence on the Minnesota dance scene for decades.

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THEATER REVIEW | Theatre in the Round's "Treasure Island" is magical

By Madeline Salmon, TC Daily Planet

Jason Paul Andrews in Treasure Island. Photo © Act One, Too, Ltd., courtesy Theatre in the Round.

Should you choose to see Theatre in the Round’s production of Treasure Island, your evening may go something like this: an usher takes you to your seat, walking you across the treasure map painted on the stage, and the first thing you notice is the smell of wood and smoke. When you take your seat, you realize you never left the set at all, because rigging and seagulls and pirate paraphernalia adorn the walls around you. Then the lights come down, the waves roll, and the story begins. You join Billy Bones in singing “Dead Man’s Chest” in spite of yourself. Soon Jim and the pirates are dashing through the aisles beside you and perching in the balconies above you, and you wonder for a split second if you remembered to feed the cat before going in search of buried treasure.

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