Entertainment
Weekend What's What: The pre-holiday spirit
As we delve into November, we bid adieu to any possibilities of running around sans jacket—and we've come to terms with that (the first real snowfall, however, is another matter entirely). And what better to turn our focus to than the holidays? Thanksgiving is right around the corner, followed directly by the gifty season, and the Twin Cities artsy types seem to be easing us slowly but surely into the spirit of, um, buying their cool stuff. This weekend, hit up the Northrup King Building to peruse and purchase local art and related wares during Art Attack; check out The Affair at the Convention Center for festive tastings of chocolate, wine and the like; or stop into local boutiques such as Drama and Cliche to catch deals on fancy frocks for all the swanky parties that approach.MORE »
THEATER | At Bedlam, Four Humors prove that "Love is Blind...and Furry"
I see quite a few plays, but never have I heard someone laughing so hard that she actually cried out for help. At the Thursday night performance of Four Humors' Love is Blind...and Furry at Bedlam Theatre, the woman behind me was in such paroxysms that she pleaded for mercy, as though someone was tickling her. "Stop! Oh, Stop!"MORE »
Arts Orbit Radar: 11/5/09
What's Happening This Week
On the radar: For most of human history, no one ever said, "Fo shizzle, my nizzle." Then Snoop Dogg said it, then everyone said it—and now, thank God, we're back to no one (except your awkward uncle) saying it. The West Coast drawler will be at Epic tonight, playing to a crowd of former frat boys, aging gangstas, and hipsters who face a tough choice between Snoop and A Fine Frenzy.
Under the radar: Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble isn't coming to Minnesota in the near future, but tonight we have the next best thing: Robaybat and Güvenç and Burk Orchestra, an all-star cast of local musicians who promise to lead "a musical journey through Greece, Turkey, into the Balkans, through Central Asia and Persia."
On the radar: This weekend's Art Attack gives you a chance to see the work of Northrup King artists without having to fight the Art-a-Whirl crowds. If you're looking for a crowd, try to squeeze in to the Paramore show at Roy Wilkins.
Under the radar: Lowertown has been pushing hard to compete with Minneapolis as an entertainment destination, and at least according to Sean McPherson, it's working. Tonight, the newly-anointed Lowertown Entertainment District hosts its first monthly First Friday open-studio event.MORE »
Six Nutcrackers, eight Nativities, and seven Christmas Carols: Your complete guide to holiday theater
The holidays are a time of cherished traditions, and for many families, those traditions include a theater outing. Local theaters are mounting a dizzying array of holiday shows this November and December—but most of them are variations on a few standard plots. You've got your Nativity stories, you've got your Nutcrackers, you've got your Christmas Carols, and you've got your Santa stories; in each category, there are options ranging from the reverently traditional to the completely outlandish. MORE »
MUSIC | Willie Murphy: So hot he could burn asbestos
Willie Murphy's new album A Shot of Love in a Time of Need/Autobiographical Notes (Red House Records) is going to fly off shelves like stores are giving it away.MORE »
Joe Dowling miscast himself in the Guthrie's "Faith Healer"...but who should have played his role? Here's my suggestion
Despite the fact that it meant ending an extended acting hiatus, it must have been irresistible for Joe Dowling to cast himself as the title character in Brian Friel's Faith Healer. Not only is Friel a playwright whose work has long been particularly significant for Dowling, Faith Healer is much more a meditation on art—and theater in particular—than on faith.MORE »
Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin to Host 82nd Oscars© Ceremony
Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will serve as co-hosts of the 82nd Academy Awards©, Oscar© telecast producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman announced November 3.
"I'm happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin," said Martin in an Academy press release.MORE »
THEATER | "Elijah's Wake" at Open Eye: A taut emotional tightrope walked by humans and puppets alike
Elijah's Wake runs just over an hour, and it's paying Michael Sommers's creation a compliment to say that you probably wouldn't want it to last much longer. The acclaimed 2003 work by Open Eye Figure Theatre, now being reprised at the company's storefront space in the Phillips neighborhood, is a bracing cocktail of macabre puppetry and convincingly desperate acting; it's visually rich, but it's also unremittingly challenging both intellectually and emotionally.MORE »
MUSIC | Tiësto thrills 3,000 clubgoers with an Epic multihour set
For anyone who saw Tiësto's show at Epic last Friday, one thing was certain: he proved his talent and brought the crowd's energy to a whole new level. The Dutch disc jockey, mixer, and producer is touring the U.S. promoting his new album Kaleidoscope. With 3,000-plus fans, this was bigger and better than any electronic music event I've ever seen in the Twin Cities.MORE »
MUSIC | Yasmin Levy enchants at the Ordway
The Ordway is a classically beautiful place to see a show and Yasmin Levy is a passionate beauty with a classically trained voice: the two are a perfect fit. Levy is an Israeli singer who enchants the audience with songs in Spanish, Arabic, and the dying language Ladino. Her mission is to spread this language through her songs to aid in its survival. The artist explained at the concert that fewer than 150,000 people speak Ladino worldwide. With the help of Levy's poignant singing, this language may be around a lot longer.MORE »
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