Saturday news and reviews

Here's your daily arts update - enjoy!

Art

Interact show features mentorship partners

Interact Center for Performing Arts opens its latest exhibition, "FAME" (Fine Arts Mentorship Experience), the culmination of a program that pairs Interact artists with professional mentors from the arts community.

Political Coverage Powered by You

Your gift today creates a more connected Minnesota. MPR News is your trusted resource for election coverage, reporting and breaking news. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.

- Sheila Regan, City Pages

Books

"Major Pettigrew" author coming to Wayzata

Simonson's writing is terrific, her characters are fun and quirky, and the book very quietly but squarely addresses all kinds of modern issues: racism, immigration, development, the oppression of women in the name of religion, and the generation (and culture) gap. Or you can just read it as a love story.

- Laurie Hertzel, Star Tribune

Movies

Searchlights, red carpets and pickets for Sundance premiere of "Red State"

Indie film attention hound Kevin Smith ("Clerks") makes a horror movie about religious fundamentalists. Religious fundamentalists come to the Sundance Film Festival to protest Smith's film. Stake in the heart of free speech, or PR coup for Smith? Battle of the Photo Ops!

- Colin Covert, Star Tribune

Music

Savage Aural Hotbed invite us into their garage for a demonstration

Mark Black, Bill Melton, Stuart Devaan, and Dean Hawthorne of Savage Aural Hotbed met up with Gimme Noise in their cool large studio space filled with auto parts, power tools, plastic barrels, and strange inventive contraptions they use as their instruments to give a sonic demonstration and interview.

- Cyn Collins, City Pages

Conversations on Improvisation: George Cartwright

Pamela Espeland's interview series on the nature and practice of musical improvisation continues with acclaimed saxophonist/composer George Cartwright (of Curlew, Gloryland Ponycat, and others).

- Pamela Espeland, mnartists.org

Lissie at the Cedar Cultural Center: A small body for so much rock

Lissie's performance at the Cedar Cultural Center was a long-awaited return to Minneapolis for the scores of fans that packed the sold-out show.

- Katie Sisneros, TC Daily Planet

TV cameras make Rascal Flatts sharp

The superstar country trio was fresh, focused and fun for a sellout St. Paul concert taped for ABC.

- Jon Bream, Star Tribune

Rascal Flatts comes off a little flatt at X

Rascal Flatts comes off sluggish -- even a little bored -- before TV cameras

- Rob Hubbard, Pioneer Press

Alex Kirst, drummer for Iggy Pop and the Nymphs, killed in hit-and-run

- Andrew Flanagan, City Pages

Stage

'National Theatre Live': Far-flung peformances, complete with issues

Watching live theater on video, especially theater that wasn't crafted with video in mind, can be an uncomfortable experience. But that doesn't mean that I won't give it a try.

- Ed Huyck, City Pages

Wide open spaces and small-town spats

Walker's Out There series offers an intimate, bleak portrait of a town on the verge of disappearing.

- Rohan Preston, Star Tribune