News and reviews

Here are the top arts stories in Minnesota this morning...

Fans, family mourn Eyedea in St. Paul - Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune

Thousands attended the public wake for rapper/poet Micheal Larsen, 28, including many musician friends.

El Día de los Muertos honored with powerful student work at the MIA - Sheila Regan, City Pages

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​For the third year in a row, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts has partnered with El Colegio, a Minneapolis charter school that teaches Latino culture and traditions, to present a special El Día de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) exhibition featuring the work of 20 student artists.

Dancing on Ballet's living edges- Lightsey Darst, mnartists.org

Dance critic Lightsey Darst weighs in on two recent ballet performances - Crystal Pite/Kidd Pivot Frankfurt RM's "Dark Matters" at the Walker, and Minnesota Dance Theatre's ambitious, two-weekend fall dance festival, "Enduring Prescience."

Darkness at the edge of town - Mason Riddle, Star Tribune

In "Bogusville," former Minneapolis artist T.L. Solien evokes classic Americana with psychologically fraught works.

Alec Soth: The Loneliest Man in Minnesota? - Frank Bures, mnartists.org

Writer Frank Bures reflects on the Walker's new retrospective of work by Twin Cities-based photographer Alec Soth, and on the artist's resonant depiction of a "pervasive, long in coming, and widespread" emptiness at the heart of our culture.

Harry Potter Quidditch tournament scheduled for this Sunday at the U of M - Shelby Meyers, City Pages

​Just when you thought Harry Potter fans had reached their limit, there's more: This Sunday afternoon, the University of Minnesota's Quidditch team will host their first Halloween tournament featuring a Harry Potter bake sale, prizes, a raffle, and the chance to watch teams compete to be the first Fall Champions.

Pillsbury House Theatre hosts late night series - Ed Huyck, City Pages

Looking for a different theatrical experience? Do you want food with that? For the 13th year, curators Laurie Carlos and e.g. bailey bring Non English Speaking Spoken Here: The Late Night Series to the Pillsbury House Theatre in Minneapolis. The program, presented over the next month on Saturdays, features an exciting mix of writers, performers and musicians from New York and Minnesota.

This 'Girl' is a bit of a trial - Colin Covert, Star Tribune

As Lisbeth Salander recovers from injuries and faces trial for murder, she can't save a movie that's overloaded with plot.

Theatrical scares abound for Halloween - Ed Huyck, City Pages

​There's something special about a well-produced tale of terror on stage.

Stars shine too brightly at First Avenue - Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet

As frontman Torquil Campbell acknowledged on Wednesday night, it's intimidating to be a band called Stars arriving at First Avenue, a club decorated in stars "with the names of bands a lot better than us."

The mezzo sings like chocolate - Graydon Royce, Star Tribune

Roxana Constantinescu makes her debut on the American opera stage in "Cinderella" at the Ordway.

Roger Waters brings "The Wall" crashing triumphantly down at the Xcel Energy Center - Kyle Matteson, TC Daily Planet

For a music fan, writing about Pink Floyd's The Wall (1979) is a bit like a theater fan writing about Shakespeare. What more could you possibly say that hasn't already been written thousands of times before?

A Willie Nelson wish list - Jon Bream, Star Tribune

Since Mystic Lake doesn't serve booze, he should skip his drinking songs this weekend and sing these tunes instead.

Bruce in the USA prove it all Tuesday night at Bunker's - Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet

Bruce Springsteen fueled my dreams when I was a teenager, but since then I've accumulated enough life experience to have tense imaginary conversations with him.