Marianne CombsHere’s a look at the arts stories making headlines…
Books
Michael Chabon named director of board of MacDowell artist colony
Hillel Italie, Associated Press
Michael Chabon, novelist, screenwriter and father of four, has a new responsibility.
Dance
Cinderella gets a Dolls makeover
– Caroline Palmer, Star Tribune
In Ballet of the Dolls’ reboot of a comedy classic, a Beverly Hills mansion becomes a gilded cage.
Moscow Ballet’s “Great Russian Nutcracker” lives up to its name
– Betsy Gabler, TC Daily Planet
It was a perfect event to start out a season of joy and goodwill, fantasy and legend, faith and beauty.
Music
Carols are key in two holiday songfests
– William Randall Beard, Star Tribune
VocalEssence and The Singers each present multiple concerts featuring old and new holiday songs.
Concert at the Capri: ‘It’s all baby steps, but it’s happening’
– Michael Anthony, MinnPost.com
The Capri began presenting concerts and musical plays three years ago, invoking the venerable notion that the arts can have a positive effect on the environment — and perhaps even stimulate some much-needed business development in the area.
Tony Ortiz’s “Someday”: Hear him, feel him
– Dwight Hobbes, TC Daily Planet
Ortiz’s vocals, no matter what mode he’s in, be it sweet ballad or you-know-what to the walls rocking, demonstrate pure, unbridled passion.
People
Motes tapped for a top role at College of St. Benedict
– Graydon Royce, Star Tribune
The former head of the Minnesota Shubert Center, she leaves Theater Latté Da for a major fund-raising job.
Theater
A witty concept and some funny moments make for laughs, but less would be more in this Christmas spoof.
– Graydon Royce, Star Tribune
– Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet
If the premise amuses you, you’ll get a kick out of the execution. If you’re not so sure, you’re unlikely to be convinced.
Cleverly conceived Revenge Christmas a mixed bag of Yuletide mayhem – Brad Richason, Examiner.com
A consistently witty holiday mash-up that impresses with its concept, but struggles to make an emotional connection.
Miss Richfield 1981’s ‘Bingo Bonanza’ offers too much
– Ed Huyck, City Pages
There really can be too much of a good thing, as was made clear Friday evening at the Miss Richfield 1981 holiday show, Bingo Bonanza.
At the Old Log Theater, “Jeeves in Bloom” droops
– Elizabeth Lofgren, TC Daily Planet
Jeeves in Bloom has some of the elements of a successful farce, but inconsistency in style and energy prevent it from being the breezy romp that we hoped to enjoy.
Playwright Carson Kreitzer awarded NEA grant
– Ed Huyck, City Pages
Local playwright Carson Kreitzer has earned a National Endowment for the Arts grant to aid in developing her latest play, Behind the Eye.
“Miracle on Chrismas Lake” at Yellow Tree Theatre: Osse-awesome!
– Bev Wolfe, TC Daily Planet
A last-minute loss of rights to a different holiday play resulted in co-founder Jessica Lind writing the last-minute holiday play “Miracle on Christmas Lake,” which has become a holiday staple.
The Golden Girls get into the spirit with ‘A Christmas Carol’ at the BLB
– Shelby Meyers, City Pages
A Christmas Carol by Dickens is indeed a timeless tradition, but the Golden Girls are just as capable of offering up some holiday magic too.
The Guthrie’s new Scrooge: More cynical, less curmudgeonly
– Ed Huyck, City Pages
Daniel Gerroll has made a splash in town with his fresh interpretation of the role in the Guthrie Theater’s latest production of their longstanding holiday offering.
