Month: May 2005

A spectacular performance by the Ananya Dance Theatre attempts to produce something beautiful from the violence, fundamentalist zealotry, and militarism that seems especially plentiful right now. Created and performed by a group of twenty-five women from the Twin Cities and various locales overseas, Bandh expresses the dream of peace they wish for in their homelands and the rest of the world. The production draws on a variety of Asian dance forms, particularly Odissi, a classical tradition performed in the temples of India. After nearly dying out, Odissi has been studied extensively through old manuscripts, paintings, and poetry, and the difficult but highly lyrical dance is now experiencing a revival. 1420 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-340-1725; www.southerntheater.org

Expect Lonely Mountain and Middle Earth to be spectacularly colorful. Expect a fantastical troupe of lords, dragons, and trolls, all cloaked and bearded and wearing their hair in those requisite sci-fi ringlets. Children’s Theatre Company has employed its own stable of sorcerers and wizards–costume and set designers, that is–to do justice to the beginning of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. When it comes to playing Bilbo Baggins, the story’s reluctant superstar, we can’t think of a better performer than the wide-eyed Nathan Christopher. With his hair in red curls and a wardrobe of nerdy wool vests and gaudy tweeds, this Twin Cities-based actor is just the tea-sipping, hapless hero we want him to be. 2400 Third Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-874-0400; www.childrenstheatre.org

Joe Orton’s play was a sensation when it premiered in Britain in the sixties. Time has tempered the shock value of this love triangle, in which a prim landlady and her sneaky brother compete wildly for the attentions of Mr. Sloan, a charming bisexual fellow played by Justin Kirk (Angels in America), but it’s still got plenty of entertainment value–especially when produced by the Jungle. The wry and witty dialogue, sharp satire, and lampooning of various communities remind us that Orton’s career, cut short by his murder at the hands of a lover, was a brilliant one that continues to influence theater. 2951 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-822-7063; www.jungletheater.com

In this world-premiere production written by Lee Blessing, two fiftysomethings–a man and a woman–wake up side by side in a house on a mountaintop that’s encircled by water. They have absolutely no recollection of their lives before. Are they husband and wife? One-night lovers? People pass by, filling in the blanks of their forgotten lives, but their confusion only snowballs, turning from bemused perplexity into all-out terror. Blessing, a Minneapolis native and playwright of award-winners like A Walk in the Woods and Two Rooms (produced last January by Theatre in the Round), uses A Body of Water to explore some of our greatest worries: Alzheimer’s, memory loss, and waking in midlife to a relatively meaningless existence. 700 N. First St., Minneapolis; 612-377-2224; www.guthrietheater.org

It’s impossible for us to say “Digable Planets” without some feet-thumping and hip-swaying. It reminds us of our cooler, more nimble youth, specifically: First Avenue Danceteria, circa 1992, and the band’s ultra-smooth rendition of “Nickel Bag of Funk.” This brand of relaxed, jazz-infused hip-hop was something new then, and the Digable Planets helped pioneer it by sampling obscure soul and churning chilled-out ditties like “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat).” Now, ten years after they split, Butterfly, Doodlebug, and Ladybug are back together. Here’s hoping they’ve retained their groove from those early years, and here’s hoping we don’t throw out our back at their show. 701 First Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612-332-1775; www.first-avenue.com

The Schubert Club is importing some mighty impressive talents for this series of six intimate recitals, including performances by soprano Dawn Upshaw and artists from the famed New York Festival of Song–both of which, alas, are long sold out. But you might still get tickets for performers like Michael Schade, the young German-Canadian tenor acclaimed for his way with Mozart, and Isabel Bayrakdarian, whose latest recording, Cleopatra just won a Juno for Best Classical Album. Best of all, the concert by VocalEssence at the stunning Schubert Club Heilmaier Bandstand, on Raspberry Island, is free and open to everyone. 651-292-3268; www.schubert.org

Kurt who? We have always secretly preferred the songwriting of Dave Grohl. His sometimes loopy, sometimes profoundly smart rock songs are as melodic and addictive as anything by that other band he once played in. Plus, Grohl stuck around to write moreÑa quality to be admired, to be sure. In fact, the Foo Fighters have a whole lot more to share these days: two CDs’s worth. A heavy set and a softer one show off the split personality of this band, as does an intriguing array of guest stars, including Norah Jones and Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones.

How must poor Jack White be feeling these days? He’ on everyone’ cool list after working with Loretta Lynn, and then his last girlfriend, Renee Zellweger, goes and marries a country singer–but it’s the dude who sings “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.” If that’s the kind of country that revs up the Hollywood starlets these days, pasty indie rock lads everywhere must be in despair. But judging by the noise-rock jamboree that is Get Behind Me Satan, Jack isn’t wasting much time worrying over such things. The buzzing guitar screeches louder than a farm accident, and Meg White’s drum work seems at times to be part of some ominous welcome ceremony to hell. And several tuneful songs show that White hasn’t abandoned his old-school country influences.

As corporate promotions go, this one’s pretty darn admirable, offering as it does a glimpse of what’s new and different on the art scene. Each year, the eponymous mint manufacturer enlists a keen-eyed panel of folks (such as Walker Art Center’s Douglas Fogle) to help it purchase a couple dozen pieces from emerging artists, many of whom have since become quite prominent. Then the art tours various U.S. cities before winding up in the permanent collection of New York’s New Museum of Contemporary Art. This year’s selection includes pieces by Rob Fischer, the Minneapolis native whose fascinating constructions, cobbled together from rural detritus, are becoming quite the thing among collectors; and Minneapolis photographer John Largaespada. Also appearing: sculpture from Los Angeles’ Anna Sew Hoy (who’s showing at Midway later this summer); a Reed Anderson drawing; work from everybody’s favorite urban folkie, the San Franciscan Chris Johanson; and many more. 2640 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-871-2263; www.soovac.org

Emerging photographers Hock and Reinhardt, from Minnesota and New York, respectively, find the cure for homesickness through the lens of a camera. The pictures from this itinerant pair reveal a constant search for home and its comforts, familiarities, and reminders of loved ones. Finding home when you’re away is a strange, backward way to travel, and yet these vagabonds seem to come away from places with visual insights that go far beyond those of us average snap-happy tourists. 165 13th Ave. N.E., Minneapolis; 612-824-5500; www.mncp.org