Brazilian band Cansei de Ser Sexy (otherwise known as CSS) will make a
stop at First Avenue on July 30th to promote their new album *Donkey*,
which will hit stores July 21st.
The Go! Team with Matt and Kim and Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head will
be appearing with the up-and-coming South American group, sponsored by
89.3 The Current. The show starts at 8 pm in the Main Room. Tickets are
$20 and can be purchased in advance at www.first-avenue.com.
The best of the 48 Hour Film Festival will be showcased at Bryant Lake
Bowl when Jenny Dalton takes the stage for her second annual
performance. She will be joined by former Cloud Cult members Dan
Greenwood on drums and Maria Stemm on bass. Local folk heroine Eliza
Blue and El Perdido will also appear at the show, which starts at 7 pm
July 24th.
Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Advance tickets are
recommended. Sponsored by Radio K. For more information, visit www.bryantlakebowl.com.
Just about anyone can be an artist when the Center for Independent
Artists hosts the Midsummer Festival on Wednesday, July 23 in South
Minneapolis. The festival will feature welding, Afro-Cuban drumming, a
T-Shirt studio, performances, free ice cream and more.
The fun begins at 6 pm in Bancroft Meadows Park on 42nd and Bloomington
across from the Center for Independent Artists/El Colegio Building.
Sponsored by the Center for Independent Artists, the Bancroft
Neighborhood Association and the Midtown Farmer’s Market. Come act up
for a creative evening! For more information, visit www.c4ia.org.
A glimmering Minneapolis night on the water. And fireworks. What could
be more perfect? Attitude City’s Third Annual Yacht Club sets sail July
26th for a night of dancing and celebration on the Mississippi River.
Boarding begins at 9:15 pm at Boom Island Park. Pre-boarding drinks
will be served at the Northeast Yacht Club starting at 7 pm. After the
largest charter yacht sets sail, music by DJs Karl Frankowski and Jeff
Dubois with special guest Mike the 2600 King will rock the night away
until the Aquatennial fireworks light up the sky.
Tickets are $30 and can be bought by e-mailing attitudecity@gmail.com or in person at ROBOTLove and Cliché. Fashion dress is strongly encouraged. Act fast, as the event will be a sure sell-out.
I could tell jokes about Tsarist Russians all day long, so I’ll just leave it to the folks at the Guthrie’s Wurtele Thrust Stage, where a new adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s 19th century comedy The Government Inspector runs through August 24. Local playwright Jeffrey Hatcher (The Falls and the screenplays for Stage Beauty and Casanova) lends his trademark humor to the madcap proceedings where, unfortunately, the parts do not add up to a whole.
The heads of a small Russian village are horrified to learn that a government inspector is coming to make a thorough visit to the town. Even worse, he may be in disguise. Mayor Anton Antonovich (Peter Michael Goetz) knows his town isn’t an exemplary place – the hospital was built the same size as its model, the school principal is frightened of his teachers and geese are being raised in the courtroom jury box – so he proclaims that the government inspector must be found and dealt with. A case of mistaken identity leads them to Ivan Alexandreyevich Hlestakov (Broadway vet Hunter Foster), a down-on-his-luck-and-finances card player on his way to visit his father. He unexpectedly finds himself the object of everyone’s affections, getting bribes thrown at him from the men of the town and much, much more from the women.
The sardonic examinations of greed and corruption are balanced with as many sex jokes and innuendos as you would imagine in a Russian play. No doubt taking many liberties with the source material, Hatcher and director Joe Dowling have crafted several moments of uproarious hilarity. It really is a pity that the comedy isn’t consistent; when the jokes fall, they fall hard and the play creeps to a crawling pace. The cast is a worthy ensemble, but they cannot help when audiences are thrown yet another joke about what Russian alcohol is made of or a talk about seduction shortly before the most repulsive woman walks in. As a result, the play is only truly captivating when certain performers are on stage. When they’re gone, you’re in for the long haul.
In the central role, Foster gives an admirable performance. Another unfortunate mistake is making Foster’s character one of the least interesting in the play. Ivan is a typical, likable doofus in way over his head, but when Foster gets the chance to reach beyond that, he is truly hilarious. Whether it be showcasing his physical abilities when drunk or composing an impromptu poem/love song to his supposed sweetheart Marya (think "aria" or… "operaria"), he shows a wide array of comic talents that are suppressed more often than not. In having Ivan attempting to make himself seem like a gentleman, we get a character that is too typically bumbling, especially when the audience knows the performer is capable of so much more.
As the mayor’s wife, veteran performer Sally Wingert easily walks away with the show. Decked out in a set of increasingly ridiculous dresses, Wingert completely inhabits the role of lusty, jaded and ignored woman and runs. She manages to take every line, no matter how cliché, and turn it into comedic gold; while butchering French for comic effect is hardly a new joke, Wingert’s crass and brash destruction of the language has audiences splitting their sides. Kris L. Nelson and Lee Mark Nelson do a twisted, lispy riff on Tweedledee and Tweedledum to great effect. And in a brief but memorable role, Jim Lichtscheidl is hilarious as a laidback, honest and gossipy postman.
The other members of the cast are more or less successful in their shtick: Raye Birk, Wayne A. Evenson and Stephen Yoakam are funnier in their neurotic town head roles; Maggie Chestovich less so as the mayor’s daughter, playing her as the stereotypical whiny teenager without any real innovation. But they play off each other well. Sparks fly in some cases; Foster’s secret trysts with Wingert and Chestovich are among the high points of the play, even if the circumstances surrounding their meetings are no more than afterthoughts.
Set in what may be the brightest and most colorful version of Russia ever, Dowling directs the production with the intent to make everything fast and snappy. From the plywood cutout set by John Arnone, to the cartoonish costumes by Ann Hould-Ward, everyone involved seems determined to make audiences forget ever thinking that Russians are dark and depressing. With transitions offset by a raucous ensemble of villagers and a turntable on the stage (why not?), everything flows quickly. Until, of course, the jokes fall flat and the pace drops dead.
The Government Inspector is far from tedious in the end. It is always entertaining and frequently laugh-inducing. Just not as consistently riotous as it should be. A likable cast with more than a few comic gems is enough to pull the production out of any rut and make even the lamest of jokes admirable. And in a show where making a good, lasting impression is the most important thing, the folks at the Guthrie have certainly accomplished their mission.
It’s often said that you can’t go back, but sometimes it would be wise at least to try. A murder detective with a forgotten past is at the center of Tana French’s tense debut novel In the Woods – a man whose lost memories collide with the present in what should have been an open-and-close case.
In 1984, three children disappeared in the woods next to their Dublin neighborhood. Only one boy is found, clinging to a tree in terror with blood-soaked shoes and no memory of what has happened. Twenty years later, the boy has grown into Detective Rob Ryan. He and his partner Cassie Maddox are sent to the very same woods to investigate and murder of twelve-year-old Katy Devlin, a local ballet prodigy. As the two detectives begin to interview potential suspects – including a father, mother and sisters who clearly aren’t telling all they know – they see connections between the two cases and wonder if solving one murder will solve the other.
Told in terse, unforgiving first-person through Ryan’s eyes, the 429-page volume certainly takes its time to develop. For a great deal of the novel, little progress is made in finding Katy’s killer. But French wisely sidesteps banality by focusing the book on the inner workings of her detectives – detectives with more personality and pathos than the average sleuth. Ryan is hardened by his experiences, but not because of the horrible things he’s seen. He is dark and he is a loner because of the horrible things he’s forgotten; he professes to Cassie that his life began at twelve. As he delves further into Katy’s case, flashes from his previous life strike him. But those final moments continue to elude him.
Ryan’s partner Cassie is as equally intriguing. French understandably doesn’t spend as much time explaining her psyche; the story is, after all, told from Ryan’s point of view and one gets the feeling Cassie wouldn’t be the type of person to blab about her feelings anyway. But French constructs a relationship between the two that is closer than close while eschewing any overly-predictable feelings of lust or unrequited love. The book’s main strength lies in the complexity of their need for each other. As Ryan spirals into a dangerous haze – trying to solve the case while hiding his connection to his own – Cassie’s importance becomes all too real. And even through we see the events through Ryan’s admittedly biased and unsure eyes, there is no question as to who is really there to help him.
Avid crime readers will be pleased, as well. The murder investigation moves along with just enough twists and turns to keep readers on their toes without becoming ridiculous. When Ryan and Cassie begin investigating both crimes at once, the story becomes a bit muddled; fitting for Ryan’s frame of mind, but a bit frustrating for those who prefer a more straightforward story. Not that the storytelling isn’t unintentionally jumbled; aside from a few eye-rolling metaphors and stark images that seem like requirements in novels these days (people "moving back and forth among the trees as silently and intently as ghosts," etc.), French has a to-the-point, honest voice. The moments she tries to find poetry out of her situations are fleeting and far between. She’s interested in telling the story as plainly as possible.
Not to mention truthfully. The world French has created is not something out of Law and Order or Agatha Christie. Ryan and Cassie are solving a gruesome murder that has devastating effects on them and the people around them. The sobering finale is a testament to the "there are no real happy endings" view of life, especially when murder is involved. In an ideal world, the characters would deserve more. But Ryan doesn’t want to make himself into a hero. If nothing else, the story is a burden that he must tell in order to find peace.
With In the Woods, French introduces her knack for characters that will thrill readers of many types. Artfully balancing a gripping mystery with an honest and dynamic study of two flawed people, French easily maps out two stories without losing any of the tension or suspense she has built up. As the case boils down and Ryan sinks further into obsession with the Devlin murder and the disappearance of his friends, the question becomes not, Will the killer be caught, but Will Ryan survive? In making the detective himself as compelling as his case, French has crafted a unique debut showing truly a step apart from any average murder mystery.
The affect of the changing world on typography will be on display when
the Minnesota Center for Book Arts presents *Face the Nation*, a new
exhibit that begins July 12 in the Star Tribune Foundation Gallery.
The changes in typography between 1900 and 1960 – a period that
encompassed two World Wars – will show how the desire to reinforce,
redefine or transcend national identities shaped their design thanks in
part to changes in technology. Two coordinating exhibitions will
feature the work of two designers who explore typography in
contemporary graphic design. There will also be several presentations,
workshops, discussions and screenings included throughout.
*Face the Nation*, presented by MCBA and the University of St. Thomas
and curated by Dr. Craig Eliason, runs July 12 – September 21 in the
Star Tribune Foundation Gallery in the Open Book Building in downtown
Minneapolis. A free opening reception will be held Saturday, July 12
from 6 – 9 p.m. Visit www.stthomas.edu/facethenation or www.mnbookarts.org for a complete schedule and other information.
*Get stARTed*, an exhibit featuring the works of 10 Minneapolis College
of Art and Design MFA students, will give local audiences a taste of
new and emerging artists beginning July 10 at the Burnet Art Gallery in
Chambers Hotel.
The
exhibit will showcase new works available for purchase. The event is
part of the hotel’s stART program that supports new local artists. The
exhibit runs July 10 – August 17, with an opening night reception on
July 10 from 6 – 9 p.m. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The
Burnet Art Gallery is located in the Chambers Hotel at 901 Hennepin
Avenue in downtown Minneapolis.
Join Stevens Square Center for the Arts on July 12 and 13 for their
annual Twin Cities Zinefest, a celebration of zinesters and indie music
fans that showcases the Midwest’s homegrown talent. The event will also
feature an art show, craft demonstrations, guest speakers and panel
discussions.
Attendance is free. The event runs July 12 from 11 – 5 p.m. and July 13
from 11 – 4 p.m. Stevens Square Center for the Arts is located at 1905
3rd Ave S. in Minneapolis. For more information, visit www.stevensarts.org.