Author: Christy DeSmith

“Edifice complex.” That’s the diagnosis playwright Edward Albee gave to American arts organizations—more specifically, it seemed, to nonprofit regional theaters—when he spoke at the Westminster Town Hall forum in 2005. Though the pun drew laughs, Albee followed with a hard, damning statistic. “Ninety-five percent of the money we give as a country does not go…

The regional premiere of The Pillowman, a recent hit on Broadway, is shaping up as one of most highly anticipated productions of the Twin Cities fall theater season. A psychological thriller about a mystery writer whose stories uncannily resemble real-life horrors, the play—like so many other productions by Frank Theatre—takes place in a totalitarian state.…

The always irreverent and ever-theatrical indie-rock band Fort Wilson Riot created this five-part “indie-rock opera” (and album) about a nameless American journalist and his adventures in a mysterious foreign land. Enlisting the help of Jeremey Catterton, a stage director and friend from the University of Minnesota who now resides in London, the band has cobbled…

Though she loves classics, Diane Paulus has a penchant for finding inspiration in the more theatrical aspects of pop culture. The New York City-based director recently staged Turandot in a professional wrestling ring, but she’s better known for her production of The Donkey Show, a disco adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. So it’s not…

I just received the nicest voice message from Stu Ackman, whose wife owns the lovely Galleria shop Arafina. Turns out, Arafina is hosting an interesting talk on color trends as told by Erika Woelfel, chief colorist for Colwell Colour. It’s at 1 p.m. this afternoon and 6 p.m. this evening. Oh, how lowly is me…