The Rake Magazine

Author: Cristina Córdova

  • The Echo Nest Enables Personalized Music Experience

    This just in:

    The Echo Nest, a music intelligence
    company providing enhanced music search, recommendation and
    interactivity technology to online music companies, launched its second
    hosted application, "Recommend," today.

    Recommend is an application programming interface or "API" that helps
    music services personalize their websites to each visitor’s unique
    music taste.  Any music website — bloggers, social networks, Internet
    radio or retailers — can easily access the Recommend API to offer users
    better music discovery tools.

    …

    The Echo Nest is offering a free version and "Recommend Unlimited" a
    fee-based, more feature-rich version of the API. To celebrate the
    release of Recommend, The Echo Nest is offering free "Unlimited"
    accounts to the first 100 small music websites who register for API
    access at http://the.echonest.com/.

  • Other Signs of Springs

    WINE & DINE
    Take to the Streets

    I don’t like to walk and eat (too messy!), and I hate the
    taste of wooden sticks and skewers. Yet, there’s something about a
    bustling city street dotted with steaming food stands and vendors that
    makes me happy. I’ll take a stroll the crowd, even if I’m not moved to
    stop and nosh. But I’m well aware there are diehard fans of
    hotdogs in waxed cardboard boats, streetside falafel, and chili-roasted
    nuts served in canny little paper cones. If you’re one of Trillin’s minions, you’re in luck. Because not only is today the opening day of MOSAIC
    Marketplace on Nicollet Mall, it’s actually supposed to be
    intermittently sunny outside. From 12 to 5 p.m., Manny’s Tortas, La Loma Tamales, Pham’s Deli, & Holy Land will be cooking up global fare. And
    there will be live entertainment, too. Tomorrow will be a crisp
    64-degree day with a gentle northeastern breeze, plus a troupe of
    Celtic dancers jigging and reeling their way up and down the mall. And — get this — so far as anyone can
    tell, it isn’t going to snow! —Ann Bauer (read full post)

    FILM
    The Hagstone Demon

    Enjoy a free sneak preview of local
    filmmaker Jon Springer’s new film The Hagstone Demon tonight at the Riverview Theater. Described by Springer as a film "about a person who
    discovers his own free will," the locally-produced film stars Mark Borchardt, whose role in the Sundance award-winning
    documentary American Movie earned him cult celebrity status in
    the indie film set. Guests
    are invited to an informal reception in the lobby prior to the screening, for which Borchardt will be present. An
    after party will take place at the new Nick and Eddie Restaurant and
    Bar     (1612 Harmon Place, Mpls 55403.) And it has been confirmed
    that Grant Hart of the legendary post-punk band Hüsker Dü will be
    performing live at the after party.

    6 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. screening, Riverview Theater, 3800 42nd Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-729-7369.

    Read Erik McClanahan’s interview with Jon Springer.

    LECTURE
    A Camera, Two Kids and A Camel

    National Geographic photographer and Minnesota native Annie Griffiths Belt, who has worked on every continent except Antarctica, concludes the 2008 National Geographic Live speaker series at the State Theatre tonight. The fourth speaker in the series, she will be discussing three decades on the road for National Geographic in her lecture, “A Camera, Two Kids and A Camel” — also the title of her latest book, which she will be signing in the lobby immediately after her presentation.

    7:30 p.m., Historic State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-673-0404; $27.50-$37.50.

     

     

  • Don't Take Bags from Anyone

    Greetings from a former actual subscriber to The Rake.

    I’m
    not sure how I ended up at Ann Bauer’s blog tonight, but I enjoyed several
    pages of it, and only quit reading as it’s long past time I was in bed!

    I’d
    like to challenge her on her attitude about cloth shopping bags,
    though. Although I realize she was going for a humorous take on the
    topic, I was disheartened by it.

    I think I’m
    a bit older than Ann—49 at my last birthday—and was in school
    (Hamline) from ’76-’80, after which I lived in St. Paul for several
    years, working at various restaurants as a baker, cook, and waitress. (I
    finally escaped the business in the late ’80s; I make my living as a
    classical singer.) I started shopping at co-ops in 1980, and those were
    the days when you pretty much brought your own containers for
    everything. I’m not sure they even offered shopping bags in the
    earliest days of Mississippi Market, when it was on Selby, west of
    Snelling!

    Anyhow, as a child of the ’70s, the
    idea of energy conservation always stuck with me, and re-using bags
    (and avoiding excess packaging in general) always seemed like the
    obvious "right" thing to do. I like to generate as little trash as I
    can—not easy in America. Over the years, I’ve accumulated lots of
    canvas bags, and always have one of two in the car. I still bring my
    own containers for bulk stuff, like rice and beans, and spices. I have
    a feeling of failure if I realize I’ve got to use a fresh, new plastic
    bag to bring something home.

    Now, though,
    anyone can see that we’re drowning in those damned plastic bags! I mean
    the extra flimsy ones that you get everywhere… and which are now
    BANNED in increasing number of countries, and US cites here and there.
    As the snow melted at last, right here in our fair metro, didn’t you
    see bags floating about along the freeway? Didn’t you see them in the
    trees? But beyond the Great Plains, haven’t you seen the horrifying
    photos of the gigantic floating plastic HELLS on the oceans? who knows
    where all those bags have come from… But they shall no longer come from ME.

    Since
    January, I’ve had a hobby (added to my previous hobby: avoiding corn
    syrup): I don’t take bags from any retailer. Not Cub, not Macy’s, not
    TJ Maxx. Not only that, I produce my fabulous nylon Acme sacs with a
    flourish, flicking them open to the astonishment of all, and make a
    little speech about my hobby—mentioning that I haven’t used a plastic
    or paper bag in 4 months!

    It’s actually been fun—largely because of these particular bags, which are extremely convenient and light.

    If Ann will tell me where I could do so, I’ll happily send her one in an
    effort to change her mind about taking a bag with her wherever she
    goes. I keep mine on my keyring (or in my purse).

    Next,
    I’ll tell you about my other hobby: never accepting another disposable
    cup or styrofoam to-go container! But that’s for a separate email.

    Best regards, Maria Jette

    p.s. Ann mentioned somewhere that she has children—that should make her
    all the more interested in cutting down on trash in the environment. I don’t have any… but can’t bear the thought of sticking future generations with my plastic bags!

    Maria Jette, MN
    Letter

  • Pigs on the Wing

    In the wake of the Great
    War there was Dick Tuck, and Dick Tuck begat Donald Segretti, and
    Donald Segretti begat Karl Rove. Karl Rove’s further begetting remains
    undisclosed.

    Dirty
    tricks come to politics when politics become seriously political.
    Before Richard Nixon spends those Watergate dollars burgling Democrats’
    offices and spying on their psychiatrists, Nixon himself is dogged by
    campaign mysteries and malfunctions of suspiciously organized origin.
    Nixon’s hound is Democratic political operator Dick Tuck (his real
    name; you can look it up).

    Tuck
    begins his career with Helen Gahagan Douglas, Nixon’s 1950 opponent for
    US Senate; later he squires for presidential crusades of Adlai
    Stevenson, Jack Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy. In each campaign, his best
    remembered assignment is to make Richard Nixon look foolish. Sometimes
    this is not a difficult task. After Nixon’s first 1960 TV debate with
    John Kennedy, legend portrays Tuck hiring an elderly woman, who wears a
    large Nixon button, to greet Nixon as he exits a plane, plant a kiss on
    his cheek, and gush, "That’s all right, Mr. Nixon. He beat you last
    night, but you’ll win next time." In 1968, the lore continues, Tuck
    hires visibly pregnant women to carry signs with the Nixon campaign
    slogan, "Nixon’s the One," at Nixon rallies. And so on.

    Tuck’s
    peculiar pleasure is Nixon’s agony. Tuck is preoccupied with Nixon,
    but Nixon is obsessed with Dick Tuck. The emotional open window
    exposes Nixon’s paranoid and vengeful soul. Hunter S Thompson, a
    darker, less balanced Nixon antagonist, later opines, "Nixon was so
    aggressively evil that he almost glowed at night. His political
    instincts were so dangerous that he made the politics of total
    opposition a very honourable trade for two generations of the best
    people in America." Whatever. Nixon decides to hire his own Dick Tuck.

    From
    Nixon’s Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP) in 1972, a friend
    offers Donald Segretti the job. Barely out of Vietnam and the JAG
    Corps, a young and impressionable Segretti stalks Democrats in "black
    advance." His object is to sow dissension among Democratic campaigns.
    Dragnetted in the larger Watergate scandal, Segretti’s labors earn four
    and a half months prison time, on misdemeanor charges of dispensing
    false campaign literature ("campaign literature without proper
    attribution," he recalls), and a two-year suspension of his California
    law license. At trial, Democratic prosecutors flaunt a faked letter, on
    Democratic presidential candidate Ed Muskie’s stationery, alleging
    fellow Democratic candidate Henry "Scoop" Jackson had an illegitimate
    child with a 17-year-old.

    Karl
    Rove comes to CREEP after dropping out of school to become College
    Republican National Committee executive director. Rove labors for
    Segretti on the 1972 campaign. 28 years later and in full control of
    Sauron’s scepter, "Bush’s Brain" finds his old boss on the opposite
    side. Segretti is John McCain’s 2000 Orange County campaign chair.
    Beyond irony, a South Carolina push poll of mysterious origin ravages
    McCain: "Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for John
    McCain for president if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black
    child?" The beat goes on.

    April 2008, BBC News reports: A helium filled giant pig, born one of Pink Floyd’s Animals
    and now a metaphorical billboard for Roger Waters’ political agenda,
    floats high over the crowd at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts
    Festival in Coachella (where else?), California. Its belly paint spells
    "Obama"; adjacent is a checked box (see approx 3:30 here). The BBC newsreader pauses, then muses whether thousands of stoner
    Floyd fans will vote for Obama per instructions from a flying pig.

    Later
    reports say The Pig "broke free from its tethers" and "drifted away."
    After two days, residents of La Quinta, a country club community
    fingered by conspicuous consumption rag the Robb Report as "the
    nation’s leading golf destination," wake to find the Capitalist Pig in
    pieces — "like pulled pork" says one of the finders — on their
    manicured lawns (no, I’m not making this up). Still later, CNN reports
    "organizers" had cut The Pig’s mooring cables. This assertion is
    unconfirmed. Chris Willman of Hollywood Insider is thinking
    black advance. "Is it possible the shredded pig was blown out of the
    sky by a Clinton or McCain supporter with a rocket launcher?" asks
    Willman.

    Home in Corona
    del Mar, two hours from Coachella, Donald Segretti denies knowledge of
    The Pig’s abduction and apparent assassination. He’s been out of the
    black advance business a long time. Segretti is forthright and more
    than contrite about the Nixon campaign work. He decries the South
    Carolina tactics in 2000 and those between Obama and Clinton campaigns
    in 2008. Why do it? "The job is to get candidates elected," he says
    quietly, "There is no second place." He avers his 2000 campaign work
    for McCain followed the credo "no negative campaigning". "You learn a
    lot as you go along in life." Out of politics, he allows he "wouldn’t
    be unhappy" with an Obama presidency, provided the product is as
    advertised.

    Dick
    Tuck is unrepentant at age 85. He won’t confirm or deny legends about
    pregnant women. Tuck has published a political newsletter for over 30
    years. He called it The Reliable Source until The Washington Post appropriated that moniker. "Don’t even think about suing someone who buys ink by the barrel, " Tuck growls. Still a fouille-merde, he renamed his letter WashPostIt. Tuck has also set up DickTuck.com, but to date the site is pretty bare.
    He says, if it’s worth his while to come, he’ll reserve a men’s room
    stall at the Minneapolis-St Paul airport main terminal for the
    Republican National Convention, but expects "a long line". He dismisses George W Bush as inconsistent: "He lied to get us into war; why not lie to get us out?" Tuck disavows personal knowledge of Coachella events, but claims, "If it had been twenty years ago, they would have blamed me."

    Dead
    since 1994, former President Richard Nixon could not be reached for
    comment on The Pig’s demise. Campaign finance reports indicate daughter
    Julie Nixon Eisenhower has maxed out on primary election contributions
    to the Obama campaign.

    It’s unclear whether these events are related.

  • Siete de Mayo — All Around the World

    New this week: May Day Parade slideshow, Second Runway Show slideshow, Meet Local Filmmaker Jon Springer, and Campfire.

    FILM
    Global Lens, or Fast and Loose

    The Walker’s Global Lens series kicks off tonight with The Kite (Le Cerf-Volant) and All for Free (Sve Dzaba). Tour across four continents over the next 11 days, glimpsing into varied cultures and personal stories via 10 excellent films. The Kite (7 p.m.), directed by Randa Chahal Sabbag, examines marriage and tradition in Lebanon; while director Antonia Nuié’s All for Free addresses rediscovery and loss in Croatia.

    And if you’d rather play it fast and loose (whatever the heck that means in this context), then meander on over to the Edina Cinema for their weekly double feature. It’s an action packed night with two (can’t believe it, but…) classics: Dr. No (1962) and Rocky (1976). We’re talking Sean Connery and Sylvester Stallone, p e o p l e !

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    Republican Strategist Discusses Bad Money

    Yeah, the title sounds like a given, but it’s not what you think. (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.) Best-selling author and noted Republican strategist Kevin Phillips is in town tonight to discuss his new book Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism. Wow. That’s a mouthful — and a head-full. Whew. And it ought to be just about as comprehensive as it sounds. Phillips, who warned us against our dependence on oil and
    credit in American Theocracy, now examines the causes and effects of the decline of the dollar and other important economic shifts.

    7 p.m., University of Minnesota Bookstore, Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-625-5549; free.

    POETRY
    Poetry Lovers

    Of course, you can always bypass the politics and economics and opt for the language of love. I just received an email from local poet Todd Boss today informing me that his poem, "One Can Miss Mountains," will be in the May 12 issue of The New Yorker. That’s pretty exciting stuff for a writer (and for all of us), so what better way to celebrate than to hear him read his poems? Join the Verse and Converse series this evening for a night of poetry with Boss, Lightsey Darst, Margaret Hasse, and Richard Solly. Tim Nolan will host.

    7 p.m., Nina’s Coffee Cafe, 165 Western Ave., St, Paul; 651-292-9816.

    MUSIC
    DeVotchKa and Basia Bulat

    Do you know about despair? Feeling wistful? Dreaming of a better world? DeVotchKa is just the sound. The Denver-based quartet — self-described as Eastern-bloc indie rock — features Jeanie Schroder on sousaphone, upright bass, and vocals; Shawn King on drums, percussion, and trumpet; Tom Hagerman on violin, accordion, and piano; and Nick Urata on vocals, theremin, guitars, bouzouki, piano, and trumpet. If you thirst for versatility and all that is dramatic, this may be your thing. Accompanying them this evening is Canadian singer-songwriter Basia Bulat.

    7:30 p.m., First Avenue, 701 First Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612-332-1775; $19.50.

  • Standing Ovation

    Thanks for reprinting the 2003 WSJ Opinion piece. I
    remembered it, but couldn’t recall the source. I may print copies and
    hand them out the next time I go to any performance in the Twin Cities. A
    couple of weeks ago, Jorja Fleezanis performed Elgar’s Violin Concerto
    with the Minnesota Orchestra, which was conducted by the regal Sir Neville
    Marrriner. I gladly stood to applaud as Jorja Fleezanis received a magnificent
    bouquet of tulips following her equally magnificent performance. It truly was
    a lifetime event for her and merited a standing ovation. But….not every
    performance of the Minnesota Orchestra, not every traveling production that
    shows up at the Ordway, pleeeaase.

    Bill Levin, Minneapolis
    Letter

  • Seis de Mayo (I could get used to this)

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    Keith Gessen and His Sad Young Literary Men

    In honor of Max Ross’s Cracking Spines defense of McSweeney’s, n+1 founding editor Keith Gessen is in town tonight to discuss his first novel with us. (We’ll just have to be sure to let him know that’s why he’s here.) Actually, side-pokes and literary journals aside, Gessen has proven himself quite adept at slacker fiction. All the Sad Young Literary Men weaves together the stories of three college grads as they sort out their literary and romantic ambitions. Soviets, Zionists, online dating — Gessen touches upon a host of interesting topics — and a host of different forms of abuse and self-abuse. Meet him tonight, hear what he has to say, and have him sign a copy of the book for you. I mean, after all, it is Keith Gessen!

    7:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble Booksellers Galleria, 3225 W 69th St., Galleria Shopping Center, Edina; 952-920-0633.

    THEATER & PERFORMANCE
    Come to the Cabaret, Old Chum

    "Putatively, this Cabaret is the stage play of ’66, with an English
    Sally and a regal German landlady (played by the absolutely magnificent
    Suzy Hunt). But it also alludes to the male-on-male dalliances of its
    hero, the American writer Cliff Bradshaw, which is confusing because
    the complications here are completely ignored. In fact, other than the
    single reference to his cruising days, Bradshaw, as played by Louis
    Hobson, comes off as a well-scrubbed prude. … In between there are dance numbers introduced by the ’emcee’ (Nick Garrison), a shiny-headed bald man wearing lipstick with
    an impossible loud and grating voice. He’s impossible to love at first,
    as he descends from the ceiling in the Cabaret sign’s ‘C,’ but by
    intermission he is impossible not to. A feat that Garrison effects by being alternately funny, self-deprecating, clownish, and sad. There
    is also that strident back story about the Nazis: they are infiltrating
    the club through the person of Ernst Ludwig, Bradshaw’s patron and
    friend." —read Ann Bauer’s full review. Tonight is the official opening.

    8 p.m., Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 345 Washington St, St Paul, 651-224-4222; $20-$55.

    MUSIC
    Eric Nassau and Mary Bue

    In the mood for a light-hearted evening of folk-troubadour crooning? Ohio folkster Eric Nassau might be just the thing. His sweet, lilting vocals keep the dark longing of the lyrics at bay, lending a playful air to adversity. And, though his vocals are front and center, Nassau masters his guitar with equal finger-picking charm. Joining in the charm-delivery tonight is Mary Bue, another sweet sounding folkster (and recent Minneapolis transplant) with a touch of Tori Amos in her soul.

    9 p.m., 331 Club, 13th Ave. N.E., Minneapolis; 612-331-1746.

    Secret Songwriters Ball

    It’s also time for another Secret Songwriters Ball at everyone’s (or at least someone’s) favorite watering hole. And since it’s a "Secret," I won’t reveal much. Expect a rockin’ set of his tunes from host Chris Thompson and a slew of talented songwriters of all varieties. Ok, one secret: Ben Glaros will be performing at around 10 p.m.

    9 p.m., Lee’s Liquor Lounge, 101 Glenwood Ave., Minneapolis; free.


    Motion City Soundtrack Releases First Acoustic EP

    As of today, you should be able to download Motion City Soundtrack’s first-ever acoustic EP from iTunes. The EP features acoustic versions of five tracks off of their latest release Even If It Kills Me. The two can be purchased as a bundled package for $11.99, or you can download the songs individually: "Fell in Love Without You," "It Had To Be You," "Broken Heart," "Can’t Finish What You Started," and "Point of Extinction."

  • Travels with Mel

    Now that I
    have been in Scotland for a bit I have begun to notice the great shadow
    the infamous creator of Braveheart still casts over this hilly
    northern country. If you venture into any bargain store in Edinburgh
    or Glasgow you will find many bric-a-bracs aimed at spend-happy tourists. These items range from the relatively funny "kilt beach towel" to
    the aggravating "William Wallace doll." Now, there’s nothing
    wrong with the historical figure of William Wallace. The man heroically
    stood against the English in order to defend Scottish independence,
    and this I can respect. And I really can’t judge the people
    who are making money from the dolls themselves; far be it for me to
    begrudge anybody the right to strike gold by abusing national symbols.

    No, the William
    Wallace doll is an abomination because it is just a little version of
    that big schmuck, Mel Gibson. It is a vivid rendering, capturing
    accurately even the most Jew-hating contours of the man’s face (from
    an era before the expert ironist decided to grow a strange Abrahamic
    beard). I know Braveheart is one of the most profitable
    things that has happened to Scotland since whisky became the local manna,
    but when you hold a lil’ Mel in your hands you do not want to fight
    for your freedom, you just feel sorry for all the civilizations Mel
    Gibson has ripped off and made a mockery of (e.g. Scots, Mayans, ancient
    Israelites, and counting).

    I could forgive
    this if it were a phenomenon confined to shops that sell inflatable
    heart-shaped mattresses and "I’m not as think as you drunk I am"
    t-shirts, but unfortunately Mel Gibson has managed to worm his way into
    actual history. I went to the city of Stirling one day, and visited
    the National William Wallace Monument, a great 19th-century
    century-built landmark perched loftily on a lovely, green hilltop.
    After making my way down from the summit, I encountered something that
    morphed my good feeling into outright disgust. By the foot of
    the hill stood a big stone statue of Mel Gibson, mace in hand, screaming
    triumphantly. It seemed like stone-Mel knew he was ruining my
    time in Stirling and that there lied his ultimate victory over me. The word "FREEDOM" carved into the rock mockingly reminded me of
    how very trapped I was in the Mel-universe.

    Next to the
    statue there was a plaque with the story behind the work written on
    it. Some poor guy carved the thing because when he was down in
    the dumps (slowly dying from some horrible disease), he watched Braveheart,
    and the movie had been able to fill him with national pride and confidence. I thought it was strange how the one thing that made this sculptor so
    hopeful in his final days was the source of so much unpleasantness for
    me. Why couldn’t the guy have seen The Mary Tyler Moore Show
    on his deathbed and carved a statue of its namesake, like the one that
    dazzles in the streets of the fine city of Minneapolis, Minnesota?
    I guess some people just aren’t lucky enough to get Nick at Nite.

  • Cinco de Mayo

    The Corcoran Neighborhood Organization invites you to celebrate Cinco de Mayo today with Kalpulli Ketzal
    Coatlicue, an Aztec drumming and dance troupe.

    6 p.m., Corcoran Park, 3334 20th Ave. S., Minneapolis; free.

    THEATER & PERFORMANCE
    Minnesota Fringe reconstructs Romeo and Juliet

    Five
    local performing arts companies — Brave New Workshop, Commedia
    Beauregard    , Zealots and Mystics, Rockstar Storytellers, and Four Humors
    — break Shakespeare apart and glue him back together in Five-Fifths of Romeo and Juliet tonight. This is the fifth annual Five-Fifths of…
    performance to benefit the Minnesota Fringe. Each participating company
    received one-fifth of a script and reinterpreted their part as they saw fit. Companies haevn’t discussed each of their parts with
    the other four companies, so the results ought to be quite amusing
    — a coherent piece with divergent (sometimes conflicting)
    interpretations.

    7:30 p.m., Theatre de la Jeune Lune, 105 N. First St., Minneapolis; 612-872-1212; $35.

    ART
    Roots of the Future — a College Of Design Senior Show

    The
    College of Design graduating seniors have each selected one or two
    examples of their best work for the 2008 Roots of the Future: College of Design Senior Show. Participating students are from
    academic programs including: Architecture, Clothing
    Design, Environmental Design, Graphic Design, Housing Studies, Interior
    Design, and Retail Merchandising. The exhibit features poster presentations of research, 3-D projects of clothing and
    architectural designs, and PowerPoint presentations displayed digitally
    of their design process. The Awards Ceremony, on May 16th, will feature
    awards from professional designers who
    will review the exhibit work and select winners.
    There will also be a special Peoples’ Choice Award for which exhibit attendees can vote.

    10 a.m. – 4 p.m., The Goldstein Museum of Design, 241 McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Avenue, St. Paul; 612-624-7434.

    MUSIC
    Sweet, Sweet Music

    Apparently, DJ
    Breckheimer     is getting tired of making his way into Minneapolis for live music. According to his email, he has been hoping and wishing that we had a bit more live
    music down "South of the River," so he finally decided to invite some of the great acts and artists to Apple Valley for an evening of music at Luxury Sweets candy store. (It sounds so wholesome.) Head on down and enjoy the sweet sounds of Stook, Chastity, Erin Kate, Katey Bellville, Roger Flyer and Carl Franzen.

    7-9 p.m., Luxury Sweets, 15322 Galaxie Ave #105, Apple Valley.

    Also tonight, enjoy one the hottest young Latin bands — Grammy-nominated Tiempo Libre — at the Dakota (7 p.m., $30).

    FILM
    Frida

    The Parkway is bringing Frida back — the triumphant motion picture about an exceptional woman (and artist) who
    lived an unforgettable life. Enjoy Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, Antonio Banderas , Ashley Judd, Edward Norton, and Geoffrey Rush in this fabulous film that was nominated for six Academy Awards. For whatever reason, tonight’s screening is free!

    6:30 & 8:55 p.m., Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Ave. S., Minneapolis;
    612-822-3030; free tonight.

  • Gem of the Ocean

    Although it was one of the last plays he wrote, Gem of the Ocean falls first chronologically in August Wilson’s 10 plays about the black experience in 20th century America. It’s not his best — Fences and The Piano Lesson both won Pulitzers — but Penumbra Theatre puts on a solid interpretation at the Guthrie.

    Wilson typically keeps the action contained in one location: the setting for Gem of the Ocean is the parlor of a 285-year-old "soul cleanser," Aunt Ester (Marvette Knight), in 1904 Pittsburgh. Aunt Ester imparts the wisdom of a woman who has experienced almost 250 years of slavery and survived the Civil War. At the play’s climax, Ester’s parlor is transformed — through blue lighting, stark shadows, and befitting sound — into a slave ship, the Gem of the Ocean. She leads a young man, Citizen Barlow (Cedric Mays), through a mystical experience to the City of Bones, where he confronts slavery, the man who died for his own crime, and, ultimately, freedom. The scene reflects the play’s theme as articulated by Ester: "What use do we make of our freedom?"

    Unfortunately, the journey to the City of Bones has nearly as much gimmick as it does depth. Mays is convincing as he is shackled supernaturally to the slave deck of the Gem of the Ocean and as he faces the consequences of his past crime. But the device of this magical voyage accomplishes little that could not have been achieved in "reality."

    Wilson is a master at using more realistic, and more convincing, devices as the central conflict of a narrative. In The Piano Lesson, it’s a piano, co-owned by a brother and sister, carved with the faces of two ancestors. The sister never wants to depart with the piano, and her brother, eager to buy land, wants to sell it — a conflict of preservation of history versus moving on. In the first scene of Fences, a character tries to conceal a watermelon, a device that Wilson uses to reverse the racist connotation of the watermelon-loving minstrel. The Gem of the Ocean does not approach this level of subtle but powerful symbolism.

    Director Lou Bellamy, founder and artistic director of Penumbra Theatre, is well positioned to bring Gem of the Ocean to the
    stage. He won an Obie Award in 2007 for directing Wilson’s Two Trains
    Running     in New York City, and he directed Penumbra’s production of The Piano Lesson earlier this year. His comprehensive understanding of Wilson’s work is apparent on the stage. The characters are eccentric without going over the top, and the conversations they have in Aunt Ester’s parlor are truly engaging.

    Black Mary (Austene Van), who lives with Aunt Ester, is a jilted woman who nevertheless remains compassionate. Eli (Abdul Salaam el Razzac), who also lives with Ester, is agitated with Citizen in the first scene, but he eventually employs him to build a wall. Eli remains calm and relaxed throughout the rest of the show, saying, "This is a peaceful home," when people stop by to visit. He has frequent, long conversations with Solly Two Kings (James Craven), a man who once helped with the Underground Railroad and now sells dog poop as fuel, about the black community’s difficult adaptation from slavery to free society.

    Black Mary’s brother, Caeser (T. Mychael Rambo), is an Uncle Tom character who one can’t help but be angry with (and even sympathize with him a bit) for his deplorable decisions as an enforcer of the law. The only remaining character, Rutherford Selig (Terry Hempleman), is a white salesperson who fills only a minor role in the plot.

    Knight plays a lively almost-300-year-old, but because Ester is such a
    mystical figure, and because Wilson reveals in King Hedley II that she
    lives to be 366 — hence she has almost a century of life remaining in Gem of the Ocean — her youthful portrayal of an elderly woman is not distracting.

    Citizen’s transformation from a nervous young man in the first act to a
    confident man who confronts his demons could have been more delicate, but this lies more in how the play is written than how the character was acted.

    The play, about personal redemption, justice and the law, and the meaning of freedom, is not a must-see, but it is a strong production.


    Performances will run through May 18 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage at the Guthrie. There will be post-play discussions following the May 3 & May 14 matinees.