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Could the origins of reality TV be traced back to Depression-era dance marathons? These events played out as grueling contests, in which curious onlookers watched young, desperate couples compete for prize money by bopping, literally, til they dropped. Bankrupt City Ballad recalls those days as Peter Rothstein, the brains behind Theater Latte Da, and Mathew … Read more

In a showdown between Saturday Night Live and Second City TV, SNL comes out the shrill, monotonous loser with the long, embarrassing sketches. SC was born onstage in Chicago in 1959, and expanded to the small screen during the seventies and eighties. Eight seasons of inventive ensemble comedy featured young comics like John Candy, Eugene … Read more

With shows in Las Vegas and Disney World, performances on cruise ships, and six globe-trotting productions, what was once an artsy, small-scale French-Canadian circus has blossomed into a seriously big business entertainment. And, while it’s not exactly the exotic spectacle it once was, the troops enlisted by this troupe still put on one hell of … Read more

What’s hotter than the jazz at the Dakota? The new menu. When longtime chef Ken Goff departed, young hotshot Jack Riebel (formerly of La Belle Vie) stepped up to undertake a gastronomical renovation. His grilled lamb confit tart with goat cheese and tapenade strikes an earthy, rich note, and the ham and sweet pea soup … Read more

Kabobi has arrived in Eden Prairie to save the khaki-clad office teams from yet another giant burrito. This warmly stylish joint offers two main dishes and a bevy of sides. Order the Kabobi sandwich and you’ll get seasoned, fire-roasted chicken, beef, or lamb cradled in flatbread with tomatoes, onions, cucumber, and a creamy herb sauce. … Read more

David Fhima’s slick space in Galtier Plaza is near perfect, the kind of place geared toward you and your hunger rather than what the chef thinks you should be eating. Here, your dinner date can dig into a big seafood linguine while you gleefully ponder the beauty of a honkin’ slice of cappuccino buttercream cake, … Read more

This season, as you know, black is the new black. That puts local artist and object d’art Scott Seekins in a bit of bind. A sartorial and tonsorial marriage of Tom Wolfe and Marsden Hartley’s Adelard the Drowned, Seekins has long stood out here in the land of the bland, with his trademark seasonal shift … Read more