Two factors keeping classical music fresh are movie soundtracks, which give mass audiences an emotional entry point into the genre, and the work of smart young composers like Kevin Puts. Puts has been dazzling audiences with inventive new compositions and interpretations of the standard repertoire. This Minnesota Orchestra performance pairs the world premiere of his … Read more
Vasen rocks with such maniacal glee that the recently painted walls of the Cedar might peel back a layer when these enthusiastic Swedes take the stage. This is a folk band, mind you, but the Vasen gang sees no need to give up modern conveniences like running water and electricity. You can bet that if … Read more
Rhett Miller used to compose perfect road songs and winsome alt-pop melodies for his band the Old 97s. On his own, however, he seems a little lost, mining some faraway alt-rock fantasy in which matters of hair and fashion seem to play a central role. What gives, Rhett? What was it, back then, that helped … Read more
The presence of Margaux is almost reason enough to buy one of the sparkly new lofts in downtown St. Paul. Imagine strolling just a few steps from home to tuck into a steamy bowl of mussels, followed by a crusty grilled ham and Gruyre sandwich. Why, it could be more convenient than your own dining … Read more
If the Happy Gnome is any indication, the gastro-pub craze has finally hit town. At this friendly Selby-Dale joint, the quality of the food matches the high caliber of the twenty-five select beers on tap–plus the more than ninety bottled options. Some might even consider the Gnome’s menu slightly upscale for a pub. For instance, … Read more
Frank Theatre continues its love affair with Suzan-Lori Parks, the contemporary African-American playwright, novelist, and screenwriter with a talent for sharp social commentary. Parks’ Obie Award-winning play Venus is based on the life story of Saartje Baartman, a legendary performer of South African descent who, in the early 1800s, traveled to London in hopes of … Read more
Ten Thousand Things is a company that specializes in bringing theatrical works to halfway houses, battered women’s shelters, and prisons–in other words, to folks who could use a little more art in their lives. The company usually performs in lunchrooms and common spaces, often under fluorescent lights and with minimal props. Still, their work has … Read more
Timing can be a blessing or a curse. Floyd Collins, a bluegrass musical that premiered in 1994, is based on the buzz that arose, almost seventy years earlier, in 1925, when a Kentucky cave-diver became trapped underground. The incident is said to have sparked the first-ever American media circus. Although the parallel to recent tragic … Read more
If you don’t like how the government is spending your tax dollars, you could stop paying them. But that approach will only bite you in the end, as Henry David Thoreau discovered in 1846, when he withheld his taxes in protest of the United States-Mexican War. He was tossed in the clinker. This play, written … Read more
A few years ago, we had more interest in Canada’s hockey players than its ballet dancers. Les Grands Ballets Canadiens had a reputation for stodgy, brittle, ultra-traditional interpretations of classics, and, short of an underfed ballerina passing out mid-plie, nothing too exciting was going to happen on its stage. But in 2000, artistic director Gradimir … Read more