Floyd Collins

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 events is uncanny, Latte Da artistic director Peter Rothstein said he programmed Floyd Collins long before the mining disasters in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Rothstein had entertained thoughts of postponing the show’s run to avoid accusations of poor taste. But the sweet sounds of country music pulled him through. Loring Playhouse; 1633 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-486-5757; www.latteda.org