Nigerian sensation Femi Kuti didn’t merely ride the coattails of his late, great father, Afro-beat legend Fela Kuti. The progeny did, after all, play sax in his dad’s band for nearly two decades—right up until Fela’s death in 1997—and Femi’s solo projects have not only impressed critics, but even managed to legitimize him in the … Read more
This could be the best episode ever and still not live up to the hype. After all, the movie is, what, nearly twenty years in the gestation? Give Matt Groening and company credit for assembling the best writers from seasons’ past and pulling in David Silverman, co-director from Pixar’s superior Monsters, Inc., to help them … Read more
Director Nicholas Ray’s first film (from 1948) has been called the most auspicious debut in American movies since Citizen Kane. Based on the dynamite Depression-era gangster novel Thieves Like Us, They Live by Night begins with the daring prison break of three men: a 23-year-old killer named Bowie and the aged, hardened criminals Chicamaw and … Read more
Admit it: You think neons push the boundaries of good taste. At the very least, their shocking brightness does little to enhance so many complexions: Canary yellow can make a wide range of pigmentations look jaundiced; hot pink makes even flawless pale skin look as though tinged by rosacea. Even so, now that all other … Read more
Albert Eckwright reluctantly spoke at a local bookstore. His voice was hoarse, but still had a hint of paternal timbre, a tone immediately soothing and unobtrusive and familiar. He’d been losing weight steadily for a little over a year—since Lynn, his second wife, had died—so that his cheeks caved in at the molars and his … Read more
One of our favorite local freelance directors, Jon Ferguson, directs a company of six teenage performers and theater-makers (from Stages Theatre Company) in the creation and performance of this original play. So far, Ferguson’s Fringe Fest track-record is unblemished; his past hits include 2005’s Please Don’t Blow Up Mr. Boban and 2006’s Kill The Robot. … Read more
If the prospect of staging Jules Verne’s adventure novel seems at all daunting, consider, then, the restraints of the Fringe: All shows must wrap within sixty minutes. Yet if anyone can accomplish this feat, it’s Hardcover Theater, a Minneapolis-based company that routinely transforms novels, short stories, and even poetry into entertaining nights of theater. In … Read more
If the three-minute preview we saw in late June (as part of the Fringe For All sneak peek) was a representative sample, this will be a show that typifies fringey humor—you know, jocular and yet acerbic, delivered with wit and plenty of pop-culture references. Last year, the North Dakota show’s originators, Curt Lund and Laura … Read more
The Minnesota Orchestra finishes its 2007 Sommerfest series with Puccini’s immensely popular La Bohème. The opera is a staple of classical music fans’ collections. But its arias and plotline also are familiar to the uninitiated; after all, Rent and Moulin Rouge are but two examples of popular modern takes on the tale. This production features … Read more
We stopped for happy hour at Harry’s Food and Cocktails, 500 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis, a few weeks ago, about fifteen minutes after they’d opened for business, and found lots of intriguing items on the menu, including starters of grilled beef ribs with garlic and ginger ($11) and braised pork ribs with lentils and escarole … Read more