The Burning House Group was once the darling of the local theater scene, a collective of talented young performers forged in the crucibles of such dearly departed companies as Eye of the Storm and Margolis Brown. Today, the troupe is best remembered for its hit ’97 production Knock Knock, which was an uproarious farce with … Read more
In 2004, the Guthrie Theater offered to send a favorite playwright, Julie Marie Myatt, to wherever in the world she wished to go, just so long as her travels inspired a new play. Myatt chose Cambodia. Once there, she immersed herself in the sex trade, interviewing child prostitutes and even volunteering for organizations trying to … Read more
The red nose, that mark of chronic inebriates everywhere, was long ago appropriated by theater performers in Europe seeking a visible symbol of their humility. And believe it or not, the town drunk went on to serve as the muse of a million clowns (those working outside the parade and birthday-party circuits, anyway). In order … Read more
“David Lynch meets Mother Goose”: That’s the vision Hardcover Theater’s writer/director Steve Schroer has for his new play, inspired by an obscure Victorian fantasy called The New Mother. This source material was written for children—it’s a fable that warns, with rich imagery and plenty of fright, against being naughty. And yet Schroer insists his play … Read more
The annual celebration of Minnesota books and publishing has new sponsors (the entire city of St. Paul seems to have gotten behind this thing), new digs, and plenty of fresh faces this year. But in a state with so much literary activity going on it’s hard to screw up something so basically virtuous. We could … Read more
Sherman Alexie was born hydrocephalic, and doctors predicted he would suffer severe retardation. However, the very opposite occurred; he showed signs of prodigy, devouring novels by age five. Still, he endured effects of his condition—seizures and bed-wetting—and was subject to bullying on the Spokane Reservation where he grew up. In his new novel Flight (Alexie’s … Read more
While a graduate student at Harvard, Dr. Elaine Pagels spent years studying the Nag Hammadi Library manuscripts, and she has turned that research into a sort of Gnostic cottage industry. Her 1979 classic, The Gnostic Gospels, won both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and was included on the Modern … Read more
The Rake’s parenting editor Renata Frears recently had an opportunity to speak with Roy “Buck” Prescott, controversial author of Breaking the Spirit of Your Unborn Child and Breaking the Spirit of Your Newborn Child (Regnery Publishing). Prescott was in town for the first annual “It’s a Man’s World” symposium at the Best Steak House in … Read more
It seemed like a bold move at the time, but when Ini Iyamba opened a second store—his Ivy Men’s + Design boutique at 1220 Glenwood Avenue—just this March, design devotees started buzzing about the potential of his new address. This street, which fans out from International Market Square’s nest of interior design businesses while brushing … Read more
The towering, and fairly dangerous, espadrille platform shoe is being passed off as the season’s must-have accessory. This is partially because it so nicely complements another, presently gangbusters, fad—the skinny jean. Platforms function much like high heels, elongating the leg and making it appear slimmer than it actually is (thus buttressing a woman’s confidence as … Read more