Two years ago, a bevy of Eastern European dancers and musicians performed at the Southern as part of its Mississippi/Volga Dance Exchange with Link Vostok. With nary a tutu in sight, these flexy innovators impressed us with their postmodern, experimental, and jazz dance techniques. The Russians are back this year, joined by dancers from Austria, … Read more
Burgeoning talent Julie Marie Myatt is obsessed with sex. Seldom lewd and always complex, the stories from this playwright favor feminine perspectives on this basic human need. That preoccupation has benefited all lovers of contemporary theater, as evidenced by last year’s Guthrie production of Myatt’s The Sex Habits of American Women. In Boats on a … Read more
Buffalo Soldiers focuses on the lives of the Robe family, who are descended from an American Indian and an African-American “buffalo soldier” who was stationed on the bloody Montana frontier–and indeed, doing much of the dirty work–during this country’s Westward expansion. Now living on a Montana reservation, the grandchildren of this couple, who appear “too … Read more
Caleb and Katy McEwan, the local reigning first family of fun, let fly with their quick wit and gutsy humor in this wicked satire. There are plenty of laughs to be had at your average Brave New Workshop production, but this one is especially rip-roaring and fearless. The McEwans, the finest jokesters in the Workshop, … Read more
From identity theft to digital surveillance, we are increasingly the sum of our recorded information. What power does that gives us? What does it take away? And how might we hang onto our humanity? Super Vision is the kind of high-tech performance that the Walker’s new theater, fortified with futuristic AV muscle, was designed to … Read more
Why aren’t there more truly excellent Southern Italian restaurants around here? Haven’t we gotten over the white- vs. red-sauce snobbery? Can’t we see past Chef Boyardee and lowbrow Lotsa di Pasta chain fare? In such a climate, Al Vento stands out all the more. Chef Jonathan Hunt sees the jewels in the land and uses … Read more
The free spirit of ownership is wonderfully obvious at Emma’s Restaurant & Lounge. After putting in time at A Rebours and Bakery on Grand, Emma Streeter took over the former Three Muses space and made it her own. Like a first-time homeowner, she’s repainted and redecorated the interior to her liking. Her menus are quite … Read more
Have you packed up your cool city life to move the fam to the suburbs? Does it still sting a little? One way to keep both your giant foyer and your urban cred is to patronize 318. This one-time Excelsior coffee shop has morphed into a cozy live-music cafe under the ownership of two veteran … Read more
Debra Heisick of St. Paul recruited some friendly policemen for a photo in front of the historic Capitol building in Havana, Cuba. She was there as part of a delegation of law professors and lawyers meeting with lawyers, judges, and assembly members, as well as members of the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution. … Read more
Some Girls was the last good Stones record. It was 1979, Mick and Keith were still under forty, Charlie hadn’t had cancer yet, and they didn’t let Ron Wood play out loud so he couldn’t remind everyone what was lost when Mick Taylor quit the band. Maybe it was us, maybe it was them, but … Read more