Blog

Political printmaking’s been a patriotic pastime ever since the days when Ben Franklin’s cartoons spurred revolution. And don’t forget Che, as much a T-shirt icon as a symbol of Latin American independence. For some more modern etched dissent, eyeball this touring exhibit showcasing satire and social criticism – two things we could all use more of. In the tradition of Goya and Big Daddy Roth, St. Louis artist and curator Tom Huck has gathered fourteen compatriots who do edgy work with a punk-rock sense of humor. Selections include Minneapolis lithographer Jenny Schmid’s Fast Girl, Knocked Up from her “Downfall of Young Girls” series, a recent MIA exhibit; New Yorker Sue Coe’s Modern Man Followed by the Ghosts of his Meat, a harrowing image of a McDonald’s patron fleeing undead comestibles; and tattoo artist Nick Bubash’s kitschy tweak of religious iconography, Flash.
400 1st Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612-339-1094; www.theissgallery.com

Well, it’s been a long time since the Minnesota Fringe Festival was truly fringe-y. These days, our local take on the international non-juried theater celebration is more like a flokati rug: an explosion of fuzzy theatrical productions sprawling hither and yon in a delightful tangle. And just as Austin’s homegrown SXSW music festival expanded in recent years to include film, so does the Minnesota Fringe now include a dozen-plus art exhibits (“Visible Fringe”) and, new this year, five comedy acts (“Standup Fringe”). Not that there’s any danger of them upstaging the onslaught of pure thespian power that will invade Minneapolis for a week and a half, from a “hip-hopera” hailing from Olympia, Washington, to the locally produced Don’t Conceal, Reveal! A Minnesota Handgun Western, and in between, 174 other musical, puppet shows, monologues, cabarets, etc. (pictured above, Death Penalty Puppetry). If you think you’ve spotted the next Urinetown, the fledgling FringeNYC musical that became a bona fide Broadway sensation – put the word out on www.fringefestival.org, the fully loaded website that’ll give you all the details you need, and then some. Or call 612-604-4466 for tickets.

Shapiro & Smith Dance aren’t afraid to stand out from the minimalist or pretzel-ish acrobatics that garner so much attention these days. Indeed, it’s heartening that this troupe, going on its twentieth year, has earned its share of praise. While earlier pieces were inspired by early-twentieth-century spiritual charlatanism and Borscht Belt comedy from mid-century, their newest work, an evening-length piece, looks to the Dust Bowl years.
Incorporating a multi-generational cast (older dancers – how’s that for standing out?) as well as music from Bruce Springsteen, Anytown evokes the struggles of working-class people from that volatile era.
612-340-1725; www.southerntheater.org.

Barbara Walters has put forth the command with regard to this traveling Broadway musical: “See it!” And who are we to contradict such an esteemed fellow journalist? But we can’t concur without offering a tiny caveat. Babs also called this production – which relates the adventures of an archetypal small-town Kansas girl in New York City – “great for the whole family.” However, in the interest of protecting impressionable young minds, we really must point out that the Millie plot, however absurdly and lovably bubbly, does involve a white slavery ring. What’s more, Millie herself is shown imbibing alcohol – an illegal activity, considering as how her adventures take place in the Roaring Twenties. So, with those details duly disclosed, we’ll join in Babs’ chorus: “See it!”
651-224-4222; www.ordway.org

When you think of Arthur Miller, you think of Marilyn Monroe and Death of a Salesman – two beautiful, tragic, quintessentially American stories. Both persist as a defining part of our national consciousness. Need we point out the irony that Salesman is about a poor schlub who dies forgotten and unappreciated by almost everyone in his life? But, as Linda Loman says about her unappreciated husband late in the play, attention must be paid. Miller’s message about capitalism and its discontents has never really lost its timeliness since winning the Pulitzer in 1949, and in these days when our president tells the elite they are his “base,” a story about the catastrophes of the middle class seems fresher than ever. Guthrie Artistic Director Joe Dowling brings Willy Loman and family to life again for a month-long run in Minnesota before taking the play to his homeland for the Dublin Theatre Festival.
612-377-2224, www.guthrietheater.org

You might know A.C. Newman better as Carl Newman, the name he uses as lead songwriter for Canada’s premiere indie-rock power-pop supergroup the New Pornographers. (We’re not sure why the initials, which only served to make us momentarily wonder whether he was one of the many other singing Newmans, perhaps Randy, Colin, or Thunderclap.) His new solo disc The Slow Wonder, partly funded by a Canadian government grant, is a stellar argument in favor of civic sponsorship of the arts. An aggregation of hummable, harmonic pop tunes, its individual songs keep replacing each other on the heavy-rotation chart in our heads. (Right now it’s “35 in the Shade,” a singalong whose dreamy keyboard riff sounds like a transplant from Brian Eno’s Another Green World.) We could grumble that the album is too short, clocking in at just over half an hour. But then we just hit “repeat” on the CD player – problem solved.
629 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis; 612-333-7499; www.triplerocksocialclub.com

Local guitar wizard Eason’s been a reliable source of six-string zing for two decades now, both fronting his own projects and backing guys like Chan Poling and Dylan Hicks. Bees Will Bumble, his second disc in less than a year, forms a loose zoological trilogy with last year’s Elephant Garden and the forthcoming The Aching of the Household Fly. As always, he covers a lot of musical ground, from straight-ahead rock to psychedelia to XTC-style pop (and even some country slide on “Hurricane Hill”), and does it well. The title track features guest violin by Prairie Home Companion stalwart Peter Ostroushko, whose brother Taras has played bass with Eason for years. Catch him at the 7th Street Entry July 30. Available Now

Ms. Gilberto isn’t the only musician bringing South American sizzle to the Twin Cities stage this month. This funky bossa nova combo – comprised of local jazz guitarist Pavel Jany and an international cadre, including a French violinist, a bassist from the Ivory Coast, and a vocalist and percussionist both from Brazil – has put out two CDs of north-country Brazilian rhythms. The band gigs around town regularly in trio or quartet form, including weekly stands at local restaurants Nochee, Downtowner Woodfire Grill, and La Bodega, but this is a rare chance to see the full nine-piece outfit put down a smokin’ salsa groove.
1360 N. Lexington Pkwy., St. Paul; www.tickettobrasil.com

Young, beautiful, and with a silky-smooth delivery, Bebel Gilberto is Brazil’s answer to Diana Krall and Norah Jones. We’re glad somebody asked Brazil the question. Like Jones, she’s the daughter of musical royalty (Joao Gilberto, perhaps the premier bossa nova player in the world), and offers living proof that talent doesn’t always skip a generation. Her new self-titled disc is pure loveliness, with occasional light touches of electronica for flavor, as in the ethereal “Aganju.” But the main dish here is a sophisticated pop-friendly bossa nova confection. (In the song “Jabuticaba,” she even gets in a lyrical reference to Prince: “Isn’t she lovely, like purple rain?”)
612-339-7007, hennepintheatredistrict.com

Let’s give it up for old-school divas like Janis Hardy, Maria Jette, and Molly Sue McDonald – the ladies who revere Puccini arias rather than pablum pop. But for Sopranorama, they’ll mix the classical with the contemporary – or at least, the comparatively (and tastefully) contemporary: We’re talking Burt Bacharach and Willie Nelson here. Hardy, Jette, and McDonald are themselves a mix of musical tastes: Hardy’s experience is primarily operatic, Jette’s is orchestral, and McDonald’s most recent performances have been in musicals. Nonetheless, this is the trio’s third Sopranorama collaboration under the direction of Vern Sutton, himself a staple of local opera, theater, and A Prairie Home Companion. 1420 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-340-1725; www.southerntheater.org