Sunday, December 29, 2019

Nutcracker Noir by Minnsky Theatre

And, one final holiday show that closes 1/4/2020, Nutcracker Noir at the Minnsky Theatre. Rob from The Stages of MN writes: This is like a naughty funny sequel to the classic story. It takes place 10 years after Clara’s original adventure in the Land of Sweets. http://bit.ly/366goG9


The Norwegians by Dark & Stormy Productions

"The Norwegians" are back and just as darkly funny as ever. The Dark & Stormy Productions, playing at the old Grain Belt Warehouse, runs through Jan. 5, 2020. Get there. It's good fun, and dark fun. Fun, none the less.
Cherry and Spoon, who caught it the first time around in 2016, came back for more: "a cross between a Prairie Home Companion sketch and an episode of Fargo, with more edge than the former but without the latter's ominous cloud of despair." http://bit.ly/cs_norwegians
Compendium - Minneapolis experienced Dark & Stormy for the first time, writes: This was my first time at a Dark and Stormy Productions show, and I'm sure it won't be my last. I loved the tongue-in-cheek nature and fearless parody of Minnesota culture, which is long overdue in my opinion. http://bit.ly/35e5MEE
Play off the Page also experienced Dark & Stormy for the first time: This show is filled with hilarious monologues about the cold, the food, and the nice, and not so nice, relationships they foster. http://bit.ly/2RNy4SC
Trin from The Global Dig writes: Some of the most memorable things in this play are the subtle details including fake snow, or a character frantically scouring through their purse, or the cute moments when characters run their fingers though another’s hair, so caught up in the deep emotions associated with love and the conspiring qualities that come with it.
http://bit.ly/372G4n1


Saturday, December 28, 2019

Getting Plowed at Brave New Workshop

Getting Plowed at The Brave New Workshop Comedy Theatre is closing Jan. 4, 2020. All the winter humor still applies! A few of our bloggers made it out through the cold and snow and busy schedules to get a few laughs before the holidays!
Trin at The Global Dig writes: Getting Plowed, directed by Caleb McEwen is a holiday show that takes a naughtier-than-nice look at the holiday season with a satirical edge...Strange unscripted things do happen on stage. http://bit.ly/33Jchyk
Cherry and Spoon writes: It's definitely different than the usual theater I attend - more fun and loose and playful - but still with talented and familiar performers who are experts at what they do. Which is write and perform silly, smart, timely, relatable, ridiculous comedy sketches. And this show is all about the holidays, in an irreverent sort of way that celebrates all that we love and hate about this time of year. http://bit.ly/cs_plowed
PhenoMNal Twin Cities writes: With all-new, but comfortingly familiar material skewering holiday tropes like burnout, letters to Santa, and family dysfunction, it’s great catharsis to know you’re not alone in feeling like the holidays are getting more stressful. https://www.phenomnaltwincities.com/review-getting-plowed/


All is Calm at Theater Latte' Da

The much-loved annual show at Theater Latté Da "All Is Calm" is closing this weekend, 12/29/19, with a nearly sold out run. One of our bloggers was able to get tickets for a performance this weekend. Cherry and Spoon, who has seen it seven times, says: This is the seventh time I've seen All is Calm, my favorite of what the #TCTheater holiday* season has to offer, and it only gets more beautiful, poignant, and necessary every year. We need this message now more than ever. http://bit.ly/cs_alliscalm19

Play off the Page caught one of the last performances of the season. "mesmerizing and haunting, vulnerable yet precise. A wonderful Christmas outing with my sons.  http://bit.ly/355MIaI

The show has toured the state and appeared Off-Broadway last year. They filmed the show to air on PBS next year.

Photo by Dan Norman

Thursday, December 26, 2019

What If by The Moving Company

Closing this weekend on 12/29/19, "What If" by the The Moving Company
Cherry and Spoon writes: It's sort of about theater itself, why we do theater, why we go to the theater. And it's also about humanity, and the origins of storytelling, and the what if of imagining ourselves in someone else's shoes http://bit.ly/cs_whatif

Play off the Page caught a performance before it closes: A Thinker. http://bit.ly/2MAdOR5



Saturday, December 21, 2019

Another Miracle on Christmas Lake at Yellow Tree Theatre

Cherry and Spoon attended "Another Miracle on Christmas Lake" at Yellow Tree Theatre. She writes: Full of the quirky and very Minnesotan characters we've come to love, but with a (mostly) all new cast of talented comedians, Another Miracle on Christmas Lake is a riot. http://bit.ly/cs_xmaslake Closes 12/29/19

Photo by Justin Cox

Friday, December 20, 2019

MN Dance Collaborative's HoliDaydream at the Southern Theater

Rob from The Stages of MN caught "HoliDaydream" by Minnesota Dance Collaborative at the Southern Theatre before it closes this Sunday, 12/22/19. He writes: HoliDaydream is primarily a dance piece but it has dialogue and some singing as well. It’s something of a special show. http://bit.ly/35IVcps

Photo by Dan Norman



Miss Bennet at The Jungle Theater, a new holiday favorite!

Twin Cities Theater Bloggers love Miss Bennet at The Jungle Theater, closing 12/29/19. Tickets are going fast for this popular spin off on Austen's famous novel, Pride & Prejudice.
Twin Cities Stages writes: The play by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, is a fun and comedic follow up to Pride and Prejudice (fear not if you are not familiar with the novel, it is not required to follow the play). https://bit.ly/35zdgBU
Compendium - Minneapolis writes: I'm so thrilled with the new tradition gracing the Jungle Theater's stage: a rotation of holiday themed, fan-fiction sequels to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. http://bit.ly/34xQ7zS
Cherry and Spoon writes: For the third year in a row, Jungle Theater is presenting their own special brand of Pride and Prejudice fan fiction, in the form of delightfully modern yet still very Austen plays by the playwrighting team of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon. http://bit.ly/cs_missb19
Photo by Dan Norman


Thursday, December 19, 2019

The Ever and After by Theatre Pro Rata

Trin at The Global Dig made it out to Theatre Pro Rata's production of "The Ever and After" at the Crane Theater: Thurston attempts to teach Sheelar everything he knows about human existence based on his knowledge before the apocalypse and The Ever and After. http://bit.ly/2EwGohI


Bethany McHugh and Doc Woods photography by Leonard Gorrill
Trin at The Global Dig attended a student matinee of "Hanukkah Lights in the Big Sky" at MN Jewish Theatre Company playing through 12/22/19. Trin writes: Hanukkah Lights in the Big Sky is a play inspired by true events that occurred in 1993 in Billings, Montana, and was commissioned by Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company in 2005. This play retells how a brick was thrown at a menorah in a child's window during Hanukkah and how community leaders of all faiths came together to help spread a message of tolerance and peace, inspiring 10,000 families to display menorahs on Christmas. http://bit.ly/2ryK2oz

Liam Beck-O'Sullivan and Amanda Cate Fuller, Photo by Minnesota Jewish Theater Company

Letters to Santa Assemble at Bryant Lake Bowl

Rob from The Stages of MN caught a performance of Letters to Santa Assemble at Bryant Lake Bowl & Theater. He says: Letters to Santa Assemble! is great fun, full of characters you will remember, and plenty of laughs to get you in a jolly frame of mind. Show closes Dec. 27, 2019 and is very popular. Arrive early! http://bit.ly/2qvlQ5V


Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Dog Act by Fortune's Fool

Dog Act by Fortune's Fool Theatre at Gremlin, closes 12/22/19
Cherry and Spoon writes: Dog Act is a little like The Walking Dead, but with entertainers. Because even in an apocalypse (zombie or otherwise), we still need to tell our stories, and be entertained by storytelling. In Dog Act, produced by Fortune's Fool Theatre at Gremlin, a traveling performer and her dog/person try to survive in a post-apocolyptic world that, much like the TWD universe, consists of scavengers and worse, people who will stop at nothing to survive. Those are the ideas explored in this weird but oddly sweet play, well executed by the Fortune's Fool team.
http://bit.ly/cs_dogact

Photo by Scott Pakudaitis

Beyond the Rainbow at History Theatre

Beyond the Rainbow: Garland at Carnegie Hall at History Theatre closes Sunday, 12/22/19.
Cherry and Spoon attended this tribute to Minnesota's favorite daughter: this play is a beautiful homage to the human behind the legend, while still celebrating her incredible legacy of music and film. http://bit.ly/cs_rainbow


Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Pride & Prejudice at Park Square, new adaptation by Kate Hamill

Pride and Prejudice at Park Square Theatre is a new adaptation by playwright Kate Hamill. It's a bit irreverent, filled with humor, and beloved Austen characters. Closing 12/22/19.
Cherry and Spoon writes: Everyone in the ensemble is so much fun to watch, playing these familiar yet somewhat modernized characters. http://bit.ly/cs_pandp
Compendium - Minneapolis writes: Park Square's production of Pride and Prejudice really plays up the comedy. http://bit.ly/2OpgySC
TheGlobalDig writes: Gender reversals and double castings are obvious in Kate Hamil’s rendition http://bit.ly/2rk9tKt
Photo by Dan Norman


Monday, December 16, 2019

Six is a Hit at the Ordway, then on to Broadway!

The exciting new musical "Six" rolled into St. Paul with a bang. Our bloggers raved! You have until Sunday, 12/22 to see it at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, then it's from Ordway to Broadway.
Play off the Page writes: Six is a concert-style musical set to modern hip-hop and rock music, with a couple gorgeous ballads thrown in to create an exciting theater experience. http://bit.ly/2q5BEMk
PhenoMNal Twin Cities writes: The melodies are extremely catchy and the Broadway-bound talent are as good as it gets.
https://www.phenomnaltwincities.com/review-six/
Compendium - Minneapolis writes: Six puts the spotlight back where it belongs: on the women who made the man.
http://bit.ly/2Yj5k5y
Cherry and Spoon writes: SIX allows the six wives of Henry VIII to tell their own stories. http://bit.ly/cs_six
Millennial in the Mezzanine writes: you’re in for 85 minutes of a millennia-meets-Tudor-England ecstasy. https://bit.ly/36a3giL
The Stages of MN writes: So not only is Six a show about History it is a show that is making history. http://bit.ly/2Pp3Cg4