DalekoArts production of the smart, funny, relevant play NATIVE GARDENS

Two of our bloggers made the drive down to New Prague to see DalekoArts production of the smart, funny, relevant play NATIVE GARDENS and declared it "worth the drive!" (as always at Daleko). But only three performances remain so don't delay!

https://www.dalekoarts.com/season-11/?wmTabs=native-gardens

The Stages of MN: https://bit.ly/nativegardensDalekoArts

"Native Gardens is about themes we can all relate to on some level, race, privilege, what it means to be a good neighbor, and gardening. Themes like that can be serious stuff, particularly the gardening, but the script's magic trick is in how entertaining it makes exploring these themes. It’s a cast that really owns these characters and a set that once again uses the DalekoArts smallish stage wonderfully."

Cherry and Spoon: https://bit.ly/cs_gardens23

"DalekoArts always makes smart, interesting choices for their seasons, from original works, to beloved classics, to choices that might challenge their audiences. As Amanda White (stage manager and co-Artistic Director) noted in the talkback, New Prague is a community that's 95% White, which is why it's maybe even more important to bring stories from other communities to the stage. This play demonstrates what can happen when people from different communities clash over something as simple and as important as a backyard, how they try, falter, and eventually find a way to live peacefully together."

Theater Crush Thursday: DalekoArts

THEATER CRUSH THURSDAY!
We're starting a new weekly feature to highlight a #TCTheater company that we love. This week's feature is DalekoArts in charming downtown New Prague. Yes, that sounds like a long drive for theater, but it's not really, especially if you live in the south metro, and it's a gorgeous drive that's totally worth it for the great work that Daleko does in their intimate theater space. Like many theaters, they were unable to complete their 2019-2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic; their spring musical SPELLING BEE was cancelled. But they just announced their 2020-2021 season, which is entirely work written by women, and that's something to celebrate and look forward to!
Their 9th season includes the smart, disarming, and relevant comedy NATIVE GARDENS; the utterly charming PRIDE AND PREJUDICE fan fiction MISS BENNET: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY; a new play by co-founder Amanda White, ITASCA; and the 1985 Tony-nominated musical QUILTERS. We often complain about the fact that theaters do the same "classic" musicals (mostly written by men) over and over again, yet there are many great musicals written by women that are never done. Kudos to Daleko for bringing us one of these rarely produced gems by women playwrights/composers.
Season tickets are not yet on sale, but you can find out more about their shows and/or make a donation on their website.
See you in New Prague next season!
https://dalekoarts.com/

- Jill, Cherry and Spoon

TCTB Review Roundup: Closing Soon!

It's the last week of February, which means the clock is ticking on your chance to see lots of creative #tctheater before it's gone forever! Here's a round up of some out of the box ideas you may not have seen covered in bigger media outlets:

Medea at Theatre Elision, closing February 29

The Global Dig says "Ingenious but simple techniques were incorporated by the production team so the characters could gesture and mime the objects they needed to describe. [...] In this Medea, it is the strength of the cast, the production, and most notably the direction that helps us understand something noble in this Greek tragedy." Read more: http://bit.ly/2uJc41W

Cabal at Walking Shadow Theatre Company, closing March 1:

The Stages of MN says "Cabal is billed as a play with puzzles and I didn’t know what that meant. [...] This was more like escape rooms, as we went through multiple rooms, and we weren’t escaping them we were solving puzzles to move forward in the story. [...] This is like a real life video game, where you have to explore the environment and collect things to unlock the next level." Read more: http://bit.ly/373tiEv

The Skeleton Crew at Yellow Tree Theatre with New Dawn Theatre Company, closing March 1

Cherry and Spoon says "What better time than Black History Month for Yellow Tree Theatre to partner with New Dawn Theatre to present their first play (to my knowledge) with a black cast, director, and playwright? Looking around the suburban Osseo theater, I didn't see many people of color, but prolific and talented playwright Dominique Morisseau's Skeleton Crew, while being a specific story of the African American experience, is also a universal story of people struggling to survive and thrive in America." Read more: http://bit.ly/cs_crew

Ada and the Engine at DalekoArts, closing March 1

Cherry and Spoon says "DalekoArts is producing the regional premiere of Ada and the Engine, a play about 19th century mathematician and arguably the world's first computer programmer Ada Lovelace. This smart, funny, poignant (spoiler alert: Ada died young), insightful play is beautifully realized by DalekoArts and 100% worth the drive to charming New Prague." Read more: bit.ly/cs_ada

TCTB Review Roundup: Closing Soon!

Are you looking for something new to explore in #tctheater? Consider checking out some of the new or lesser-known companies in town to see a unique show with great local talent! All of these pieces are closing in early October, so you have a week or so to check them out.

Friends with Guns by Uprising Theatre Company (in partnership with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America), closing October 5
Twin Cities Stages says "Early on in the play I was worried that it was going to be a kind of play that I hate - a play that through conversation between characters essentially lectures to the audience about a certain topic for two hours. But this play, which is currently in its rolling world premiere (it also played The Road Theatre and is soon to open at Chapel Theatre Collective) is so far away from that." More here: http://bit.ly/2mlecJa

Crowns by New Dawn Theatre Company, closing October 6
Cherry and Spoon says "It should be illegal to have this much talent in one cast, but I'm glad it's not because they are a thrill to watch. [...] Each one of these performers can bring the roof down on their own, and their combined power, amplified in the large echoey former sanctuary space, is almost too much to bear. More here: http://bit.ly/2mkCJhm

Gypsy by Lakeshore Players Theatre, closing October 6
Cherry and Spoon says "As someone who lives in the Northeast Metro, it's such a treat to be able to see great theater without having to drive into the city and deal with construction, traffic, crowds, and parking. I'm lucky to be so close to LPT, and since Gypsy is one of my faves (I've seen it six times now) and this cast is so great, it was a lovely Friday evening enjoying theater in the 'burbs." More here: http://bit.ly/2lEFtG3

Ghost Tour by DalekoArts, closing October 12
Cherry and Spoon says "Ghost Tour takes its audience of a dozen people at a time on a walk around historic downtown New Prague. This fun and hilarious spoof of a ghost tour is chock full of local references (prune kolaches for the win!), and maybe one or two true facts of the area, but mostly it's an excuse to get outside, walk around, and experience theater in a non-traditional setting. Which this frequent theater-goer who tires of sitting for endless hours in uncomfortable seats loves." More here: http://bit.ly/2moqgJJ

TCTB Review Roundup: Closing this Weekend!

Looking for sometime to do when the rainy weather moves in this weekend? Why not go to the theater. There are a couple shows closing this weekend that our blogger Cherry and Spoon got a chance to go see. Read what they thought below: 
Peter and the Starcatcher at DalekoArts : http://bit.ly/2w27o4k
The Pathetic Life and Remarkable Afterlife of Elmer McCurdy, the Worst Robber in the West by nimbus theatre playing at The Crane Theater: http://bit.ly/2W3tNgb

TCTB Review Roundup: Shows Closing This Weekend

Friends, don't miss your chance to see these shows closing THIS WEEKEND!

UNDER THIS ROOF by Full Circle Theater Company at Guthrie Theater
Cherry and Spoon: http://bit.ly/cs_underroof
"It's a simple story of friendship and family, with moments of lyrical beauty mixed with the mundane stuff of everyday life... a realistic and ultimately hopeful look at the challenges that life throws at us."

MARISOL by Theatre Coup d'Etat at SpringHouse Ministry Center
Cherry and Spoon: http://bit.ly/cs_marisol
"It's a wild ride, one that's at times confusing or difficult to watch, but so chock full of meaning and symbolism that I can't even begin to unpack it all. The production is very thoughtful and detailed, and not one I will soon forget."

THAIS by Minnesota Opera at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
Bugaboo Musings: http://bit.ly/2L4wJRu
"Minnesota Opera’s production of “Thais” is a lavish spectacle that will leave you breathless. Stage Director Andrea Cigni masterfully brings to life the two disparate worlds of the main characters Thais and Athanael – two worlds that are destined to never coexist."

SHE LOVES ME at DalekoArts
Cherry and Spoon: http://bit.ly/cs_dalovesme
"They employ a smaller cast and band on a much smaller stage, and blissfully no body mics, which only makes the experience more sweet and intimate. "

Ragtime Women and The Rink - TCTB Review Roundup

Last chance to catch Ragtime Women and The Rink! Strong women abound in these shows, so they are perfect to bring your mother to this weekend!

Ragtime Women at Elision Productions (through May 14 at Dreamland Arts).

Tierney at Say Entirely: "While the music of the day (some of it written by the historical Julia, May, and Gladys) plays, the characters sing their stories of love, defiance, and work." More at: http://bit.ly/2qe5D09

Compendium - Minneapolis: "How often do you see a story told entirely from the perspective of women, without a single element of the male gaze around to change it?" More at: http://bit.ly/2pYDqfr

Cherry and Spoon: "In just a brief 75 minutes, Ragtime Women manages to tell a compelling story about four real life women who composed music in the early 1900s, while sharing over two dozen songs of the era, many of them written by these women." More at: http://bit.ly/cs_ragtimewomen

AND, take a day trip down to DalekoArts to see their production of the little-performed Kander and Ebb musical: The Rink (also through May 14).

Don't know The Rink? Here's Cherry and Spoon to tell you all about it:

"Set in a dilapidated roller rink on a fading east coast boardwalk (think a less classy Atlantic City) in the late '70s, it's full of great songs in the Kander and Ebb style (clever, funny, poignant lyrics, beautiful interesting melodies) with a compelling story about a mother and daughter reconnecting and coming to terms with their past mistakes." More at: http://www.cherryandspoon.com/2017/05/the-rink-at-daleko-arts.html

P.S. Minnesota Theater Love loved it as well and highly, highly recommends it. It features a marvelous central performance by Karen Weber, and by Bobby Gardner, who is not only funny but has a marvelous voice, and has just made it on their one-to-watch list. The entire cast is marvelous and the production makes one wonder why it's not performed more often.

Urinetown at DalekoArts: TCTB Review Roundup

Minnesota Theater Love's GIF review of DalekoArts URINETOWN is almost as hilarious as the show itself! 

Click the link below to see for yourself. Cherry and Spoon's review is more traditional, but we all agreed that this show is well worth the drive to lovely New Prague! Playing this weekend and next in a small space, so get your tickets now at http://dalekoarts.com/!

Minnesota Theater Love: http://bit.ly/urine_love
Cherry and Spoon: http://bit.ly/urine_cherry