State of the Arts

State of the Arts: February 11, 2011 Archive

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Nimbus finds new home in Nordeast

Posted at 4:17 PM on February 11, 2011 by Marianne Combs (2 Comments)
Filed under: Theater

balcony.jpg
Cast members of "The Balcony," Nimbus Theatre's first production in its new home

Marching in the streets, revolution, power and the illusion of power... it's no wonder that every time Josh Cragun reads the news these days, he's reminded of the play he's directing: "The Balcony" by Jean Genet.

It was written in the 1950s and its way ahead of its time. It covers a lot of complex difficult issues - how does image control us? It's not guns, but its people's perceptions that shape the world, and how people buy into the images of the people in power, and even help create those images. This isn't a play that tells us to do something, but it shows us the world we live in in a way we might not have seen through our own eyes.

The show is a perfect fit for a company whose motto is "Theatre for a world gone mad."

Josh Cragun and his wife Liz Neerland are the co-artistic directors of Nimbus Theatre, which has been for the past decade an itinerant company, renting spaces in which to perform.

But tonight marks Nimbus' first performance in its new home, a warehouse space in the Nordeast neighborhood of Minneapolis.

Cragun says the company decided to lease a permanent space for a number of reasons, not the least of which was financial.

We did a review of how we use space - and we spend a significant portion of our budget renting spaces -from the stage we performed on to the storage space for our sets. On a week by week basis, it's much less expensive to rent this space than to rent a another theater.

Plus the building has the potential to become a source of income; Cragun says they intend to make it available for rental, just as Nimbus has rented space from places like Intermedia Arts and the Minneapolis Theatre Garage in the past.

Neerland adds the space gives them increased flexibility when staging productions:

This space allows us to really play around to fit the shows we're presenting. For instance, for the staging of "The Balcony" [in which much of the action takes place on - you guessed it - a balcony] prior to this we were performing in a space with 12 foot ceilings - we could never have done this show there.

The stage is indeed impressive, with 900 square feet to move around on. The warehouse space, which is in the shape of a large shoe-box, has been broken down from front to back into lobby area, seating area, stage, and backstage/storage/office.

Cragun says while they were motivated in part by finances and flexibility, the move is in large part about finding, and building community:

When you go into a place and then leave, you don't really get to shape the experience. We wanted to do more than just present a show, but create a space where ideas are shared and art is created.

This space is as much about the people coming to see the art as the art itself. And that's weird because we often do difficult challenging work. But in order to build an audience for that work, we have to develop connections, and an ongoing relationship with our audiences. And it's hard to do that when you don't have a place to call home.

"The Balcony" opens tonight at Nimbus' new home - 1517 Central Ave NE, Minneapolis - and runs through March 6.

(2 Comments)

MN Original #225

Posted at 2:32 PM on February 11, 2011 by Marianne Combs
Filed under: Television

In this week's episode:

Rock stars give photographer Steve Cohen a backstage pass to capture them in concert and behind the scenes.

Paintings conservator David Marquis painstakingly restores treasured works of art from all over the world at the Midwest Art Conservation Center.

Plus: Fiber artist Nancy Mackenzie and renowned vocal chamber ensemble Cantus performs.

Friday news and reviews

Posted at 9:14 AM on February 11, 2011 by Marianne Combs
Filed under: News and reviews

Holy bumper crop! There's almost TOO MUCH arts news to read today. Almost, but not quite...

Art

A bigger canvas
Colorful paintings by Frank Big Bear inaugurate a new American Indian gallery in Minneapolis.
- Mary Abbe, Star Tribune

Tut's first 'treasure' is revealed
The Science Museum in St. Paul expects big things from Tut, even if the legendary ruler's body isn't on display.
- Mary Abbe, Star Tribune

Magic is Important
Writer and West Bank Social Center co-founder Miranda Trimmier reflects on the recent retrospective of the Parisian art space, castillo/corrales, at Midway Contemporary Art, and on the necessarily slippery nature of experimental art spaces.
- Miranda Trimmier, mnartists.org

Explore the 'Nature of Romance' at SSCA
Minneapolis-based community arts center Stevens Square Center for the Arts (SSCA) can help you avoid the expected with its new Valentine-inspired group exhibition, "The Nature of Romance."
- Shelby Meyers, City Pages


Books

Carol Connolly wins Kay Sexton Award
St. Paul's first and only poet laureate receives honor
- Laurie Hertzel, Star Tribune

mnLIT presents: Steven Lang
Read Steven Lang's 2010 miniStories finalist, "The Scarecrow," selected by our full panel of jurors: Alexander Chee, Daniel Handler, Heather McElhatton, Kevin Larimer, and Dennis Cass.
- mnartists.org

Movie

Meet the Bieber: Idol hits big screen
A mix of 3-D concert footage, childhood videos and offstage closeups will thrill Justin Bieber fans.
- Jon Bream, Star Tribune

Teeny-popper's movie is a scream"Never Say Never" includes interviews with dozens and dozens of fans, exactly none of whom is a boy.
- Chris Hewitt, Pioneer Press

"Signing On" advance screening on Saturday
"Signing On" is a documentary featuring the unrecognized healthcare needs of the deaf community in a predominantly hearing world.
- Sara Chars, TC Daily Planet

Just leave it alone
Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston and a swimsuit model pursue the preposterous in scene after scene.
- Colin Covert, Star Tribune

'Cactus Flower' remake has a few sticking points
Producers of "Just Go With It" were wise not to give it the same title as the movie of which it's a remake, "Cactus Flower," because the three Oscar winners who starred in "Cactus" have been replaced by non-Oscar winners: Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston and someone you've never heard of.
- Chris Hewitt, Pioneer Press

This year's shorts are long on originality
If there's a common element in this year's Oscar-nominated animated shorts, it's combining computer animation with hand-drawn. And if there's a theme in this year's nominated live-action shorts, it's kids dealing with adversity.
- Chris Hewitt, Pioneer Press

Tarred and feathered
Self-important allegory about Romans in northern Britain is all phony bloodfest, no gusto.
- Colin Covert, Star Tribune

Plot so tightly organized, 'The Eagle's' wings are clipped
A lot of careful decision-making went into "The Eagle" -- so much careful decision-making that the swords-and-sandals melodrama feels more like it's teaching us a lesson than telling us a story.
- Chris Hewitt, Pioneer Press

Review: Hark! 'Tis Juliet (that little gnome wrecker)
Spoiler alert: Unlike the Shakespearean play that inspired it, "Gnomeo and Juliet" does not end with a double suicide. The carnage is limited to a couple of chipped garden trolls.
- Chris Hewitt, Pioneer Press

Prep now for your Oscars final
Twin Cities theaters are screening nominated films in myriad combos and marathons.
- Colin Covert, Star Tribune


Music

Justin Townes Earle: son of a ...
The second-generation songwriter shares his dad's talent and troubles, but he's sober now and coming into his own.
- Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune

Pianist Carei Thomas had to find a new way to play -- but he has never stopped creating music
This weekend, Zeitgeist, the St. Paul-based new-music ensemble, will pay tribute to one of the undersung creative heroes of the local scene: composer and pianist Carei Thomas.
- Dan Emerson, Pioneer Press

Cloud Cult seeking new cellist
The band is looking for a cellist who lives near the Twin Cities and is interested in a "part-time position that will be filled by someone with a bright soul, a thirst for growth, and of course, day-job flexibility."
- Andrea Swensson, City Pages

Minnesota Orchestra booms with Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich
If the movie "Shine" introduced you to Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, be advised that Jon Kimura Parker did not lose his sanity when he performed it Thursday with the Minnesota Orchestra.
- David Hawley, Pioneer Press

Upshaw, SPCO celebrate their perfect pairing
This weekend's concerts might be looked back upon as the peak of her tenure as a St. Paul Chamber Orchestra artistic partner.
- Rob Hubbard, Pioneer Press

The Strokes are so not back, suckers
Maybe the Strokes and their management figured that the best course of promotional action was to dangle the least delicious of their carrot in advance of a record that's coming almost a half decade after the last one. We can only hope.
- Ray Cummings, City Pages

Dear Senators: Please join bands and fans in 'Free Joel Bremer' movement!
We have a dream: We want to play music with Joel Bremer on Valentine's Day in Minneapolis. Can you help get him here and restore our fading faith in humanity and its governments?
- Jim Walsh, MinnPost.com

Lady Gaga partnering with Target to release 'Born This Way'
Lady Gaga is an avid supporter and advocate for gay rights, and Born This Way is a record about tolerance and acceptance.
- Andrea Swensson, City Pages

It's not too late to hold forth on Kings Go Forth
Is it too late to amend my Best of 2010 list? Somehow I forgot to include "The Outsiders Are Back," the terrific debut by Milwaukee's Kings Go Forth.
- Ross Raihala, Pioneer Press


Stage

Long journey to freedom
Playwright Brian Grandison went back to the earliest beginnings to tell a story about slaves who fled to St. Paul during the Civil War and formed Pilgrim Baptist Church.
- Graydon Royce, Star Tribune

Playwright has a lot at stake with 'Drakul'
John Heimbuch's new play, "Drakul," looks at what happened to Mina, Jonathan, Dr. Van Helsing, Dr. Seward and the rest after they drove a stake through the heart of Dracula.
- Kathy Berdan, Pioneer Press

Politics in the theater: spotlight's on gay and immigrant communities
Stories of Latinos in America today, from immigrants to undocumented workers to a gay Chicano, are meant to entertain. But that's not all. When the curtains open Feb. 17 on the 10th Annual Political Theatre Festival presented by two metro theater companies, the broader goal is to encourage conversation and to build bridges between peoples.
- Cynthia Boyd, TC Daily Planet


Suburban anxiety exposed under the penetrating glare of Little EyesCentered on neighboring cul-de-sacs in a suburban community, Little Eyes involves two very different pairs of characters, each privately cringing from closely guarded secrets and deeply repressed suspicions.
- Brad Richason, Examiner.com

The broken line of caricature: 'Mother Courage' and 'Little Eyes'
- Max Sparber, MinnPost.com

Pillsbury Theatre sets stage for a night out without the kids
Pillsbury House Theatre in Minneapolis is offering free baby-sitting with tickets to select performances.
- Rohan Preston, Star Tribune

David Hyde-Pierce at the Guthrie
Actor David Hyde-Pierce will stop by the Guthrie Theater next month for a conversation with Joe Dowling. Hyde-Pierce, a member of the acting company in 1983-86, will trade quips and insights with Dowling on March 13, a Sunday, starting at 7 p.m.
- Graydon Royce, Star Tribune

Hyde Pierce at Guthrie for on-stage chat
Former "Frasier" star David Hyde Pierce hasn't appeared on a Guthrie stage since 1986, but that's about to change.
- Chris Hewitt, Pioneer Press

Prairie Home Companion vets set for 'Voice Match'
Prolific local playwright Jeffrey Hatcher's latest work gets a one-night-only production this weekend and features a pair of familiar voices for listeners of A Prairie Home Companion.
- Ed Huyck, City Pages

The reviews are in for "Doubt: A Parable"

Posted at 12:30 PM on February 11, 2011 by Marianne Combs
Filed under: Criticism, Theater

Doubt.jpg
Kris Nelson and Sally Wingert star in Ten Thousand Things' production of "Doubt: A Parable" at Open Book through March 6

It takes a lot of nerve to stage a play that got rave reviews as a movie starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman. But Ten Thousand Things, under the direction of Peter Rothstein, did just that. The result? According to these reviews, there's no "doubt" about the quality of this production. Read on for excerpts, and click on the links to read the full reviews.


From Graydon Royce at the Star Tribune:

The competing forces of law and grace, modernity and tradition collide with intense personal clarity in "Doubt," John Patrick Shanley's 2005 Pulitzer winner. Two sharply drawn characters -- each working out a crisis of faith -- spar for the souls of those around them. In the wreckage, no one survives whole.

Ten Thousand Things' production of "Doubt," directed by Peter Rothstein, is one of those rare dramas perfectly wrought in all its pieces...

...We leave not certain of the truth -- the disturbing reaction that Shanley intended.

Rothstein's production breathes with confidence, clearly expressing the metaphoric stakes in each actor. Simply put, he knows this play. It is a tightly etched, 75-minute parable on how we live in relationship with each other and ourselves. It should absolutely be seen.


From Jay Gabler at TC Daily Planet

At the heart of the play, and director Peter Rothstein's sizzling production, is Sister Aloysius. Wingert's fierce performance is a must-see; she rails against the forces conspiring against her with the fury of Ahab, easy though it would be to accept the world's assurances that the killer whale she pursues is a figment of her imagination. Nelson and Froiland are also effective, though those who have seen the film will miss the nuance Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams brought to their roles. In contrast to Hoffman's persistently malevolent performance, Nelson portrays Father Flynn as a cheerful man full of bouyant bonhomie; when he cracks, he falls all the harder.

Williams gets only one scene, but it's a tour de force that had the inmates cheering. Shanley puts her character in a thick knot from which there is no easy escape, and Williams and Wingert make the most of their intense face-off, in which they debate how--or whether--to fight their way out of the cage that they and Donald are trapped in together.

The play leaves room for argument as to whether or not Father Flynn is innocent, but it's always been my impression that Shanley tips the scales in favor of Aloysius, and as Wingert pointed out in a post-performance discussion, in wake of the revelation that child abuse was shockingly widespread in the Catholic Church at that time, history is on her side. Still, when asked for a show of hands, the majority of the inmates at Saturday's performance indicated a belief that Alosyius was mistaken in her accusations regarding the priest.


From Dominic P. Papatola at the Pioneer Press:

On the face of it, "Doubt" is a zeitgeist-y play that turns on the question of whether a priest sexually exploited a 12-year-old altar boy. But it's not necessary to dig too deeply into John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize-winning play to find the more central conflict of flesh and blood versus ideas and convictions brought to thought-provoking life in Ten Thousand Things Theater's production.

Director Peter Rothstein's staging takes advantage of the up-close, lights-up, fourth-wall-shattering style for which Ten Thousand Things productions are known. The play is set in 1964, the sunrise of the reforms in the Roman Catholic Church by the Second Vatican Council. At its beginning, as the charismatic Father Flynn is homilizing, the other three characters of the play sit with the audience, effectively making them the congregation.

The story balances on a delicate emotional fulcrum, and Rothstein's take on the script tests that balance. He's less equivocal on the did-he-or-didn't-he question than other productions I've seen. This has the effect of making the play even more about its central character, Sister Aloysius, who has only circumstantial evidence and her certitude to back up her concerns. Aloysius' epiphany in the show's final moments, then, takes on an entirely different flavor; one I hadn't previously considered.

Wingert's deeply grounded portrayal of Sister Aloysius commands attention and respect; you may or may not like the character at the play's end, but Wingert's crystalline performance makes certain you understand her. Kris Nelson is as compelling as Father Flynn, the object of Aloysius' suspicion. There's nothing threatening about his Father Flynn, but there's something about his hale nature that rings a half-tone flat, and that razor's edge of innocuousness gives the character a captivating nuance.


So, have you seen "Doubt?" If so, what did you think? Share your review in the comments section.

Northrop Auditorium approved for renovation

Posted at 11:00 AM on February 11, 2011 by Marianne Combs
Filed under: Architecture, Education

northrup.jpg

The University of Minnesota Board of Regents gave their final approval today for the financing package that will renovate the 1929 building that serves as a major performing arts venue for the Twin Cities.

According to a release, the renovation is estimated at $80.8 million dollars and is intended to restore the center with a "multi-purpose 2,800 seat hall, featuring state-of-the-art acoustics, significantly improved sight-lines, cutting-edge technologies and updated amenities, including a cafe and coffee bar."

The funding for the renovation comes from a combination of Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement (HEAPR) funds, private donations, university funds and savings and debt service.

The Northrop will close on Monday, February 14, with construction to begin on the 82-year-old facility later this month. The grand re-opening is scheduled for Fall 2013. In the meantime, university activities usually programmed for the Northrop Auditorium will be moved to other venues such as the State and Orpheum Theaters.

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