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Sunday news and reviews

Posted at 10:00 AM on February 20, 2011 by Marianne Combs
Filed under: News and reviews

Art

Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the great Pharaohs hold court at the Science Museum of Minnesota
The first thing you need to know about this much-heralded traveling exhibit is that you get the bling but not the king: the actual mummy of Tutankhamun remains in its Egyptian tomb, though the exhibit concludes with a close replica of the king's preserved corpse.
- Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet

Books

Chess mate
An authoritative biography of a perverse American genius.
- CARL ROLLYSON, Star Tribune

Dropping in on family squabbles
Set in Kent, England, a family drama takes great pains to affirm the redemptive power of human connection.
- SCOTT MUSKIN, Star Tribune

Rise and fall of an American marriage
A novel based on the marriage of Hadley and Ernest Hemingway.
- ANDREA HOAG, Star Tribune

Tough stories touch on courage on the homefront
Well-wrought tales of bravery on the military homefront.
- ANDREA HOAG, Star Tribune

Invasive procedures
A biologist and an environmentalist are at odds over invasive species off California's coast.
- ELLEN AKINS, Star Tribune

An immigrant to the human species
A nose job and language lessons help Bruno Littlemore, a chimp, to move in human circles.
- MICHELE FILGATE, Star Tribune

A former Minnesotan's debut novel focuses on how hard it is to grow up in a bad economy
Gwendolyn Heasley gives us a "recessionista" named Corrinne in her debut young-adult novel, "Where I Belong."
- Mary Ann Grossmann, Pioneer Press

Music

Red-carpet stepchild
After playing the Guthrie this week, oft-nominated Randy Newman will take the long walk again, looking for his second Oscar.
- Jon Bream, Star Tribune

Minneapolis not listed in survey of nation's most active music scenes
Even though Minneapolis has an exceptional reputation for music, it is not one of North America's most concentrated cities for music businesses.
- Andrew Halverson, Examiner.com

Stage

Out of nowhere, acting
James T. Alfred is mesmerizing in "Ma Rainey" at the Guthrie. His conversion to a life in the arts was sudden and irreversible.
- Rohan Preston, Star Tribune

Review: Chanhassen offers up a spirited 'Superstar'
The first rock opera, created by powerhouse team Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, still pulls you in as it turns the story of Jesus into a classic tragedy.
- Renee Valois, Pioneer Press

Review: Sarah Palin's Minnesota heralds a perpetual state of absurdity
Emphasizing the polarizing tendencies of the half-term former governor of Alaska, cast member Ellie Hino imbues her Salin Palin impersonation with inflammatory rhetoric, questionable logic, inarticulate phrasing, and dubious sincerity.
- Brad Richason, Examiner.com