A Hunting Shack Christmas

By LIZ BYRON. There is nothing particularly groundbreaking about Yellow Tree Theater’s holiday season production. On the other hand, something doesn’t have to be groundbreaking to be good, and A Hunting Shack Christmas is very good. It’s got a compelling plot, it’s funny, it’s got enough heartwarming moments to give you the warm fuzzies but…

It’s coming up on that time of year again… Theatre Unbound’s 24:00:00 Xtreme Theatre Smackdown. I reviewed the Smackdown last year and am looking forward to this year’s event, since they’re all different. Since this is a one-night-a-year event, here’s your reminder to catch this year’s action! This year’s event is happening on Saturday, January…

A Christmas Carol

by REBECCA HALAT and ADAM SCHENCK. Christmastime is a reminder that our best stories are not new. The Guthrie’s annual production of A Christmas Carol is just such a story. How then to make the old familiar story new? The Guthrie celebrates its 40th year of A Christmas Carol this year, and this classic production…

Dr. Suess’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas

BY TAMAR NEUMANN:  ‘Twas two weeks before Thanksgiving and all through the cities each holiday show began their stirrings. Each cast and director were fully prepared in the hopes that audiences soon would be there. The children were excited for they already knew, the Grinch would soon be back to steak Christmas anew. I’ll spare…

The Juniper Tree

Open Eye Figure Theater’s adaptation of The Juniper Tree uses an innovative blend of live actors, beautiful stage design, and amazing puppetry to bring to life one of the Grimm Brothers’ more gruesome tales. This is no children’s tale, as it brings together love, loss, murder, and cannibalism, while still leaving room for a happy…

Q and A with Aisle Say Twin Cities’ Founders Sophie Kerman and Anna Rosensweig: A Farewell Tribute and Virtual Legacy

BY CHRISTINE SARKES SASSEVILLE Recently, Aisle Say Twin Cities lost the second of its two founding members as life pulled them in different directions. Sophie Kerman announced that she was moving on in her last post, a review of the Ivey Awards. Anna Rosensweig left us in 2012 to complete her Ph.D. and begin postdoctoral…

Hansel and Gretel

by  MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN The Minnesota Opera’s production of Hansel and Gretel is a great introduction to opera for friends and family who are intimidated or reluctant to give the form a try. The story is familiar, the music is approachable (and lovely), and the staging is fantastic – in all definitions of the word. …

The Duchess of Malfi

BY TAMAR NEUMANN: After I saw The Classical Actors Ensemble’s production of John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi all my memories of my Renaissance English Literature class came crashing back. I went home, dusted off my copy of the play, and started flipping through my notes about the tragic themes present in this story. I…

Disenchanted!

By LIZ BYRON. Haven’t you ever wondered what happened to Sleeping Beauty after she married her Prince Charming? I mean, let’s think about this for a second. She was supposed to have fallen into her “death-like sleep” at the age of 16, right? And then Princely McPerfect comes along and kisses her, she wakes up,…