This saucy show has plenty of punch for Sondheim fans.   Photo by Dan Norman When you hear the “great” names of creators of musical theater, the list tends to be pretty short. Rogers and Hammerstein are up there, to be sure. Leonard Bernstein makes the cut. Andrew Lloyd Weber,

A nuclear apocalypse seems to be on many artists’ minds these days.   Photo courtesy of the Walker Art Center Last year gave us The Lorax at Children’s Theatre Company. A few weeks ago The Children opened at the Jungle Theater. And now we have Zvizdal [Chernobyl, so far – so close],

The first (and only) musical about Gloria Estefan is the new West Side Story (yeah, I went there).   Photo by Matthew Murphy We hear electrified instruments; a blistering trumpet fills the air, and suddenly! A thin fabric screen is whisked away to reveal the awesome power of the new

I’ve always loved historical fiction, but it can be a tricky thing to get right.  Photo by Dan Norman Where is the line between taking a fictional account of history too far and hitting just the right balance? Done well, historical fiction can provide an exciting, accessible way to engage

God bless children’s stories.   Photo by Dan Norman When times are dark, and the weather is darker (literally), all I seem to want to do is seek out things that make me feel good. Comedies, cozy clothes, endless amounts of carbs – call me a hedonist all you want,

Every year I visit the Walker Art Center’s annual Out There series…  And every year I leave with a plethora of exciting new ideas about performance art. The avant garde festival can be really intimidating for those who don’t see a lot of theater or prefer explicitly traditional forms of performance, but that’s exactly

This disaster minded drama features impeccable acting and a thoughtful plot   Photo by Dan Norman Art is supposed to reflect and explain the world around us, right? That said, with the political world in chaos these days it seems only natural that dystopian fiction and high drama should make

Representation has been an increasingly important theme in arts around the world lately. Uche Iroegbu Whether it’s melanizing the lily white world of superhero universes (here’s looking at you Black Panther) or shaking up the stale genre of rom coms (Crazy Rich Asians ruled the game this summer), groups that

What can I say about a show that’s been touring the country steadily for over 25 years? Photo by Matthew Murphy Probably simply that things haven’t changed all that much in the 150+ years since Les Miserables was first published. Photo by Matthew Murphy Anyone who isn’t familiar with Les

How can you find a new way to indulge your love for Jane Austen?   Photo by Rich Ryan You took all the Buzzfeed quizzes about “Which Bennet are you?” and watched every Austen remake to be found thousands of times (here’s looking at you, Clueless). What’s left at this