by HPR Contributor | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | November 13th, 2019
By Michael Str!ke
michaelstrike.solo@gmail.com
Comedy, dance, live music, and that classic wordplay and wit only Mel Brooks can deliver. This Friday, November 14th, Concordia College Theater premieres their production of Mel Brooks’ musical “Young Frankenstein.” Directed by New York’s acclaimed director and choreographer, Donna Kaz, and musically led by musical director Andrew Steinberg; the musical features a cast and crew entirely comprised of students.
As someone with a history…
by HPR Contributor | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | October 23rd, 2019
By Scott Ecker
notharrisonford@gmail.com
Theatre is something that takes a lot of work from a lot of people. This is something that is easy to forget while watching a good play. Great theatre is immersive. The script, acting and technical work is all in the service of communicating a story. It transports the audience into a world that is completely different from theatre seats.
I had the privilege of getting to see some of the process of FMCT’s latest production, “Sweeney Todd: The…
by HPR Contributor | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | October 2nd, 2019
By Michael Str!ke
michaelstrike.solo@gmail.com
“No one moves to Fargo to become a professional actor,” she said, but after starting Theatre B with her husband and a core ensemble of performers almost 18 years ago; Carrie Wintersteen has found a home, a calling, and her own vocation here in the Fargo/Moorehead area.
Carrie’s interest in performance started at the very young age of five or six; when her parents would ask her to sing and entertain family and friends during their bridge…
by HPR Contributor | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | September 11th, 2019
By Scott Ecker
notharrisonford@gmail.com
On Wednesday, September 11th the tour of We Will Rock You is coming to BlueStem in Moorhead. We Will Rock You is a jukebox musical based on the music of Queen that originated in West End in 2002. This tour is coming out of Canada and will be the first performance in the US.
I had the privilege of speaking over the phone with Krystle Chance right before the show’s performance in Winnipeg. Krystle is a performer out of Toronto who has performed…
by Ryan Janke | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | July 10th, 2019
The annual mainstage summer musical, produced by Trollwood Performing Arts School and sponsored by Bell Bank, opens Thursday, July 11. This year’s performance is Disney’s “Freaky Friday.” Trollwood Performing Arts School’s website describes the musical as a, “classic story of a mother and daughter magically swapping bodies and, as a result, learning what life is like by spending a day in each other’s shoes.”
“‘Freaky Friday’ is a new musical and Trollwood Performing…
by Ryan Janke | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | June 19th, 2019
The Cass Act Players will take the stage this weekend to bring “Weather the Storm” to Bonanzaville’s Dawson Hall in West Fargo.
“Weather the Storm” is a musical based on the infamous tornado that hit Fargo’s Golden Ridge neighborhood, killing 12 and destroying over 300 homes, in 1957. Local residents Tracy Frank and Topher Williams collaborated on the project.
“‘Weather the Storm’ is a story of community and, ultimately, it’s a story of a fractured community –…
by HPR Contributor | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | June 12th, 2019
By Amber Westereng
Minnesota State University Moorhead’s (MSUM) Straw Hat Players has performed more than 300 shows during their 56 years and has groomed more than 2,000 actors, technicians, and crew for careers in the theatre industry. The Straw Hat Players kicked off their season in June with “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” but many may wonder, who are they?
MSUM’s summer theatre company is a dedicated 50-person crew comprised of actors and off-set staff who work 10-hour days,…
by John Showalter | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | April 10th, 2019
Countless examples can be found throughout the history of great art that was only recognized as such after the life of the artist that created it. Such is true of Georges Bizet’s opera "Carmen." While its reception during his lifetime could be arguably be referred to as ‘lukewarm’, it went on to become of the most widely performed and recognized works in the opera repertoire. One would think that a story of love, jealousy, revenge, and a fiery femme fatale would have perennial…
by Ryan Janke | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | April 10th, 2019
Macbeth is set to open at Fargo South High School Theatre Thursday, April 11 and will run through Sunday. The show will be filled with betrayal, thirst for power, sorrow, and revenge for an action-packed two hours. It will also bring one real-life family full-circle as they all contribute to the production of the play.
Macbeth (played by Blaze Remmen), was written by William Shakespeare and is the story of a Scottish general who is told by three witches that he will one day rule…
by John Showalter | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | February 13th, 2019
To many people unfamiliar with the wide range of the musical genre, the word ‘opera’ conjures up stereotypical images of people in period costumes and large women in Viking garb singing in foreign languages. The truth, however, is that opera has continued to evolve over its life as an art form. FM Opera, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has been introducing people to the wide range opera can take as an art form during its long tenure in Fargo.
Recently, I had the…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.comFargo, ND – Mayor Mahoney issued a city-wide mask mandate on Oct. 19th, shortly after North Dakota became the state with the largest number of new cases per capita in the US, a record it…
Shawnee Kaseman of Wishek, ND was awarded the title of Miss North Dakota for America 2020 this past September, but instead of preparing to hit the stage in a glittering gown under sparkling lights,she addressed pageant judges from…
Thursday, March 19, 4:30- 8 pm1609 19th Ave N, FargoCass County Soil Conservation District is hosting their annual Ladies’ Ag Night supper event. This event has a goal of bringing together multiple generations of women involved…
In a news cycle where it’s tough to discern fact from fiction, you may have noticed that a number of conservative media consumers are announcing their dramatic exit from Facebook and Twitter. After Twitter labeled a number of…
Is There Personal Liberty? When Does It Begin And End?It was bound to happen to an inquiring mind. Scientists around the world are monitoring sewage for outbreaks of COVID-19 because victims of the virus have had the very…
To say that this year’s Bartenders Battle was the best display of talent in the six years since its creation would be an understatement and a disservice to not only the bartenders who made it into the competition, but also the…
Reviving Rural Grocery Stores in North DakotaBy Annie PrafckeFargo, ND – On October 7th, Gov. Doug Burgum awarded Milnor Market and the Forman grocery store project Main Street Awards, as part of an initiative led by the Office…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comMusicians and concertgoers alike unexpectedly found their plans disrupted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Artists and venues have been facing a situation that is unprecedented for most…
Sofia Coppola’s delightful distraction from national affairs sees the writer-director returning to her sweet spot: the tiniest whiff of autobiography in a story that, to paraphrase James Stewart’s Macaulay “Mike” Connor in…
By Jill FinkelsonWe’ve been hearing the word Unrest a lot lately. Unrest in the streets. Unrest in the capital. Unrest in our own homes as we struggle to hunker down in the face of the unseen pandemic. People are restless. They…
By Kris Gruberperriex1@gmail.comEloise Breikjern has been the Executive Director of Fargo Moorhead Community Theatre since 2013. She will retire in December.High Plains Reader spoke to her about the strength of her staff, the…
by Kris Gruberperriex1@gmail.comAdam Quesnell's last show at The Cellar beneath the Front Street Taproom in Fargo was in early September of 2018. He was embarking on a seminal move from Minneapolis to LA. As always, his comedy was…
by Jill Finkelsonjsfinkelson99@gmail.comFar North Spirits, located up in Hallock, MN, is the northernmost distillery in the lower 48. They may be young in the distillery world but the farm and the spirit reach far into the past.…
by Laurie J Bakeremsdatter@gmail.com Part of modern yoga is participating in the world around us. We live in a time of upheaval in society and nature, and of great suffering in humans of all ages. Most of us perceive this suffering…
By Ashlee Nordquisthpr@hpr1.comI've come to the conclusion that not everyone understands why my brother and I went on ventilators for covid and what that means. As I survived and my brother SO FAR is improving, I can make jokes and…
By Marc de Cellemarcdecelle@midco.netAs someone who has voted for both Republicans and Democrats in the last decade, and who has participated as both a poll worker and an absentee vote counter in the last five years, I feel it's my…
