November 9th, 2016
“You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that.” – Charlotte to Wilbur, “Charlotte’s Web”
A theatrical adaptation of the…
October 26th, 2016
It’s time to do the timewarp… again. To be exact, this is the 14th year that the Nine and Numb Entertainment troupe of Tampa, Fla. will bring their “Rocky Horror Picture Show – LIVE!” to the Empire Arts Center in Grand Forks, N.D. The director, actors, and producers invite you to celebrate Halloween a little early with productions on October 28th, 29th and 31st at midnight.
"We are so excited to be back," says Kelly Clow, the production's director and producer, and occasionally…
October 19th, 2016
By Amy Venn amyvenn86@gmail.com
Anna Carol returned home to the Midwest after accepting the position as interim Artistic Director with the Fargo Moorhead Community Theatre (FMTC) last week. Carol is a Minnesota native and a graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance, Directing, and Dance.
After finishing her first degree, Carol spent some time teaching and performing in Minneapolis, but started to dream bigger. “I…
October 12th, 2016
Photo by Maddie Malat
Concordia College Theatre kicks off its season with a performance run of playwright David Auburn’s 4-character play, “Proof.” Proof examines themes of mental health, gender, relationships and trust. This show is intended for mature audiences. The show kicked off Tuesday, and remaining performances are at 8pm on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with a 2pm matinee on Sunday the 16th.
The plot of “Proof” revolves around Catherine, a mathematician; her recently…
July 27th, 2016
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Act Up Theatre is bringing the popular stage adaptation of Green Day’s rock opera, American Idiot, to the Frances Frazier Comstock Theatre at Concordia College for a six-night run. Pennie Fike is producing the run for Act Up Theatre, and Rebecca Meyer-Larson is directing the show.
The musical “American Idiot” is adapted from Green Day’s very successful, Grammy Award-winning album of the same name from 2004. In addition to featuring all of the songs from the American Idiot album,…
May 19th, 2016
by Alex Huntsberger
Fargo Moorhead Community Theatre recently announced the slate of shows for its 70th season, which begins in the fall of this year.
The first Mainstage play will be “Peter and the Starcatcher”, a whimsical, highly theatrical prequel to Peter Pan (If you saw the movie “Pan” and hated it…okay if you saw the movie “Pan” at all, you can rest assured that “Peter and the Starcatcher” is much, much better). It runs October 7-9and 13-16.
The second production…
May 11th, 2016
By Alex Huntsberger
Photo by Kensie Wallner
If there’s one question that has hounded theatregoers from wing to stall over the past century more than any other, it is most certainly the following: how would W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan have fared had they been originators of the classic 70’s sitcom, ‘The Love Boat’? And now, courtesy of NDSU Opera’s production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s classic comic opera “HMS Pinafore”, we finally have an answer: they would have done…
April 27th, 2016
by Alex Huntsberger
In an age when producers in theatre, television and film are all searching their couches for viable IP (Intellectual Property) to convert into new content, I suppose an Addams Family musical was inevitable—even if it wasn’t that advisable. The show was panned when it opened on Broadway in a production starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth, and it underwent subsequent revisions before its first national tour, many of which were actually quite well received.
While the…
April 15th, 2016
By Ben Haugmo
As human beings, none of us are strangers to change. From births to marriages to deaths, events occur in our lives that leave us different than we were before.
Like all of us, Raymond Rea is no stranger to change. He used the experiences of both himself and his family to inspire his upcoming play, ‘The Sweet New.’ The play follows an Italian-American family over the course of three generations and the unique changes each family member undergoes. The three main characters…
April 14th, 2016
By Alex Huntsberger
It takes a lot of work to make a play. Learning lines, learning songs, learning blocking and choreography and learning how to be someone you are not. Rehearsing until you get it right and then rehearsing even more until you can’t get it wrong.
Theatre might seem a silly diversion to some, something people do because they want to be in spotlight, to be showered with applause—and sometimes it is. But it takes a lot of work to do it.
I reflected on this while I sat in…
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By Alicia Underlee NelsonMore than 1,000 pro-worker events are planned for Thursday, May 1 across the country, including rallies in Fargo-Moorhead, Grand Forks, Minot and Jamestown. East Grand Forks and Bismarck will host protests…
From concerts and car shows to Japanese art and Juneteenth celebrations, there's so much going on around the region this summer. This year's High Plains Reader Summer Events Calendar is back and bigger than ever. It's packed with…
June 21, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway N., Fargo“We Watch Shudder,” Fargo’s favorite horror podcasters, bring on the darkness during the longest day of the year. The Darkest Day of Horror Film Festival features…
By John Strandjas@hpr1.com One description that perhaps aptly describes the mental state of many lately is that they feel they are attached to a string. Or several strings. Call it the notion that people are played like puppets,…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comFor sale: White House in D.C. housing dung beetles and giant leechesI suspect someone close to Donald Trump has read “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,”because the Trump administration is…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com After a very inspiring conversation with Kayla Houchin of Sonder Bakehouse a few weeks ago, I decided that it’s an appropriate time to write a column about some of the sweet people who are involved…
Mooncats and Pert Near Sandstone play Empire TheatreBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThe MoonCats describe themselves as “Americonscious Campfire Folk.” They have a clear acoustic folk sound with a sense of whimsy — think…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Filmmaker Antonella Sudasassi Furniss constructs an engaging sophomore feature with “Memories of a Burning Body,” selected by Costa Rica to be entered for consideration as a possible Oscar…
By Raul Gomezraul@hpr1.com Minutes before Modern’s Celebration of Life opened its door at the Sons of Norway, I was fiddling with the bar computer, trying to pull up the playlists of Modern’s work I had set aside for the…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…
By Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com There appear to be differences in the incidence of mental illnesses between men and women. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, post-traumatic stress…
By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…
By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson.nd7@gmail.com Our trucking business has me driving almost daily from gas plants in western North Dakota's oil patch to Canada. I haul natural gas liquids (NGLs) products we used to see flared off at…
