Theatre

When it comes to diversity

April 7th, 2016

By Alex Huntsberger

Like the Republican Party, theatre is a grand old American institution suffering from a severe racial diversity problem; unlike the GOP, it’s also one whose lack of racial diversity goes directly against the principles it espouses.

Cowering in fear that their old, white affluent subscriber bases will run screaming into the street if they tell stories written by, aimed at or featuring people of color—theatres across the country have displayed a conservative approach…

Read more...


​NEW BLU-RAYS REVISIT UNDERRATED COMEDIES

March 31st, 2016

Last month a couple of overlooked comedies from the mid-60s and early 70s made their Blu-ray debuts. Both were box office disappointments when originally released and continue to elicit mixed responses, but have gained fans over the intervening decades.

Peter Sellers and Victor Mature star in “After the Fox” (1966), Vittoria DeSica’s entertaining satire on heist films, Italian culture, and the magical power of movies themselves over the public, filmmakers, and critics. Neil Simon…

Read more...


A new tradition ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ begins new future for Sheyenne High Theatre

February 11th, 2016

photo by Michael Benedict

In its first year as its own theater department, Sheyenne High School Theatre is paving the way for the future with a classic from the past.

“Fiddler on the Roof” will open the West Fargo high school’s first solo season as its cast and crew latch onto the musical’s elements of tradition to build on for years to come.

“Last year, I’d say there was a bit of a disconnect, certainly for the students and maybe myself and our audience,” director Adam Pankow said. “This year I…

Read more...


​Shakespeare’s coming to town

February 4th, 2016

Month-long ShakespeareFest celebrates the Bard

In 1916 the people of Fargo-Moorhead devoted an entire week to all things Shakespeare. With the U.S. on the brink of entering global turmoil, the F-M community entered a bubble of sorts, harkening back several centuries to celebrate the English playwright’s works, which became the cornerstones of English literature, influencing the language itself as well as culture around the world. The 1916 festival included many events, including a…

Read more...


​Here, there, everywhere

February 3rd, 2016

Monika Browne’s self-penned, one-person show, “EnTRANSed: The Making of a Transnational Woman,” will debut at Valley City State University’s Theater 320 on Saturday, Jan. 30, at 7:30 p.m. The show is based on Browne’s transplantation from her home in Warsaw, Poland, to the U.S. and her experiences navigating a new life here in the Midwest.

“EnTRANSed” is a play on words, says Browne, an homage to the semi-autobiographical novel “Trans-Atlantyk,” written in 1953 by…

Read more...


NDSU: ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’

December 9th, 2015

photo by Kensie Wallner

Jess Jung feels little to no pressure to live up to the classic “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”

The 1958 film starring Elizabeth Taylor sees its stage adaption take shape at North Dakota State’s Walsh Studio this weekend, the second half of its two-week run. Starring six students in the round with 80 seats per show, this “super intimate” telling is set in this new era, its director said.

“I think the movie is in the style of American realism of that time, kind of high emotion and…

Read more...


A legacy of dance

October 22nd, 2015

The life and work of choreographer, director and dancer Eddie Gasper (1929-2015) will be honored on Saturday, Nov. 7, at a reception followed by a tribute dance performance at NDSU’s Festival Concert Hall.

The evening will begin with a cocktail reception from 5-7 p.m. The reception will feature food, wine and Bacardi cokes (Eddie’s signature drink), along with special talks by Jack Lee, Eddie’s accompanist during his Broadway career; Chrissy Fournier, veteran dancer and…

Read more...


Things you shouldn’t be laughing at Punk rock musical puts new spin on (forgotten) history

October 21st, 2015

“Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson” is more than a history lesson.

The punk rock musical opens Theatre NDSU’s 2015-16 season, reopening history books to the pages often left unexamined. In a show bursting with lights and music, the story offers an opening to look at the genocides, bloodshed and heartbreak of indigenous people in the U.S.

And for director Chelsea Pace, the theater is prime for that.

“Bloody, Bloody” is a show, she said, that brings the opportunity to “be…

Read more...


Pretty and gritty MTFM ushers in season 11 with Kander and Ebb’s “Cabaret”

October 15th, 2015


With its latest production, Music Theatre Fargo-Moorhead steps forward into its next 10 years.

The local musical theater group brings Kander and Ebb’s “Cabaret” to The Stage at Island Park the next two weekends, offering a few new looks into the old favorite starting the company’s 11th season.

For starters, MTFM ensemble member Craig Ellingson said this stage version is not too much like its 1960s predecessor, but it is based more on the 1998 Broadway revival.

“The ’66…

Read more...


The fun of horror Concordia College Theatre sets out to scare with “Dracula”

October 14th, 2015


When a straight play has more light and sound cues than a musical, you know it must be something unique.

Concordia College Theatre debuts its 2015-16 season this weekend with “Dracula,” a stage version of the Victorian horror novel by Bram Stoker.

The fun of horror Concordia College Theatre sets out to scare with “Dracula”

This production is “a new adaptation of an old adaptation,” director David Wintersteen said, and with that has its challenges.

“The special effects and…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry AprilAuthor Tracker Pixel for Entry StCloud Tracker Pixel for Entry AprilAuthor Tracker Pixel for Entry Nicholes Tracker Pixel for Entry Blackbird Tracker Pixel for Entry Farrms

Recently in:

Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.com A midnight wedding ceremony at the Clay County Courthouse in Moorhead on August 1, 2013 was more than a romantic gesture. Eighteen couples made history on that day by exchanging vows in the…

By Michael M. Millermichael.miller@ndsu.edu On March 11, 2024, we celebrated the 121st birthday of bandleader Lawrence Welk. He was born March 11, 1903 in a sod house near Strasburg, North Dakota, and died on May 17,1992. The…

Saturday, May 117 p.m., gates at 5 p.m.Outdoors at Fargo Brewing Company610 University Dr. N, FargoWisconsin’s finest export, The Violent Femmes, started out in Milwaukee in 1981 as an acoustic punk band, and they’ve been…

Is this a repeating pattern?By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThere’s a quote circulating around the world wide web, misattributed to Sinclair Lewis: "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a…

by Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comAccording to my great-grandfather many years ago, my French ancestors migrated from Normandy to Quebec to Manitoba to Wisconsin to Minnesota over the spread of more than two centuries, finally…

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 In this land of hotdish and ham, the knoephla soup of German-Russian heritage seems to reign supreme. In my opinion though, the French have the superior soup. With a cheesy top layer, toasted baguette…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com It is not unheard of for bands to go on hiatus. However, as the old saying goes, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” That is why when a local group like STILL comes back to…

Now playing at the Fargo Theatre.By Greg Carlson gregcarlson1@gmail.comPalme d’Or recipient “Anatomy of a Fall” is now enjoying an award-season victory tour, recently picking up Golden Globe wins for both screenplay and…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com There’s no exaggeration when we say that this year’s Plains Art Gala is going to be out of this world, with a sci-fi theme inspired by a painting housed in the Plains Art Museum’s permanent…

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 John Showalter  john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…

JANUARY 19, 1967– MARCH 8, 2023 Brittney Leigh Goodman, 56, of Fargo, N.D., passed away unexpectedly at her home on March 8, 2023. Brittney was born January 19, 1967, to Ruth Wilson Pollock and Donald Ray Goodman, in Hardinsburg,…

Dismissing the value of small towns for the future of our nation is a mistakeBy Bill Oberlanderarcandburn@gmail.comAccording to U.S. Census projections, by the middle of this century, roughly 90% of the total population will live…