Theatre

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…

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…

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…

Keeping it local

September 16th, 2015

Thirteen is no unlucky number for Theatre B.

The downtown theater company opens its 13th season Thursday night with “The Art of Bad Man,” a longtime work-in-progress of playwright Vincent Delaney that premiers in Fargo and Seattle this month. A cast of six tells the tale of German prisoners of war in the Midwest, tying into local history found right across the river in Moorhead.

Over 12 years of research and preparation brought Delaney to this debut. The show is one that Theatre B…

Shakin’ up Shakespeare

September 10th, 2015

Devon Glover has played many parts in his time. But this Friday, Sept. 11, the New York-based educator/performer/artist will come to the Rourke Art Museum as The Sonnet Man, introducing the F-M community to a whole new way of thinking about Shakespeare.

As The Sonnet Man, Glover engages people through hip hop and spoken word to renew excitement and interest in Shakespeare and literature. Glover takes the 400-year-old early modern English verse and repackages it for the modern age with…

Out of the comfort zone, into the garage Two-man show in “different” production

September 9th, 2015

For Tim Larson, the Theater Lab is all about uniqueness.

The new theater company gets off the ground in the next two weeks with its first production, offering a show with different staging, a small cast and a stretch of the imagination. “The Zoo Story,” the Theater Lab’s premiere show, takes its viewers outside the average concepts of theater, its director said.

Of course, any show staged in a garage will take most audience members outside their impressions of theater. And maybe…

“The Oil Project” taps into “Bakken Boom!” exhibition

August 5th, 2015

Local artists are now joining the oil rush in western North Dakota. In a way.

Theatre B is collaborating with the Plains Art Museum to present “The Oil Project,” an original performance piece drawing inspiration from the lives and landscape of North Dakota’s Bakken region. This event is coordinated with “Bakken Boom!,” the museum’s six-month exhibition of artworks reacting to North Dakota’s oil rush.

Drilling in

Four shows in two days will highlight the various viewpoints…

“Rent” offers message of hope

August 5th, 2015

Photo by Meg Spielman Peldo

By Nate Gilbraith

The lights come up to reveal walls covered in graffiti and plastered with faux posters advertising an outdated rock concert. Costumes consist of outdated wardrobes that can only be described as grungy suggesting severe poverty. At one point an actor comes onstage holding a cumbersome Zack Morris cell phone. Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in 2015 anymore. In fact audiences are being transported back to 1989 New York City.

Photo by Meg Spielman Peldo

Written by Jonathan Larson in the early…

Uncovering Marilyn Monroe through modern music

July 1st, 2015

A local theater troupe will pay tribute to Marilyn Monroe, one of the most iconic hollywood stars to ever live, though modern music starting July 7 at The Stage at Island Park.

The production, “Heartthrob,” is being presented by Experience Blur, the same troupe that put on the edgy, imaginative summer productions of “Grease” and “The Great Gatsby.” We interviewed creative director Ryan Domres to get an idea of his vision for this upcoming production.

HPR: Is “Heartthrob”…

Time and talent Straw Hat Players plot another summer of eclectic offerings

May 27th, 2015

Time and talent Straw Hat Players plot another summer of eclectic offerings

Craig Ellingson knows this summer will be a great one.

The Minnesota State University Moorhead theater director has his hands full with the Straw Hat Players this May and June, and despite several changes that are in the air, he asserts the summer theater students won’t miss a beat.

“It’s going to be a challenging summer for some of our shows,” Ellingson said. “We have a bunch of new people, which is…