Wednesday news and reviews
Lots to peruse in the "stage" section this morning...
Art
Kristin Berwald: 100 CreativesYou may know jewelry designer Kristin Berwald as Bionic Unicorn, her other, more fantastical name. Her creations are statement pieces, often featuring whimsical-yet-dense references to steampunk, nature, literature, pirates, and rock 'n' roll.
- Jessica Armbruster, City Pages
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On responding to art -- and, in particular, the national student show at the Nash Gallery
When you see two or three dozen pieces, and you have a few hundred words, all you can do is mention a few that immediately jumped out at you.
- Max Sparber, MinnPost.com
Books
Dark mystery will blow you away
The second Mercy Gunderson mystery is set squarely in the winds and prairies of South Dakota.
- Carole E. Barrowman, Star Tribune
Music
Hip-hop hurray for Lauryn Hill at First Ave
After a long absence and a late start, the rap/soul superstar delivers an unexpected unforgettable performance.
- JON BREAM, Star Tribune
Trampled by Turtles prove fleet-fingered at First Avenue
The thick aroma of high-quality marijuana wafting through the air may have had something to do with all those smiles.
- Kate Gallagher, TC Daily Planet
Stage
Dense 'Woods' gets fine staging
Director Joe Chvala and a large cast plumb a tricky Sondheim musical for its mythic meanings and musical depths.
- William Randall Beard, Star Tribune
Former Guthrie head Michael Langham dies
Michael Langham, who led the Guthrie Theater back from the brink during his tenure at the helm from 1971 to 1977, has died at age of 91.
- Ed Huyck, City Pages
Acting Company's "Comedy of Errors" at the Guthrie Theater is fun and frothy
In the new production by the Acting Company in association with the Guthrie Theater, Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors goes down easy, a light frolic that amps up the goofy physical comedy.
- Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet
Trena Bolden Fields celebrates leaders of the Civil Rights Movement
[Fields has] crafted a series of monologues, Daring to Think, Move, and Speak, to showcase key leaders and supporters of the Civil Rights Movement.
- Dwight Hobbes, TC Daily Planet
"Gob Squad's Kitchen (You've Never Had It So Good)" at the Walker Art Center: Authentically muddled
Gob Squad, the European performance troupe who presented their take on the films of Andy Warhol last weekend at the Walker Art Center, have a lot of tools in their Kitchen--maybe too many.
- Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet
Bette Midler at the Orpheum, 1/18/11
Midler came to Minneapolis last night as part of the inspirational lecture series SmartTalk... she delivered a bubbly, hour-long overview of her "65 years on this planet" before a sea of mostly middle-aged, upper-class women before taking a few questions from the crowd.
- Andrea Swensson, City Pages
"Girls Only" at Hennepin Stages: The secrets of womankind can be yours for just $29.50
What did we learn? That women think tampons are really funny.
- Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet