Sunday news and reviews
Books! Books! Books!
Books
Letters - lots of 'em - from travel writer Chatwin
A collection of letters--interesting, but perhaps too many--from travel writer Bruce Chatwin.
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- CARL ROLLYSON, Star Tribune
Extraordinary short stories in 'Volt' crackle and haunt
Eight tales set in a fictional Midwestern town.
- JIM CARMIN, Star Tribune
An account of the diplomatic, military and legal confrontation between the governor of Washington Territory and the last chief of the Nisqually Indians, who refused to cede ancestral lands to the government.
- GLENN C. ALTSCHULER, Star Tribune
Debut novel takes a fresh, hard look at war
A young doctor in a war-torn country recalls her grandfather's folk tales.
- MARK ATHITAKIS, Star Tribune
The second of Kennedy's Copenhagen Quartet centers on a mysterious corporation that seems to touch everyone's lives.
- EMILY CARTER, Star Tribune
Violence, despair and a precarious optimism
Novella follows the lives of three troubled people in western Nebraska.
- TOM ZELMAN, Star Tribune
A graphic designer's tour of Minneapolis
Minneapolis graphic designer Adam Turman contributes to travel book.
- LAURIE HERTZEL, Star Tribune
Dance
Carpenters' story one of pretend happiness
Arena Dances' presentation of the troubled brother-sister pop duo fails to fully flush out the sibling dynamic.
- CAROLINE PALMER, Star Tribune
Design
Ideas flow through the river, too
For years, Minneapolis treated the Mississippi as a "truck dock." But a design competition hopes to bring about its rebirth.
- LINDA MACK, Star Tribune
Music
The 4onthefloor steals the show at Vita.mn's Are You Local? competition
If the purpose of the event is to turn new local acts into rock stars, then the4onthefloor should have been eliminated the moment frontman Gabriel Douglas stepped off of the stage and stepped into the crowd mid-song, with his guitar in hand and a microphone stand waiting for him there. Such a cocky move could only be pulled off by someone who's already a rock star.
- Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune
Dropkick Murphys bring South Boston to downtown Minneapolis
The band have been playing since 1996--though guitarist/vocalist Ken Casey is the only member who's been constant for all 15 years--and they know how to deliver the goods.
- Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet
Stage
Uneven cast doesn't sink 'Cabaret'
The uneven performances make Frank's "Cabaret" something of a bumpy ride, diminishing but not obliterating the dark charms of a classic.
- Dominic P. Papatola, Pioneer Press
Minnesota Opera's "La Traviata" is a treat
Like many operas, La Traviata takes a fairly simple plot and stretches it out over three hours, so you're not going to be hanging on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens: success is all about the details and the texture, and this production scores on almost all fronts.
- Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet
Just 33, playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes already has had big success.
- ROHAN PRESTON, Star Tribune
Ambitious plans: 'Trying to build a Broadway spirit'
Season includes three big Tony winners, new work and the theater's first Neil Simon production.
- GRAYDON ROYCE, Star Tribune