Art Hounds: Two short plays and a colorful display
In a week where many people have voting on their minds, Elizabeth Dunn of the Commonweal Theatre in Lanesboro, Minn., wants to draw attention to the show “Votes for Women! MN Rally 1920.” One hundred years after the adoption of the 19th Amendment, the show features five Minnesota suffragists, Scandinavian immigrants and an African American woman, who fought hard for women’s right to vote.
The show was produced by History Alive Lanesboro. A planned statewide tour was canceled due to COVID-19, but there are free in-person and digital viewing options at the Landmark Center in St. Paul through Nov. 15.
Want more? Learn about the many women who fought for the right to vote at the Minnesota History Center here.
St. Paul music writer Youa Vang has a recommendation for ghostly theater. An enthusiast for spooky stories and haunted homes, Vang recommends the new audio play “The House at Echo’s End.” The show follows city-dweller Allison, who inherits the rural farm where she grew up, only to discover that the house is inhabited by three ghosts who want their stories told. The 36-minute audio play streams for free on the Everwood Farmstead podcast “Conversations from the Barn.”
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The show’s original music and lyrics were written by Cat Brindisi-Darrow; the book was written by her husband, David Darrow; the show was conceived by them and Derek Prestly. The show was voiced by Minnesota actors Serena Brook of “Live from Here” and Cat’s mother, Michelle Brindisi of Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.
Visual artist Carolyn Brunelle recently saw Anne Labovitz’s show titled “Response” at the Burnet Fine Arts Gallery in Wayzata. Brunelle appreciated the energy of the artwork, on display through Nov. 28.
“This exhibit of abstract paintings are wildly colorful and exciting,” Brunelle said.
“‘Response’ investigates the intimacy of color and space,” Labovitz said in a statement on Burnet’s website. “For me, color is a personal reflection, a language that crosses boundaries and can connect us. I believe color is a life force. These works are about hope for the future; for a connection between people as we struggle through current complexities."
Labovitz will be in the gallery to greet visitors on Nov. 21.
“She’s really committed to public art work,” Brunelle said, noting an installation at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport,“122 Conversations: Person to Person, Art Beyond Borders”. It’s a series of large, brightly colored paintings on different materials displayed in Terminal 2. The work arose from conversations with 10 people from each of the city of Duluth’s five sister cities around the world.
