Art Hounds: ‘Young Frankenstein,’ defiant joy through dance and expressive woodcarvings
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From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art.
Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.
Monstrous laughs with ‘Young Frankenstein’
Actor Dane Stauffer of St. Paul loves Mel Brooks’ movie “Young Frankenstein,” and he’s expecting the musical version of the show to be just as funny when it’s brought to life at the hands of Theatre 55. The show runs Oct. 9-25 at the Gremlin Theatre in St. Paul.
Theatre 55 casts actors ages 55 and older. Stauffer says, “As someone who is aging creatively, I enjoy seeing other folks get involved too without any barriers. There's so much talent on the stage, and so much talent behind the scenes in directing and everything.”
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Finding ‘defiant joy’ through dance
Laichee Yang, an artist and designer based in Little Falls, was able to see a rehearsal of Ananya Dance Theatre’s new show “PREM | Love: An Occupation.” She says she was incredibly moved by the performance, which was created as a response to Operation Metro Surge. The dancers and artists move through grief, love and what they’re calling “defiant joy.”
The show runs Oct. 10-17 at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Some performances include American Sign Language interpretation; others are designated “masks requested.”
Yang describes the performance:
"There were moments of shaking and trembling, and bodies pushing through space, and it really made me think about the idea of individual grief as well as shared grief. There was something really beautiful about witnessing all of the dancers carrying their emotions together, and it really made me think about just how we are feeling each other's humanity. And how can we feel it if we're not here to witness each other's grief?”
The heart and soul of Fred Cogelow’s woodcarvings
Rosemary Glesener is the director of the Bird Island Cultural Centre, and she adores the sculptures of master woodcarver Fred Cogelow of Willmar.
Glesener attended the unveiling of two new sculptures as part of Cogelow’s exhibit “Coming Home.” The exhibit, presented by the Cogelow Art Center, features a large selection of his woodcarvings, along with work by four area artists, at the Kandiyohi County Historical Society in Willmar through Oct. 30.
Glesener admires the way Cogelow captures the heart and soul of the characters he carves:
“I personally call him the Michelangelo of contemporary times … [Fred] will do a sketch, whether it's at the farmers market or at the mall, of someone he finds intriguing, and from that sketch, he captures the emotion and also the physical animation of the individuals. He should be considered not only a Minnesota treasure, but an American treasure in the arts.”
