Theater News

Minneapolis/St. Paul Spotlight: May 2010

Hot Coco

(Conan graphic © Mike Mitchell)
(Conan graphic © Mike Mitchell)

After leaving NBC earlier this year, Conan O’Brien is taking his show on the road, with a one-night stop at Minneapolis’ Orpheum Theatre (May 18). Dubbed The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On Television Tour, this live theatrical event reunites Conan with sidekick Andy Richter and the former Tonight Show band. The evening features live music, celebrity guests, and of course, Conan’s signature brand of self-deprecating humor. The Orpheum also hosts perennial musical favorite, Cats (May 14 – 16). Also, be sure not to miss Puppetry of the Penis at the Pantages Theatre (May 21). Yes, it really is what the title suggests.


Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific comes to the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts (May 4 – 16). This hit Broadway production is the winner of seven Tony Awards including “Best Revival of a Musical.” Ten Thousand Things brings a fresh approach to the classic musical My Fair Lady (Minnesota Opera Center, May 7 – 30). New York-based director Lear deBessonet explores Lerner & Loewe take on Pygmalion through the lenses of classism and feminism.


Musical theater fans will not want to miss Bernadette Peters in Concert with the Minnesota Orchestra (May 7 – 8). The Tony Award-winning actress performs many of the Broadway standards that made her famous.


The Guthrie presents Annie Baker’s Circle Mirror Transformation (May 20 – June 13). This area premiere follows five small-town Vermonters in a community acting class. Rebecca Gilman’s Dollhouse, a 21st century suburban adaptation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, also plays at the Guthrie this month (May 22 – July 11).


The Twenty Percent Theatre Company closes out their season with Francesca Sanders’ Celeste and Starla Save Todd and Win Back the Day (Minneapolis Theatre Garage, April 30 – May 15), a playful romp of theatrical imagination. Theatre in the Round offers a portrait of the quintessential English gentleman-schoolteacher in Simon Gray’s Quartermaine’s Terms (May 28 – June 20).


TU Dance returns to the Southern Theatre for its annual spring event (May 6 – 16). This year, co-founder Uri Sands presents his first evening-length work Sense(ability), incorporating elements of ballet, West African, traditional, modern and streetwise American dance. Next up at the Southern, Ragamala Dance performs to a live South Indian Orchestra in Ihrah: Sacred Waters (May 20 – 23).


Near the end of the month, Pillsbury House Theatre presents the world premiere of Cori Thomas’ Pa’s Hat: Liberian Legacy (May 28 – June 27). Under the direction of Tony nominee Marion McClinton, Pa’s Hat tells the story of an American woman who accompanies her elderly father to his home country of Liberia, only to be kidnapped by a 14-year-old army “commander” with a machine gun.


After the success of last year’s Tales of Rashomon, Green T productions again partners with Mixed Blood Theatre for Pinocchio-chan (May 6 – 16). Told through traditional Japanese music and dance, this play for young audiences tells the story of a wooden puppet who wants to be a real boy. Meanwhile, SteppingStone Theatre presents The Magic Pot: Three Tales From China (May 7 – 23), a collaboration with New York City’s TADA! Youth Theater.