Minneapolis/St. Paul Spotlight: January 2011

Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion returns to the Fitzgerald Theater, public radio’s home in the Twin Cities (January 8 – February 5). Enjoy live musical guests, hilarious radio skits, and of course, the news from Lake Woebegone. The musical guest for the January 8th Broadcast is Broadway veteran Nellie McKay. This is a Twin Cities tradition that you will not want to miss.

For the third year in a row, The Acting Company presents two Shakespeare plays in repertory at the Guthrie (January 8 – 30). Romeo and Juliet is the bard’s classic tale of star-crossed lovers in Verona. The Comedy of Errors is a quick 90 minutes of hilarious mistaken identity. Shakespeare fans will also want to partake in Macbeth…Rehearsing at the Red Eye Theater (January 6 – 22). This innovative production centers on a typical rehearsal of The Scottish Play.

Theater in the Round presents the nostalgic comedy Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (January 7 – 30). The play is about the “Disciples of James Dean,” a group of Texans who were teenagers when James Dean filmed the movie Giant in a nearby town. They gather in Woolworth’s to celebrate their 20th anniversary.

Legendary performer Bette Midler sits down for an interview on the stage of the Orpheum Theatre (January 18). Part of the SmartTalk Women’s Speaker Series, this conversation with the Divine Miss M will cover her early years on Broadway up through her acclaimed Vegas extravaganza, The Showgirl Must Go On. Don’t miss this one night only event!

Near the end of the month, the Minnesota Opera premiers a new production of Donizetti’s Mary Stuart at the Ordway Center (January 29 – February 6). Sung in Italian with English subtitles, Mary Stuart tells the story of Queen Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots in a ruthless battle for the English throne. It represents the second installment in Minnesota Opera’s Tudor Queen Trilogy. Opera lovers will also want to catch Minnesota Orchestra’s presentation of The Magic Flute (Orchestra Hall, January 20 – 23). In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre provides dramatic puppetry for this staging of Mozart’s final opera.

The Southern Theater hosts the Brouhaha Comedy Festival (January 19 – 23). The festival includes new short plays, improvised comic theater, new clown theater and classic comedy plays presented in hour-long segments. Featured performers include Kim & Sarah Richardson, Genevieve Bennett, Sara Agnew, and Jim Lichtscheidl.

Finally, the Children’s Theatre Company presents Babe, The Sheep Pig (January 18 – February 27). CTC Artistic director Peter Brosius brings this story of an extraordinary little pig to life as CTC’s first production of 2011.