December 2011
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David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method":...
Earlier this year I faced off in an online debate about whether or not the discipline of cultural studies is necessary. I said no—arguing that the ideas covered in that discipline would be more constructively addressed in more scientifically rigorous fields—but my coblogger Becky Lang said yes. “I wanted to study psychoanalysis and read Freud and Jung, but many psychology teachers laugh at...
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Ladies Night: Now OkCupid-enhanced
I have learned that having a week off from work makes you forget what day it is. It also gives you time to just hang out in your city and explore new places. Instead of doing that, I’ve mostly retreated to my “vacation home” for the holidays, practiced yoga, run lots of errands, and watched David Hasselhoff’s “Limbo Dance” video over and over on YouTube. I did check out the new Thai place on...
New section headers for 2012
We’re sprucing up our section headers for 2012! You’ll see these in action on our section pages for the arts generally, books, design/style, movies, music, theater, visual arts, and lifestyle—as well as in our weekly Arts Orbit Radar e-mail newsletter. Are you a subscriber?
Art Vandalay's "Heaven's Operahouse" suffers from...
Art Vandalay’s 2009 CD debut Dancin’ With Your Demons shifted into gear what was an indistinct, but nonetheless promising, career. Singer-songwriter Brandon Henry started out in 2004 in the trio Nothing of Consequence, playing places around Minneapolis (Acadia Café, 7th Street Entry), then joined the duo Gumption Trap. Dancin’ With Your Demons, a fine solo album, saw Henry, who backs himself...
Memorable meals of 2011 →
Jeremy Iggers reports on what Twin Cities meals most pleased his palate in 2011.
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Top ten movies of 2011
1. The Artist, directed by Michel Hazanavicius (France/Belgium)
Writer/director Michel Hazanavicius’s love letter to the Roaring Twenties in Hollywood’s silent film era features the best performance of the year by French actor Jean Dujardin playing George Valentin, a silent film actor who is no longer the biggest star as the “talkies” start to rise. Matching Dujardin’s performance toe...
Arts Orbit Radar 12/29/11
On the radar
1. On the eve of New Year’s Eve, take your pick of concerts. Two top contenders: Mason Jennings at First Ave. and Dawes at the Varsity Theater.
2. Comedy shows have become a tradition on New Year’s Eve. This year it’s Louie Anderson: Laugh Out Loud New Year’s Eve that’ll (hopefully) have you in stitches as the ball drops.
3. Mark Mallman’s...
"The Soul of Gershwin" at the Park Square Theatre:...
A parsing of the musical influences on George Gershwin’s brilliant body of work is the essence of “The Soul of Gershwin” presented by Park Square Theatre this holiday season. The audience is treated to enchanting renditions of Gershwin’s songs and a celebration of the origins of his musical genius in immigrant cantor music.
Joseph Vass both wrote the play and serves as musical director....
"I can own my own home." →
Theater artist Craig Johnson on why he chooses Minnesota.
Alexander O'Neal at the Dakota Jazz Club: Not a...
Alexander O’Neal, solo R&B performing artist, gifted the Twin Cities with two sold-out performances at the Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant on Thursday, Dec. 22. I requested to review this show because the last time I saw Mr. O’Neal perform live was back in the very early 80’s when he was with Flyte Tyme (or The Time … I can’t remember!). I did remember the...
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Steven Spielberg's "War Horse" charges shamelessly...
It’s a measure of Steven Spielberg’s skill as a director that though he’s become one of the most beloved and bankable brand names in the movies, he’s never made a film that could be easily pigeonholed as a “Spielberg movie”…until now. Whether you love or hate War Horse will depend on just how much Spielberg you want with your Spielberg.
From the first scene of this WWI adventure, the director...
"Always and Forever" CD and production at the...
Suggestion: swing by Illusion Theater before Always and Forever closes on Jan. 8. If you can’t make it down, buy the original cast CD. No need to thank me for the heads up. Consider it a public service announcement. And have a damned good time listening to some strong vocalists.
T. Mychael Rambo, Dennis Spears, Julius C. Collins III and Jackson M. Hurst deliver dynamite sounds. Harking to...
Ten 2011 arts stories to remember
10. World’s toughest rodeo at the Xcel Energy Center: Say your prayers, Clovis Crane (by Bobby Kahn with photos by Meredith Westin, February 6) Meredith provided typically gorgeous photographs to accompany this hilarious review by Bobby. “We were led through a prayer for the safety of the riders and the audience. Apparently that guy who told me that the separation of church and rodeo...
"Sister's Christmas Catechism: The Magic of the...
Be on time if you are attendingSister’s Christmas Catechism: The Magic of the Magi’s Gold, or be prepared to face Sister’s wrath. This is doubly true if you are Lutheran. But inevitably someone walks in after the performance begins and the poor victim’s fortune becomes the opening joke in this latest incarnation of Late Nite Catachism shows by Entertainment Events Inc., which opened...
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"Lord of the Rings" trilogy at the Riverview...
On December 18, I did something I never planned to do. I went to the Riverview and sat down in a sold-out theater with a bunch of nerds (I’m including myself here!) to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Yes, for 12 hours. Well, runtime is 690 minutes and there are two breaks (so you can buy pizza or go out to your car and munch sandwiches and sip whatever you put in your flask or cooler).
I...
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Mary Jo Pehl on comedy writing, MST3K, and "Man...
Mary Jo Pehl is on fire lately. A writer on Mystery Science Theater 3000 for seven years, she’s been touring withCinematic Titanic, a live show employing the same comedic technique with the same cast, since 2007. She’s also got a new book out, called Employee of the Month and Other Big Deals, and Theatre Arlo is producing her play Man Saved by Condiments starring Tim Uren and directed by Bill...
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Ordway's "Cinderella" may be beautiful, but she's...
The Ordway’s production of Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella is precious, captivating, and traditional, all in both the good and bad senses. Generally speaking, the average audience member will enjoy the production and people familiar with the original story will be inspired to share it with their friends and family, but I’d urge people to think twice before bringing their small children to...
Arts Orbit Radar 12/22/11
On the radar
1. Matisyahu may have shaved his beard, but Jewbilee is still going strong—now in its sixth year, the Christmas Eve party for Jews (and Goys who need a drink) is happening at First Avenue.
2. Movies are a part of the holiday festivities for many familes; this year, our critics recommend The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Young Adult, My Week with Marilyn, and The Muppets. (Also...
Magnum Chorum's Christmas concert "Today Heaven...
Perusing the program before the opening of Today Heaven Sings—Magnum Chorum’s Christmas concert—I noticed that nearly half of the selections were written or arranged by one of two former St. Olaf Choir directors, Kenneth Jennings and F. Melius Christiansen. I didn’t expect a great diversity of sounds. But throughout the concert, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the 50-voice chamber choir...
Minnesota Public Radio's "Of Mirth and Mischief"...
They promised magic, and they delivered! Kevin Kling’s Of Mirth and Mischief charms from the start and brought the audience on an irresistible journey of fantasy and reality through the eyes of a mischievous but lovable boy.
Just where is the magic, I asked as I clutched the fairy stone given to me by Twig, the fetching, flute-playing fairy in the lobby. No, as beguiling as she was, there’s...
Black women writers turn a book reading into a...
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the roles of speaker and listener at readings. Often, readings of prose or poetry serve the purpose of publicity—a new book or project that must be advertised, which makes sense. The words being read are, in essence, a free sample of a product being sold. And the listeners—the attendees at a reading—are the market to which that creation is being offered....
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Top ten plays of 2011
Any top ten list is implicitly prefaced with the caveat, “among the shows I saw,” and having already considered at length the question of how many shows is enough to justify a top ten list, I’ll just disclose the number here and proceed. Though I didn’t hit last year’s mark of 88 shows, by my best count I saw at least 69 plays in 2011—excluding dance performances,...
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"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is scintillating...
Adapting mystery novels for the screen is tricky. The detailed exposition that flows so naturally on the page requires conversion into images and sounds; the filmmakers have to make the story lucid enough for audiences to follow without the ability to flip back for reference, but confusing enough that we’re as confused as the professional detective with whom we’re meant to identify. Plus, the...
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"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is scintillating...
Adapting mystery novels for the screen is tricky. The detailed exposition that flows so naturally on the page requires conversion into images and sounds; the filmmakers have to make the story lucid enough for audiences to follow without the ability to flip back for reference, but confusing enough that we’re as confused as the professional detective with whom we’re meant to identify. Plus, the...
Q: Who IS that? A: Kelsey McDonough, dancing...
Name: Kelsey McDonough Twitter: @kel4000 Website: kel4000.tumblr.com, thetangential.com
What’s your job? “Marketing & Communications Coordinator at a local nonprofit and server at Salut Bar Americain in St. Paul.”
Other than your job, what are your claims to fame? “I’m slowly infiltrating the genius that is the Tangential circle, which makes me feel nervous,...
Golden Globe nominations: Surprises and snubs
When the 69th annual Golden Globes nominations were announced last Thursday, it was delightful and surprising to see The Artist (above), a silent black-and-white film, coming out victorious with six nominations. It’s a film I’ve been very excited to see again since I saw it in Toronto in September. The Artist opens this Friday at the Edina Cinema, and I’m presuming it will be shown on two...
"Fezziwig's Feast" is a feast for all the...
The Actors Theater of Minnesota is again staging Fezziwig’s Feast at the Wigington Pavilion on Harriet Island this month, and I attended one of the performances. I also had the opportunity to see It’s A Wonderful Life at the Saint Paul Hotel with my son Jay. Each holiday show revisits a familiar story with a new twist and includes dinner served throughout the evening. If you have to make a...
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SOPA opera on Capitol Hill reflects the crisis of...
U.S. copyright law is broken, I argued in June, and changing that law “should be a national priority if we want the U.S. to continue to be a world leader in creation and imagination.” I wrote that I’d like to see leaders at the national level convene a conference to reimagine copyright law for the Internet era.
Needless to say, that hasn’t happened. Instead, legislators...
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"It's a Wonderful Life" indeed at the Saint Paul...
Yes, reader, it’s true: I’ve somehow made it through 36 Christmases without seeing the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. I knew the general idea, but the story was essentially new to me as I settled in Friday night at a table in the Promenade Ballroom at the Saint Paul Hotel.
The hotel’s annual production takes the form of a radio play—not actually broadcast, but enacted...
"All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914" at the...
On December 24, 1914, a German soldier emerged from the trenches in Ypres, Belgium lighting candles and singing “Stille Nacht.” The British troops on the other side chose not to shoot him. Instead, soldiers from both sides stepped into No Man’s Land and enemies started “shaking hands like a couple of long lost school chums,” in the words of one British sergeant....
Local companies help cure winter skin woes
It’s winter in Minnesota. How do you keep your skin from getting so dehydrated that it freakin’ hurts?! Are you allergic to all Chapsticks except Peppermint so you order it by the case? Do you swear by coconut oil for your skin, hair, and stir-fry? I have a masseuse friend who keeps me rubbed and soaked in lotion but in between massages (a gal can only afford that luxury so often) I cover my...
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Michael Fassbender in "Shame": American nympho
The artist/director Steve McQueen had a piece in The Quick and the Dead, a 2009 exhibit at the Walker Art Center. In McQueen’s Running Thunder (2007), a horse lies dead in a field. A short video of the corpse is looped continuously, so that the horse lies in suspended animation, never alive but also never decomposing. It’s a powerful piece, and it gets done in a few minutes what...
