21 Dec 2009

Theatre Highs in 2009

By Mike Schulz

Whether you attend stage works sporadically or, like me, you saw 85 shows in the past year, anyone who enjoyed even one will understand that feeling of leaving a venue thinking, "Wow ... that was really good." I experienced that sensation numerous times this year, and while this list is hardly exhaustive, it'll hopefully give you an idea of just what you've been missing if you missed out on 2009's offerings.

21 Dec 2009

The Player Is the Thing: A Dozen Memorable Performances

By Mike Schulz

Narrowing down 2009's sensational stage portrayals into a list of 12 "favorites" is a hopeless task, really, so don't take this as any kind of last word on the subject; you'll find mention of amazing stage work all throughout my year-end coverage. Still, here's hoping you were able to catch at least a few of the following performances, which helped underline just how crazy with theatrical talent our area actually is.

21 Dec 2009

The Essentials 2009: A Dozen Names to Remember ... and a Bunch You Shouldn't Forget

By Mike Schulz

Back in 2006, when I composed my first list of a dozen theatre "Essentials" - theatrical talents whose gifts were employed in a number of area productions - I couldn't have imagined that I'd find a dozen new names to add year after year. Well, as 2009 draws to a close, we can officially add another " ... after year" to that sentence.

20 Dec 2009

Natives/American: "Avatar," "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," and "The Road"

By Mike Schulz

AvatarAVATAR

There are visual wonders galore in James Cameron's science-fiction epic Avatar, but what's most amazing about the film's design is how offhandedly wondrous it is.

13 Dec 2009

Old-School: "The Princess & the Frog" and "Invictus"

By Mike Schulz

The Princess & the FrogTHE PRINCESS & THE FROG

Like many of you, I'm sure, I've grown somewhat nostalgic for the hand-drawn animated Disney musicals of a long-ago era -- by which I mean the early '90s. But I'll be honest: Almost nothing about the previews for the studio's The Princess & the Frog convinced me that the old Disney magic was, at last, about to be recaptured.

08 Dec 2009

What's Happenin': December 10 - 22, 2009

By Mike Schulz

Jon Wayne & the PainMusic

Jon Wayne & the Pain

Rock Island Brewing Company

Thursday, December 17, 10 p.m.

 

According to the online publication MinnPost.com, the reggae/ska syncopations of Jon Wayne & the Pain "not only propel you onto the dance floor," but "do so with a positive message about the struggles of life." Of course, speaking personally, I find that propelling myself onto the dance floor is one of the struggles of life.

06 Dec 2009

The War at Home: "Brothers," "Armored," "Everybody's Fine," and "Transylmania"

By Mike Schulz

Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Bailee Madison, and Taylor Geare in BrothersBROTHERS

In director Jim Sheridan's Brothers, adapted from a 2004 Danish film of the same title, a stalwart Marine captain (Tobey Maguire) is captured, tortured, and presumed dead during his fourth tour in Afghanistan. Miraculously, however, he survives the ordeal, only to return home convinced - and not entirely without reason - that his loving wife (Natalie Portman) is sleeping with his ex-con brother (Jake Gyllenhaal). Even if the movie weren't a remake, this wouldn't exactly be the most inventive of plotlines, but there's still enough about Brothers that's raw, painful, and touching to make it satisfying melodrama regardless of its contrived design. Or rather, there would be, if you weren't so frequently distracted by all the capital-A Acting that's going on.

30 Nov 2009

Frosted Flakes: "Frosty's Magic Hat," at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse through December 26

By Mike Schulz

Meghan Gibson and Janos Horvath in Frosty's Magic HatThe story's kind of lame and the songs are kind of blah. But all told, the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's family musical Frosty's Magic Hat is a winning, rambunctious treat, the sort of unapologetically silly good time that can cause adults to laugh with even greater vigor and frequency than their pre-teen chaperones.

30 Nov 2009

Heaven and Hellions: "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever," at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre through December 13

By Mike Schulz

Sarah Stephan and Noah Strausser in The Best Christmas Pageant EverThe Best Christmas Pageant Ever, the one-act play Barbara Robinson adapted from her beloved book, is set primarily in a church that stages a grade-school re-telling of the Nativity story - the exact same pageant, we're told, that the church puts on year after year after year. And after attending Friday night's hilarious, intensely charming production of Robinson's show, I, for one, would be totally on board with the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre opting to stage The Best Christmas Pageant Ever year after year after year, at least if director Jalayne Riewerts wouldn't mind making it an annual commitment.

29 Nov 2009

The Fox and the Hounds (and the Aliens): "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "Old Dogs," and "Planet 51"

By Mike Schulz

Fantastic Mr. FoxFANTASTIC MR. FOX

Film scholars widely agree that 1939 remains the strongest year ever for American movies. But I'm starting to think that, as the decades pass, 2009 might be seen as a comparable year for animated movies.

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