Punk poet Paul D at the Turf Club. Photo by Sharyn Morrow, courtesy of Riot Act Reading Series I’ve seen hundreds of author readings in bookstores and libraries over the years, but the usual routine – writers who stand at a podium and hold forth – hardly makes for a compelling performance. I love the way […]
Article · February 20, 2013 by Susannah Schouweiler
Parastou Forouhar, balloon installation (detail), “Thousandandone Day,” ongoing since 2003. Photo courtesy of the artist’s website The high ceilings at the entry of Parastou Forouhar’s new exhibition at Macalester College, “Ornament and Crime,” are festooned with Mylar balloons, as if for a party. Seen from the floor below, the balloons’ surfaces look festive and simply […]
Article · February 18, 2013 by Susannah Schouweiler
What do you think would make St. Paul an even better place to live? Submit your idea to the Forever St. Paul Challenge, and you might just find yourself with a million dollars to make it happen. The contest, co-presented by the Saint Paul Foundation and Minnesota Idea Open, invites informal proposals from Minnesota residents […]
Article · February 13, 2013 by Susannah Schouweiler
Last week, the website for Northern Spark, the Twin Cities’ annual, nocturnal arts festival, was updated to read: June 8, 8:58 p.m., Lowertown, St. Paul. And that quiet change caught my eye, because it made official the hummuna I’ve been hearing for a couple of months among arts folks that, for its third iteration, Northern […]
Article · February 11, 2013 by Susannah Schouweiler
The St. Paul-based Rose Ensemble will soon open “Sibyls of the Rhine,” a series of candlelight concerts highlighting medieval chant and polyphony from Germany and France. For this show, the internationally-known ensemble will focus on the sounds of the Gregorian Vespers, with the atmospheric, 13th century “Song of Songs” by minstrel/poet Heinrich Frauenlob and a […]
Article · February 6, 2013 by Susannah Schouweiler
Gordon Parks, “American Gothic, Washington D.C.”, 1942, silver gelatin print. There’s a small but noteworthy exhibition on view now in Metropolitan State University’s Gordon Parks Gallery. “Black and White” includes work by three artists – the gallery’s namesake, Gordon Parks, St. Paul-based artist and community activist; Ta-Coumba Aiken; and acclaimed printmaker Joseph Norman. (Incidentally, the […]
Article · February 4, 2013 by Susannah Schouweiler
Minnesota Opera’s iteration of John Patrick Shanley’s “Doubt” is not a comfortable production to watch. The newly commissioned opera, with a libretto written by Shanley himself and music by Douglas Cuomo, is the fifth to come from the company’s New Works Initiative program thus far. And while this new production is compelling throughout, it’s also […]
Article · January 30, 2013 by Susannah Schouweiler
The mood at Friday night’s opening for Mu Performing Arts’ world premiere of “The Tiger Among Us” was triumphant, if a little bittersweet. Two years in the making, this show will be the last newly commissioned work to come to fruition under the sharp eye and guidance of company founder and artistic director Rick Shiomi. He […]
Article · January 28, 2013 by Susannah Schouweiler
Installation view of “Tony Lewis: 48 Keep a tight rein on your temper”. Photo by the author As I walked into the Bindery Projects last Saturday night, I nearly stumbled over a woman hunched at the door, putting blue booties over her shoes. It was the opening of “48: Keep a tight rein on your […]
Article · January 23, 2013 by Susannah Schouweiler
I’ve missed out on the Ordway’s well-received “Broadway Songbook” shows until now, and so I am delighted the center has expanded the series into this year. In September, the Ordway (a Knight Arts grantee) offered an homage to the musical theater legacy of Rodgers and Hammerstein and Hart. This week, the center’s back with a […]
Article · January 21, 2013 by Susannah Schouweiler
This year’s headliners will once again be the fluid improv collaborative, Coloring Time. Photo courtesy of the artists This Saturday night, McNally Smith College of Music in downtown St. Paul is hosting a five-and-a-half hour wintertime arts “conflagration,” the Second Annual Deepwinter Bonfire. This performance free-for-all emphasizes collaboration, interdisciplinary experimentation and improvisation, bringing together visual […]
Article · January 16, 2013 by Susannah Schouweiler