Twin Cities Horror Festival XIII - Schaulust

This year's Twin Cities Horror Festival is celebrating its 13th year and this festival is truly an outstanding selection of short horror theater.

We've seen 10 of the 11 shows so far (and you can read our reviews for Day One, Day Two, and Day Three here) and Schaulust by Keith Hovis Productions is our final show. 

Twin Cities Horror Festival XIII - Day Three: The Alchemist's Bargain, Gh0stChaser04, and The Wrench

It's been a weekend of fun at the Twin Cities Horror Festival. Check out our reviews of Day One and Day Two. We caught three shows today and it was another delightful horror theater fest!

First up was The Alchemist's Bargain by Phantom Chorus Theatre and we couldn't have asked for a better show to get us in the mood for a theater marathon. We fondly remember Phantom Chorus's take on Frankenstein, Victor Invictus, at the 2022 TCHF. 

Twin Cities Horror Festival XIII - Day Two: Doctor Clown, The Regular, Campfire Stories, and The Night Parade

Do you want to see something SCARY? Us too! Also, funny and charming and gory and creepy! Do join us at Twin Cities Horror Festival, now in its 13th fabulous year, running October 24 through November 3 at the Crane Theater.

This year, we are seeing all eleven shows in the festival. Check out our other reviews: TCHF XIII - Day One  and Day Three: 

Day Two, we spent nearly six hours at the Crane engrossed in delightful horror theater. Here's what we saw: 

Twin Cities Horror Festival XIII - Day One: Fractured Remembrances, Let's Summon a Demon at Debbie's, Ghostrunners

The Twin Cities Horror Festival is celebrating its 13th year of delightfully spooky theater and is one of the highlights of our theater year. After years of raving about the fabulousness of TCHF, we've distilled WHY you should add it to your Halloween traditions:

Twin Cities Horror Festival 2024 - Monster & Mayhem Cabaret

It's spooky season again! And as in previous years, we are excited for the new offerings at the Twin Cities Horror Festival (TCHF XIII), running October 23 - November 3 at the Crane Theater in Minneapolis. 

Check out all of our TCHF XIII reviews here!

The Festival kicked off this year with a special one-time performance on October 23. Leslie Vincent Presents: A Monster and Mayhem Cabaret was a terrific evening of spooky, murdery jazz tunes performed by local cabaret goddess and former TCHF producer Vincent and a terrific band. 

Death and the Maiden at Pangea World Theater

The new production of Death and the Maiden at Pangea World Theater is a tense thriller that will linger in audience members' minds long after they leave the theater. 

The Reunion at Trademark Theater (guest post)

Guest post by Ernest Edwards

Trademark Theater has opened their seventh season with the world premiere of The Reunion: A Hilarious New Murder Mystery, created by Trademark founders and artistic directors Tyler Michaels King and Tyler Mills.

Dial M for Murder at Yellow Tree Theatre (guest post)

Guest post by Ernest Edwards

Yellow Tree Theatre opened their 17th season with the play Dial M For Murder, in a new adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher, based on the original play by Frederick Knott. This is the same script that the Guthrie Theater presented in their 2023/2024 season. 

What is different between the Guthrie’s production and Yellow Tree’s production? Obviously, the Guthrie’s stage is much bigger, and the scenery was bigger and bolder too. This is where I feel Yellow Tree’s production shines, with its smaller stage and more intimate setting feeling perfect for this story with a cast of 4 actors. The intimacy of the stage really draws you into this production of the play. You feel like you are part of the action.

The Lehman Trilogy at the Guthrie Theater

Founded in 1850 by three immigrant brothers, Lehman Brothers was the fourth largest investment bank in the United States. In 2008, the firm declared bankruptcy and brought an end to this truly American success story.  

The Guthrie Theater's The Lehman Trilogy tells that story in a very engaging production on the Wurtele Thrust stage playing through October 13. Written by Stefano Massini and adapted by Ben Power, The Lehman Trilogy began at the National Theatre in London and won a Tony on Broadway in 2022. 

The Lehman brothers saga begins when Henry Lehman (Edward Gero) arrives in the United States from Rimpar, Bavaria in 1844. He starts a fabric and clothing business, and is soon joined in Montgomery, Alabama by his brothers Emanuel (William Sturdivant) and Mayer (Mark Nelson). 

Scotland, PA at Theater Latte Da (guest post)

Guest post by Ernest Edwards

I went to what was meant to be the second preview performance of Scotland, PA at the Ritz Theater, which is Theater Latte Da's first production of their 2024/2025 season. Due to an injury in the cast, the second preview was now the first preview. We learned that Twin Cities actor Tom Reed was now playing the role of Banko. He had two days to learn the part. Now that I have seen the show, I can’t imagine anyone else in the part.

Back to the Future & Peter and the Starcatcher (guest post)

Guest Review by Ernest Edwards

The Twin Cities’ 2024/2025 theater season is off to a good start. This theatergoer was able to see two new shows on our stages last week.

The first production is Back to the Future The Musical. Yes, that Back to the Future, based on the 1985 movie of the same name. I had the pleasure of seeing this musical at the Winter Garden Theatre in NYC in December 2023. It was also my first time seeing Manhattan in December, which I highly recommend. From time to time, when Broadway shows go on tour, there is some trimming here and there to make the show tour-able. Never fear– there is still a DeLorean on stage. Spoiler! The car does fly over the stage at the end of the musical.  

Great River Shakespeare Festival 2024 Season

Last weekend, we had the opportunity to return to the Great River Shakespeare Festival with bloggers from Cherry and Spoon and The Stages of MN. This year, the summer festival is presenting two shows in repertory from June 27 to July 28: Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing. 

Izzy Heckman as the Watch, Marina Narvaez as Verges, and 

Tarah Flanagan as Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing. In

the background are Emily Fury Daly, Melissa Maxwell, 

Diana Coates, and Michael Fitzpatrick. Photo by Dan Norman. 

We first saw Much Ado About Nothing, which director Gaby Rodriguez has placed in a contemporary setting, with the backdrop of a block party to welcome back the returning soldiers. The best use of the setting was having Dogberry (Tarah Flanagan), Verges, and the Watch as the Neighborhood Watch, giving those characters a reason to be nosing around the proceedings and observing what the main characters are incapable of seeing. Flanagan's Dogberry leads the young actors playing Verges (Marina Narvaez alternating with Ruth Civettini) and the Watch (Izzy Heckman alternating with Morwyn Johnson) through the proceedings but makes the most of her defining speeches. 

The History Plays at the Guthrie Theater

The Guthrie Theater is presenting an event of Shakespearean proportions this spring. A trilogy of plays featuring three English kings are being presented under the umbrella The History Plays.

The plays are being presented in repertory, meaning the same cast performs in each play, and since the plays are consecutive, many actors play the same roles from play to play. It's a massive undertaking, and the ultimate experience is to see all three plays consecutively in one day. The first opportunity to do that was on April 13, and there is one more chance on Saturday, May 18. Unfortunately, I couldn't see all three plays on April 13, so I saw Richard II at the Tuesday night preview before the opening marathon. But I'm a big fan of theater binging!

Hecuba by Pangea World Theater

Pangea World Theater has opened their new production of Hecuba at the Southern Theater, playing April 5-21, and it is a beautiful, heart-rending play. 

Based on a play written by Euripides c. 424 BCE, the story starts just after the fall of the city of Troy to Greece following a years-long siege and the fateful arrival of the famed Trojan Horse. But you don't have to study Greek tragedy to understand this play.

C.L.U.E. by Collide Theatrical Dance

The ensemble of C.L.U.E.

Collide Theatrical Dance's new production C.L.U.E. (playing at the Southern Theater February 16-March 10) is a takeoff on the popular board game, as you might have guessed. 

However, instead of Miss Scarlet and Colonel Mustard, we meet a different set of characters, introduced by Mr. Bottie (Nathan Huberty), who is being threatened by one of them. Each character has their own dance that tells their story and their relationship to the others. As with most Collide productions, the majority of the story is told through dance but Huberty does double duty as dancer and narrator, showing impressive breath control when he speaks right after an energetic dance!

Ashland at Chameleon Theatre Circle

Chameleon Theatre Circle is presenting the world premiere of Ashland by Minnesota- and Oregon-based writer Isabel Estelle. The play was the winner of Chameleon's 2022 New Play Contest and had a staged reading in February 2023 at Theatre in the Round as well as an October 2023 reading at the Ashland New Plays Festival in Oregon.

It's clear to see why this play is attracting attention. In a tight 90 minutes, it tells a difficult story with great humor and humanity.

From the Chameleon website: A young woman is unexpectedly diagnosed with a terminal illness and chooses to pursue Death with Dignity. She and her new partner must navigate the beginning and end of their relationship simultaneously. As her health rapidly declines, her partner and two siblings grapple with the absurdity and hilarity of death, family, and what it takes to let go.

Crazy for You at Artistry

The cast and orchestra of Crazy for You
Photo by Sam Lavine

The production of Crazy for You at Artistry is a rare treat. There's only one weekend left, so hurry to get your tickets before it closes on February 11.

Crazy for You premiered on Broadway in 1992 as a "new" Gershwin musical. Creators Ken Ludwig and Mike Ockrent used the 1930 musical Girl Crazy as a rough outline and loaded the score with classic songs by George and Ira Gershwin like "Shall We Dance," "Embraceable You," "I Got Rhythm," "They Can't Take That Away From Me," "But Not for Me," and "Nice Work If You Can Get It," and many others. The plot is slight, involving a derelict theater in Nevada that needs saving, but it's just an excuse to get from one song to the next.