Theater arts has been at the center of the creative atmosphere within Minnesota for decades. The varied array of local venues have both fostered talent through the years and brought world-renowned individuals to present their artistic approaches to our Minnesota stages. The theater scene has also been integral in social dynamics within our communities…from social issues, race, to gender.
The likes of The Guthrie, Mixed Blood, Penumbra, Park Square, Stages Theater, History Theatre, Theater in the Round, Duluth Playhouse, and so many more have drawn audiences in and left an indelible mark.
Collected here are a selection of interviews, performances, critiques, and profiles of those behind and in front of the curtains.
October 1, 1993 - MPR’s Bob Potter interviews Garrison Keillor on bringing back the original A Prairie Home Companion name.
October 4, 1993 - MPR’s Leif Enger profiles the dire state of affairs for small town theatres in rural Minnesota. Enger visits the Rialto Theatre in Grand Rapids and The Chief Theatre in Bemidji to find two very different outcomes.
October 8, 1993 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews director Bain Boehlke and actress Greta Schwerner on their stage production of The Diary of Anne Frank. The artists detail the approach in presenting the work.
October 11, 1993 - Local playwright Syl Jones discusses creating Sticks and Stones, a play about racial harassment within public school landscape.
October 11, 1993 - Minnesota conductor and organist Philip Brunelle shares how the musical Paul Bunyan was created.
October 13, 1993 - MPR’s Euna Kerr profiles a local production of I Never Saw Another Butterfly, a collection of works of art and poetry by Jewish children who lived in the concentration camp Theresienstadt. Segment includes interviews with survivor Raja Englanderova-Zadnikova and playwright Celeste Raspanti.
November 18, 1993 - A Worldview interview about the Akimoto Matsuyo’s Reifuku (Ceremonial Clothes). The Japanese play is being staged at Macalester College.
November 19, 1993 - A Midmorning conversation with Michael Weisser, Julie Weisser, and co-creator Esther Ouray on the Heart of the Beast puppet and mask play, Befriended by the Enemy.
November 25, 1993 - MPR’s Liz Hannon interviews director Brian Grandison about Everlasting Arms, a play at Penumbra Theatre. Segment includes a cast dramatization.
December 4, 1993 - MPR’s Euan Kerr profiles Mask Dance, a Theater Mu play about adopted Korean kids. Kerr interviews director and actors from the work that brings into focus Korean culture.