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.
February 14, 2002 - MPR’s Marianne Combs profiles acclaimed playwright Lee Blessing's new play Thief River, which portrays two gay men growing up in rural Minnesota who choose very different paths in life. Over the next fifty years they remain in contact; their experiences reflect the changing attitudes toward homosexuality in America.
May 30, 2003 - MPR’s Marianne Combs reports on August Wilson’s play King Hedley II. Report includes interview with Penumbra’s Lou Bellamy and excerpts from play.
April 15, 2004 - MPR’s David Molpus profiles Snapshot Silhouette, a product of the Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis. The play provides Twin Cities students a glimpse of what life is like for some of the region's newest immigrants. It is built around two 12-year-old girls, one Somali and one African American who, as circumstances have it, find themselves living together in the same Minnesota home.
February 8, 2005 - MPR’s Marianne Combs reports on Suzen Murakoshi’s play Slippery When Wet.
December 7, 2005 - The Twin Cities are home to two of the nation's preeminent ethnic theaters. Voices of Minnesota profiles Lou Bellamy, director of the African American Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul; and Rick Shiomi, director of Minneapolis' Mu Performing Arts, which presents Asian-American theater and traditional Japanese Daiko drumming.
May 4, 2006 - MPR’s Toni Randolph reports on how current community issues are being portrayed in a prominent way at a couple of Twin Cities theater companies.
August 9, 2006 - The University of Minnesota Libraries have acquired the archive of Penumbra Theatre Company in St. Paul.
March 19, 2007 - The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis will stage 18 works in the coming season starting in July 2007.
December 6, 2007 - Dominic Papatola, Morning Edition arts commentator and St. Paul Pioneer Press theater critic, talks about the state of midsize theaters in the Twin Cities and the differing outlooks.
July 31, 2008 - The MPR Arts team provides a preview on the 15th annual Minnesota Fringe Festival, the Midwest's biggest performing arts festival. For ten days, actors and dancers will perform in over 150 shows throughout Minneapolis.