January 20, 2003 - The Minnesota State Capitol was the backdrop for several of today's Martin Luther King Junior Day ceremonies. The Capitol building is often the site of many official state celebrations. But the building is notable in its own right. A new book showcases the Capitol's architect Cass Gilbert, who designed the building in 1905. Gilbert used St. Peter's Basilica in Rome as the model for Minnesota's vast capitol dome. He also drew on his experiences studying and traveling in Europe to design the U. S. Supreme Court Building and the Woolworth Building in New York City. Minnesota historian Paul Clifford Larson examines Gilbert's European influences in his new book "Cass Gilbert Abroad: The Young Architect's European Tour. " Larson says Gilbert tried to cover a lot of ground on his first European trip.
January 21, 2003 - The Guthrie Theater's new production of "Mrs. Warren's Profession" forces audiences to consider issues like women's rights, religion, and prostitution. These topics were considered so racy when George Bernard Shaw wrote the play in 1893 that censors in London wouldn't allow it to be staged. When "Mrs. Warren's Profession" opened in New York in 1905, it was viewed as scandalous. I spoke with Catlin O'Conner who plays the title role in the Guthrie production. She says when Shaw penned the play, he was forbidden from even using the word prostitution.
January 21, 2003 - Very little happens in Nicholson Baker's new novel "A box of matches." The novel is a recording of the thoughts of a man who gets up early every morning to light a fire. He tries to avoid any light other than the glow of the flames. Then he sits and thinks about his life, delighting in the ordinary. He attempts simple tasks, such as washing the previous nights casserole dish by touch alone.
January 21, 2003 - The Guthrie Theater's new production of "Mrs. Warren's Profession" forces audiences to consider issues like women's rights, religion, and prostitution. These topics were considered so racy when George Bernard Shaw wrote the play in 1893 that censors in London wouldn't allow it to be staged. When "Mrs. Warren's Profession" opened in New York in 1905, it was viewed as scandalous. I spoke with Catlin O'Conner who plays the title role in the Guthrie production. She says when Shaw penned the play, he was forbidden from even using the word prostitution.
January 22, 2003 - Minnesota film maker Patrick Coyle says his film "Detective Fiction" is getting a good response at the Sundance Film Festival. The film was shot entirely in Minneapolis and tells the story of a technical writer struggling with sobriety and writing a 1940's style detective novel. "Detective Fiction" had it's Sundance premiere this past Monday. Coyle says there's a lot of great energy in Park City, Utah.
January 24, 2003 - The long-time President of the Minnesota Orchestra, David Hyslop, (HISS-lop) says he's stepping down. Hyslop told the Orchestra Board today (Fri) he'll retire after the Orchestra's Centennial Concert on November 5th. Hyslop told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr he has always said he would retire at 62, but decided to step down early in part because that would have taken him through the next musicians contract negotiation.
January 28, 2003 - With the recent cold temperatures, it makes you wonder how Minnesota residents ever got through the winter hundreds or even thousands of years ago. For Minnesota's native peoples, the trouble with the long winter months was not only fighting the cold, but fighting boredom. For the cold, they had leather tipis, warm fires and rabbit-fur mittens. And when it came to staving off boredom, Minnesota winters were perfect for tossing snow snakes. Mainstreet Radio's Jeff Horwich explains:
January 28, 2003 - The Children's Theatre Company today unveiled new plans for the expansion and renovation of its home in south Minneapolis. It's a significant change from what CTC originally proposed last spring. The design is smaller, simpler... and cheaper. The Children's Theatre Company says it could start work on the new building as soon as this summer... if the state legislature approves bonding money for the project. Minnesota Public Radio's Marianne Combs reports:
January 31, 2003 - Today the Guthrie Theater company along with Architectural Alliance will present the final design for a new theater complex to members of the state legislature. It's part of the ongoing effort to convince legislators to help finance part of the riverfront development. The size and shape of the planned building remain almost entirely the same. As Minnesota Public Radio's Marianne Combs reports, the most startling change is the building's color.
February 3, 2003 - At the dawn of the 20th century, the Austrian capital Vienna was a hotbed of intellectual and artistic enterprise. Freud was developing psycho analysis. Painters such as Egon Schiele (A-gon SHE-leh) and Gustav Klimt (GOO stahf KLIMT) explored new schools of visual art. But it was also a time feeding the seeds of World War One. A time that spawned the anti-semitism of Adolf Hitler. Tomorrow and Wednesday renowned choreographer Martha Clarke will present her vision of that era at the Northrop Auditorium in Minneapolis. Her piece "Vienna Lusthaus' (LOOST-howss) features frank and provocative dances. First produced in the mid-1980's, she has now revised and expanded the piece. Martha Clarke told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr she was originally inspired by an exhibition of Schiele's (SHE-leh's) work. It then evolved when playwright Charles Mee, who she calls Chuck, offered to write accompanying texts exploring themes of love and hate.