May 30, 1997 - 1997 happens to be the 100th anniversary of the publication of Emily Bronte's classic novel, "Wuthering Heights". In honor of the novel's centennial year, an experimental theater company in Minneapolis called 15 Head, has brought the story to the stage. But the production lends itself more to the world of dreams than the world of theatrical adaptations of literary classics.
May 30, 1997 - 1997 happens to be the 100th anniversary of the publication of Emily Bronte's classic novel "Wuthering Heights." In honor of the novel's centennial year, an experimental theater company in Minneapolis called 15-HEAD, has brought the story to the stage. But as Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts reports, the production lends itself more to the world of dreams than the world of theatrical adaptations of literary classics.
May 14, 1997 - For the first time in it's 20-year history, St. Paul's Penumbra Theatre Company will perform August Wilson’s “Fences” on the stage of the region's best known theater, the Guthrie, in Minneapolis.
May 8, 1997 - Two years ago, then twelve-year-old Craig Kielberger was sitting in his Thornhill Ontario home reading the comics when an article caught his eye. It showed a picture of a 12-year-old Pakistani boy who had been assassinated for exposing the horrible conditions children face working in the nation's carpet industry. As Kielberger read on, he learned that the boy had been sold into bondage when he was four, and forced to work 12-hour days six days a week as a carpet weaver until he escaped at the age of ten. Kielberger was so moved he and other classmates formed "Free the Children," an organization devoted to stopping child labor around the world. Kielberger has since traveled to Asia and South America to see firsthand what child laborers face. He has met with the Canadian Prime Minister, addressed Canadian labor meetings and United Nations conferences, and has testified before Congress on the issue. There are now "Free the Children" chapters across North America
May 5, 1997 - As part of the “Voices of Minnesota" series, this program features two interviews on personal stories of overcoming life struggles. MPR’s Laura McCallum speaks with Stanley Sahlstrom, retired educator. Sahlstrom focused his adult life in support of agriculture. MPR’s Dan Olson speaks with Giovanna "Mama D" D'Agostino, a philanthropist and restaurateur. Program ends with a call-in segment with Kathleen Maloney, the new executive director of the Minnesota Alliance for Arts in Education.
May 5, 1997 - One of the most widely debated issues in the modern workplace is whether employers should offer domestic partner benefits. In Minnesota, local governments which have sought to include unmarried, same-sex partners in their health insurance plans have run into legal roadblocks. But in the private sector, where the competition is growing for talented workers, more companies and organizations are finding domestic partner benefit packages make good business sense.
April 18, 1997 - Ska, the root of reggae, is out of the shadows again with the announcement that Chelsea Clinton favors a ska band. Beyond the beltway, there's a ska fest going on tonight in the Twin Cities. It's Ska Fest '97, featuring FluxSkaPacitor, The Siren Six!, and Let's Go Bowling. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts brought in rock historian Jim DeRogatis and Siren Six! saxophonist John Reinick for a short history lesson in Ska.
April 16, 1997 - The Children's Theater company in Minneapolis has named a new artistic director. 45-year-old Peter Brosius, artistic director of the Honolulu Theater for youth, will succeed Jon Cranney at the end of the current season. Theater company officials say they couldn't be happier with their selection, describing Brosius as an internationally celebrated director and producer of theater for young people. For his part Brosius says he couldn't pass up an opportunity to lead what he calls the nation's flagship children's theater organization into the next millenium. Brosius told Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts his goals include creating new works that are inspired by the community where he lives.
February 17, 1997 - A Voices of Minnesota with the perseverance of two families in facing racial discrimination. Barbara Cyrus tells of her family's move to escape discrimination in the south only to encounter it in the north. Then, Archie Givens Junior tells how his father's commitment to education led him to donate African American art and literature to the University of Minnesota.
February 14, 1997 - Strike the flint of holocaust revisionism, the belief the holocaust never happened, against the steel of the free speech rights guaranteed by the first amendment, and you set off the sparks that fly in the Illusion Theater's latest production. "Denial" is a play written by former Minneapolis resident and Jerome Fellowship winner Peter Sagal to explore his own Jewish identity and the limitations of the First Amendment.