February 16, 2001 - The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis is celebrating today after announcing Great Britain's Royal National Theater will bring its award-winning "Hamlet" to Minneapolis in May. Since Sir Laurence Olivier founded the London-based theater in 1962 it has become a major force in world theater, and this production of "Hamlet" has been the hit of this year's West End season. Guthrie Artistic Director Joe Dowling told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr Guthrie staff began negotiating as soon as it learned the show might be available for Minnesota audiences.
February 9, 2001 - Commentator Dale Connelly may have been spending too much time in his front room recently, which resulted in a few thoughts about his furniture. Dale Connelly can be heard weekdays on the Morning Program on Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music service.
February 2, 2001 - While some critics have questioned whether Governor Ventura's weekend gig is appropriate, Commentator Dale Connelly says the Legislature might learn a thing or two from the XFL.....
January 23, 2001 - SHORT LEAD: The Caring Sharing hands proposal is actually only one of several plans to open residential facilities for children in Minnesota, but as Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Stucky reports there is still fierce opposition.
December 20, 2000 - Author Martin Goldmith says he owes his life to an orchestra that disappeared long before he was born. During the 1930's in Germany the Kulturbund orchestra, staffed entirely by Jewish musicians was used as a Nazi propaganda weapon. Goldsmith, the former host of National Public Radio's Performance Today, tells the story of the Kulturbund in his book "The Inextinguishable Symphony". He told Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Crann it is part of the very personal story of his family. Until recently he didn't even realize how his parents met. And they almost didn't. His father, a flutist, was within days of fleeing the country.
December 12, 2000 - Tease Cut. Congressman Minge-Florida is a circus, nothing like Minnesota . Congressman Kennedy-Minnesotans can be proud of our process . There are no hanging chads in Minnesota--but as the Minge-Kennedy race makes clear, we do have some very close elections. Yet when elections are tight, the Minnesota experience is far different than events unfolding in Florida. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Buzenberg has been watching the post-election contests in both states, and takes a look at how these two extremely close elections have been sorted out:
December 12, 2000 - On this Word of Mouth report, Chris Roberts interviews Stan Hill, the artistic director of the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus. In a region brimming over with choral groups, choirs, chorales and oratorial societies, the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus has been a relatively well-kept secret, but the group is determined to raise its profile as it celebrates a 20-year anniversary.
December 7, 2000 - Born in Egypt and now living in Britain, novelist Ahdaf Soueif says she is caught in the space between two cultures. She's placed both of those cultures under a magnifying-glass in her Booker Prize short-listed novel "The Map of Love." The book examines the complex historical and political relationship between Egypt, Britain and the US, but Soueif told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr she set out to write a romance. She says she is a fan of the genre of stories of courageous Victorian women setting out from the West to explore the exotic east, and so that is where she started.
December 7, 2000 - Tonight Twin Cities theater goers will get a rare opportunity to see one of America's premier experimental theater ensembles--- the Wooster Group. Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr reports the New York based company is presenting "North Atlantic" a satire on cold war spy shows--- amongst other things.
November 28, 2000 - Every story in Frederick Busch's new collection of short fiction"Don't Tell Anyone" is about secrets. There are different kinds: people hiding a troubled past, or a current problem, some denying reality, and others simply ignorant of what the rest of the world seems to know. Busch says he did not set out to write about secrets, its just the way his fiction has developed in recent years. He told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr secrets are stories in themselves, but he doesn't really know from where his stories come. Frederick Busch's collection of stories "Don't Tell Anyone" is published by Norton. If you would like to hear an extended interview with Frederick Busch, and read more about his work, please visit the bookpage at Minnesotapublicradio-dot-org. You'll also be able to find past book interviews from MPR programs.