October 7, 2015 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer reports on the one-man show "Rodney King," playing at the Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul, that resonates with the discussion on race. Report includes clip of interview with actor Roger Guenveur Smith.
September 24, 2015 - MPR’s Laura Yuen profiles Oakdale teen Amaiya Zafar, a female boxer whose is fighting in and out of the boxing ring. Zafar is trying to compete in ring fully covered, according to her Islamic principles. That is something boxing authorities are against, siting safety concerns.
December 16, 2014 - Northfield native Siri Hustvedt's latest novel "The Blazing World" examines the life and works of a maverick artist who goes to extreme lengths to gain the recognition she believes she deserves. It's turning up on many best books of 2014 lists. It also examines the overwhelming power of public perception in the art world.
September 22, 2014 - Poetry has long fascinated former Star Tribune editorial board member Jim Lenfestey, both as a reader and a writer. Back in 1970 a bookseller gave him a collection of poems by Han Shan, or Cold Mountain, a Chinese poet who lived 1400 years ago.
September 12, 2014 - A new production called "Marcus; Or the secret of sweet" opens this weekend at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. It tells the story of a young man wrestling with his identity as he comes of age in a small town in the Louisiana bayou.
January 13, 2014 - MPR’s Euan Kerr reports on announcement of Sarah Bellamy as new artistic director at Penumbra Theatre and its five-year plan in stabilizing organization after financial struggle.
March 12, 2013 - MPR’s Euan Kerr profiles the Penumbra Theatre staging of “Spunk,” three short stories of Zora Neale Hurston adapted by Jelly's Last Jam writer George C. Wolfe.
September 6, 2012 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer talks with Lou Bellamy, artistic director of Penumbra Theatre, on the financial struggles affecting the organization. The nationally-acclaimed African-American Theater company will stage no shows this season and has laid off a third of its 16 full-time staff members.
December 13, 2011 -
November 18, 2011 - In the 1940s, the stories of two fictional Minnesota girls named Betsy and Tacy became a sensation. Author Maud Hart Lovelace based the stories on her own happy childhood in Mankato in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This month HarperCollins is publishing a new Betsy-Tacy Treasury. The collection includes the first four books of the ten book series. Over the years, the stories have inspired generations of devoted fans. Today those fans can visit the Betsy-Tacy Society in Mankato and tour the childhood homes of Lovelace and her best friend. The society's president is Susan Brown and she joins me now from Mankato. Welcome! Maud Hart Lovelace was born in Mankato in 1892. She based the character of Betsy on herself. She was a stickler for historical accuracy-- how accurate a portrayal are the books of growing up at the turn of the century in Minnesota? What was Maud like as a girl growing up in Mankato?