Tickets go on sale Thursday, May 3, at 10 a.m. for the fourth season of Community Supported Art. Think Community Supported Agriculture, except instead of buying food from local farmers, you’re buying art from local artists. Nine artists will create 50 “shares” for the program; buy a share and receive three “farm boxes” of locally produced artwork at intervals throughout the summer.
This year’s artists include Alyssa Baguss, Tara Costello, Steven Lang, Andy Mattern, Stefanie Motta, the team of Louisa Podlich and Chistian Dahlager, Alex Reed, Krista Kelley Walsh, and Lunalux Letterpress Studio. Shares cost $300. Reserve yours here (the form won’t be live until 10 a.m. Thursday). If you’re seriously interested, it’s best not to dawdle on this.
We’ll know today whether the Walker won a Webby, the award honoring excellence on the Internet. It was nominated for Best Art Site on April 10, the public voted until April 26, and this is the day when the winners are named, giving them time to make travel plans and write five-word acceptance speeches for the ceremony in New York on May 21.
Late this spring, Bob Dylan will (we presume) travel to the White House to pick up his latest award: the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Dylan is among 13 recipients of the nation’s highest civilian honor. Others include former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn, and author Toni Morrison. This year’s winners were revealed Thursday in a White House press release.
Thanks to the Strib’s Rohan Preston for his fine piece on Sunday about new plays in the Twin Cities. Presenting new plays is a risk. Seeing new plays is a risk; with no history to inform you and no reviews to guide you, how can you be sure a play will be any good? You can’t, and that’s kind of the point. Along with his thoughtful article, Preston has provided a list of “hotbeds of new-play activity” — theaters and reading series.
Also in Sunday’s Strib: a special section (20 pages) on Minnesota museums. Pull it, save it, and explore. (If you don’t get the paper, here it is on the web.) Today begins the first-ever Minnesota Museums Month. The new website we mentioned last month is up and running. Feeling inspired, I’m making a personal pledge to visit at least six museums between now and June 1. Which ones do you think I should see, and why? (Within a 20-mile radius of the Twin Cities, please, or six will turn into four.) I’ll report back.
“Pippi Longstocking” is back at the Children’s Theatre through June 10. Based on Astrid Lindgren’s novel, the play premiered on CTC’s stage in 1982 and has been a staple ever since. Peter Brosius directs; Joe Chvala (Flying Foot Forum) is the choreographer. FMI and tickets. CTC has added summer programming to its 2012-13 season, bringing back the popular “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” in June 2012. Subscription packages available now, single tickets August 7.
Four Humors Theater has unveiled its 2012-13 season. “Bombus and Berylline: The Hummingbird and the Bee” is based on character concepts by company members Rachel Petrie and Ryan Lear, paintings by local artist Amy Crickenberger Oeth, and stories from children. At the Gremlin Theater, June 14-30. “Candide” is Voltaire’s novel adapted by Nick Ryan. At the University of Minnesota’s Thrust theater during Fringe, Aug. 3-11. “Harold” is “a horrific comedy that delves into the deepest fears of our own imaginations and the animal instincts of the human psyche.” The title character is a scarecrow who is treated very badly. Enough said. At the Southern, Aug. 26-Nov. 3. Four Humors’ Firsty Thursday shows (“a monthly reason to laugh and drink”) continue this Thursday, May 3, at Studio B on the second floor of the Skyway Theater on Hennepin. Storytelling, stand-up comedy, trivia, singing, and more. Doors at 7 p.m., show at 7:30. Tickets ($12/$10) at the door.
“Rock of Ages” has been added to the 2012-13 Broadway season at the Hennepin Theaters, a bringback from 2010. The five-time Tony nominated musical features hits by Journey, Styx, Pat Benatar, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, Night Ranger, Twisted Sister, and Whitesnake. At the Orpheum, May 17-19, 2013.
Get up close and personal with one-of-a-kind costumes worn in many Guthrie productions. On the first and third Saturdays of each month, guides are leading 40-minute tours of CostumeRentals, a 17,000-square-foot facility housing more than 30,000 theatrical costumes. The first tour was April 21; the second takes place this Saturday, May 5, at 11:30 a.m. Tickets here.
The Guthrie’s great costume designer Jack Edwards has his own exhibition at the Goldstein Museum of Design in McNeal Hall on the U of M’s St. Paul campus. “Character in Costume: A Jack Edwards Retrospective” features sketches, photographs, playbills, and 30 costumes. Ends May 20. Free. FMI. (Note to self: a museum for my May list?)
“Spring Awakening” ends this Sunday, May 6. Tickets are still available to this very favorably reviewed musical about a group of teenagers coming of age in an uncomprehending world. Local critics claim it’s better and more exciting than the Broadway version that touched down in the Twin Cities in 2009. From Theater Latté Da; at the U of M’s Rarig Center. Tickets here.
Happening tonight:
“Cirque du Son” at the Ted Mann Concert Hall. Noriko Kawai performs John Cage’s “Europera 5” (plus “Musicircus); Michael Duffy, Colin Holter, Jeremy Wagner,and Zahiler present four world premieres. Presented by Contemporary Music Workshop. 7:30 p.m. Free.
“Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel” at Hamline’s Sundin Music Hall. The season finale of the popular, long-running series famous for making classical music accessible and entertaining. Tonight, host and pianist Siegel explores the personal and musical relationships between Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann and Clara Schumann. 7:30 p.m. For tickets, call 651-523-2459.
Portland Cello Project at the Cedar. More cellos than you can shake a bow at, nicely complemented by violinist, loopist and vocalist Emily Wells, performing together and separately. A dual CD release. PCP’s new studio album, “Homage,” covers compositions by Kanye West, Jay-Z, L’il Wayne, Talib Kweli and others. Here’s PCP during the recording session for Kanye’s “All of the Lights.” Show at 7:30 p.m., doors at 7. Tickets here or at the door.
Spring Poetry Free-for-All. The kick-off celebration for the grand opening of Garrison Keillor’s Common Good Books in its new location on Snelling. Open mic, audience members read aloud, backed by a jazz trio. At Weyerhaeuser Memorial Chapel on the Macalester College campus. Join Keillor afterward for a tour of his new digs. 7 p.m., free (for all).
Tonight and tomorrow:
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. One of America’s premier dance companies is here for two nights, each different. Tonight’s program features “Home” (2011) by hip-hop choreogreapher Rennie Harris, artistic director Robert Battle’s “Takademe” (1999) and “The Hunt” (2001), Joyce Trisler’s “Journey” (1958), and Ailey’s legendary “Revelations,” a suite performed to African-American spirituals, song-sermons, gospel songs and holy blues. Tomorrow’s program includes Paul Taylor’s “Arden Court” (1981), Ohad Naharin’s “Minus 16” (1999), and Ailey’s “Revelations.” At the Orpheum, Northrop Dance’s home-away-from-home during extensive renovations. 7:30 both nights. Tickets here.
On sale now:
Music in the Zoo. Now in its 20th year, this popular summer series draws crowds to the outdoor Weesner Family Amphitheater. Tickets get you into the Zoo after 4 p.m. and most shows start at 7, so you can combine concerts with visits to the lions, tigers, bears, birds and sea dragons. Tickets went on sale to the public yesterday (Monday, April 30) at the Fetus and Ticketmaster. Lucy Michelle & The Velvet Lapelles have been added to the Pines show on June 23; the B-52s, originally scheduled for Aug. 28, have been canceled.
The O’Shaughnessy Dance Series 2012-13, featuring “In Retrospect” (Katha Dance and friends), Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca, TU Dance, Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre, Bebe Miller Company, and Emily Johnson/Catalyst. Most events are co-presentations with Northrop Dance. Series tickets and singles here or here.
“Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays,” May 31-June 16 at the New Century Theatre. Ten smart, witty, touching “mini works” about the courage to be in a relationship (any relationship) by award-winning playwrights Jeffrey Hatcher, Jordan Harrison, Moisés Kaufman, Wendy MacLeod, José Rivera, and others. With Laura Adams, Shawn Hamilton Brown, Aimee K.Bryant, Jim Lichtscheidl, and Mark Rhein in multiple roles; directed by Wendy Knox of Frank Theatre. A response to the ongoing battle for marriage equality and the proposed Minnesota constitutional amendment. FMI and tickets here or at the New Century Theater box office.
“They Sang To Me,” Dr. Stan Hill’s final concert with the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus (TCGMC) at the Ted Mann Concert Hall, June 22-23. A major figure in the GLBT choral movement, Hill has spent the past 12 years as artistic director of the TCGMC. The concert will feature highlights from the Hill era and new music written specifically for the occasion. Tickets here or call 612-624-2345.
The SoundTown Music and Camping Festival in Somerset, Wisconsin, July 27-28. The lineup makes it worth crossing a state line. Headliners: Jane’s Addiction, Florence + The Machine, Weezer, Andrew Bird. Recently added: our own Doomtree. Other Twin Cities bands on the bill include Pert Near Sandstone and Davina and the Vagabonds. Tickets here and at First Ave ticket outlets.
Cinderella at the Myth, Saturday, July 28. Not the ballet or the Disney movie, silly; the hair metal band, with special guests Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) and Lita Ford. In case you missed the ’80s, here’s Cinderella performing “Somebody Save Me.” And here’s Sebastian Bach today. Tickets here or at the Myth box office.
David Sedaris at the State, Saturday, Nov. 10. The New York Times bestselling author and NPR humorist, back by popular demand. The man has 7 million books in print. Tickets here or at the State Theatre box office.
