Information, reviews, and miscellaneous shorts focusing on professional, nonprofit theater—from a Southeast Minnesota perspective.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

The Long Christmas Ride Home

SMU Theater Dept. Sarah St. Laurent
Sarah St. Laurent, a Saint Mary’s University theatre major, paints the face of Rebecca, a Japanese Bunraku-inspired puppet Monday at SMU’s Page Theatre. The puppets will be used in "The Long Christmas Ride Home, directed by St. Laurent. (photo by Katie Derus/Winona Daily News) See the Winona Daily News story.

by Paula Vogel; Directed by Sarah St. Laurent
Puppet Design by Preston Lawing, MFA
St. Mary’s University Department of Theatre Arts

St. Mary’s University Department of Theater Arts presents Paula Vogel’s The Long Christmas Ride Home this weekend at Valéncia Arts Center in Winona. American playwright Paula Vogel is best known for her Pulitzer winning play How I Learned to Drive. How I Learned to Drive uses learning to drive as a metaphor for a girl overcoming an incestuous relationship with her uncle. Vogel often deals with controversial and uncomfortable subjects but seems to do it in a way that engages audiences rather than overwhelms them.

In The Long Christmas Ride Home, Vogel includes puppets based on traditional Japanese bunraku puppets. These puppets usually require 2 or three actors to manipulate the puppets. The puppets for the St. Mary’s Production are designed by Preston Lawing of St. Mary’s Art Department.

The Long Christmas Ride Home runs February 26 - March 2
Thur., Fri., Sat., Mon. shows at 7:30 pm, Sun. at 3 pm
Academy Theatre, Valencia Arts Center
1164 W. 10th, Winona.

Visit the Page Theatre web site for schedule and ticket information.

New York Times image of Disfarmer New York Times Image from Disfarmer (Photo: Richard Termine)

Bunraku puppet on Broadway.

View a New York Times review of Dan Hurlin’s play Disfarmer which stars a bunraku puppet playing the role of photographer Mike Disfarmer. Included with the review are several still photos and a 6 minute flash video of the puppet and the puppeteers in action.

View the New York Times Review of Disfarmer

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Penumbra Postpones Wilson’s Radio Gulf

Radio Golf at Penumbra

St. Paul’s Penumbra Theatre announced this week that it will postpone its production of August Wilson’s Radio Gulf to next Fall. Penumbra had committed to produce all 10 of Wilson’s Twentieth Century Cycle plays over a 5 year period. With the announcement, Penumbra will continue with plans to produce each of the plays but will only take on one per season for the next few years. Radio Golf, the last play written in the cycle, is the only Wilson play that the company has not yet performed during its more than 30 years of productions. It will be the third play, following Gem of the Ocean and Fences, in this new commitment to produce all of the plays in the cycle.

As an unfortunate sign of the time, Penumbra announced that it will cut nearly 25% from its 2009 budget. It will try and maintain its financial footing for the long term while continuing its commitments to the community and the “unrestrained voice of black playwrights and artists.” In its 32nd season, Penumbra has been an important voice of the African American experience and an important part of the Twin Cities Theater community.

A quick look at what is happening at Penumbra Theatre in February and March demonstrates that Penumbra is still a very busy company.

Penumbra

February and March Penumbra Calendar

The Whipping Man
by Matthew Lopez; directed by Lou Bellamy
February 15 - March 8
Penumbra Theatre

A Raisin in the Sun
By Lorraine Hansberry; Directed by Lou Bellamy
March 13 - April 11
Presented by the Guthrie Theater on the McGuire Proscenium Stage

Art exhibit:

Honoring the African American Experience: Penumbra Theatre Stages August Wilson’s 20th Century Cycle
February 2 - 25, 2009
Hennepin County Government Center
300 South Sixth Street, A Level
Minneapolis, MN

Visit the Penumbra for schedules and tickets: PenumbraTheatre.org

Tickets for A Raisin in the Sun are available through the Guthrie Box Office: www.guthrietheater.org/