Fall Arts & Dining

Lavender’s Top Picks for the Fall Arts Season:

30 Plays
28 Restaurant Pairings
17 Musicals
6 Ballets
5 Operas
3 Comedies
and 1 Cirque du Soleil

Theatre Reviews by John Townsend
Restaurant Pairings by Joy Summers

 

Attack of the Best of the Brave New Workshop

Brave New Workshop
www.bravenewworkshop.com
Venue: Brave New Workshop
Through November 2, 2013
The region’s premiere comedy theater celebrates 55 years (and the Guthrie has only been around 50). BNW’s signature madcap style continues to pack ’em in with this delightful retrospective revue of vignettes that date back to the 1970s. It’s humor ranging from multiple blade disposable razors to trashy yoga pants.

 

Fool for Love

The Jungle Theater
www.jungletheater.com
Venue: The Jungle Theater
September 6 through October 20, 2013
Nowadays most people know Sam Shepard as an actor in such memorable films as Days of Heaven, Black Hawk Down, Fair Game, and Mud. But Shepard utterly looms as one of the major playwrights of the Baby Boomer Generation. Fool For Love exemplifies his dark signature understanding of America’s West.

 

The Imaginary Invalid

Theatre in the Round Players
www.theatreintheround.org
Venue: Theatre in the Round
September 9 through September 29, 2013
Hypochondria is rarely this hilarious. Legendary French playwright Moliere actually performed in a 1673 staging of his play and died of coughing and hemorrhaging after completing his last performance. Today, as more people consider illness to often be psychosomatic, it seems that Moliere was onto something over three centuries ago.

 

A Brown Tale

Penumbra Theatre
www.penumbratheatre.org
Venue: Penumbra Theatre
September 12 through September 22, 2013
America’s premiere African-American theater hosts James T. Alfred’s solo performance about his Chicago childhood. He remembers a time when “the projects” were an example of black pride and harmony. A coming-of-age story, it reveals a time when a more traditional black community found ways to co-create unity.

 

Mrs. Smith LIVE!

Cardial Theatricals
www.camp-bar.net/cabaret
Venue: Camp Cabaret
September 13 through October 13, 2013
This cross-gender comedy draws inspiration from a cat. Co-created by Andrew Rasmussen and David Hanbury, it’s become such a big deal that it will play the American Rep in Boston this fall! A production by Cardinal Theatricals, which presented hit stagings of Rent and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

 

Good People

Park Square Theatre
www.parksquaretheatre.org
Venue: Park Square Theatre
September 13 through October 6, 2013
David Lindsay-Abaire has become one of the major playwrights of his generation. Joel Sass directs Virginia Burke in a play about eviction, unemployment, and reaching out past your ego to someone from your past. Burke is known for her fine performances through Frank Theatre, the Guthrie, and Park Square.

Restaurant Pairing: 
The Oceanaire Seafood Room
The main character might be down on her luck, down at the heel, or just generally down, but there’s no reason you should be. Taste a little bit of the East Coast in one of the most luxurious seafood restaurants in town. Their crab cake is no joke.
www.theoceanaire.com

 

Moon Show 143

Guthrie Theater
www.guthrietheater.org
Venue: Guthrie Theater’s Dowling Studio
September 14 through September 18, 2013
The ancients were captivated by the power of the moon and it has become the source of myths and beliefs worldwide. The moon’s cyclical journey with earth is followed by four encounters between it and human beings. Interstellar imagery, rock concert theatricality, and ideas of fate shape this world premiere.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Moto i
For a moment, ramen was all the rage. As the temperatures start to cool, it’s a perfect excuse to get back into that rich, noodly soup. Get in the mood for the moon show by taking to the rooftop patio and dining beneath the moon. Paired with their in-house brewed sake or a Japanese beer, it’s an idyllic evening.
www.moto-i.com

 

Uncle Vanya

Guthrie Theater
www.guthrietheater.org
Venue: Guthrie Theater’s Wurtele Thrust Stage
September 14 through October 27, 2013
Irish playwright Brian Friel has been actively re-imagining classics by great playwrights of the past. He re-thought Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler and he’s also done Uncle Vanya, Anton Chekhov’s movingly observed look into pre-Revolutionary Russia. Also a consummate window into geographical and emotional limitations of rural life.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Burch Steak
You can get a little vodka anywhere, but before the play tuck into one of the best dumplings in the city at Burch Steak. Taste the kinkahli, stuffed with beef, topped with chili threads, based on the traditional Eastern European recipe with a modern twist.
www.burchrestaurant.com

 

Charlotte’s Web

Children’s Theatre Company
www.childrenstheatre.org
Venue: Children’s Theatre Company
September 17 through October 27, 2013
British director Greg Banks, a master of inventive, free-wheeling CTC ensemble productions, made magic with Pinocchio and Robin Hood. So no doubt his take on E. B. White’s classic children’s book by will deliver something special. See if the friendship between Spider Charlotte and porcine Wilbur can prevent animal slaughter.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Corner Table
Take your little theater-goer out for a special pre-show dinner at this restaurant gem. Not only is this restaurant one of the best in the cities, it’s also run by folks with small eaters. Everything on the menu is divine, but you should probably order something porky. That is SOME PIG.
www.cornertablerestaurant.com

 

Wicked

Hennepin Theatre Trust
www.hennepintheatretrust.org
Venue: Orpheum Theatre
September 18 through October 27, 2013
Few mega-musicals have portrayed how we stigmatize ‘the other’ as powerfully as Stephen Schwarz’s Tony-winning smash. L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz is turned on its head as Glinda, the ‘good’ witch, is seen as not-so-good and the Wicked Witch of the West, not-so-bad.

Restaurant Pairing:
Marin
Marin specializes in green eating, with plenty of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free offerings. (Plus, choose from 24 types of gin – which is actually all three!) If you’re feeling adventurous, try the vegan banh mi: the “meat” of the sandwich is an herb-infused gelatin that looks like a misplaced shard of the Emerald City.
www.marinrestaurant.com

 

How to be a Korean Woman

Guthrie Theater
www.guthrietheater.org
Venue: Guthrie Theater’s Dowling Studio
September 19 though September 22, 2013
Named Lavender Spotlight’s Best Solo Performance 2012 for its Dreamland Arts run, the Guthrie hosts a brief revival of acclaimed actress Sun Mee Chomet’s own personal account of what it was and is for her to be a South Korean adoptee. Chomet appeared in Guthrie’s The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide…

Restaurant Pairing: 
The Left Handed Cook
The Left Handed Cook isn’t traditional Korean food. Instead it’s a delightful, singularly American hybrid of comfort food served through an Asian cuisine prism. Don’t miss the 21 spice fried chicken with chile-infused dipping sauce – or anything served with their absolutely amazing kimchee.
www.facebook.com/TheLeftHandedCook

 

IVEY Awards

www.iveyawards.com
Venue: Historic State Theatre
September 23, 2013
Twin Cities Theater’s glory night to celebrate and honor what will be assessed as exceptional theatrical productions and artistry of the past year.  Always a classy affair, it resembles the Tony and Academy Awards. Groove to dance numbers from local shows, witty presenters, stunned winners, and a Lifetime Achievement Award surprise.

 

Steerage Song

Theater Latté Da
www.latteda.org
Venue: The Lab Theater
September 25 through October 20, 2013
Ellis Island: gateway of immigrants entering the US, supposed land of milk and honey. But reality was quite different as they were packed into the steerage of steamships armed only with that dream. Co-creators Peter Rothstein and Dan Chouinard celebrate their music, from Old Europe to Tin Pan Alley.

 

Jamaica, Farewell

Penumbra Theatre
www.penumbratheatre.org
Venue: Penumbra Theatre
September 26 through October 6, 2013
Debra Ehrhardt’s one-woman show plays with the myth of the American Dream. A teenaged girl in Jamaica of the 1970s holds fast to her deam despite all the socio-political tumult happening around her. But in America, handsome rich men and expensive cars all but grow on trees.

 

the road weeps, the well runs dry

Pillsbury House Theatre
www.pillsburyhouseandtheatre.org
Venue: Pillsbury House + Theatre
September 27 through October 27, 2013
Water shortage is becoming one of the planet’s most urgent problems. That’s why this story of Wewoka, Oklahoma, the first all-black town in the US, is so timely. Black Seminoles, people of both African- and Native-American backgrounds are profoundly, wrenchingly divided when the local water supply runs dry.

 

An Iliad

Guthrie Theater
www.guthrietheater.org
Venue: Guthrie Theater’s Dowling Studio
October 1 though October 20, 2013
Stephen Yoakam gives an enthralling tour-de-force solo performance in this contemporary re-imagining of Homer’s classic. The gruesome story of the siege of Troy and the dehumanizing ramifications of militaristic violence on both the Greek and Trojan side are movingly juxtaposed with later historical events. Timeless and timely.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Saffron
A tour of the best food the Middle East and Europe with a modern spin by the one-time Iron Chef contestant Chef Sameh Wadi. If you haven’t been to Saffron lately, consider this an excuse to get back. Also, save room for a cocktail, their bartender is one of the best drink mixers in the cities.
www.saffronmpls.com

 

Carrie The Musical

Presented by Minneapolis Musical Theatre & Hennepin Theatre Trust
www.hennepintheatretrust.org
Venue: New Century Theatre
October 4 through October 27, 2013
Teen vengeance against bullying goes ballistic! “If they only knew she had the power!” as the ads to the classic Sissy Spacek film said back in the ’70s. This is a re-worked version of the Broadway stage show. MMT has a knack for adapting BIG musicals to smaller spaces.

 

Tribes

Guthrie Theater
www.guthrietheater.org
Venue: Guthrie Theater’s McGuire Proscenium Stage
October 5 through November 10, 2013
What might happen when a family with a deaf family member doesn’t even bother to learn sign language? Moreover, what if their deaf family member has never learned sign language himself? Playwright Nina Raine gives us an interplay between communication, perception, and understanding when someone from outside the dysfunction intervenes.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Sanctuary
Billy finds his sanctuary thanks to Sylvia. You can find yours on Washington Avenue. Their five-course tasting menu is only $35, an easy way to discover all this restaurant has to offer.
www.sanctuaryminneapolis.com

 

Baby Case

History Theatre
www.historytheatre.com
Venue: History Theatre
October 5 though November 3, 2013
If you’d been alive in 1932, the kidnapping of the 20-month old baby of Colonel Charles and Anne Lindbergh would have been comparable to the O.J. Simpson affair sixty years later. It was an explosive international sensation. Call it a Barrymore Award-winning ‘trial-of-the-century’ musical.

Restaurant Pairing: 
The St. Paul Grill
Taste old-world St. Paul inside The St. Paul Grill. Order a fat, perfectly charred, wonderfully juicy steak alongside a Scotch – neat. It’s a glimpse of a time when men were men – and some of them could really tap dance!
www.stpaulgrill.com

 

Displaced Hindu Gods

Mixed Blood Theatre
www.mixedblood.com
Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
October 5 through October 27, 2013
The trinity of Hindu deities -Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva- enter the contemporary world via playwright Aditi Kapil in the form of stand-up comedy, sci-fi fantasy, and female gangsters. Presented as a marathon of three separate plays to be seen individually on week nights or as a weekend marathon.

 

The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra Go!

Children’s Theatre Company
www.childrenstheatre.org
Venue: Children’s Theatre Company
October 8 through November 17, 2013
What if human beings have more inner power than we give ourselves credit for? When Earth kids Violet and Bruce Wong learn that an ancient beast is on a destructive tear, they must tap into their own superpowers to save the universe. Conceived by Ma-Yi Theater Company in graphic novel style.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Quang’s
This affordable, family-owned restaurant on Nicollet’s Eat Street is known for their worldly cuisine no one can fight about. Introduce young eaters to vats of pho – a noodle soup no kid can resist slurping. It doesn’t hurt that this is just around the corner from the theater.
www.quangsrestaurant.com

 

Morning’s at Seven

Theatre in the Round Players
www.theatreintheround.org
Venue: Theatre in the Round
October 11 through November 3, 2013
Older people daring to change is a bold idea expressed in Paul Osborn’s 1939 human comedy classic. Two sisters start to question how they are living their lives as they come to be more conscious and honest about the reality of mortality. Timely, considering today’s aging and active population.

Restaurant Pairing: 
SEVEN
Have dinner at SEVEN before Morning’s at Seven. Enjoy a steak or a few bites of their sushi paired with a lovely glass of wine before heading over to Theatre in the Round.
www.7mpls.com

 

Kung Fu Zombies vs. Cannibals

Mu Performing Arts
www.muperformingarts.org
Venue: The Southern Theater
October 12 through October 27, 2013
The national zombie obsession surely says something about the paranoia inherent in our highly defensive period in history. The region’s premiere Asian-American theater company features martial arts, hip hop, and Buddhist concepts in a story of women struggling to maintain their integrity in a world off its moral compass.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Butcher & the Boar
Let’s be honest, I don’t even know what or how or why this show is going to entertain, but it’s obviously going to be awesome. Pair with a dinner at Butcher & the Boar. It’s indefinable why this place is so perfect. It’s meat-forward, but vegetarian-friendly. Chef-driven, but not chefy. It’s just good. Stop trying to explain everything and just enjoy.
www.butcherandtheboar.com

 

Miss Saigon

Ordway
www.ordway.org
Venue: Ordway Center for the 
Performing Arts
October 8 through October 13, 2013
Puccini’s opera, Madame Butterfly, is the template for Boublil and Schönberg’s transcendent musical about desperate choices the American presence in Vietnam caused for innocent civilians caught in the cross-hairs of the West’s compulsion to eradicate Communism at any cost, whether it be the lives of US G.I.s or Asians.

Restaurant Pairing: 
iPho by Saigon
Celebrate Miss Saigon with a taste of Saigon on University Avenue. This restaurant has gone through a few changes, but it’s still known for their delicious food at reasonable prices.
www.iphobysaigon.com

 

Q-STAGE

20% Theatre Company Twin Cities
www.tctwentypercent.org
Venue: Nimbus Theater
October 17 through October 27, 2013
New experimental works always make us stretch our consciousness. The celebrated queer theater company features the talents of Paige Collette, Puck Matz, Anna Sutheim, Donn Saylo, Kris and Nate Gebhard, and Homo Hotdish. 20% is also a passionate, mindful employer of women and a thinktank for transgender-oriented stage work.

 

Broadway Songbook: Musicals of the 1950s

Ordway
www.ordway.org
Venue: Ordway Center for the 
Performing Arts
October 17 through October 20, 2013
From the robustly entertaining Guys and Dolls to the feminism of The King and I to the confrontational approach of West Side Story, there was more beneath the surface of Broadway’s musical theater than it may have been given credit for. Music artists who know the era well will perform.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Monte Carlo
Get in the ’50s mood by dining in a place where time stands still. Settle in at the copper-topped bar where martinis are ice-cold and the menu is stacked with classics like a proper, unsullied Caesar salad. Don’t forget to try the Beijing Wings – quite likely the best dry-rub wings in the state.
www.montecarlomn.com

 

Mary T. & Lizzy K.

Park Square Theatre
www.parksquaretheatre.org
Venue: Park Square Theatre
October 18 through November 10, 2013
Last year’s marvelous film, Lincoln, and the Guthrie’s production of Appomattox, have shown that 150 years after the Civil War there’s a deep interest in the time and its people. First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln and her freed slave seamstress, Lizzy Keckly, are the subject of Tazewell Thompson’s play.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Lucia’s
Before seeing this facinating show depicting the relationship between these two women, taste the artistically stunning culinary creations from Lucia Watson’s eponymous restaurant. It is a classically modern celebration of local ingredients  in dishes created by a deft, feminine hand.
www.lucias.com

 

20th Anniversary Retrospective

James Sewell Ballet
www.jsballet.org
Venue: The Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts
October 25 through November 3, 2013
This dynamic dance company is always stellar when they combine live music and dance. Composer and violinist Todd Reynolds will be exemplifying this. Moreover, JSB has been very creative with work about marriage equality, and Lar Lubovitch’s new dance segment will carry on that vision. See them test physical boundaries!

Restaurant Pairing: 
Borough
Kinetic collaboration between Todd Reynolds and JSB would pair perfectly with the kinetic collaboration happening in the kitchen at Borough. Nick O’Leary and Tyler Shipton create stunning, artful dishes and it’s fun to watch them work from a perch at the bar outside the open kitchen.
www.boroughmpls.com

 

Skiing on Broken Glass

Guthrie Theater
www.guthrietheater.org
Venue: Guthrie Theater’s Dowling Studio
October 29 through November 17, 2013
Consider that a middle-aged man and a young stud he has hired as an escort can actually share deep love for each other. Even if it’s rocky. Young Todd’s past may be unclear but when the older Mark is nearly killed in an accident, Mark does not abandon him.

 

I Saw Daddy Marry Santa Claus

Brave New Workshop
www.bravenewworkshop.com
Venue: Brave New Workshop
November 7 through January 25, 2014
Now that we’ve won marriage equality, family tradition takes on a whole new dimension. Old ways of idealizing ‘the family’ at holiday time defer to a new interpretation. BNW’s first-rate sketch comedy tradition will feature songs, vignettes, and festive cheer for a satirical look on same-sex Christmas possibilities.

 

Driving Miss Daisy

The Jungle Theater
www.jungletheater.com
Venue: The Jungle Theater
November 8 through December 22, 2013
A privileged Jewish widow and her black chauffeur are barometers for anti-semitism and racism in 20th Century Atlanta. When a resistant Daisy Werthern is compelled to finally stop driving she finds that she has more in common with Hoke Colburn, her driver, than she would have ever imagined.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Cafe Maude, Loring Park
Charm, sass, and comfort like what you’d expect to find riding in the back seat with Miss Daisy. That’s also how you could describe the dining room at Cafe Maude at Loring Park.
www.cafemaudeatloring.com

 

Cinderella

Children’s Theatre Company
www.childrenstheatre.org
Venue: Children’s Theatre Company
November 12, 2013 through January 5, 2014
Caught in the crosshairs of cross-dressing stepsisters and a wicked stepmother, the Fairy Tale realm’s most famous young woman aligns with a fairy godmother’s magical powers in hopes of marrying the ideal man – Prince Charming. CTC will revel in highly physical comedy and stylized panto theatrical style.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Fika
Bring your princess to her very own castle at the American Swedish Institute. The fresh food here is fit for royalty. Enjoy a table adjacent the courtyard and dine on gravlax and fancy open-faced sandwiches. Top each meal with one of their little chocolates and you’ll live happily ever after. Check the hours on the website to pair with a matinee or a Wednesday night show.
www.asimn.org/visit/fika-cafe

 

A Christmas Carol

Guthrie Theater
www.guthrietheater.org
Venue: Guthrie Theater’s Wurtele Thrust Stage
November 14 through December 29, 2013
Crispin Whittell’s 2010 adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic reverberates to our own time of economic discord in a way that Barbara Field’s previous adaptation for the Guthrie did not. So if you haven’t since seen the Guthrie’s box office smash since sometime before 2010, consider catching it this holiday season.

Restaurant Pairing: 
The Kenwood
Old-world style, comforting classic food feels like a modern feast of riches. The plaid cloth walls are cozy and comforting while Chef Don Saunders’ artful dishes feel special occasion worthy, even if you’re dining on a weeknight. God bless us, every one!
www.thekenwoodrestaurant.com

 

4 Score Towards the Sun

Mixed Blood Theatre
www.mixedblood.com
Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
November 15 through November 24, 2013
It’s always fascinating to see how veterans of different wars actually see the American military. Playwright Anton Jones presents four belief systems and sets of rules, from four military branches, and four conflicts. The cast is comprised of veterans and professional actors who are members of the Footprints Ensemble. Directed by Leah Cooper.

 

Spider’s Web

Theatre in the Round Players
www.theatreintheround.org
Venue: Theatre in the Round
November 15 through December 15, 2013
Agatha Christie’s 1954 whodunit contains taste tests of delicious Port and a secret signature by Queen Victoria. We are led to a hidden door leading to a hidden door. A dead body of a diplomat’s wife found in the drawing room leads to a desperate attempt to (illegally) remove it.

 

We Will Rock You

Hennepin Theatre Trust
www.hennepintheatretrust.org
Venue: Orpheum Theatre
November 19 through November 24, 2013
The iconic British rock group that combined glam with anarchistic defiance is celebrated in this show which has been running in London for an extraordinary 11 years. Queen’s lead singer Freddie Mercury dynamically challenged how men typically present themselves. Rock on with classics like “We Are the Champions” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Restaurant Pairing: 
Anchor Fish & Chips
Celebrate Queen with a proper fish and chips from Anchor Fish and Chips. Cod filets the size of your arm are breaded and fried to a heavenly crispness. Don’t forget to douse those wonder fries with a healthy amount of malt vinegar.
www.theanchorfishandchips.com

 

A Don’t Hug Me Christmas Carol

Hennepin Theatre Trust
www.hennepintheatretrust.org
Venue: New Century Theatre
November 22, 2013, through January 4, 2014
A northern Minnesota take on the Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. When a feisty bar owner loses his cool and has a snowmobile accident, he is haunted by a figure named Sven, aka the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. It has become a box office smash over the past few years.

 

31st Fall Season

Zenon Dance Company
www.zenondance.org
Venue: The Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts
November 22 through December 1, 2013
A modern- and jazz-dance institution that continues to influence and enhance the Minnesota dance scene, Zenon’s 31st Fall Season will feature the world premiere of Stephanie Batten Bland’s “Caught,” Zenon’s premiere of Danny Buraczeski’s “Ezekiel’s Wheel,” and a reprise of luciana achugar’s “Molten Substance.”

 

Born Yesterday

Guthrie Theater
www.guthrietheater.org
Venue: Guthrie Theater’s McGuire Proscenium Stage
November 23, 2013 through January 5, 2014
Playwright Garson Kanin’s mid-20th Century comedy classic is a definitive slam against the grotesque marriage between money and politics in Washington, D.C. In our own era, regrettably defined by the wreckage in public confidence caused by Citizens United, it seems a perfect choice for revival by America’s flagship regional theater.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Pig Ate My Pizza
Seems like just a pizza joint, but something there something more than just the surface appearance. Anyone who knows the guys from Travail (who also own this joint) knows that they are never content to rest on expectations. Don’t miss the Piggy Pie, its beauty is more than meets the eye.
www.facebook.com/PigAteMyPizza

 

Christmas of Swing

History Theatre
www.historytheatre.com
Venue: History Theatre
November 23 through December 22, 2013
The Andrews Sisters of Minnesota -Patty, Maxene, and LaVerne- were patriotic spirit-lifters during World War II with their distinct vocal style that matched the Big Band sound of the era like a marriage made in heaven. Intermixed with comedy sketches, real letters from G.I.s, and holiday tunes.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Eat Street Social
Back to the days of Brooklyn egg creams and men who knew how to rock a suit, tuck into the comforting food at East Street Social. Follow it up with any bevie the barment offer to mix you, from their house-made root beer to dazzling cocktails, this joint is always swinging.
www.eatstreetsocial.com

 

Of Mice and Men

Park Square Theatre
www.parksquaretheatre.org
Venue: Park Square Theatre
November 26 through December 20, 2013
John Steinbeck’s poignant story of two men’s friendship explores the American Dream as migrant workers George and Lennie aim to have their own ranch one day. But innocent Lennie’s disability, matched with his powerfully intimidating build, creates misunderstandings that lead to powerful consequences. Steinbeck’s take on ordinary folks is extraordinary.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Wise Acre Eatery
Spoiler alert: this isn’t going to end well for the puppy, Curley’s wife, or likely poor Lennie, so buckle up. Live the dream of these humble men by dining at a restaurant that is so farm-to-table that they actually have a beautiful farm. It’s like a taste of their dream realized.
www.wiseacreeatery.com

 

Words By…

Park Square Theatre
www.parksquaretheatre.org
Venue: Park Square Theatre
November 29 through December 29, 2013
George Gershwin the composer is considered the emblematic American composer by multitudes. But his lesser-known brother, Ira, wrote the lyrics to some of his marvelous tunes such as “Our Love is Here to Stay” and “Fascinating Rhythm.” Now we finally get to experiences Ira’s perspective and other co-creations.

 

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Wizard of Oz

Ordway
www.ordway.org
Venue: Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
December 4 through December 29, 2013
Musical theater master Andrew Lloyd Webber (Evita, Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard) has re-conceived the screenplay from the iconic MGM film that unites all the songs from the film along with new ones with lyrics by Tim Rice. Oz author L. Frank Baum permeates America’s collective subconscious.

 

The Nutcracker According to Mother Goose

Zenon Dance Company
www.zenondance.org
Venue: The Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts
December 6 through December 7, 2013
Inspired by Bruce Lansky’s story, the Tchaikovsky classic takes on a new personality as it flows along with dreamy figures like Little Bo Peep, Jack and Jill, Mary and her little lamb, and other nursery rhyme archetypes. Mother Goose characters unwrap her magical gifts under the tree.

 

Black Nativity

Penumbra Theatre
www.penumbratheatre.org
Venue: Penumbra Theatre
December 12 through December 22, 2013
An alternative Christmas season classic that has actually become a regular Christmas tradition. Dennis Spears, Greta Oglesby, Yolande Bruce, Latonia Hughes-Kendrick, Sanford Moore, and the Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church Mass Choir come together with narration by Penumbra founder Lou Bellamy. A vibrant show that always features topnotch vocals – obviously.

 

The Phantom of the Opera

Hennepin Theatre Trust
www.hennepintheatretrust.org
Venue: Orpheum Theatre
December 13, 2013 through January 5, 2014
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s haunting musical is back in a new production overseen by Cameron Mackintosh and choreographer Matthew Bourne, whose take on Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake is the most popular dance performance in human history. It’s an operatic spectacular that majestically probes issues of self-esteem, internalized shame, and tragic loss.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Vincent – A Restaurant
French, romantic – a candleabra wouldn’t be out of place here, Vincent Francoual’s eponymous restaurant is a perfect pairing for this classic play. Their wine list is exceptional, the food exquisite, and the room is seductive, just try not to fall in love.
www.vincentarestaurant.com

 

All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914

Theater Latté Da
www.latteda.org
Venue: Pantages Theatre
December 19 through December 22, 2013
What if men just decided to lay down their arms and stop a war? That’s what briefly happened with the Christmas Truce of 1914 during World War I when both the German side and the Brits chose to celebrate by laying down their arms and re-arming with Christmas music, cheer, and goodwill.

 

Six Degrees of Separation

Theatre in the Round Players
www.theatreintheround.org
Venue: Theatre in the Round
January 10 through February 2, 2014
In John Guare’s comedy, a young man posing as a Harvard student and the son of iconic African-American film star, Sidney Poitier, pulls the wool over the eyes of a weathy Manhattan couple. Pretending to have been mugged, he charms and dazzles them. Inspired by a true story.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Haute Dish
The carrot hot dog arrives and it looks like a hot dog, it tastes like a hot dog, except it’s a carrot. As this young man cons his way into this family, this vegetarian delight will con its way into the heart and stomach of even the most jaded carnivore.
www.haute-dish.com

 

Broadway Songbook: George Gershwin

Ordway
www.ordway.org
Venue: Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
January 3 through January 5, 2014
The great American composer who could combine majesty with jazzy innuendo is celebrated in this intimate, personal look. Here’s the man who composed “Lady Be Good,” “Embraceable You,” “Strike Up the Band,” and “Rhapsody in Blue.” Audiences will get up close and personal with some top Twin Cities talent.

 

School for Lies

Park Square Theatre
www.parksquaretheatre.org
Venue: Park Square Theatre
January 10 through February 2, 2014
A new adaptation of Moliere’s The Misanthrope by Tony Award-nominee David Ives sparkles with the facade of 17th-century pretense matched with contemporary slang. Ives,who wrote the erotically charged Venus in Fur is an ideal match for the royalist and religious irreverence for which Moliere was famous and infamous.

 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Eric Carle Favorites

Children’s Theatre Company
www.childrenstheatre.org
Venue: Children’s Theatre Company
January 14 through February 23, 2014
Nova Scotia’s Mermaid Theatre comes to CTC with a black light performance inspired by Eric Carle’s children’s book illustrations and writing. We will journey along with a chameleon who goes to the zoo and transforms into animals it sees. Mermaid has made its mark with unique adaptations of children’s literature.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Midtown Global Market
Inch your way through the seemingly endless stalls inside Midtown Global Market. First eat an apple, then a pear (from Midtown Produce Exchange), then a slice of pizza from Jakeeno’s, a piece of some salami, some samosa or tacos, and finish with a piece of cake from The Salty Tart. You may walk in a hungry catepillar; you’ll leave a very full butterfly.
www.midtownglobalmarket.org

 

Cabaret

Theater Latté Da
www.latteda.org
Venue: Pantages Theatre
January 15 through February 9, 2014
In 1966 the Ebb and Kander musical blew the lid off Broadway musical theater and was a cultural phenomenon that helped pave the consciousness for Stonewall. Based on beloved gay writer Christopher Isherwood’s Berlin Stories, pansexual pre-war Berlin was illuminated in all its glory, tawdry and splendid.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Strip Club Meat & Fish
Get bawdy with the boys of this darling St. Paul eatery. Sip the cheeky-named cocktails or feast on their delicious dishes (best to order a slew of small plates and share). Life’s a cabaret, darling, and this restaurant puts you at center stage.
www.domeats.com

 

Ballet Works Project

James Sewell Ballet
www.jsballet.org
Venue: The Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts TEK BOX
January 24 through February 9, 2014
Dancer Nicky Coelho choreographs a piece about devotion to music. Blake Nellis presents contact improvisation movement. Guest choreographer and New Yorker Norbert De La Cruz III will make his Minneapolis debut. It’s also a great way to check out the TEK BOX space at the Cowles.
JSB = contemporary ballet innovation.

 

Evita

Hennepin Theatre Trust
www.hennepintheatretrust.org
Venue: Orpheum Theatre
January 28 through February 2, 2014
Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s 1970s smash looms as one of the greatest musicals ever. Eva Peron’s rise from country bumpkin to ultra-glamorous First Lady of Argentina is juxtaposed with ironic critique sung by the ‘Che’ Guevara character, an icon of Marxist purism. An unusually political musical pulsating with terrific tunes.

Restaurant Pairing: 
Mid Nord Empanada
In the Cities we’re a little short on Argentinian restaurants. What we do have is a rich collection of food trucks. Inside the Mid Nord Empanada truck there are some fried treats just like those found in Argentina. Filled with minced meat and hard-boiled eggs, served with a side of their tart, garlic-infused mojo sauce. Like Evita herself, these humble bites are worth worshipping.
www.midnord.com

 

Seconds Festival

Mixed Blood Theatre
www.mixedblood.com
Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
March 14 through March 23, 2014
One of the nation’s foremost multicultural theater companies is known for its development of boundary-breaking work. This festival of plays and staged readings will reflect music and comedy in black communities, adolescent alienation, and Aztec legend. Expect puppetry and masks, comedy, drama, musical theater, and a bilingual family show.