Upcoming stuff

Labels: CityLife, events, minneapolis, theater

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 7:57 PM |

 
Little Shop of Horrors: Three performances left!
Mary and I caught Ten Thousand Things Little Shop of Horrors tonight and it was way beyond our expectations which were already very high. A wonderfully dark musical that really offers no hope for the fate of mankind but does it in a really entertaining way.

This is a musical with some good doowop ditties and Peter Vitale (drums and keyboard) and Jennifer Rubin (bass) created a layer of music that grooved beautifully. Yeah. Two people. White Stripes has nothing on them.

If you haven't seen a 10,000 Things show, this is a wonderful introduction to their work. This group can hold its own against any of the major venues in town and for our tastes, surpasses them all.

Three shows left on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. Reserve tickets here.

Read my last 10000 post here.

Labels: CityLife, events, minneapolis, theater

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 9:30 PM |

 
See this play. Seriously.
Little Shop of Horrors as done by 10,000 Things.

Here's what The Rake says:

A few months back, it was asserted in the pages of this magazine that Ten Thousand Things has great taste in literature. We stand by that assessment -- even now, as the company readies a production of an American musical that to some would appear gauche. The Little Shop story line is about as absurd as it gets. (It is, after all, a spoof of a '60s B-movie.) But the cult musical boasts an irresistible bebop score as well as a lovable cast of characters. In the hands of Ten Thousand Things artistic director Michelle Hensley, these elements get stripped down to expose their underlying darkness. What's more, a fine group of local character actors inject nuance into what is normally a big-voiced Broadway-style production. Writer, actor, improviser and all-around funny-man Jim Lichtscheidl plays geeky Seymour. Kate Eifrig, fresh off her run as Janis Joplin in Love, Janis, plays Audrey. One of the Twin Towns' preeminent physical comics, Luverne Seifert, appears as the evil Orin Scrivello, DDS. Hensley has a surprise in store for the character of Audrey II, the blood-feeding plant; she isn't giving any specifics, but teases: "It'll be VERY different; it won't be the traditional Audrey" (i.e., no giant, molded-foam puppet growling "Feed me, Seymour.").

Here's what PF Hyper says .

Here's where you make a reservation.

Labels: CityLife, events, minneapolis, theater

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 5:00 PM |

 
Must See! 10,000 Things Little Shop of Horrors
Those of you following along saw me rave about Ten Thousand Things theater last fall when they opened their season with The Merchant of Venice. They followed that up with Lorca's Blood Wedding in March and they've just opened the musical Little Shop of Horrors. Yes. A musical. They do them well.

The actors on the stage at a TTT production are the same ones you see at the Guthrie, Jeune Lune, and the other hot venues in the Twin Cities. The difference is the sets (virtually none), the script—pared down to the basics because they often perform for groups that haven't seen much theater, and the lighting—whatever the room lighting happens to be. The groups they perform for are prison inmates, the homeless, and the disabled.

They do a bunch of free performances at the social venues that they serve so there really is no excuse to miss them. You do need reservations. Check the schedule. (Sorry, they won't let you check out the prison shows but you can see them free at places like St. Stephen's Community Center and the Dorothy Day Center.)

They also have paid performances in Minneapolis on June 15-17 and 22-24. Tickets are $20.

Check the 10,000 Things site.

Bonus Link. American Theater article on 10,000 Things.

Labels: CityLife, events, minneapolis, theater

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 8:45 AM |

 
10,000 Things Season Opener: The Merchant of Venice
Ten Thousand Things is a local theater company that performs at homeless shelters, senior centers, prisons and basically anywhere where you wouldn't expect a talented theater group to perform. Most of their shows are at non-theater venues and most of their shows are free.

They explain it better than I in their mission:

Ten Thousand Things brings lively, intelligent theater to people with little access to the wealth of the arts -- who in turn help us to reimagine theater.

Performing at homeless shelters, prisons and other low-income centers, using the region's finest actors, this bare bones, high quality theater company invigorates ancient tales, classic stories and contemporary plays through its search for raw, open interactions between actors and audiences.

Minneapolis is blessed with an awesome theater community and many excellent companies. You can rank TTT right at the top. There is a rumor (which I believe) that actors have turned down higher-paying Guthrie work to be part of a TTT production.

Mary and I discovered them in 2001 when they performed The Most Happy Fella by Frank Loesser, a musical that we'd never heard of but sounded interesting. Plus they were getting excellent reviews.

Since then, we haven't missed a performance.

According to their history page, the company has been around since 1991. They started out in Los Angeles and it looks like they moved to the Twin Cities around 1995. (The production history only goes thru 2002 but TTT has performed regularly in all subsequent years with a full schedule this year.)

The Merchant of Venice runs from Oct. 19 until Nov. 19 with paid public performances the weekends of Nov. 3, 10, and 17. Tickets are $20. There are free public performances starting Oct. 23. The paid performances are showcases for the theater public, held at a comfortable location like the Open Book on Washington Ave. The free performances are at shelters and community centers. Check their schedule here.

Besides Merchant, TTT will perform Lorca's Blood Wedding in March and The Little Shop of Horrors by Harold Ashman, in May.

If you do go to a performance, let me know or tell them that pfhyper.com sent you when you reserve. And remember, they are supported by our funds so if you go and you like it, donate!

Labels: CityLife, events, minneapolis, theater

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 6:58 PM |

 
Theater: Ten Thousand Things
We went to see the Ten Thousand Things Theater Company perform Antigone recently. The script was a new version written for the group by Emily Mann. I found it a bit strained in relating the ancient Greek times to our current President and his war but overall, the acting was excellent. It always is.

Ten Thousand Things (TTT) staged the play for the general public over two weekends (six performances) at two different venues and charged $20 for each ticket. Value-wise, the money is well-spent if you like excellent drama. No one else can out-perform this group overall.

But these few public performances are for fundraising. The company's mission is to bring theater to those who rarely see it. From their mission statement:

We perform at homeless shelters, prisons and other low-income centers, using the region's finest actors, to bring to life plays by Brecht, Shakespeare, Beckett and Fornes.

Their latest tour included six correctional facilities, a couple of homeless shelters, and work centers for disabled. Because their tours rarely include a real performing stage, sets are minimal, often consisting of common objects like a step ladder where they hang things to create the scene.

The actors and actresses that work with TTT are top-notch. Rumor has it that some have chosen parts in TTT over Guthrie work (and more money).

I'd give you some links to recent cast listings but their Web site doesn't list them. In fact, the site is seriously out of date. Best I can do is a production history page that hasn't been updated since 2002. It does go back to the very beginning though; Michelle Hensley started the troupe in Los Angeles in 1991. (We are so lucky that she migrated to our city.)

M. and I give some money to the group. I realized at this last performance that TTT is a very low overhead operation so our money likely goes a lot farther than it would if we made contributions to the Guthrie or some of the other MSTs (main-stream theaters) in our area. Plus they are bringing their art to prisoners and the poor.

Go to a show. Next up is Gertrude Stein's In a Garden. It's scheduled for March of next year.

Then consider a donation.

Labels: CityLife, events, minneapolis, theater

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 5:21 PM |