Tyler Michaels News

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts is excited to present West Side Story, April 4-16.

Hennepin Theatre Trust announced today that celebrated actors MELISSA GILBERT and TIMOTHY BUSFIELD are joining the cast of the Minnesota premiere of THE 24 HOUR PLAYS® on Monday, March 13 at 8 p.m. at the historic Pantages Theatre (710 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis). This one-night-only event brings together the extraordinary talent of local and nationally-known artists to create six new theatrical plays within 24 hours.

In celebration of the historic Pantages Theatre's 100th anniversary, Hennepin Theatre Trust and the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) School of Fine Arts are partnering to support emerging musical theatre talent in Minnesota by presenting the premiere of THE 24 HOUR PLAYS.

Trademark Theater officially launches today, November 14th, 2016 and announces their first production. Led by local theater artist Tyler Michaels (Guthrie, Theater Latte Da, History Theater), Trademark's mission is to create, develop, and produce new theatrical works in the state of Minnesota. Trademark strives to bring high-quality, original productions to life, utilizing local creators and performers from the heart of the Twin Cities arts community.

It's the halfway point of the 11-day, 168-show Minnesota Fringe Festival. I've seen 29 shows in the last 6 days, with 20+ more scheduled for the final 5 days of the fest. The new system of daily wristbands that get you into any and all shows that day seems to be working great. The handy Fringe website has all the information you'll need about schedule, venues, cast and creative team, and reviews from people who have already seen the show. The Fringe continues through Sunday August 14, so there's still time to get your Fringe on!

Not often are we treated to a brand new musical theatre piece created by three local legends and acted by a dream cast of eight popular local performers. A NIGHT IN OLYMPUS is a rare treat on all counts. We get to hear directly from the creator and composer, Chan Poling, in this 6 Questions & a Plug.

In the newest work by the creators of the smash hit Glensheen, Chan Poling's rocking rhythms, Jeffrey Hatcher's wicked wit and Bill Corbett's zany imagination come together to create a headlong ride filled with silliness, surprises and good feeling fun. A NIGHT IN OLYMPUS, a fresh musical comedy and tale of transformation, opens tonight, May 7 at 8 p.m. at the Illusion Theater, located on the eighth floor of The Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts, 528 Hennepin Ave. in downtown Minneapolis.

In the newest work by the creators of the smash hit Glensheen, Chan Poling's rocking rhythms, Jeffrey Hatcher's wicked wit and Bill Corbett's zany imagination come together to create a headlong ride filled with silliness, surprises and good feeling fun. A NIGHT IN OLYMPUS, a fresh musical comedy and tale of transformation, opens Saturday, May 7 at 8 p.m. at the Illusion Theater, located on the eighth floor of The Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts, 528 Hennepin Ave. in downtown Minneapolis.

2016 is the fourth year of Broadway Reimagined, the partnership that combines the resources of Hennepin Theatre Trust with the innovation of Theater Latte Da to create a new interpretation of a familiar Broadway musical. This year's selection is a beloved classic of the American musical theater canon, the 1959 Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim/Arthur Laurents creation GYPSY, based on the memoir of burlesque entertainer Gypsy Rose Lee. Theater Latte Da did this musical almost ten years ago in their old home The Loring Playhouse. Even though two actors reprise their roles, as do the director, music director, and choreographer, this is a different show in a bigger venue. And I'm convinced there is no better venue for this show in the Twin Cities than the beautifully restored Vaudeville theater that is the Pantages, where the historical characters in the play very likely performed nearly 100 years ago. There's a sense of history in this show which, along with Theater Latte Da's usual attention to detail in every aspect of the production, creates a beautiful, realistic, moving look into the world of show business and the quintessential stage mother/daughter relationship. As the song says, let Theater Latte Da entertain you, you will have a real good time, yes sir!

Hennepin Theatre Trust today announced the 2016-2017 Broadway on Hennepin Season, featuring the best of Broadway with five Minnesota premieres and five returning favorites. Making their Minneapolis premieres are Fun Home, winner of five 2015 Tony Awards including Best Musical; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the 2015 Tony Award-winning Best Play; and Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I, the critically acclaimed 2015 Tony Award winner for Best Revival of a Musical.

Happy Holidays! It's the last week to vote for the 2015 BroadwayWorld Minneapolis Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 18. Nominations were reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors. Voting runs through December 31!

Time is running out to vote for the 2015 BroadwayWorld Minneapolis Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 18. Nominations were reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors. Voting runs through December 31!

Voting is fully underway for the 2015 BroadwayWorld Minneapolis Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 11. Nominations were reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors. Voting runs through December 31.

Voting has opened for the 2015 BroadwayWorld Minneapolis Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of November 27th. Nominations were reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors. Voting runs through December 31.

GYPSY, often lauded by critics as the greatest American musical, is the latest in the award-winning Broadway Re-Imagined series produced collaboratively by Hennepin Theatre Trust and Theater Latte Da.

Voting has opened for the 2015 BroadwayWorld Minneapolis Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of November 27th. Nominations were reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors. Voting runs through December 31.

Mark Benninghofen is known to many from years of performances at the Guthrie, on screen and in the ad world but not so much in musicals. Learn more about the man and this musical and get to Latte Da to see it pronto.

Friends, Theater Latte Da has done it again. They've created a music-theater production that is so stirring and chilling, it's nothing short of brilliant. After the delightfully innovative and stripped-down INTO THE WOODS this spring, they return to Sondheim with a similarly innovative and stripped-down SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET. But where INTO THE WOODS was a fun and slightly sinister mish-mash of classic fairy tales, SWEENEY is all darkness and death, albeit with a bit of dark humor. Director Peter Rothstein again cast just ten actors in the show, many playing multiple roles and all perfect for the parts, and Denise Prosek leads a pared down orchestra of just four, that still somehow sounds musically full on this gorgeous and disturbing score. With a couple of actors not known for their singing leading this talented cast, and a cohesive look to the set, costumes, and theater space that is well used, this SWEENEYis completely engaging and all-consuming, and brilliantly shows what Latte Da can do with not musical theater, but theater musically.

On Monday night I attended my 9th Ivey Awards. Yes, even before I started Cherry and Spoon in 2010 and started getting press tickets to the event in 2013, I was still a theater geek (read all the words I've written about the Iveys here). The Ivey Awards are my favorite theater night of the year, not so much for the awards themselves, but because it's a celebration of another year of amazing local theater that gathers all of my favorite theater artists in one room. Even though I've met many of them, I still get starstruck when I walk through the crowd and every other face I see is someone I've enjoyed watching on stage. I love to watch awards shows on TV so it's a thrill to get all glammed up and actually attend one in person. I even painted my toenails with a glittery green called 'One Short Day' - appropriate because of its musical theater geekiness and and because this event that I look forward to all year goes by in a whirlwind of people and honorees and loud music and conversations. And now it's over for another year, but more great theater is still to come which we will be celebrating next year!

Helly my Broadway World Minneapolis friends. I know it's been a while since I've shared anything with you, but that's because I've been all-consumed by the 174-show 11-day festival that is the Minnesota Fringe. If you have not yet sampled from this glorious smorgasbord, don't worry, the fest continues through August 9 with 4-7 shows offered each day at 15 venues in Minneapolis, plus 9 site-specific shows. Believe me, I understand that this can be overwhelming, but I'm here to help. Read on to see a list of my 10 favorite shows of the Fringe so far. Now get out there, open your eyes and your heart and your mind, and see some of the beautiful, challenging, hilarious, disturbing, silly, profound, amazing theater that this festival has to offer.