Weekend Arts Roundup: Dec. 19, 2013
December 19, 2013
MPR News Arts Reporter Marianne Combs joins Steve Seel and Jill Riley to talk something for everyone, like many little holiday gifts — including something that has nothing to do with the holidays.
Nutcracker Fantasy — This year marks the 49th anniversary of Loyce Houlton's Nutcracker Fantasy performances in the Twin Cities. The production brings together 150 artists, including danceers, musicians, designers, production professionals and a group of musicians led by Philip Brunelle. Peformances run Dec. 20 to 23 at the State Theatre in Minneapolis.
All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 — Presented by Cantus, Theater Latte Da and Hennepin Theatre Trust, this production recounts the events that occurred on the Western Front in World War I on Christmas in 1914, when entrenched soldiers on both sides put down their weapons and marked the holiday by joining one another for singing, gift exchanges, food, even soccer games. All Is Calm runs Dec. 19 to 22 at the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis.
Mary Mack's Holiday Meat Raffle Show with Doggie Sweater Competition — This variety show features good acts and bad meat — raffled off by a fake butcher. Folk humorist Mary Mack hosts this interactive comdeity show, which has been performed at various venues around Los Angeles since 2008. This year marks the fourth Holiday Edition performed in the Twin Cities. This show happens tonight at 7:30 p.m. at The Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis.
Between The Worlds — In The Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre presents this tribute to the beatuty and mystery of the winter solstice. The music in this production includes choral pieces, cello, guitar, accordion, balafon, marimbas and flute. Through puppetry and masked dance, the audience and performers will celebrate the birth of the returning light. This show stages Dec. 20 and 21 at 7 p.m., and Dec. 22 at 3 p.m. at the In The Heart of the Beast Theatre in Minneapolis.
The Lower Depths — And for those wanting a break from all the holiday razzmatazz, Nimbus Theater in Minneapolis presents Maxim Gorky's masterwork, recast in the U.S. during the Great Depression. This adaptation looks at the very essence of what it is to be human, what defines us, and what can be loist in an increasingly stratified society. This show runs nightly (including tonight) until Dec. 22 at the Nimbus Theatre in Minneapolis.
Weekend Arts Roundup returns after the holidays.
Marianne Combs joins The Current's Morning Show for the Weekend Arts Roundup every Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Read about all the latest arts news at the State of the Arts blog at mprnews.org.