Handel’s Messiah

Handel’s Messiah at Orchestra Hall from the nosebleed section, aka the gods (UK English). First performed in Dublin in 1742 it still sounds good today, even from the cheap seats.

Beyond the Boundaries of Art

I ventured behind the blackout curtain on the left to find utter darkness. As I waited for my eyes to adjust, it dawned on me that this was not part of the exhibition. I quickly retreated back into the light, just as a docent approached. A mea culpa was in order.

Categorized as Arts

A Splash of Color

On my gray, misty Mississippi walk, a vibrant mural splashed across a concrete wall stabilizing the riverbank. “What Will Sustain Us?”—art that discourages taggers and transforms the mundane.

Guns and Murder

A light dusting of snow was forming as we walked to Theatre in the Round for an adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel. Predictably, the playbill cautioned us to expect gunfire and murder.

Expanding the Repertoire

View from the lobby of Orchestra Hall while enjoying a pre-concert glass of wine. Tonight the Minnesota Orchestra featured pieces by six black composers, including two women. The art form tends to be Eurocentric, sometimes stodgy; tonight was refreshing, mixing it up.

Cloudy with a Chance of Theater

Woke up to cloud-capped towers of Downtown. In the foreground, Gold Medal Park is putting on a fall display. Beyond the park, the Logitech-blue Guthrie awaits, where this evening we’ll take in “For the People,” written by local Native playwrights about the local Native community.

The Magical Realism of Japan

Dwight’s in Fargo visiting his mom, so I decided to watch some anime. Chose “Paprika” where dreams and reality lose boundaries. Magical realism pervades anime, as well as much of the Japanese literature I’ve read in translation, and (for me) Japan itself. I keep going back for more.

Poetry Costs Extra

At the end of our Sunday morning walk, stopped by Open Book for expertly prepared coffees. The space houses various book-related nonprofits, as evidenced by this gumball machine selling poetry at 50 cents a pop.

Exiting the Guthrie After a Torrent of Wit

Our (almost) secret fast exit from the Guthrie Theater, several floors up, after The Importance of Being Earnest. It beats the crush for the escalator and elevators.

Categorized as Arts