Walked into Orchestra Hall for pre-show drinks ahead of a Minnesota Orchestra concert featuring works by Kurt Weill, Saint-Saëns, and Ravel that were not The Threepenny Opera, Carnival of the Animals, or Bolero, respectively.
Category: Create
Relaxed and spontaneous at the Dakota
Tonight, two accomplished artists we’ve seen before at the Dakota: Dee Dee Bridgewater accompanied by Bill Charlap. Their performances were relaxed, low-key, and wonderfully spontaneous. They focused on The American Songbook with no set list, leaning heavily on scat and improvisation.
Reaching for the sky
The rain decided it was a day for a skyway walk. With almost 10 miles of these elevated pathways, I find it best not to plan a specific route. Instead, I set a target: today, the convention center. But the circuitous skyway system had other plans, offering me my city from many different angles.
From IKEA to art
Saw the “Jessi Reaves: process invented the mirror” exhibition at the Walker today, featuring impractical furniture built from found objects. I couldn’t stop remembering a day when Dwight and I were a great source of amusement for my father-in-law as we struggled to assemble an IKEA storage unit for him. This exhibition really took the idea of “furniture as a challenge” to the next level.
Nora’s groundbreaking walk
Tonight at the Guthrie’s A Doll’s House, I anticipated the moment the central protagonist, Nora, walks out into the snow, leaving her home and loveless marriage. Earlier, I had learned from the Guthrie’s study guide that this depiction of Nora was groundbreaking in 1879. Back in the elevator in our building, we had to reassure a neighbor who had attended the performance that Nora was seeking a new life, not ending her own.
Processing The Ruins: living, dying
Walked over to the Guthrie for the first production in the Dowling Studio since its closure due to the pandemic. The new play, The Ruins, is mildly surreal and explores themes of living well and dying well: I’m still figuring it out. Here, one of the two actors was already on stage as the audience filed in.
Where industry meets art
Got a preview of Chroma Zone Mural & Art Festival later this month in an industrial area of St. Paul. Over the years, more than 80 murals have been painted on industrial buildings in the neighborhood, and it’s surprisingly free of graffiti. This year’s festival includes this new mural, “Pitzik’ Q’ij: Court of the Sun” by local artist Cadex Herrera. His mural depicting George Floyd against a massive sunflower is recognized worldwide.
Affirming life at the Dakota
Tonight: dinner and a high-energy evening with Aloe Blacc on his ‘We Stand Together’ tour at the Dakota.
A thread to my childhood
While walking to Zen Box Izakaya for dinner, we passed the Guthrie Theater, whose thrust stage towered above us. The 2025–26 season had just been put on display, but we already have season tickets. When I was a teenager in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, my mother and I regularly had season tickets for the People’s Theatre. My need for theater has persisted since.
Art truck at the House of Balls
On our walk, I introduced my friends to the House of Balls, where we saw sculptures all over the property made from found materials—including this whimsical art truck. Artist Allen Christian has been doing this for over 30 years. The property appears in articles with titles like “Weirdest Museums in Minnesota” and “Twin Cities’ Most Fantastically Odd Museum.”