Test your knowledge of local robotics teams (and other area robots) with this quiz, inspired by the upcoming FIRST Robotics regional competitions taking place Mar. 3-4 at the DECC.
Our next PDD Quiz, reviewing this month’s local happenings, will be published on Feb. 26. E-mail question ideas to Alison Klawiter at [email protected] by Feb. 22.
How much do you remember about this first month of 2017? Take the quiz and find out!
Our next PDD Quiz, on the subject of robots and Duluth, will be published on Feb. 12. E-mail question ideas to Alison Klawiter at [email protected] by Feb. 8.
Out with the old, in with the new; this quiz looks ahead to coming attractions in 2017.
Our next PDD Quiz, which will be published on Jan. 29, will review the notable things that happened in our area during this first month of 2017. E-mail question ideas to Alison Klawiter at [email protected] by Jan. 25.
We bid farewell to 2016 with a recap of regional happenings.
Our next PDD Quiz, which will cover coming attractions in 2017, will be coming your way on Jan. 15. E-mail question ideas to Alison Klawiter at [email protected] by Jan. 11.
Originally, I hadn’t planned on reviewing Little Shop of Horrors, but I was so tickled by the preview show that I had to recommend it. The show works well with the venue: the intimacy of the Play Ground enhances the campy, B-movie qualities of the musical. Delightfully kitschy costumes, hair and make-up; excellent vocal performances; and palpable chemistry among the cast members make this a fun end-of-the-summer distraction.
Sondheim’s Into the Woods, with its incorporation of fractured fairy tales, may seem like kid’s stuff at first glance. In reality, it’s anything but.
The first act weaves together a number of familiar fairy tales through a quest narrative that involves a Baker and his wife securing a number of objects (a cape as red as blood, a slipper as pure as gold, etc.) to undo a curse, courtesy of the witch next door, which has left them childless.
I won’t go into a lot of detail about the intricately convoluted plot of The 39 Steps, largely because the plot resists description, but also because part of the delight of this cinematic play is to see how it all unfolds. Needless to say, it involves the usual trappings you’d expect of Hitchcockian suspense and film noir: a femme fatale, foreign espionage, and false murder accusations. With a cast of four playing innumerable characters, The 39 Steps lovingly lampoons the genres of noir (and even, at times, screwball comedy), with many winking references to Hitchcock’s oeuvre.
This review is not targeted at the (justifiably) proud parents of the cast of 13, nor anyone else who has tickets to the show in hand. Rather, this review is targeted at those of you who, like me, peruse the schedule of Duluth’s many arts events and consider a Children’s Theatre productionas something to skip. Which would be a shame, because to miss this show is to miss one of the true delights of this year’s theatre season.
The gin may not be cold (or available), but the dancing is certainly hot in the Duluth Playhouse’s production of Chicago. Set in a Prohibition-era Windy City, Chicago is inhabited by irredeemable (yet likable) hucksters and hustlers, all dancing for their lives. The bondage-lite costumes and the spare, gritty set only rarely hint at the Jazz Age, but that’s just as well: the story at the heart of Chicago, about crime, corruption, sensational journalism, the cult of celebrity and all that jazz, feels contemporary and relatable.
The Duluth Playhouse kicked off 2011 with William Inge’s Picnic, a drama that reflects on beauty and its uses, restrictive gender roles, and identity. Though Inge’s play grapples with such profound philosophical themes, it does so with plenty of sultriness and a surprising amount of fun. Through its strong performances and an absorbing plot, Picnic transports the audience to the lazy, fleeting days of summer.
In the interest of full disclosure, I admit that I suffer from almost pathological nostalgia, a condition that only becomes more acute during the holiday season. Out come boxes of familiar, musty Christmas ornaments that probably should be replaced and mountains of Scandinavian desserts from a tradition now many generations removed from my own. And the annual viewing (okay, multiple viewings) of favorite holiday films: Holiday Inn, It’s a Wonderful Life, Christmas in Connecticut, and, of course, White Christmas.
Given the inviolability of established holiday traditions, it was with a bit of trepidation that I attended a preview show of White Christmas at the Duluth Playhouse. Happily, the production did not disappoint, sailing along with plenty of glitz and good cheer. The set, framed like a vintage Christmas card, the familiar Irving Berlin tunes, vibrant mid-century costumes all invoked an amber-tinted yesteryear.
I had the opportunity to attend a performance of this charming production on opening night. A talented group of young actors and a kid-friendly run time (just over an hour) truly make this an event for the entire family (not to mention a great way to introduce a younger generation to a well-loved musical!).
Hail of bullets:
The Duluth Playhouse will be presenting The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Oct. 29 and 30 at 9:30. The event will include:
This “Floor Show” is rated R, so leave the kiddies at home. The seats in the Playhouse will be covered, to maximize mayhem.
So … who’s planning on kicking off their Halloween weekend in style with The Rocky Horror Picture Show? What transsexual Transylvanian costumes are you considering?
