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From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the original submission.

Jean Shore of Balsam Lake, Wis., recommends crossing into Wisconsin for an evening of American roots music. 

 in St. Croix Falls this Saturday, June 7 at 7 p.m.

 Each performer brings a unique voice and style to the stage, blending folk and country and heartfelt storytelling. But what makes this even more exciting is the venue itself. 

The Historic Auditorium was built in 1916 and was recently renovated in 2023, and it’s quickly becoming a cultural hub for this area.

Twin Cities theater maker Kurt Engh recommends seeing 

Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Passion,”

Written by the same team that created “Into the Woods,” the show runs through July 13.

 “Passion” is one of Stephen Sondheim’s lesser-known musicals, but one of his most complex and most honest and emotional.

It is a melodramatic story set in 1860s Italy during the unification of Italy. It is an uneven love triangle between a beautiful married woman, a very handsome army captain and a in the terms of the musical, a “troubled, ugly woman.” And it is about how love and desire are reflected through beauty and beauty standards.

It is a very fascinating musical in that it is directed as almost a chamber opera at a breakneck speed. There are no applause breaks. It does not let you go. It just keeps moving.

Michael Krefting of Minneapolis loves the improv scene in the Twin Cities, and he recommends the 

 happening Thursday through Sunday, June 8. 

This is the annual festival’s first year at the Phoenix Theater in Minneapolis, following the closing of HUGE Improv Theater last year.

 They have artists coming in from all over the world, a couple artists coming in from Japan. There are a lot of local names. When they select the artists for the festival, they’re always trying to get the local groups that are doing either the most interesting things or doing something new and creative that's picking up steam. 

The whole improv community is very welcoming. And I would, I would come ready to not just laugh but also feel. I would say to expect the unexpected!

(Want more improv? Krefting also recommends 

 Every first, second, and fourth Sunday, four or five improv groups are chosen by lottery to perform, offering an affordable evening of “yes, and” energy.)

Author

Art Hounds recommend Americana in the Historic Auditorium, Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Passion” and the Twin Cities Improv Festival

Art Hounds: Americana, Sondheim and Twin Cities improv

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