Arts Briefs: Final theater season for Mu director
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Arts Briefs is a weekly roundup of Minnesota Arts News compiled by the MPR News arts team.
New season from Theater Mu
Theater Mu in St. Paul has announced its next season. This will be the final one for artistic director Lily Tung Crystal before she takes the lead at East West Players in Los Angeles.
The season will begin in February with “Fifty Boxes of Earth,” a retelling of Dracula that casts the vampire as a struggling immigrant experiencing xenophobia.
Other shows will include the folkloric “When You Trap a Tiger” and “Stop Kiss,” a play about the aftermath of a hate crime.
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The theater will also bring back its annual New Eyes Festival in November, a play-reading series featuring Asian American playwrights.
Visit the Theater Mu website for more information.
Glittering glamour
Performer Carlisle Evans Peck, along with an ensemble of musicians, will perform “Iconoclasm” Friday and Saturday at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis.
The original musical performance, drawing from balladry, glam rock and drag performance, tells forgotten queer narratives “with maximal glitter.”
A greater Minnesota tour of the show will begin Aug. 10 in Orono.
Fargo theater thrives
The historic Fargo Theatre has been awarded $10,000 to both stay historic and meet future needs.
The money is meant to continue the theater’s efforts to increase diverse audiences, performers and filmmakers.
The money is from The Arts Partnership, which is a local nonprofit arts organization in the Fargo-Moorhead area. It awarded over a $100,000 to dozens of grantees. The Fargo Theatre saw the highest dollar amount.
The money will also go toward funding the Fargo Film Festival, and keeping those marquee lightbulbs out front at the theater flashing and bright.
Lakewalk rhythms
There will be a free outdoor dance festival in Duluth Friday and Saturday nights at Gichi-Ode’ Akiing Park.
The event, Dances on the Lakewalk, is produced by choreographers from Duluth and the Twin Cities. There will be jazz, folk, modern and lyrical dance performances.
This will be followed by folk dance lessons from the Tamarack Dance Association.
Freedom through art
A mobile exhibition of art by prisoners begins touring Minnesota Friday.
The exhibit is titled “Artwork, once captive has gone free.” It’s a collaboration between ArtReach St. Croix and the Stillwater Prison Education Department and features memoirs and visual artwork produced as part of the art program at the prison.
The exhibit is on view at Afton State Park and will appear at five other locations through the summer. For more information, visit the ArtReach St. Croix website.
Clay day display
Saturday, the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis is having an open house that will include a pottery sale and drop-in workshop. The open house will include a public reception for the organization’s annual McKnight Ceramic Artist Fellows exhibition.
The McKnight Fellowship Program provides annual, unrestricted cash awards to outstanding mid-career Minnesota artists. The exhibition will feature ceramic artists Chotsani Elaine Dean and Anna Metcalfe.
The open house will take place from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The exhibit will run through Aug. 8.
Historic page parade
The Minnesota Antiquarian Book Fair begins Friday in St. Paul. This annual event presents rare and historic printed works to the public, with vendors available for both experienced buyers and people who are just starting to explore the world of collectible books.
The Book Fair will offer published work on a variety of topics, including classic and genre literature, antique maps and children’s books. The fair also offers an increased focus on books and manuscripts that highlight underrepresented groups.
The event begins at 3 p.m. at Hamline University and continues through Saturday.
Francophone features
The 8th annual Lumieres Francaises film festival starts Friday at the Main Cinema in Minneapolis.
The MSP Film Society will host the celebration of Francophone cinema through July 18. The lineup includes the 1966 film “Black Girl” by renowned Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène.
There is also the 2023 biopic “Widow Clicquot.” It’s based on the true story of a twentysomething 19th-century French woman who took on her late husband’s fledgling champagne business. Now known worldwide as Veuve Clicquot.
Artistic assemblage at the Walker
The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis has announced its next season of performing arts.
The season will begin in September with a musical performance by poet, musician and activist Moor Mother titled “The Great Bailout.” The piece explores the legacy of colonialism, slavery and commerce in Great Britain and the United States.
The season will also include choreographer Ralph Lemon in collaboration with artist Kevin Beasley and a new work from Minnesota-based choreographer Mathew Janczewski.
For the remainder of the season, visit the Walker’s website.
