nov04b.indd


ACRL NATIONAL CONFERENCE 

The
theater
scene


in
Minneapolis
and
St.
Paul



Explore the arts during the ACRL National Conference 

by Julia Kelly 

The Guthrie Theatre is located just a few blocks from 
the conference hotels. 

named
for
its
founder,
Broadway
director
Sir

Tyrone
Guthrie.
With
a
resident
acting
com­
pany,
the
Guthrie
puts
on
about
ten
plays
a

year,
 ranging
 from
 classics
 by
 Shakespeare


If
 you
 haven’t
 been
 to
 the
 Twin
 Cities
 of
Minneapolis
and
St.
Paul
before,
you
might

have
heard
of
our
lakes,
parks,
and,
of
course,

the
snow.
Add
to
that
a
vibrant
and
diverse

theater
 scene,
 with
 more
 than
 25
 venues

and
 more
 than

50
 theater
 com­
panies.
 Two
 of

them,
the
Guthrie

Theater
 and
 the

Children’s
 The­
ater
 Company,

are
 recipients
 of

Tony
 awards
 for

regional
theater.


Perhaps
 the

m o s t 
 f a m o u s 

theater
 in
 the

Twin
Cities
is
the

Guthrie
 Theater,


or
 Tennessee
 Williams
 to
 works
 by
 new

playwrights.
In
2003,
the
Guthrie
premiered

the
 new
 Arthur
 Milller
 play,
 Resurrection 
Blues. 

The
Guthrie
is
currently
located
less
than

a
mile
from
the

conference
 ho­
tels,
although
a

new
multi­stage

building
 is
 un­
der
construction

near
the
Missis­
sippi
Riverfront

at
the
other
end

of
 downtown

Minneapolis.


T h e 
 T w i n 

Cities
are
a
fre­
quent
 destina­

tion
 for
 national

touring
 companies
 presenting
 Broadway

productions.
During
the
conference,
St.
Paul’s

Ordway
 Center
 McKnight
 Theater
 will
 be

hosting
My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank 

About
the
author


Julia Kelly is reference librarian at the University of Minnesota’s Magrath Library, e-mail: jkelly@umn.edu 

© 2004 Julia Kelly 

590 / C&RL News November 2004 

mailto:jkelly@umn.edu


Sinatra,
while
the
Orpheum
Theater
in
Min­
neapolis
will
be
featuring
The Lion King. 

Venues
in
Minneapolis,
many
near
the

ACRL
Conference
hotels

A
 number
 of
 smaller
 companies
 may
 be

found
 on
 both
 sides
 of
 the
 Mississippi,

from
 the
 downtown
 areas
 to
 the
 outer

suburbs.
In
Minneapolis,
a
number
of
the­
aters
are
a
short
cab
ride
from
the
confer­
ence
hotels.


The
Children’s
Theater
Company
focuses

on
 productions
 of
 interest
 to
 playgoers

young
and
old.
Housed
at
the
Minneapolis

Institute
of
Arts
(site
of
the
ACRL
All­Con­
ference
Reception),
this
comfortable
venue

features
 plenty
 of
 room
 between
 rows
 for

young
attendees
to
move
about.
In
addition

to
the
productions,
more
than
800
students

participate
 in
 the
 company’s
 Theater
 Arts

Training
 program.
 Recent
 productions

include
 Pippi Longstocking, The Wizard 
of Oz, and The Lion, The Witch and The 
Wardrobe. 

The
Jungle
Theater,
in
the
Uptown
area

south
of
downtown,
has
a
newly
remodeled,

intimate
 setting
 within
 a
 block
 of
 several

reasonably
 priced
 ethnic
 restaurants.
 The

2005
 season
 was
 not
 announced
 in
 time

for
 this
 publication,
 but
 recent
 offerings

include
classics
as
well
as
works
by
young

playwrights.


Mixed
Blood
Theater,
near
the
University

of
Minnesota
campus,
is
a
professional
mul­
tiracial
theater
company
promoting
cultural

pluralism.
During
conference,
they
will
be

performing Take Me Out,
a
2003
Tony
Award

winner.


The
Illusion
Theater
in
downtown
Min­
neapolis
 features
 a
 Fresh
 Ink
 series
 each

summer,
 with
 new
 plays
 by
 local
 and
 re­
gional
artists.


Theater
in
the
Round,
a
small
venue
with

a
 thrust
 stage,
 is
 also
 near
 the
 University

of
 Minnesota.
 Performances
 are
 a
 mix
 of

classics
 from
 authors
 such
 as
 Shakespeare

and
 Chekhov
 to
 local
 premieres;
 in
 early

April,
 a
 comedy
 called
 Apartment 3A will

be
playing.


The
 University
 of
 Minnesota’s
 theater

and
dance
group’s
Mainstage
performances

are
very
reasonably
priced,
and
during
the

conference,
 they
 will
 be
 performing
 The 
Laramie Project. 

Brave
New
Workshop,
a
comedy
theater

focusing
 on
 social
 and
 political
 satire,
 re­
cently
celebrated
its
45th
anniversary.
Recent

performances
 include
 Minnesota: It’s Not 
Just for Lutherans Anymore. Theatre
 de
 la

Jeune
Lune,
a
company
with
a
strong
French

connection,
 strives
 “to
 create
 an
 entirely

new
kind
of
theater
that
is
immediate,
high

spirited,
passionately
physical,
and
visually

spectacular.”
In
early
April
2005,
Jeune
Lune

will
be
performing
The Little Prince. 

Selected
theater
performances

during
ACRL’s
Annual
Conference


As You Like It by William Shakespeare 
Guthrie
Theater


www.guthrietheater.org/



Take Me Out 

Mixed
Blood
Theater



www.mixedblood.com/



The Lion King 

Orpheum
Theatre



www.state­orpheum.com/



Stage Directions 

Penumbra
Theater



www.penumbratheatre.org/



The Little Prince 

Theatre
de
la
Jeune
Lune



www.jeunelune.com/



Apartment 3A 

Theater
in
the
Round



www.theatreintheround.org



The Laramie Project 

University
Theater:
Mainstage


www.cla.umn.edu/theatre/season


/mainstage.html


C&RL News November 2004 / 591 

www.cla.umn.edu/theatre/season
http:www.theatreintheround.org
http:www.jeunelune.com
http:www.penumbratheatre.org
http:www.state-orpheum.com
http:www.mixedblood.com
http:www.guthrietheater.org


Also
in
Minneapolis,
but
a
bit
further
from

the
conference
center,
there
are
a
number

of
other
companies,
including
In
the
Heart

of
 the
 Beast
 Puppet
 and
 Mask
 Theater.

These
 are
 no
 ordinary
 puppets—many
 are

six­to­eight
feet
tall.
Pillsbury
House
Theatre,

in
south
Minneapolis,
is
a
small
theater
that

features
 area
 premiers
 as
 well
 as
 classics,

often
tackling
social
issues.


The
 Bryant
 Lake
 Bowl,
 in
 the
 Uptown

area,
 is
 a
 trendy
 combination
 bowling
 al­
ley/restaurant/theater
that
highlights
comic

performances
and
local
talent.


Venues
in
St.
Paul
and
other
local

communities

St.
Paul
is
home
to
the
Great
American
His­
tory
Theatre,
which
focuses
on
plays
with
a

connection
to
the
historical
aspects
of
Min­
nesota
 and
 the
 region.
 Recent
 plays
 have

covered
 the
 topics
 of
 immigrants,
 racism,

and
celebrities
with
local
connections.


Penumbra
Theater’s
mission
is
“to
create

professional
productions
that
are
artistically

excellent,
thought
provoking,
relevant,
en­
tertaining,
 and
 presented
 from
 an
 African

American
perspective.”
Each
year
they
put

on
a
holiday
production
entitled
Black Na­
tivity,
 which
 is
 rich
 in
 dance
 and
 evolves

from
 year
 to
 year.
 During
 the
 conference

they
 will
 be
 performing
 Stage Directions, 
a
 play
 that
 examines
 egos,
 tempers,
 and

sexual
politics
against
the
backdrop
of
the

theater
world.


The
 Old
 Log
 Theater
 in
 Excelsior,
 a

western
suburb
of
Minneapolis,
started
as
a

summer
stock
theater
in
1940
in
a
log
stable.

The
beautiful
log
venue
that
they
currently

inhabit
includes
a
restaurant,
and
the
com­
pany
focuses
on
contemporary
comedies.


The
 Chanhassen
 Dinner
 Theatre,
 also

west
of
the
city,
is
really
an
entertainment

complex
with
several
theaters.
It
is
a
din­
ner
 theater
 and
 the
 productions
 include

musical
reviews
as
well
as
classic
musical

theater.


Special
interest
theater
groups

Outward
 Spiral
 Theatre
 Company
 features


productions
that
focus
on
the
lives,
issues,

and
points­of­view
of
gay,
lesbian,
bisexu­
al,
and
transgender
people
and
their
allies.

They
perform
at
the
Loring
Playhouse,
not

far
from
the
conference
hotels.


Mu
Performing
Arts
is
a
group
that
has
a

wide
range
of
offerings
focusing
in
the
lives

of
Asian
Americans,
from
Taiko
drumming
to

play
readings
to
musical
performances.


The
Minnesota
Jewish
Theatre
Company,

based
in
St.
Paul,
focuses
on
“telling
stories

of
our
common
search
for
identity
in
a
mul­
ticultural
world.”
Recent
productions
include

The Chosen
and
Talley’s Folly. 

Founded
in
1963,
the
Minnesota
Opera

performs
 at
 the
 Ordway
 Center
 for
 the

Performing
 Arts
 in
 St.
 Paul.
 Although
 no

performances
 will
 be
 taking
 place
 during

conference,
the
Minnesota
Opera’s
2004–05

season
 includes
 Madame Butter fly
 and

Nixon in China. 

The
Minnesota
Fringe
Festival
is
a
ten­day

summer
 festival
 with
 hundreds
 of
 perfor­
mances
at
more
than
20
different
venues.
It

is
the
largest
fringe
festival
in
the
country.


Obtaining
tickets

Although
 a
 few
 theater
 companies
 in
 the

Twin
Cities
use
Ticketmaster
as
their
sales

agent,
a
number
of
them
use
a
local
com­
pany
 called
 TicketWorks,
 which
 does
 not

add
a
service
charge
to
the
ticket
prices.


Discount
tickets
to
many
theater
and
mu­
sic
performances
are
available
from
TC
Tix.

The
majority
of
tickets
are
for
events
out
just

a
day
or
two,
but
a
few
are
for
events
out
a

week
or
more.
Tickets
must
be
purchased

in
 person;
 one
 of
 the
 TC
 Tix
 outlets
 is
 at

Marshall
Field’s
in
downtown
Minneapolis,

just
four
blocks
up
the
Nicollet
Mall.


Links
to
Web
sites
available


online



Make
 sure
 to
 visit
 the
 online
 version

of
 this
 article
 for
 links
 to
 the
 Web
 sites

of
 the
 venues
 listed
 here
 (www.ala.org

/acrl,
 select
 “C&RL
 News”
 from
 the

Quicklinks
dropdown
menu).


592 / C&RL News November 2004 

http:www.ala.org