Josh Kaplan was frustrated. He was pursuing a theater degree at the University and was involved in many productions. But he was tired of performing for the same people over and over. So after he got that...

The history of a people often is told through literature - storytelling or the written word. Or maybe it's shown through artifacts and their narration of technology. For the Textile Center, though, history...

University student Alicia Saari never thought her gymnastic talent would take her to Hollywood. After all, her best performances had always been on the balance beam, not the big screen. But after a friend...

A rape victim is denied emergency contraception. A teenage girl asks her boyfriend to hit her in the stomach with a baseball bat after a pregnancy crisis center lies to her about her options. This isn't...

By day, the Rarig Center's Thrust Theatre is a classroom. By night, it becomes a 1930s Berlin nightclub full of love affairs and provocative behavior. Welcome to "Cabaret," a musical set in the dark, smoky...

Art exhibits showcase the works of the artists, but they rarely offer insight into the artists' inspiration. Here four of the five Master of Fine Arts students answer questions about muses and future plans,...

It was only a few hours before the exhibit's opening reception. But one of the show's two featured artists was still hard at work - buying wine. So it is at the Rosalux Gallery. Here, artists worry about...

The University's dance students are learning about more than choreography these days. A few, it would seem, are majoring in ticket sales. For their sixth annual spring show, dancers are put in charge of...

You'd have as much luck asking a dance company to improvise an entire ballet as you would trying to get the rights to a Jirí Kylián piece. The neoclassical choreographer has been sought after...

The most famous pieces of Eastern art are known for their opulence, their rich decadence and their bright colors. But sumptuousness and magnificence often overshadow the relationship a viewer enjoys with...

A vendetta is more than mere retribution or retaliation. It's more than holding a grudge or seeking vengeance. A vendetta is a bitter and destructive feud in which the opposing parties show no mercy in...

Just give me a call whenever you're free," Santino Fontana said in a voice mail, "and hopefully we can talk about 'Hamlet' and all that kind of stuff." Talk about modesty. Fontana, a University alumnus,...

The human form takes many shapes, from a delicate creature on the verge of breaking to a strong, powerful, iconic figure. For artist Kiki Smith, though, the human form is both frail and tough. Her contradictory...

I would have liked "Aquamarine" more if it were released a decade ago. But as of last week I was a college kid in a theater full of 'tweens clutching shiny purses and slushies. I felt, ahem, a bit like...

Frankenstein in Love' is a play designed to disturb and scare its audience; to take them by their clammy hands Ö to show them sights that they will not readily forget." ' Clive Barker Theater arts junior...

Tisch Jones was a self-proclaimed troublemaker when she was a University student in the 1970s. "I got kicked out of costume shop once because I broke a sewing machine," she said, stifling a laugh. But...

Take the classic love story of Cyrano de Bergerac, move the setting from France to the American West and tweak the story to show the struggles Asian Americans face. And donít forget to add some comedy. The...

In a converted dance studio on the second floor of a downtown building, Jeff Millikan creates photography. He fills his studio with an enormous camera, sizable photos of beeswax and a darkroom. In a very...

There was no denying it was February in Minnesota. Brisk winds howled past the Tapestry Folkdance Center, and the snow layered the sidewalk. But inside felt a bit... tropical. Todd Bierbrauer had brought...

The Stoll Thrust stage in the Rarig Center is a long way from the runways of Paris, Milan and New York City. In fact, it isn't even a runway. But for 16 seniors in the clothing design department, that...

Almost 40 years have passed since the assassination of a man who gave voice to the civil rights struggle. But the issues he fought for " and died for " remain. This week, University students will add their...

Valentine's Day is approaching, but the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group isn't focusing on chocolates and teddy bears. Just as "The Vagina Monologues" famously voiced the word vagina, the organization's...

Tasha Clearman's family, friends and classmates applauded as the lights dimmed. Clearman and her accompanist stepped onto the stage of Lloyd Ultan Recital Hall the night of Jan. 19. She stood in the center...

Twenty years have passed since Kaye Gibbons introduced Ellen Foster to the world with her first novel, "Ellen Foster." Gibbons is only now publishing that book's sequel. But she didn't worry about being...

It's like a dream: Slow-motion images accelerate to fast-forward, like a speeding car; color changes to black-and-white and back again; jarring and disjointed images overlap; the echoes of voices resonate...

It began in 1976 on a trip to the Soviet Union. Lyndel King, now curator of the Weisman Art Museum, saw a painting in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. It was a portrait of a woman in a blue...

Predicting the future is tough stuff. And predicting the future of black culture is even harder. "Afrofuturism," the newest installation at the Soap Factory, looks ahead while touching on the now and then. The...

Sultry jazz led the ballet dancers through their sometimes soft, sometimes sharp movements. A voice suddenly filled the room. "It's a da'k night in a city that knows how to keep its secrets," it said in...

History is often told from one point of view. In conflict or in war, the victors record the history. And with the opposition repressed, following generations are taught only a portion of what really happened. Teatro...

Fairy tales and comic books teach us that monsters are scary, deformed creatures. Monsters instill fear in human hearts. They are outcasts devoid of attention and love. But later in life, we understand...

With flashing lights and enough bass to satisfy a 16-year-old's subwoofer fetish, "4-ISH" is not just a show - it's a performing arts bonanza. It combines acrobatics, beat-boxing and kung fu, throwing...

The room was quiet, except for the intermittent chatter of passing art students. Despite the silence and the passage of almost 300 years, it's easy to imagine the room as it must have been when it was...

.And, unfortunately, it takes an hour and a half to get to the moral. From Danny Boyle, the director of "28 Days Later" and "Trainspotting," the movie tells the story of two brothers who find a duffel...

Syrupy sweetness can't mask the pain of racism. Soulistic Playhouse's production of "Re/membering Aunt Jemima: A Menstrual Show" brings the marketing icon to life as she and her 13 "daughters," varying...

Children learn by emulating their parents. Morals, values and beliefs are passed down from one generation to the next. But there are parents who get caught up in their own lives and forget the repercussions...

As hobbies go, knitting rarely brings to mind young people and a hip, pop-culture moment. Knitting and crocheting have exploded across the country, and, surprisingly, the trend is especially popular with...

Elegance and innovation take this company beyond ballroom, but a little comedy never hurt, either. The Southern Theater will host the Beyond Ballroom Dance Company for a two-week run that includes a smash...

Fresh off the success of their last album, "Dovetail," Chris Cunningham and John Hermanson have done it again. "Duotones: A Tribute to Duos of the '70s" recalls an era of tie-dye shirts, peasant blouses,...

Hop on a westbound route 16 bus from the University and in about 10 minutes you'll arrive at Nicollet Mall, home to bookstores and pharmacies, discount stores and haute couture. A huge hole surrounded...

With a unique staging of one of Broadway's most beloved musicals, phenomenal dancing and impressive costumes, the crew at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres has shown that a play about felines that dance and sing...

Many stories have arisen about the kindness shown on that fateful day two Septembers ago, and one of the few that might not have garnered as much attention concerns the town of Gander, Newfoundland. Once...

For those who already own both "Lord of the Rings" movies, the books, the board games and all the other odds and ends, try a classic. Ever wonder who Frodo's parents were? Flip to page 193 for a minibiography...

Some sophomore attempts show that the success of an artist's first album was simply a fluke; others, thankfully, show the improvement and growth of the performer. Josh Groban's newest compact disc, "Closer,"...

Halfway through the first song, the audience realized backup bands and orchestras are overrated. Ball in the House, a six-man Boston-based a capella group, brought its distinctive pop and R&B style...

Some things just get better with time. With a strong following of college students and coffeehouse regulars, the acoustic duo of Chris Cunningham and Johnny Hermanson, also known as Storyhill, has released...

Despite the recent snowfall, Christmas is still weeks away. But after wandering through Marshall Field's re-creation of Roald Dahl's "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," visions of dancing sugar plums...

I"With sloping masts and dipping prow As who pursued with yell and blow Still treads the shadow of his foe And forward bends his head The ship drove fast, loud roared the blast The southward aye we fled."...

Cummings Books and the Book House are like party poppers: They don't seem like much on the outside, but inside they're full of surprises. When you think you have covered every inch of space, just peek...

Critical acceptance really has been a "Long Time Coming" for an artist who had two platinum albums and a Grammy nomination by the time he turned 19. Jonny Lang first made a splash on the music scene at...

Don't worry if a strangely dressed person wearing more black eye makeup than an NFL quarterback approaches you at the theater and asks, "Are you a virgin?" It's all part of the tradition, part of the phenomenon...

Peanut butter just isn't the same without jelly; you hardly ever see Bert if Ernie isn't there, and what good are Cheerios without milk? "A Grand Night for Singing," now playing at the Ordway Center for...

If all marching bands sounded like this, attendance at sporting events would skyrocket. Drawing from selections as diverse as Maurice Ravel's "Bolero" and Aaron Copland's "Simple Gifts" to "Malaguena"...

I t took more than a week, but the Big Ten finally has one at all eleven campuses. Seven Days is the name of the University's new a capella choir. The choir is led by Anthony Brown and Brienne Foyt. "I...