Coming Up This Fall

Left: Bed Races at the Germanic-American Institute's St. Paul Octoberfest, Sept 13 - 14
Middle: Kurt Kwan in Aubergine at Park Square Theatre, Sept 20 - Oct 20
Right: Brittany Keefe, Co-Artistic Director of DanceCo, in Expectation Station, Oct 16 - 20

In the Land of 10,000 Lakes, The Minnesota State Fair marks the annual transition from summer to fall. Between checking out this year's butter sculptures and seed art to enjoying the latest foods on-a-stick, we savor those last few days before the kids head back to school with eager anticipation of what is to come. 

And there is much to anticipate this fall! Here's what's coming up:

The Germanic-American Institute celebrates St. Paul Oktoberfest at Schmidt Brewery Sept 13–14. Minnesota's most authentic Oktoberfest, festivities include a kid-friendly carnival, dacshund races, steinheben competitions, beer hall contests, and--of course--beer imported directly from Munich.

Park Square Theatre opens its 2019-2020 season with Aubergine, a contemporary drama written by Julia Cho and directed by Park Square’s Artistic Director Flordelino Lagundino (his Park Square directing debut!). Lyrical, humorous and full of love, this story of an intergenerational Korean family struggling to relate across emotional, linguistic and cultural divides plays on the Thrust Stage September 20 through October 20.

On the Proscenium Stage at Park Square, the season kicks off with Richard O’Brien's Tony Award-nominated The Rocky Horror Show, playing Sept 27 - Nov 2. Director Ilana Ransom Toeplitz says of the campy rock musical, "The whole night should feel like a party that’s been locked up in a time machine for years, begging to come out and play."

Sidekick Theatre brings David Lindsay-Abaire's Ripcord, to Ives Auditorium in the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center in Bloomington for a run of weekday matinees and occasional weekned performances Sept 25 - Nov 21. A seemingly harmless bet between two women in a senior living facility quickly escalates into a game of practical jokes and one-upmanship in this uproarious and heartwarming comedy.

For some family fun, DanceCo and the Roe Family Singers present Expectation Station at Steppingstone Theatre in St. Paul over MEA weekend, Oct 16 - 20. With some help from Engineer Paul of the "Choo Choo Bob's Train Show," this interactive one-hour show combines dance and musical theater with a little history and a lot of fun to create a truly original performance. (Don't worry - tickets include a free pre-show workshop to teach audience members about dance and movement elements of the production!)

Oratorio Society of Minnesota's fall performance, The French Connection, traces evolution of French sacred music from Gabriel Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine (1865) to Maurice Duruflé's Requiem (1947). Presented in the magnifcent space of the Basilica of Saint Mary on November 15, it promises to be an evening of sublime and powerful sacred French music performed by soloists, the Oratorio Society of Minnesota chorus, chamber orchestra and organ.