'Tis the Season

The holiday season is in full swing! If you're looking for an escape from some of the season's chaos--or if you're in the mood for some great, toe-tapping music, don't miss The Soul of Gershwin: The Musical Journey of an American Klezmer, playing through Dec. 31 at Park Square Theatre.

And, the holiday season means the new year is right around the corrner! We're already busy gearing up for 2017 which is promising to be a great year for the Twin Cities theatre, music, and arts scenes. Here's's what's happening in January:

At Park Square Theatre, the Andy Boss Thrust Stage will feature Big Money, a new play presented and created by Sandbox Theatre, a Theatre in Residence, from Jan. 12 - 28. Then, from Jan. 20 - Feb. 19 on the Proscenium Stage, Park Square Theatre and Mu Performing Arts present a co-production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Flower Drum Song.

Then, over MLK weekend at the Ordway Concert Hall in downtown Saint Paul, One Voice Mixed Chorus kicks off the new year with the Out of the Shadows, featuring the world premiere of their largest commission ever, "The Man Behind the Dream," honoring the life and work of openly gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin.

2016-2017 Season Announcements

As summer winds down, we're gearing up for the start of the 2016-2017 performance season.

Tickets for Park Square Theatre's 42nd season are on sale now. The season opens with David Ive's The Liar, adapted from Le Menteur by Pierre Corneille, on the Proscenium Stage, September 9 - October 2. On the Andy Boss Thrust Stage, we open with William Eno's The Realistic Joneses, a surreal comedy that's part Seinfeld, part Samuel Beckett, playaing September 23 - October 16.

JazzMN Orchestra's 2016-2017 season begins on October 1st off with a performance at the Ordway Concert Hall featuring Grammy award-winning artist Terence Blanchard.

The Oratorio Society of Minnesota starts its season on November 18th with Greater Love: In Search of the Hidden Road, featuring Benjamin Britten's Cantata Misericordium, Britten's Saint Nicolas and Howard Goodall: selections from The Beatitudes: Pro Eis Solitariis (For Those that are lonely), Pro Eis Sine Domo (For the stateless).

And One Voice Mixed Chorus is headed up north to Ely, Mountain Iron, and Duluth on November 18-20 to kick off their new season with the Imuka Singers, a chorus all the way from Tanzania!

Festival Season

Summer means festival season in Minnesota.

We just wrapped up a record-breaking 18th Annual Twin Cities Jazz Festival with three days of free music in downtown Saint Paul, including packed performances by Joey Alexander (pictured on the left), Ellis and Delfeayo Marsalis, Russell Malone, John Pizzarelli, and Michael Franti & Spearhead. For a recap of all the fun, check out @tcjazzfestival on Storify.

Later this month, the Lowertown Blues Festival returns to Mears Park as the Lowertown Blues and Funk Festival with a night of funk added on Friday, July 22, followed by a night of blues on Saturday, July 23. It’s still the Twin Cities' largest, free blues festival—now with an extra dose of funk.

Then the 42^nd annual IndiaFest celebrates the growing and vibrant Indian community in Minnesota on August 20 at Minnesota State Capitol grounds.

And for those who want to escape the summer heat in a cool, dark theatre, Calendar Girls plays on Park Square Theatre's Proscenium Stage through July 24, and Other Tiger Productions brings The Palabras Project to Park Square's Andy Boss Thrust Stage July 8 - 17.