Rohan Preston

Minneapolis, Saint Paul

Lead Theater Critic at The Minnesota Star Tribune

Writer and critic, photographer and gardener, husband and dad.

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Articles

Horror and hate in 'Stop Kiss' draw implicit parallels with current political climate

1 week ago | startribune.com | Rohan Preston

How relevant is a 1998 play to today's fraught political environment? As she welcomed patrons to Saturday's opening night performance of "Stop Kiss," Theater Mu managing director Anh Thu T. Pham acknowledged the shootings of Minnesota lawmakers Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman and their spouses, sending up good thoughts for their families and our unsettled community.
'Legally Blonde' packs a peppy, pink punch

2 weeks ago | startribune.com | Rohan Preston

She's pretty, and can be petty, in pink. Elle Woods, the Gemini sorority president with two Capricorn moons, has returned to the stage to pointedly and entertainingly disprove those who doubt the brains behind her beauty. The star of "Legally Blonde" the musical is still chasing her man to Harvard Law School in the stylish production that opened Tuesday at St. Paul's Ordway Center. But she's also winning us over with her panache as she discovers her own brilliance.
Minneapolis theater company abruptly postpones cursed Shakespearean tragedy

2 weeks ago | startribune.com | Rohan Preston

Just days away from opening its latest show, a Minneapolis theater company has pushed back its production. Rough Magic Performance Company has postponed its staging of "The Macbeths," an all-female version of Shakespeare's bloody tragedy "Macbeth," because an actor had to step away for personal reasons. On Friday, the slated opening of the three-week run, the company will now host "A Cursed Conversation and Celebration," a discussion and party at Minneapolis' Center for Performing Arts.
Theater Latte Da's 'Passion' has great music, but OK staging

2 weeks ago | startribune.com | Rohan Preston

Is love enough to heal the sick? "Passion" offers an answer with palpable emotion. The Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine work, which opened Saturday, is only the second show that Justin Lucero has staged since becoming artistic director of Theater Latte Da. But like the spunky "Cinderella" that he mounted last fall, the one-act gives us glimpses of what may be essential elements of his directorial ambition and style.
Minneapolis-based Broadway producer's 'Buena Vista Social Club' wins multiple Tonys

2 weeks ago | startribune.com | Rohan Preston

Minnesota had a good night at the 78th Tony Awards held Sunday night at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, who has been tapped to write the script for the stage adaptation of Prince's "Purple Rain," won the best play award for "Purpose," which also nabbed this year's Pulitzer Prize.
For 'Legally Blonde' star, 'being underestimated is her secret superpower'

3 weeks ago | startribune.com | Rohan Preston

By Rohan Preston Kathryn Brunner is not just playing Elle Woods in "Legally Blonde" in the Ordway Center's touring production. She is also partly playing herself in the ditz-to-Harvard Law School story. She says Elle, who gets dumped by her boyfriend and finds her intellectual power at Harvard University, is someone she knows under her skin. And it's not just because Brunner can quote the hit 2001 movie, which starred Reese Witherspoon as Elle, on which the musical is based chapter and verse.
18 best outdoor dance and theater events to catch this summer in the Twin Cities area

3 weeks ago | startribune.com | Rohan Preston

By Rohan Preston For its 22nd season, the Winona fest has "Romeo and Juliet" and "The Comedy of Errors" on tap as mainstage productions and a tour of "The Two Gentlemen of Verona." "R&J" is staged by Minnesota actor and director H. Adam Harris. He interprets the tragedy from the Nurse's perspective as a story of loss and grief. Australian actor Stephanie Lambourn plays the Nurse while Italian-born Alessandro Yokoyama and NYU graduate Serena Phillip play the title characters.
Former Medtronic CEO and his wife, who have donated over $250 million, honored at Guthrie gala

3 weeks ago | startribune.com | Rohan Preston

Minnesota humanitarians Bill and Penny George received the distinguished arts philanthropist award Friday from the Guthrie Theater at its annual gala. Through their foundation and directly, the couple have donated over a quarter of a billion dollars to health and well-being, authentic leadership, community and the arts. At the gala, the Georges called out other Minnesota philanthropic champions in their acceptance speech, including former Carlson Cos.
$25,000 awards promise big impact for playwrights, theater artists

3 weeks ago | startribune.com | Rohan Preston

When playwright Gemma Irish got a call that she had won the McKnight fellowship for playwrights, she was ecstatic. She had applied six or seven times for the $25,000 prize, hoping that it will help lift her career and also buy time to make work.
'Between Riverside and Crazy' punches for the gut

4 weeks ago | startribune.com | Rohan Preston

After a heart attack has him knocking on death's door, retired New York police officer Walter "Pops" Washington decides to give the son with whom he's had a fraught relationship some advice. Be sure to get your fiber and potassium, he tells Junior. And while tap water doesn't have the cache of designer drinks, it's perfectly fine. OK, what Walter has to offer may not seem all that profound as end-of-life wisdom goes.