Guthrie Theater

Here's a recap of Guthrie news from the past week:

Guthrie readies third take on Oscar Wilde's 'Earnest'
David Hawley, MinnPost
Last week I did a rehearsal lunch-break interview with the quartet of young actors who will be playing the courting couples when the Guthrie Theater opens its fall season with "The Importance of Being Earnest." And I found myself asking some really dumb questions -- or, at least, one really dumb question. I should have known better. Years ago, when I was hawking some of the plays I had written prior to opening night by doing interviews, I'd mentally roll my eyes whenever the interviewer asked, "So, what's your play about?" I sometimes answered, "It's about two hours, plus an intermission." Then I'd grin at that lame joke before trying to come up with some coherent sentences about the worth of what I had been working on for so many months.

Caroline's Julius Wins State Fair Talent Contest
Congrats to Caroline, or Change cutie pie Julius Andrews IV for winning the 2009 Minnesota State Fair Amateur Talent Contest: Preteen Division.  Julius' performance of "I'll Be There" is highlighted in the YouTube link above. Nathaniel Irvin (Guthrie alum from the 2001/02 production of Merrily We Roll Along) took second place in the Teen Division singing "Santa Fe."

Ella: First Lady of Song
Examiner Twin Cities
Under the hot lights of the Guthrie Theater in downtown Minneapolis, Tina Fabrique brings to light the life of Ella Jane Fitzgerald, the first lady of song. Like Satchmo, Fitzgerald's childhood was full of uneventful challenges, at a very young age. Ella was born in Newport News, Virginia on April 25, 1917 to William and Temperance "Tempie" Fitzgerald. Shortly after Ella's birth, her parents separated. Tempie moved to New York with her baby. She later remarried and took up house with Joseph Da Silva. Joe was a chauffeur and Tempie worked as a laundress.

Ella Still Shining
City Pages
If you haven't yet seen Ella, the Guthrie's presentation of the life of the First Lady of Song, it's well worth the trip. The show plays for two more weeks, through Sept. 20. Tina Fabrique shines as the star of this musical, which tells the personal story of jazz's leading lady. The staging is simple; Ella narrates her past through words and song, as her band members take on the role of the various men in her life. By the second act, the reminiscing is over and Ella's story continues through a concert she gives in Paris shortly after the funeral of her sister Frances, the one person in the world who truly knew her.