21 hours Ago By Jay Gabler
DULUTH — Entertainment doesn't always mean sitting in a seat to watch a show, but that's where the Best Bets are this week. Of course, you can always stand up and dance if you're feeling the spirit. 'Every Brilliant Thing' The play "Every Brilliant Thing," written by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe, takes the form of an interactive monologue performed by a single actor.
Reviewing the North American premiere in 2014, New York Times critic Ben Brantley wrote that it "offers sentimentality without shame" and is "pretty much guaranteed to keep your eyes brimming." ADVERTISEMENT Kayla Schiltgen stars in a new production at The Lab (part of the NorShor Theatre complex), presented by Duluth Playhouse as part of its Underground series. Opening Thursday, April 3 and running through April 13, the show takes as its starting point the narrator's lifelong list of "everything worth living for" (duluthplayhouse.
org). 'Marjorie Prime' Across the street at Zeitgeist, Jordan Harrison's "Marjorie Prime" opens Thursday, April 3, as a late addition to the theater season. It replaces the previously scheduled "American Son," pushed back to next year, per a news release, "due to some unforeseen truly GREAT circumstances (we’ll explain later).
" "Marjorie Prime," a Pulitzer Prize finalist, concerns a woman in the early stages of dementia whose late husband returns in the form of an AI clone. "This is no 'Black Mirror,'" wrote Kate Wyver of The Guardian in a review of a recent London production. "The play, originally written in 2014, is not created to warn against the perils of AI.
Instead, it calmly considers what we might gain from using technology to fill a gaping loss" (zeitgeistarts.com). Jillian Rae and Breanne Marie Now based in the Twin Cities, Jillian Rae was originally a Ranger: she grew up in Eveleth.
The singer-songwriter is a kindred spirit with Duluth musician Breanne Marie. Both bring zesty intelligence to accessible songs with an Americana aesthetic. They're sharing a bill Friday, April 4, at Sacred Heart Music Center, both with new tunes to share.
In fact, it will be the first full-band show for Breanne Marie and the Front Porch Sinners since the Sparta Sound sessions for their forthcoming album, "Two Trees." Expect to hear songs including their newly released single, "Dashboard Dandelion" (sacredheartmusic.org).
ADVERTISEMENT Mara Lovejoy album release "It's nice to hear this music in its fullness," Duluth singer-songwriter Mara Lovejoy told the News Tribune in November, referring to the experience of playing her songs with a full band. That fullness was captured over the course of three shows in 2024, and is now being released in the form of an album titled "Ephemera." Lovejoy will be at Superior's Main Club on Friday, April 4, for an album release show featuring support from Duluth firebrands C U Next Tuesday and Madison, Wisconsin band Frozen Charlotte (mainclubwi.
com). 'Stop Kiss' Diana Son's 1998 play "Stop Kiss" is a complex story about same-sex love in a climate of intolerance. "'Stop Kiss' should speak to anyone who has had to search deep within to find the strength and conviction to join hands with another," wrote critic Charles McNulty in the Los Angeles Times, reviewing a 2014 production.
"I can’t remember when a love story has moved me more." The story's continued timeliness will doubtless be on the minds of many attending a new production by the University of Minnesota Duluth student-run theater company, Stage 2. The play runs Friday through Sunday, April 4-6, in the Dudley Experimental Theatre (stage2duluth.
com). Amy Grant What do you think of when you hear the name Amy Grant? Maybe "Baby Baby," her chart-topping hit from 1991? Maybe her five Christmas albums, staples of many a kitchen compact disc player? Maybe her well-earned superlative, "the Queen of Christian Pop"? The queen will receive you — with open arms — on Sunday, April 6, at Symphony Hall. Grant, 64, now mixes music with work as an author and inspirational speaker, so expect uplifting banter between feel-good songs (decc.
org)..
