Victor Zupanc and Kevin Kling
photo by Kaitlin Randolph
This week is big for Twin Cities theater—with debuts at SteppingStone Theatre, Mill City Museum Ruin Courtyard, and Children’s Theatre Company.
The Best Summer Ever!
When: July 12-29
Where: Children’s Theatre Company, 2400 Third Ave. S., Minneapolis
Making its world premiere, this musical series of family-oriented stories comes from Minnesota storyteller and NPR regular Kevin Kling, told from the point-of-view of a 9-year-old named Maurice (whose name everyone pronounces as “Morris”). These stories are as whimsical as they are relatable—and, undeniably, Minnesotan: Vignettes includes an interview with a mosquito, a Norwegian camp, and a big sister whose new driver’s license is terrorizing everyone in her family. Learn more.
The Wizard of Oz
When: July 13-28
Where: SteppingStone Theatre, 55 Victoria St. N., St. Paul
This staging of the 1939 film promises everything that made Minnesota native Judy Garland’s farmgirl-to-witch hunter journey such a classic: ruby shoes, munchkins, a yellow-brick road, the Emerald City, and that family-friendly story of friendship entangled in a perilous plot. On opening night (Friday, July 13), patrons can meet the cast and crew while enjoying refreshments on the lower level of SteppingStone Theatre. Learn more.
Carmen
When: July 13-24
Where: Mill City Museum Ruin Courtyard, 704 S. Second St., Minneapolis
The freshly renovated Mill City Museum Ruin Courtyard gets lit up with a staging of famous 19th-century opera Carmen, the story of a girl who works at a cigar factory, Carmen, and her seduction of Spanish soldier Don José away from his lover, Micaela. Against a backdrop of the mill’s old stone walls and river views, Carmen and Don José build to their iconic challenge at the bullring. Veteran local and national actors take on the spellbinding story, with a shortened “Carmen for Young Audiences” performance on Wednesday, July 18. Learn more.
