Makes no difference whether you are a writer, musician, painter, or actor – being on stage is what matters. Some of our Duluth seasons might be ending, but other seasons are just beginning, and some simply never cease. Welcome to the world of the arts in Duluth, MN.
    I hope you came to Barton Sutter’s book release last Saturday night at Duluth Congregational Church. “Thirty-one degrees/The scarlet notes of a cardinal,/Sunlight through the trees,” was an example of the haiku Sutter shared from his new collection, Chester Creek Ravine (Nodin Press, 2015). In this current week of mid-thirties, rain, and mid-May, Sutter’s poetry was right on target.
“Winter, slow to go,/Went north, then came back overnight./Robins in the snow.”
But at the same time, on my 10th Ave. deck, “Chin-deep in clover,/The chipmunk quits chewing/To look me over.” I know it all so well, this twenty years I have chosen to live alongside Lake Superior.
The Sutter brothers - Bart and Ross - offered music, skits, and poetry, including Stina Fagerstun, a folk-singer from Norway, north of the Arctic Circle. Hope you are planning to attend the Northeast Minnesota Book Award presentations on Thursday evening, May 21 at the Kirby Center on the UMD campus. Poetry and prose is alive and well in the Twin Ports region.
Meanwhile, life is good and blossoming with Arrowhead Chorale, the Duluth Playhouse, the County Seat Theater, the Minnesota Ballet, and the Teatro Zuccone, just to mention what’s on the top of my mind. The art galleries listed on another page of The Reader are for you to explore on your own.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Arrowhead Chorale will offer a program titled “Creation,” with four choral compositions focusing on the wonder of the creative energies on planet earth. Music from American, Canadian, Jewish, and Ojibwe traditions will be featured at Weber Music Hall on Saturday/Sunday, May 16 & 17.
At the Underground space of The Duluth Playhouse, Dr. Seuss’ tantalizing tale of The Cat in the Hat will be presented on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays between May 15-31. Young actors will share the exuberance of the Dr. Seuss story for all of us who refuse to grow up any more than necessary.
On Tuesday, May 19, the Underground will be otherwise engaged with Episode #10 of the Live Radio Theatre program, Take It With You. Why tune in when you can be present in the production studio?
Over the hill in Cloquet, on the access road just left of the Highway 33 interchange, the Encore Performing Arts Center is presenting The Kitchen Witches, a comedy about TV-kitchen hostesses at war with each other. This will be on stage May 14-17 if you want to laugh at the bend in the St. Louis River.
If you want to be ahead of the season, the Wise Fool Shakespeare company will not wait until June to present A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This delightful romp by the master of the bards will run on Fridays through Sundays, May 15-24. Come downtown to the Teatro Zuccone for this sparkling rendition of love and transformation just before summer truly arrives alongside Lake Superior.
Finally, the Minnesota Ballet will present its Student Program at the DECC on Friday, May 15. The young and future generation of ballet balladeers will share their creative stories for all who dare to join them.
Stay tuned for my reflections on these experiences. Meanwhile, get off the couch, buy your local ticket, and enjoy the amazing variety of arts right here in Duluth & Superior, where the waves of Lake Superior burst forth in creativity.