Sheila Regan
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Minneapolis
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Dance, classical music, arts and culture.
I am an arts columnist, journalist, and critic. Words at MinnPost, the Pioneer Press and elsewhere.
Articles by Sheila Regan
Review: Fifth ‘Divas & Drag’ blends musicianship and lighthearted entertainment
With raunchy innuendo, stripteases, political lampooning and a whole lot of silliness, An Opera Theatre’s production of “Divas & Drag V: Young, Sexy and Baroque,” doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that’s a good thing. While the quality of the musicianship in a program of Baroque operatic works remains at a high level, the show’s queer vaudevillian sensibility makes for a lighthearted evening. In this show, narrow ideas about gender get thrown out the window.
Minnesota publisher earns rare Booker Prize honor
A book from Minnesota-based publisher Coffee House Press has been longlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize. The nominated book, "Helen of Nowhere" by Makenna Goodman, is a short, experimental novel. This recognition provides a significant boost for the small, nonprofit publisher amid financial challenges. A small, nonprofit publisher in Minnesota is celebrating a first: one of its books has made the longlist for the Booker Prize, a prestigious British literary award.
Dusk of a Great Day at Theater Mu
This story is one of two about the state of nonprofit theatres based in communities of color. You can find the other here. How do arts organizations centered around communities of color thrive? By telling their own stories, building trust with the people they serve, redefining success, and forging localized and global networks. Those are the core findings of a 2026 report published by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), a 103-year-old institution dedicated to social science scholarship.
Big Booker boost for small Minnesota publisher
A small, nonprofit publisher in Minnesota is celebrating a first: one of its books has made the longlist for the Booker Prize, a prestigious British literary award. Coffee House Press, based in Northeast Minneapolis, published Makenna Goodman’s “Helen of Nowhere” in September 2025, before it was picked up by British publisher Fitzcarraldo Editions.
New exhibit centers Palestinian American identity, highlights strength of Arab women with screen printing
In her new exhibit, “Living Threads,” St. Paul-based artist Hend Al-Mansour uses screen printing as a vehicle for understanding. It is part of an ongoing body of work exploring what it means to be an Arab woman, driven by an effort to show “that not only Arab women are powerful, but all women are powerful,” she explained.
"Belly Laugh at a Funeral" Stages the Rituals of Mourning
Visitors to Ziba Rajabi's "Belly Laugh at a Funeral" are invited to lie inside a nest for mourning as singer Aida Shahghasemi's voice fills the gallery. The immersive installation anchors an exhibition of luminous textiles and tempera paintings that draws on Persian traditions of grief to contemplate loss, healing and renewal. The exhibition is on view at the Minneapolis Institute of Art through October 25.
How a Minneapolis translator is bringing Pokémon to life in ASL
There’s a new partnership between streaming services and Signup Media offering free, in-screen American Sign Language translation to dozens of movies and TV shows. Minneapolis translator Everett Glenn, who recently signed 45 hours of “Pokémon Horizons,” is part of the effort. Ever since TV broadcasters developed closed captioning in the 1970s, text has been the default standard for media accessibility. But captions aren’t equally accessible for everyone.
How a Minneapolis translator is bringing Pokémon to life in ASL
8 hours ago We asked the BuzzFeed Community what their favorite final lines of movies are. Here are some of the agreed-upon best of all time! 1. Babe 2. The Princess Bride 3. Black Swan 4. Some Like It Hot 5. Jaws 6. Back to the Future 7. The Usual Suspects 8. Casablanca 9. Fight Club 10. Toy Story 3 11. Avengers: Endgame 12. The …
Oratorio Society takes listeners on a joyful ‘Musical Journey to Korea’
Korean-American singers and musicians shone in the Oratorio Society of Minnesota’s summer concert, “A Musical Journey to Korea.” With guest musicians from the Twin Cities and Chicago, the show offered a window into Korean folk and courtly music, at times finding points of connection between those traditions and Western classical choral music.
This outdoor production of ‘The Hobbit’ is a timely celebration of classic bravery
The smashing success of Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” might tell us something about ourselves: Amid the problems of the world today, we are hungry for a mythic, faraway escape. Add Zephyr Theatre’s outdoor production of the fantasy classic “The Hobbit” to the list of options.
Concert review: Salsa bands keep Lowertown Sounds listeners on their feet
A warm, clear summer night awaited the audience at Mears Park on Thursday for the latest edition of Lowertown Sounds, the popular summer series featuring free music and food trucks. Salsa music was on the docket. The Tropical Zone Orchestra and Salsa del Soul got listeners on their feet with their Caribbean rhythms, rich harmonies and salsa melodies.
‘Put on some protest jewelry’ – Fringe Fest teaser is a very 2026 take on a 2025 show
The Minnesota Fringe Festival is just around the corner, opening August 6. Ahead of it, comic actor and Fringe veteran Lauren Anderson is reviving her hit one-woman show, “Jewelry Power Elite,” for a two-weekend run at Minneapolis’ Dudley Riggs Theatre. At last year’s Fringe, the show marked Anderson’s first full-length solo performance after more than 20 years performing with the Brave New Workshop sketch and improv troupe.
Generations collide and powerful art emerges at Minneapolis’ All My Relations
For South Dakota-based artist Ray “Rock Boy” Janis, mentors have become his collaborators. Together, they’re central to Janis’ new exhibition at Minneapolis’ All My Relations Gallery, called “Sakowin Synergy.” The show’s title refers to the people of the Seven Council Fires – the Oceti Sakowin – an historic alliance of Dakota, Lakota and Nakota nations.
Nature provides the visuals for a new North Shore art installation
Diver Van Avery grew up in the Twin Cities with little exposure to nature. But as a teen, they fell in love with the North Shore and developed a special connection with Sugarloaf Cove, a nature preserve along Lake Superior, about 45 miles north of Two Harbors. “You learn right away when you’re there that it used to be clear-cut,” they said, referring to the site’s past use as an industrial log storage facility. “[It] has — really in our lifetimes — come to be this forested place that feels wild.
Review: Budding musicians shine in St. Paul Chamber Music Institute concert
At an office building in St. Paul that formerly housed the Richards Gordon School, where “Peanuts” creator Charles M. Schulz attended as a child, an audience gathered for a lunchtime concert featuring six talented young people performing classical music solos.
For one of Minneapolis’ largest nonprofits, a theater kid has become the boss
With college theater programs getting absorbed by other departments or eliminated altogether, you might think an advanced theater degree leaves graduates with few options. But for Signe Harriday, theater led to her new role as president and CEO of one of the Twin Cities’ oldest and largest nonprofits, Pillsbury United Communities.
Bon Iver frontman returns to Eaux Claires as 'Bon Dylan'
The Eaux Claires Music and Arts Festival is returning after an eight-year hiatus at a new location in Carson Park. Justin Vernon will perform a tribute to Bob Dylan under the name "Bon Dylan" instead of with his band Bon Iver. This year's lineup includes headliner Aimee Mann, Kevin Morby, and various Minnesota-based artists. Justin Vernon, the indie folk superstar from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, really loves his hometown’s Carson Park.
Bon Iver, at Eaux Claires, to perform Bon Dylan. And yes, that’s spell-checked.
Justin Vernon, the indie folk superstar from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, really loves his hometown’s Carson Park. At a recent event outside its baseball stadium, Vernon put the grounds in rare company: “Central Park in New York and Carson Park are the top two parks that I know about,” he said.
Bon Iver, at Eaux Claires, to perform Bon Dylan. And yes, that’s spell-checked.
Justin Vernon, the indie folk superstar from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, really loves his hometown’s Carson Park. At a recent event outside its baseball stadium, Vernon put the grounds in rare company: “Central Park in New York and Carson Park are the top two parks that I know about,” he said.
Kronos Quartet to record first live album in Minneapolis
The Kronos Quartet will record its first-ever full-length live album at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis. The Grammy-winning string ensemble has released over 70 albums but never a complete live recording. The performances will feature works reflecting American history, including pieces by John Coltrane and Billie Holiday. A new work by Minneapolis-based artists Joe Rainey and Andrew Broder will also premiere at the shows.
Kronos Quartet playing the Dakota this week to record first-ever live album
For decades, the trailblazing Kronos Quartet has reinvented classical music, exploring its edges in an increasingly digital world. This week, the Grammy Award-winning string ensemble will take the stage at Minneapolis’ Dakota Jazz Club to capture their first full-length live album recording. Kronos is no stranger to the Twin Cities, having performed at the Fitzgerald, the Walker Art Center, Northrop, Ted Mann Concert Hall and the Landmark Center.
Concert review: Gábor Takács-Nagy leads SPCO in an emotion-filled finale
For its season finale, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra is once again joined by its artistic partner, the spritely Hungarian conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy. Having also led last year’s final concert, Takács-Nagy brings a program that taps into pulsing emotion. The repertoire moves from Zoltán Kodály’s folksong-influenced “Summer Evening” to works by Richard Strauss and Robert Schumann that draw on themes from Ludwig van Beethoven.
Three new books with Minnesota connections uncover hidden family histories
Sheila Regan MinnPost June 12, 2026, 4:49 a.m. CT Three new books with Minnesota connections explore family histories to uncover historical truths. Putting together your summer reading list? Consider three recent books from Minnesota publishers that use literature to confront the limits of the historical record.
Three books with Minnesota connections unearth family stories, deliver historical truths
Putting together your summer reading list? Consider three recent books from Minnesota publishers that use literature to confront the limits of the historical record. In “Without Terminus,” released June 2 by Graywolf Press, Minneapolis-based writer Chaun Webster deconstructs his family’s history and recreates it as luminous, poetic nonfiction. Using poetry, prose and graphic design, the book investigates the lives of Webster’s grandfather and great-grandfather, who both worked in railroad service.
Man pleads guilty to killing Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, her husband
Man pleads guilty to killing Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, her husband (washingtonpost.com) Man pleads guilty to killing Minnesota state Rep.
Three books with Minnesota connections unearth family stories, deliver historical truths
Putting together your summer reading list? Consider three recent books from Minnesota publishers that use literature to confront the limits of the historical record. In “Without Terminus,” released June 2 by Graywolf Press, Minneapolis-based writer Chaun Webster deconstructs his family’s history and recreates it as luminous, poetic nonfiction. Using poetry, prose and graphic design, the book investigates the lives of Webster’s grandfather and great-grandfather, who both worked in railroad service.
Cheeseheads? Nah. Minnesota hosts true fromage experts
The American Cheese Society has held its annual cheese judging and competition in Minnesota since 2022. Experts evaluate over 1,600 cheeses from nearly 200 producers across the Americas in 139 categories. The event relies heavily on volunteers, some of whom study for years to become certified judges. A football stadium is hardly where you’d expect to find fine artisanal cheeses.
Concert review: Minnesota Orchestra counteracts ‘Adagio’s’ sadness with lively Prokofiev
The playfulness of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Sergei Prokofiev counterbalances one of the world’s most disconsolate pieces of music — Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” — in the Minnesota Orchestra’s most recent concert.
Cheeseheads? Nah. Minnesota hosts true fromagières.
A football stadium is hardly where you’d expect to find fine artisanal cheeses. Yet each spring, Huntington Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota hosts the American Cheese Society’s annual competition, judging the best cheeses made in the Americas. This year, MinnPost’s Taylor Canas and I got to attend. My stomach began grumbling as soon as I stepped onto the stadium loading dock. An earthy, pungent aroma wafted from one cart; a sweeter, more buttery smell from another.
Cheeseheads? Nah. Minnesota hosts true fromagières.
A football stadium is hardly where you’d expect to find fine artisanal cheeses. Yet each spring, Huntington Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota hosts the American Cheese Society’s annual competition, judging the best cheeses made in the Americas. This year, MinnPost’s Taylor Canas and I got to attend. My stomach began grumbling as soon as I stepped onto the stadium loading dock. An earthy, pungent aroma wafted from one cart; a sweeter, more buttery smell from another.
Cheeseheads? Nah. Minnesota hosts true fromagières.
19 hours ago Jen Zeszut, CEO of mac and cheese manufacturer Goodles, discusses how her company was able to disrupt a multi-billion dollar industry through “weird” branding, targeting an older demographic, and using nutrient-dense ingredients.
Before DEI, there were the women artists of WARM
The dramatic federal backlash against DEI in the arts shows little sign of abating. But two exhibitions on view in Minneapolis reintroduce visitors to a time when the tides were reversed and identity-focused arts advocacy gained major momentum. Both shows – one at Downtown’s Kickernick Gallery and one at Form and Content Gallery in the North Loop – have roots in the Twin Cities’ 1970s art scene.
Twenty-Four-Seven: Christine Sun Kim Transforms Language at the Walker Art Center The Berlin-based American artist upends hierarchies of language in a survey organized with the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Installation view of “Christine Sun Kim: Cues on Point” (Secession, Vienna, February 17–April 16, 2023). From left to right: Christine Sun Kim, “Prolonged Echo,” 2023; “Long Echo,” 2022; and “Cues on Point,” 2022. Photo: Oliver Ottenschläger.
Review: Cellist Abel Selaocoe, SPCO collaborate on another fine program
South African cellist Abel Selaocoe returns to the Twin Cities to play with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra for an uplifting concert of 20th-century avant-garde gems and the U.S. premiere of a piece by British composer Edmund Finnis. The SPCO artistic partner leads the ensemble, guides the audience in song, and sings his own blissful vocals. While Selaocoe shared his own compositions in past concerts, he now presents other composers’ takes on older material.
Comedian Paula Poundstone on pogo-sticks and politics
On January 11, comedian Paula Poundstone made a short video for social media: “Day 307 of Saving our Democracy.” She encouraged viewers to make sure they were registered to vote, and she bounced one time on a pogo stick, stating she’d add one bounce each day until the mid-term elections on Nov. 3. “I said from the very beginning of this thing, I will add a pogo on my pogo stick every day until we take back the House and the Senate,” Poundstone told me in a recent interview.
Closings, openings and cautious optimism for the Twin Cities art scene
Minneapolis’ In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre was bustling on Saturday, its new Hennepin Avenue location packed with people building masks and touring the puppet library as part of Doors Open Minneapolis. Not long ago, it could’ve hosted even more visitors. But after decades at the Avalon Theatre on Lake Street, Heart of the Beast is moving forward with a much smaller footprint, operating as a renter rather than an owner.
MN Opera offers a ‘Pagliacci’ of tragedy and more
For a production of Ruggero Leoncavallo’s two-act opera “Pagliacci,” presented by the Minnesota Opera and now playing at the Ordway Music Theater, stage director Brenna Corner inserts a young child character (played by local actor Alex Bauer) as a framing device. The non-singing character’s presence helps explain the actions of the opera’s lead female character.
Encore! Minnesotans find joy in learning music as adults
Two years ago, Courtney Remeš restarted violin lessons for the first time since college and joined an adult orchestra at Minneapolis’ MacPhail Center for Music. Time spent learning music provides “a really great outlet,” said Remeš, a web developer by day. “You can’t look at your phone at rehearsal or while playing.” Like Remeš, about 63% of Minnesotans say they’re involved in the arts in their everyday lives, compared to only 49% nationally. For some, it’s a continuation of a childhood pursuit.
Rosy Simas on Creating a Space for Peace in Minneapolis
Interview — 5 min read Installation view of Rosy Simas: A:gajë:gwah dësa’nigöëwë:nye:′ (i hope it will stir your mind) (all photos Sheila Regan/Hyperallergic) MINNEAPOLIS — On February 12, Trump-appointed “border czar” Tom Homan announced the “end” of Operation Metro Surge, during which more than 4,000 federal agents aggressively targeted immigrant communities in the Twin Cities, causing massive chaos throughout the area and killing Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Federal officers raid 22 businesses, many linked to Somali immigrants, in Minneapolis
A federal police officer stands outside the Metro Learning Center in Minneapolis as federal agents execute a search warrant, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP) MINNEAPOLIS - Federal law enforcement officers have conducted raids on more than 20 businesses in Minneapolis, many with ties to the Somali immigrant community, as part of an investigation into misuse of federal funds, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.
Federal officers raid 22 businesses, many Somali-linked, in Minneapolis
Federal officers raid 22 businesses, many Somali-linked, in Minneapolis (washingtonpost.com) Federal officers raid 22 businesses, many Somali-linked, in Minneapolis By Sheila Regan; Annie Gowen; Jeremy Roebuck 2026042816190300 MINNEAPOLIS — Federal law enforcement officers have conducted raids on more than 20 businesses in Minneapolis, many with ties to the Somali immigrant community, as part of an investigation into misuse of federal funds, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.
‘The Jungle’ mines refugee camp trauma for beautiful art, but doesn’t escape colonial gaze
“The Jungle,” a play about a refugee settlement during the 2015 European migrant crisis, soars in a new production by Mixed Blood Theatre. Artistic Director Mark Valdez masterfully directs an incredible cast of seasoned and emerging actors. The production is well-crafted, and perhaps too beautiful. British playwrights Joe Robertson and Joe Murphy mine trauma for poetics, and don’t fully escape the colonial gaze at the project’s foundation.
Want to celebrate Earth Day? Rethink your fashion.
Every load of laundry carries millions of microplastics and microfibers into the environment, polluting forests and farmlands, lakes and oceans, and our bodies. For Earth Day – with the help of some Minnesota designers – consider a shift toward fashion free of polyester and other synthetic materials. Plastic-free fashion marks a next step in the sustainable fashion movement, which has long emphasized used clothing as an alternative to fast-fashion and its environmentally harmful effects.
Want to celebrate Earth Day? Rethink your fashion.
1 hour ago Forget about using a shoe horn or untying those laces. We’ve all done it: stood at the door, running late for work or some important event, staring at a perfectly normal pair of sneakers and thinking, I absolutely do not have the energy to untie these right now. So you try to jam your foot in anyway, …
Review: Minnesota Opera scores with concert version of ‘Edgar’
The show must go on, even if your star performer is too sick to make it to the end of the show. That’s what happened at Minnesota Opera’s production of “Edgar in Concert,” at the Ordway on Friday night. Mexican-Australian tenor Diego Torre, set to play the title role, became ill the week of the show, prompting Minnesota Opera’s resident artist Ángel Vargas to cover for the singer at the dress rehearsal on Thursday night.
Double entendre and tea therapy: Iranian artists in Minnesota respond to war
At the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, a garden of ceramic eggplants rises from the floor, each attached to a reed-like steel mount. On each, Persian script in gold paint transliterates an English-language profanity (starting with an “f” and ending with a “u.”) The installation, “This is Not an Eggplant,” is by Iranian artist Katayoun Amjadi.
Minnesota native Reed Tetzloff saves Chopin Society’s performance
The Chopin Society had to change course recently when Canadian pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin, scheduled to play a sold-out concert at Mairs Concert Hall on Sunday, couldn’t perform because his visa petition was denied, despite multiple submissions. American pianist Reed Tetzloff. (Photo courtesy Chopin Society). The good news was that a pianist the organization knows well, Reed Tetzloff, who is originally from Minnesota, was planning to play a concerto in La Crosse, Wis., on Saturday.
Plucky kids, love stories and troubled Swedes: What this year’s international film festival has to offer
For 45 years, the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival has embraced an eclectic curation of international and independent films, celebrating the niche art of filmmaking without blockbuster extravagance. By prioritizing storytelling that exists outside the commercial mainstream, the festival serves as a dedicated space for diverse perspectives — from scrappy, locally produced gems to soaring narratives from around the globe.
Beloved DJ Mark Wheat is back
On a recent Sunday morning at Yoga Center Retreat in St. Louis Park, I rested on a mat with my feet up the wall, listening to instructions from a familiar voice. I had never met Mark Wheat in person, but his British accent and brassy timbre were unmistakable after listening to him for years as a DJ on the Current.
Twin Cities classical music events spotlight the hope of spring
After the chaos that wracked Minnesota this year, music can be a solace. Classical music groups in the Twin Cities are rising to the task, with offerings aimed at lifting the spirit, probing the soul, and creating a hopeful vision forward.
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