About

Critical Review is a rigorous writing program that aims to develop critical thinking skills through arts journalism. Students attend and review productions through Hennepin Arts' Bank of America Broadway on Hennepin season and participate in workshops led by experts in the fields of musical theater, writing and journalism.

Student reviews are edited for content and style, discussed with program leaders, and posted through an online portal. Critical Review is a year-long, application based program.

This program is offered free of cost to participants.

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Book of Mormon Review - Katelyn Keyes

  What a show. The Book of Mormon is a riot on absolutely every level, leading to equal amounts of laughter and shock. The plot follows two Mormon missionaries on a quest to baptize the citizens of a small Ugandan village. As this show was written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park, one can expect crude, R-rated humor, and the show lived up to every such expectation. The actors embraced the outrageousness of the plot wholeheartedly, leading to flamboyant dance numbers that put my jaw on the floor. One of this show’s greatest strengths was the dedication of the actors, a show this off-color could easily rely on the simple shock value of the content to carry the performance, but each actor was motivated and made sure the entire plot came across, not just the jokes. This full-out commitment was especially prevalent in the dance numbers, which were just big enough to be spectacular without being over the top or ridiculous.  The best example of this would ...
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Hadestown Review - Katelyn Keyes

  My first impression of Hadestown was that this was a party on stage. The show had been talked up to me by many of my friends and the audience was going wild as soon as the lights dimmed, and the production certainly justified all the excitement. Hermes, the host of this party, was played by the exuberant Jaylon C. Crump, who led the audience through the story with a passion that was shown equally in happy and serious scenes. He also introduces each character as they make their grand entrance into the party that is the opening number, “Road to Hell”.  One of the first characters he announces is Persephone, played by Namisa Mdlalose Bizana, who, while having a nice voice, never quite gave the energy and commanding presence needed to play the boisterous Persephone. This was proven in her somewhat lackluster performance of “Our Lady of the Underground” that failed to have the power behind it necessary to make the song effective. In striking contrast, Hades (Nickolaus Colón), th...
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& Juliet: I Don’t Really Want It That Way by Katelyn Keyes

Out of all the musicals I’ve seen, I feel that & Juliet is a tough one to find my opinion on. Did it have a powerful impact that left me changed? Not really. Did it have breathtaking dancing, Oscar-worthy acting, or astounding songs? Not really. But, did I have fun? Absolutely.  I began to get a sense for the fun when it opened with a jazzy preshow, where some of the actors come onstage before the official start to dance and liven up the audience. The dancers seemed to be quite talented, and that raised my hopes for the show itself, but sadly, there was no big dance number that showed off the amount of talent in this ensemble. By that beginning, and the general hip-hop vibe of the show, I had thought that it would be a lot more dance-heavy. The dancing that was there wasn’t bad by any means; in “Blow” there was some large-scale choreography to emulate a club, and the ensemble proved to be effective backup dancers in “Problem/Can’t Feel My Face.” But if the dancing had been m...
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