The651.com

by Jahna Peloquin
photos by Kiah Brasch (unless noted otherwise)

Lady Gaga is many things. She’s a performance artist posing as a pop star. She’s the protagonist in the theater of Gaga. And her costumes are equal parts social commentary, wearable sculpture, and high fashion.

So when Lady Gaga brought her “Monster Ball” to the Xcel Energy Center this past Monday and Tuesday, it was clear we weren’t in for a typical pop stadium concert. Segmented into four “acts,” it was equal parts drama, dance, music, and fashion. Throughout the show, Gaga went through 14 costumes changes (much of which is created by Gaga’s own Haus of Gaga), and each costume comes with it its own story.

“Act 1″ began in a city scene with Gaga singing “Dance in the Dark” from The Fame Monster, her broad-shouldered frame concealed behind a screen the entirety of the performance as mind-blowingly fine-art/editorial video of Gaga screened. The commentary was clear: the artist Gaga is the wizard in her own Oz, pulling the strings behind the pop star Gaga.

The Lady emerged for unreleased track “Glitter & Grease” in her yellow-dipped platinum curls, wearing a purple leather jacket with studded shoulders - an exaggerated version of the trademark jacket worn by the King of Pop, Michael Jackson by Haus of Gaga. The look was accessorized by purple studded sunglasses, black fishnets, black knuckle-length Chanel leather gloves, and custom black patent knee-high boots by Pink Cobra - said to be her favorites.

For “Just Dance,” Gaga ditched the jacket (all the better to dance in) to reveal a semi-transparent latex leopard-print bodysuit by fetish-wear designer Atsuko Kudo (a favorite designer of Gaga’s). It was a look shockingly “Material Girl”-era Madonna - clearly, Gaga doesn’t feel the need to obscure her references. Unfortunately for the fashion-starved Gaga fans, she kept the same look for “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich,” “Vanity,” and “The Fame.”

But before “The Fame” was over, she gave us a taste of the kind of weird, beautiful-ugly look we love her for, emerging from beneath the stage in a red cape/gown, tied with a giant bow, with curtain rods for shoulder pads (by Haus of Gaga), playing her stand-up bass/keytar contraption.

[Image via Gagapedia]

For “Act 2,” the stage shifts into a subway scene, with Gaga performing “LoveGame” in a subway car in what appears to be a translucent nun’s habit: a semi-transparent PVC dress with angled hips. The dress is by Rachael Barrett, who also created her infamous “lobster hat” outfit and one of her looks from the “Telephone” video. She accessorized with an exaggerated nun habit-esque hat and collar by Haus of Gaga, her taped X’s over her nude bra and what appeared to be boys’ tight-whities underneath, white go-go ankle boots, and a grotesque “monster” hand.

Then, she ditched the nun habit and took up - yes - her infamous “disco stick” to finish off the song, going into “Boys Boys Boys” with her dancer boys in package-revealing tightie-whitie outfits.

For “Money Honey,” Gaga makes a quick change into one of her most dramatic looks of the evening, a floor-length black patent trench coat with a pointy mask/headpiece custom-created for the tour by Armani Privé and another keytar variation.

For “Telephone,” Gaga whips off the coat to reveal her most Madonna look of the night: a black latex studded bra top and panties by Atsuko Kudo (worn with increasingly-torn fishnets) and her trusty Pink Cobra boots.

She keeps the look as she goes into a three-song piano set: “Speechless,” the never-before-played “Living on the Radio,” and the recently debuted “You And I,” as her piano quietly went into flames.

For Act 2 closing song “So Happy I Could Die,” Gaga changed into a white gown with a moving headpiece, which Gaga described as “The Living Dress” in a Tweet, a Haus of Gaga creation inspired by avant-garde designer Hussein Chalayan, worn with Armani Privé shoes.

Among the many video interludes that played in between acts was “Puke/Vomit/Exorcist,” a two-minute, blood-drenched mini-video featuring Lady Gaga wearing a pleated white dress by Marko Mitanovski, being puked on by performance artist Millie Brown, and eating what is said to be a real (and very bloody) bovine heart.

[Screencap of "Puke/Vomit/Exorcist"]

“Act 3″ took place in a forest scene, kicking off with “Monster” and Gaga in an absurd “Hair Monster” suit by Charlie Le Mindu, looking like an extra from Where the Wild Things Are.

Then the hair suit came off to reveal the humorous “Sacred Heart Chimera” outfit by Alex Noble, a body suit with a Swarovski diamond sacred heart on the chest, hairy crotch and breasts, and feathered shoulders with long hair cape and a gold hood.

For “Teeth” and “Alejandro,” Gaga donned a black latex bodysuit by Zaldy - and plenty of fake blood.

Show closer “Poker Face” revealed Gaga in a black glittery catsuit with chain detail from SOMARTA’s A/W 2007 collection, called “Protean” (which refers to an ever-changing form).

The encore of the show was hardly a surprise - it featured Gaga’s two biggest hits, “Paparazzi” and “Bad Romance.” Act 4 of the show had Gaga still lost in the forest, on her way to find “The Monster Ball” until she ran across the giant “Fame Monster.” She battled the monster in a glittering seafoam-green “Origami Dress” by Haus of Gaga, covered in trapezoid-like shapes to the sounds of “Paparazzi.”

Of course, Gaga had to whip out her beloved body-piece that shoots sparks out of the crotch and breasts.

The “Bad Romance” finale of the show, fittingly, was one of Gaga’s most spectacular outfits: a geometric mirror dress with matching headpiece and go-go boots by Armani Privé.

The armor and the mirrorball helmets Gaga’s dancers wore were created by Alun Davies.

Dare we say, it was a spectacle unparalleled in the Twin Cities - a haute couture freak show, its epic proportions matching the often absurd, sometimes unsettling, always intriguing costumes on parade.

Ref: http://gagadaily.com
ladygaga.wikia.com/wiki/The_Monster_Ball_-_Fashion

[Content shared with l'etoile magazine]

As we’ve mentioned on this blog many times before, Janey grew up as a “theater brat” in St. Paul, and one of the many places she worked was Stepping Stone Theater for Youth Development. Back then it was located in the Landmark Center, and was a much smaller operation. But it’s mission has always been the same: to bring together students from all over the city and use theater arts as a tool to teach, inspire and build confidence. In 2007, the company moved into a spectacular renovated, 100 year old church building across from William Mitchell College of Law, and began producing plays in its 400-seat theater. Sad to say, we had not been to this not-all-that-new space until just recently, when the 4 of us headed over to see their production of “The Stinky Cheese Man”.

On the way over, Janey mentioned that one of the productions she was in at the theater was a sort of modernized version of Aesop’s Fables by frequent Stepping Stone collaborator David Simmons. 5 years later in 1997, the theater commissioned a musical based on Jon Scieszka’s twisted take on fairytales, “The Stinky Cheese Man” and this year they’ve revived the play for the 3rd time.

If you aren’t familiar with the book….uh…you should be. Jon Scieszka is now the official US Ambassador for Children’s Literature (sort of the Poet Laureate for the younger set) and in 1992 he and Lane Smith (one of my absolute favorite illustrators known for his somewhat dark style) created the book as a postmodern “remix” take on fairy tales. It’s built on a simple idea: what if the premise of famous fairytales was wrong? What if “The Gingerbread Man” was made of stinky cheese instead of delicious cookie, would people chase him or run away as fast as they can? What if “The Ugly Duckling” grew up to be just an ugly duck instead of a beautiful swan? What if happy endings weren’t a given in these stories?

The play takes these bizarro versions of famous stories and threads them together into a single narrative. 3 recurring characters drive the story: Jack (the beanstalk guy), Foxy Loxy (sort of a hodgepodge of the evil fox from many different stories) and The Little Red Hen (played by Alexander Kronfeldt, Chase Adelsman and Annacita Gomez respectively.) All 3 young actors were great in their parts, with Jack being the “good guy” - always wanting the fables to go in a traditional direction, Foxy being the agitator - enjoying when things work out differently and The Hen as intermittent comic relief.

Each of the stories is pretty funny for both adults and kids. “Cinderumplestiltskin” combines the two stories referenced in the title with unexpected results. “The Other Frog Prince” leads up to a funny awkward kiss that has no result at all except for the annoying princess being grossed out. “The Stinky Cheese Man” re-imagines “The Gingerbread Man” as the offspring of a Green Bay Packers-obsessed, do-nothing father and a lonely but absent-minded mother. A lot of the humor comes from these kinds of pop culture references - for example Rumplestiltskin is basically a dwarfish Michael Jackson complete with one shiny glove and a moonwalk.

Each of us had favorite bits: Mine was when Cinderella tries to explain to her stepmother the French origin of the word “Soiree”, the mother responds with “You’ve mistaken me for someone who gives a merde.” (I’m guessing you don’t need to know French to deduce what “merde” means. If you do, Google it.) Janey admitted to the catchiness of The Stinky Cheese Man’s musical numbers. 4-year-old Vincent was obsessed with the giant pointing hand that kept appearing above the actors – meant to be the hand of Jack’s nemesis, the Giant from the Beanstalk.

After the show all the actors came out and greeted everyone as they left, which I thought was an awesome touch. Vinny actually seemed kinda star struck about meeting “Jack” which was super cute.

I always like to “bottom line” these things so for this one I’d say: it’s youth theater, so it’s not Broadway but the performances are great, the play itself is funny and built on a cool concept, the theater is amazing and what they are doing is great work. I’m a well-known hater of musicals, so I wasn’t all that into that part, but the lyrics are funny and the music is catchy. Also, at about 60 mins, it is the perfect length for a family aged 4 to 40 with notoriously short attention spans. I mean that seriously, I was impressed that it held the kid’s attention so well.

The show runs for one more week with performances Wednesday through Sunday, August 1st.

Family activities usually fall in to 2 categories: stuff the kids like that the parents tolerate, and stuff the parents like that the kids get dragged along to. Every now and again something comes along that is equally awesome for both parties, and I was banking on “Star Wars - In Concert” being one of those things.

I grew up in the heyday of the original Star Wars movies, and man was I into it. And not just the movies, I had the soundtrack albums, the action figures, books, comics, toys, everything. Dominic is now about the same age I was at the time, and he discovered Star Wars via the “Clone Wars” TV show on Cartoon Network – a show we both love and often watch together.

It’s no exaggeration to say that I wore out the grooves on the soundtrack records (yes, vinyl records) for the original Star Wars trilogy back in the day, so let me just say that this review of the show looks at it from 2 different perspectives: that of a parent looking for good family fun, and that of a huge Star Wars nerd.

I’ll cut right to chase and say that from both perspectives the show was TOTALLY AWESOME.

On arrival, the cross-generational appeal of Star Wars was obvious. People of all ages were there wearing Star Wars and Clone Wars T-shirts of various kinds, toting life-sized lightsabers and even sporting a few costumes. A number of props and artifacts from the films were on exhibition, including weapons, helmets, a full-size Chewbacca, some pages from the original music score and some panels of amazing concept art.

I had seen pictures and read about the show beforehand obviously, but I wasn’t quite sure what to expect until we got in our seats and the show began. On stage was a huge orchestra backed by a large choir and surrounded by futuristic looking lights. Behind all of this was a gigantic video screen, which was bordered by meshes of LED lights that took on the color and texture of the video being shown.

The show started with an arrangement of the traditional Star Wars opening title theme, during which the screen showed close-ups of the musicians and the conductor. I’ve seen a lot of orchestral concerts, so my expectations for sound quality in a hockey arena were pretty low, but it really sounded great – surprisingly good really.

After the opening overture, Anthony Daniels (do I need to say who he is? he played C-3PO) came out on stage to narrate the show. He was sort of what you expect - a bit overdramatic, but an entertaining storyteller. Each musical piece was arranged around a particular theme from the story – battles between rebels and empire, the love affair between Anakin and Padme, Jedi training, etc., and presented in vaguely chronological order.

The music was synchronized to audio and video clips from the films, but they were more like collages or music videos than straight excerpts. The quick-cut editing lent massive eye candy to John William’s dramatic music. Being one of seemingly few original Star Wars fans to also like the prequel movies, I dug the way the show blended images from all 6 films. My only nerd gripe is that the clips from the original trilogy were taken from the controversial “re-mastered” versions that included added CG special effects.

Toward the end of the show, the lasers came out. I took this handheld video of one of the best bits - a sequence of “battle scenes” set to the Death Star assault music from the original Star Wars.

Star Wars - In Concert from 651 Family on Vimeo.

I think we were both pretty surprised at the blend of orchestra and visual tech, but most importantly it was just a really fun time for both long-time fans and younger newbies. It also proved to me that the Xcel Center can be a great venue for non-sporting events.

As we’ve talked about on this blog before, the Minnesota Children’s museum in downtown St. Paul is one of our absolute favorite places. So when we heard there was a new exhibit coming that was WIzard of Oz-themed, we were psyched. We went to check it out on opening day.

The exhibit follows the format of all other Children’s Museum exhibits - hands on activities that help kids understand how something works. In the case of the Wizard of Oz, it was a mix of activities about the story itself and the making of the movie.

There are a few different sections in the room based on different parts of the story. On the left as you go in is the Emerald City, which has a couple really cool things - a “horse of different color” activities involving light-mixing and (Dominic’s favorite) a thing that makes your voice sound like the Wizard of Oz.

At the center of the room is the yellow brick road, and series of soft blocks that let you build a rainbow. Nearby is Dorothy’s house, which lets you control a spinning tornado in the window with a crank.

One of the coolest things I saw was a replica of Mrs. Gulch’s bicycle that drove a kind of zoetrope thing using mirrors. When you pedal the bike, a spinning set of mirrors makes a simple animation of Mrs. Gulch transforming into the Witch. I had Dominic take it for a spin so I could get it on video.

Dominic on the Zoetrope Bike. from 651 Family on Vimeo.

The Children’s Museum has always been good at the “exit through the gift shop” thing, so there is a huge amount of Oz-themed swag in the store. Like the exhibit itself, some of it is movie-themed, and some is book-theme. The exhibit is really fun and we spent about 30 mins in there, which is a lot when the rest of the museum is calling. I think it’s well worth checking out, with the usual Children’s Museum rules: bring hand sanitizer and don’t go on Free Sunday unless you *really* wanna save the money.

Where better than St. Paul to have a relaxing day of mother-daughter shopping, brunch and more? If you’re yet to come up with a plan for Mother’s Day, we’ve compiled some great last-minute ideas for you to spend some quality time together.

BRUNCH:
Getting a table at short notice on Mother’s Day is a toughie, but we took a gander at Open Table and there’s still hope.

Award-winning Italian restaurant Pazzaluna has a ton of availability. If the weather’s warm enough, you could snag a patio seat for a great view of the historic buildings surrounding the eatery (Saint Paul Hotel and Landmark Plaza to name a couple). The house cocktails are especially delicious, as are pretty much any of their famous pizzas and fondues. (360 Saint Peter St., St. Paul, 651-223-7000, www.pazzaluna.com.)

Salut Bar Americain has some openings later in the afternoon, and located in the center of Grand Avenue’s shopping district. The welcoming French-styled brasserie offers the freshness and rich flavor of rural French cooking. (917 Grand Ave. at Milton St., St. Paul, 651-917-2345, www.salutbaramericain.com.)

Dixie’s on Grand brings Creole cooking to the Great North. Known for homemade, melt-in-your-mouth buttermilk biscuits, comfort-food mashed potatoes with cream gravy, and jambalaya like no other, Dixie’s is also a hop, skip and a jump away from plenty of shopping options. (695 Grand Ave. at St. Albans St., St. Paul, 651-222-7345, www.dixiesongrand.com.)

Located in a beautiful Victorian mansion in the lovely Irvine Park area of Downtown St. Paul, Forepaugh’s offers New American Cuisine and an expansive wine list. (276 S. Exchange St., St. Paul, 651-224-5606, www.forepaughs.com.)

Housed in the historic Dakotah Building on Cathedral Hill, W.A. Frost has the best wine selection in town, and probably the best patio. Though reservations are full for its popular Mother’s Day brunch, you might be able to get onto the waiting list. (374 Selby Ave. - St. Paul, 651-224-5715, www.wafrost.com.)

M ST. Cafe is the perfect setting for a memorable Mother’s Day Brunch. On May 9, M ST. Cafe will host a brunch from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The menu features traditional items such as Chef-Carved Herb Crusted Striploin and a made to order omelet station. (350 Market St., St. Paul, 651-228-3855.)

SHOPPING:
After brunch (or before lunch), what better activity could you do in St. Paul on Mother’s Day than shopping? Find a gift for your mom, and buy a few things for yourself while you’re at it - these local shops and salons have deals galore in honor of the special day.

Saturday and Sunday, Grand Hand Gallery hosts San Francisco metalsmith Sarah Graham for a Jewelry Trunk Show. The designer will be on hand with a full range of new and favorite designs for this two-day event. Sarah is known for the unique color combinations she achieves with materials including blackened steel, conflict free diamonds and 18 karat gold. Her motifs often spring from her observations of the natural world: she cites one of nature’s virtues - patience - as the grounding principle of her design process as she creates her beautiful, enduring work. (10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, May 1 & noon-5 p.m. Sunday, May 2. Grand Hand Gallery, 619 Grand Ave., St. Paul, 651-312-1122, www.thegrandhand.com.)

St. Paul salon FiveTwoSix is having a ton of promotions going just in time for Mother’s Day. Now through May 8, buy a $50 gift card and receive a travel bag and two free 2-oz. samples of Bumble & Bumble product. Also while supplies last, buy a Dermalogica Daily Microfolian and receive a travel size Special Cleansing Gel and Active Moist for only $50 (an $80.50 value) - and through May, receive 10 percent off all Dermalogica products. Looking to try out a new stylist on the cheap? FiveTwoSix’s stylists-in-training program offers haircuts starting at $15. Finally, for every three people you refer to your stylist, you’ll receive a free haircut - and each referred person receives a complimentary Bumble & Bumble product. (FiveTwoSix Salon Spa & Gallery, 529 Selby Ave., St. Paul. 651-222-3839, www.526salon.qwestoffice.net.)

Spend $200 or more at participating retailers and receive a $20 gift card for a restaurant at Rosedale during its Mother’s Day promotion, running through Sunday. Stores include Williams-Sonoma, lucy, Coldwater Creek, Talbots, Hot Mama, Pandora, Brighton Collectibles, Francesca’s Collections, Bare Escentuals, White House Black Market, J. Jill, Ann Taylor, Borders, rocco altobelli Salon & Spa, and Sephora. Bright receipts to Guest Services April 29 to May 9 to redeem for a gift card. (10 Rosedale Shopping Center, Roseville, 651-638-3553, www.myrosedale.com.)

RELAX:
In between dining and shopping, take in some special Mother’s Day entertainment.

The Saint Paul Civic Symphony is holding its annual Mother’s Day Concert at Landmark Center, where they’ll perform “Souvenirs from Bayreuth.” The always-popular show features music from or inspired by Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle as well as one of the winners of the 2009 WAMSO Young Artists’ Competition. (1 p.m., Free, Landmark Center’s Musser Cortile, 75 5th St. W., St. Paul, 651-292-3233, www.landmarkcenter.org.)

Also at Landmark Center, the American Association of Woodturners host a Mother’s Day tea party (not to be confused with the political party). Mothers and their families are invited to join the Woodturners for tea and baked goods as they talk about their ongoing teapot exhibit at the Landmark. (3 p.m., Free, Landmark Center’s 2nd floor Galleria, 75 5th St. W., St. Paul, 651-292-3233, www.landmarkcenter.org.)

The James J. Hill House will offer a tour of the historic house focusing on the women who lived and worked there, followed by an hour-long relaxation class, presented by the Minnesota Historical Society. (4:30 p.m. $10-12, James J. Hill House, 240 Summit Ave., St. Paul, 651-297-2555, events.mnhs.org.)

Mothers are admitted free to the Gibbs Museum when accompanied by their offspring. Tour the museum of pioneer life - and sample the Gibbs Museums’ delish homemade ice cream. (The Gibbs Museum of Pioneer and Dakotah Life, 2097 W. Larpenteur Ave., St. Paul, 651-646-8629, www.rchs.com)

Moms also get free admission in to the Minnesota Children’s Museum, whose current exhibitions include “The Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China” and the popular “Dinosaurs.” (10 W. 7th St., St. Paul, 651-225-6000, www.mcm.org).

This weekend is the 78th annual Festival of Nations in St. Paul, so we decided we would check it out on Saturday and report back before the the event closes on Sunday evening.

Although it’s one of the longest-running ethnic festivals in the country, strangely neither Janey or I had even been. When I was growing up our school used to take groups there, but for some reason I always chose to skip.

So the four of us headed to St. Paul to check it out.

The Festival takes place at RiverCentre, so there was plenty of parking in the RiverCentre ramp. For some reason I thought we had parked just a few levels down from the skyway, and suggested it might be fun to walk up the ramps instead of taking the elevator. Our oldest was way into it and started bounding up the ramps. It didn’t take long for us to realize we were, in fact, about 7 floors down, so the day started with a bit of exercise. (Which turned out to be a good thing once we started checking out the food area later on.)

As we arrived, a bagpipe group started playing in the main performance area at the bottom of the escalator. I’m personally a fan of the pipes, but 4-year-old Vincent covered his ears the whole time! Adjacent to the performance area was an information booth staffed by some folks who didn’t smile much but were very helpful.

Just beyond the performance area is the food area, chock full of “Ethnic Cafes” representing foods from all over the world. Let’s be honest though, this area is far and away the least authentic of anything at the festival. It’s a sort of Epcot Center meets State Fair take on world cuisine. A world where most things are fried, almost everything is incredibly delicious, and no one cares whether any of it is good for you in any way. Which is to say it was awesome! Again, if you don’t take it too seriously its really great and we were actually surprised at how inexpensive the food was from some of these booths.

In the next area over was the Bazaar and Demonstrations area. For the most part, the places selling stuff were near the center, while the booths along the wall were giving various craft demonstrations.

For the kids, the demonstrations were the most interesting part. Dominic learned all about weaving, Vinny was dazzled by Origami and we saw a bunch of other stuff from paper-cut art to wood carving.

The Bazaar was selling a predictable mix of total junk and pretty cool stuff. A couple of the ones that I found funny and/or awesome:

The Malaysia booth, which was clearly going for a more modern take on the country’s fashions – selling graphic T-shirts and other pop-culture stuff.

The Finland booth where not one single item strayed from the traditional blue and white color scheme!

The was a secondary stage in back with more rotating music. As we walked by it was a couple playing duets on Didgeridoos.

Upstairs from the bazaar were the more earnest Cultural Exhibits and an area for Dance performances.

All-in-all we had an awesome time. Sunday is the last day, and I believe the Festival closes earlier that day – around 6. I think its worth the time if you haven’t been yet.

Spring is now in full swing and me and my 4-year old, Vincent, had Saturday to ourselves. Outside was definitely calling. Vinny, like most kids his age, is really into playgrounds with slides, ladders and climbing equipment. So we decided to make it our mission to find the best playground in the city.

We started with our favorite research method – just ask Mama. Janey mentioned a place I had never heard of called “Treasure Island” in St. Paul. A quick Google search on it brought up several references from parents calling it the best playground in town. I was still slightly skeptical. I mean, if its such a great place why have I never heard of it? It was enough to convince us to go check it out.

The playground is part of the Expo Magnet School near Snelling and Randolph, a block or two from Cretin-Derham Hall High School. Once we got nearby it was a little more obvious why I hadn’t heard that much about it. It’s not visible or particularly accessible from any of the main streets in the area. In fact it’s in a spot where Pascal Ave dead-ends into a parking lot [Map]. Let just say you have to know where you are going.

As soon as we roll up, it becomes obvious why people like this place. It is a huge, all-wood, structure decorated to vaguely resemble a pirate’s cove. There is a main structure of interconnected walkways, towers and tunnels surrounded by a few smaller areas with typical playground climbing stuff. Among the things we saw: a wooden Tic-Tac-Toe board, a climbing wall, 3 types of slides and several tire swings.

Just to give a sense of how big this place is, I took this brief video that shows Vincent walkthrough about a quarter of the total structure looking for a room he had earlier dubbed the “Iggywig”. Frankly I had as much fun chasing him as he did running around.

Vinny searches for the “Iggywig” at Treasure Island playground. from 651 Family on Vimeo.

It was also surprisingly un-crowded for a 65 degree Saturday afternoon, further convincing me that it might be more of a neighborhood secret than a destination.

The only way I was going to get Vinny to leave after a couple hours was to bribe him with food and ice cream. Another sweet side-effect of this playground is it’s proximity to tons and tons of family-friendly restaurants and shops, so we took Janey’s recommendation once again and cruised over to Snuffy’s Malt Shop on Cleveland.

Snuffy’s is another one of those places that I feel dumb admitting I have never been to, but I’m glad I finally went. The burgers were awesome, so was the ice-cream. The small, half-width booths near the front were perfect for the two of us. At first Vinny was slightly freaked out by the fact that the bathrooms were through the kitchen and down in the basement, but once he saw the walls painted with fish, he kept trying to find excuses to go back down there.

We had a blast at both places, and are already planning our next trip to the neighborhood.

This Friday, Stepping Stone Theater for Youth Development opens a new show “My Grandmother’s Tsotchkes: Tales of a Gambling Grandma”. For those not familiar, Stepping Stone was created to get kids involved in a professional-style theater program that – as the mission statement says – builds “self-esteem, confidence, and a sense of community while celebrating diversity in a supportive, non-competitive atmosphere.”

Anytime I want the real dirt on a kid’s theater program I go straight to Janey who was something of a budding child star in the local theater world growing up. Her assessment of Stepping Stone, albeit from back in the day, was that it was about much more than just reciting lines. Kids participate in every aspect of a production including lighting, tech, music, dance and stage management. She also said “it’s a great way to get out of school when there are matinees.” Definitely wisdom we’d like to pass on to our kids.

So, on to the show. In the play, a young girl learns the life stories of her Russian Jewish Grandmother via the trinkets she has collected throughout her life. Beyond just storytelling, the show is heavy on music and dance – which always holds the attention of our slightly squirmy kids. Plus they are all about their Grandmothers, so we’ll definitely be working that angle in the “pitch” to them on why they should pay attention.

One interesting thing happening in the lead-up to this show is that the Pioneer Press has 11 year-old cast member Izzy Rousmaniere doing a behind-the-scenes blog about rehearsals. She seems to have much different attitude than the young, class-skipping Janey had in the late 80s: “Rehearsals go from 6 to 9 every night. I have a pretty busy schedule, so I’m often tired. I also have to find time for my homework.”

Show opens this Friday, full calendar here.

Last week was the start of a series at Landmark Center called “Urban Expedition”. Basically its a Sunday event themed around the history and culture of a particular country including music, dancing, activities, food and art. I remember that Landmark did some of these last year, and they’ve just kicked off the 2010 series.

The first week’s featured country was Korea, which we were bummed to have missed. This week, it was Hungary. Dominic, for one, was excited to learn something about this country. The youth soccer league that he plays in every year uses countries as their team names, and he played on Team Hungary a few years ago. Almost-4-year-old Vincent was more dubious, but I promised there would be dancing and he seemed into that.

When we arrived at Landmark, first thing we saw was a poster for the event. Admittedly, the poster over-promises pretty seriously with the headline “Travel The World Without Leaving St. Paul”, but the hyperbole was forgivable once we got inside.

Landmark Center.

The poster outside.

A warm welcome.

If you’ve ever been to a family event at the Landmark Center – like fall’s famous “Great Pumpkin Festival” – you’ll recognize the format. Easels with signs mark different areas, and there is a main stage with music or other entertainment.

The action is on the main stage.

The folks tales area.

The craft area.

The welcome table was staffed by some very nice ladies who seemed impressed that Vincent could hum “Ode To Joy” until I told them that he learned it from a video game. They told us that the kids get “passports” which they can get stamped at each Urban Expedition event they attend. Pretty cute. They even got their pictures taken for these “passports”. The picture-taking session pretty much revealed the major personality differences between our 2 kids. When asked to smile, Dominic gave a low-key smirk, while Vinny just kept sticking his tongue out at the photographer. Sweet kid.

Dominic smiled when asked.

Vincent, of course, stuck out his tongue.

Once inside, we saw a dancing group on the main stage and tons of different activities around the outside of the space. Among the more hilarious parts were a station dedicated to Hungarian Erno Rubik and his infuriated Rubik’s Cube, and a Chess Master who would take on multiple opponents at a time. Vincent really, really wanted to take the guy on despite not having ever played the game. He kept repeating “I can win, I can win”.

The craft activities were simple but fun, and frankly just being in such a spectacular building makes everything a bit cooler.

Tribute to Erno Rubik!

The Chessmaster.

Vinny wanted to challenge the master.

Despite the over-hyped poster outside, the event was actually super fun and we all dug it. There are at least 3 more events in this series coming up, and I think any or all of them are worth checking out. Next Sunday, February 28th features Colombia, then Israel on March 7th and Ghana on April 11th. More info can be found on Landmark Center’s site.

What an awesome building.

We are a week into Omnifest at the Science Museum, and we’ve yet to see any of the 5 films showing on everyone’s favorite giant, motion-sickness-inducing screen. If you aren’t familiar with Omnifest, its a six-week Omnitheater film festival where you can catch any one of 5 movies each day. For members the first movie each day is free, and if you want to catch a few more while you are there its 15% off each ticket.

I wanted to get our oldest, Dominic, all psyched up to check out some of these films, so I decided I would show him the online trailers for all 5 and let him decide which ones seemed the most interesting. Certainly it’s hard to judge a movie made for the mega-screen from a tiny little online trailer, but as you will see in the video below, certain themes emerged.

Dominic Previews “Omnifest” for the651.com from 651 Family on Vimeo.

“Africa’s Elephant Kingdom”: For some reason Dominic found it hilarious that they referred to an elephant community as a “kingdom”. He also noticed there were a lot of scenes of both fighting and babies, and wondered if at some point we’d see fighting baby elephants.

“Into The Deep”: Dominic is obsessed with sea creatures so he pretty much spent the entire trailer shouting out the names of the fish and animals he saw. I figured this one was going to be a winner.

“Van Gogh – Brush with Genius”: He recognized some of Van Gogh’s famous paintings, but that wasn’t enough to keep him from deeming this one “boring”. No real shock there. I thought it looked cool though.

“The Greatest Places”: He perked up for this one, especially the scenes that involved giant icebergs. So I thought maybe he was impressed. But when I said “woah” during a majestic scene, his reaction was “what do you mean woah?”. Hrmmm.

“Ski To The Max”: No shock that he was digging this one. Basically its a bunch of footage of the craziest skiing stuff you’ve ever seen.

So – probably obvious, but – stuff involving snow, animals and action definitely wins with the 8-year-old set over stuff involving close-up analysis of paint strokes and slow-moving nature scenery. Regardless, the scale of the Omnitheater can make even mundane subjects seem huge and engrossing.

Omnifest runs through March 11th.