Art Hounds: Peeling back the brick walls of Theatre in the Round

Forecast Public Art's founder Jack Becker was walking by Theatre in the Round the other day and was delighted to come across muralist John Pugh. Pugh is finishing up work on a massive "trompe l'oeil" — or "to fool the eye" — mural on the exterior of the theater. Becker says the brick walls appear to peel away, revealing a glass sphere with actors performing inside. "Theatre in the Round," indeed.

Minnesota Center for Book Arts' board member KC Foley attended the opening of "Rose and Melvin Smith: Remembering Rondo" at the Weisman Art Museum, and she wants everyone she knows to go see it. Foley says the husband and wife capture the vitality of the African-American neighborhood at its height, before Interstate 94 was built right through the middle of it. The sprawling exhibition includes paintings, collage and sculpture. On display through Sept. 8.

Props master Brooke Nelson paid a visit to Duluth recently, where she took in a performance of Renegade Theater Company's production "Sylvia." In it a middle-aged man falls in love with a dog — played by a beautiful young woman — much to the consternation of his wife. Nelson says the show is great fun, but not appropriate for children due to a very foul-mouthed dog. Performances run through Saturday.

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