This article was written by Anne Ulseth
The Capri, 2027 W. Broadway, kicks off November with its First Thursday Films, in partnership with MSP Film Society and the Minnesota Historical Society. Love & Basketball is this month’s pick, which will be screened on November 3 at 7 p.m., with a post-show discussion led by John Wright, professor of African American and African Studies and English at the University of Minnesota, and MSP Programmer Craig Laurence Rice. Love & Basketball was directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, who also directed the current film hit, The Woman King, starring Viola Davis.
It’s been almost three years since CorVoce’s last in-person, public performance, but the choir will “give voice to the heart” in person again on Sunday, November 6 from 3-4:30 p.m. Under the direction of Karin Barrett, this 28-voice chamber choir will present Woven Into Song, a program of choral music that includes the live premiere of Catherine Dalton’s Only Kindness. Featured instrumentalists include Peter Vircks on saxophone, Dave Berg on string bass and Steve Norquist on piano. Admission to this Capri rental event is free. Donations are welcome.
As everyone knows, COVID is still lurking and due to a company member testing positive, Legends @ the Capri’s Broadway En Noir was re-scheduled from October to Thursday-Friday, November 10-11 at 7 p.m. The season opener still features vocalists Kennadi Hurst, Ashley Commodore and John Jamison, with Sanford Moore as music director. Joining Sanford in the band are Jay Young (bass) and Greg Schutte (drums). Single tickets ($25) and season passes ($80) are available at capri.simpletix.com.
The first three days of December are busy ones at the Capri, starting with the presentation of Claudine as the First Thursday Film on December 1 at 7 p.m. In this 1974 heart and soul comedy, Claudine (Diahann Carroll) is a single mother in New York City who endures an exhausting commute to the suburbs where she works as a maid for wealthy families. In one carefully tended white community, she meets Roop (James Earl Jones), a charismatic but irresponsible garbage collector. Romance quickly ensues, but Claudine doubts that their relationship is good for her six children, and Rupert, despite his good nature, is reluctant to take on fatherhood. Twin Cities Black Film Festival Founder, Natalie Morrow, leads the conversation after the film.
On Friday, December 2 at 7 p.m., the SPCO’s Northside Series opens at the Capri. SPCO flutist Julia Bogorad-Kogan curates a program of Baroque chamber music including works by Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre, the first woman to compose opera in France, and Isabella Leonarda whose musical talent was compared to the military prowess of Emperor Leopold I. Other program highlights include works by Baroque composers Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Philipp Telemann. Tickets are $15 and free for Northsiders with registration at thespco.org.
On Saturday, December 3, the SPCO will present two family-friendly one-hour shows at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. All About That Bass is a small ensemble concert program geared toward children ages 5-9 and their families. This unique program features music that showcases the double bass and will be a deep dive into the instrument and the audience’s imagination through the retelling of a true story about a baleen whale who sang too low for other whales to hear. Following the performance, attendees can try out a number of basses of different sizes in the lobby. Admission is free with registration requested at thespco.org.
All programs are at the Capri, located at 2027 W. Broadway in North Minneapolis. For details and ticket info visit thecapri.org.