University of Minnesota's Department of Theatre Arts and Dance/Theatre Latte Da co-production of Spring Awakening , the critically acclaimed show described as "a vital leap forward for the American musical" (Time Out) has been selected as the Top Play of 2012 by City Pages, the Twin Cities' weekly publication.
SEE: http://www.citypages.com/2012-12-26/arts/top-10-plays-of-2012/
Carl Flink, Chair of Theatre Arts and Dance expressed his appreciation commenting, "We are very proud of this important achievement for our department which represents a significant moment; Spring Awakening engaged over 5,000 members of the public during its run this past spring and demonstrated powerful proof of how the academy and a community partner can come together to create high quality art rooted in an educational setting and experience for students." Spring Awakening, presented on the Rarig Center's Stoll Thrust, April 12- May 6, 2012 was also honored with the Twin Cities ' Ivey Award, and Lavender Magazine's Critic's Choice for its artistic excellence.
In a related story, both Peter Rothstein, Spring Awakening's director and Carl Flink, its choreographer were named Artists of the Year for their outstanding contributions in 2012. City Pages theater critic Ed Huyck noted Rothstein's controversial production of Oklahoma! in Seattle, his production workshops for Illusion Theatre, Playwrights Center and his own Theatre Latte Da production of Company, as well as the Spring Awakening co -production with the U of M. Linda Shaprio, City Pages contributor in dance, pointed to Flink's distinguished work as dancer/ choreographer/dance company director for Black Label Movement (BLM) and frequent collaboration with scientists. She praised his choreography with BLM which "deals with everything from the sinking of an iron ore ship... to using dancers to convey catastrophic changes in human cells." Flink continues to widen the scope of dance with its "interconnectedness with science, and probes the outer limits of the body in motion," she concluded.
