ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT >>

• BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
  Playing favorites can be a dangerous game, particularly in matters artistic, where the judge's personal taste is paramount. Nevertheless, we find it undeniable that, alongside Hidden Theatre's Brian Baumgartner, Steven Epp (who played Aramis in Theatre de la Jeune Lune's The 3 Musketeers) is... More >>
• BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA
  This town is packed with good actors, but Hidden Theatre cofounder Baumgartner is disgustingly good, and we are getting disgusted with ourselves for pointing it out so often. His talent is clear in every role, from the psychotic girlfriend-beater of The Crackwalker and the pseudo-psychotic... More >>
• BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
  A veteran of the Guthrie stage, Wingert shines most wickedly in witty roles. Her rollickingly funny performances in last year's A Midsummer Night's Dream, You Can't Take It with You, and Blithe Spirit again proved the actress has a gift for saucy wit and comic timing. Her wide smiles slide from... More >>
• BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
  Okay, okay: So the two characters Duncan portrayed in Jar the Floor and A Raisin in the Sun are pretty much one and the same, with the Jar character simply a few years farther down the road to senility. No matter. Duncan hit almost every note perfectly in both roles, and when she wasn't... More >>
• BEST AM RADIO PERSONALITY
  Between the hours of 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, the acerbic, absurdly energetic T.D. Mischke broadcasts either from "the muddy ditches along Highway 61" or his summertime perch above right center field at Midway Stadium. Mischke's m.o. is to use tidbits from the news as... More >>
• BEST ART CINEMA
  These days the least bottom line-minded theater in town books enough essential exclusives (e.g., Gabbeh, Gummo) and multiplex run-offs (Jackie Brown, Kundun) to keep things interesting--and, one hopes, solvent. As persistent rumors of their impending death prove premature on a weekly basis, the... More >>
• BEST ART GALLERY
  Since its opening in 1995, the Soap Factory has shown the Twin Cities some of the boldest art in town. With eggs hanging from gauze ovaries, newspaper photos of faces smeared into mystery, and grass splitting through the hardwood floor, its images burn indelibly through the city's aesthetic... More >>
• BEST BOOK BY A LOCAL AUTHOR
  Every year for the past 10 years, the Minnesota Center for the Book organizes the Minnesota Book Awards to acknowledge the work of authors who live and work in the state. This year, more than 70 books in 18 categories were nominated from more than 200 titles ranging from novels to anthologies... More >>
• BEST BUDGET MOVIE THEATER
  Even before the movie starts, one feels transported here: The authentic Art Deco furnishings are well-maintained rather than run-down, while such inimitable touches as the faux-gold water fountain are enough to conjure filmgoing memories from childhood. And as the site of Asian Media Access's... More >>
• BEST CHILDREN'S MUSEUM
  The giant anthill at the Minnesota Children's Museum is by itself worth the price of entry. (Museum admission is free for infants and members, $3.95 for toddlers and seniors, and $5.95 for those aged 3 to 59.) Not only are the human-size catacombs a fantasy come true for young children who love... More >>
• BEST CHOREOGRAPHER
  Riverdance, Stomp, and Tap Dogs have put percussive dance epics on the mainstream map, but local choreographer Joe Chvala seems to prefer the more obscure potential within his pagan soul--and we're all better off for it. References to Nordic myths, fairy tales, and medieval spiritual journeys... More >>
• BEST DANCER
  Dancers tend to be as nomadic as Bedouins, but Denise Armstead and Christine Maginnis have made Minneapolis the home-sweet-home of their Zenon Dance Company for more than 15 years. During that time, the pair's repertoire has encompassed countless variations of modern and jazz techniques--no... More >>
• BEST FILM
  Not coincidentally, the best local film of the past 12 months tells an intimate history of Twin Cities art through the life of its director's own uncle, abstract painter Reginald Anderson. (And as luck would have it, this little-seen, hour-long film is playing May 15 at the Walker as part of a... More >>
• BEST FILM FESTIVAL
  No contest whatsoever, which is why its survival remains of the utmost importance. In the three years since U Film Society's Al Milgrom stopped referring to his annual workaholic binge as the Rivertown Film Festival, it has stayed the same as it ever was: an expansive, unruly,... More >>
• BEST FM RADIO PERSONALITY
  Rare is the radio personality who can use the word "dichotomy" in its proper context. And rarer still is one who actually talks about music and artists while on the air. For these reasons, as well as his mellifluous voice, his left-leaning social and political commentary, his "What were we... More >>
• BEST FREE TOUR
  We know what you're thinking: Free beer! Better yet, free Summit ale and porter! But first you've got to see how it's made, and that requires a phone call to reserve one of the 40 spots on the Saturday tour at 1 p.m. every week. For an hour, you'll move through Summit's two buildings on... More >>
• BEST HACK
  For several years now, Karlen has covered his home state for the New York Times, and his most distinguished achievement might be 1995's "Greetings From MINNESOBER," a deep and contemplative look at the 12-step culture of our fly-over state. A year later, he impressed the hometown crowd with "If... More >>
• BEST LITERARY ZINE
  Consolation nods go out here to XCP (cross cultural poetics), a thick journal edited by Mark Nowak that just published its second issue of poetry and essays; and Conduit, a handsome and irregular periodical whose fifth issue defines itself as "the only magazine that risks annihilation." Yet... More >>
• BEST LOCAL ARTIST
  This category is an unfortunate catch-all: Comparing photogravurists and painters and sculptors and declaring one of them the victor is a bit like naming a Best Molecule or Best Sexual Position. Still, with that caveat lector firmly in place, we can say that our favorite local artist is Stephen... More >>
• BEST LOCAL CARTOONIST
  Comic books are too often precious in the worst possible way: From the endless list of cover enhancements that offer gimmicks in place of graceful design (pop-up pictures, holograms, some godawful thing called Kirbychrome), it would seem that fanboys love comics but hate books. Thank Galactus... More >>
• BEST LOCAL DIRECTOR
  A director provides vision, constructs frameworks, and creates logic; a director choreographs performers according to an internal sensibility with the hopes of affecting an audience's own vision. Philip Bither may not be a stage director himself, but, as the Walker's performing arts curator, he... More >>
• BEST LOCALLY GENERATED WEB SITE
  In the same sassy way that Village Voice columnist Michael Musto takes shots at New York's rich and famous in "La Dolce Musto," web designer Rob Levine's free site lampoons the Twin Cities' wanna-be celebrity set--better known as The Media. Launched in February out of a Minneapolis warehouse... More >>
• BEST MOVIE THEATER
  How do we love this local museum of the moving image? Let us count the ways: Its current spring calendar would be remarkable simply for premiering such modern classics of world cinema as Wong Kar-Wai's Happy Together and Aleksandr Sokurov's Mother and Son (starts May 29). But there are also... More >>
• BEST MUSEUM
  Sure, the Walker has seen better years. But let's forget about the way it occasionally swallows the worst theoretical excesses of the modern art world hook, line, and stinker. Or the mismarketing of exhibits such as the Diana Thater show and Uncle Walt's architectural drawings. Or the way that... More >>
• BEST MUSEUM EXHIBITION
  The words "renaissance man" have been affixed to Gordon Parks like a second skin. That's what happens when you've been a photojournalist, film director, composer, novelist, poet, and essayist over the course of more than eight full decades of living. As much as can be expected of a gallery... More >>
• BEST PRODUCTION OF A COMEDY
  As directed by Dominique Serrand, the show had some problems when we saw it on opening night, but overall its postmodern reconfiguration of the classic text virtually tinkled tristesse, wrapping itself in indigo layers of meaning and pricking its own dramatic bubbles regularly with an absurd,... More >>
• BEST PRODUCTION OF A DRAMA
  In this cautionary tale about the Marquis de Sade's miserable years in a Charenton asylum, Stephen D'Ambrose presented a complex, humane picture of an undeniably sick man who was only made sicker by censorship. But the show's strength went far beyond D'Ambrose's performance: Quills' ingenious... More >>
• BEST PUBLIC-ACCESS CABLE TV PROGRAM
  Ken Iosso's Don't Worry About the Government follows the traditional talk-show format with an opening monologue, guests, and a studio audience--but from there it's utterly untraditional. Broadcast live at 8 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month on cable Channel 33 in St. Paul (and repeated... More >>
• BEST RADIO STATION
  Marking its 20th anniversary this year, the little station that could--and can, and does, and will continue to do--remains the Cities' best example of the dream of community-based, commercial-free, beautiful/ugly radio diversity, with the make-your-own-show ethic of a college radio station and... More >>
• BEST READING SERIES
  Good intentions and an "A" for effort add up to second place for everybody else in town. The Hungry Mind virtually owns this category with its venerable and continually ambitious bookstore/culture empire in St. Paul, yearly playing host to dozens of readings by literary fat cats, blockbuster... More >>
• BEST ROAD SHOW
  No contest. Despite its generally lame music and a plot as original as sin, this show rewrote the book on scenic design and costumes for big-budget musicals. Designer/director Julie Taymor's minimalist evocations of an African savannah and her doppelganger/companion animal costumes went way... More >>
• BEST SPORTS TALK RADIO HOST
  Okay, so his "Common Man" persona might be pure populist shtick--considering the state of modern sports, such shtick has never sounded so righteous. Cole's gift is for tapping into the amused bafflement of ordinary fans, the sort who'll never come close to seeing the inside of a luxury box, the... More >>
• BEST STATE FAIR FOOD
  With a product name like Fudge Puppy, it's a wonder this concession draws any customers at all, much less last year's line, which frequently blocked access to the Food Building and the dozens of more exotic tidbits within it. But one taste of this ineptly named confection and you'll know... More >>
• BEST STATE FAIR RIDE
  Imagine a giant nylon log carrier. Now imagine it has three separate elongated pockets, into which three hapless fairgoers pay big money to get strapped--no doubt after a few too many Grain Belts and Tiny Tim doughnuts. What you have is the Skycoaster, the first vertical bungee ride known to... More >>
• BEST STRESS RELEASE
  Sweating out your week from hell is always more fun with live accompaniment. Every Saturday at SpaceSpace, spiritual (and aerobic) rescue is available to all ages and ability levels via two vibrant Afro-Caribbean-based dance classes, with many of the Twin Cities' finest drummers on hand to keep... More >>
• BEST THEATER FOR DRAMA
  Penumbra has hardly been the most adventurous local theater company of late, relying largely on revivals and family-focused sure things. Still, this African American theater isn't afraid of drama; in fact, unlike too many theaters both big and small, Penumbra actually embraces it. And while a... More >>
• BEST TV NEWSCASTER
  Talking heads simply aren't supposed to be hip. Or else they don't know how to be. Robyne Robinson, on the other hand, is the antithesis of what we've been taught to expect. She's got the immaculate poise and professionalism that being an anchor requires, but with one crucial detail: She's a... More >>
• BEST TV STATION
  Talk about a heated race for last place. Since losing its quirky independent stations to those ambitious programmers at Warner Bros. and UPN (the latter of whom deserves kudos for airing the wonderful local absurdity that is Let's Bowl), this market bears little to distinguish it from every... More >>
• BEST VIDEO ARCADE
  Since 1902 there's been some form of arcade at 5th and Hennepin, and the current Pop's is still a favorite with local gamers. First of all, it's one of the few places in town open past 1 a.m. every day of the week, and on Friday and Saturday you can play 'til 3 in the morning if you're so... More >>