Everyone seems to think that Star Tribune writers Rick
Nelson and Chris Hewitt have the best jobs ever. Nelson eats at and reviews
restaurants, interviews chefs and writes about food. Hewitt, a longtime movie
critic, reviews plays and writes about theater for Star Tribune, the state’s
largest newspaper and website.
The two of them share the stage at Quatrefoil library at
7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 17 for “An Evening with Rick Nelson and Chris Hewitt.”
The free event will explore what it’s like being gay journalists at a mainstream newspaper, how they got their jobs and what they think about food, restaurants and theater in the Twin Cities. Questions and a reception follow their talk.
Moderating their talk will be Tane Danger, co-founder and host of The Theater of Public Policy.
A theater critic for the Star Tribune, Chris Hewitt previously worked at the St. Paul Pioneer Press for 24 years, first as a movie critic, then as a theater critic. Prior to that, he worked at both Children’s Theatre Company and Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, as well as the usual array of career-starting small-town newspapers. He grew up in Wisconsin and Illinois, but he has lived in Minnesota longer than either of those places.
Rick Nelson has been writing about restaurants at the Star Tribune since 1998. Prior to that, he was a food writer at the St. Paul Pioneer Press, restaurant critic at Twin Cities Reader, editor (with Claude Peck) of Q Monthly and a reporter at Equal Time. A highlight of growing up in Burnsville was the opportunity it gave him to perform in “Showtime USA.” The touring variety show, produced by his high school’s theater department, played 40-plus prisons in 15 states.
Quatrefoil is a volunteer-run, member-supported LGBTQ library, one of the nation’s largest. It is open weekdays 7-9 p.m. and weekends 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Follow Quatrefoil on Facebook, Twitter (@Q_Library) and visit its website at qlibrary.org. The library is at 1220 E. Lake St. (at 13th Av. S.) in Minneapolis
