Pinball passion resparked

At the tail end of an IBJ piece I wrote last week on Xscape, the amusement center at Lafayette Square Mall, I lamented the absence of pinball machines at the facility.

Growing up in the boardwalk town of Wildwood, NJ,…

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Free tickets…with a catch

Free tickets are being offered for theaters throughout the city. But the catch is one you don’t have much control over…your age.

It’s the tenth year for Free Ticket February, presented by The League of Indianapolis Theatres (which, given its name,…

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13 noms for IBJ Movie Night films

Films that were screened as part of our IBJ Night at the Movies previews scored 13 Oscar nominations.

Ten of those noms were for “Slumdog Millionaire.” Two others were for “The Duchess” while the final one was a well-deserved Best Original…

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You-review-it Monday

Greetings from New York.

My weekend included catching three Broadway shows (I’ll be reviewing them in the print IBJ this week) and reading a chunk of Dennis Lahane’s novel “The Given Day” while on the trains back and forth to New…

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Beckmann Theatre folds

The Beckmann Theatre–named for Robert D. Beckmann Jr., first president of the Arts Council of Indianapolis–announced today that it will cease operations.
“Given the current economic climate and competition for entertainment dollars and sponsorships, the Beckmann Theatre has made the…

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American Cabaret in transition

UPDATE: More news from ACT.

The changes at American Cabaret Theatre go well beyond cancelling a single production (see original post below). Information released today states that the company is under new management and will leave its home at the Athenaeum.

Shannon…

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Presidential poetry

For only the fourth time in history, poetry was officially a part of the U.S. Presidential inauguration.

So did the piece work for you? (You can find the text of Elizabeth Alexander’s poem here.) How did it hold up to…

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Exec pay, Chicago discounts, etc.

Occassionally, I like to devote a blog to connecting you to conversations on other blogs. It’s that time again.

Of course, feel free to comment here on anything you find out there (Hint: right click and open any link in another…

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You-review-it Monday

So, did you catch “Love Person” at the Phoenix? “Defiance” at the multiplex? Comic Joel McHale at the Murat? Or did you listen to frequent blog contributer Hope Baugh talkin’ Lincoln with Storytelling Arts?

I regretably missed all of that this…

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Marlee Matlin, audience member

Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin (“Children of a Lesser God”) got into town early for her “Dancing with the Stars” performance in time to catch the Phoenix Theatre’s production of “Love Person.” The play stars Tami Lee Santimyer, who also starred in…

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‘Defiance’: Your thoughts?

Even with the cold, there was a full house for Wednesday’s screening of “Defiance”–including many who won tickets here on the blog.

So, attendees, what did you think?

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Happier days ahead

The best thing about attending “Happy Days” at Clowes Hall last night was seeing the poster for the upcoming LA Theatre Works tour of “The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial” and finding out that the great John Heard will be…

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Bollywood in Indianapolis

While “Slumdog Millionaire” isn’t a Bollywood film, the Golden Globe winner does play with some of the conventions popularized by the Indian film industry–including the joyful dance sequence that ends the film. 

“Slumdog’s” box office and critical success may bode well for a long-running series of…

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You-review-it Monday

A busy weekend for me included a Friday evening run to Mass Ave. for the opening of Three Dollar Bill’s new sketch comedy show “Fiddleschticks,” a Saturday evening at Beef & Boards where “Don’t Dress for Dinner” kicked off the…

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Seeing Red (Skelton) in new bio

In a previous blog, I mentioned reading “Red Skelton: The Mask Behind the Mask” (Indiana Historical Society Press) by Wes. D Gehring. I was asked for some additional thought. Well, here goes:

In the book, Gehring, a Ball State film professor…

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Arts once removed

The British TV channel Sky Arts will be broadcasting English National Opera’s production of “La Boheme.” Nothing new there.

The twist is that it will, simultaniously, broadcast a live, behind-the-scenes, view. See story here.

If both were offered here, I’d guess that…

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ISO deep discounts tickets

For this post, I turn the blog over to IBJ reporter Kathleen McLaughlin.

If you thought car salesmen had the lock on limited-time offers and blowout prices, check the blue light flashing over Hilbert Circle Theatre. The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is…

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