Articles

Arts to the left, arts to the right

David Mamet has stirred lots of debate with his recent column in The Village Voice. The message can be boiled down to his line “I took the liberal view for many decades, but I believe I have changed my…

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On the passing of stage greats

When a great movie actor dies, there tends to be a rush to screen his films. But when a great stage actor dies, there’s not much you can do besides mourn the performances you missed.

Paul Scofield — by all accounts…

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Summer Nights, summer slights?

The Indianapolis Museum of Art’s Summer Nights film series is one of the most popular warm-weather attractions in the city — at least, one where those who want to attend often outnumber the room the IMA has to accommodate them.

This…

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Cows, racecars … and now pianos?

Ever since the Chicago cows appeared in 1999, city marketers and arts folks have been trying to find attention-getting gimmicks to boost awareness of their towns’ coolness. Many of these—including our very own artist-decorated race cars—have been reactive rather than…

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A book by its cover

On my long to-do list for this weekend is to dig into Barbara Shoup’s upcoming young adult novel “Everything You Want” (set for release in April from Flux books).

Shoup is an Indiana writer with a stack of acclaimed books to…

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The ‘SNL’ effect

Much is being made about the impact of “Saturday Night Live” on the presidential election. For the latest New York Times story, click here

According to the argument, the way “SNL” characterize the candidates is the way the public will…

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Clarian art project raising eyebrows

For today, I’m turning the blog over to IBJ reporter Jennifer Whitson. 

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Clarian Health Partners is calling on patients, doctors and amateur photographers to submit photographs to help it decorate three new buildings.

Clarian hired locally based Jacqueline Buckingham Anderson LLC to…

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‘Ann’ dances…and annoys

Yesterday, I found myself deliberately not making a left turn on Vermont from New Jersey Street.

My reason: I just didn’t want to see the Julian Opie “Ann Dancing” electronic sculpture.

Now, I’m a big fan of public art. I believe it…

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You-review-it Monday

For me, the weekend included stops at the new gallery at the Stutz Building, a visit to the art spaces at the Murphy Art Center in Fountain Square, and finally exposing my two youngest kids to the movie “Hoosiers” —…

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Museum of Art fashion show to highlight local designers

It’s not easy to make a living in high fashion, especially in a city where the “garment district” extends only to the nearest
Hancock or Jo Ann Fabrics. Still, Indianapolis has a little something up its sleeve–more than a dozen designers who are prepping
their collections for “Project IMA,” a fashion show modeled after Bravo’s reality hit “Project Runway.”

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IRT’s new season

Yesterday the Indiana Repertory Theatre announced its 2008/2009 season and while it’s clearly too soon to pass any judgments – or make accurate predictions – I have to admit that the optimist and the pessimist in me had a field…

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Blu-ray not singing the blues

So Blu-ray won the high-definition format battle, effectively turning HD DVD into this generation’s Betamax.

Personally, this didn’t affect me at all. I managed to stay out of this turf war largely because a clearer picture and movie theater-quality sound are…

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‘Fair’er by far: a winner at Clowes

Blame it on the weather. Blame it on the familiarity of the material. Blame it on the lack of a name star.

But there were empty seats at last night’s opening of “My Fair Lady.”

It’s a shame, because unlike many other…

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Another critic bites the dust

The Los Angeles Times has decided it doesn’t need a full-time dance critic and so Lewis Segal is now out of a job.

What does that matter to you?

Well, it’s no secret that daily newspapers are placing less emphasis on arts…

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You-review-it Monday + March tips

For me, the weekend meant visiting the new Children’s Theatre Institute on North Keystone, screening more films in advance of the Indianapolis International Film Festival (early predication: “Operation Filmmaker” will be a fest favorite), and trying my hand at paper…

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Centaur tempted to buy Aztar casino

Indiana riverboat casinos don’t go up for sale every day. So when one becomes available, it’s bound to spark interest. Hence,
the dilemma facing Centaur Inc., the Indianapolis-based casino developer.

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Kid stuff the focus for new theater

In yesterday’s IBJ Daily A&E e-mail, I discussed the Children’s Theatre Institute at the Junior Achievement Center, which officially opens its doors tonight with a party and performance of “Treasure Island.” The company promises a full slate of kid-centric productions,…

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Reviews, previews, blogs, etc.

While this blog has loads of readers (110,000 page visits in January.), I’ve found, anecdotally, that that number includes some who know little about IBJ’s other arts and entertainment coverage.

So I thought I’d take today’s posting and give you a…

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Mellencamp: the musical

The long-discussed John Mellencamp/Stephen King stage musical “Ghost Brothers of Darkland County” at last has an opening date.

It’s scheduled to premiere in Atlanta at the Alliance Theatre in April…of 2009. (The Alliance, FYI, won the Tony Award for Oustanding Regional Theatre…

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