Almond on Vonnegut
I’m a bit shamed to admit it, but when I picked up Steve Almond’s recent collection of essays “(Not that You Asked)” I cringed a little when I saw that the first substantial one focused on the author’s literary hero,…
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Live … from the Toby
The Indianapolis Museum of Art’s Tobias Theater will be renovated and reopened thanks to a $1 million gift from the Randall and Marianne Tobias.
Announcements of specific programs for “The Toby” are still forthcoming, but IMA reps say it will be…
Oscars, ‘trotters and “Menopause”
Some unrelated thoughts on a catch-up Tuesday:
The Academy Award nominations are out and it’s interesting to note that “Transformers” (3) received more nominations than “Norbit” (1).
Seriously, though, for those of us who watch the Oscars the way others…
You-review-it Monday, 1-21-08
I had a busy A&E weekend, with the “Three Girls and Their Buddy” concert at Clowes Hall on Friday night (more on that later), the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s hot ticket “Rite of Spring” performance on Saturday (see previous blog entry…
Ticket scalping…for the symphony?
This evening’s performance of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra featured something extraordinary … and I’m not talking about the performances of Beethoven’s “Pastoral” and Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” (although those were outstanding).
I’m talking about ticket scalping….
Opie art dancing on Mass Ave.
IBJ reporter Jennifer Whitson takes over the blog today with news on new downtown artwork. Take it away, Jennifer:
First came the Tom Otterness public art exhibit in 2005. The roly-poly brass sculptures captured some hearts, including those beating in some…
Great shakes at Butler
“I just pass on the enthusiasm and make it about them.”
That’s what Roger Rees, one of the world’s most acclaimed Shakespearian actors (and perhaps familiar to you for his stints on “Cheers” and “The West Wing”) modestly told me when…
Cruise and the cult of biography
Yes, it’s the big day. The unauthorized Tom Cruise biography is out.
Guess who won’t be reading it?
For one, a few clicks will get you all the couch-jumping, the Scientology, the wild rumors, and the rest that you could possibly want….
World’s best bookstores, etc.
One of the most pleasant hours of my weekend was spent chatting with staff and customers at Big Hat Books, the Broad Ripple independent that gave the city a low-key cultural infusion when it opened a few years ago….
You-review-it Monday
What did you see, read or experience this weekend?
Did you join the crowd at “End Days” at the Phoenix? Hear Marvin Hamlisch with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra? Contemplate the totems at the Eiteljorg? Catch the opening of “Say You Love…
Conrad manager says four-diamond award perfect fit for market
Almost two years after opening, the Conrad Indianapolis hasn’t received a Mobil Travel Guide review, and its four-diamond
AAA ranking puts it on par with five other Indianapolis hotels–most of which target conventioneers and business travelers.
Hamlisch and show music matters
Appreciative applause met Marvin Hamlisch when, just a few hours ago, he announced from the podium at the Hilbert Circle Theatre that he’d be conducting a medley of songs from “My Fair Lady” as part of his pops program with…
Naked in Carmel
Few would object, on the one end, to a Norman Rockwell painting being hung in an art gallery window.
Few, at the other end, would approve of a city park screening of a Jenna Jameson skin flick.
But where is the line…
Super hero museum closes
Superman leaps tall buildings in a single bound (note: If he can fly, why does he bother leaping? Just asking).
Dane Nash took his own enormous leap—of faith—when he decided to put his Superman and Batman memorabilia collection—including a full-sized Batmobile…
You-review-it Monday
This weekend, I caught Dance Kaleidoscope’s “Funny Feet,” The Phoenix Theatre’s “End Days,” Beef & Board’s “Run for Your Wife” and stopped in, briefly, at the Midwest Museum of Contemporary Art’s “Backyard” at the Harrison Center.
In short, I spent a…
Convention Center President Bob Bedell to retire
Bob Bedell worked behind the scenes for months–if not years–to make the case for expanding the Indiana Convention Center
and building a 1,000-room hotel nearby. But someone else will have to fill both venues with visitors. The 60-year-old Indianapolis
Convention & Visitors Association president has said he’ll retire at the end of June.
Lining up for Romans
A three-hour wait to see a show at the Indianapolis Museum of Art?That’s what patrons report occurred in late December as Hoosiers took advantage of some free time to see “Roman Art from the Louvre” during its final…
IBJ Night at the Movies
Want to join us at an advance screening of one of the most critically acclaimed movies of the year?
I’ll get to how in a second.
First, I wanted to ask if critics—of books, art, concerts, whatever—have influenced where you’ve decided to…
Indy arts: The Ballard years
“… Frankly, if it comes down to another piece of art or another cop on the street, that’s not a close call.”
So said Greg Ballard in a post-election interview with IBJ.
With Ballard now officially on the job as mayor of…
Holiday Movies
The holiday movie season started for me with a sneak of “The Kite Runner,” continued with the flawed-but-fascinating “No Country for Old Men,” took me through the nail-biting “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead,” sidetripped into the domestic drama “The…