With a new season starting on Broadway, I thought it a good time to give a listen to a stack of cast recordings of 2007/2008 shows. More than the original production, I believe, the cast recording is what encourages future…
Variety reports today that “Up in Smoke” comedy legends Cheech and Chong will be hitting the road for the first time in 25 years. Their national tour, titled “Hey, What’s that Smell?” will be announced tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the latest comedy from…
In the previous blog, I listed the upcoming schedule for the Clowes Presents series. Well, Clowes Hall isn’t our town’s only presenter of across-the-arts-spectrum one-night-only touring talent.
Here are the 2008-2009 shows coming to town courtesy of the Pike Performing…
Some arts organizations create. Others present.
As to the latter, what Clowes Hall brings to town helps define the Indy arts season. So what do you think of this year’s “Clowes Presents” lineup?
Loudon Wainwright III and Leo Kottke (Sept. 27)
Hubbard Street Dance…
One of the core ideas behind most fringe theater festivals is that anyone can sign up to perform. If you get your application in early enough–and pay the nominal sign-up fee–your show is part of the event.
As demonstrated by the…
Broadway has a new lead actress for “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” thanks to an MTV talent competition (see story here). London and Broadway have also cast talent for revivals of “Grease,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” “The…
With concerts booked heavily at Verizon Wireless Music Center, the Lawn at White River State Park, the Murat, the Indiana State Fair, Music Mill, the Vogue, the casinos and other venues as well as Indy Jazz Fest, IBE’s Summer Celebration, and RibAmerica, it…
Noted curmudgeon—and very smart and funny writer—Joe Queenan recently threw down the gauntlet at contemporary classical music and those who, in his view, claim to like it.
Some notable quotes from his article “Admit It, You’re as Bored as…
Chris Jones at the Chicago Tribune reports that the Chicago production of “Jersey Boys” (an outstanding show, by the way–and that’s me talking, not Jones) has gone smoke free.
He’s not talking about the theater. He’s talking about the…
“Sometimes I worry that culture is like vegetables and that I’d be better off eating that which is locally grown,” writes novelists Ann Patchett in today’s Wall Street Journal.
The piece isn’t a celebration of local arts. Rather, it’s a tribute to the…
More random thoughts from the American Theatre Critics Association conference in Washington.
* If the powers that be in Carmel–or any other place that aspires to be an arts destination–hasn’t already made contact, they should reach out immediately and speak to…
It’s the fourth day of the American Theatre Critics Association annual conference and my feet or sore, my eyes a little glazed over, and my excitement about theater and its potential increased.
Here are some notes:
* One of the factors credited…
The latest in a serious of reports from the American Theatre Critics Association conference in Washington, D.C.
It’s past intermission, but I chose not to go back into the theater. Stomach issues, I claim. Truth is, I saw a much better directed, better…
We’re on the stage of the National Theatre, rich in history but on the verge of irrelevance. With a mere 1675 seats, it’s difficult to compete for tours and concerts with the Kennedy Center and other larger houses.
This is…
“Hi, I’m Harry,” he says, shaking my hand.
And when he sits down at our table, a woman next to him asks, “Who do you write for?”
That’s the standard first question here at the American Theatre Critics Association conference in Washington. But, in this case,…
The Tony Awards , the annual celebration of the Broadway season, are being handed out this Sunday night.
Did I hear a yawn? You aren’t alone.
A notorious ratings loser, the show each year seems to squander the opportunity to excite….
The pride of Portland, Indiana, choreographer Twyla Tharp premiered a new work, “Rabbit and Rogue” with the American Ballet Theatre last week, earning a range of reviews from enthusiasm to dismissal .
In reading them, I was taken back…
I’m sure there are arts patrons in Central Indiana who travel across the border to hear the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I just don’t know any of them.
For most of us, the musical difference between a true world-class orchestra like the…
I’ll admit that I never quite got a handle on Sheryl Crow. As catchy as some of her songs are, her hits always seemed all about the chorus. No harm there—just nothing that made me want to go out…
Half my lifetime ago, I journeyed across the country from East Coast to West and found myself on my own for a few days in Los Angeles. Looking for some cheap entertainment, I picked up a $6 ticket to see…
