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Well, this is certainly not your grandmother’s Jane Austen. With overt sexuality, barebones plotting and updated humor, University Theatre has taken Austen’s beloved classic out for a new spin that, depending on your sensibility, may or may not make sense. Continue reading
When the new musical Constance & Sinestra and the Cabinet of Screams premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the summer of 2011, Lane Community College student Anna Parks happened to catch a performance of the quirky show. Parks later brought the idea of presenting the offbeat musical to LCC’s Student Production Association, and after clearing sizeable hurdles to secure the rights to the play, the LCC theater will be among the first venues outside of the UK to debut this darkly twisted fairy tale. Continue reading
You may not know the artist, but you know the art: The Memorial Wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Maya Lin was a 21-year-old Yale undergrad when her design was selected for the memorial in 1981. Continue reading
The Underachievers Continue reading
If the chill in the air has you pining for warmer climes, then check out dancer-choreographer Bonnie Simoa and photographer-videographer John Watson’s mixed-media presentation Balinese Dance: Beyond Touristic Culture, based on their recent visit to Bali with the Lane Community College Dancers. Continue reading
One peek at the trailer for Listen Up Philip and you’d think it was another painfully indie, pseudo-intellectual film in which nothing happens — and, for the most part, this is accurate. The movie follows the despicably self-centered mind of aberrant Jewish novelist Philip Lewis Friedman, played by Jason Schwartzman (no stranger to neurotic roles, or even neurotic Jewish novelist roles). Continue reading
People who worry about classical music’s future point to its aging, dwindling audiences; stale, predictable repertoire (the same old pieces by the same old long-dead European composers); stuffy atmosphere (tuxedos! No unauthorized clapping!); dull, rote performances. Then come glimmers of hope like PROJECT Trio, which performs at The Shedd this Thursday, Nov. 6. Continue reading
Sample “Till It’s Gone” from Southern rapper Yelawolf’s yet-to-be-released Love Story, and you might be surprised — first by the rich, oaky acoustic guitar line that kicks the track off and next by what the bluesy, looping arpeggios recall: the piano figure introducing Nina Simone’s classic “Sinnerman.” Continue reading
Before discussing indie-rock siren Frankie Rose, one must ask: Which Frankie Rose are we talking about? The founding member of garage-rock acts Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls or Vivian Girls? Or the Brooklyn-based songwriter rumored to be related to legendary hard rocker and mouthpiece for Guns ‘n’ Roses, Axl Rose? The answer is both. “Why, yes. In fact [Axl] is my great grandfather,” Frankie Rose tells EW. “I only met him once backstage when his band was headlining a Metallica-Motorhead concert.” Continue reading
United Nations is a punk-rock super group of Ronald Reagan-mask-wearing banditos. Not just any band could get away with standing up to both The Beatles and the actual United Nations. But see exhibit A: the cover of the band’s 2008 debut featuring The Beatles’ famous Abbey Road image (this time with The Fab Four engulfed in flames and crossing right to left). And exhibit B: The real U.N. sent the band a cease-and-desist letter for unauthorized use of the name and U.N. logo on Facebook. Continue reading