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Like much of the Willamette Valley, the month of January can be tough in Eugene. Most evenings, the wet-cold combo draws one to the comforts of home instead of out on the town to shows. But buck up, Eugeneans — throw on your polar fleece, put on your Wellies and get thee to some live music. There are loads of great concerts coming up this week. Continue reading
When we think of live performance, we probably picture actors or dancers — the people we regularly see onstage. But where would a production be without the tireless, behind-the-scenes magicians who create the sets, lighting and sound? Continue reading
Once upon a time, it seemed as though music, like the Willamette, flowed mainly to the north: Eugene bands worked hard to play Portland, but the favor wasn’t always returned, especially in the classical and jazz arenas. More and more, though, we’re seeing Portland performers recognizing the value of the Eugene market and, accordingly, this winter and spring brings a parade of Portlanders here to perform additional, even exclusive concerts. Continue reading
Like a lot of people, Corvallis-based theater director and educator Elizabeth Helman watched Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Cosmos series on Netflix. “I just happened to see a tiny little biography,” Helman tells EW, “a 10-minute segment of the Cosmos series and it had this mini-biography about Henrietta Leavitt.” Henrietta Swan Leavitt was an American astronomer at the turn of the 20th century. Continue reading
For half a century, Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird has held an immovable place on the American bookshelf by using humor and grace to tackle one of our nation’s ugliest ongoing realities: racism. The Very Little Theatre has mounted a winning production of this evergreen tale. Continue reading
Theresa May, associate professor of Theater Arts at the University of Oregon, is directing University Theatre’s current production of Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Pulitzer-winning drama, Water by the Spoonful. The play tells the story of an Iraq War veteran readjusting to civilian life. May says the play is about two intersecting worlds. “One is the world of a Puerto Rican family in Philadelphia,” she tells EW. “The other is a world of online members of an addiction chat room and support group.” Continue reading
Muhammad Ali, 1984, by Brian Lanker Continue reading
Eugene-based comics artist Mike Allred smiles wide. “I’m a professional child,” he says. Allred’s understated style turned heads when his Madman hit stores in 1992, paving the way for him to work with many of the best writers in the business as he drew the shiny, spandexed heroes he grew up loving. A couple years back, when Marvel Comics green-lit a new, light-hearted series based on the classic brooding hero Silver Surfer, editor Tom Brevoort knew instantly this project had Allred’s name written all over it. Continue reading
San Francisco band The Shanghais have never been to Eugene. Lead vocalist Natalie Sweet is wondering if we have any good vegan food here. “I’m always on the hunt,” Sweet tells EW via email. Based on that question alone, the quartet should feel right at home in our fair city with its verdant veggie foodie scene. The Shanghais will release their latest EP, Fall in Love with the Shanghais, this spring on Philadelphia-based label Endless Daze Records. Continue reading
Songwriter Vanessa Carlton’s 2015 release Liberman is partially inspired by her grandfather. “He was a painter,” Carlton tells EW. Carlton’s family changed its surname from Liberman to Lee after World War II “because of anti-Semitism,” she says. Carlton hangs her grandfather’s work near the piano where she writes her music. “The swirling, beautiful, crazy colors ended up being the inspiration for the type of music I was writing. I wanted to honor his work as a painter,” she recalls. Continue reading