Performing Arts: Page 74

Harmony From Chaos

Harmonic Laboratory brings a dazzling avant garde show to the Hult

Dance

Everything is dark except for the truck-sized monolith. Two female figures emerge from the shadows, their bodies athletically twisting and spinning and stomping to the electronic beat, which sounds like someone drumming on crystal stalagmites. Crisp, geometric patterns project upon the monolith, creating a digital trompe l’oeil effect, the electronic shapes dissolving into and out of the forms of the dancers, whose projected images appear to be writhing within the structure as their counterparts writhe freely outside. Continue reading →

Eugene meet Eugene, Again

Stand-up Comedian Eugene Mirman chats with EW about Bob’s Burgers, Russia and a remake of Splash

Comedy

You know him as the voice of Gene on Bob’s Burgers and as a motley crew of characters on Adult Swim, but Comedian Eugene Mirman is perhaps most revered for his baritone stand-up: a slew of silliness, irreverence and observation. His latest Comedy Central special, Eugene Mirman: An Evening in a Fake Underground Laboratory, was given an A- by the A.V. Club, which Mirman says is “wonderfully reasonable.”   Have you ever been to a town that shares your name? Continue reading →

It’s a Wilde World

UO makes frivolous fun with The Importance of Being Earnest

Theater

Pithy, witty and wise, Oscar Wilde remains the toast of the sniff set. Though dead all these long and tedious post-industrial years, Wilde, the foremost icon of soft-soap Victorian sabotage, is always good for a sharp, stinging rebuke to the narcissistic pretensions of the bourgeoisie or some feisty fillip about sexual hypocrisy of the straight crowd. His aphorisms, with their subtle swish and sting, trip oh-so trippingly off the tongues of would-be wags everywhere. Morrissey, Truman Capote and Paul Lynde, Wilde’s closest modern kin, ain’t got nothing on the master. Continue reading →

Family Drama

The Very Little Theatre presents The Cleaning Man: A Deposition in the Estate of Rock Hudson

Theater

Rock Hudson: tall, handsome, ruggedly macho, gay. Following his death from AIDS in 1985 was a sensational media circus lawsuit: Scorned lover Marc Christian was demanding $14 million, claiming it was owed to him as he had been unwittingly infected with the disease. Within this spectacular story, The Cleaning Man turns the spotlight on a fine-print footnote to history. John Dobbs, vain and simple, found employment and self-importance cleaning Hudson’s house. Continue reading →

Morgan Spurlock’s Shadow

Eugene’s honorary stoner, comedian Doug Benson, returns to our green valley

Comedy

April 21 may as well be the new 4/20, as far as Eugene and comedian Doug Benson are concerned. The seminal stoner and star of Super High Me returns to WOW Hall for his 3rd annual celebration of giggling and giggle weed, hot off releasing his on-the-road documentary The Greatest Movie Ever Rolled — to continue in the vein of pot variations on a Morgan Spurlock theme — on Chill.com. Also the host of the Doug Loves Movies podcast, Benson sounds off on his favorite and most despised films of 2013, smoking with the stars and legalizing marijuana. Continue reading →

Dance Diplomacy

U.S. State Department selects DanceAbility teachers to share their method abroad

Dance

“I was part of the contemporary dance scene at the point when everyone was pushing for equality, respect of all people and the idea that all people could dance,” says Alito Alessi, artistic director of DanceAbility International. “But no one was doing anything about it, including myself. So I said, ‘Well, what would it look like to do what we say we all believe in?’” Continue reading →

The Leading Player

The indefatigable Tony Rust brings Pippin to Marist High School

Theater

One year ago, Tony Rust conceived the idea of directing Pippin at Marist High School, and playing the Leading Player himself. If directing a high school play and being in it sounds crazy, remember that this is Tony Rust — the Marist drama teacher doesn’t sleep. He can be found doing everything from directing, running summer camps, crafting sets under the name FeO2, singing lead roles, teaching high school drama and often doing several of these things at the same time. Continue reading →