The News & Observer is right about one thing: theater reviews don’t get clicks. That doesn’t mean a public-service institution shouldn’t do them. But let’s back up. On August 8, the N&O‘s executive editor, John Drescher, published a column titled “On the new N&O menu: Less spinach, more reader-focused coverage.” Drescher writes that, through the […]
Brian Howe
Posted inArt
Puppet Genius Jeghetto Bequeaths Fantastical Creatures and Afrofuturist Themes to National TV and Local Kids—Including His Son
It’s unlikely that any of the children who were there, not to mention their adult minders, will ever forget the day the monsters came to life at the Chapel Hill Public Library, as if they’d crawled out of the stiff pages of the picture books, suddenly inhabited by a strange, sinuous soul. As futuristic music […]
Posted inArt
Tyler Jackson’s Exhibit at Lump Scouts the Next Frontier for Artists: Virtual Reality
TYLER JACKSON: BEFORE THE WAR Friday, August 4, 6–9 p.m., free Lump Gallery, Raleigh www.lumpprojects.org No tech feels as now as virtual reality, which has had several moments in recent decades but might actually take root with the current wave of consumer head-mounted displays, or HMDs. They’re bringing a wider audience closer to true VR, […]
Posted inArt
The Mingling of Folk and Fine Art in NCMA’s Revamped African Gallery Stirs Sharp Insights and the Usual Anxieties
AFRICAN GALLERY North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh www.ncartmuseum.org “In the not too distant past, you would walk into an art museum and the African collection would be shoved in a corner somewhere,” says Linda Dougherty. Until December, that was arguably the case at the North Carolina Museum of Art, where Dougherty is chief and […]
Posted inMusic
After Warped Tour’s Wilmington Date Falls Apart, the Unofficial Warp ’17 Detour Moshes Into Durham
Warp ’17 Detour Tuesday, July 4, 5 p.m.–midnight, $25–$30 Motorco Music Hall, Durham If you stroll down to Fullsteam or Surf Club for a Fourth of July beer on Tuesday, you might look around and find yourself wondering, “Since when is there a Hot Topic on Rigsbee Avenue?” There isn’t one, but there will be […]
Posted inTheater
Honest Pint Theatre Company Wants Your Patronage
You like theater. But do you like it enough to support it beyond the ticket price? Raleigh’s Honest Pint Theatre Company is the latest local troupe gambling that the answer is yes. Theater is often funded one play at a time, as benefactors donate to it and audiences (hopefully) buy enough tickets to put it […]
Posted inCulture
ADF Review: Claire Porter and Sara Juli’s The Lectern Made Us Check Our Stubs to See If We’d Accidentally Gone to a Comedy Festival
Claire Porter and Sara Juli: The Lectern ★★ ½ Tuesday, June 20 Reynolds Industries Theater, Durham As to what can be “dance,” I’m super permissive. As long as bodies in space are at the core somehow, I’m on board, no matter how much interdisciplinary stuff—video, text, visual art, theater, whatever—gets piled on top. Of course, […]
Posted inCulture
Director’s Cut (For Geeks Only): Comics Writer Chris Sims Takes It Back to ’92
So you’ve read our condensed interview with comics writer Chris Sims and you still want more? Then enjoy this extended cut with extra answers, context, and details on X-Men ’92, Deadpool: Bad Blood,and Swordquest. Superhero comics hit puberty in 1992, violently sprouting massive muscles, bosoms, and guns, with ‘tude to match. The characters and the […]
Posted inBooks
From X-Men to Deadpool, Comics Writer Chris Sims Is Taking It Back to ’92
Superhero comics hit puberty in 1992, violently sprouting massive muscles, bosoms, and guns, with ‘tude to match. The characters and the industry alike seemed volatile and overstated. DC Comics’ “Death of Superman” stunt sparked a mainstream media frenzy. Even as the X-Men were everywhere, Marvel Comics grappled with the defection of its money-printing young starsincluding […]
Posted inCulture
Theater Review: Finding Neverland Turns a Tragedy into a Funny, Flouncy, Bouncy Crowd-Pleaser
Finding Neverland★★★★ Through Sunday, May 28 Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham The story of Peter Pan has never wavered in the popular imagination. That’s partly because its case for the necessity of imagination rings true universally and eternally, and partly because its premise was built to prove itself with time. Playwright and author J.M. Barrie […]
