WMKS: Where Music Kills Sorrow TheatreFest 2011 At Titmus Theatre, NCSU Through June 26 Those who still have the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack at the top of their iTunes playlists should get a kick out of WMKS: Where Music Kills Sorrow. Playing in repertory at N.C. State’s TheatreFest 2011, it’s a very slight […]
Zack Smith
Link: http://zacksmithwriter.wordpress.comTwitter: http://twitter.com/thezacksmith
Posted inCulture
Despite a few flickers of promise, Green Lantern burns out
Warner Bros Green LanternTwo starsOpens today everywhere Warner Brothers, which owns DC Comics, has a problem. They own 75 years’ worth of DC Comics characters, but only Superman and Batman have proved capable of headlining multimillion-dollar franchises in the past decade, while arch-rival Marvel Comics has figured out how to monetize the lesser-known-likes of Iron […]
Posted inArt
High energy and big laughs in Noises Off at Theatre in the Park
Noises Off Theatre in the Park Through June 26 Michael Frayn’s Noises Off is an excellent fit for Theatre in the Park, which has staged a number of farces with the energy level up to 11 in recent seasons. Frayn’s 1982 hit about the thoroughly inept staging of a play is an open ticket for […]
Posted inCulture
Talking with Harry Shearer about The Big Uneasy, which opens tonight at Varsity
Courtesy of The Big Uneasy Harry Shearer has a resumé as an actor, writer and musician large enough to fill several careers—even if you don’t know his name or his long-running radio program Le Show, you know him as part of the rock-parody group Spinal Tap, or as the voice of half the population of […]
Posted inArt
The Dixie Swim Club at NCSU’s “Southern Comfort”-themed Theatrefest 2011
The Dixie Swim Club Theatrefest 2011 at University Theatre, NCSU Through June 12 Your enjoyment of The Dixie Swim Club, the first entry in N.C. State University’s “Southern Comfort”-themed Theatrefest 2011, will depend on how many times you’ve seen this story before. There have been many tales of Southern women holding on to lifelong friendships […]
Posted inFilm & Television
Kristen Wiig gets Apatow-ed in Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids opens Friday throughout the Triangle (see times below) Our rating: The oddest thing about Judd Apatow’s reign of comedy is how he’s successfully groomed the likes of Seth Rogen and Jason Segel as not only movie stars, but as successful writer-actors who have crafted such vehicles as Superbad and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. There’s a […]
Posted inArt
North Carolina Theatre’s exuberant Hello, Dolly!
Hello, Dolly! North Carolina Theatre At Memorial Auditorium Through May 14 North Carolina Theatre’s production of Hello, Dolly! is one of the big “show must go on” stories of this past season. With mere days until the opening, much-hyped star Cybill Shepherd was sidelined with an injury, necessitating a last-minute replacement by Broadway veteran Jacquelyn […]
Posted inCulture
Cybill Shepherd withdraws from North Carolina Theatre’s Hello, Dolly!; our interview is here
Courtesy of NC Theatre North Carolina Theatre announced this morning that Cybill Shepherd has withdrawn from its upcoming production of Hello, Dolly! after suffering an injury at her residence. [See note below.] According to Kristin Buie, spokesperson for the Raleigh-based theater company, Shepherd sustained her injury on a staircase last Wednesday morning. She soldiered on […]
Posted inCulture
Buddy Joe Hooker, Hobo with a Shotgun and other notes from ActionFest
Ambush EntertainmentRainn Wilson in Super If you’ve ever dreamed of pulling into a theater parking lot with BMX bikers doing half-pipe flips and a man preparing to be set on fire; ActionFest, Asheville’s annual “Film Festival with a Body Count” might be the cinematic event you’ve been waiting for. On a recent sunny weekend, I […]
Posted inCulture
This girl is different: a conversation with Durham’s J.J. Johnson
Durham’s J.J. Johnson has earned excellent reviews for her young adult novel This Girl is Different (Peachtree, $16.95), and will do a hometown reading and signing at the Regulator Bookshop tonight at 7 p.m. We got Johnson on the phone recently to discuss her book and the challenges of writing for teenagers. INDEPENDENT WEEKLY: Tell […]
