When we last spoke with writer/ director John Waters in 2007 (“John Waters on the mainstreaming of gay culture”), his next film was going to be a Christmas movie called Fruitcake. That still hasn’t happened, but the Pink Flamingos director has the next-best thing planned: A John Waters Christmas at the Carolina Theatre, which he […]
Zack Smith
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Posted inFilm & Television
A delightful Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader opens Friday throughout the Triangle (see times below) Our rating: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is one of the least structured of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narniaso much so that a British television adaptation bundled its story together with the second book, Prince Caspian. […]
Posted inCulture
Amadeus at Meymandi: Powerful music transcends technical issues
Photo by Michael Zirkle/ NC SymphonyMichael Urie (left) and Ray Dooley AMADEUSFour starsPlayMakers Rep and N.C. Symphony@Meymandi Concert HallThrough Dec. 5 There’s not a lot of scenery in the N.C. Symphony and PlayMakers Repertory Company’s take on Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus, but what’s there nearly upstages the drama. Presented with the entire symphony on stage, with […]
Posted inCulture
As the soap line moves: The fan and stars of Soapstar Spectacular
On this sunny November Sunday, the main hall of the Raleigh’s Progress Energy Center looks more like Genoa City, Wisc. There’s really such a place, but the scene resembles the fictional home of The Young and the Restless, a burg filled with ruthless billionaires, romantic rivalries and the occasional evil twin. A line is already […]
Posted inArt
Offbeat ways to spend the Halloween weekend
For more Halloween events, see the Halloween section of our calendars. A slightly modernized version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show takes the stage at Progress Energy Center, from Oct. 28–31. Director Justin Smith says seeing the play is similar to seeing the film, with one main difference: “You can’t throw anything.” The good news: […]
Posted inTheater
What keeps The Rocky Horror Picture Show flame burning for more than two decades in Raleigh?
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show: If you’re not offended, you’re just not paying attention” Slide projected before the film at the Rialto A full moon hangs over the Rialto Theater at 11:30 Friday night, as the long line forms. A total of 207 people will attend tonight’s show, some for the first time, some for […]
Posted inArt
Kate DiCamillo, Scott Westerfeld and Robin Preiss Glasser discuss their work
Kate DiCamillo appears at Quail Ridge Books & Music at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 16, and at the Regulator Bookshop at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct.17. Robin Preiss Glasser will be at Quail Ridge on Monday, Oct. 18, at 4:30 p.m. Scott Westerfeld will appear at Quail Ridge at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. […]
Posted inCulture
A weekend of escape: Reviewing the Escapism Film Festival
“We really shook the pillars of Heaven, didn’t we?”—Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) in Big Trouble in Little China I’m sitting next to another journalist in the Carolina Theatre’s Cinema One on a Friday night, watching 1987’s Robocop on the big screen. “Best line coming up,” he whispers to me, moments before Kurtwood Smith’s character bursts […]
Posted inFilm & Television
Expert testimony on Chaplin retrospective
Chaplin Retrospective Carolina Theatre Through Oct. 7 Tickets: $7–$9 Even if you’ve never seen a Charlie Chaplin film, you know the figure of the Little Tramp, with his bowler hat, loose-fitting clothes, cane and, of course, that mustache. But that’s only a portion of his body of workand if you’ve never experienced a Chaplin film […]
Posted inCulture
Going green: “punchy” and “charming” Little Shop of Horrors
Curtis Brown PhotographyLittle Shop of Horrors closes Sunday. LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORSNC Theatre@Raleigh Memorial AuditoriumThrough Sept. 26 It’s rather odd how a retro-chic musical adapting a Roger Corman B-movie whose highlight is a giant man-eating plant puppet became a mainstay of musical theater. And yet, NC Theatre’s production Little Shop of Horrors proves the show […]
