03/30/12

Wish You Were Here

"The show is my first show in Charlotte in three years, and is a collection of some of my most requested photos and favorite subjects," said Daniel Coston of his new show, Wish You Were Here at Gallery Twenty-Two. "[There are images of] Johnny Cash, the Avett Brothers, Wilco, Flaming Lips, and more. They all represent important and meaningful moments in my photography and my life. They are all moments that I wish everyone had been there for. Hence, the title of the show."

The exhibition at the gallery/bar in Plaza Midwood promises to be "a collection of my best-known photos and best-known subjects from my past fifteen years of photographing artists and musicians," Colson said.

Coston describes... Read more »

Posted at 01:14 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/29/12

CAST Brings The True Tale of "Floyd Collins" To Life

If you think the true story of an explorer trapped in a piano-sized, underground cave for more than a week doesn't sound like a likely topic for a musical, Roger Brucker, author of Trapped! The Story of Floyd Collins would agree with you. But the true story he wrote was turned into a musical, and CAST is now bringing it to the stage. I talked with both Brucker and Jonathan Elliott Coarsey, who will star as Floyd Collins in the upcoming (April 12-May 12) production of Read more »

Posted at 08:39 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/28/12

Weekend Top Picks for March 30-April 1: Mavis Staples, Martin Short, and More

My top picks for the weekend are a diverse bunch. You've got gospel, comedy, Shakespeare-inspired jazz (say wha?) and the greatest hits of one of Russia's finest composers.

Mavis Staples. The gospel legend will bring her big voice to the intimate McGlohon Theatre. She's a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Can I get an "Amen"? Friday at 8 p.m. 

An Evening with Martin... Read more »

03/26/12

"Memory & Metaphor" at Lark & Key

Duy Huynh paints dreamscapes.

They may be haunting, romantic, melancholy, or hopeful. They're always memorable.

Lark & Key, the gallery he co-owns with Sandy Snead, will exhibit some of his newest works at Memory & Metaphor: New works by Honora Jacob, Duy Huynh, and Jennifer Mecca. The show opens April 4 and runs through May 26; the opening reception is Friday, April 6 from 6-9 p.m.

Each of these artists is inspired by memory and visual symbolism.

Duy creates narratives with ethereal characters in often surreal, fantasy settings. Recurring themes include floating figures, butterflies,... Read more »

Posted at 04:47 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/24/12

The Light Factory Brings Oscar-Nominated Animator to Charlotte

Don Hertzfeldt is an animator, Academy Award nominee, and cult figure who's become famous among fans of animation for his stick figures. The Light Factory is bringing him to Charlotte on April 14 at 7:30 p.m. for the exclusive Charlotte premiere of his newest film, It’s Such a Beautiful Day.

Disney and Pixar get all the buzz, but Hertzfeldt has the street cred. His animated films are for a mature audience, as his hand-drawn stick figures often find themselves in surreal, absurd, and even tragic circumstances.

He creates his animation the old-fashioned way – with pen and... Read more »

Posted at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/21/12

Weekend Top Picks for March 23-25: Mad Monster Party, "My Joy," and More

Get yer freak on, Charlotte, at the Mad Monster Party -- an entire weekend of horror films, stars, and starlets of horror films, props from horror films, and other things that'll give you the willies. Like a skaraoke contest and exhibit of reptiles. KISS's Ace Frehley and Blade Runner's Rutger Hauer will be in town for the eerie goings-on. Friday-Sunday at the Blake Hotel.

Doing their part for the Ulysses Festival, The Light Factory screens the ironically titled My Joy... Read more »

Posted at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/20/12

Charlotte POPS 2012-13 season includes Natalie Merchant

The Charlotte Symphony announced the 2012-13 Pops season yesterday. There’s a lot to look forward to, but I’m especially excited about the angelic-voiced Natalie Merchant returning to town. The full lineup is:

THE MUSIC OF BILLY JOEL on Friday September 14 and Saturday September 15, 2012. Michael Cavanaugh, vocals and piano. It's The Piano Man's songbook played by a full orchestra.

 AMERICA on Friday October 26 and Saturday October 27, 2012. Albert-George Schram, conducting. You know you can't help but sing along to "Sister Golden Hair."

 TRIBUTE TO BENNY GOODMAN, featuring Dave Bennett. Friday, November 9 and Saturday... Read more »

Posted at 08:26 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/19/12

Look, Ma! I'm Hobnobbing!

What does one ask the cultural attaché from the Russian Embassy in D.C. when one has the chance to meet him?

"Can you see Alaska from your house?" doesn't seem quite right.

Pavel Spitsyn was at the opera Saturday night and joined the cast (and other local VIPs ... oh, and me) backstage for a champagne toast. (Did someone say "champagne"? You don't need to ask me twice.)  Catherine Hansen accompanied Spitsyn. Her title is "Chief of Protocol, City of Charlotte"(Charlotte has a Chief of Protocol?), and she's the Executive Director and Chief of Protocol of the North Carolina Consular Corps. Glad I was only joining her for drinks. I'd be a nervous wreck about... Read more »

Posted at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/17/12

Another Lesson in Why You Shouldn't Miss the Opening Act

I was at The Evening Muse last night to see Mandolin Orange, and arrived right at 8 p.m., which was the starting time for the opening act. I always try to make it to a show in time for the opening act, because you just never know who you might discover. I discovered some of my favorite singers -- Chris Trapper, Brandi Carlile, Deb Talan  of The Weepies -- because they opened for someone I liked. I know about Chapel Hill's Mandolin Orange only because they opened for Rosanne Cash.

Don't ever discount the opening act.

If I tell you that last night's opening act probably has a curfew, you may think they're too young to be taken seriously. You'd be wrong. Concord's... Read more »

Posted at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1

03/13/12

Weekend Top Picks for March 16-18: Mandolin Orange, Eugene Onegin, and The Wearing o' the Green

Greetings, weekend warriors. As I write this, I'm still on a high from the Charlotte Symphony's tribute to Michael Jackson Saturday night. It was, to use the parlance of the day, amazing. I feel bad for you if you missed the energy and exuberance of James Delisco, singer/dancer extraordinaire, and my fellow audience members who danced in their seats, in the aisles, and -- at the behest of Delisco -- on stage with him. Our symphony can rock it out.

I'm aware that this weekend offers all of us an excuse to wear green and drink lots of Guinness. But, my plans this year don't revolve around crazy amounts of beer consumption. Sauvignon Blanc -- specifically from the Marlborough region of New... Read more »

Posted at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/13/12

Queen City Theatre Company Announces Gayest Season Ever!

If you thought the uproar (more than 2,000 emails plus being denounced by the local Catholic bishop) over Queen City Theatre Company's production of The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told (a gay retelling of the Book of Genesis) might scare the company into tamer fame, you don't know co-founders Glenn T. Griffin and Kristian Wedolowski. Their 2012-13 season will be even gayer than last season.

They'll kick things off with Abraham Lincoln’s Big, Gay Dance Party, a comedy by Aaron Loeb. If they gain the rights to the play -- and those are still pending -- the fellas will give this play its regional premiere. It won Outstanding Play at the NYC Fringe Festival and Best... Read more »

Posted at 09:38 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/11/12

It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

First, there was the CIAA tournament.

This fall, the Democratic National Convention will come to town.

But in between those big milestone events and economic drivers is the Mad Monster Party. If anything can combat the CH factor (the bothersome habit outsiders have of confusing the QC with Charleston, S.C. and Charleston, W.Va.), it's this mutha. It's described as "a retro monster celebration showcasing classic and contemporary creatures of the night (and day)." I just describe the March 23-25 event as freakin' A awesome.

The friend who alerted me to the mayhem (how am I not on this media list?)... Read more »

Posted at 03:14 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/09/12

Martin Short Brings His "Party with Marty" to Charlotte

Who is the real Martin Short?

It's hard to tell. He becomes his characters so fully -- Meryl Streep-like -- that we never really get to glimpse the man behind them.

We won't get to know him any better when he comes to the Knight Theater on March 31. But we will be laughing our arses off, I'll bet. Short will do his stand-up routine including songs, dance, video, and sketches. Plus, he'll become Jiminy Glick, the world's most obnoxious entertainment reporter, and will interview one of the QC's celebrities.

Short's range is similar to... Read more »

Posted at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/08/12

Bad Dates

If you're on a bad date, it feels like it might be unendurable. But it always leads to a good story. Sometimes those stories are still getting told decades after the bad date happened. My friend, Lynsley, has more bad date stories than any woman should be allowed to have. Recently a man she was meeting on a blind date asked excitedly -- right after the introductions, "What size shoe do you wear?" She doesn't have big feet; he had a foot fetish. (Fortunately, she also has the best date story, too. It involves being whisked away from Charlotte to London on a fairytale weekend that included dining at the world's best and second-best restaurants -- Fat Duck and Nobu -- and being treated to a new pair of... Read more »

Posted at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/08/12

Levine Museum's New Shows Look at Jewish Life from a Southern Perspective

The Levine Museum of the New South recently opened three related exhibitions about Jewish history.

The centerpiece exhibit is Courage & Compassion. In 1941, the Nazis began their campaign to round up and murder the Jews of Belarus. Three brothers, Tuvia, Asael, and Zus Bielski, fought back. They escaped to a forest, and began rescuing relatives, friends, and strangers. All told, they saved the lives of more than 1,200 men, women, and children. Created by the Florida Holocaust Museum, Courage & Compassion tells this remarkable story. The exhibit is on display as part of Violins of Hope, a series... Read more »

Posted at 09:22 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/06/12

Weekend Top Picks for March 9-11: CSO Tribute to Michael Jackson, and More

There are enough thrills and scares going on this weekend to make it feel like Halloween.

Let's start with the original master of the macabre. Edgar Allan Poe was wigging people out long before Stephen King ever wrote about possessed cars. Children's Theatre brings Tales of Edgar Allan Poe to eerie life this weekend. Let's just say it's not for kids who are prone to nightmares. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Details.

For a bit of pre-theater fun, see if you can identify all the movie villains in the Read more »

Posted at 09:13 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/05/12

Five Things (Give or Take) About ... Mandolin Orange

1. Mandolin Orange, an up-and-coming acoustic folk duo, is from Chapel Hill. Their Twitter feed reveals they're diehard UNC fans, but Duke fans should not be dissuaded from listening.

2. They opened for Rosanne Cash when she was in Charlotte in December 2011. I was in the sold-out crowd that night at McGlohon Theater and felt like I did the first time I saw Brandi Carlile (when she opened for Vienna Teng at the Neighborhood Theatre). I felt I was witnessing greatness on stage and that Brandi, like Mandolin Orange, wouldn't be an opening act for long. It was evident that night in December that Cash was a fan. She said of their second album, Haste Make/Hard Hearted... Read more »

03/02/12

Actor's Theatre Announces 2012 Season

Actor's Theatre recently announced a powerful line-up for its twenty-fourth season. The season opens in September 2012 with the Tony Award-winning comedy God of Carnage, by Yasmina Reza. After a playground fight between their sons, two Type A, overachieving couples meet for a discussion that turns into a grown-up version of a playground fight. It's anything but civil.

Next up is John Logan's 2010 Tony Award-winning Red. This recent Broadway hit is a provocative portrait of expressionist Mark Rothko's ambition and vulnerability. In the play, Rothko just landed the biggest commission in the history of modern art. Over the course of two years, he and his assistant work to perfect... Read more »

Posted at 06:15 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/01/12

People Are Talking About ... Lefty Williams

This is an occasional column on what other people -- from big media outlets to blogs and student newspapers -- are saying about an artist, performer, or musician headed to Charlotte. The Queen City has plenty of homegrown talent, but we're also a stop on the paths of some unsung musical, theatrical, or otherwise artistic heroes you may not know much about. In some cases, I may not know much about these folks at first, either. But, when I discover there's buzz on someone coming our way, "People Are Talking About ... " is how I'll pass it along.

This isn't a column about undiscovered talent. It's a column about talent other people discovered before I did.

The most significant fact about... Read more »

Posted at 09:20 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

02/29/12

Weekend Top Picks for March 2-4: Step Afrika!, Cuttin' Up, and More

Apparently, there's a big basketball tournament in town.

The CIAA draws A-list celebs (P. Diddy -- if that is indeed what he's calling himself these days -- will be in the house) to the QC each year. My colleague, Jarvis Holliday, has been reporting on all the events surrounding the tourney. Apparently, the nightlife is just as important as the hoops.

As it happens, it's also Black History Month -- or the tail end of it, anyway. And there's a whole lot going on that pays tribute to African-American culture. Coincidence? I think not. Take a look ...

... Read more »

Posted at 08:50 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

02/23/12

A Horse, Of Course

Humans have long been fascinated with the natural elegance, nobility, speed, and grace of horses. Last year, when the equine extravaganza Cavalia came to town, the big top was full night after night. I imagine it'll be the same story with the new horse show-meets-theatrical event. But, Cavalia was in Charlotte for about three weeks. Apassionata will be at Bojangle's Coliseum from May 4-6 for four shows only.

And tickets, ranging from $25 to $150, go on sale Feb 24. Click here.

Now in its ninth year, Apassionata has been seen by more than 5 million fans in more... Read more »

Posted at 01:52 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0