Arts, Creative Loafing Charlotte

Book reviews: Beautiful Ruins, Where'd You Go, Bernadette

John Grooms — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:00:00 -0400

The latest by Jess Walter, Maria Semple by John Grooms Beautiful Ruinsby Jess Walter(Harper Perennial, 368 pages, $15.99) During the time of the filming of Cleopatra in Italy in 1962, a beautiful, mysterious American actress named Dee Moray arrives in a boat at Porto Vergogna, a tiny fishing village huddled in the cracks of massive rock formations on the Italian Riviera.…

Video Game Preview: The toys of summer

Adam Frazier — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 07:00:00 -0400

Spend the season with these promising titles by Adam Frazier For fans of big-budget summer blockbusters like Star Trek Into Darkness and Man of Steel, this is the absolute best time of year, but for hardcore gamers, the summer months are a sweltering wasteland as most studios and publishers hold their big releases for the holiday shopping season. This fall, we'll see anticipated titles like Grand Theft Auto V, Batman: Arkham Origins, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Call of Duty: Ghosts hit store shelves.…

Charlotte Squawks is ruffling feathers

Anita Overcash — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 07:00:00 -0400

Satire is something to talk about by Anita Overcash Oh, sensitive reader. Don't be offended by the latest installment of Charlotte Squawks.…

Artists in residence

Kimberly Lawson — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 07:00:00 -0400

Visiting the homes of some of Charlotte's coolest creatives by Kimberly Lawson Forget the corny mantra about home being "where the heart is." Home is where you get to kick off your sneakers and bury your hot, smelly toes into a cool, plush carpet after a long day at work. It's where most people feel comfortable undoing the top button of their pants after a filling dinner.…

Catching one's Breath in Phillip Kerr's latest

Erik Spanberg — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 07:00:00 -0400

Dark humor informs WWII detective novel by Erik Spanberg When it comes to dark humor, Bernie Gunther wants to see it painted black. Consider this snippet of reflection, self-loathing and summary from the erstwhile German detective who, in his latest grim assignment, works for the Wehrmacht's War Crimes Bureau and on behalf of propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.…

The Taming of the Shrew: Spittin' and g-droppin'

Perry Tannenbaum — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Taming a wild, Western Kate by Perry Tannenbaum No other comedy or tragedy in the Shakespearean canon questions the patriarchal presumptions of Elizabethan society as persistently as The Taming of the Shrew. Yet no other work by the Bard is so often assailed for its sexism.…

Going the extra miles

Anita Overcash — Thu, 30 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400

Organizers of Miles & Coltrane: Blue (.) raise money to return to Scotland by Anita Overcash Support local theater! The importance of this statement can't be expressed enough and in the case of Miles & Coltrane: Blue (.), a musical from Concrete Generation and The Stephen Gordon Group, it's crucial — how else are they going back to Scotland to eat haggis again?…

Daniel Wallace has Bigger fish to fry

Anita Overcash — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:00:00 -0400

Author discusses new novel at Park Road Books by Anita Overcash Daniel Wallace is still riding the waves of success from Big Fish, his 1998 novel-turned-motion picture and soon-to-be Broadway show in September. But the N.C.-based author, who teaches creative writing at UNC-Chapel Hill, has also penned a steady flow of other works since the best-seller.…

Summer Guide 2013: Stage sizzlers

Perry Tannenbaum — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400

"The best damn summer theater season the Q.C. has ever seen" by Perry Tannenbaum Was a time, way back when the Charlotte Repertory Theatre company was developing into a regional powerhouse, when summertime was the prime season in the Queen City. While Opera Carolina and N.C. Dance are done for the season — and Charlotte Symphony brings us orchestral lawn feed through the July 4 weekend — local and touring theater productions have the performing arts scene pretty much to themselves.…

Book review: James Salter's All That Is

John Schacht — Tue, 21 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400

Author's first novel in 40 years shines by John Schacht Midway through James Salter's new novel, his first in four decades, an editor at a small New York City publishing house has to turn down a novel from an aging writer still respected for a book or two early in his career. This latest novel, the editor/protagonist Philip Bowman says, is "done elegantly enough but past its time."…

In the streets: Brass Connection

Ladianne Mandel — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400

Brass band adds gritty soul to Uptown streets by Ladianne Mandel It's nine o'clock on a Friday night and abnormally cold for May. Four members of Brass Connection are camped out at the intersection of Trade and Tryon, seemingly oblivious to the dozen or so passersby who have now stopped and are waiting for the band to play. Casual conversation between band members suddenly turns into an argument over creative differences.…

A beautiful mind in Proof

Perry Tannenbaum — Thu, 16 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400

Brainy drama could use more brawn by Perry Tannenbaum As Christian as the concept may be, forgiveness is not at all pervasive in theater works, especially in drama, where there's more mileage per grudge. Yet in Proof, David Auburn's 2001 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama now at CAST through June 1, forgiveness is as crucial to our heroine's growth and mental well-being as self-respect.…

Busk! a move

Anita Overcash — Thu, 16 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400

New documentary, festival sheds light on street performers by Anita Overcash Remember when The Washington Post sent renowned classical musician Joshua Bell to perform in street clothes at a busy metro station? The Post recorded the details, which showed the violinist being largely ignored by passers-by.…

Book Review: Woody Guthrie's House of Earth

John Grooms — Tue, 14 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400

Long-lost novel no great find by John Grooms The late Woody Guthrie was a legendary folksinger/songwriter who, simply by the example of his life and his art, did more than anyone to revive the American folk music tradition in the 20th century. It's a good thing, too, because he sure wasn't much of a novelist.…

MoNA gallery explodes 'local art' myth

Grace Cote — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400

NoDa space carries curated, complex pieces by Grace Cote A love affair with texture, layers and contrast is taking place in a revamped industrial warehouse on Brevard Street known as the X Foundation. In the midst of artist studios, and filled with a lovingly curated collection of artworks, sits a lone commercial space known as MoNA gallery NoDA.…

Video Game Review: Injustice: Gods Among Us

Adam Frazier — Thu, 09 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400

Unique game offers plenty of surprising superhero face-offs by Adam Frazier "I can say without a doubt that there are an infinite number of universes. Some are just like our own ... but for one or two significant events, exactly the same."…

Jezebel star has Bette Davis eyes, nothing else

Perry Tannenbaum — Thu, 09 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400

Play follows custom of casting male in lead role by Perry Tannenbaum There was always something outsized and mannish about Bette Davis, as if her persona — onscreen and off — were occasionally a broad imitation of a female impersonator doing her. What other mere actress could bring the cold, mercenary heartlessness of Regina Giddens to the big screen in The Little Foxes with such steely power?…

Hats off to Gantt Center's church lady photography series, more

Anita Overcash — Thu, 02 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400

Three unexpected exhibits put Southern and Gullah cultures in the spotlight by Anita Overcash The folks over at the Gantt Center of African-American Art + Culture may have outdone themselves this time. In a follow-up to Tavis Smiley's touring America I AM: The African American Imprint, a long-stay exhibit that ran from June 30, 2012, through March 3, 2013, they're now showcasing three compelling exhibits in a series that celebrates Southern culture.…

John Lennon's traveling art exhibit comes to Charlotte

Anita Overcash — Thu, 02 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400

As always, Yoko brings controversy along for the ride by Anita Overcash Considering that the relationship and endeavors of Beatles front man John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono often evoked controversy, it's not all that surprising that In My Life: The Artwork of John Lennon is doing more than causing folks to "come together." It, too, is ruffling some feathers in the art world.…

Shakespeare's medieval she-wolf

Perry Tannenbaum — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:00:00 -0400

All hail Queen Margaret — sort of by Perry Tannenbaum How does a chaste medieval damsel become such a bloodthirsty terror that the Duke of York, claimant to the English throne, calls her the "She-wolf of France" — with a "tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide" — moments before he succumbs to her blade? Queen Margaret, the new Shakespearean concoction at Spirit Square, holds the answers.…

Old, corny and hairy: Dave Attell on classic porn

Jeff Hahne — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Comedian prepares for Charlotte performance at Comedy Zone by Jeff Hahne Is 11 a.m. too early to talk about porn? That's my first question for comedian Dave Attell when we chatted recently.…

The Exit Interview is theater and pop culture on Prozac

Perry Tannenbaum — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:00:00 -0400

Forget the fourth wall; play finds a fifth to break by Perry Tannenbaum Now that our society has gone totally crass and crazy — our schools, our politics, our broadcast media and our movies — what's an outraged, flummoxed playwright to do? Well, if you're William Missouri Downs, a name bristling with innate eccentricity, you push all that craziness further over the edge in The Exit Interview, now at the Actor's Theatre of Charlotte as part of a "rolling" world premiere presented by the National New Play Network.…

Video Game Review: 'BioShock Infinite' delivers boundless surprise, satisfying ending

Adam Frazier — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:00:00 -0400

Latest installment might be the game of the year by Adam Frazier "There's always a lighthouse. There's always a man. There's always a city."…

The times they are a-changin'

Anita Overcash — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 07:00:00 -0400

'White Supremacy' art exhibit mines racial shifts, climate change by Anita Overcash The title of artist Marek Ranis' exhibit, White Supremacy — The End, could be misinterpreted. It isn't built around the idea of racism being dead in the South; after all, we've seen Ku Klux Klan members and neo-Nazis rally in Charlotte as recently as November 2012.…

Book review: Ron Rash's Nothing Gold Can Stay

John Grooms — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 07:00:00 -0400

Serena author produces priceless collection of short stories by John Grooms Four years ago, when Western Carolina professor Ron Rash published Serena, his stunning novel of greed and murder in early-20th century North Carolina's timber industry, I wrote, "If he can avoid the publishing world's penchant for labeling any author who's born below Maryland a mere 'Southern writer,' with all of that term's implied limitations, Rash should now take his place in the pantheon of the finest contemporary American novelists." That has largely happened.…