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Arts & Entertainment: Critics' Picks
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BEST FIRST LEAP
Tom Gabbard, North Carlolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center
The opening of Knight Theater in our spanking new cultural corridor, with North Carolina Dance Theatre headlining the "Light the Knight" grand opening gala on Jan. 8, ought to be sufficient cause for jubilation. Leave it to North Carolina Blumenthal PAC prez Tom Gabbard to find a way to ratchet the excitement even higher. Somehow, Gabbard has managed to book the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre for a jaw-dropping six-day, seven-performance run, Feb. 9-14, 2010, catapulting Knight Theater to the center of the dance universe during its first winter. Nor has Gabbard grown complacent after announcing one of the most exciting Broadway Light Series ever. Steve Martin is slated to peep into the Knight with his banjo on Oct. 2, and Garrison Keillor is booked at the Belk for Nov. 22.
BEST LAST LEAP
Mia Cunningham, N.C. Dance Theatre
She was so beloved as Clara in North Carolina Dance Theatre's Nutcracker, you could forgive the company for being reluctant to allow Charlotte's sweetheart, Mia Cunningham, to grow up. Nearly to the end of her career, Cunningham was youth and joy in the egg, playing such roles as Cinderella and Peter Pan's Wendy during her 18-year stint at NCDT. Yet she could sizzle in Dwight Rhoden's SALT and sparkle as the hyper majorette in Uri Sands' All in the Trunk. Mature roles finally drifted her way in recent years: Juliet's nurse in R&J, Blanche Du Bois in Streetcar. Now Cunningham has retired. How could anyone else's retirement seem so sudden after so long? Little girls in Charlotte may never again covet an NCDT star's dancing shoes with so much fervor. Well done.
BEST HIGH DIVE
CAST's Metamorphoses
Hey, when Carolina Actors Studio Theatre decided to stage Mary Zimmerman's waterworld version of Ovid's Metamorphoses, they were not only gambling that enough people would find their way to 1118 Clement Ave. to fill the seats, they were also gambling that the water would stay in the pool long enough for people to see the show! CAST managing artistic director Michael Simmons had the if-we-build-it dream and made it come true -- building the pool, filling the seats, and not drowning a single member of his 24-person cast. And he did it without taking a bath financially. Definitely a big splash that will long be remembered.
BEST REAL ESTATE SPECULATOR
Christopher Warren-Green
By announcing his intention to purchase a new house in Charlotte, Christopher Warren-Green vaulted over six other candidates vying with him for the position of music director of our world-class Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. In our view (speaking for both local critics who rated the candidates), those other six merely elicited better music from the orchestra, without grasping the higher wisdom of acceding to the wishes of Symphony's board and administration in the matter of agreeing to settle in the Queen City to get the job. The best schools in the Carolinas are no doubt vying for the privilege of enrolling the new maestro's hyphenated offspring. Welcome to Charlotte, Chris -- you definitely belong here.
BEST MOVIE THEATER (QUALITY OF PRESENTATION)
Phillips Place
A repeat winner. Less than a year old, EpiCentre Theaters has already established itself as a leading hot spot, both cinematically and socially. But rather than jump on the bandwagon, we're going to wait and see to make sure this venue doesn't crash and burn like other recent downtown ventures (HOM, anyone?). The venerable Phillips Place, on the other hand, has long established itself as a Queen City mainstay, yet even with a switch in ownership, the theater remains unblemished in terms of providing the best viewing experience an admission ticket can buy.
6911 Phillips Place Court
704-556-0896
BEST MOVIE THEATER (QUALITY OF FILMS)
Park Terrace
Past winners Ballantyne Village Theatre and the Manor remain in the running, but what's good about this place is that, in addition to having more screens on which to show indy fare, it also frequently picks up discarded Manor fare, thus potentially giving smaller scale titles more time to make their mark.
4289 Park Road
704-643-3456
BEST VIDEO/DVD RENTAL SELECTION (SPECIFY LOCATION)
Visart
A repeat winner for the umpteenth time. Its only real competition is Netflix, but that online service isn't locally based. So there you have it.
1945 E. 7th St.
704-343-3031
BEST FILM SERIES
American Zombie: George A. Romero's Film Revolution
The Light Factory and its co-sponsors deserve huge props for organizing and pulling off this major event. Not only was Romero highly visible throughout the weekend, but the series itself featured a tantalizing mix of Romero's zombie classics, curio cult items and lesser known oddities.
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