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Friday, April 27, 2012
Arts Dangerous Liaisons cuts to the chase
Posted By Anita Overcash on Fri, Apr 27, 2012 at 9:37 AM
Ooh-la-la. Is it just us or do the pics of North Carolina Dance Theatre's Dangerous Liaisons look pretty darn hot? A sexy lady in lingerie and two sharp men with swords - we certainly can't be the only ones whose eyes are popping.
Choreographed by Aussie-bred Sasha Janes, the ballet - based on the 1782 French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses that was turned into the modern adaptation Cruel Intentions - is scored by cellist/vocalist Ben Sollee, who you'll see suspended in air during the performance. Given the show's enticing plot (a love affair fueled by greed, lust and manipulation), we're not feeling a happily-ever-after ending. $25-$79. April 26-28, 7:30 p.m. Knight Theater, 430 S. Tryon St. 704-372-1000. www.blumenthalarts.org.
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Friday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Fri, Apr 27, 2012 at 9:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, April 27, 2012 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
* Floyd Collins at Carolina Actors Studio Theatre
* Bums Lie CD Release Show at The Chop Shop
* The Big Brew Ha at Mint Museum Uptown
* Sugarland at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
* Ron Feingold at The Comedy Zone Fort Mill
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Arts Theater review: Measure for Measure
Posted By Perry Tannenbaum on Thu, Apr 26, 2012 at 4:58 PM
I suspected that Shakespeare Carolina was in a downward spiral last month when they presented 5 by Tenn at Duke Energy Theater. After managing artistic director Chris O'Neill reminded us that the Tennessee Williams one-acts we were about to see were rarely produced, he and company seemed hellbent for a good portion of the evening on demonstrating why these works were shunned. Even that didn't prepare me for the depths that ShakesCar would reach last week in their modern-dress production of the Bard's Measure for Measure. Problem play indeed!
Truthfully, 25 years of reviewing didn't prepare me for the shock. Nor did my personal involvement in community and professional theatre productions stretching back even further.
The evening began auspiciously enough. M4M isn't the easiest drama to do because all of the major characters stand on shaky moral ground. Duke Vincentio has become convinced that he has ruled Vienna too leniently, so he decides to shift governance to his moralizing deputy Angelo, who will take on the onerous business of enforcing the law more strictly in the duke's absence. But the duke isn't dealing with Angelo from the top of the deck. He doesn't really plan to go on a trip abroad as he professes. Instead, he disguises himself as a friar so he can spy on Angelo and see how Vienna progresses under his reign.
O'Neill set up the moral malaise of Vienna rather nicely, bringing us immediately to the dive where the hapless Claudio will be arrested for not marrying his pregnant girlfriend. Costuming by O'Neill and Aly Perez, especially for the women in this drama, underlined the decadence. You could say they went overboard, for Claudio's sister Isabella, a novice at a nunnery, was dressed in tight black vinyl slacks as she pleaded to Angelo for her brother's life.
No, I wasn't upset by that excess, and in fact, Katie Bearden as Isabella and Justin Younts as Claudio were both exemplary in getting to the heart of the text. What dissatisfied me most were the performances of the leads, David Loehr as Angelo and Brian Willard as Duke Vincentio.
Film / Film News Opening Friday
Posted By Matt Brunson on Thu, Apr 26, 2012 at 2:00 PM
- Magnolia Pictures
- Jiro Dreams of Sushi
The Five-Year Engagement - Jason Segel, Emily Blunt
Footnote - Academy Award nominee, Best Foreign Language Film
Jiro Dreams of Sushi - Documentary
The Pirates! Band of Misfits - Animated; voices of Hugh Grant, Salma Hayek
The Raven - John Cusack, Luke Evans
Safe - Jason Statham, Catherine Chan
News Charlotte Councilman speaks out against draconian immigration laws
Posted By Mark Kemp on Thu, Apr 26, 2012 at 9:20 AM
City Councilman John Autry told a gathering of about 50 people at a vigil in the front lawn of the Latin American Coalition Wednesday that anti-immigration laws such as Arizona's embattled SB 1070 are "cynical."
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday for and against the Arizona law. Later in the day justices suggested they likely would uphold the state's policies instructing police to check people's immigration status.
- Mark Kemp
- Autry speaks at the Latin American Coalition
The group had gathered at 7:30 p.m. to show its solidarity with immigrants in other parts of the country - particularly those in Arizona, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, where draconian laws regarding undocumented residents have either been passed or are under consideration.
- Mark Kemp
- About 50 showed up for Latin American Coalition vigil
Other members of the community offered comments, too, including Jess George, the Latin American Coalition's executive director, who said that if the Supreme Court upholds the Arizona law, "it will be legalizing racial profiling."
The last to speak was a teenage boy, whose words rang similar to those of teenagers during another civil rights movement some 50 years ago. The boy attended Wednesday's vigil, he said, because he fears living in an area where, whether or not he is documented, he will be judged for the "color of my skin, for my ethnicity."
- Mark Kemp
- Solidarity
Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Thursday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Thu, Apr 26, 2012 at 9:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, April 26, 2012 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
* Clybourne Park at Actor's Theatre of Charlotte
* Jesse Ruben at The Evening Muse
* The Gnome Show at Genome
* The Melvins at Amos' Southend
* Young the Giant and The Apache Ray at The Fillmore Charlotte
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Film / Film News / Film Reviews RiverRun Summary
Posted By Matt Brunson on Wed, Apr 25, 2012 at 1:05 PM
The 14th Annual RiverRun International Film Festival is now in the books, and Creative Loafing was on hand to cover part of it. Click on the links to be taken directly to our coverage.
- KinoSmith
- Girl Model
Part 1 (includes reviews of Girl Model and the Oscar-nominated The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement)
- Magnolia Pictures
- God Bless America
Part 2 (includes reviews of The Queen of Versailles and God Bless America, and reviews/links for terrific animated shorts)
- Oscilloscope Pictures
- Wuthering Heights
Part 3 (includes reviews of Wuthering Heights and The Eye of the Storm, and a complete list of festival winners)
News / Opinion Obama avoids Amendment One in Chapel Hill
Posted By Ana McKenzie on Wed, Apr 25, 2012 at 11:33 AM
President Obama came to Chapel Hill on Tuesday as part of a nationwide tour to promote lower interest rates on student loans. While I commend the president for taking on such an important issue, I'm a little nonplussed that he didn't mention Amendment One - even in passing.
Amy Gardner of The Washington Post shares in the frustration. She writes:
His delicate sidestep of Amendment One, a ballot initiative to be decided May 8 that would recognize marriage between a man and a woman as the only legal domestic partnership in North Carolina, is seen by some as another sign that he is not fully committed to gay rights - an interpretation that could dampen the enthusiasm of the young voters he is trying to court.
She brings up a good point about constituents:
The issue is particularly complicated in historically conservative North Carolina. Obama scraped together a razor-thin victory there four years ago with a multicultural coalition that included independents, African Americans and Hispanics - constituencies that are less uniformly enthusiastic about expanding gay rights than campus activists.
Read the full column here.
Arts Today's Top 5: Wednesday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Wed, Apr 25, 2012 at 9:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, April 25, 2012 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
* Back to the Garden exhibit at Ciel Gallery
* Jon Reep at The Comedy Zone Charlotte
* Trampled by Turtles at Time Warner Cable Arena
* Illuminated Narratives: Stories from the Q.C. at UNC Charlotte
* Van Halen at Time Warner Cable Arena
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Arts LOL: Comedy in the Q.C.
Posted By Anita Overcash on Tue, Apr 24, 2012 at 2:39 PM
Listed below is a roundup of CL's top picks for comedy shows in Charlotte this week. Hopefully, they keep you entertained and, more importantly, laughing out loud.
* We're so proud of Jon Reep for rising above his redneck roots and making a name for Hickory (hey, it's close enough to Charlotte). Bringing new hilarity to fast food drive-thru pranks and lullabies like "Rock-a-bye Baby," he's damn sure to have us laughing at life in the South. $20-$25. April 25-26, 8 p.m.; April 27, 8 p.m. & 10:15 p.m.; April 28, 7 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. 900 Seaboard St., Suite B3, Charlotte. 980-321-4702. www.cltcomedyzone.com.
* Over The Counter Improv's Single vs. Married Life battle continues. At the troupe's last show (revolving yet again around relationship statuses), matrimony beat singlehood out fair and square. Staging shows similar to that of Whose Line is it Anyway, there's no certainty as to what kind of outcome will prevail but the audience does have some say so. Hopefully that doesn't scare away all the commitment phobic folk out there. $5. April 28, 8 p.m. Plaza Hotel Carowinds, 3695 Foothills Way, Fort Mill. 704-618-4203. www.otcimprov.com.
