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Monday, September 10, 2012
Arts Toga party on Queens Road
Posted By Perry Tannenbaum on Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 2:15 PM
By Perry Tannenbaum
Although our host Pseudolus seems to be weighing two common alternatives, comedy and tragedy, before opting for the jocular vein, Stephen Sondheim hardly ever pursued either option again after 1962, when he scored his first hit as a composer-lyricist with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Forum. Amazing when you consider that Sondheim had already put his hand into a wildly successful tragedy, West Side Story, as a lyricist.
- Theatre Charlotte
- Robbie Jaeger, John Pope and Kelly Kapur
So it goes without saying that Sondheim doesn't look at ticket sales or incoming royalty checks when he decides on new projects. Local theater companies take a different view, which is why Charlotte's prime purveyors of musical comedy, CPCC and Theatre Charlotte, have both presented A Funny Thing on multiple occasions during the Loaf Era. Now it's Theatre Charlotte's turn, just four years after CP's most recent revival.
While they haven't declared "Comedy Tonight!" at the Queens Road barn since 2002, it wasn't supposed to be that way. But then the rights for the originally scheduled Fiddler on the Roof were inexplicably withdrawn, just days before auditions. So it was time to bring the ancient script (after all, the Burt Shrevelove-Larry Gelbart book is based on a 2,200-year-old Roman comedy by Plautus) out of mothballs one more time.
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Monday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 9:31 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Sept. 10, 2012 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
* Chris Isaak at McGlohon Theatre
* Between the Springmaid Sheets at Winthrop University
* Monday Funday at Dixie's Tavern
* Find Your Muse Open Mic at The Evening Muse
* Monday Night Allstars at Double Door Inn
News If you had a super PAC, what would you name it?
Posted By Lindsay Kimble, Luke LeSourd and Natalie DuPuis on Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 8:30 AM
Raptors for Jesus, Just Drink the Koolaid and Slam Dunks, Fireworks and Eagles. Surprisingly, that’s not the setlist for Weird Al’s next show. They’re actually a few of the very comical, very real names of super Political Action Committees.
Since 2010, super PACs have had the ability to raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, associations and individuals and then spend it to advocate for or against political candidates of their choosing. Super PACS can’t donate money directly to political candidates, though, and must report any donations to the Federal Election Commission.
So what’s with the names? Satirical titling might be the fault of comedian and host of The Colbert Report Stephen Colbert. Colbert started the super PAC Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow — not to be confused with Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Yesterday, another very real group. Of the 680 and counting super PACs registered with the FEC, it’s clear that creativity was at play when titling some of the PACs.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
News / Democratic National Convention 2012 Political gaffes: A big effing deal .. or not?
Posted By Gabriela Szewcow and Doug Williams on Sun, Sep 9, 2012 at 12:44 PM
When Vice President Joe Biden embraced President Barack Obama at a White House signing ceremony for landmark health reforms in March 2010 and whispered, “This is a big fucking deal,” the comment was meant to be private.
The microphone at the podium, however, was hot. The remark went quickly viral, making it one of the most popular political gaffes of the last couple of years.
Plenty of other political figures have fucked up since then. And in case we ever forget, YouTube is there to remind us. But do these gaffes really change the outcome of political elections? Do they ruin political careers? Or do voters forget about them after they’ve run their course on FoxNews and CNN?
Elon University political science professor Matthew Weidenfeld said the media assume, in the moment, that political gaffes can make or break a campaign. But then the attention given to them fades after a while. “Political scientists who have done quick-opinion polling on [gaffes] have found generally fewer people know about these things than we would think,” he said.
(Watch this video we made downtown outside the Democratic National Convention: Do you know which politicians made these completely incorrect, sometimes idiotic statements?)
Saturday, September 8, 2012
News Purchasing power: Vendors, customers support candidacy of Obama through merchandise
Posted By Caitlin O’Donnell and Scarlett Fakhar on Sat, Sep 8, 2012 at 4:19 PM
For Deliose White, money is no object when it comes to purchasing swag at the Democratic National Convention. The New Jersey native said she has been saving up her cash in preparation for the big event.
White, who has been in Charlotte since Tuesday, estimated she’s spent between $80-$90 so far on buttons, T-shirts and personal gifts for friends and family, including a book about first lady Michelle Obama for her grandson.
That’s money well spent on publicity for President Barack Obama, she said.
“These people will buy this stuff, go back to their hometowns and they will wear it and that will be promoting Barack Obama,” White said. “People like voting for a winner and they’ll see people with this Barack Obama attire on and their signs on their cards and they’ll be inspired to vote also.”
It was a common theme among the vendors, as well, many of whom were decked out in Obama merchandise of their own.
News / Democratic National Convention 2012 Obama fever lacking compared to 2008
Posted By Kassondra Cloos, Stephanie Petrich and Madelyn Smith on Sat, Sep 8, 2012 at 4:05 PM
Barack Obama’s promise of change in 2008 inspired a generation of first-time voters to register and rush to the polls, which most political observers credit for the president’s electoral success four years ago. Support for his campaign was especially prominent among young minority voters.
As a Pew Research Poll found after the historic election of America’s first black president, a large majority of African Americans under the age of 30 — a whopping 95 percent — voted for him.
Fast-forward to present day, and Obama could use a little more of that excitement at a time when polls have him running neck-and-neck with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. While recent surveys show he still has the support of minority and youth voters, this year’s election hasn’t garnered the same degree of dedication.
You couldn’t necessarily tell that from the party faithful who flocked to the Queen City this month for the Democratic National Convention.
“I really love that he did Obamacare, if you want to call it Obamacare,” said Anthony Brown, 24, a self-identified African American. “Healthcare reform was awesome. Keep on slashing prices for tuition and allowing for Pell Grants and, you know, lower the rates for interest on (student) loans.”
Menna Dennessie, a college graduate from Ohio, said she, too, believes Obama is on the right track. “[He] really cleaned up the mess of the prior eight years,” she said. “He is protecting students.”
Arts Ancient comedy at Theatre Charlotte
Posted By Perry Tannenbaum on Sat, Sep 8, 2012 at 8:00 AM
Start with a wily Roman slave itching for his freedom. Toss in a henpecked master craving tenderness. Add in the master’s son, smitten by the chaste girl next door — living in a house of ill-repute. But why stop there? Throw in a greedy whoremaster, a sexy parade of his pulchritudinous merchandise, a pompous military hero, a doddering old man, and a termagant wife to augment the mayhem.
As that conniving slave Pseudolus tells us, it’s “Comedy Tonight!” Theatre Charlotte launches its 85th season with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, the brilliant plundering of the ancient comedies of Plautus by Burt Shrevelove and Larry Gelbart, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Robbie Jaeger as Pseudolus delivers the choicest old jokes, but there are plenty succulent leftovers for John Pope as the ardent Hero, Kelly Kapur as the airhead Philia, Ted Delorme as the lecherous Senex, Christian Muller as the mighty Miles Gloriosus, Betsey Dalzell as the intimidating Domina, and Bobby Faucette as the clueless old Erronius. Directed by Vito Abate. $25. Sept. 8, 8 p.m.; Sept. 9, 2:30 p.m.; Sept. 12-13, 7:30 p.m.; Sept. 14, 8 p.m.; Sept. 15, 2:30 p.m. & 8 p.m.; Sept. 16, 2:30 p.m.; Sept. 19-20, 7:30 p.m.; Sept. 21-22, 8 p.m.; Sept. 23, 2:30 p.m. Theatre Charlotte, 501 Queens Road. 704-376-3777. www.theatrecharlotte.org.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Arts Marcia Jones discusses “The Displaced Oshun Theory”
Posted By Anita Overcash on Fri, Sep 7, 2012 at 5:02 PM
When Marcia Jones, a former artist-in-residence at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, showcased her painting “The Displaced Oshun Theory” last year during the museum’s Live and in Stereo(type) exhibit, it stirred a controversial reception.
Some viewers couldn’t comprehend how the feminine images related to one another, and rather than examine them as a whole, they jumped to the conclusions that the painting was somehow defacing women and/or Michelle Obama.
Her face, pictured on million dollar bills, was joined with the image of an exotic dancer clad in little clothing, saintly veils, and an indigenous African mask. “I as an artist saw them as a tribe of sisters with equal, yet separate, discerning attributes. When joined they depicted woman in her entirety; the common joining denominator being the womb,” says Jones.
The painting wasn’t meant to be provocative, nor was the work meant to have any direct relationship to Michelle Obama, who represents a divine mother in the painting. “I wanted to see what a black woman’s face would look like on a million dollar bill,” says Jones. “I wondered if that would shift our perception about money and our worth in regards to capitalism.”
Democratic National Convention 2012 The Daily Show: The homegrown edition
Posted By Matt Brunson on Fri, Sep 7, 2012 at 3:38 PM
“If you could fight any celebrity, living or dead, who would it be?”
“Shut the fuck up and sit down!”
Clearly, this isn’t the portion of The Daily Show that aired from coast to coast.
Because it was filming in Charlotte all this week due to the Democratic National Convention, local folks were able to attend the taping of the popular Comedy Central show — or at least those folks who were first lucky enough to reserve free tickets online (they were all swooped up within a couple of hours upon announcement a few months ago) and then fortunate enough to make it into the ImaginOn auditorium after waiting in line for a couple of hours.
Arts Theater review: Lombardi at Carolina Actors Studio Theatre
Posted By Perry Tannenbaum on Fri, Sep 7, 2012 at 2:23 PM
With all the products, treatments, strategies, and attitudes touted as gateways to success in America, ordinariness and failure become more galling all the time — while our collective fascination with winners rises. Yet with so many siren calls, come-ons, and outrageous propositions all around us, we are occasionally surprised to be reminded that success comes at a price. Distilled from When Pride Mattered, the David Maraniss biography, Eric Simonson's Lombardi is at Carolina Actors Studio Theatre through Sept. 29. It gives us a candid snapshot of the driven football coach who rose to the top of his profession with glimpses of the people he ran over to get there, and the fatal signpost he ignored along the way.
Fathoming the heart of Vince Lombardi is the assignment of our narrator, Michael McCormick, sent out to frigid Green Bay by his editor at Look magazine. So McCormick gets to bunk out at the Lombardi residence, join coach on the practice field before a crucial NFL game, and hang out with future hall-of-famers Paul Hornung, Jim Taylor, and Dave Robinson. The kid is sufficiently intimidated by the crusty coach that he hangs onto the skirts of Marie Lombardi, Vince’s wife, enough to grasp the toll her move from New York to Wisconsin has taken, but she eventually shoos him away. McCormick’s fears turn out to be justified when Vince banishes him from practice with a leonine tongue-lashing. Yet that abuse seems to be the incident that finally enables McCormick to establish a rapport with the players.
Being abused by Lombardi makes you one of the guys. It becomes a badge of honor as McCormick and the football stars adjourn to a local bar.
Having taken us to Kentucky as Skeets Miller in Floyd Collins, Daniel O’Sullivan is on his second cub reporter assignment of the year as McCormick — and his youth is more of an asset. You can see an emphatic coming-of-age when he finally stands up to Lombardi, making it more natural for the tyrant coach to accord the kid a degree of respect. Compared with the Broadway version starring Dan Lauria and Judith Light, CAST director Michael R. Simmons isn’t interested in striking as even of a balance between Lombardi’s dark and sunny sides — or between the strengths of husband and wife. The rocky relationship between coach and journalist is gauged far more precisely.
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