Small, sweet treat
The modus operandi of the Mark Two Dinner Theatre is the staging of some very, very big shows on a very, very small stage. In its current production of “Carousel,” Rodgers and Hammerstein’s landmark musical, we see both the shortcomings as well as the advantages of this kind of presentation. Billy Bigelow is the dark,…
Dysfunction junction
When Peter Farrelly’s “Outside Providence” was published in 1988, reviewers and trend-spotters dismissed him as just another literary brat-packer with a semi-autobiographical debut novel. They were seriously underestimating him. Along with brother Bobby, Peter Farrelly would eventually find enormous success in Hollywood, writing and directing “Dumb and Dumber” (1994), “Kingpin” (1996), “There’s Something About Mary”…
The somebody nobody knows
An African proverb says, “Man dies and leaves a name; the tiger dies and leaves a skin.” Indeed, our name identifies, legitimizes and quantifies our existence, and when we die, it holds our history. What happens, though, if, through some dismal circumstance, we expire without identification, give up the ghost unbeknownst to family and friends?…
I’m going to grace land
I’m not a big fan of the “What Would Jesus Do?” movement, but I can’t think of one situation in which the answer to that question would be, “Build a theme park.” Yet, just in time to give Vegas a run for its tackiness, a Christian theme park is exactly what we’re getting. The Holy…
Take back the night
Even before the city’s late-night clampdown on downtown Orlando’s bars and dance clubs took effect in 1997, club owners pointed frantically at the obvious: If forced to close at 2 a.m., how could they compete against nightlife districts at Disney and Universal, which fall outside the law and can stay open all night? Their frustration…
Kids first
We’re No. 1! A study by the Palm Beach Post says Florida leads the nation in trying and incarcerating children in adult facilities. We’ve got one-third of all children tried as adults and 10 percent of all the juveniles housed in adult prisons. Blame the state’s Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 1994, which gave prosecutors,…
It’s never too late to mutilate
In June in Christchurch, New Zealand, Thomas Hendry, 23, won the “How Far Will You Go?” contest at Trader McKendry’s Tavern (prize: about $300 [U.S.]) by stapling his penis to a crucifix and setting it on fire. Hendry said he had bills to pay, and was inspired by an earlier contestant who had merely pierced…
Review – ‘Til the Medicine Takes
Artist: Widespread Panic
Review – Social Dancing
Artist: Bis
Back to the Cold War with Ulrich
Movie: Chill Factor
Review – Sittin’ Here Thinkin’
Artist: John Lee Hooker
Growing up, breaking out
Movie: Outside Providence
Review – Juxtapose
Artist: Tricky with DJ Muggs and Grease
Review – ‘Til the Medicine Takes
Artist: Widespread Panic
Review – Social Dancing
Artist: Bis
Review – Sittin’ Here Thinkin’
Artist: John Lee Hooker
Back to the Cold War with Ulrich
Movie: Chill Factor
Growing up, breaking out
Movie: Outside Providence
Review – Juxtapose
Artist: Tricky with DJ Muggs and Grease
Review – ‘Til the Medicine Takes
Artist: Widespread Panic
Review – Social Dancing
Artist: Bis
Review – Sittin’ Here Thinkin’
Artist: John Lee Hooker
Review – Juxtapose
Artist: Tricky with DJ Muggs and Grease
Blondie has more fun
Blondie, back in the bad old late ’70s and early ’80s, captured underground cool with the greatest of ease, bending gender with breakthrough single “Denis,” blending rock with disco and rap for “Heart of Glass,” “Rapture” and “Call Me,” and plugging into reggae rhythms for “The Tide Is High.” Blondie — which is what truck…
Awakening psychic powers
“The music should be louder than any opinion of the music,” says Jeff Mueller, guitarist/vocalist for June of 44, a band that usually has the description “post-rock” before its name. Mueller doesn’t latch on to the insider term, but he doesn’t shy away from it, either. After all, as much as musicians distrust the inscrutable…
Total recall
Memories of India may sound like a title for a movie or a coffee-table book, but it’s really a new restaurant on the south side of town. The menu is inspired by the owners’ memories of the incredible meals they had in their homeland. In fact, I got excited when one of them told me…
