Gibsonton, a community roughly 11 miles southeast of Tampa, became a winter haven for circus performers in the 1930s. Many of those Gibsonton snowbirds became full-time residents when they retired from the road. In 2021, another group of circus retirees began settling into their own community a couple hundred miles north of “Gibtown.” There they... Continue Reading →
He’s starred on Broadway and graced television and movie screens for decades. But even with a nearly 60-year-old career, bring up Barry Bostwick in polite conversation and the first response will certainly be “Oh, Brad!” Bostwick’s turn as Brad Majors, the uptight fiancé of Susan Sarandon’s Janet Weiss in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, has... Continue Reading →
Few once-common names have become so identified with fictional characters that there’s practically no other use for them. Mention “Dorothy” and the majority of Western Civilization will picture sparkly red shoes, a yapping terrier and Judy Garland in farm-girl drag. Parents considering naming a child Dorothy should stop and reconsider. https://youtu.be/jknhvVk1Fs0?si=o80rQ-5tPPO-gsas Just as the name... Continue Reading →
The bartender adds a scoop of ice cubes to the rocks glass, following with Tanqueray gin poured up to the halfway mark. He tops that off with tonic water and adds a lime wedge, spearing a straw into the glass for his mic drop. https://youtu.be/BJvWH4fHCxw Video by Hanna Toeniskoetter And there his creation sits, sparkling,... Continue Reading →
The origins of some of these National Whatever Days/Weeks/Months are a bit hard to trace. September was deemed National Piano Month, though, by the National Piano Foundation in 1991. So there. Sure, it seems as if you just finished or got through putting up your decorations from World Piano Day, March 29 (or March 28... Continue Reading →
Billie Jean, writer Lauren Gunderson’s play about tennis legend Billie Jean King, had audiences cheering during its debut at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in July. Gunderson’s script portrays significant events in King’s life on and off the court. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xK3dST8PEE&pp=ygUQYmlsbGllIGplYW4gcGxheQ%3D%3D Reviews have praised the production’s quick pacing, comparing it to a fast-paced volley in a tennis match.... Continue Reading →
Dracula is revered as one of the founding fathers of modern horror, along with his buddies Frankenstein and the werewolf. The cape-wearing, fang-bearing bloodsucker has sunk his chompers into every medium of entertainment, even transcending the horror genre. This blog aims to briefly discuss the legacy of Dracula, from novel to film to stage. Bram... Continue Reading →
When a novel is adapted for film, there is one almost-certainty: Someone saying, “The book was better.” While the phrase can be used sincerely, it’s most often uttered by someone trying to impress a date by pointing out that they, unlike the common rabble, read books. And that this makes them more attractive as a... Continue Reading →
August, which is almost over, is/was Family Fun Month, which was probably chosen somewhere school doesn’t start the second week of August. The idea, though, is solid, as the waning days of summer provide some time for families to enjoy activities as a whole before the school year tightens up family schedules something fierce. No... Continue Reading →
Leslie Caron is one of a handful of actresses who danced on film with both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. She said she felt as if she were floating while dancing with Astaire. Kelly, she said, danced closer to the ground. Leslie Caron and Gene Kelly in An American in Paris, 1951. That’s an incomplete... Continue Reading →
In the animated 2003 film Looney Tunes: Back in Action, a gun-toting Elmer Fudd chases Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck through a museum. The pursued pair try to escape by running through famous paintings such as Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Time, Edvard Munch’s The Scream and Georges Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island... Continue Reading →
This is a column about Anne Hathaway. It’s also a column about Anne Hathaway. Anne the former was born and lived in the Elizabethan era. Aside from being married to the playwright William Shakespeare, little is known about her. Anne the latter lives in whatever era we’re in right now. Because she is a present-day... Continue Reading →
“Get up, stand up / Stand up for your right” sang Bob Marley on the Wailers’ protest anthem “Get Up, Stand Up.” The song was a call for the oppressed to demand justice, liberty and equality. https://youtu.be/RhJ0q7X3DLM?si=-TrQEcuZwQGfaOTp On March 12, 1990, 500 protesters marched from the White House to the Capitol, demanding passage of the... Continue Reading →
Next Generation Ballet’s Summer Intensive is a perennial event for Gabriella Yudenich. Since 2018, the former soloist with the Pennsylvania (now Philadelphia) Ballet has shared her talent and experience with the young dancers in Next Generation Ballet’s Summer Intensive. Gabriella Yudenich performing Myrta in Giselle. The culmination of the Summer Intensive is its showcase, Friday,... Continue Reading →
For every chosen one, there is a multitude of the non-chosen, the ones whose resumes will be kept on file in case something opens up. For every boy wizard destined to save the universe there is the rest of his magic school graduating class, competent spell-casters destined to pull rabbits out of hats at children’s... Continue Reading →
July is National Anti-Boredom Month. We don’t know who chose July, but their reasoning seems sound. It’s the middle of summer and going outside means being blinded by the sun and swamped by heat and humidity. Better to stay inside where it’s air-conditioned. Soon, though, staring at screens (or the walls) loses its luster. You... Continue Reading →
Future stars shone on Broadway Monday night as the Jimmy Awards saluted some of the most promising young thespians from across the U.S. Jimmy Awards showcasing young thespians across the US. Photo by Angela of York. Zayda Martin and Jayden Vega, this year’s winners of Straz Center’s Broadway Star of the Future Awards, were among... Continue Reading →
Late one cold Thursday afternoon, a seamstress boarded a Montgomery, Ala., city bus for the ride home from work. As the bus filled up with more passengers, African-American riders, including the seamstress, were ordered by the driver to move to the back to allow white riders to be seated. Nearly every aspect of life in... Continue Reading →
They aren’t called intensives for nothing. A class of Patel Conservatory theater students is currently immersed in rehearsals for a production of Shakespearean spoof Something Rotten! The rehearsals follow a week of master classes and guest artists, theater professionals with real-world experience. The students are enrolled in Patel’s Broadway Intensive, a four-week program that culminates... Continue Reading →
“I’m not an actor! I’m a movie star!” So protests Alan Swann, a past-his-prime film idol who discovers the television program on which he’s about to appear is broadcast live. https://youtu.be/eTbLkYmWZJo?si=akZMdQbCxWvbXVFZ The scene is from My Favorite Year, the 1982 film based on Mel Brooks’ experience as a young writer on Your Show of Shows,... Continue Reading →