We are in the middle of a B-movie renaissance, if you haven’t noticed. For years now, the politics of the multiplex have forced films to be either big-budget, Burger King-cup blockbusters or tiny “indie” projects about college-educated Caucasians with emotional problems (and viewed by college-educated Caucasians with emotional problems). But…
If you’re craving an antidote to the sanctity of repressed gay cowboys, you could do worse than Adam & Steve. This good-natured comedy from writer-director Craig Chester uses gently sly wit to poke fun at neurotic gay singles, coming of age in the 1980s and dating in the era of…
Lesley Dill Dill combines a variety of material–horsehair, wire, thread, tea, glue, ribbon, paper, felt, organza–to create work that is at once precious and weird. The wall-scaled “Blonde Push” brings to mind the enormous fringy brushes of a car wash without the whim and froth of suds. Long strands of…
Diaries of a Barefoot Diva: And Other Tales and Stories From the Ghetto The residents of a rundown building on MLK Boulevard become subjects of a documentary by an aspiring filmmaker in this new musical by its star, Sheran Goodspeed Keyton, and composers Joe Rogers and Aaron Petite. The comedy…
Rats, The Mousetrap is back. So is The Phantom of the Opera, that great and glorious hunk of cheese from the grand vizier of musical cheddar, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. The former is onstage at Theatre Three; the latter has parked its high-fat touring production in the Music Hall at…
Fort Worth hosts two exhibitions spotlighting the “grid” as a bearer of structural order in painting and the city. The shows feature work from the ’80s–the 1880s and the 1980s, that is. And no two exhibitions could be so different. If the panoramas of Texas cities in Patterns of Progress…
Wonder Showzen: Season One (MTV) On the surface, the way this MTV2 puppetfest explores adult concepts through a kiddie-show format seems fresh as a Nantucket limerick. But Wonder Showzen’s execution is so bold and frankly hilarious that it feels wholly new. Whether it’s exploring diversity with a forbidden homosexual love…
Somewhere between the time DJ Kool Herc got the party started in the 1970s and LL Cool J’s star turn on MTV Unplugged in 1991, hip-hop went mainstream. First it conquered the ‘burbs. Then it went global. Before long, kids in Tokyo were rapping. Along the way, hip-hop also muscled…
“It’s cold as hell in Cleveland,” Bill Bellamy complains. But the 38-year-old comedian-slash-actor is happy to be taking his stand-up act on a cross-country tour to, in his words, “get back to my roots.” And for Bellamy that means back to straight-up comedy.We were first introduced to the New Jersey-born…
Funbags just ain’t that fun when they’re size F. Sure, they bounce seductively and create come-hither cleavage. But I’m talking to the ladies who have never passed the “pencil test,” to whom “seductive bouncing” means back pain and whose over-the-shoulder-boulder-holders could double as a pair of hats for conjoined twins…
Scottish folk who live in Dallas must get annoyed on a frequent basis. Every time their cultural heritage comes up, someone surely makes a jab about Highland Park’s choice of “Fighting Scots” as a team name for all of their sports clubs—football, tennis, even golf. Strange that the most conservative,…
When I was a kid, Mom would sometimes insist that I go grocery shopping with her. Since she wasn’t big on impulse buys, there was little excitement to these outings, and I avoided them six days of the week—Saturdays were the exception. The best thing about Saturdays (besides the cartoons)?…
Say what you will about Texas, but recognize that a state this big has a great many tales to tell. Its colorful history, climate and characters make Texas ripe for literature as spicy and meticulously crafted as its barbecue sauce. To honor our storytelling traditions, the University of North Texas…
In some parallel universe and my car, I’m a great singer. I wait for the day that Oprah will come knocking on my door with a surprise in hand. That surprise would be my dream to sing with the Turtle Creek Chorale—preferably in their Christmas show. Forget finishing my education,…
Not since the British invasion of the ’60s have so many women stood screaming in the aisles of theaters, tearing at their hair and waiting to throw their bras onstage. Except now, instead of John Lennon or Mick Jagger, it’s Ira Glass. OK, perhaps we hyperbolize a wee bit, but…
Southern women are often portrayed on stage and screen as wisecracking straight talkers with unlimited sass. Flo had everyone at Mel’s Diner kissing her grits; “Mama” Harper’s clan was a far cry from the Waltons. And the ladies of Steel Magnolias are no exception. Even the characters’ names are uniquely…
We always thought the greatest stand-up comedy routines about ethnic stereotypes and racial tension were best served with intelligence, fire and a desire to challenge the audience’s assumed norms. After watching Comedy Central’s Mind of Mencia, however, we realized how stupid that was—repeatedly shouted phrases like “beaner” and “how many…
When you’re a kid, the pinhole image of a solar eclipse through a paper plate more or less defines the unfathomable breadth of space. Now the Dallas Symphony Orchestra is teaming up with The Science Place to introduce patrons to true galactic majesty, featuring a pre-concert lobby viewing in their…
An argument can be made that no female writer has been more influential than newspaper columnist Heloise, “every housewife’s friend.” The uses of vinegar and the best stain removers! Organization tips and getting burned food out of a pan! Daughter Poncé took up the mantle of Queen of Household Tips…
Short films always get the corresponding end of the stick come Oscar time, struggling for any attention while the people that toiled to make them have to dress up and endure the speeches of actors and actresses who, more often than not, shouldn’t be allowed to talk without a script…
If there’s one thing I do not fancy, it’s an appointment with the eye doctor. It already takes an army of 15 to put drops in my eyes. Couple that eye neurosis with bright lights, that spirit-breaking air-puff test and utensils intended solely for eye touching and my visit can,…
Reviews of pianist Olga Kern’s work read like reviews of a rock concert. The words “ferocious” and “explosive” are used liberally. But Kern, a single mom from Moscow, isn’t a rock star. She’s a highly decorated classical musician and past winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition—which, in some…
