REVIEW: John Mayer no one trick pony
John Mayer has turned self-indulgence into an art form. This is the whole point of being a rock star, isn’t it? To “indulge yourself.” It’s one of the seven deadly virtues of rock ‘n’ roll. Self indulgence is not necessarily a bad thing. It only means that you will do only what you love to […]
PLAYBILL: We’ve CRADDOCK with you!
Chris Craddock is on a role … ooh, make that roll. You know what? It works both ways. The Edmonton actor-playwright recently made his directorial debut in what turned out to be Alan Thicke’s last starring role in a feature film, It’s Not My Fault and I Don’t Care Anyway (based on one of Craddock’s […]
Rock opera dares to suggest Jesus human
When Jesus Christ Superstar was released in 1970, it was condemned by many Christian groups because it dared to suggest that Christ was human and Judas was a tragic figure. At the time, lyricist Tim Rice observed, “It happens that we don’t see Christ as God, but simply the right man at the right time […]
BRIAN WILSON: Sand, sun and golden adolescence
He stopped touring with his brothers and cousins long before the Beach Boys were a nostalgia act at Klondike Days – but Brian Wilson is known as much for his elusive eccentricities as his musical genius. He is the stuff of legend. The median age for his show at the Jubilee Auditorium Wednesday night was […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: John Mayer’s split personality
We all know John Mayer has a gift for writing beautiful, heartfelt pop songs to make strong men weep. That’s why he’s famous. We know that he likes to say outrageous things to reporters from time to time. That also makes him famous. Romantic involvements with women like Jessica Simpson, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift […]
PLAYBILL: Superstar rises at Mayfield
Jesus Christ Superstar is the best musical Andrew Lloyd Webber has ever made. FACT. Oh, you don’t want to argue around this time of year, when in some households the annual screening of the 1973 feature film starring dreamy Ted Neeley is as close to religion as they’re going to get all year – and […]
REVIEW: Starcatcher flies like Peter Pan
Avast there, matey, prepare to go aloft! And I abide that ye’ll have a crew of plundering picaroons at yer back. The Citadel’s current show Peter and the Starcatcher does briefly soar aloft, but that comes later. James MacDonald’s rollicking, inventive production starts small with what is known as “physical theatre,” or the more poetic […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Local aces play Graceland tribute
The Going To Graceland show at the Royal Alberta Museum Theatre on Saturday night will be one of the last gigs played at the venue, and it’s celebrating what many believe to be one of the best albums of the 1980s, if not the entire Century. A nine piece ensemble – featuring locals aces like […]
PLAYBILL: 9 Parts of Desire has many faces
Nine very different Iraqi women lead lives as normal as they can manage in the years between the two Gulf wars – imagined by Heather Ruffo in her discussion-provoking play 9 Parts of Desire. The playwright was inspired and disturbed by a trip to an art museum in Baghdad, and from extensive interviews with area […]
Review of the Cat Cafe: HISSSSSSSSS!
FULL DISCLAWSURE: I grew up in a cat house. The rotating clowder of strays my mother took in numbered up to 16. I’d left home by this point, and moved in with a girl who had a cat. Then we split up and she moved out, and I kept the cat until it died. Another […]
