Although he calls it an “odd quirk” in his writing process, listening to certain kinds of music has been quite helpful for Eric Samuelsen in shaping the rhythmic and thematic flows of his plays. For example, in a play-in-progress about 11th century papal politics, he finds listening to rock ‘n’ roll from the late 1950s … Read more
Pygmalion Theatre Company closes out it’s production of “The Women of Lockerbie” by Deborah Brevoort at Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center this evening (March 22). The play is based on the real-life events following the crash of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland that killed 270 people. Set seven years after the plane crashed … Read more
Love, passion and death are guarantees in opera and Turandot is no exception. It’s the tale of a cold-hearted princess who requires suitors to answer a series of riddles in order to win her hand in marriage–but a wrong answer results in death. The opera is extravagant on several levels, with a massive cast, an … Read more
NOTE: Les Roka appreciates Mark Alvarez, an attorney and immigration expert who happens to have studied economics as an undergraduate student, for reviewing Plan-B Theatre’s latest premiere, ‘Clearing Bombs’ which runs through March 2. There are still a few seats available for the remaining performances and ticket information can be found at www.planbtheatre.org. Photos courtesy … Read more
‘The most striking thing about the crowd is their ordinariness: just a bunch of earnest suburban moms and dads, accompanied by young children still so androgynous-looking that the trans kids are indistinguishable from their non-trans siblings.’ — Sabrina Rubin Erdely, Rolling Stone Magazine, Nov. 7, 2013 Eri Hayward, the young Utah woman at the heart … Read more
The literary arts have emerged as a potent platform for addressing bullying. Recent books such as the compilation ‘Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories;’ ‘One,’ a picturebook by Katherine Otashi, and ‘The Misfits,’ in which one of the main characters is inspired by her interaction with J. K. Rowling’s books to form a political … Read more
‘Having spent much of the past three years reading and writing about this subject, I wonder whether it is even worth engaging with these arguments. The aversion to government spending, and government activity generally, which animates many Americans isn’t actually based on economics, or logic: it is an emotionally driven belief system, founded upon a … Read more
Ballet West is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary this year with a favorite classic during the month of February—The Sleeping Beauty. Ballet West typically stages a romantic-leaning performance in it’s first ballet of the calendar year and the timeless tale of The Sleeping Beauty is always a hit with audiences young and old. The ballet is … Read more