Arts and Culture (All)

Article - Live Music; by Angela Worland - 3/8/12

Sounds Good, Annapolis

You don’t have to go far to find somebody playing

Headed out for dinner and drinks in Annapolis? There’s a good chance you’ll find musical talent as well. Trendy indie? Shake your groove to some soul and funk? Hip hop, pop, reggae, folk, jazz, blues, Celtic or some good old sea shanties? Start at Ego Alley in Annapolis on a Friday night and begin walking toward West Street, and you can pick your soundtrack. Most buildings in this part of Annapolis are small. Yet many bar and restaurant...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 3/1/12

Gone

There’s a thin line between straightforward and uninteresting

Modern thrillers are typically bogged down with fantastical plots, unnecessary twists and red herrings. Gone avoids most of these pitfalls with a simple thriller plotline that’s easy to follow. In doing so, it becomes a boring potboiler. Waitress Jill (Amanda Seyfried: In Time) comes home from an overnight shift to find her sister Molly (Emily Wicker: I Am Number Four) gone. This wouldn’t be a big deal, except that a year ago, Jill was abducted from her bed and...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Davina Grace Hill - 3/1/12

2nd Star Productions’ The Lion in Winter

Think your family is dysfunctional? You’ve not seen The Lion in Winter.

The Lion in Winter, now playing at 2nd Star Productions, is a masterful, gleeful verbal chess game. The players are intense because the fate of a nation and a family dynasty are at stake in this game of ever-changing checkmates. It is Christmas 1183 at King Henry II’s castle in Chignon, France. To celebrate the occasion, Henry has released his imprisoned wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, for the holidays. Their three sons — Richard, Geoffrey and John — all want...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Jane C. Elkin - 2/23/12

Compass Rose Studio Theater’s The Miracle Worker

See the miracle four young student actors achieve with the guidance of pros

Imagine for a moment that you can neither see nor hear, that you careen through life as an animal trapped in a silent, black maze.Omnipotent beings collude against your wild frustration until only your savagery can wear them down enough to earn you meager bribes and scraps of their exasperated affection. Such is the life of six-year-old Helen Keller. In Compass Rose Studio Theater’s The Miracle Worker, Annalie Ellis’ portrayal of pain and confusion is...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 2/23/12

This Means War

Love means never having to say you’re sorry about illegal surveillance

CIA agents Tuck (Tom Hardy: Warrior) and FDR (Chris Pine: Unstoppable) are top agents assigned to take down German terrorist brothers. The job goes bad, terrorist Heinrich (Til Schweiger: New Year’s Eve) vows revenge and the two agents are grounded in the Los Angeles field office. What do bored agents do when they can’t wear suits and shoot up nightclubs? They look for love in this crazy modern world. Sensitive Tuck is...

Article - Performing Arts; by Sandra Olivetti Martin - 2/23/12

Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s Double Feature

Scary forces fight for souls, all in elegant bodies

A tonic to warm up the blood would do good in these heavy days of Pisces, where we’re stuck till the first day of spring. You’ll find it at Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s double feature, The Firebird and The Scarlet Letter, this weekend only at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. Don’t do ballet? Dianna Cuatto, artistic director since 2003 of Maryland’s only professional ballet company, gives you reason to stretch out of your comfort zone....

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 2/16/12

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

The only mystery is who approved this script

Young adventurer Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson: The Kids Are Alright) intercepts a mysterious message referencing Jules Verne. Sure he had to break into a satellite station to get the signal, but what’s a little arrest in the quest for adventure? Stepfather Hank (Dwayne Johnson: Fast Five) talks the cops out of pressing charges, so Sean confesses what’s going on: His grandfather, Alexander, (Michael Caine: Cars 2) is a Vernian, believing that the works of Jules...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Davina Grace Hill - 2/16/12

Colonial Players’ Chapter 2

Starting over can be very funny

Chapter 2, now at Colonial Players of Annapolis, is Neil Simon’s comedy about the blossoming of a new relationship in middle age, when starting over means stepping away from your past. Since it is Neil Simon, it is very, very funny. Simon can condense a reaction or thought into an unexpected but perfect line in a way few other authors can. Add actors and directors who bring great timing to those lines, and the audience gets a crackling good night. ...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 2/9/12

Chronicle

A trio of teens get the gift of a lifetime in this fun sci-fi take on superpowers

Spiderman’s beloved Uncle Ben once said With great power comes great responsibility. Sure Voltaire said it first, but the three teens at the center of Chronicle are more likely to be reading philosophy penned by Stan Lee than some old French guy. Our heroes are three high school archetypes: Popular suave Steve (Michael B. Jordan: Red Tails), Stoner Matt (Alex Russell: Almost Kings) and bullied dweeb Andrew (Dane DeHaan: True Blood). Weird and quiet, Andrew has started...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Jane C. Elkin - 2/9/12

Bay Theatre’s Love Letters

Kleenex needed for this unrequited romance about the surprise of the human condition — as we all know it.

Love Letters is a simple show about a complex relationship chronicled through 50 years of letters. It needs, playwright A.R. Gurney says, “no theater, no lengthy rehearsal, no special set, no memorization of lines and no commitment from its two actors beyond the night of performance.” If those actors happen to be a couple? All the better. Bay Theatre’s Nigel Reed and Valerie Leonard, married five years and costarring in their fifth...