Category > PreviewsTheatre
On January 5th at the Station Theater in downtown Urbana is the premier of the play Gruesome Playground Injuries, by Rajiv Joseph. The play had its world premier in October 2009 at the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas, then was performed at the Second Stage Theatre in New York City in January 2011, and finally it's made its way to Urbana-Champaign to start out the new year. I had an opportunity to speak with director Mathew Green. Here’s what he …
| The good news ― a new live talk show is coming to C-U. It’s called Two Beers with Dylan Heath and will debut on Thursday, December 22nd at the Iron Post at 9:00 p.m. The guests for the first show are Sanford Hess of the Art Theater, comedian Andrew Voris, and musician Ryan Groff. The bad news ― unlike on Oprah in the past, the host, Dylan Heath, won’t be giving away cars to audience members. “One day we might give away …
Stories & Beer Presents: The Out of Towners | Indi Go | Saturday 5-8 | BYOB | Free This Saturday, a couple of the folks who throw together Stories and Beer will be presenting you with a crew of talented writers (and apparent weirdos) from Southern Illinois University's MFA Program. Now, I know what you're probably thinking: why are you bringing writers from the most backwards region of Illinois (and perhaps the USA) to come read about whatever they write about …
burlesque [ber-lesk] noun an artistic composition, especially literary or dramatic, that, for the sake of laughter, vulgarizes lofty material or treats ordinary material with mock dignity any ludicrous parody or grotesque caricature a humorous and provocative stage show featuring slapstick humor, comic skits, bawdy songs, striptease acts, and a scantily clad female chorus Ludicrous parodies and provocative stage shows were just the beginning for Champaign-Urbana's premiere burlesque troupe when it formed just over eighteen months ago. Carnivàle Debauche has come …
I don't remember details about the first time I saw Bob Fosse's 1972 film, Cabaret. It was 1978 (give or take a year), and I was either 12 or 13 years old. We had HBO, and I think that's how I first gained access to the movie (I know it wasn't at a theater). I didn't catch all of the references; I certainly didn't understand the sexual themes. But I remember being utterly captivated by the music, the costumes, the …
This is what I said at the moment of my conversion: I said, ‘Fuck it. Come in.I quit.'~~Anne Lamott This Friday, R. Dale Smith will bring his one-man show, Jesus Phreak: The Story of a Very UnLiKeLy Disciple, to Champaign-Urbana. Smith's show tells the story of one man's struggles, doubts, reluctance, and eventual acceptance of God. But this story is not morose; it is not meant to be a sermon, or even a lesson. Rather, Smith's goal is to show …
Last Thursday evening, I attended the premier of Patrick Barlow's The 39 Steps at the Station Theater in downtown Urbana. What first caught my attention when entering the theater was that the stage was much smaller than what I was used to. Furthermore, the stage décor consisted of nothing but a brown armchair against a gray backdrop. Given that the Station has used its space to create such expansive, imaginative sets in the past, I was curious to see what …
Premiering Thursday, July 21 at the Station Theater in downtown Urbana is Patrick Barlow's The 39 Steps. I had the opportunity to speak to director Mathew Green about the upcoming performances. Here's what he had to say. Smile Politely: Can you give us a brief synopsis of this play? Mathew Green: It's a classic Hitchcock "Wrong Man" story, but played for laughs. Richard Hannay meets a mysterious woman, learns of a secret plot to overthrow his government, is accused of …
Saturday evening at 8 p.m. in the Channing-Murray Center (1209 W. Oregon, Urbana), the New Revels Players will be performing Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. I saw a poster in the basement of the Independent Media Center and couldn't find anything about it online, but any theater performance for $5 immediately piques my interest. So, I tracked down Erik Allgood, New Revels veteran and director of the show, to give you good people an idea of what you might be …
Monolith Reception | Indi Go | Friday | 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. | Free Cocktails/Hor d'oeuvres It's not exactly fair to call Michael Curtin a newcomer to the C-U art scene. He's also not quite a veteran. As a townie, a resident of downtown Champaign and a graduate of the U of I's school of Art & Design, Curtin has been around the scene for longer than many of the folks who end up showing their art in town. …
Most Recent Arts Comments
great. another TGIF documentary.
This movie is a throwback in the best possible way. Such a delight. By the last scene, I was actually grinning ear to ear!
There are plenty of war movies that do not show one second of fighting or death or blood. There are many feel good war movies. This movie is meant to be inspirational and uplifting. I don’t watch the boondocks because that show is degrading and racist. I…
I think Cameron and scorsese are addicted to the innovations of movies rather than the actual movies themselves. As we saw in Avatar. The look was amazing but the tale was as old as time haha. And as far as Scorsese is concerned he’s made plenty of…
thank gha’al for dan hill
You are right, the Scorsese “vision” of the future is much more horrifying. This actually surprises me because Cameron seems like the MOAR MOAR MOAR TECHNLOGY!!! guy. What does Scorsese even mean “there is no subject matter that can’t absorb 3D?” Yeah a sensitive love story could…
What type of war movie is a “feel good” movie. Look out Hitla, here we come!!!! That doesn’t make them seem as educated men like the Tuskeegee were. Take that Mista Hitla… It was garbage and a the Boondocks creator wrote the script. Have you ever heard…
Speaking of James Cameron…I was going to link this article but decided that the one with Scorsese was much more disheartening: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/specialsections/40th-anniversary/James-Cameron-on-the-Future-of-Cinema.html
This movie is in black and white (although it was shot in color and then postprocessed into B&W), is in a TV-style 4x3 aspect ratio, has nothing in the way of special effects, and nary a sound (beyond the musical score) is heard. Even the frame rate…
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Most Recent Comments
Pamela - Are the roasteries in Seattle as clean as CSR? It always disturbs me a little that it is so clean in there.
Now you will be able to munch on pizza and shrimp cocktails in downtown Urbana (whilst a DJ spins?) after your dissolution of marriage http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/features/its-your-business/2012-02-05/its-your-business-new-pizza-place-downtown-urban Is this a franchise of a Reno pizza joint, or just a coincidence of name? http://www.blackrockpizza.com
Signs someone is “fishing” for a factual anchor: 1. Starts call to radio with: “I’ve been an Illini fan for (XX) years” or “I’m a diehard fan,” as if somehow that unverifiable claim will justify the 5 minutes of B.S. that follows. 2. Makes reference to KenPom…
That’s what she said.
Black dog and Siam terrace is where I always go after my divorces.
Love CSR. Apart from making my way through the regular roasts in 1/2 pound increments, I also like to pick up some of the little sample packets of the flavored stuff for when the lady and I feel like getting crazy. Sticky Bun is pretty nice.
If you happen to be getting a divorce, or fighting a DUI prosecution, downtown Urbana is a great place to eat.
HUUUUUUGE fan of their Black Velvet roast…It makes up about 75% of my coffee intake. LOL CSR is definitely one of those Champaign institutions that I brag about to people not from here. :-)
We like CSR too! We french press at home and I leave the lid off while it steeps—letting the ground beans bloom. Then, like in your tasting, I scoop off the top layer before pressing. We really need to invest in a burr grinder though, as I…
Confidential? In this state? Hahahahahahahhahahaha
just confirmed: there will be white russians served. the art abides.
big lebowski at the art. mark it, dude.
There’s a great video promo out for “Company” too: http://vimeo.com/36077847
Wow, His Majesty took the time to answer your polite plea. It’s been a while since I spoke fluent arrogance, but allow this attempt at a translation: “I deeply regret the embarrassment…” = I wish we hadn’t got caught and it wasn’t a big deal really. “...and…
I love the Guitars
I had their tea at the Urbana Farmer’s Market when they first started out and it was great! Their tins recently caught my eye at Walnut Street Tea Company and my guests used it all up before I could even try it! Way to go Tiesta, stay…
Im fine with missing ingredients and of course they fixed things what restaurant fights with the customer over things like that anymore. ( the way social media could affect them) My problem is that I am visiting you place of business within the first week of opening.…
Thanks for that, Louis CK.
Your call to stay pissed is precisely why global warming fanatics will fail. Emotion has no place in hard science. The problem with the issue of global warming is that is has been pumped full of emotion and politics, and the science is becoming a by-product. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204301404577171531838421366.html?KEYWORDS=global+warming
Clearly the Postal Officials in favor of this cannot make an economic argument, as this saves the post office $0. What is their rationale?
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Soo is smile politely in the business of editing comments? Interesting. Way to preserve our 1st am.