Wednesday, May 18,2011

Graffiti artists have their day

Collaborative project aims to freshen up REO Town streets

by Chris Galford

There was nothing cloak and dagger in the arrangement, though. These artists ' far from the “taggers” that many cities have attempted to crack down upon ' were invited as part of the latest in a joint effort by the REACH Studio Art Center and the REO Town Commercial Association to breathe new cultural life into the city.

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Wednesday, May 11,2011

Baptism of fire

For these ceramicists, a Grand Ledge kiln is a ‘primal experience’

by Lawrence Cosentino

Monday afternoon, just before 3, a crowd of people gathered in front of an ancient-looking tunnel of bricks and mud behind the Clayworks pottery shop on Wacousta Road in Grand Ledge, craning their necks for a better look. Wabi-sabi-gama, the 12-foot-long beast with a belly of fire, had finally cooled.

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Wednesday, May 11,2011

Advice Goddess

So, his wild oats & Fade to blackheads

by Amy Alkon

divorce (from a 10-year marriage) would soon be final. (It will be at the end of this month.) She then played matchmaker. He and I have been dating for three months. Things were going fabulously ' until a few nights ago. We were picking a movie to watch on his laptop, and I noticed one of his browser pages was opened to Match.

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Wednesday, May 11,2011

War and remembrance

It took Karl Marlantes decades to finish his novel 'Matterhorn,' but the time was well spent

by Bill Castanier

Karl Marlantes follows a string of many other notable authors who have contributed to the genre, including Philip Caputo (“A Rumor of War”, “Indian Country”), Tim O’Brien (“The Things They Carried”) and Denis Johnson (“Tree of Smoke”).

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Wednesday, May 11,2011

Daydreams at the day spa

Seasoned performers add spice to ’Hallelujah’

by UTE VON DER HEYDEN

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That operating principle seems to fit Starlight Dinner Theatre impresario Linda Granger. As has been said before in these pages, she has a firm direction for her theater, she knows her audience and she knows how to please them.

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Wednesday, May 11,2011

Turn it down: A survey of Lansing's musical landscape

by Rich Tupica

You don’t need to leave Lansing to get into the Aloha spirit Mighty Uke Day is a celebration of the joyful Aloha spirit of the ukulele. The free event, taking place indoors and outdoors at various locations in the heart of Old Town, will be hosted by organizer and local musician Ben Hassenger Sr.

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Wednesday, May 11,2011

Repression and expression

’The Pride’ asks provocative questions about perceptions of homosexuality

by James Sanford

When Sylvia discovers her husband, Philip, is having an affair with Oliver, she can’t even say the term that defines their relationship. It’s 1958 in London and, as author Alexi Kaye Campbell’s “The Pride” reminds us, that sort of behavior wasn’t the sort of thing people talked about in what was called “polite conversation.

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Wednesday, May 11,2011

Curtain Call

Queen bees, dancing princesses

by James Sanford

Believe it or not, "Chicago" ' which has seen nearly 6,000 performances on Broadway ' was once considered a bit of a disappointment. When the John Kander/Fred Ebb musical opened in 1975, it was overshadowed by another Broadway newcomer: "A Chorus Line," which won more awards and brought in bigger audiences.

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Wednesday, May 11,2011

The Screening Room

’Le Concert’ celebrates a case of musical vengeance

by James Sanford

After your career as a maestro has been demolished and you’ve been branded an "enemy of the state" by no less than Leonid Brezhnev, what do you do for an encore?

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Wednesday, May 11,2011

Ready to roll the dice on love

Holt-Dimondale Players bets on ’Guys and Dolls’

by Chris Galford

Sixty-one years after it debuted on Broadway, "Guys and Dolls" is what Mitchell calls the “quintessential musical,” and has since been performed on stage more than any other musical, with numerous Broadway revivals over the years.

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