Flap over Palin line in MCT’s ‘Mikado’ reflects the hazards of bias

Years ago, as a teenager, I attended a meeting of my church youth-group led by a guest minister. I still remember how he arrayed our group in a circle, and without any explanation, whispered something in the ear of one of our group members.

She laughed, turned, and whispered in the ear of the person next to her, who then passed the message along around the circuit.

The secret eventually got around to me. Now, 20-plus years later, I don’t remember much of it, but it had something to do with a bicycle, a list of items from the store, and some places and names. “Pass it on,” I was told.

Eventually, the circle was completed. The minister asked the last person in line to say what he had heard out loud. Then, the minister read from a piece of paper the original message he had whispered in the first girl’s ear.

Neither a single fact nor even the basic gist of the story had made it all the way around the circle. [Read More...]

Curt Olds responds to controversy over Palin lyrics in “The Mikado”

Curt Olds, director of MCT Community Theatre’s recent production of “The Mikado” and the man responsible for writing a controversial lyric about Sarah Palin, has responded to critics with a letter clarifying the background of his decision to employ the lyric.

Here’s the letter, in full. [Read More...]

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Mikado-gate: MCT Community Theatre deals with backlash over Palin quote

On Sunday night, MCT Community Theatre wrapped up its two-week run of Gilbert & Sullivan’s satirical operetta, “The Mikado,” with a frolicking performance at its home theatre on East Broadway in Missoula.

On Monday morning, MCT executive director Michael McGill set about the hard business of mending all that had gone awry over the weekend, when word spread across the Internet that MCT’s production advocated the beheading of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

What began with a single letter to the editor, published in last Friday’s Missoulian, quickly erupted into a nationwide controversy after dozens of political bloggers picked up the thread and ran with it – some adding their own colorful amendments to the story. [Read More...]

Artini: Art & Soul tonight…with me!

This very evening, the Missoula Art Museum continues its monthly Artini series of events with Artini: Art and Soul. If you haven’t seen the MAM’s auction show, which is hanging now, you really should; it’s one of the best group shows I’ve ever seen at the museum, and definitely the best auction show [...]

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival looking for volunteers

I received a note that I was asked to pass along, looking for volunteers to help out with this year’s upcoming Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. So….I’m passing it along. [Read More...]

Marc Mariani at Southgate Mall today

Got word on Friday that one of the Montana Grizzlies’ most high-profile alumni will be visiting Missoula on Saturday to sign autographs. Here’s the press release with details. [Read More...]

No news is good news in Missoula’s arts scene

Last week, conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin took the podium at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia to lead that city’s venerable orchestra in a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Requiem.” Critics lauded the performance and the work of the French-Canadian conductor, who last summer was named the orchestra’s new music director, after a troubling period without a permanent leader.

But the program itself perhaps signaled something else about the times. [Read More...]

“Orphan art” still looking for home after Macy’s building sale

The Montana Museum of Art and Culture will have to wait a little longer to find a proper showcase for its trove of art.

Monday’s news that a Virginia-based developer has purchased the Macy’s building in downtown Missoula means that the MMAC, Montana’s only state-owned museum devoted to art – and the only state-owned museum that lacks a public building of its own – likely won’t be moving into the 134-year-old building in the heart of Missoula.

“We’re disappointed, certainly,” said Barbara Koostra, director of the MMAC, the UM-based art collection that, for 117 years, has been a museum by name only. [Read More...]

We want your year-end best-of lists

It’s that time of year again, when every self-appointed critic and self-respecting media outlet looks back and ponders the best (and worst) of the year. We’re no different around here at the Missoulian. On Christmas Day, the Missoulian will publish an issue of the Entertainer devoted largely to the year in music, film, [...]

Holiday art markets: too much of a good thing?

Big retailers have their Black Friday; online retailers have their Cyber Monday. But for local artists and handiworkers, this December is shaping up to be Craftshow Chaos. And at least some folks are beginning to wonder if the profusion of local fairs and markets isn’t starting to be too much.

This weekend alone, a quick tour of the local scene includes a First Friday DIY Bazaar at the Top Hat Lounge (tonight), the annual Brunswick Artist Studios Holiday Open House (today and Saturday), the UC Holiday Art Fair at the University of Montana (today and Saturday) – and, of course, the gamut of First Friday openings, several of them expanded for the holiday season.

And that’s just the start of it. Still to come is the Missoula Made Fair (Dec. 12, at the Elk’s Lodge), the 24th annual UM Art Annex Holiday Juried Show and Sale (Dec. 9-12), and plenty more.

The long list of fairs and sales offers a celebratory manifestation of the growing diversity of Missoula’s art and craft scene – not to mention a reflection of the nationwide revitalization of interest in handmade crafts.

But some locals wonder if the ever-expanding creativity in our community will be matched this year by a deeper pool of interested buyers. [Read More...]