Earlier this week I wrote a preview of a fascinating performance that will take place tonight (Thursday) at the University of Montana. The UM Symphonic Wind Ensemble will perform composer Craig Naylor’s “Chickadee Symphony,” which drew its inspiration from real biological research done on the vocalizations of chickadees — including, notably, research done [...]
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Few people outside theatrical circles today remember the name William Inge. Half a century ago, the Kansas-born playwright was considered one of America’s great living voices of the theatre, on equal stature with the likes of Tennessee Williams (who helped foster Inge’s career). His best-known plays – “Picnic,” “The Dark at the Top of the Stairs,” and most of all “Bus Stop” – were celebrated by critics and widely performed in their time. Yet something happened on the road to legend: Where Williams’ reputation only grew, Inge faded even before his death, by suicide, in 1973. Looking back through the lens of Montana Repertory Theatre’s new production of “Bus Stop,” which continues through next week at the Montana Theatre before embarking on a far-reaching national tour, it’s at once easy and confounding to comprehend the fate of Inge and his erstwhile Broadway hit. [Read More...] Advertisement One of my fellow newsies forwarded a link to this amazing rant written by a certain Douglas Britt, the visual art and society reporter at the Houston Chronicle. It seems Mr. Britt has grown tired of creative types getting creative in how they communicate with him. If they’d just stick to the system and follow “simple instructions,” it would make everything better! Unfortunately, those “simple instructions” come in the form of a rambling, 1,400-word screed that I, for one, would have a hard time following even if I had to. It’s worth a cursory read, but only in the same way that a train wreck is worth craning your neck to see as you drive by. Yet there’s definitely a part of me that sympathizes with Mr. Britt’s plight. [Read More...]
“Could you come outside and talk for a minute?” he whispered in my ear. I followed him out into the foyer of the bar, where he turned to me. “We’re in a real jam,” he said. “We don’t have anyone for the kid’s role in ‘Madama Butterfly,’ and I feel like I’ve exhausted all the other possibilities I have. What would you think of Julian doing it?” I stood for a moment, so surprised that my ears were ringing. No, strike that; someone on the stage inside the bar was singing a high note. The music stopped, and the crowd began cheering and clapping. My son? My three-year-old? In an opera? “Uh,” I stammered, “well, I guess I’ll have to talk to him.” [Read More...] It’s no secret that Missoula overflows with musical talent. Still, not many people realize that one of America’s most celebrated living classical composers lives right here in town.
As you read this, Maslanka is in Japan, where one of his newest works, Liberation for Wind Ensemble and Chorus, is being premiered. Maslanka keeps himself so busy, in fact, that he won’t even be in town next Tuesday, March 16, when another of his newest works receives its Missoula premiere, in a performance by UM piano professor Christopher Hahn, UM percussion professor Bob Ledbetter, and North Carolina-based pianist Karen Beres and her percussionist husband, Lance Drege. [Read More...] I received the call for applications for this year’s Bezos Scholarships, a program that sends high school juniors to Aspen, Co., for some intensive think-tank-style workshops. A couple of Missoula kids have received these scholarships in the past, and I’ve heard great things about the program, so if you know someone who might be interested, here’s the info… [Read More...] Gabriel Iglesias, aka “Fluffy Guy,” is coming to the Wilma on January 25. I have to admit, I had never heard of him, but I did find a pretty funny YouTube video of him… [Read More...] My old friend Eric from Indiana posted up some important linguistic questions to ponder. I invite you to consider…. Share on Facebook
Not that that’s a bad thing, when you consider the artists who fit on Po’Girl’s sounds-like list. [Read More...] If goofy nonsequiturs sung in a thick Japanese accent ain’t your thing, swing down to the Palace tonight, Friday, Oct. 23, where there’ll be a poetry slam and some readings as part of the Montana Festival of the Book… [Read More...] |
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His name is 
With performances on four continents now under their belts, the Vancouver-based ensemble known as Po’Girl draws on a wealth of cultural experience and musical wisdom that belies the group’s self-deprecating name. Dragging along a king’s treasure-chest of noisemakers — banjo and accordion, washtub bass and clarinet, violin and so on – Po’Girl somehow manages to sound, most often, like a bunch of artists you’ve heard before.
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