Complexions Contemporary Ballet
The troupe’s show this past Saturday, at the Byham, was extraordinary, with one exception. The “extraordinary” part shouldn’t be a surprise; the Pittsburgh Dance Council has a good track record, and this New York-based company — though it’s never played Pittsburgh before — is renowned. The troupe’s founding artistic directors are both Alvin Ailey alumni,…
Jane Orie: No class
Just finished reading the grand jury presentment on the charges facing state Sen. Jane Orie and her sister, Janine. Gotta say: It doesn’t look so good for the Orie Sisters. The timing alone is pretty terrible: The grand jury notes that the alleged misconduct took place even as other state legislators were being burned on…
Orie charges already helping Democrats
As Allegheny County DA Stephen Zappala files charges against state Sen. Joan Orie and her sister, you can hear the licking of chops all the way from Harrisburg. T.J. Rooney, who chairs the state’s Democratic Party Committee, just sent out a press release firing a salvo at Tom Corbett, the state Attorney General and leading…
Caught up in the ‘Net
Appy polly loggies for the extended hiatus here. I’ve been working on a cover story due out tomorrow, among other things. I’ll try to have some business up soon about the gubernatorial race … which has been taking place, sort of, in my absence. The big news on the Interwebz at the moment, though, is…
MP3 Monday returns: Developer
Hello, friends! It’s Monday again, and this time that actually means an MP3 is going to be posted. This week we’re posting one from Developer, aka Corey Layman, also of the Karl Hendricks Trio. He’s been on this project, lately, right? Where he writes and posts a song each week. They’re pretty good little rock…
The Price at Pittsburgh Public Theatre
I had read this 1968 play by Arthur Miller in preparation for a preview piece for CP (www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A76024). And given how straightforward Miller is, it didn’t seem too difficult to envision how it would all play out on stage. On the other hand, a smart opening directorial gambit by Tracy Brigden surprised me a little,…
The Weird Paul Rock Band releases Simulating the Act of Love
“You know what I’m talking about? / I’m talking about a dump / on my jacket!”
Short List: Week of April 1 – 8
Thu., April 1 — Words Did you miss essayist Sven Birkerts and media blogger Maud Newton discussing “The Future of the Book” back in February? You and everybody else: The event, like so many, was postponed due to Snowpocalypse ’10. But this Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series forum on the costs, benefits, ups and downs of…
Changed Man
Is the party over for Pennsylvania’s best-known party-crasher?
Pusadee’s Garden
A long-standing Lawrenceville restaurant cements its reputation for excellent Thai cuisine.
Hot Tub Time Machine
Good things about Steve Pink’s time-travel comedy, in which four guys from now wind up back at the ski resort they were also at in 1986: The film has a lot of fun with various time-bending tropes, from the Terminator to “the butterfly effect”; Craig Robinson (The Office), who is likable and funny; dumping on…
Art of the Steal
It sounds pretty dry: A handful of museums, foundations and art-world people fight in the courts for control of an art collection plenty of people have never heard of. But Don Argott’s documentary about suburban Philadelphia’s Barnes Foundation is a gripping tale, full of plot twists, revenge, dastardly deeds, bitchy slings and arrows, dirty politics…
Faces of Globalization
Carnegie Mellon’s nternational film festival puts faces to issues of globalization
Un Prophete
A naïve and illiterate young Franco-Arab man named Malik goes to prison, possibly for something he didn’t do, and comes out a seasoned criminal, thanks to the tutelage of a Corsican mobster. For about 90 minutes his movie builds its story and character well, and the actors, especially up-and-comer Tahar Rahim as Malik, perform with…
This Old House
Valerie Laken’s Dream House is that rare thing: A truly literary novel that just happens to have a compelling story to tell. On the surface, its characters have little in common. Just one thing, actually: an unassuming old house on a tree-lined street in Ann Arbor, Mich. Using nuanced, lovely prose, Laken shows us the…
This Just In: April 1 – 8
Highlights from the local TV news: They Came, They Saw, They Stayed!
Dwight Rhoden’s Complexions Contemporary Ballet makes its Pittsburgh debut.
“Now we are selling out around the world, and that has to mean something.”
The Light in the Piazza
When the story reaches the same intensity as Guettel’s music, it’s so beautiful you want to weep.
Alice
Released from its literary underpinnings, this Alice is jumblingly fast-paced and colorful, nearly to the point of sensory overload.
Big energy savings from conservation and efficiency are easier than you think.
For each of 2009’s seven “warm” months, our total utility bill was under $100.
Spotlighting functional sculptures like the Power Flower, the Geek Art/Green Innovators festival gets off the ground.
“The lines [between] science and art are pretty thin.”
Starr Valley Farm
Raising the stakes in the local-beef business
Savage Love
I am writing to you because my boyfriend reads your column religiously. I don’t know what to do. My boyfriend of almost two years broke up with me yesterday over the fact that I used to be an escort. He went through my e-mails and saw that I was answering ads, putting ads up, sending…
Problem Center
Merton facing budget crisis, internal conflicts
Architecturally, at least, the Rivers Casino is a dicey proposition.
What’s curious is the difference between places that are slightly luxuriant and those that are botched and neglected.
Crunching the Numbers
Joe Sestak is far behind Arlen Specter, so why does he still think he can win?
Finnish rockers HIM return to Club Zoo armed with Screamworks
If the new video for the surprisingly sunny “Scared to Death” is any indication, HIM’s out to conquer a larger segment of the mainstream.
Pioneering New Music ensemble Relâche performs at the Warhol
Relâche became a pioneering template for a novel brand of ensemble, one that still challenges young composers to broaden their perspectives.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
“Sometimes that madness gives back to the music. But in the end, it had turned a corner and was taking away from the music in us.”
