Federico Cuatlacuatl began making art when he was 7 years old. It was a “survival instinct” that kicked in when his family moved from Cholula, Mexico, to Indiana. “I knew like, two words of English, and I needed a way to communicate that I felt sad and depressed, and that I missed home, and that […]
Federico Cuatlacuatl began making art when he was 7 years old. It was a “survival instinct” that kicked in when his family moved from Cholula, Mexico, to Indiana. “I knew like, two words of English, and I needed a way to communicate that I felt sad and depressed, and that I missed home, and that […]
Hand to mouth: In a show built around bad behavior and puppets, Jeff Dunham dishes out political and cultural commentary through multiple characters. As a ventriloquist, Dunham has carved out a unique space in comedy, and his act is hugely popular—he’s the third-highest-paid comedian in the U.S., behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock. Peanut, Walter, […]
After being wooed by four mop-haired musicians in matching black turtlenecks harmonizing “Help!” on a television screen, 5-year-old Rob Sheffield became a Beatles mega fan. “Don’t you know that band broke up?” his parents would ask. “They don’t exist anymore,” his teacher would say. It was the early 1970s, and while they weren’t wrong—The Beatles […]
Hindsight is 1616: It’s a battle to save the legacy of William Shakespeare when the Bard’s mates go on a mad scramble to gather up his disparate writings in Lauren Gunderson’s The Book of Will. At the time of his death in 1616, Shakespeare was well-off and popular, but had his friends John Heminges and […]
Marvin Gaye You’re the Man (Universal) The follow-up that never was is finally here—and honestly probably sounds better now than it would have in 1972. You’re the Man could hardly have matched the gorgeously sighing melodies, elegant textures, and memorable aphorisms of What’s Going On, and when it tries, it suffers in comparison. Leadoff track […]
Red rocks: The launch of the outdoor music season finds Red & The Romantics playing original tunes in the fresh air at Fridays After Five. Erik “Red” Knierim leads his band through joyful grooves that draw from Americana, blues, roots, and gospel. Friday 4/12. Free, 5:30pm. Sprint Pavilion, 700 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 245-4910.
Mary Lattimore & Mac McCaughan New Rain Duets (Three Lobed) Essentially a 40-minute jam divided into four segments, New Rain Duets brings more exquisite atmosphere from Mary Lattimore, and, in a somewhat surprising role, Mac McCaughan. Best known for cofounding Merge Records and fronting Superchunk, McCaughan supplies not guitar but guitar-like synthesizer textures and samples, […]
Funny not funny: Contemporary playwright Alan Ayckbourn weaves themes of domestic strife, family dysfunction, and a longing for lost love through the perspectives of three different couples in Time of Your Life. After a birthday toast to happy times, Gerry Stratton and his two sons split the narrative in a play that uses time travel—backward […]
Our voices bounce back at us as we speak. I’m one street over from the Downtown Mall in Megan Read’s studio, and it, like her paintings, has an uncluttered spaciousness about it. Older finished works line part of a wall, and paintings in progress are set up at various heights on another. But the rest […]
Calloway calling: The Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra is named for the famous jazz club, founded in 1926, where Washington, D.C.’s elite once gathered to see artists such as Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. When the club closed in 2016, it left the big band orchestra without a home, so the large ensemble hit the road […]