Bong Joon-ho is back once again with Okja, a parable that goes to stylistic extremes to make an existential argument, broadcasting the film’s central metaphor from the very first scene while being far more emotionally and politically trenchant than anticipated. Snowpiercer could have been a straightforward action/sci-fi yarn, but in his hands, it becomes a […]
Bong Joon-ho is back once again with Okja, a parable that goes to stylistic extremes to make an existential argument, broadcasting the film’s central metaphor from the very first scene while being far more emotionally and politically trenchant than anticipated. Snowpiercer could have been a straightforward action/sci-fi yarn, but in his hands, it becomes a […]
In Company, 35-year-old Robert examines his commitment to bachelorhood through mishaps with married couples and temporary girlfriends. Stephen Sondheim originally targeted his music and lyrics to a 1970s audience, but (with George Furth) gave the libretto an update in the ’90s to keep with changing cultural themes. The production marks the return of former Heritage […]
Josh Davis, the brain behind DJ Shadow, began making original electronic music in 1991, and grew into an influential collaborator in the hip-hop scene (he works with Nas, Danny Brown and Oscar-winning composer Steven Price on his latest EP, The Mountain Has Fallen). But two decades later his legacy is still defined by 1996’s Endtroducing…, […]
Zen Mother began in a windowless warehouse in Charlottesville not long before its members, Monika Khot and Adam Wolcott Smith, left town—creating a void in the local indie/experimental music scene—for Seattle a couple of years ago. The West Coast has been a nurturing place for Khot (of Nordra and Invisible Hand) and Smith (of Invisible […]
In his essay titled “The Decay of Lying,” published in 1891, Oscar Wilde famously wrote that “life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” The Wild Reeds (in town on July 31) experienced this concept firsthand when they were filming the music video for “Only Songs,” the first single off their sophomore album, The […]
Every sunny morning during the summertime, I wake up and stare at the light-soaked leaves outside my window and feel a rush of joy. At a time when most of us could stand a bit of brightness, the sun showers us with one of the happiest forces on earth. Nature’s hot-weather celebration is the subject […]
Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie (Warner) It’s not fair to criticize Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie for going adult contemporary, since that’s what Fleetwood Mac has been for 40 years. And this is basically Fleetwood Mac, with rhythm section Mick Fleetwood and John McVie on board, sounding pretty great on “In My […]
For more than two decades, Spoon has forged a path that embodies consistency. Across nine studio albums, the Austin quartet has dabbled in mainstream success (think “I Turn My Camera On” from 2005’s Gimme Fiction), but lives comfortably in the hook-laden, meticulous ebbs and flows that have solidified the group’s status as indie stalwarts. Comprised […]
Told by a charismatic troupe of actors, Pippin is the story of a prince who desperately wants to impress his father, King Charles. The Leading Player convinces Pippin to betray the King instead, and his life goes hopelessly awry. Pippin dreams of love, family and a happy ending—but Leading Player anticipates a more exciting finale. […]
For Julio Agustin, an interest in the performing arts began with the piano classes he took in junior high school. “I was always musically inclined,” says the associate professor of musical theatre at James Madison University. He laughs when he remembers that he wanted to study either musical education or math education. When he failed […]