Mrs. Doubtfire at DPAC Is WONDERFUL!
I had my doubts about going to see the Durham Performing Arts Center's presentation of the 2021 Broadway musical comedy Mrs. Doubtfire. I couldn't imagine anyone holding a flame to Robin Williams' performance in the movie. But I was more than pleasantly surprised -- at some points, nearly ecstatic -- by two-time Tony nominee Rob McClure's multifaceted performance as Daniel Hilliard, the man-child protagonist of the production.
Evil Spy School the Graphic Novel by Stuart Gibbs
“As with Gibbs’ other five book series, Evil Spy School is fun, fast-paced, and entertaining. Though fantastical to us adults, the plot of Evil Spy School contains precisely the kinds of twists and turns that engage elementary and young middle-school minds…”
Jesus takes back seat to Easter Bunny?
The pervasiveness of hypocrisy seems greatest at Christmas and Easter, when Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny vie for importance with Jesus Christ and the integrity of Christianity.
Jeffrey Blair Cornell Gives a Passionate Performance as Hercule Poiret in PRC's Murder on the Orient Express
PlayMakers Repertory Company's production of Ken Ludwig's 2017 stage adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express, based on the 1934 novel by Agatha Christie, offers Agatha Christie fans the opportunity to introduce her work to the young people in their lives (PlayMakers recommends 10 years and older), most of whom have likely never heard of the prolific author.
Tomorrow's Lily by Chris Raschka
“Tomorrow’s Lily is a short, beautiful poem, written and illustrated by two-time Caldecott Medal winner Chris Raschko, that takes the reader through the days of the week as a single, magnificent, short-lived flower blooms on a long-stalked lily plant each day.”
Durham CAPS - Creative Arts in Public and Private Schools… and more!
As Shana once emailed me, “The CAPS program has been a part of this community for over 44 years, yet there are people that still don’t know what we offer…
You Are Everything — Adapted from Rumi by Omid Arabian
“Like Omid Arabian’s previous two picture books, You Are Everything is based on a poem by the mystical 13TH century Persian poet Rumi, who has been described by the New Yorker as the bestselling poet in the United States.”
James Ijames' Fat Ham at PlayMakers Rep Gives Shakespeare's Hamlet a New and Colorful Twist
“Fat Ham, playing now through Feb. 18th in the Paul Green Theatre, is the most recent play by James Ijames' (pronounced "times" without the "t") that is based on Shakespeare's Hamlet. But rather than focusing on an outdated Danish royal family, Fat Ham centers on a contemporary Black family at a cookout in none other than North Carolina.”
Home Is Where the Heart Is (Emma Dodd's Love You Books)
“Home Is Where the Heart Is features a mother cat and her young kitten, who live in a house that clearly has human owners. The story uses simple and repetitive words to describe what “home” means to all of us, emphasizing the security that notion provides even when we are far away from our physical house and/or one another.”
A Lesson in Life and Dying: Becky Heron
Due in no small part to her husband, Becky’s realism and lack of pretense never abandoned her. She and her family enabled me to be a part of her departure from this world, and I will never allow my fear or awkwardness with death to keep me away again…
On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan is a Pop Concert, Dance Party, Documentary, and Musical Theater, All Rolled Into One
“It's a shame that there is only one more performance of On Your Feet! -- at 7:30 p.m. tonight at DPAC. The house should be filled for the show's final Durham performance, and audience members should inform the producers and DPAC that they want it back for a longer run next year.”
Unplugging the Drug
My first child didn’t watch even toddler videos until she was a year old. When watching television in her presence, my husband would turn her infant body so she faced away from the screen. Who knows what minute details her virgin brain was absorbing every millisecond? …
Better Stormwater Solutions
… Instead of hiring more consultants, Durham should establish a Watersheds Improvement Committee similar to the Joint City-County Planning Committee. The mission of this committee would be to eliminate redundancies and develop long-term, holistic approaches to storm-water management.…
Robert Was Right
I am left wondering why this historically relevant, common and effective decision-making doctrine is not included in middle or even elementary school social-studies curricula.
Mean Girls at DPAC May Be the Best Musical That I've Ever Seen
“I would see the performance again tonight just to hear Natalie Shaw’s solos a second time, but there’s so much more to the musical than her enchanting voice. It would be a shame if the house were not full for all the remaining performances, particularly given the number of angsty teenagers we have in the Triangle who would benefit from its viewing.”
Funny Girl at DPAC Is a Bucket-List American Classic
“Director Michael Mayer and stage manager Jovon E. Shuck have their hands full with this production of Funny Girl, but they can clearly handle the weight. They deserve the house to be full for every remaining performance. And YOU deserve to see it!”
DSA Theatre Troupe 5765's Into the Woods Meets Sold-Out Audience's Expectations
“Director and DSA theatre teacher Douglas Graves can once again hold his head high with DSA’s 2023-24 high school students’ performance of this year’s production of Into the Woods, as should assistant stage managers Clark Beckstrom, Emily Neill, and Sasha Wolfrum, all DSA students. DSA students were responsible for every part of the production, which was sometimes hard to believe given its professional quality.”
Prince Hal at Breweries Is a Win-Win Proposition
“I highly recommend Scrap Paper Shakespeare's remaining brewery-located performances to parents who are looking for a place to have a drink while doing something productive with their teen or tween children. I was just glad my 13-year-old got some outside-the-book exposure to Shakespeare. Turns out, he thoroughly enjoyed the first act and at times actually explained to me what was going on. “
Job-Creation No Free Pass
… I’m so sick of the ‘jobs argument.’ Yes, this fertilizer plant (or bio-lab, off-shore oil site, fracking, etc.) may potentially be toxic (omission: potentially = inevitably), but we will take every security and environmental measure (omission: ‘that we know of’) to ensure there will never be a malfunction. Besides, think of the hundreds of jobs that will not be generated if this plant is not constructed…
British Comedic Icon Delighted His Triangle Fans with An Evening with the Late John Cleese
“Death is certainly a taboo enough subject for Cleese's brand of comedy (and that of his Monty Python peers), particularly among older people who don't even want to acknowledge its encroaching inevitability. You would think that such a stereotypically dark theme would doom a comedy show from the start. But, for most of the audience, including my son and me, this couldn't have been farther from the truth.”