Durham Students Sparkled in An Evening to Shine on Feb. 21st at DPAC
An Evening to Shine is an annual event, presented at the Durham Performing Arts Center by Durham Public Schools (DPS), in partnership with the Durham Public Schools Foundation, which showcases the talents of dedicated youth from every public school in the county. [Of note, the DPS Scholarship Foundation merged with the DPS Foundation in 2020.] Only a handful of students are selected from each school, and they must commit to five weekly two-hour rehearsals, plus two full days of preparation at DPAC before show time…
The Justice Theater Project's Performance of Mark St. Germain's Best of Enemies Is Transformative
As a young, Afro-Latina woman, Yamila Monge said that she wants the production to demonstrate appreciation for the difficult trailblazing of the previous generation and their glowing, though generally not well-known, examples of the healing transformation that can occur when even the most heated adversaries agree to work together and listen to one another…
Simple, Proven Self-Care Strategies for Kids
As with other essential disciplines, teaching your child the importance of self care begins with you. You must model healthy habits in your own life and show your child real-life examples of prioritizing them. This is not only good for your child, it’s good for you. With the help of Melissa B. Rooney, we share some simple tips…
The Power of Coffee
Waking up late on a Monday, this #VoiceInMyHead demanded a hearing, yielding this short poem and original song in honor of Coffee.
FrazierTales Collection Volume 2 by Mark and Chris Frazier Continues the Tradition Of Volume 1
Frazier Tales Volume 2 continues the whacky stories and overstimulating illustrations of Mark and Chris Frazier, based on a series of bed time stories Mark told his once three-year-old son. The storylines in Volume 2 mimic those in Volume 1 and, likewise, teach moral lessons based on inclusiveness…
Come From Away at DPAC Tells the True Story of the Stranding of 7000 Airline Passengers in Gander, Newfoundland, After 9/11
I was a little wary about seeing the Durham Performing Arts Center's presentation of Come from Away, playing through Sunday, Jan. 22nd, as part of WRAL Greatest Hits of Broadway at DPAC. This 2013 Sheridan College Canadian Music Theatre Project, 2017 Broadway, and 2019 West End musical, written by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, is based on the emergency landing of 38 airplanes (with 7,000 total passengers) in the Newfoundland town of Gander (population: 11,880) after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The Beautiful Attrition of Family Relics
We have forfeited my grandmother’s chair to the cat and are appreciating its beautiful attrition…
FrazierTales Collection Volume 1 by Mark and Chris Frazier is Vivid and Easy-to-read
Today I review Frazier Tales Collection Volume 1, written by Mark and illustrated by Chris Frazier. It’s a hardcover volume of three illustrated children’s stories, so it’s a good value for money. And there are a lot of illustrations, all of them quite detailed and of the quality garnered by Ren and Stimpy or Rocko’s Modern Life, both Nickelodeon series…
Jump the Moon: A Children’s Picture Book Review
This morning I had the pleasure of reading Kathy Simmers’ and Marjorie van Heerden’s children’s picture book, Jump the Moon, about the mystical bond that forms between “the girl with the long blond hair” and the misbehaving pony she is charged with for a summer. The book is based on a true story involving the author’s daughter. I rode horses throughout my adolescence (was president of the riding team at my college), so the subject of Jump the Moon immediately spoke to me.
Zalman Raffael's Elegant Reinterpretation of The Nutcracker Sparkles
Not feeling that Christmas Spirit as much this year as in the past? Going to see the Carolina Ballet artistic director Zalman Raffael's reinterpretation of The Nutcracker, inspired by the Raleigh, NC-based ballet's previous productions by George Balanchine and Carolina Ballet's founding artistic director Robert Weiss, will change that. Last night, I saw The Nutcracker at the Durham Performing Arts Center, with my 12-year-old son, who had never seen the holiday staple and -- except for the melody of The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (which I couldn't stop humming since we got the tickets) -- knew very little about it…
After Seeing JTP's Black Nativity in Concert, All This Reviewer Can Say Is, "Wowwie Wow Wow!"
I had the privilege of going to The Justice Theater Project's 2022 production of Langston Hughes' Black Nativity: A Gospel Christmas Musical Experience in Concerton Sunday, Dec 11th, at the Mount Calvary United Church of Christ in Durham; and can I just say: Wowwie Wow Wow...
Playing Possum a No Win
Three weeks ago, my son spotted a tiny opossum outside our house. The next day, he found the opossum in our garage. An Internet search suggested it was about 13 weeks old – too young for weaning. We put the little guy in a newspaper-lined box with fruit, cat-food and water. Over the next few days, our neighbors and we had rounded up 5 littermates…
Hairspray Will Have You Singing When You Wake Up the Next Morning
I woke up this morning humming "You Can't Stop the Beat," the hit song written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman for the 2002 hit Broadway musical Hairspray, playing now through Sunday, Nov. 20th, at the Durham Performing Arts Center. It wasn't just the music that was in my head. Images of the actors in the Tuesday-night performance of this romantic comedy by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan (based on John Waters' 1988 film) were singing and dancing across my mind as well. This can only make for a good review.
Matching Grants a Good Investment
… Given our sad economic circumstances, I am fearful that our County Commissioners are going to overlook the big bang for our buck that Durham County gets via matching grants programs like those conducted through Durham Open Space and Trails, Keep Durham Beautiful, and the Soil and Water Conservation District…
Painting the Town Blue
Since seeing a video of the Blue Man Group performing "I Feel Love," with Annette Strean and Venus Hum in 2004, I have wanted to see them live; and last night was my lucky night. Not only that, I got to see them in Raleigh Memorial Auditorium in the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts with my 12-year-old, whose college-aged siblings were actually jealous…
Karen Zacarías' Native Gardens at PlayMakers Rep Sparks Laughable Introspection
The set is an inner suburban neighborhood at the height of gentrification -- two distinctly different townhouses, side by side. The voluptuous flower beds in the Butleys' yard are bursting with such color and fullness that I swear I could smell them. As the play unfolds, we learn that those flower gardens are also impeccably unsustainable, which is just the beginning of frictions with their new next door neighbors…
Graveyard Surprise
By Melissa Rooney. For SCBWI Carolinas “Ignite the Spark” Zoom group (18 Oct 2002). Assigned Prompts: Write a children’s story, 250 words or less, using the following prompts: 1) take a location from childhood and strip everything normal about it (if usually crowded, make it barren, etc.); 2) the starting lines, “It’s okay, they’re not as scary as they look;”and 3) the image of a sign reading, “Beware, the Trees Talk.”
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods Might Be Too Much of a Good Thing for Some Young Theatergoers
As the sun set and the odd bat or two flew across the clearing above the historic Forest Hills (outdoor amphi-) Theatre in Chapel Hill, NC, it was clear that director Melissa S. Craib Dombrowski and the folks at Stone Soup Theatre Co had chosen the perfect venue for their production of Into the Woods, Stephen Sondheim's 1987 Broadway and 1990 West End musical, with a book by James Lapine…
Theme Song Today: Sylvan Esso’s Free
When I first heard it, I wasn’t overly impressed by the style of Sylvan Esso’s song Free. But when I read the lyrics, Amelia Meath’s casual humming, sing-song vocals made beautiful sense. It’s easy to imagine that she’s a little girl singing to herself, though with more knowledge than a little girl should have…
OdysseyStage 10✖10: Homegrown Talent Knocked My Socks Off
TONIGHT is the last show of 2022 OdysseyStage 10✖10: Homegrown Talent, presented by OdysseyStage Theatre at the Seymour Center, 2551 Homestead Rd., in Chapel Hill, NC. I suggest you register for your FREE tickets right now and leave the $20 suggested donation at the door, because last night kinda knocked my socks off.