Respected actor Jack Parrish dies of pancreatic cancer at age 56
By Rich Copley rcopley@herald-leader.com
Jack Parrish, an actor and director from Richmond, Va., who spent the last few years of his life enriching the Central Kentucky theater scene, died Thursday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 56.
His act: extrovert
By Rich Copley rcopley@herald-leader.com
In front of all of the Bluegrass — or at least, anyone in Central Kentucky who buys tickets to stage musicals — Adam Richard Fister has belted out big songs, romanced cute girls and committed all manner of indiscretions demanded by the script of Hair.
Gender-bending Shakespeare at Transy, again
By Rich Copley rcopley@herald-leader.com
In 2003, Transylvania University theater professor Tim Soulis staged a production of Hamlet with two casts: one all male and one all female. The idea was to show how different genders bring different nuances and perspectives to the same material, and overall, it did make for an interesting couple of nights of theater.Well, Soulis is at it again.
Etta May: Old-fashioned funny
By Robert Parks Johnson Contributing Writer
If it is true, as the old song says, that all the world loves a clown, then Lexington comic Etta May gives the world a great deal to love.
Library theater needs money for a makeover
Rich Copley Herald-Leader Culture Columnist
Doug Tattershall walks to the back of the control booth in the theater at the Lexington Public Library downtown, opens the door on a cabinet and rolls out an extra-special item: a record player.
Midway to host festival of 10-minute plays
By Rich Copley rcopley@herald-leader.com
MIDWAY — The 10-minute play has Kentucky roots: The form was popularized, if not invented, by the Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville.
LexArts names youth council members
By Rich Copley rcopley@herald-leader.com
LexArts announced members of its new Youth Arts Council this week.
Review: Woodford Theater’s 'Earnest' is a Wilde night
By Candace Chaney Contributing Theater Critic
VERSAILLES — The newly christened Woodford Theater, formerly the Woodford County Theatrical Arts Association, opens its 2009-10 season with a Victorian flourish and an homage to one of the wittiest, and most infamous, playwrights of all time.
Review: Snipes brings unparalleled vision to Children's Theatre's 'Pinocchio'
By Candace Chaney Contributing Theater Critic
See enough shows in Lexington and you begin to recognize the creative signature of certain directors and designers. For Lexington Children's Theatre artistic director Vivian Snipes, that signature includes an imagination riper than an 8-year-old's combined with the practical know-how of a theater veteran.
Review: AGL's uneven 'Beguiled Again' is held together with crossed fingers and determination
By Candace Chaney Contributing Theater Critic
“We’re still here!” Actors Guild of Lexington managing director Kimberly Shaw exclaimed in her curtain speech on opening night of Beguiled Again, a musical revue of the songs of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Yes, Actors Guild is still here — but just barely.
Troupe knew 'Mice and Men' was a show 'we can do well'
By Rich Copley rcopley@herald-leader.com
After several years of looking west for plays, the Lexington Opera House's Broadway Live series looked east for this year's season opener.
Poignant 'Gee's Bend' showcases fine actresses and fine art
By Candace Chaney Contributing Theater Critic
Lexingtonians know that anytime you see droves of people walking westward downtown, they are probably headed to Rupp Arena. Downtown dwellers might have blinked twice Sunday to see a large crowd streaming not toward Rupp but to the Lexington Opera House.
Quilters led dramatic lives
Rich Copley Herald-Leader Culture Columnist
Deb Shoss was excited about Gee's Bend, a play about the legendary quilters of rural Alabama. But Cathy Rawlings was skeptical to the point of indifference.
Balagula rises to Beckett's challenge
By Candace Chaney Contributing theater critic
There’s one thing you can definitely say about the folks at Balagula Theater: they are not afraid to take on challenging material. The debut production of the theater’s first full scale season features the work of a playwright who most artistic directors shy away from: Samuel Beckett. A noted existentialist whose dramatic works have been billed “Theater of the Absurd,” Beckett’s approach to play writing includes long strands of silence, trailing fragments of words, potent symbolism, minimalist settings and a disconnection from the usual precepts of time and place.
Stage and comedy calendar 2009-10
Stage and comedy events in Central and Eastern Kentucky, Louisville and Cincinnati from Sept. 13 to May 31.
