In Jules Feiffer’s tragicomedy “Little Murders,” now playing at the Penobscot Theatre, urban violence shatters the sheltering standards of American middle-class existence and becomes the means of survival in an uncaring and unsafe world of snipers. The play is terrifically satirical about marriage, religion and family life, but… Read More
PORTRAIT OF PARIS HILL, by Martin Dibner, Paris Hill Press, 213 pages, $29.50 (softbound), $44.50 (hardbound). The last time I saw Paris Hill, I sat with a group of rockhounds in a mineral mine and searched all afternoon for tourmalines. Our efforts proved fruitless, but… Read More
THE PHOENIX PROGRAM, by Douglas Valentine, William Morrow and Co. Inc., 479 pages, $24.95. Many of the tragedies of the Vietnam War are well-documented, but the horrors of the wartime Phoenix Program have escaped in-depth coverage until now. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
THE BIG GARAGE ON CLEAR SHOT, by Tom Bodett, Morrow, 300 pages, $18.95. Yes, Tom Bodett — the voice of those catchy Motel 6 radio ads (“We’ll leave the light on for you”) — is just as old-shoe as a writer as he is as… Read More
FARMINGTON — The European witch craze of the 16th and 17th centuries was a pioneering effort by developing states of early modern Europe to perfect strategies of social control and to safeguard ideology, according to author Jon Oplinger. Yet as destructive as this early effort was, he contends… Read More
IN ALL HIS GLORY, by Sally Bedell Smith, Simon & Schuster, 783 pages, $29.95. By all outward appearances, few businessmen this century deserve to stand alongside the much-celebrated William S. Paley, who, at 26, quit his father’s Philadelphia cigar company to buy an infant radio… Read More
DEADLY ILLUSIONS, by Samuel Marx and Joyce Vanderveen, New York: Random House, 1990, 271 pages, $19.95. Once one has plowed through this stolid book, he is likely to mutter “So what?” Samuel Marx, formerly a producer and story editor at the prestigious Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio, in… Read More
THE FOURTH OF MAY: Killings and Coverups at Kent State, by William A. Gordon, Prometheus Books, 243 pages, $21.95. In the spring of 1970, Americans had had enough. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner =… Read More
FIRST LADIES, by Carl Anthony, William Morrow and Co. Inc., 685 pages, $29.95. A pleasantly readable — almost chatty — saga of the activities of the wives of U.S. presidents, Carl Anthony’s “First Ladies” traces the influence of these women — some remarkable, others bland… Read More
FREEDOM IN EXILE: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama, HarperCollins, 288 pages, $22.95. In prose as light and strong as a cobweb, the 56-year-old Dalai Lama, supreme secular and spiritual leader of Buddhist Tibet, chronicles the colorful story of his life and the tragedy of… Read More
THE TRIAL OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE, by Tom Teicholz; St. Martin’s Press, 354 pages, $22.95. Among Nazi concentration camps, Treblinka was uniquely horrific and hopeless — “the air was impregnated with death,” is how the place was described by one of the few Jews ever… Read More
Dance review The wonder of a child’s imagination at Christmastime came to life when the Robinson Ballet and Bangor Symphony Orchestra teamed up for their yearly offering of “The Nutcracker” at the Maine Center for the Arts on Saturday and Sunday. Dancing to the rich… Read More
Music review Friday night in Bangor, people went to a concert and a dance broke out. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if… Read More
It was a steamy July night in Milwaukee when I first saw Spyro Gyra, back in 1981. Sypro Gyra — the group that had those nice, Caribbean-tinted tunes on the radio — erupted into a wild, irresistible storm of jazz fusion that night. Sheets of warm rain started… Read More
Christmas is a lonely time of year for a lot of people, but Rachel Fitsimmons is really having a bad holiday. Her husband has taken a contract out on her life, there’s poison in her champagne and she can’t seem to shake a host of nightmarish characters out… Read More
Theater review When art is born out of suffering, it presents messages about the disturbing contradictions of life. When it is born out of the specific suffering of children, it carries a message that can’t help but penetrate to the very center of our lives. Read More
You know more about people by the songs you hear them sing than anything else, folksinger Woody Guthrie might have said while rambling through the back roads and depots of America. With fiddles, foot stomps and yahoos, the Missouri Repertory Theater brought Guthrie’s musical saga of strife and… Read More
Country music fans got a rare treat Sunday afternoon, as the Judds paid only their second and probably last visit to Maine. “It may be cold outside, but I feel warmth in this room,” daughter Wynonna Judd told the 4,500 in the crowd at the… Read More
Review Whether the members of Feld Ballets/NY hopped across the stage on their toes or glided across on their backs last night at the Maine Center for the Arts, their disarmingly simple yet fascinating movements expressed both mathematical precision and emotional depth. Clearly, choreographer and… Read More
Cecil Taylor erupted Saturday night at the Maine Center for the Arts. Although he began nearly half an hour late because of travel delays, he brought a volcano of unforgettable sounds and a performance that left many audience members stirred beyond their expectations. The first… Read More
Few events this weekend will offer as much entertainment and fun as Michael Frayn’s zany farce “Noises Off,” a comedy that’s almost too uproarious to believe. The three-act play, showing this weekend at the University of Maine’s Hauck Auditorium, follows a troupe of mediocre actors… Read More
While a violent rainstorm hammered much of central Maine, a fortunate few thousand were transported to a place of bright lights and warm, friendly music. One of the reigning queens of country music, Reba McEntire, and a promising newcomer, Doug Stone, offered a mix of… Read More
Oscar Madison and Felix Ungar are American icons. They humorously escorted a generation of stage, film and television viewers through an era jumbled by shifting gender and marriage roles in both the home and office. We laughed as the two adult men bickered, shouted, pouted and raged before… Read More
Theater review There’s something deliciously naughty about presenting “The Beggar’s Opera” in Bar Harbor after the diamond-studded summer people have returned to New York. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i… Read More
Music review ORONO — The enormous man and still larger presence that is B.B. King ambled out to center stage at the Maine Center for the Arts Thursday night, and owned the place before he or Lucille uttered a sound. Then he spent two hours… Read More
Noel Coward’s ghost-mongering comedy of manners, “Blithe Spirit,” is the final offering at Acadia Repertory Theater this summer and is, by far, the most worthwhile and entertaining dramatic event of the season. Playing to a full house on its second night, the show proved that the combination of… Read More
When Joan Baez walked out onto the stage Saturday night at the Maine Center for the Arts, there was no introduction, no light show or fanfare. There was just Joan Baez, the folk-singing, freedom-marching voice of the 1960s and 1970s. The audience was surely inspired by their memories… Read More
Women who love too much have been the topic of countless pop-psychology books in the past two decades. The compulsion to be such a woman, however, has evidently been around since Euripides wrote “Medea” in the 5th century before Christ. The play, now being performed by the Cold… Read More
Imagine attending a banquet with Isabella Bird, who was a 19th century world traveler. Or Lady Nijo, 13th century courtesan and Buddhist nun who traveled on foot through Japan. Or Dull Gret, the subject of a Brueghel painting in which an armored woman leads a crowd of charging… Read More
Theater review Decorating Agatha Christie’s house must be a terrible bother. It requires doors that look like bookshelves that open via the candlestick on the wall, antique desks with secret drawers, a garden, plenty of brandy and, of course, a dead body or two. It’s… Read More
I used to feel cheated when I would turn on “The Tonight Show” and, instead of seeing Johnny, there’d be Jay Leno with his lantern jaw and nasally voice, telling jokes that I resentfully listened to. Something about him was endearing and magnetic, though, and that something invariably… Read More
Patty Loveless showed Mainers why she’s one of the rising young stars in country music Thursday night. Before a crowd of 1,350 at the Maine Center for the Arts, Loveless presented a sparkling, varied one-hour, 20-minute set. She displayed an engaging stage presence and a… Read More
Music review On a hot, humid July night, the cool, mellow sounds of Roger Whittaker were just what was needed. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i… Read More
Theater review Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Red Shoes,” now playing on Fridays at Acadia Repertory Theater in Somesville, teaches a timeless lesson about greed, power and compassion. Whoever wears the magical red shoes is forced to dance without reprieve. Unless the shoes are… Read More
Theater review Rick Steadman is a nerd. He wears glasses held together with adhesive tape. His shirttail hangs out of his trousers. He burps in public and is loud, agitating and imposing. No one likes his company, but architect Willum Cubbert owes his life to… Read More
“When are tears happy?” and “Where does love go when we grow angry?” are the questions that Emma and Jane ask their mother in David Wells’ play “Elsewhere and Back,” being performed by the Theater of the Enchanted Forest Young Company this weekend at the Pavilion Theater. Read More
Music review In this day of preprogrammed concerts, it’s a pleasant surprise when a singer throws out the playlist and works from the heart. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i… Read More
Theater Review The lesson of E.B. White’s classic children’s tale “Charlotte’s Web” is that friendship is one of the most satisfying things in the whole world. The Acadia Repertory Theater presents this message through an enthusiastic and youthful cast, and the result is a children’s… Read More
Theater review Anyone suffering from “thrilleritis malingus,” (a literary disease that causes you to feel euphoric about thriller plots) should see the Skowhegan Regional Theater presentation of Ira Levin’s two-act thriller “Deathtrap.” googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes =… Read More
Theater review There’s something fishy about Tuna, Texas, the town that is the focal point of the play “Greater Tuna,” now playing at Acadia Repertory Theater. The Tuna townspeople are members of the KKK, the BBB (Better Baptist Bureau), the Tuna Helpers (a shut-in visiting… Read More
Music review Shawn Colvin has something to believe in. Since the release of her debut album “Steady On,” her career as a folk singer has taken off. The reception she received at The Grand Friday night is a clear indication that Colvin is carving a… Read More
Theater review When Portia enters the courtroom where Shylock is prepared to carve a pound of flesh from the breast of Antonio, she asks, “Which is the merchant here and which is the Jew?” It is a most disturbing question in one of Shakespeare’s most… Read More
Theater review “We are such stuff as dreams are made on,” says Prospero in “The Tempest,” one of Shakespeare’s six romances. One of Shakespeare’s later plays, it was written when he was stretching the boundaries of his power as a playwright and social commentator. It’s… Read More
Theater review ORONO — A theater filled with laughing children is a wonderful place to be. Hearing young voices chatter and laugh, and watching young eyes glimmer with intrigue are certainly the highlights of the Theater of the Enchanted Forest production “The Tingalary Bird,” playing… Read More
Theater review There’s an interesting correlation between girls and flies in Terence Frisby’s play “There’s a Girl in My Soup” being performed at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 16, by the Cornville Players at the Lakewood Theater in Madison. Basically the message is that girls, like… Read More
Theater review “Do you really think there’s a phantom of the opera?” asks Andre Viscompte de Chahny in Gene Traylor’s melodramatic tale “The Phantom of the Opera.” After at least four movies and one smash-hit musical that bear the title of Gaston Leroux’s classic novel,… Read More
Review “All these songs are true — unless you can tell I’m lying,” teased folk singer and comedian Christine Lavin from the stage at The Grand in Ellsworth on Friday. But this giggling New Yorker, who stands no more than 5 feet 2 inches, rocks… Read More
Music review Despite last night’s rain, there was plenty of sunshine in the voices of the Bangor Community Chorus as it performed its annual Concert for Spring at the University College Center in Bangor. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var… Read More
Professional theater productions rarely compare to the charm and fun of a community show, and Bangor Community Theater has been charming local audiences for many years. Their newest offering, Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes,” playing this weekend at the Bangor Opera House, is another glittering success. Read More
Concert review Generally I shun rock concerts. The last one I went to was in the 1970s when Peter Frampton was touring after his “Frampton Comes Alive” album and was playing in Washington, D.C. But when I heard that Michelle Shocked was playing at the… Read More
Theater review Tom Griffin’s play “The Boys Next Door” takes a daringly comedic look at the lives of four men who are mentally handicapped and their caseworker who has grown frustrated with his job and personal life. The episodic story revolves around the apartment and… Read More
“They like their steak rare, their poundcake plain and their coffee black,” intoned the announcer. That pretty well summed up the attitude of the Smithereens and their style of performing. The Capitol recording group served up a loud, energetic, hard-driving brand of rock ‘n roll… Read More
I’m from a generation that never really believed that Tammy Wynette’s hit song “Stand By Your Man” offered very sound advice. But there was something about watching Tammy, draped in a pink sequined gown and glowing in a light show at the Maine Center for the Arts last… Read More
ORONO — In a time of shaky governmental structures all over the world, and queries about artistic freedoms in our own country, William Gibson’s play “Goodly Creatures,” now playing at Hauck Auditorium, poses some contemporary questions in a colonial American setting. The story is about… Read More
At the beginning of Perseverance Theater’s “Coyote Builds North America,” storyteller Gary Waid brings a storytelling pole on stage. The pole is the Great Spirit. It is also the axis mundi, that place where heaven and earth meet and where there is a small hole through which you… Read More
In their operatic comedy “H.M.S. Pinafore,” Gilbert and Sullivan unabashedly lampoon the British navy and, at the same time, tell a rags-to-riches love story. The combination of such cynicism and romanticism has secured the musical team a place in hearts around the world, making their works the only… Read More
Some bands are just meant to be heard in concert. Sawyer Brown, which performed Wednesday at the Augusta Civic Center, sounds like an interesting, skilled country band on tape. But in concert, the five-member group becomes a dynamo. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
Kenny Rogers remembers his last visit to the Bangor Auditorium. After all, it’s probably the only indoor facility the crossover superstar has played where he had to use an umbrella to fend off dripping water. “I thought I’d do a free show here, so you… Read More
As sure as Roger Miller’s award winning song “King of the Road” put Bangor on the country music map, his lyrics and musical score to “Big River” put Miller in the hearts of many theatergoers from Bangor on March 22. Playing to a full house at the Maine… Read More
When Athol Fugard moved to the small village of New Bethesda, South Africa, he became intrigued by the stories about Miss Helen Martin, an eccentric old recluse who was ostracized by local residents for displaying strange sculptures in her yard, and not attending church. His… Read More
Theater review When Neil Simon wrote “Barefoot in the Park” in 1964, the term “newlywed” was fashionable. Within the last 25 years, the term has fallen out of popularity, and perhaps Simon’s play should have fallen with it. But the Penobscot Theater has revived the… Read More
BOOKS IN REVIEW THE RUMFORD FALLS & RANGELEY LAKES RAILROAD, by Doug Hutchinson, Partridge Lane Publications, 127 pages, $20. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length;… Read More
BOOKS IN REVIEW THE SOUND OF WINGS: The Life of Amelia Earhart, by Mary S. Lovell, St. Martin’s Press, 420 pages, $22.95. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0;… Read More
BOOKS IN REVIEW ISAAC SIMPSON’S WORLD, The Collected Works of an Itinerant Photographer, edited by Geraldine Tidd Scott, The Kennebec River Press Inc., Falmouth, 184 pages, $30. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false;… Read More