Star City Blog / Theatre & Film

Review of The Crooked Codpiece Company's 'Soda Pop'

By Sarah F. Sullivan

Often during hard economic times, people can’t help but look back and think of the “good old days.” For the next two weekends, The Crooked Codpiece Company would like to give you the chance to look back at the 1950s through an irreverent, hilarious lens as you watch Soda Pop.

All the characters are recognizable, even if you’ve never met them before. There’s Betty and Bobby (Karen Freimund Wills and Patrick Lambrecht), the high school sweethearts and “perfect couple;” tough girl, leather clad Mary (Sarah R. Murtagh); the loveable, but helplessly nerdy Joey (Robie Hayek) and their various assorted friends. And of course, there’s Jimmy (Lee Willet), the no good rebel with a James Dean/Fonzie-like swagger. The fact that all of these actors are in their mid-twenties to mid-forties makes the caricature even more hilarious.

'Tyson' @ The Ross for One Week Only!

Director James Toback takes an unflinching, uncompromising look at the life of Mike Tyson--almost solely from the perspective of the man himself. TYSON alternates between the controversial boxer addressing the camera and shots of the champion's fights to create an arresting picture of the man.

From his early years under the wing of famed boxing promoter Don King to his notorious match against Evander Holyfield and his conviction on sexual assault charges, Tyson's turbulent life is explored in the kind of comprehensive manner that could only have been made possible with the subject's willing participation.

ONE WEEK ONLY!

Review of the Nebraska Repertory Theatre's 'Anatomy of Gray'

By Sarah F. Sullivan

Upon opening its third and final play of the season, the Nebraska Repertory Theatre created a whimsical, but hard world in their performance of Anatomy of Gray.

Reaching back to simpler times, Gray is set in 1800s Gray, Indiana, a small and very “boring town” according to its young narrator. The story is told from the perspective of 15-year-old June Muldoon, the town’s “oddball” in that she thinks there’s more to life than doing dishes and who wants nothing more than to see life outside of the town’s protective circle. In fact, at the play’s beginning, June doesn’t believe anything really exciting could happen in Gray, until a Wizard-of-Oz-esque storm brews and brings with it a young doctor in a hot air balloon.

Review of the Nebraska Repertory Theatre's 'The Drawer Boy'

By Marcus Scheer

In its 42nd season, the Nebraska Repertory Theatre presents Michael Healey’s The Drawer Boy.

Set in rural Canada in 1972, The Drawer Boy is centered around two middle-aged farmers whose simple lives are turned upside down when an actor from the city arrives and is eager to write a play about farming. Seemingly content with their way of life, the two farmers, Angus (George Hansen) and Morgan (Richard Marlatt) watch as their lives are dragged into the open for the sake of Miles’(Christian Stokes) play.

'Three Monkeys' @ The Ross for One Week Only!

Exploring the effects of a family's dealings with an underhanded politician, opening at The Ross on Friday, July 31, the crime drama THREE MONKEYS avoids showing the violent outcomes of its characters' misdeeds, resulting in a lingeringly potent film.

“[THREE MONKEYS is] an elegant exercise with four characters trapped by class, guilt and greed,” according the film critic Roger Ebert writing in the Chicago Sun-Times.

'Summer Hours' @ The Ross for One Week Only!

Olivier Assayas' contemplative family drama, SUMMER HOURS, opening at The Ross on Friday, July 31, handles lofty ideas about art and culture with elegance and lightness. Hollywood Reporter Ray Bennett writes, “[SUMMER HOURS is an] evocative look at a family trying to decide what to do with its treasures.”

“The actors all find the correct notes.” According to film critic Roger Ebert writing in the Chicago Sun-Times.  He continues, “[SUMMER HOURS] is a French film, and so they are allowed to be adult and intelligent.”

'Goodbye Solo' @ The Ross for One Week Only!

An original and thoughtful human drama, opening at The Ross on Friday, July 24, Goodbye Solo looks at relationships and loneliness while proving director Ramin Bahrani's is an important American voice.

“The story told in Goodbye Solo, Ramin Bahrani's wonderful third feature, is moving and mysterious, and you may find yourself pondering its implications for a long time after the film's simple and haunting final images have faded,” writes film critic A.O. Scott in the New York Times.

Review of the Nebraska Repertory Theatre's 'Vino Veritas'

By Sarah F. Sullivan

Halloween came early to UNL’s Temple Building. The lobby was swathed in torn crepe and littered with bright skulls and pumpkins, almost making me wonder if I’d entered the right building. But no, I was in the right place. It was just a way to get audiences in the mood for the Nebraska Repertory Theatre’s performance of Vino Veritas.

See 'Freeheld' & 'Tying the Knot' for FREE @ The Ross

On Thursday, July 16, the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center invites the community to view the films FREEHELD and TYING THE KNOT. This screening is free and open to the public. Sponsored by the UNL LGBTQA Programs & Services.

Review of 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee' at the TADA Theatre

By Sarah F. Sullivan

 The TADA Theatre has done it again.

Only in their second year in the new space at the Creamery Building, their performance of the Tony award-winning show The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee alone is justification for the company to have its own theatre. A raucous comedy about six tweens coming of age, they battle their fears and insecurities while fiercely aiming for victory at the Putnam County Spelling Bee.