Star City Blog / Theatre & Film

TADA Begins 2010 With a Special Premiere Production

The TADA Theatre begins the new year with the premiere of an original musical titled Almost Liza.  

Set in a night club, the script is a tribute to one of the stage and screen’s most popular performers. With her flamboyant (and most recent) ex-husband seated at the keys of the piano, songs come fast and furious, as does the comic banter towards each other and to the crowd gathered for a night with the legendary songstress.

'The Wedding Song' @ The Ross

Writer-director Karin Albou follows up her impressive debut feature Little Jerusalem with the exquisite yet harrowing THE WEDDING SONG, opening at The Ross on Friday, January 8, a story of two teenagers, the Jewish Myriam and the Muslim Nour, whose lifelong friendship is tested severely with the advent of the German occupation of Tunisia in November 1942.
 
“With intimacy and sensuality, Albou explores what it means to be a woman and the bonds that women form with each other in an increasingly precarious situation,” according to Kevin Thomas, film critic for the Los Angeles Times.

'Red Cliff' @ The Ross

Legendary action-cinema master John Woo and international superstar Tony Leung reunite for the first time since the 1992 classic HARD BOILED in RED CLIFF, the epic historical drama based on a legendary 208 A.D. battle that heralded the end of the Han Dynasty, opening at The Ross on Friday, January 8.

“Returning to his roots after a stint in Hollywood, Woo has made the most expensive film in mainland Chinese history, a pleasantly traditional picture that marks a new direction for one of the world's premier action maestros,” opines Kenneth Turan, film critic for the Los Angeles Times.

The Ross to Close for the Holidays Starting December 21--Return at the New Year for Exciting New Films

In keeping with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Annual Holiday Shutdown, The Ross will be closed beginning December 21 through January 7. 

The New Year will bring many extraordinarily entertaining, award winning, and exceedingly lauded new films to The Ross.  For more information, please visit our website at www.theross.org.

The Ross will reopen on Friday, January 8 with two new movies: THE WEDDING SONG, a story of two teenagers, the Jewish Myriam and the Muslim Nour, whose lifelong friendship is tested severely with the advent of the German occupation of Tunisia in November 1942. 

Come See the Nebraska Girls' Shakespeare Company Perform 'Antigone and Medea'

The Nebraska Girls' Shakespeare Company will be performing two Greek Classic Tragedies, Antigone and Medea, to be staged at the Haymarket Theatre, 803 Q Street. 

The two plays tell the stories of powerful women overcoming adversity in the wake of hard times.  The two heroines are often viewed as controversial in some of their actions, but were written as characters of strength.

Played with a group of all-female theatre veterans, the production dates are December 17, 18, and 19, at 7:00 pm.  Tickets are $10 General admission; and $8 Students/Seniors.  Tickets may be reserved by calling 477-2600.

Review of 'A Rockin' Christmas' at the TADA Theatre

By Sarah F. Sullivan

The smooth sounds of Christmas jazz filtered in through the doorway as people excitedly stepped into the TADA Theatre Thursday night. The place oozed Christmas cheer, with lights draped over and around the stage and up into the rafters and a fully decorated Christmas tree taking up comfy residence in a corner of the stage. All of it was the perfect way to get even the Grinchiest Grinch in the mood for some Christmas cheer, courtesy of TADA’s holiday show, A Rockin’ Christmas.

The show is focused around the choir of the All Girls School of Famed Performing Arts, who have discovered that budget cuts have left them with no money to put on their holiday concert. But where there’s a will, there’s a way, and the choir manages to pull through, all with the help of some classic Christmas carols and songs. There isn’t a lot of substance to the plot, but there is a great deal of fun, enthusiasm and beautiful music, which is what this show is all about.

Review of 'The Santaland Diaries' by The Nebraska Repertory Theatre

By Ladd Wendelin

Traditions are a dime a dozen during this magical season of mirth and merriment, but some deserve a special place nestled in between visions of sugarplums and Grandma’s killer fruitcake. The Santaland Diaries is one of them.

The Nebraska Repertory Theatre presents David Sedaris’ The Santaland Diaries, a scathing indictment of rampant consumerism, socially maladjusted Santas and elfin hijinks, with performances scheduled through this weekend at the Studio Theatre in the Temple Building on the UNL Campus – December 11^th & 12 (7:30, 10 p.m.) and Dec. 13^th at 2 p.m.

David Sedaris is no stranger to the UNL campus, having appeared in person twice in the last few years--once at the Lied Center and again during the Writer’s Conference this past June. It’s clear he has a faithful following in Lincoln as some of the Sedaris devout appeared to be in the audience this evening. While a familiarity with Sedaris’ work might be helpful, it is by no means a pre-requisite to fully appreciate a solid, fully realized production under the direction of Virginia Smith, expertly lighted by Dan Stratman, with tastefully timed sound design by Jeff O’Brien.

'Paris' @ The Ross

Cédric Klapisch, the beloved director of L’AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE, gathers together some of the biggest actors in French cinema for a valentine to the city of lights, PARIS, opening at The Ross on Friday, December 11.
 
The all-star cast in this delightful romance includes Oscar®-winner Juliette Binoche, Romain Duris (THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED), Mélanie Laurent (INGLORIOUS BASTERDS), Fabrice Luchini (INTIMATE STRANGERS), François Cluzet (TELL NO ONE), and Karin Viard (TIME OUT).
 
Roger Ebert writes in The Chicago Sun-Times, “[In PARIS], every character has life and depth.”  He continues, “It's unusual for an episodic film to involve us so well in individual lives; as the narrative circles through their stories, we're genuinely curious about what will happen next.”