Star City Blog / Theatre & Film

'35 Shots of Rum' @ The Ross

Opening at The Ross on Friday, April 2, Claire Denis’ 35 SHOTS OF RUM is visual poetry, but poetry that examines the human condition with insight and illumination.
 
“The warmth radiating from 35 SHOTS OF RUM, smoother than the finest liquor, reminds viewers how rarely movies capture the easygoing love embodied in a functional family, with all its support and tenderness,” according to Jay Weissberg, film critic for Variety.
 
“[35 SHOTS OF RUM is] a quiet and lovely new film...(that embeds)…extraordinary thematic richness with a simple, almost anecdotal narrative framework, and achieves a rare eloquence about the state of the world by means of tact and reticence…captured by Agnès Godard’s exquisite and expressive cinematography,” opines New York Times film critic A.O. Scott.

Lincoln Community Playhouse Presents Phil Heckman in 'Say Goodnight, Gracie'

The Lincoln Community Playhouse presents Say Goodnight, Gracie starring Phil Heckman as comedian legend, George Burns. Performances are April 8-11 & 15-18 at the Playhouse. Curtain time for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday is at 7:30 pm, with Sundays at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $15.00 and are on sale now at the Playhouse box office.  

Say Goodnight, Gracie tells the tender, funny, life-affirming show biz story of George Burns and the love of his life, Gracie Allen. The play, written by Rupert Holmes, uses multi-media to help convey the story 100 years in the making.           

Phil Heckman, veteran actor, has stated that Say Goodnight, Gracie will be his farewell to the stage. Phil’s Lincoln Community Playhouse performances include On Golden Pond, Born Yesterday, A Thousand Clowns, Harvey, Plaza Suite, and My Fair Lady.  

UNL’s University Theatre Completes Spring Season with 'Bloody Poetry'

The Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film's University Theatre closes its Spring season with Bloody Poetry written by Howard Brenton and directed by assistant professor of theatre Ian Borden April 8, 9, 10 and 14, 15, 16, 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the Studio Theatre, first floor Temple Building, 12th & R streets.

Tickets are $16; $14 faculty, staff and seniors; and $10 students. Tickets are available at the Lied Center Ticket Office, 301 North 12th Street, by calling 472-4747 or on-line at www.unltheatretickets.com.

"Bloody Poetry is a play of poetry and passion, of life and loss, when the pursuit of art crashes against the needs of being human," said Ian Borden, director

This drama uses real life legendary literary characters Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley and Claire Clairmont as the basis of its fictional characters. Each one has intense opinions, and conversation, about radical politics, free love, poetry, artistic defiance and intellectual rage. Shelley and Byron are the sort of notorious celebrities one might find on contemporary supermarket tabloids who are portrayed with a mix of historic romance, communal creativity and social commentary. At the same time we see the results of their philosophies on the women who love them.

'Fish Tank' @ The Ross

Cannes Jury Prize winner FISH TANK, opening at The Ross on Friday, April 9, is gritty British realism at its very best with flawless performances from newcomer Katie Jarvis and Michael Fassbender.

“The brilliant power of the film comes from the gritty reality [director Andrea] Arnold creates,” writes Betsy Sharkey, film critic for the Los Angeles Times.

“Katie Jarvis, 18, hits you like a shot in the heart with her sensational breakout performance,” according to Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers. He continues, “And cheers to director Andrea Arnold, who flies on her own unerring instincts.”

FISH TANK is showing at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center on Friday, April 8 through Thursday, April 15. Show times are available at www.TheRoss.org, by consulting your newspaper, or by calling the MRRMAC film information line at 402.472.5353.

Red Theater Returns with 'Believe'

Red Theater is back again at the Bourbon Theatre! From the same people who brought you "Love" and "Honest, Obscenity, Nudity, Poop," Red Theater: "Believe" is here to make your Good Friday great. Bringing a high octane hour of thirty original plays in sixty minutes, even the Easter Bunny agrees that Red Theater is the latest and greatest theatrical event to hit Lincoln.

Red Theater takes a leap of faith as it transitions to new leadership (new artistic and managing directors) for our Easter weekend performance. Focusing on the theme of "Believe", pieces written for this show range from strange interactions with mythical creatures to humorous tales of sophisticated religious exploration.

Experience the Classic Comedy 'The Nerd' on Stage at TADA in April

Larry Shue's hysterical comedy The Nerd opens at The TADA Theatre on Thursday, April 15th.
 
One of the funniest plays ever written, this extraordinarily inventive, side-splitting comedy is set in 1980 and centers around Willum Cubbert, a man who has it all—a promising career as an architect, devoted friends, even a serious girlfriend. He has often told his friends about the debt he owes to Rick Steadman, a fellow ex-GI whom he has never met but who saved his life after he was wounded in Vietnam.

Willum is delighted when Rick shows up unexpectedly at his apartment on the night of his thirty-fourth birthday party. All is going well until Willum discovers that Rick is the ultimate social misfit. Before long Rick outstays his welcome with a vengeance and turns Willum’s life upside down. The comedy escalates as Willum comes up with the plot to “out-nerd” his house-guest during a dinner party!

'The Horse Boy' @ The Ross

Directed by Michel Orion Scott, opening at The Ross on Friday, April 2, THE HORSE BOY is part travel adventure, part insight into shamanic healing and part intimate look at the autistic mind.
 
In telling one family’s extraordinary story, the film gives voice to the thousands who display amazing courage and creativity everyday in the battle against this mysterious and heartbreaking epidemic.
 
The filmic companion to Rupert Isaacson’s best-selling book of the same name, and a festival favorite, this ravishing documentary odyssey gives insight into how, in life’s darkest moments, one can find the gateway to joy and wonder.

Flatwater Shakespeare and The Haymarket Theatre Present 'The Homecoming' April 15–May 2

Teddy: Six years ago, I married Ruth and we left for America.  I’ve found success and come back to London to see my dad.  My uncle.  My two brothers.  I was the favorite.  This was my home.  Why did I have to leave?
           
Max: My son Teddy left six years ago.  Now he’s back, with a woman we’ve never seen before.  He left me with a crippled family.  This was his home. Why did he have to leave?  And why’d he come back?
           
Ruth: Six years ago, Teddy and I married quickly and left for America.  Now I’m meeting his family at last.  England was our home.  Why did we have to leave?
           
The Flatwater Shakespeare Company and the Haymarket Theatre proudly present Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming at the Haymarket Theatre, 803 Q Street in Lincoln, beginning Thursday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m.  Performances continue Friday - Sunday, April 16-18; and Thursdays - Sundays, April 22-25 and April 29-30 and May 1-2.  Show times are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays - Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays.   Call 477-2600 for tickets. Tickets are $18 Adults, $15 Seniors and $10 Students.

Lincoln Community Playhouse Presents 'To Laugh Is to Live!' for One Night Only

The Lincoln Community Playhouse presents To Laugh Is To Live!, a comedic performance for the whole family by physical comedian, Kenny Ahern on Saturday, March 27 at 7:00 pm.. The show introduces you to a world where the audience happily becomes partners with Kenny’s lovable eccentric character. Extraordinary artistry mingles with delightfully daring antics.

Review of 'Orphans' at The Haymarket Theatre: A Must See

by Dennis Kornbluh

In the early 90s, I saw the movie "Orphans," the story of two brothers who grow up without parents in a dingy North Philadelphia tenement, starring Albert Finney and Mathew Modine.  I recall being drawn in to this compelling tale, which is very theatrical in nature, and features some of the finest acting you'll ever see on film.

Seated comfortably in the Haymarket Theatre, I didn't make the connection between the play and the movie until I heard the character of Harold utter the words "Dead End Kid," at which point I realized that I was familiar with the story. By that point, I was already hooked, so knowing a bit about how the play would unfold did not dampen my interest in the slightest.  Quite the opposite. In fact, I had a sense that I was about to witness a powerful performance.

Orphans was conceived as a play by Lyle Kessler. It was first performed in 1983 at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, and then in New York, where it ran successfully for several years. It has run continuously on stages around the world ever since, with performances by a bevy of famous actors, including Albert Finney and Al Pacino.