Theatre X has become a world where brightly colored ducks, cats and frogs jump around, sing and dance. "Honk!" retells Hans Christian Andersen's classic story "The Ugly Duckling" but includes a more fleshed-out plot and musical numbers. In the show, farm animals gather to see the hatching of four cute ducklings and one awkward bird appropriately named Ugly (James Mills).
by Matthew Bailey Daily Lobo It was hyped by the world's best music magazines, and Bloc Party's debut album Silent Alarm exceeds expectations. If your wardrobe includes a studded belt that goes with your floppy bangs, this album is an essential purchase. Though it's usually the domain of middle-class white boys, indie music has new champions of ethnicity and, more importantly, thoroughly enjoyable music.
Michael BublÇ's name appears in only one of the track credits on his latest CD, It's Time. Such a discovery makes it easier to understand why BublÇ seems to have a less-than-enthusiastic approach to his singing, which sadly is the best part of the record. The standard of undeniably good music requires each musician to sound focused and passionate with or without the rest of the band, creating a beat or a melody that can stand alone and intrigue listeners.
Best Picture and the nominees are: Michael Mann and Graham King for "The Aviator" Richard N. Gladstein and Nellie Bellflower for "Finding Neverland" Clint Eastwood, Albert S. Ruddy and Tom Rosenburg for "Million Dollar Baby" Taylor Hackford, Stuart Benjamin and Howard Baldwin for "Ray" Michael London for "Sideways" Who should win: "Sideways.
by Maria DeBlassie Daily Lobo Cappuccinos cost 80 cents in Rome "Students living in Rome can wake up and have their morning cappuccino," said Susanne Anderson-Riedel, assistant professor of art history. Anderson-Riedel and her husband, Paul Anderson, created a program that allows students to travel abroad and earn college credit.
by Aaron Hendren Daily Lobo The off-Broadway production "Steel Magnolias" was wowing audiences before the movie starring Julia Roberts was made. The movie might be known as a chick flick, but cast member Kathleen Conry said people should know the stage version of "Steel Magnolias" is not for a specific gender.
by Rami Mallis Daily Lobo Hungry students desperate for a healthy alternative to burgers and burritos need look no further than Sushi & Sake. The all-you-can-eat restaurant has been open for a little over a month and offers decent sushi within the lime green walls of a comfortable but unglamorous environment.
I'm not the right person to write an Ani DiFranco CD review. Every eight months or so, she puts out an album, and it just humbles me. She says all the things that are rumbling around in the back of my brain trying to get out. But while I've been toiling under pages of text, she says it in three lines, in an interesting melody and in rhyme.
Hunter S. Thompson put forth his principle of journalism in a 2003 interview, when he explained why he was the most accurate reporter people could read. "You have to distinguish between what happened and what the situation was," he said. What happened was, on Sunday, Thompson, the pioneer of gonzo journalism and most famous for 1972's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, shot himself in his home in the Colorado mountains.
Director Terry Gilliam grabs hold of the essence of gonzo journalism and doesn't let go in his masterpiece "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Gilliam cut his teeth in the entertainment business as the animator behind the bizarre and unique cartoons that accompanied Monty Python's many television shows, movies and books.
Temperatures of more than 100 degrees bear down on practitioners of Bikram yoga. The heat causes the body to become more flexible, allowing people to get into more challenging positions. Bikram yoga brings balance back to the body, said David Rogers, owner and director of Bikram's Yoga.
by Karina Guzzi Daily Lobo A mix of art, music and bilingual poetry readings will celebrate the life of a Chilean poet. This weekend the Outpost Performance Space will feature the reading of 25 poems written by Pablo Neruda. The poems will be read in Spanish and English and some will be accompanied by projections of their English translation.
by Maristela GuillÇn Daily Lobo Pablo Aslan said he tries to bring a flair to traditional tango. Aslan is the director of Avantango, a group made up of the tango world's top-notch dancers and musicians. The troupe is coming to Albuquerque on Saturday.
by Maria DeBlassie Daily Lobo If you like Vaseline, go see "The Big Funk." The director, Brandon Scott Jensen, is part of Troop 147, an informal theater group that put the show together. Jensen said 147 is his lucky number. "Theater is all about luck," he said.
by Shannon Kunkel Daily Lobo From strutting their stuff on the catwalk to enduring push-ups in basic training, the dancers of "Maratooni" do it all. The dance series "Flying Low" at Rodey Theatre this weekend will feature the U.S. premiere of "Maratooni" and dances choreographed by UNM graduate students.
by John Bear Daily Lobo Stoic Frame calls many places home. The band first started playing in San Salvador, El Salvador, when its members were teenagers. The group reformed a few years later in Albuquerque, then relocated to the more musically fertile grounds of Los Angeles.
It makes sense that Rudolfo Anaya has been called the godfather of Chicano literature. In the 29 years he's been an author, Anaya has written and published 26 books. His latest work is a murder mystery titled Jemez Spring. Anaya seems incapable of writing about something that is not in, about or concerned with New Mexico and the Southwest.
by David Barnes Daily Lobo Film director Kelley Baker said he's always felt like an outsider. His film "Kicking Bird" is about a high school student who shares these feelings. It is the story of Martin "Bird" Johnson, an isolated high school student from the wrong side of the tracks who's never been part of the in crowd.
by Eva Dameron Daily Lobo Mr. Smolin is a brilliant lyricist and an artful musician. Reading some great poetry is reason enough to check out the liner notes of his debut album, At Apogee. Barry Smolin, whose stage name is Mr. Smolin, lives in Los Angeles, where he hosts and produces a psychedelic radio show called "The Music Never Stops.
by Eva Dameron Daily Lobo Renada Rochon has one flashy outfit. "Somebody went blind making this for me," Renada Rochon said of her dance costume weighed down with sequins. Rochon is the president of the UNM Middle-Eastern Dance and Theatre Association.
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