Arts

Never underestimate opportunity and the vision of innovative genius.

With an excellent cast and sharp direction and choreography, this sci-fi homage is a happy marriage of clever nostalgia, shiny new music, and sheer fun for just about any age.

Rather than rehashing what's wrong with 'Chess,' I'll describe why it's still possible to enjoy the Gallery Players' production. The music is perhaps the most advanced artistic evolution of glossy '80s pop. And while I'm sure there are some curmudgeons out there who weren't fans of ABBA's sunny sound, Andersson and Ulvaeus were brilliant songwriters, master craftsmen not only of shiny dance tunes but also of lovely songs of love and loss.

Even one as horrific as the seafaring Devil may deserve a bit of sympathy. His job to separate mankind from God so the Christmas Child can bring them together is a bitter, noxious one. This and the play's other messages shine in the fullness of glory in this production.

A confusing play about teenage angst, with a twist that seemed to perplex many in the audience.

At night, the blooms seem to vibrate transcendently. You smell dense aromas of the chocolate, vanilla, jasmine, and lemon scents of the dancing-lady orchids. Especially during these Orchid Evenings, the senses delight.

With just four chairs and a keyboard director Scott Guthrie leads a full-tilt cast of five crisply through the sharp and funny series of twists and turns that make this epitome of self-referential shows shine.

The World Premiere documentary The Director and the Jedi by Anthony Wonke screened with great buzz as a “Spotlight” film at SXSW Film Festival. Mark Hamill appeared on the Red Carpet and stayed for the screening and the Q and A afterward with Rian Johnson. Naturally, fans crushed my feet …

Eurythmy produces a performing experience unlike many others; it lures you in to new shores, perhaps a bit like the song of the sirens once captured Odysseus.

Among the fascinating objects associated with major artists and historical figures are a narwhal-tusk flute made for Frederick the Great, a 16th-century Amati violin made for the marriage of Philip II, guitars owned by Segovia, and a clarinet that belonged to Benny Goodman.