Fantasticks Steam Punked

by Warren Francke

If the steampunk concept draws you to The Fantasticks at the Omaha Community Playhouse, well and good. It’s interesting and appealing.

But it shouldn’t overshadow the more surprising accomplishment of director Carl Beck and his cast. They’ve given us far and away the best treatment of this record-setting 52-year-old musical that I’ve ever seen.

And that includes some very good productions, a half dozen of...

‘Post-emerging’

by Michael J. Krainak

If it’s true it takes a village to raise a child, then likewise an entire arts community is required to raise one of its own to maturity and prominence.

All established artists in the Metro area, regardless of medium, style or genre, have one thing in common: before they “made it” in the market place they struggled in that ubiquitous role of an emerging artist, not quite ready for primetime player waiting for...

Vargas at Barley’s…Fred Simon opens Susan Hart…NET airs show on KANEKO…

by Sally Deskins

On a four-year Omaha hiatus, recent University of Minnesota MFA graduate Bart Vargas is back residing and creating in Council Bluffs. After a whirlwind international tour of exhibitions, he just got a gig instructing art at Metropolitan Community College, will be an official mentor for The Kent Bellows Studio and Center for Visual Arts and is now exhibiting nine of his recent works that have never been shown...

Barn’s Improbable Rise to 23-Year Triumph

by Warren Francke

As a founder, he once called the mere fact of its existence “a fluke.” Now Kevin Lawler calls the Blue Barn Theatre “an incredible source of joy.”

And he’s “blown away” by the high-quality work of his successor, Susan Clement-Toberer, as producing artistic director. His only problem? “It just kills me” that his work scheduleA deprives him of time to play the doctor In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play) on the...

Seven Lucky But Tricky to Schedule

by Warren Francke

Strap on your playgoing gear and strategize, then tell me how to catch all seven shows that pop up in the next few days. The Brigit St. Brigit, Blue Barn and John Beasley companies make it doable because they’ll run into March.

If you want to see the Cats come out at midnight and create more memories, Omaha Performing Arts gives you five shots at the record-breaking musical, but all performances are squeezed...

Pterodactyl Cry Enlivens OEAA Awards

by Warren Francke

The raucous scream of the Wenatchee Pterodactyl welcomed a Hilton hotel crowd to the 6^th annual Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards, but that’s not unusual when your hosts are slam poets Andrew Ek and Katie F-S.

Actually, Ek was a relatively sedate emcee, while Katie was understandably obsessed with the cry of the pterodactyl given that she’d worked it up for the dinosaur theme of  the upcoming Encyclopedia Show...