Shawna Foster, a Nebraska National Guard veteran, organized War is Trauma, a pop-up exhibit May 25 at inCOMMON featuring art created by veterans and for veterans by JustSeeds Artist Cooperative with images addressing “a range of topics and advocate for stopping the redeployment of traumatized soldiers, the GI’s right to heal, supporting past and present […]
Posted inTheater
Hairspray’s More Than Wigs, Brigit Gets Goddess
No, Hairspray is not about wigs and The Great Goddess Bazaar is not a fancy feminist flea market. Hairspray is a really big musical at the Omaha Community Playhouse and Goddess is a unique one-woman show from Brigit Saint Brigit Theatre. Both are a bit overshadowed by the myriad offerings of the Great Plains Theatre […]
Posted inMovies
Wadiya Do That For?
Although it turned many a talentless friend into an amateur impressionist, Sacha Baron Cohen’s performance as Borat was inarguably hilarious. The improvised, horribly racist, legitimately brilliant film that put Cohen on the map was a straight-up phenomenon and a much-needed reminder that the best comedy is dangerous comedy. Even Cohen’s follow-up, Brüno, was delightfully savage, […]
Posted inMovies
The Bicycle Grief
In what is essentially Oliver French Twist, writers/directors Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne definitively prove that life in France is more than just croissant-eating and Muslim-hating. In soul-crushing fashion, this muted tale of an unwanted, unloved boy is simultaneously gripping and dull. It’s hard to pull off such a dichotomy, but these are a people […]
Posted inCulture
GPTC Brings Life to Burlington Depot
They’ll soon be doing Dostoyevsky in the cavernous hulk that once housed the Burlington Depot, but now two actors fling a Frisbee across the vast mosaic floor as light streams in the four-story atrium. They’re passing time before rehearsing the play Raskol, based on the novel Crime and Punishment. If you’d said nostalgic goodbyes to […]
Posted inMovies
Cutting Room for May 18
Cutting Room provides breaking local and national movie news … complete with added sarcasm. Send any relevant information to film@thereader.com. Check out Ryan on Movieha!, a weekly half-hour movie podcast (movieha.libsyn.com/rss), catch him on the radio on CD 105.9 (cd1059.com) on Fridays at around 7:30 a.m. and on KVNO 90.7 (KVNO.org) at 8:30 a.m. on […]
Posted inCulture
‘Big Sky Paintings’
Omaha native Vincent Hron has made his mark in the larger art world. The Bloomsburg University Professor returns to Omaha with his paintings of post-modern sublime, now on view at Anderson O’Brien Gallery in the Old Market. He brings with him a conceptually interesting and technically skilled body of work. “These are ‘Big Sky’ paintings,” […]
Posted inCulture
The London Diaries
Editor’s Note: Our formidable and fabulous Filthy Fashionista (aka Jesica Hill) recently graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Congrats!) With diploma in hand, FF did what any fashion-forward girl would do — board a plane and head for Europe. (Hello?) Girlfriend will be sharing her anglo experiences for the next few weeks. Following […]
Posted inMusic
Music In May
The 33rd Annual Blues Music Awards were handed out in Memphis Thursday, May 10. Multiple awards went to Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi and their Tedeschi Trucks Band. Another multiple-award winner is Tab Benoit, whose honors included the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year award. See blues.org for the complete list of winners. Curtis Salgado took […]
Posted inCulture
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum exhibits on display in the metro
Three traveling baseball exhibitions on view in the metro this spring chart a history with local overtones and signals a comeback for a local organization. The exhibits are courtesy of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Omaha’s own Great Plains Black History Museum is presenting the photo shows at family-friendly venues. The exhibits are happening in […]