Cleveland Theater Reviews Website Launches
convergence-continuum’s current production, “The Hyacinth Macaw” Arts coverage in traditional media has been decreasing across the country, Cleveland included. The Plain Dealer has not yet replaced fulltime theater writer Tony Brown, who left the paper last summer; it’s been relying on freelancers. ClevelandTheaterReviews.com has jumped into the breach. The new blog, which debuted this week,…
The Tim Misny Rap Video
Back in January we pointed you toward a rap song about Tim Misny, an inexplicable and yet predictable entry into the Misny pop culture canon. Well, the group made a video for the song. They filmed it at the Agora and Mr. Make Them Pay himself stopped by. Video below. Misny enters around the 2:40…
Your Smartass Responses to the Best of Cleveland Survey
Every year we throw open the gates of Best of Cleveland so that you, the wizened veterans of our fair landscape, might weigh in on what makes us rock harder than a Zeppelin album side cranking from the 8-track player of a Barracuda convertible. And every year, you come through in a big way. Well,…
Pimping Our Boxes in Honor of the Rock Hall Inductions
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions return to Cleveland in two weeks, and rest assured your pals at Scene will be there to chronicle all the action and devour any free cheese cubes that may come our way in the process. But as the eyes of the world turn to our humble burg…
Dropping Natural Gas Prices Mean Tougher Times for Food-Stamp Recipients
When natural gas prices dropped to Marc’s closeout-aisle levels earlier this month, the news worked Wall Street traders and energy-company bosses into a lather. But the drop may do even more damage to an unsuspecting group on the other end of the social ladder: Ohio’s food-stamp recipients. In April, the state will readjust a factor…
Director Paul Gurgol Dead at 55
We received the sad news yesterday that acclaimed Cleveland theater director Paul Gurgol passed away on Saturday, March 24. Friend and colleague John Paul Boukis tells us the cause of death was cancer. Gurgol was 55 years old. Among his many Cleveland credits, Gurgol directed A Little Night Music for the Cleveland Opera in 2007…
Marriage Equality Group Submits New Petitions
The Freedom to Marry — Ohio movement, which aims to put marriage equality on the Ohio ballot and overturn 2004’s Defense of Marriage Amendment, keeps gaining momentum. A Saturday rally by the Free Stamp in downtown Cleveland attracted several thousand people despite bad weather, and was followed by a mock marriage event of at the…
Afternoon Brew: Not a UFO, Zack Reed Honors Trayvon Martin, CLE Tourism Groups Pumped for Casino, and a Dumb Criminal
Good afternoon, Cleveland. Here’s some stuff to read if you’re not already at the Nauti Mermaid for happy hour. — NewsNet5 broke the story this morning of a Lorain County girl who might have caught a UFO on camera, except that it was very clearly an inflatable, remote-controlled shark. Thankfully, they were reasonable enough to…
Chickens and Bees in Cleveland Heights?
The city of Cleveland has already seized a national leadership role in the urban agriculture trend, but it looks like a few suburbanites may have to be dragged kicking and screaming. On Monday night Cleveland Heights hosted a public forum to discuss ideas for improving the city’s sustainability. Cleveland Heights Patch reported that one of…
Here’s Machine Gun Kelly’s New Video
Machine Gun Kelly’s new video for “Half Naked and Almost Famous,” his big-label debut EP that came out last week, is showing exclusively at Rolling Stone. The video includes a bunch of footage shot over the past year, starting with the Cleveland rapper’s 2011 SXSW gigs to the recent Breaking Woodie Award he won from…
Akron Art Museum to Sell Iconic Cindy Sherman Print
Cindy Sherman’s “Untitled #96” The Akron Art Museum has put one of the two prints it owns by significant contemporary photographer Cindy Sherman up for sale with Christie’s Auction House. The 1981 photo, “Untitled #96,” from her “Centerfolds,” series depicts a young girl — as usual, portrayed by Sherman herself — in an orange sweater…
Video: Andrew W.K. “I Love Giant Eagle”
From last night’s Andrew W.K. show (we’ll have a slideshow up in a minute as well), the world-renowned alternate version of “I Love New York CIty” — “I Love Giant Eagle.” Yeah, the giant pigeon is a PA-based store, but whatever. Just listen to Andrew WK sing about a grocery store and be quiet.
Mike Polk’s Letter to the Cleveland Browns
Mike Polk would like another word with the Cleveland Browns this week. “Continued patience.” Yep.
New Professional Children’s Theater Holds Opens House
Talespinner founder Alison Garrigan & her husband Sean chat with guests When Talespinner Children’s Theatre debuts its inaugural production, The Tale of the Name of the Tree, on June 16, it will be filling a hole in Cleveland’s busy theater scene. It will be the area’s only professional children’s theater, with seasoned adult actors performing…
WalMart Superstore Coming to South Euclid
Severance WalMart: soon to be something fresh & exciting? The “evil satan” of retailing will be coming to Oakwood Commons after all. Last year, local residents tried — and failed — to overturn South Euclid’s rezoning of the former Oakwood Country Club on Warrensville Center Road for a retail complex. One of their most frantic…
No Matter What You Think of MGK, Cleveland Gets Some Love in This Video
As Machine Gun Kelly revs up for the release of his debut album later this summer, you’re gonna see his face a lot. So you better get used to it. During MGK’s recent roll through SWSW, Canadian interviewer Nardwuar pulled the Cleveland rapper in for a 10-minute interview to talk about all things Cleveland. If…
Josh Mandel Will Keep Saying Things Even If They Aren’t True
No, no, no, this shirt is yellow. The beauty of politics is the license to say whatever you want — true or otherwise. Actually, no, that kind of sucks, but it’s an everlasting truth we all must acknowledge, like the fact Dick Cheyney will never die. On Sunday, The Plain Dealer broke down the great…
Bobby Womack Has Colon Cancer
Sad news this morning: R&B great Bobby Womack has colon cancer. The Guardian is reporting that the 68-year-old Cleveland native is in the hospital being treated for pneumonia and has been diagnosed with cancer. Bootsy Collins broke the news on his Facebook page. Collins says his pal is “very upbeat about his future.” Womack wrote…
Ohio Leads Nation in Metal Theft
The average Ohioan’s day at work. We’re number one! We’re number one! We’re number… Hey, put my catalytic converter down! What the hell, man? Ohio’s job climate in recent years has a lot of folks acting like the homeless guy sifting through the garbage can outside your office hoping for a few aluminum cans. Copper…
Concert Review: Honeyhoney at the Grog Shop
It was a sort of homecoming for Honeyhoney frontwoman Suzanne Santo at the Grog Shop last night. She grew up in the area before moving to Los Angeles for an acting career that including spots on Law and Order, Medium, and Judging Amy in her late teens. She met guitarist Ben Jaffe, who was doing…
Historic Bridgeview Cafe to Re-Open After Decades of Darkness
“This last week I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. I’ve been so excited,” says David Hridel, sounding a bit like an expecting father. “I just signed the lease an hour ago and finally have the key.” Hridel is talking about the historic Bridgeview Café, the squat green-roofed building on Lorain, just a couple blocks east of…
Marriage Equality Proponents to Gather at Free Stamp Tomorrow
As marriage equality proponents, organized as Freedom to Mary Ohio, prepare to submit ballot petitions to Ohio attorney general Mike Dewine on Monday, supporters of marriage equality will gather tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. at the Free Stamp at East 9th and Lakeside, for a Rally for Marriage Equality. That will be followed by a mass…
James Box, City of Cleveland Employee, Again Accused of Alleged Inappropriate Sexual Conduct (Updated)
Update: Cleveland prosecutors say one of the two women James Box allegedly behaved badly with has a case for “unlawful restraint” if she wants to press charges. No word yet on her decision. Via Cleveland.com, the details of just what a freaking specimen of gentlemanly honor Box is: The woman told police she invited Box…
Happy Birthday, Affordable Care Act.
Photo from ProgressOhio.org Today, President Obama’s signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”), turns two. Despite all the opposition shrieking and hair-tearing (“Government takeover!” “Death panels!” “Rationing!), the sky has not fallen and most people probably haven’t noticed any difference, although for those who benefit — like children with serious health issues who can’t…
Cash Mob Tomorrow in Lakewood
Andrew Samtoy at his February Cash Mob event at Coventry Road’s Big Fun If you are not one of Cleveland attorney Andrew Samtoy’s thousands of close personal friends and happened to miss his three previous Cash Mob events, clear 2 p.m. tomorrow on your calendar. The sparkplug behind the Cash Mob movement, which Scene writer…
Amish Bernie Madoff Has No Money to Give Back to His Victims
When Bernie Madoff went down for his ponzi scheme, federal prosecutors seized everything from the Wall Street swindler’s $7 million Manhattan condo to the fur coat off his wife’s back in order to pay back victims. In the case of Madoff’s Amish counterpart, Monroe Beachy, the government will be lucky if they can hock a…
Phil Taylor Trolled a Guy on a Plane Yesterday
No one wants to be stuck in the middle seat. Things can get even more squished if the folks on either side of you are larger than your average human being. Now, there are good ways and bad ways to handle that situation. Good way: a polite word or two, a joke, a smile. Bad…
Boy Forced to Hold “I Like to Steal” Sign in Public as Punishment
Let’s go back to these days! There have been a handful of stories around the country in recent years of parents reaching their wit’s end with kids, forgoing the groundings and timeouts and yanked video game privileges, and subjecting them to public embarrassment as punishment for their transgressions. Northeast Ohio has its own entry into…
Churned Adds Ice Cream to Cookie and Cupcake Co.
Things are going so well for sweet-tooth satisfiers Wendy Thompson and SynDee Klingenberg that they are taking the next steps in their master plan to delight the entire planet. By the end of April, the team behind the wildly popular A Cookie and a Cupcake (2173 Professor Ave., 216-344-9433, acookieandacupcake.com) will open Churned, a gourmet…
Hear a New Song From Massillon Rapper Stalley
Rolling Stone continues its crush on Northeast Ohio artists today with an exclusive stream of Massillon rapper Stalley’s new song “Hammers and Vogues.” You can read Rolling Stone’s words, and hear the song, here. It’s the latest love from the magazine, which in recent months has spotlighted local artists Mr. Gnome, Cloud Nothings, and MGK.…
Sandusky Cop Goes Wild on St. Pats, Taunts Gunman
You thought your St. Pats was bad? If you spend a lot of time sniffing through local news, you might have noticed the residents of Sandusky are filling the headlines up with a lot of bizarre behavior as of late. Enough so that our team of crack media analysts at the Scene Institute for Batshit…
License Plate of the Day: Buckeye Hating
It takes a real troll to request the special OSU-themed Ohio license plate design only because you want to use the scarlet “O” to spell “OVRATED.” (There’s a Penn State sticker in the back window, if you can’t see it.) Not that we don’t know a thing or two about trolling Buckeye fans.
Slideshow: The Black Keys at The Q
Photos by Patrick Murphy
Transgender Student Sues Miami U. for Gender Discrimination
Kaeden Kass v. Miami University Like most fresh soil in the realm of civil rights, this here is wobbly ground. A transgender student down at Miami University has filed a discrimination complaint against the school. The filing basically tosses the administration out into the hot lights and forces them to make a decision — one…
City Tells Reddstone it Can’t Host Live Entertainment
When the popular Detroit-Shoreway eatery and nightspot Reddstone closed for remodeling early this month, chef Jeff James and partner/manager Tommy Kneeland were enthusiastic about what was to come: “a brand-new menu and a brand-new look” that would help bring in even more business. But rather than reopening last week, one of their biggest attractions —…
Moondog Ball Turns 60 Today
Alan Freed, King of the Moondoggers The tenuous claim Cleveland has often made for being the “birthplace of rock and roll” is that the “first rock concert” took place here. That event, known as the Moondog Coronation Ball, after the local radio show of DJ Alan Freed who promoted it, took place on March 21,…
The Quality of Cleveland Life Report
Your guide to living in fabulous Cleveland. The Man With the Plan: Mayor Jackson’s dramatic lakefront development plan earns council approval; early estimates indicate the project will be completed in plenty of time to welcome the first wave of intergalactic tourists by around 2350. A Bone for the Skinheads: Family of Jon Demjanjuk wants the…
Fashion Week Cleveland Celebrates Its First Decade in May
You may not think of your dentist as the most fashionable person you know. But that’s because your dentist isn’t Donald Shingler. Shingler, a dentist as well as a fashion maven, cooked up the idea for Fashion Week Cleveland, which celebrates its 10th year when it kicks off May 4. Shingler and his FWC colleagues…
Local Band in Focus
Meet the Band: Matt Hallaran (vocals, guitar), Brandon Miller (guitar), Pat O’Connor (bass), Rochelle Sanfilippo (keyboards), and Stanton Thatcher (drums). Don’t Call Her Yoko: Hallaran has played locally for years, most notably with the Primitives. He formed Cave Teens last year with girlfriend Sanfilippo, even though she could barely play an instrument. Within six months,…
Film Capsules
The Hunger Games To put it in perspective, The Hunger Games falls somewhere between the last couple of terrific Harry Potter movies and all of the terrible Twilights, two other recent teen-lit hits that exploded all over the big screen. The first story in Suzanne Collins’ saga doubles as the series’ setup: In a post-apocalyptic…
Bad Language
In the play Amadeus, Emperor Joseph II opines that the glorious music written by Mozart contains “too many notes.” And we laugh at that silly thought. But if you’ve ever felt that some plays have too many words, you may stop laughing when you witness the garrulous frenzy in The Hyacinth Macaw by Mac Wellman,…
Shrapnel of Corruption
Let’s say you’re knee-deep in a courtroom battle, and one day you pop open the morning paper to find the judge has been arrested by the FBI for fixing cases. And not just any case — your case. That’s how it went down for Lee Squire, a building contractor from Wellington who was involved in…
Savage Love
Dear Dan: I was recently advised to begin reading your column by my therapist. I am a 21-year-old male and a senior at an Ivy League school. Despite my academic success, I’ve battled a lot of stuff in the past few years: anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and porn addiction. It’s quite a load of shit…
A Photographer on Photographers
Penelope was the wife of the long-delayed Odysseus, the Greek king of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. It is in honor of literature’s most patient heroine that photographer Abe Frajndlich has titled Penelope’s Hungry Eyes, his new book of portraits depicting the past century’s most influential fine-art photographers. For Clevelanders, the title of Frajndlich’s book…
CD Review: Various Artists
Alan Grandy has been playing in Cleveland bands for more than 30 years. El Grande pays tribute to the singer and songwriter with 19 songs from his solo career as well as from his stint with the Terrible Parade and his most recent work with Sputnik. Compiled by fans, the album works its way chronologically…
Buying the Farm
On a Saturday morning in early March, a dozen people have gathered around a conference table in the spartan front room of the former rectory of St. George Catholic Church at East 67th and Superior. The property was purchased more than a year ago and turned into Community Greenhouse Partners, an urban farm project that’s…
Escape From L.A.
For years, Kira Leyden tried to fit her bands into Northeast Ohio’s music scene, which can be somewhat stifling if you don’t play metal, punk, hard rock, or some variation on them. First with Jaded Era and now with the Strange Familiar, Leyden, along with bandmate and husband Jeff Andrea, has made the type of…
At the Arthouse
The Best of the Three Stooges I, 1934-1937 While the Cleveland International Film Festival celebrates one or two or three types of movies this week, the Cinematheque will be spotlighting a different kind of cinema. The Cleveland Cult Film Festival 3 gets under way this weekend with this 90-minute compilation of five of the Three…
On Stage This Week
God’s Trombones at Karamu: A Joyful Noise Karamu’s seasonal fave returns to the Jeliffe Theatre now through April 5. Adapted and directed by artistic director Terrence Spivey, the family-friendly musical features seven stirring “negro sermons” — delivered fire-and-brimstone-style by seven galvanizing preachers, and accompanied by soulful singing and powerful dance. (That’s actor Rodney Freeman as…
Dim and Then Sum
Hodge’s doesn’t officially open till March 29, but Scene got an exclusive sneak peek this week at the menu and the interior. Located in the former downtown home of Zinc Bistro, the restaurant is owned by Scott Kuhn (Washington Place Bistro, Welshfield Inn) and food-truck whiz Chris Hodgson. Numerous physical changes have livened up the…
Dancin’ With the Czars
Every big city has a sustainability czar these days. Nashville’s guru of growth is an environmental law and justice expert. In Indianapolis, all things environmental are headed by a veteran conservation engineer. Cleveland’s former sustainability chief, Andrew Watterson, has a background in environmental economics and green construction. It should come as no surprise, then, that…
Concert Calendar
Prince Rama The fact that Prince Rama are signed to Animal Collective’s label is enough to either attract or turn off a lot of folks. Sisters Taraka and Nimai Larson, plus Taraka’s ex-boyfriend Michael Collins, met on a Krishna farm outside of Gainesville, Florida, where the Larsons’ parents settled in the ’60s. Their music retains…
CD Review: The Ting Tings
It’s rarely a good sign when a band ditches the mostly completed follow-up to its hit debut album. After 2008’s We Started Nothing, and its signature single “That’s Not My Name,” the British indie-pop duo the Ting Tings scrapped the record they were making and started working on another LP: a disjointed set that veers…
We Get Mail
Street Sign of the Apocalypse West 25th has basically already become the new West Sixth, and we have Sam McNulty to thank for a large part of that [“Plans for West 25th Street Lead to Fears It’s Going to Hell,” February 22]. So, it’s a bit ironic that he would be complaining about a newcomer.…
Get Out!
Friday | 23 MythBusters on Tour Liability, Schmiability It’s taken years to figure out how to take the MythBusters show on the road. Apparently, a Discovery Channel science series filled with bombs, guns, and explosives doesn’t translate well to live theater. The big question, of course, is how to meet fans’ expectations for gonzo action…
Home Movies
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Sony) David Fincher’s thrilling adaptation of the first part of Stieg Larsson’s massively popular Millennium Trilogy books uproots the original foundation and results in one of 2011’s best movies. The director doesn’t mess much with the story of bisexual computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), who gets involved with…
West Sixth Surprise
Walking into an empty restaurant is rarely a good thing, but it’s worse when you beat even the bartender to work. That was the case one night at Nova Bar & Grill in the Warehouse District, where we were compelled to wait until his arrival to enjoy a round of cocktails. It isn’t that Nova…
Best Fest Bets
The 36th Cleveland International Film Festival will showcase more than 300 features and short movies beginning March 22 through April 1 at Tower City Cinemas. Not even Roger Ebert has time to see them all. Among the countless hidden gems you might find, here are six worth clearing your calendar for. Tickets for each film…
On View This Week
Akron Art Museum: Family Portrait Drop-In Day on March 24. Families are invited to come down for a day of hands-on art creation. From noon to 4 p.m., kids are invited to the museum’s main lobby to make family portraits. Special portrait gallery tours take place at 12:30, 1:30, and 2:30 p.m. Also: Stranger in…
Bank Shot
On the night of March 24, 1972, a group of guys from Cleveland and Youngstown blew a hole in the roof of the United California Bank in Laguna Niguel. They emptied more than 500 safe deposit boxes of an estimated $30 million. The man in charge of the crew, Collinwood resident Phil Christopher, was soon…
The Zymurgist
“It’s like judging a dog show. You may not like poodles, but if it’s the perfect example of a poodle, you have to recognize that.” That’s the first piece of advice on beer judging offered to me by Paul Shick, a professor, longtime member of the Society of Northeast Ohio Brewers (yes, SNOB), and a…
CD Review: Lee Ranaldo
Lee Ranaldo is Sonic Youth’s George Harrison. Like the Quiet Beatle, guitarist Ranaldo’s two or so songs per album often get lost among the more celebrated contributions by the two main songwriters. But while Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon may be better known as the driving forces behind Sonic Youth, Ranaldo is the more refined…
Cheap Eats
When Tommy Karakostas gets to talking about his Lakewood shop, it can be easy to mistake his pride for smugness. “I don’t serve one American dish. You won’t find anything non-Greek in my place,” says the man behind the Greek Village Grille, a split-second before catching himself. “Chicken tenders,” he notes with exasperation. “It’s for…
CD Review: Esperanza Spalding
Esperanza Spalding came out of seemingly nowhere to win the Best New Artist Grammy last year over higher profile acts like Drake and Mumford & Sons. Her 2010 album Chamber Music Society featured a mix of springy acoustic jazz and string-guided ballads. Her fourth LP isn’t so much a follow-up as it is a sequel…
Culture Jamming
TOP PICK Anatomy of a Murder (Criterion) Otto Preminger’s excellent 1959 courtroom drama – about a guy who says he temporarily lost it when he killed the guy who raped his wife – makes its Blu-ray debut on this set packed with the usual scholarly Criterion extras. James Stewart plays the humble attorney defending the…
