A Lead in Spite of Himself
Bowfinger. Directed by Frank Oz. Written by Steve Martin. Starring Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Heather Graham, Christine Baranski, and Terence Stamp.
Charmed Circle
My Life So Far. Directed by Hugh Hudson. Screenplay by Simon Donald, based on the book Son of Adam by Sir Denis Forman. Starring Colin Firth, Malcolm McDowell, Irene Jacob, and Robert Norman.
Reality Is . . . (Fill in the Blank)
Open Your Eyes. Directed by Alejandro Amenabar. Screenplay by Alejandro Amenabar and Mateo Gil. With Eduardo Noriega, Penelope Cruz, Chete Lera, Najwa Nimri, and Fele Martinez.
Blessed Other
Jesus is expected at 3 p.m. About five hundred pilgrims, some of them arriving on tour buses from Chicago and Minneapolis, gather in an open field in Lorain County to hear His message. They pray the rosary and sing “Ave Maria.” They bless themselves with well water and, Polaroid cameras aimed heavenward, scan the skies…
Warped Justice
Jacqueline Marino can be reached at jmarino@clevescene.com.
Edge
The Big Man is back! Angelo “Big Ange” Lonardo, the 89-year-old career Mafioso who left town over a decade ago after ratting out his mob buddies, has returned to his roots. Lonardo was underboss of the Cleveland mob during its bloody turf wars of the ’70s and early ’80s, for which he was sentenced to…
Reflecting on the Past
Artist Elizabeth Murray once said that “art is an epiphany in a coffee cup.” She was probably not suggesting that a good cup of joe is a work of art (one can imagine Juan Valdez disagreeing heartily), but rather that making art with commonplace objects is possible but no easy task. In the current exhibit…
Measure for Pleasure
Anyone lucky enough to have spent last Saturday at the Cuyahoga County Archives to catch Cleveland Public Theatre’s Measure for Measure got more than they bargained for: a storm-tossed adventure worthy of King Solomon’s Mines. First, we encounter that new-age Harold Hill, CPT founder James Levin, doing his season-opening spellbinder routine, selling engraved bricks and…
Encore
Camelot. Lerner and Loewe’s musical is roughly half masterpiece and half mess. The overambitious Alan Jay Lerner tried to stuff five hundred pages of T.H. White’s epic novel into two acts of song, dance, and drama: It’s much like turning The Odyssey into a puppet show. Porthouse Theatre’s director Terry Burgler takes a crack at…
Good Old Sammy’s
It was late, and the off-duty cop was suspiciously eyeing a preposterously long limo that was parked across from Sammy’s on West Tenth Street. “They’ve been in there since 7:30,” he said with a jerk of his head back toward the restaurant door. “Who are they?” we asked, wondering if we had overlooked the presence…
The Tide Is In
A beautiful summer day in Brooklyn, and the barking dog and the voice of a female companion in the background suggest Blondie guitarist Chris Stein is taking a stroll while talking on a cell phone. “This is good,” he exclaims. “Wow!” Stein isn’t excited to talk to a reporter in Cleveland. He’s, um, trash diving.…
Like a Brain Surgeon
He turned “Beat It” into “Eat It.” “Like a Virgin” into “Like a Surgeon.” “Rico Suave” into “Taco Grande.” And most recently, “Zoot Suit Riot” to “Grapefruit Diet.” He orchestrated his own TV show. He starred in UHF, a certified cult classic, single-handedly igniting the career of Michael Richards, the man who would be Kramer.…
To Hell and Back
The name of the new album is Crusades of the Restless Knights, and maybe a crusade is what it is for Ray Wylie Hubbard and his kind in country music, as they try to liberate the holy city from the infidel. All right, maybe it’s more like Don Quixote tilting at the windmills. The walls…
Jump, Jive & Ribbet
The Valley City Frog Jump is Sunday at the Lazy T Ranch, on Grafton Road between State Route 252 and Marks Road in Valley City. From Cleveland, take I-71 south to Route 82 west; turn left on Marks Road, then right on Grafton Road. Registration begins at 10 a.m. The grand jump-off is scheduled for…
Playback
Me’Shell Ndegeocello Bitter (Maverick) On her third album, the artfully crafted and oh-so-somber Bitter, Me’Shell Ndegeocello slows down the funky R&B of her previous two discs and fashions a mood piece best suited for late-night listens and kisses. It’s a sultry piece of work that takes its time getting to where it’s going, and if…
Ghost Rider
Davie Allan and the Arrows perform on a double bill with the Knoxville Girls on Thursday at 10 p.m. at Pat’s in the Flats, West Third Street and Literary Road. Tickets are $10; call 216-621-8044.
Livewire
LynnMarie State Theatre lobby August 6 The Summer at the State series was the perfect opportunity for LynnMarie’s more seasoned followers to see her perform without worrying about drunks or violating their internal clocks. It was an early show (beginning at seven) and set in genteel surroundings (the State Theatre lobby). There were more gray…
Kiss-ed Off
Detroit Rock City. Directed by Adam Rifkin. Written by Carl Dupre. Starring Edward Furlong, Natasha Lyonne, Sam Huntington, James DeBello, Giuseppe Andrews, and Lin Shaye.
Soundbites
Club shows and some concerts are running far too late. One reason is that the folks who book the clubs are putting too many bands on the bill. For instance, two local bands played before Macha and American Analog Set at the Grog Shop July 31. Someone who went to the show says that Macha…
