The 10 finalist films from around the world get shown all over the country. Did your college do a showing? If not, why not? It was offered. And the audience votes, the votes are tallied, sent back to Manhattan, and the winner named.  Here's my take: Watching (UK): Stellar! If it wasn't a short, you'd think you paid admission just for this flick. Completely worth it. A sense of urgency, … [Read more...]

Image by Genista via Flickr That's Winnebago, not Wendigo, any other similarities aside. I went to this film showing, which is sort of an extension of Dead Center, long after the festival per se, but part of what they're sponsoring in independent film in Oklahoma City. It was a single showing at the Oklahoma Museum of Art which, incidentally, hosts a helluva nice set of independent film. It's … [Read more...]

The Southern Winds Film Festival in Shawnee Oklahoma is a fun event. The best of the bunch on Friday was the 9pm outdoor showing of Simmons on Vinyl, a film shot entirely in Norman, Oklahoma "for as little money as possible" (about $300-$400) by three former film students. There were other fine films, like Irene (a film about a lonely woman seeking love as a phone sex operator - based on a true … [Read more...]

Stomping wonderful, great time. Best musical theatre we've seen in Oklahoma. The conductor was clearly enjoying himself, and that made it fun right from the start. I wish we could see the orchestra, but still. Clearly the actors know it's a crowd pleaser and are reveling in the applause, which is genuine. I met some of the actors today at Red Cup - they're fun people. [NewsOK Coverage] … [Read more...]

The Lyric Theatre is, of course, the premier theatre troupe in Oklahoma City, and we went to their production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Civic Center last night. The flying car thing was pretty cool - no visible ropes, etc. I liked the lights in the face, that tactfully dimmed after a bit. The singing and acting were the best we've seen so far in Oklahoma. The 2nd Act was more fun, though … [Read more...]

We went to see Oliver (the musical) on opening night at Summerstock 2010 at the outdoor amphitheatre at Mitch Park in Edmond. At about the 4th number it starts to get interesting. We thought the female street urchins were talented. Bring blanket or chair. Concessions are cheap, but it's junk, and nothing's open nearby at intermissions but a 7-Eleven, so bring your bananas and granola, … [Read more...]

I had a blast at Dead Center Film Festival in Oklahoma City. Five days of independent film and, even though I went for all of it, the sheer number of simultaneous showings made it impossible to see everything. Still, there were some true gems. "In This Place" (filmmaker Amy Bench) won best student film at DeadCenter. Best documentary short was "A Song for Ourselves" (also great- about one of the … [Read more...]

Went to Anne of Green Gables today at Poteet Theatre in Oklahoma City. A local Protestant church houses this theatre, which puts on numerous productions each season and teaches acting classes. We're definitely going to Guys and Dolls in November. I hadn't read the book (my wife had) or seen the play. It was quite good. The wife prefers musicals,  but I like it all. The actors were, … [Read more...]