Ken’s Artisan Pizza isn’t the type of place you’d go on a first date. It’s a little too bustling and a little too well-lit to provide the quiet intimacy you need to impress the pants off somebody. Ken’s is more second or third date material: You’ve already slept together, now maybe you can finally relax, […]
Alison Hallett
Alison Hallett served nobly as the Mercury's arts editor from 2008-2014. Her proud legacy lives on.
Posted inBooks
Prisoner of X by Allan MacDonell
Anyone who glances at the Daniel Clowes-illustrated cover of Prisoner of X: 20 Years in the Hole at Hustler Magazine, and thinks, “Wow, that sounds interesting…” will enjoy Allan MacDonell’s memoir. Similarly, anyone who reads the book’s title and thinks, “Wow, how astonishingly tasteless,” would be better off staying away. Prisoner of X delivers exactly […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
The Rainmaker
There’s nothing terribly sophisticated about the West End Theater and Home Planet’s co-production of The Rainmaker; it’s a straightforward production of an old-fashioned play, with tried-and-true characters and a predictable plot. This predictability is sort of soothing, though, like listening to your grandmother tell a story you’ve heard a thousand times before. It’s to the […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
Wit
I missed La Bodega Productions’ first show, a reprise of Kafka’s The Trial, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from their current production of Margaret Edson’s Wit. All I knew was that I was less than enthused about spending my Friday night watching a play about cancer. And while it’s true that watching Wit […]
Posted inUncategorized
Leave Me Alone
The Press Club Lets You Dine in Peace
Restaurants are tricky to navigate for the solo diner. Taking a whole table to oneself can be awkward, especially in a really busy restaurant; it’s hard to deny the irritation of a server who knows that one person is going to spend less money, and therefore tip less, than four. Sitting at the bar is […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
Private Eyes
Private Eyes 2Boards at Theatre! Theater!, 3420 SE Belmont, 232-5375, Thurs-Sat 8 pm, Sun 4 pm, through Aug 12, $10 Private Eyes, newly opened by 2Boards Productions, is an odd choice for a summer show. Though the 2Boards bunch tries to infuse the project with the kind of lightheartedness befitting the season, the script itself […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
Theatresports
July is a rough month for theater. There’s not much going on outside of the Shakespeare Fest in Ashland, and Ashland is pretty far away. Last weekend, I took advantage of the slump to check out a venue I’ve managed to avoid for over a year now: the Brody Theater, hallowed stomping ground for the […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Bizarro Supergirl
Somebody Dumped Uma Thurman? Yeah. Right.
The premise of My Super Ex-Girlfriend is hard to stomach at first: Someone breaks up with Uma Thurman? Whatever. That would never happen. It’s worth accepting that improbable detail, though—because if you can, you’re in for a whole lot of fun. Thurman plays “G-Girl,” AKA Jenny Johnson, nerdy assistant art curator by day, ravishing superhero […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
The Brain That Wouldn’t Die!
With last winter’s “Manos” The Hands of Fate, theater company Last Rites Productions emerged as a hip, crowd-pleasing new ensemble with a spoofy, goofy comedic sensibility. “Manos,” based on a horror film that is often considered one of the worst ever made, became a minor cult phenomenon, filling a surprising number of seats in its […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
Vamp
I have to admit: I thought I was going to hate Vamp. I thought it was going to be the stupidest play ever. And it was a reasonable assumption, given that the play’s premise sounds like the kind of nonsense tolerated only in high school one-act competitions. Chloe (Elizabeth Young) is a lonely and neurotic […]