Copious Notes

Humana review: 'Strike Slip'

Strike-Slip, by Naomi Iizuka - To be completely blunt, my ticket to Strike-Slip came at the end of a long week and a long day. Having heard generally negative things about the show, I seriously contemplated following an impulse to get in my car and head home to Lexington after The Unseen Friday afternoon. But there's a voice in my critical brain that says, "See things for yourself." That, and having liked Iizuka's previous Humana shows - 2004's At the Vanishing Point is my favorite play in nine years of covering the festival - kept me in Louisville, and I'm glad I stayed. Strike-Slip isn't a great play, and certainly not Iizuka's best. You can see the comparisons to Crash, as it is the story of a culturally diverse group of people in Los Angeles who intersect due to some unfortunate circumstances. But Iizuka makes those connections in some unexpected and meaningful ways, and deftly weaves threads through the show such as the seismic theme of the title and the story of Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie. Like we said, it's not perfect. The diversity occasionally leads to some of the stereotyping, the conclusion seems a bit fanciful and some people may be put off by it. It also felt a bit TV-drama-ish at points. (Maybe TV could be another outlet for Iizuka's craft.) But a fairly simple set design and attractive story that seemed to please people around me may make it a good bet for theaters that are willing to spring for the eight-person cast. For a night at the theater, Strike-Slip was well worth it, even worth getting to bed a bit later than you hope.

The Humana Festival of New American Plays continues through April 1 at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Click here for show and ticket information.

Humana review: 'The Unseen'

The Unseen, by Craig Wright -- Wallace and Valdez are prisoners. We don't know where they are prisoners or why they are prisoners. We just know that every day for 11 years, they have been subjected to grueling torture by a masked guard who struggles mightily with the misery he perpetrates. In Wright's quick play, we see the men dealing with their situation, trying to hang on to hope, and forming a strong bond, despite never having seen one another. They play word games that transport them to sunny beaches, they concoct baseless scenarios for freedom. But in many ways, they have become accustomed to their situation, even their torturer. Director Marc Masterson and Richard Bekins as Wallace and Gregor Paslawsky as Valdez make the most of their small cells drawing us into their fantasies and predicaments. The highlight of the production though is Richard Furlong as the conflicted guard who finds he cannot stand looking into the eyes of his victims. His visceral anguish is actually what draws us into the pain of his victims, more than the recollections of Wallace and Valdez, who are actively trying to modify their torment. To the end, we don't know the circumstances, but we get a lot of insight into how hope survives.

The Humana Festival of New American Plays continues through this weekend at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Click here for show and ticket information.

Humana review: 'When Something Wonderful Ends'

When Something Wonderful Ends, by Sherry Kramer - Theater is an amazing forum for ideas, statements and thought provocation. But there is a difference between a play and an essay or an op-ed piece. It's a lack of feeling for that difference that dooms When Something Wonderful Ends, Kramer's "one woman, one Barbie" play. The setting is Sherry's childhood home in Springfield, Mo. Her mother died five years ago and her father is going to an assisted living community, so he she is packing up her childhood toys, namely, her Barbie dolls and accompanying Dream Houses, Dream Cars and whatnot. It all serves as a metaphor for loss of innocence, be it about religion, international affairs or politics. The through line of the play is that at the precise time 10-year-old Sherry was buying a choice Barbie dress in 1964, the United States was signing a treaty with Iran that put U.S. soldiers in the country out of the reach of Iranian law, setting up a chain of events that led to the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979, the Gulf War and the current conflict in Iraq. There's also the idea that our dependence on cheap oil makes us all complicit in current Middle East crises. These are all ideas worth thinking about and exploring. But Sherry frequently slides into stern lectures, complete with slides, that are a complete departure from wrapping up the playroom, which she does over the course of the show. And the extent of these thoughts feel quite out of place at a time when she is putting away her home and going through the emotions of remembering her mother and her childhood. The play is not devoid of entertainment. There are many amusing stories and Lori Wilner, who plays Sherry, is an engaging hostess. But too often, it feels like we were sold a play that turned out to be a lecture.

The Humana Festival of New American Plays continues through this weekend at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Click here for show and ticket information.

Humana review: 'The As If Body Loop'

The As If Body Loop, by Ken Weitzman - Between the funky concept of a Hebrew legend about 36 people who must carry the pain of the world and Weitzman's second-career perspective, As If came with a lot of promise. Weitzman's plays have been widely produced by companies such as Steppenwolf and the Mark Taper Forum, but in his previous career, he produced sports documentaries. Indeed, that automatically makes you wonder if the central character in As If, Aaron, is a bit autobiographical. Aaron makes films for the National Football League, and football has a prominent place in the play. Aaron is constantly seized by searing stomach pains, his sister's body temperature is dropping perilously low, and his brother and mother - both self-taught "healers" -- are convinced the fate of mankind is at stake in their pain. The play resolves in revelations and observations about unspeakable pain and trauma, but it's a bit too caught up in its mythology and cuteness to engage genuine emotions. It also has several plot holes that need to be closed up. Director Susan V. Booth bears some blame for this play coming up short. She has an accomplished group of actors at her command, but the performances are uniformly cartoonish, making the play hard to take seriously. To Weitzman's credit, As If is a show I'd love to see again, but guided by a director more attentive to the seriousness that lies beneath the silliness.

The Humana Festival of New American Plays continues through this weekend at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Click here for show and ticket information.

First look at 'Hairspray'

Hairspray fans know that the John Waters production will become the latest show to make the full circle of screen-to-stage-back-to-screen when the Scott Wittman-Marc Shaiman musical comes to theaters July 20. We got the photo disc in the mail the other day, so I thought I'd share some images, particularly of Brittany Snow as Amber Von Tussle (right), the role Laura Bell Bundy originated on Broadway.

We sent Laura's mom a copy of the photo, and she was delighted and shared some Laura-Brittany history. Apparently when Laura and Brittany were both on the Guiding Light, Laura tutored Brittany in math.

"I love Brittany Snow," Lorna wrote. "I think it's  fantastic she's doing the part."

There's a bunch of interesting casting in this flick, particularly John Travolta as Edna Turnblad and Christopher Walken as his/her husband Wilbur Turnblad. Michelle Pfeiffer is stage-mom-from-hell Velma Von Tussle and, for the musical moments I'm most anxious to see, Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle.

But having consumed a lot of Disney Channel and Nickelodeon over the past decade, it'll also be intriguing to see the hilarious Amanda Bynes in the scene-stealing role of Penny Pingleton and High School Musical  star Zac Efron as sympathetic stud Link Larkin. Zac could be in danger of some type casting here. The photo, above, is of Elijah Kelley as Seaweed J. Stubbs, Efron, Bynes and newcomer Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad.

For more images, go to the imdb Hairspray photo gallery. Travolta looks amazing as Edna.

~ Speaking of Laura Bell, Legally Blonde opens in previews on Tuesday. Earlier this week, Variety had an interesting article on why in the grand scheme of movies-turned-into-musicals, Blonde will be a Hairspray (which is still running on Broadway) and not a High Fidelity (which closed after 14 performances and 18 previews in December).

~ Speaking of Kentucky talent on Broadway, Ashland's Steve Kazee is just about to open Roundabout Theatre's production of 110 in the Shade. He plays Starbuck opposite Audra McDonald's Lizzie in the revival of Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones' adaptation of N. Richard Nash's play The Rainmaker. Kazee (photo, right) got his bachelors degree from Morehead State University, and his other Broadway credits include Sir Lancelot in Spamalot. The show begins previews April 13 and opens May 9. Broadway.com has an amusing video with Kazee hosting a backstage tour of Spamalot.

A little TV

I am not much of a TV watcher, and frankly, a lot of the TV I do end up tuning in is PBS. American Masters rarely fails to be fascinating -- took in the Annie Leibovitz show twice, a few months ago. Frontline is broadcast journalism as it should be, and American Experience may be one of the best history teachers out there. Austin City Limits is a Saturday night staple, and more often than not, Great Performances is worth a look. I could go on -- love History Detectives, I'm developing a taste for Antiques Roadshow and here in the Bluegrass State, KET develops a lot of terrific programming.

We're tossing bouquets here, because the next thing I am going to say is Eric Williams' recent blog item on the Huffington Post did strike a chord with me. All I had to read was the title, If It's Orbison, It Must Be Pledge Month, to know exactly what he was talking about. We just finished that time of year where PBS stations toss out most of their normal programming in favor of shows we do not see the rest of the year to persuade us to open our wallets. Now, even here, I have to say I liked quite a bit of what KET showed during the early March drive: the Alison Krauss and Union Station concert filmed at Louisville's Palace Theatre was sublime, the Great Performances' James Taylor tribute was better than I thought it would be and the Antiques Roadshow "greatest hits" was a lot of fun (favorite item: Someone had a pre-production screenplay of Gone with the Wind that was so early in the process it listed George Cukor as the director). I even like the Roy Orbison Black & White Night perennial. But there were numerous shows that were so beneath PBS. For instance, they've started trotting out these Jurassic rock and pop shows like The British Beat. Being a British Invasion fan, I was interested, until I started watching, and saw that it was basically reunited or semi-reunited 60s rock bands trotting out their old tunes. We got that a year or two back with a disco show. This is quality programming? I would dis Celtic Woman, but my wife would probably dis-agree. And the video clips of Elvis mixed with his band in a recent performance was just kind of bizarre. What was worse was  every one of these seemed to play over and over again, like they were on a DVD changer. In fact, a lot of these shows were repeats from previous pledge drives.

Williams makes the good point that this is not how NPR operates (though he does indulge in a snotty attack on Car Talk). When you're in public radio's  pledge drive, you hear a lot of interruptions, but those are in the midst of your regularly scheduled programming. I don't go into Terry Gross withdrawal  during pledge week. In fact, if you love a certain program, you are encouraged to call in and pledge during that show to show your support for it. Hmmm. Should I call in during Solo Shots or Wait Wait . . . Don't Tell Me?

But if I want to show my love for Austin City Limits, no chance. It was pre-empted all pledge drive. No Frontline. No American Masters. PBS has probably figured out the most effective ways to raise money, but sometimes, during pledge weeks, it just doesn't feel like you're watching PBS. At least, not the one that I usually tune in.

Two more Grease notes: Thinking about Grease: You're the One That I Want, and what I did not like about it, got me to thinking about the reality show I do thoroughly enjoy: Project Runway. That's the one that has aspiring fashion designers competing for the favor of a panel of judges. One of the big things I like about it is that it really feels like it is about fashion. Grease almost never felt to me like it was about Broadway. Maybe expert critiques of scene work and a deeper look into the journey of aspiring actors would be Nielsen ratings poison for a network show. But, if Broadway producers want to do this sort of thing again, maybe they could modify their expectations, take the show to Bravo and -- I know this may be heracy in this interactive world -- dispense with the viewer voting. I'm much more interested in seeing how Broadway producers weigh casting decisions than finding out who has the biggest fan base.

This will probably be the last word on Grease, and of course, our whole impetus for following the show was University of Kentucky graduate Derek Keeling. I kept meaning to post a photo from our archives of Derek in the UK Theatre's 2002 production of Howard Crabtree's When Pigs Fly, so here it is. (The copyrighted photo is by  David Perry.) It's a bit different from the Danny Zuko look, eh?

Could an amphitheater be in the Arboretum's future?

After the press conference announcing SummerFest 2007 and the Kentucky Classical Theatre Conservatory, I was talking to fest director Michael Grice about how to deal with that old Lexington Shakespeare Festival bugaboo, rainouts. He gave the sensible, directorly answer of budgeting for 10 shows, assuming you may lose up to five to inclement weather.

Then, Everett McCorvey cracked, "I thought you'd say, 'Build an amphitheater.'"

Ah, a permanent amphitheater for the summer theater soiree. For years, it's been a pipe dream for the festival that has to transform an empty field into a performance venue every summer. (Janet Worne's copyrighted photo, right, is of set designer Richard Foley, right, and carpenter Kevin McVey watching electricians set up lights  for last year's Shakespeare Festival.) When Actors Guild of Lexington announced Shakespeare at Equus Run earlier this year, one of the big things they crowed about was that the Midway vineyard already had a stage. Maybe it was the general good mood and the early spring warmth, but everyone with real power to decide what will and will not happen in the Arboretum said the idea of a permanent amphitheater had merit.

Vice-mayor Jim Gray said that a "forward vision" for the city, "can include ideas and concepts like this." He said projects such as an amphitheater need significant private as well as public funding, and that the city has to be careful in committing to new building projects.

University of Kentucky president Lee Todd said he knew how hard festival crews have worked to put up the stage previous summers and that the idea of an amphitheater somewhere has been discussed in downtown development meetings.

Marcia Farris, director of the Arboretum, said an amphitheater has been on the facility's master plan for years, "and I don't see it coming off." The Arboretum's idea would be something that would fit in with the landscape, like a stone-based stage and terraced seating. At the moment though, the Kentucky Children's Garden is the Arboretum's focus, "but if the right person came along, who was willing and able to fund it . . . "

03.26: talkin' Tuesday

Today's  marquee release is a greatest hits album that actually feels overdue. Maybe that's part of the reason Third Day is dropping its Chronology in two volumes, one today and the second in August. Many  greatest hits CDs are released before the performer has really established a significant career -- often it's the parting album from an artist who's been dropped by their label, but the record company wants to cash in one last time.

But Third Day's first hits package, Chronology, Volume One (1996-2000), is absolutely bulging with good stuff. First, the CD sports new versions of two 3D classics, Thief and My Hope is You, as well as re-mixed versions of several early favorites. But the material stretches back before '96 on the companion DVD. There is the requisite collection of music videos and footage of all of Third Day's Dove Awards performances. But the really fun part is the bootleg videos that go back to  Mac Powell and Mark Lee's 1992 performances as a duo.  Honestly, if you are a fledgling Christian band, there are some moments in these early home videos that might make you feel good. There's also the fun of watching the evolution of hairstyles, particularly the reminders of Mac's old, short, bleached blonde look (as seen in the early publicity photo to the right). Topping off the package is a case and booklet loaded with photos through the years and authoritative, enlightening liner notes by former CCM Magazine managing editor Gregory Rumburg. The packaging is so good, you sort of wish it was vinyl, so it would be bigger.

Quiet honestly, I cannot remember a better hits package in Christian pop, and since Volume Two (2001-2006) doesn't come out until August, we've only seen half of it.

~ Central Kentuckians, in particular, will want to check out and weigh in on the competitors in the 2007 Ascenxion Scout Competition. There are a bunch of prizes for the winners, but the one that will interest the masses the most are slots to perform on the main stage at the Ichthus Festival in June. You can read about the bands and see who's leading the competition at the Ascenxion website, and a lot of the contenders are from the Bluegrass State. They include:

* RVN Band from Frankfort

* Eyesuponus from Versailles

* Isa from Louisville

* Station 313 from Lexington

* Last Day from Florence

Other hopefuls hail from Michigan (it wouldn't be Ichthus without Michigan), Ohio (or Ohio), Georgia, Oklahoma and Illinois. Check it out. It's an interesting way to spend some time and hear some new music. And props to Eyesuponus frontman Christopher Cool for reminding us of this competition.

~ I popped open the envelope from indelible creative group and contemplated the object I was holding: Was it a lighter? Lip gloss? Upon further inspection, I realized it was a USB drive with Jeff Deyo's name on it. In that little stick was the complete press kit for Deyo's new album, Unveil. Press kits used to be traditional paper documents. Then, in the advent of CD's and video, we started getting EPK's (electronic press kits). Many movie studios, for instance, now ship out their press kits with photos, production notes and even a trailer,  all on a CD. They save a lot of trees in the process. Now, Deyo's folks have downsized even more, with the whole album, photos and press notes on this little blue stick. (Photo by Caroline Nell Copley, taken with her new camera phone, on the condition that I tell you that.) Gotta give Jeff and his folks pops. It's a cool little kit, and the album sounds good. I just hope it doesn't get lost in my top desk drawer.

'Grease' finale: Max and Laura came a long way

It can be sort of interesting to watch the finale of a reality-competition show where the winners' names are already in the envelope to see how the producers manage to kill an hour or two, when everyone's just waiting to hear less than a dozen words. Filling that hour on the Grease: You're the One that I Want finale served to remind us exactly how far Max Crumm and Laura Osnes came to win the roles of Danny and Sandy in the Broadway revival of Grease.

Max was almost left out of the running, producer David Ian, in particular, believing that as talented as he was, he could not pull off the leader of the pack role that Danny Zuko is. And while Laura was a bit more plausible as Sandy, her early performances were not knock outs, and the show's judges openly questioned how the sweet Minnesotan would fare among the tough New York stage vets in the supporting cast of Grease.

If we can walk away feeling good about something on this show, it would be that the winners -- at least in terms of what we were shown -- were not people who clawed their ways to the top. They were good, talented people who worked their butts off to make their dreams come true. Max, in particular, grew so much in this show that though I do not like Grease, I would pay to see what another three or four months under Kathleen Marshall's direction would do for him. (Mitch Haaseth's copyrighted photo , right, of Max back at the beginning of the show really doesn't look like Max now. Haaseth also show the photo of Laura, left.) The guy is a triple threat chameleon, and it would not be surprising to see him back in the national spotlight again. (One quibble with David Ian: He called Max a Ben Stiller, and I think of him as more of a John Cusack, but maybe that's because I'm a big Cusack fan.)

Now, with the You're the One that I Want ratings, which were not spectacular, you have to wonder if a Broadway show will get this kind of spotlight again. If it does, you have to hope that maybe it will be with a bit more dignity than this show. It took one of Broadway's best-loved book musicals and turned the audition for the top roles into a Top 40 karaoke jukebox. It showed us very little about the show, the triple threat that it takes to be on one of America's biggest stages, and much of the time, it didn't seem very much like Broadway or theater. Probably none of this will improve the ratings for another Broadway casting show, but do something a lot closer to Broadway and a lot farther from American Idol.

Jim Jacobs really did sum up what the whole exercise was about when he said that Max and Laura made him want to dial up Ticketmaster. What we've been watching is a three-month commercial for Grease, and the producers hope it pays off.

Humana review: Batch

Batch: An American Bachelor/ette Party Spectacle is probably unlike any prenuptial throw down you've ever attended. But, depending on your experience, it may be how you remember it.

Personal disclosure here: I have never been to a bachelor party. My friends seemed to favor things like rounds of golf with the guys before taking their vows. I have heard the legends though, and this Humana Festival production by Whit MacLaughlin's New Paradise Laboratories and playwright Alice Tuan seems bent on pushing the legends as far as they can stretch. (The copyrighted photo, right, by Angela Shoemaker is of Matt Saunders, Lee Ann Etzold, and McKenna  Kerrigan in a rehearsal of Batch.)

The show is Actors Theatre of Louisville's latest collaboration with an outside theater for a Humana show. It is also its latest venture into avant garde theatre and its latest off-site production. The venue is The Connection, a Louisville nightclub where drag queens have been using Batch's tall, square stage with a trapdoor when the New Paradise cast isn't on it.

New Paradise employs a lot of multimedia, primarily video screens that surround the stage and video cameras that are seemingly everywhere. Sometimes we see a different perspective on what's occurring on the stage and sometimes we're seeing pre-taped sequences, such as the revelry in a hotel room. Video Designer Jorge Cousineaeu comes up with a lot of things during the show, and it seems safe to say Humana has not seen live video design like this before.

It all goes toward creating an experience more than telling a story. We have Betsy and Taggis, our happy couple, who gaze at each other longly before the show -- her (McKenna Kerrigan) coquettishly on stage while he (Aaron Mumaw) circles her in a video projection. Immediately, they are whisked off to their respective soirees, which begin stereotypically -- the women debating between going to a spa or getting a stripper, the men having no questions about the stripper aspect of their drunken revelry. Then, it starts getting increasingly bizarre as Taggis, Betsy, and their friends to an extent, go through episodes of questioning, searching and discovery until they are hand-in-hand, wandering uncertainly into a confusing new world.

Along the way, there are indelible images such as Betsy's empty embrace, the boxing ring portrayal of the bachelor party and the satyrs in boxing gear. And, like most good abstract art, it is thought provoking, usually turning your questions of "what was that?" into larger, more universal considerations. It is not entirely successful, frequently becoming so bogged down in sophomoric sexuality it was hard to take the show seriously. But unlike some clunkers of avant garde creation at Humana, this had resonance, and like it's title celebration, you probably won't forget Batch, even if you try.

Click here for tickets to the show, which runs through April 1.

Thoughts on Zack & Tubby

For a brief time here, we'll have the highest profile arts and athletic jobs in Lexington open. Funny thing is, in the time it takes the Lexington Philharmonic to find and install George Zack's replacement as music director, the new UK basketball coach will have had a couple of seasons in the job (and enough time to run afoul of Wildcat fans' boundless expectations).

Anyway, in addition to five full pages of Tubby Smith coverage and a Joel Pett cartoon about his departure in today's paper, we had the second in our series of video interviews with Maestro Zack. This time we talked to him about the orchestra and what it's been like to work with the ensemble the past 35 years. (The copyrighted photo, right, is by Mark Cornelison.)

Of course, a new video interview means its Masterclassics night, this time with alto saxophonist Lisa Osland playing Debussy. The last Masterclassics concert was an interesting experience. I bought tickets right down front -- second row -- just to get a different vantage point. It isn't one I will probably get again, just because I like watching the physical shifts in the orchestra through a piece. While it was thrilling to be so close to violinist Judith Ingolfsson as she embraced Sibelius' Violin Concerto, for most of the evening, I was looking at the front row of violins, cellos and double bass players -- yes, Joe, I spotted you.

But I also had a front row seat for a most precious moment: A few seats down from me, a family settled in for the concert. They had some elementary aged kids with them who I guessed were not Philharmonic regulars, though they were extremely well behaved. (The primary annoyance that concert was the incessant candy unwrapping, particularly during quiet passages.) Anyway, at the end of the Sibelius Symphony No. 2, one of the little girls in that family popped up to deliver a bouncing little standing O with the widest grin on her face. I think she could have been the only one clapping in the hall, and the orchestra and maestro Zack would have been delighted with the spontaneous expression of joy their performance inspired.

~ Back to Tubby for a minute: I know I am the only person who has been at the hometown papers of the last two jobs Tubby left. The mood was much different in Athens in 1997, when Rick Pitino announced he was leaving for the Celtics, and speculation was wide that Tubby would be offered the Kentucky job. As anyone who follows the SEC knows, the University of Georgia is a football school, but in just a couple of years, Tubby had become a celebrated member of the community, taking Georgia basketball from afterthought to contender. Georgia fans hated to see him go, but sensed it was somehow inevitible someone would snap him up. (Janet Worne's copyrighted photo, above, is from the 1997 UK-Georgia game in Athens.) I also have this distinct memory from the Banner-Herald of running a column by this Merlene Davis woman at the Lexington Herald-Leader that apparently made a lot of people up here mad.

Anyway, I tell people around here that being a New York Yankees fan is the only thing that helps me understand Kentucky basketball fans. But I was always pretty impressed with Tubby, and proud to say he was Kentucky's coach, so it is sad to see him go. But I'm happy for him too, because I sense he'll be appreciated in Minnesota the way he was in Georgia.

'Blonde' notebook

Jerry Mitchell (in the black cap) works with Laura Bell Bundy (far left) and her Greek chorus of sorority sisters during a rehearsal for Legally Blonde in December. Photo by Aaron Lee Fineman, copyright Lexington Herald-Leader.

 
After a successful out-of-town run in San Francisco, Legally Blonde is back in New York City, ready to start previews April 3. Broadway.com has been running a video chronicle of the production, which stars Lexington native Laura Bell Bundy, and the latest one is a real winner. Director Jerry Mitchell recounts the San Francisco run, including some great stories about Laura, and we get a taste of the cast's energy as they get started tweaking the production for Broadway. Mitchell definitely gives the impression that work is not done, saying that when people congratulate him on the successful preview, he says, "congratulate me April 30," the day after opening night.

~ A few years ago, Laura and her lifelong pal Amber Rhodes were working on a country act together. Amber is on her own now, with a new album out, Goodbye Yesterday. Friday night, you can see her live in Lexington. She'll be playing the Austin City Saloon at 10 p.m. The cover charge is $10. (Mark Cornelison's copyrighted photo, right, is of Amber and Laura at their 2004 appearance at The Dame.) You can also read more about her in Walter Tunis' column in today's paper.

Wither the VCR?

So, this morning, I had a screener tape of The Lives of Others to watch for a review in Friday's Weekender section of the Herald-Leader. I settled in at my desk with a cup of coffee and popped the tape in the VCR on my desk.

And the VCR popped it out.

I checked the tape, turned off the TV (it's a TV/VCR combo), turned it back on, and put the tape back in. And it popped out again. This happened a few more times, and then I turned to my cubicle buddy's TV. I put the tape in, and it started to roll. No problem. About half way through, I wanted to get a cup of coffee, and thought I'd see if the tape in progress would now play on my machine. So, I hit eject on Jamie's VCR. Nothing. I pressed the button really hard, with my thumb. Nothing. I used a pen to press the button. Nyet. I got out a hammer . . . well, not really. But I felt like it. When Jamie arrived, she said her VCR hadn't done this before, but then again, she hadn't used it in a while. Most of the screeners and electronic press kits we get these days are on DVD.

But our misadventures prompted both of us to ask whether we should ask Uncle Herald to buy us new machines, get ours fixed, or just let them go. We both seem to be leaning toward letting them go. The same thing is happening at the Copley household. We own three VCRs, but only one still functions as both a recorder and player and one barely functions. DVR is seeming like an increasingly good idea for time shifting, but replacing a VCR never comes up in family finance discussions.

Alas, videotape, which seemed so exotic when I was in grade school, is now truly going the way of the eight track and cassette tape. (I do not include vinyl records, because there is a romance about LPs that has helped them defy extinction. Check out Reign Over Me this weekend for further evidence of that.) Meanwhile, the tapes will clutter our shelves and drawers and the machines will become fancy paperweights. But, on Jamie's, you may always be able to watch The Lives of Others.

03.20: talkin' Tuesday

Relient K is the latest faith-based band to post a Top 10 debut. Five Score and Seven Years Ago, which came out March 6, checked in at No. 6 on Billboard Magazine's Top 200 albums chart, and at No. 3 on iTunes top albums list for the week ending March 12. The band is set to play the Ichthus Festival this summer, but between now and then, you can catch it on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno April 12. We night owls caught the band earlier this month on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and it is well worth staying up late (or TiVo-ing) to catch the guys playing their new stuff.

~ Tickets are now on sale for the Superchick show at Central Baptist Church in Winchester at itickets and on the phone at 1-800-965-9324. Also on the lineup for the May 11 show are DecembeRadio, Krystal Meyers, Nevertheless and Group 1 Crew.

~ PBS and NPR aren't the only folks who give you premiums for your charitable donations. World Vision is currently offering the Wow Hymns CD to anyone who donates $20 or more to African famine relief. The Wow Hymns CD includes huge names in Christian pop such as Chris Tomlin, Todd Agnew, BarlowGirl, Brian Littrell and Steven Curtis Chapman interpreting timeless hymns. The need  in Africa is unfathomable. If this little trade-off piques your interest, click here for more information and to donate.

~ Barry Blair, one of the founding members of Audio Adrenaline, has launched a new label, Tonecrash Records. In addition to forming AA at Kentucky Christian College in Grayson, Blair also helped launch KCC-born band Bleach and has worked with other Bluegrass State acts such as Lawrenceburg's Poor Man's Riches. The marketing manager for Tonecrash also has deep Kentucky roots. According to CCM.com, Randy Maricle spend 12 years as the general manager and music buyer of Wellspring Christian Book Center in Louisville before moving to Tennessee last year to launch his own management group.

The label's first signee is Two Empty Chairs of Smackover, Ark. (Photo, above, by Bryan Alexis.) Their debut, Brighter Day, drops April 3.

~ We have a bravo for the March issue of CCM Magazine: A few weeks ago, we noted the lack of diversity in the nominees for the top tier prizes at the Dove Awards. In this month's magazine, CCM scribe Andree Farias looks specifically at the struggles of Christian hip hop to make noise in the contemporary Christian music market. A few years ago, with a hit hip hop-flavored debut by Tobymac and acclaimed artists such as Verbs and Grits on deck, it looked like hip hop was set to dominate the genre the way it ruled mainstream pop. But instead, things have almost gone in reverse. In the article, Farias gets numerous artists and executives to deliver fairly honest assessments as to why.

Grease: Derek is out

It wasn't a good afternoon for Wildcats. Less than an hour after the University of Kentucky basketball team was eliminated from the NCAA Basketball Tournament, UK graduate Derek Keeling was eliminated from the finals of Grease: You're the One That I Want.

In the video bit right before the eliminations, Derek said he was confident he would be in the top two, and there was a sinking, "famous last words," sensation about that comment.

Throughout the competition, Derek and Max Crumm were the only two men who never ended up among the bottom two vote getters, and therefore, they had never been in danger of being eliminated. But once the judges left the decision completely up to the voters, Derek, at one point seen as the man to beat, ended up being the odd man out. Who knows how it happened. Maybe his weaknesses that were showing caught up to him. Maybe a suddenly realigned voting pool just didn't go for him. Maybe Austin Miller's brush with the bottom last week motivated his fan base. With a modest audience, you have to think the voting in this competition would be susceptible to sudden shifts in voting. Such is the hazard of having your fate left up to the whims of a reality show audience. There had to be a little irony for Derek singing, "I sit and wonder why, oh why?" at the end of the show.

But you know, in most auditions, if you came in third, you'd walk off the stage having been seen by just a few people, with no idea when you'd have another shot. But Derek, as well as the other competitors, have had weeks of performing before millions of viewers. You have to think that for someone as talented as Derek, being on the Grease reality show will open a few doors for him. Having a Tony Award-winning director tell you, "We will work together, many times, in many shows," which Kathleen Marshall said as Derek left, had to be a nice consolation prize.

So, now it's down to two unconventional choices: pretty Austin and "slacker" Max -- Derek was considered the one who most, "looked like Danny." This blog has been part of the chorus saying Max is clearly the most talented of two. When Chicago director Rob Marshall was talking about singing the songs in character, Max was the one who didn't have to be told. It's really no surprise that the judges unanimously picked Max and Laura Osnes (copyrighted photos, left and right, by Chris Haston for NBC)as their Danny and Sandy at the end of the show. I had my head down working on this post when Laura and Ashley Spencer were singing their first competition number, and my head popped up when Laura started singing. Her voice is an attention grabber, and like Max, she has the acting chops.

So, at least on TV, there seemed to be a consensus that they were the ones the judges wanted. Next week, we see what America thinks (or, at least the smidgen of America that is still watching this show), and as we've seen, that can be a little unpredictable.

UPDATE: An interesting little poll on NBC's Grease website asks what combination of Sandy and Danny viewers like most. As of 10:15 Monday night, the Max and Laura combo had 49 percent, or nearly as many votes as the other three combinations combined. Laura is the big winner, because her with either guy amounted to 72 percent of the vote. Of course, we don't know who those voters are, and if they actually voted Sunday night.

R.E.M.

Athens, Ga. was the shortest stop in my career, just June 1996 to February 1998. And since I was an editor at the time, it was my least productive period as a reporter.

But in terms of cool beats, this was the best: Covering R.E.M.

Kids, if you've contemplated journalism as a career, here's a good reason to sharpen your writing chops. If everything goes well, you might end up being able to cover one of the bands you grew up listening to. Like many high school and college students in the 1980s, I got turned on to R.E.M.'s Southern-fried brand of indie rock when they were on I.R.S.  Records and turning out hypnotic, though barely intelligible tunes on discs such as Reckoning (still my favorite R.E.M. album on the right day) and Fables of the Reconstruction  (still my favorite R.E.M. album on the right day). They could flat out rock (Begin the Begin), create aching beauty (Perfect Circle and So. Central Rain) and just kind of freak you out (Feeling Gravity's Pull). And it all emanated from this mysterious land of Athens, Ga., which seemed very foreign and bizarre to a kid from Virginia Beach, especially when I was told that the kudzu on the cover of Murmur actually grew down there.

That's when I hopped on, and stayed, probably at one point sneering about people who didn't start listening to R.E.M. until The One I Love hit the airwaves. Now, I tend to get annoyed with people who say they stopped listening in 1986 because R.E.M. went "commercial." (I've pretty much stopped understanding why people stop liking something because other people like it.)

Anyway, from there, I found my way to Athens, Ga., in the capacity of entertainment editor for the Athens Banner-Herald. This did not mean instant access to dinner at Michael Stipe's place (actually, that never happened). But being in Athens did mean that maybe one day you'd be standing reading the new issue of Mojo at Barnett's News Stand and you'd look over and see Michael -- and you'd be a bit too stunned to note what he was reading. To be in Athens, you kind of got to understand that unique culture that the band was born in and to this day feels comfortable living and working in. When R.E.M. would have Warner Bros. executives in town, they'd sometimes go to Weaver D's Delicious Foods, the diner that gave Automatic for the People its name. The offices of R.E.M.-Athens Ltd. (I never liked calling it LLC, though that's what it is now) were a ensemble of rooms that seemed like an old law office if a rock band ran it, albeit, a quirky rock band with a tremendous social conscience.

Easily the biggest interview I had there was with the whole band in 1997 when Bill Berry said, "I'm just kind of ready not to be a pop star anymore," explaining his decision to leave R.E.M. It was probably lost on me that day how interesting it was to go from being a fan awaiting each new album and going to concerts to being a journalist covering one of the biggest stories of R.E.M.'s career.

It is a gig I no longer have. My dear friend Julie was in New York last week to cover R.E.M.'s induction in to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame for the Banner. I was watching the ceremony on VH1 thinking how lucky she, another kid from Virginia Beach, was to be up there hearing all four guys uncork some old favorites such as Gardening at Night, and Eddie Vedder's induction speech that spoke for so many of us. And I was thinking how lucky I was to have had those guys as my beat for a few months.

Humana review: dark play

Since the late 1990s, the Humana Festival of New American Plays has been dipping its toes into the Internet, exploring the new and sometimes frightening worlds created in cyberspace. But it has never done this as successfully as Carlos Murillo's dark play or stories for boys.

Murillo's play is dark, no doubt, but the first phrase in the title actually refers to a dangerous type of game in which not all of the pawns know they are playing. It is a type of game that can easily take place in cyberspace where identities are easily concealed.

Nick is a lonely teenager who likes to cruise through Internet chat rooms messing with people, convincing them he is one person and then pulling off the mask at a crucial moment -- let your imagination run wild. One day, Nick spots Adam, a lonely heart who naively states on his myspace page, "I want to fall in love." Nick can't resist convincing Adam that he is the girl of Adam's dreams. But Nick finds he cannot stop playing the game, even when it becomes much more tangible.

Murillo's masterstroke is dramatizing the intrigue and bizarreness of much Internet chatter. Indeed, a lot of the dialogue is actual digital conversation  come to life, illuminating how people get drawn into these games, and then it seamlessly tumbles into the real world. Matthew Stadelmann as Nick, Will Rogers as Adam, and Liz Morton as the fictional dream girl all have a keen sense how to animate this, and director Michael John Garces moves the action around the Bingham Theatre floor like an ever-tangling web.

Lou Sumrall is an invaluable supporting player, bringing many Netizens such as perverts and conspiracy theorists to life in often entertaining fashion.

But the real key to this play is Murillo, who seems to be writing from something he knows. The dialogue and the characters feel authentic, and even though the answer to the "question" Nick is asked throughout the play is quickly obvious, you want to find out how he gets there.

With a relatively small cast and minimal set requirements, it seems likely dark play will start popping up around the country, and properly marketed, it could be a prime piece for attracting younger audiences to live theater.

(Both copyrighted photos above are by Harlan Taylor for Actors Theatre of Louisville. In the top photo, Liz Morton as the fictional dream girl seduces Will Rogers as Adam. In the bottom image, Matthew Stadelmann as Nick and Adam down vodka shots at their first face-to-face meeting.)

Theatre chat tonight

Charles Edward Pogue will be centerstage tonight at Actors Guild of Lexington talking about his adaptation of Tartuffe, which is now playing at the the theater. Pogue is a stage and screenwriter whose credits include The Fly (1986), D.O.A. (1988) and Dragonheart (1996). Pogue (copyrighted photo, right, by David Stephenson), a University of Kentucky graduate, recently moved back to the Commonwealth and has begun acting again, last year in AGL's The Underpants and now as Orgon in Tartuffe. The talk and Q&A is part of AGL's new Coversations with . . .   series. It is free and runs 7 to 9 p.m.  at the Downtown Arts Center, 141 East Main Street.

Make sure you read . . .

. . . Jamie Gumbrecht's lovely article about University of Kentucky art professor Ross Zirkle, who passed away Monday after a nine-month battle with cancer.

Mountaintop removal film, tonight

Mountaintop removal can seem like a distant, incomprehensible issue to those of us who don't live in Appalachia. But to those directly affected by the practice, passions run high.

    Mountaintop Removal, a documentary by North Carolina filmmaker Michael C. O'Connell, illuminates the topic in compelling fashion by telling the stories of people directly affected by the mining method. (The image, right, is from the film.)

   The film gives voice to both sides of the issue, although it comes down firmly on the anti-mountaintop removal side. That's illustrated by one segment in which a representative of the West Virginia Coal Producers Association, Bill Raney, insists there's nothing wrong with coal slurries, one of the after-effects of mountaintop removal. He is immediately followed by Ben Stout of Wheeling Jesuit University, who enumerates the toxins, including arsenic, in slurries that seep into wells.

   You have to wonder whether Raney knew that every one of his statements would be contradicted with overwhelming evidence when he granted the interview. The scads of people speaking in opposition to mountaintop removal and the coal companies include West Virginia residents affected by the practice and scientists and journalists who have taken up the cause.

   Does the coal industry come across badly because of the filmmakers' agenda, or is their position that indefensible? Viewers will have to decide.

   But if the issue seemed a bit amorphous before seeing the film, it is much more concrete after. And it's worth a look at the Central Library Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday (March 14). The screening is free.

03.13: talkin' Tuesday

You didn't really think you'd get through one of these Tuesday Christian pop updates without some Brian Littrell news, did you? OK, three things:

1. While Littrell was touring in Japan, there was a little reunion of the Kentucky wing of the Backstreet Boys. Estill County's Kevin Richardson hopped on stage for a rendition of I Want it That Way with Lexington's own Littrell (copyrighted photo, right, courtesy of Provident Label Group). Richardson was in Tokyo with a production of Chicago, in which he is playing sleazy lawyer Billy Flynn.

2. The Glory Revealed tour date originally set for Lexington, April 11, is now Fairfield Christian Church in Lancaster, Ohio, near Columbus. Click here for more information.

3. A man who will henceforward be known as "Our Alert Reader in California" spotted two other Littrell dates of local interest, though probably a bit early for big publicity: Littrell headlines the July 21 Celebration concert at Kentucky Kingdom, which also includes Todd Agnew and Building 429. And Littrell will bring his solo act home to Immanuel Baptist Church Nov. 29. Many thanks to OARiC.

~ So, we spent the last week telling you about this Casting Crowns-John Waller connection. That bond is further strengthened with the announcement that Crowns, Waller and Leeland are hitting the road together this fall. The initial tour announcement has the show stopping in  obvious markets such as Atlanta, Houston and Los Angeles. We have two words to suggest for their itinerary: Rupp Arena. Whenever the dates are announced, we'll have all the stops close to Lexington. (I'm not even going to begin to identify everyone in the photo above. Just trust us, it's Casting Crowns and Leeland in copyrighted photo from Provident Label Group.)

~ Fans of old-school contemporary Christian music may want to head down to Campbellsville University to see Michael Card, the author of hits such as El Shaddai and Emmanuel. Also appearing will be emerging worship leader John Mark McMillan. They are coming to Campbellsville as part of a worship conference March 29-30. Click here for more information. Card is also playing Louisville April 1, so click here for all your Michael Card Kentucky concert info.

~ We had a nice talk a few weeks ago with Paul Colman of Newsboys. You can click here to hear the conversation and here for info on the band's Louisville concert Thursday.

~ After all the big releases last week, Relient K et al, this week is fairly quiet. In fact, for my money, the most interesting new discs are reissues of Bob Dylan's Christian albums from the 70s: Slow Train Coming, Saved and Shot of Love. Now, I've Gotta go get a fix of Serve Somebody.

Grease: Derek is back on track

After two weeks where Derek Keeling seemed to lose his Danny Zuko mojo, the University of Kentucky graduate got back on track tonight with a charming and confident performance of Elvis Presley's Devil in Disguise. And, despite another crack last week, Derek (copyrighted photo, right, by Chris Haston for NBC) still avoided the dreaded sing off. That cannot be said of Austin Miller, who has long looked like his chief rival for the role of Grease's leading man, when the show opens this summer on Broadway.

It was an up and down night for Austin, who's machismo has recently been questioned in the quest to play Danny. He started the evening falling into the bottom two and the sing off, and being told that he was the low vote getter last week. But he won the sing off, becoming the last performer saved by the judges, and several of the judges said they would choose him as their Danny, based on the evening's performances.

That was actually kind of curious, because Max Crumm was the one everyone gushed over, again. He has definitely gone from longshot to legitimate contender. Right after guest judge Rob Marshall (the Oscar-winning director of Chicago) finished telling Derek and Allie Schulz to become Danny and Sandy now and embody the parts, Max and Laura Osnes came out and did just that.

In the women's division, Ashley Spencer gave a nice, convicted performance, and would seem to be Laura's biggest rival for the role of Sandy.

As Billy Bush and Denise Van Outen kept reminding us, all the power now lies with the viewers. That would seem to put Derek and Max, and Laura and Ashley at advantages to make the finals. Both Austin and Allie have visited the bottom now, and -- someone correct me if I'm wrong on Allie -- both have been low vote getters. That would not seem to bode well for them in a contest completely decided by voters.

It tells us nothing about the top, as we have not been told who's been getting the most votes.

But it does seem that Derek has come through some rough patches with enough love from voters to keep him out of trouble. Now, will it be enough to put him over the top, and on Broadway. There are two weeks left to find out. (Here's my bet, he'll stay in contention for Danny longer than the Cats will be in contention for the NCAA title.)

P.S.: Raven Snook claims she is not the best Grease blogger, but I heartily disagree. Check her out.

Kevin Hardesty is coming back

Kevin Hardesty is coming back to the stage in a pretty big, unique way.

Hardesty is set to star in Bo List's "variation" of Dracula. The show is slated to play July 26-29 at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School before making a trip to Scotland for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Aug. 3-12. Lexington has had several school groups perform at the Fringe over the past decade, but this will be the first professional production we are currently aware of.

It will actually be a farewell for List, who will be departing to direct a Memphis theater troupe after the summer. With that exit comes a re-entrance.

Hardesty (shown, right, with Hayley Williams in a publicity photo for Dracula) has long been regarded as one of Lexington's foremost actors. In 2002 he became artistic director of Actors Guild of Lexington, a tenure that lasted just one year as he resigned for personal reasons in June 2003. He has since made just one appearance on local stages since then, playing Jonathan Harker in an October 2004 production of Dracula at the Woodford County Theatrical Arts Association. His last appearance on a Lexington stage was at Actors Guild, playing Stanley in a spring 2003 production of A Streetcar Named Desire.

But Hardesty was never absent in spirit. The 2004 Lexington Shakespeare Festival, in particular, bore a lot of reminders of him, including a picturebox in the lobby of the University of Kentucky's Guignol Theatre that had numerous festival newspaper clippings and programs prominently featuring Hardesty. And somehow, at that festival, an inordinate number of people told me how Hardesty has helped them or inspired them to get into theater.

He'll be taking the stage with a pretty strong supporting cast of local talent, including Bob Singleton, Paul Thomas, Trish Clark, Shayne Brakefield, Pamela Perlman, Carmen Geraci, Jennifer Parr, Ellie Clark and Hayley Williams.

To get to the Fringe, the company, List's Chance Theatre, has received a grant from the W. Paul and Lucille Caudill Little Foundation for production costs. The company is currently in the process of raising $30,000 for transportation costs. If you want to find out more, contact the company by e-mailing chancetheatre@yahoo.com.

Newsboy chats and album reviews

Newsboys are coming to Louisville next week, March 15 to be exact. In advance of the show, we had a chance to talk to their new guitar player and backing vocalist, and also a very familiar face to Christian music fans: Paul Colman. Colman talked to us about being in one of Christian rock's iconic bands, going from being a solo artist to a sideman and his favorite Newsboys tunes. You can hear the conversation by clicking here for a downloadable audio file suitable for an mp3 player or computer. Newsboys also play Wilmore's Ichthus Festival in June.

Now, for a couple of album reviews:

Glory Revealed, various artists
Mac Powell’s most prominent role in Christian pop music is, of course, as the lead singer of Third Day. But his highly successful sidelight might just be as a key participant in collaborative projects. His dignified Georgia-Alabama accent was a key component of the City on a Hill records, and now he is the catalyst behind Glory Revealed, a deeply textured album of scripture-based songs by an all-star lineup. That lineup includes Lexington’s Brian Littrell on By His Wounds, which he sings with Powell, Steven Curtis Chapman and Casting Crowns’ Mark Hall — How’s that for welcome to the Christian music club? — and the album’s closer, You Alone, which Littrell co-wrote with Powell. Couched in mandolin and fiddle, it is the most we’ve ever heard the Kentucky native’s voice in his home state’s indigenous sound. Littrell is a good reason, but not the only one, to pick up the disc, which includes music by David Crowder, Chris Tomlin, Candi Pearson-Shelton (a voice you should hear, if you haven’t) and Michael W. Smith. Smith and Shane & Shane team up for one of the album’s standouts, Come, Worship the King. That and several other tunes on this disc are likely to become contemporary worship staples and keep Glory Revealed in our consciousness and our CD players for quite a while.

John Waller, The Blessing
Former According to John frontman John Waller has a solo career thanks in large part to Casting Crowns frontman Mark Hall, who recommended the Lone Tree, Colo., worship leader to Crowns’ label, Beach Street Records. Waller’s solo debut, The Blessing, shows a musical kinship with Crowns in electric pop and soaring vocals. The lyrical content of The Blessing is largely focused on the concept of people being children of God, exemplified in the album’s standout track, Still Calls Me Son.

Minghella on opera and Bach

Last year, English Patient and Cold Mountain director Anthony Minghella joined the ranks of film directors such as Franco Zeffirelli who have brought their big visions to the world of opera.

Minghella (copyrighted photo, right, by Laurie Sparham for the Weinstein Company) took on Puccini's Madama Butterfly in a production that played both London's English National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in 2006. Creating his Butterfly production ran concurrently with editing his latest movie, Breaking and Entering, which we talk about in today's Lexington Herald-Leader and on Kentucky.com. While we had Minghella on the phone, we asked him how he liked directing opera.

"It was an undiluted pleasure," Minghella said. "I was very happy to spend a year in which music was the largest part of my day."

Asked if it is something he'd like to pursue more, Minghella said, "I'm sure we'll do some more. I can't do it every year . . . I'm sure we'll find the next project, and in the mean time, Butterfly seems to be on all the time. It's going back to England in the spring and then New York in the fall, and the danger will be to try to keep away from it."

That said, an opera is not necessarily the big music project Minghella longs to do.

"I have always loved Bach's St. Matthew Passion, which is not an opera. But I always felt there was some fantastic event connected with that music, and I would love to find a way to do it. That is the music that has most preoccupied me over the last two decades. One thing about doing what we do is there's a constant evangelism in the sense you want to convert people to different things, and I would love to convert people to that piece of music, because I think it's a great work of art."

Local talent update: Turay and Wolfe

If you have Google or Nexis news alerts on Kentucky artists, you get frequent updates. Here's the latest on two Bluegrass State stars.

~ Frankfort native and Tony Award-winning stage director George C. Wolfe is going back behind the camera to film Nights in Rodanthe, based on Nicholas Sparks' novel. According to the Star News of Wilmington, N.C., the film is slated to star Richard Gere and Diane Lane.

Wolfe’s filmmaking debut was HBO’s critically acclaimed Lackawana Blues, based on Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s play that Wolfe brought to the stage when he was artistic director of New York’s Public Theatre. Wolfe is also slated to direct The Ballad of Walter Holmes, described as a Saturday Night Fever-like drama starring Usher and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs.

~ One of Gregory Turay’s first professional successes was A View from the Bridge, William Bolcom’s operatic adaptation of Arthur Miller’s play. The University of Kentucky graduate will sing the role of Rodolpho, which was written for him, again at the Washington National Opera in November. The opera premiered at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in October 1999 and was presented at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in 2002. (Photo by Henry Grossman.)

03.06: talkin' Tuesday

Today is sooooo good in terms of new Christian pop releases, we'll concentrate on that.

Of local interest, Brian Littrell is part of the Glory Revealed disc, which also features Steven Curtis Chapman, Michael W. Smith, David Crowder, Third Day's Mac Powell, and Casting Crown's Mark Hall. It's a very rootsy disc with more than a tinge of bluegrass, all to color songs based on scripture. The CD Is part of a CD, book and tour project of Powell and evangelist David Nasser . . . Speaking of Mark Hall, this blog was one of the first mainstream outlets to tell you about John Waller, a Colorado worship leader Hall sort of scouted out for Beach Street Records. Waller's debut disc, The Blessing, drops today, sounding in many ways like Casting Crowns, though more focused in voice and message. We'll have reviews of both albums in Saturday's paper and here on the blog.

In a world of "greatest hits" CDs that make you go, "Huh? Already?," Nichole Nordeman actually seems a tad overdue. Her Recollection comes out today, along with Sharecropper's Seed, the new one from Christian pop's other Nicole (we know, different spelling, work with us): Cincinnati's Nicole C. Mullen.

Now let's see . . . someone else has a new one out today . . . who could that be? (Anvil falls on Rich's head.) That's it! Relient K's Five Score and Seven Years Ago is also in stores today. Now if that doesn't get you to the CD store, or your favorite legal downloading site, we don't know what will.

Hey, Hunter Smith! You just won the Super Bowl. What are you going to do now? Well, the Indianapolis Colts punter is recording an album. But fear not. This does not seem to be any half-baked Super Bowl Shuffle. Smith is actually a member of Connersvine, a acoustic duo that leads worship and Indianapolis' Every Nation Church. According to CCM Magazine, Connersvine recently signed to INO Records, MercyMe's home, and was in the studio the Wednesday after the Colts won Super Bowl XLI.

The next big concert in the region is Newsboys, Kutless and Stellar Kart at the Louisville Palace March 15. We talked to Paul Colman about joining up with the band in the midst of his own successful solo career and will have a little web feature up this weekend at Kentucky.com.

Grease: A night of Dannys

The competition has flipped upside down on the men's side of  Grease: You're the One That I Want. University of Kentucky graduate Derek Keeling and Texan Austin Miller continued to slide on tonight's Danny-centric installment. Meanwhile, Max Crumm, an immensely talented guy, but more a Leo Bloom (the nebbish accountant from The Producers) than a Danny Zuko, reigned supreme with a smokin' rendition of the Black Crowes' Hard to Handle. (Copyrighted photo of Max by Dean Hendler for NBC, right.)

Derek, just a few weeks ago seen as the guy to beat in this competition, has a few cracks in his armor. Literally, for the second time in the competition, his voice cracked. It was nowhere near as bad as two weeks ago, where his voice screeched and staggered all over his duet with Kate Rockwell, the Cincinnatian who was actually sent packing last week. And, really, that week's crack amplified this week's. Judge Jim Jacobs tried to play it off as maybe a Buddy Holly-esque hiccup, but David Ian apparently thought it was huge, saying, "It was a crack." Still, Derek's performance of Bryan Adams' Heaven was good and romantic overall. In my book, it was good for second best in the show. I say that granting it was a weak performance week, where everyone but Max stepped back when they needed to step up.

Austin's rendition of Fun, Fun, Fun was borderline painful, as he just appeared to be trying way too hard to show the judges he can be, uh, fun. There was also this annoying nasal/over-annunciation problem with the word "now," which appears half a billion times in that song. Chad, saved last week from the chopping block by the judges, was OK singing Queen's Don't Stop Me Now. But his voice sounded awfully thin, especially if you consider that song was originally sung by one of the greatest voices in rock history. It may be good enough to keep him out of the basement, but I would tend to wager he and Austin will face each other next week. (watch it be Derek and Max).

Max apparently has a girlfriend. Allie Schulz. At least, that's a storyline the producers are trying to sell us, and they will be together another week, as Allie was saved and Kathleen Monteleone was sent home. David Ian said there was disagreement among the judges, namely, he would have sent Allie home. And it was a tight sing-off. But apparently, third  time in the bottom and you loose your charm. She did leave with a lovely performance of Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee.

There was an especially good clip in the second half of the show, illustrating the hectic lives of the competitors and how it mirrors Broadway life. There were some complaints about complaints that Kathleen looked winded and out of sorts at the end of last week's episode. "She had a lot to do." "People shouldn't be so hard on her." But that is life in theater, on Broadway: dizzying dance numbers, register-topping songs, 10-second costume changes, and if your boyfriend broke up with you at intermission, we'd better not see it on stage. So, it is fair for judges and viewers to assess how well the competitors hold it together, even while their fate is being decided on national television.

Now, it's time to check in with Jamie for an Amazing Race update.

Humana 2007 looks intriguing

One of my favorite days of the year is when I run over to Louisville to work on advance stories about the Humana Festival of New American Plays (actually, it's often several days). Actors Theatre of Louisville crackles with energy as all varieties of actors, directors, designers and other talent shuttle between the theaters and the rehearsal studio past Dot, ATL's genial receptionist who never appears to let the chaos phase her.

Our advance story in the Herald-Leader is about how virtually every Humana actor with a TV credit has been on Law & Order, or one of its many spin-offs. But a day in ATL's fifth floor rehearsal space also let me have a look at what's being prepared for the Humana crowds this year, and it's an interesting bunch.

The festival opened this week with The Unseen, Craig Wright's play about two prisoners of a totalitarian regime that the Courier-Journal's Judith Egerton called thought provoking. (The photo above, by Harlan Taylor for Actors Theatre, is of Richard Furlong and Richard Bekins in The Unseen.)

Naomi Iizuka, one of Humana's mainstays the past few years, is back with Strike-Slip. It's a play that is drawing comparisons to Crash, as it's about how a violent act reverberates through the lives of a diverse group of Los Angeles residents. It's hard to look at a rehearsal without thinking Crash, but it also looks like an intriguing group of characters, and creating interesting characters is one of Iizuka's strengths.

Every once in a while, you can sit in a Humana rehearsal for a good half hour and still not have much of an idea what the show is about. Such is a the case with Ken Weitzman's The As If Body Loop. It has something to do with very gifted people and people meant to shoulder the pain of the world -- not totally sure if they are the same person. A lot of this should become clearer with the show's full staging. But it does look very funny, and this is one of those Humana casts that runs a gamut from well-traveled and experienced to rather young.

Carlos Murillo's dark play or stories for boys leans young, with a tale about an Internet relationship gone wrong. Rehearsal rooms at Humana always boast wall displays that show the world of the play being worked on, and this one included the characters' myspace pages and celebrity snarkiness such as "Ben Affleck, so lame." This was also the rehearsal from which you frequently heard a lot of yelling and loud sound effects, and director Michael John Garces had the action snapping.

Also piquing interest is BATCH: An American Bachelor/ette Party Spectacular, which will be staged at a Louisville nightclub, The Connection. We'll be writing about that one more in the coming weeks.

Another highlight late in the festival will be performances of eight plays from Suzan-Lori Parks' (photo, right) 365 Days/365 Plays project. That sort of illustrates what makes Humana so great for Kentucky. For a month early in the year, it brings the national conversation about theater to the Bluegrass State. Sometimes, it's an ongoing conversation, like the 365 plays or the ATCA/Steinberg award we wrote about earlier. But often, when you think of all of the theater mainstays and Pulitzer Prize winners that come out of Humana, the conversation simply starts here.

Relient K on 'Conan' tonight

Quick Christian pop TV alert: Relient K will be on Conan O'Brien at 12:35 a.m. tonight (tomorrow). The band drops its new album, Five Score and Seven Years Ago, Tuesday, so this will be a little preview, as well as an Ichthus preview.

Shakespeare and August Wilson make AGL debuts

Next season, for the first time ever at Actors Guild of Lexington: William Shakespeare and August Wilson.

Yes, Shakespeare is widely revered as the greatest playwright ever, and many would call Wilson one of the greatest — if not the greatest — American playwright. Or, that could be David Mamet, who is also on what Actors Guild artistic director Richard St. Peter calls the theater’s most “sprawling, ambitious season.”

But for most of its history, Actors Guild was exclusively a contemporary theater, at one time even having a rule that it wouldn’t produce any plays older than 5 years.

That sort of left Shakespeare out.

But with its move to Main Street’s Downtown Arts Center and its status as Lexington’s leading theater for general audiences, St. Peter says the theater needs to present a broader look at the theatrical canon — like Shakespeare. The season will also include David Mamet’s recent hit Boston Marriage, plus a collaboration with Paragon Music Theatre and an on-stage reunion of old friends.

Here’s the lineup:

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom by August Wilson (photo, left). Sept. 12-Oct. 7. Sidney Shaw will direct Wilson’s first major success, the story of an ill-fated recording session involving Ma Rainey and her blues band in 1927.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Oct. 17-Nov. 11. Lexington actor Adam Luckey will star in a “Hamlet for the 21st century,” which St. Peter will direct in collaboration with Cyburbia Productions of Fairfax, Va., which specializes in multimedia stage shows.

She Loves Me, book by Joe Masteroff and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. Nov. 28-Dec. 23. This will be Actors Guild’s second collaboration with Paragon Music Theatre, after this summer’s production of Kiss Me Kate, July 19-Aug. 12. The musical is about two feuding perfume clerks who, unbeknownst to them, are sending each other love letters.

Boston Marriage by David Mamet. Jan. 30-Feb. 24. Mamet’s comedy of manners, in the style of Oscar Wilde, focuses on a 19th-century lesbian couple at a humorous and serious crossroads in their relationship.

Arcadia by Tom Stoppard. March 12-April 6, 2008. Lexington director Ave Lawyer has long wanted to bring Stoppard’s play, set in 1809 and the present day, to the stage. Now, she will. It is an amusing and touching mystery that hits on subjects such as chaos theory and the second law of thermodynamics.

Moonlight and Magnolias by Rob Hutchinson. April 16-May 11, 2008. Charles Edward Pogue, Roger Lee Leasor and Eric Johnson reteam for the story of the five days when producer David O. Selznick locked himself, screenwriter Ben Hecht and director Victor Fleming in his office to craft the screenplay for Gone With the Wind.

The 2007-08 season also will feature a reduced season ticket price: $125 for the top subscription plan, down from $135. Single adult tickets will rise $1 next season, to $25. Season tickets are available at the LexArts box office, (859) 225-0370.

03.01: talkin Thursday (Thursday?)

Thanks to the Oscars, Grease: You're the One That I Want and a day trip to Louisville, we're a little off schedule here, but now we're regrouping, and here's the Christian pop update before this week becomes next.

UPDATE: Littrell cancelled: The Lexington stop of the Glory Revealed tour, featuring Lexington's own Brian Littrell and Mac Powell of Third Day, has been officially cancelled. The original date of March 30 had to be rescheduled, and the promoters were not able to secure a venue for the new date. "It wasn't from lack of trying, I promise you that," promoter Eddie Cooper said. For further information, visit Cooper Productions' website. If you just haaaaave to see this tour, the closest stop to Lexington is April 19 in Knoxville.

Ichthus update: The Ichthus Festival has created two mission-and-music packages for groups that want to do a service project as part of their trip to the Ichthus Festival. For a package deal of $315 per person, groups can participate in either a Lexington outreach for impoverished children or work with the Christian Appalachian Project at the beginning of the week, and then attend the music festival at the end. Check it out at the Ichthus website.

The Ascenxion  Project is also gearing up with a sort of battle of the bands competition with the grand prize including a 15-minute mainstage slot at Ichthus and a bunch of career counseling from artists in the Ascenxion band, the sideman supergroup that wowed Ichthus last year. Now beware. The $200 entry fee and all the language about excellence in the promotional materials seem to say these guys are looking for fairly accomplished acts, so three-chords-and-the-truth alone might not cut it.

More out of Wilmore: In last Saturday's paper, we wrote about the Asbury College Media Communications Department  creating an educational DVD to go with the new movie Amazing Grace, about British abolitionist William Wilberforce. The folks at the Asbury say Walden Media told them Lexington and Louisville were both among the Top 10 cities for the movie last weekend, in terms of box office. Grace opened at No. 10 last weekend, taking in $4,054.542 on 791 screens, according to Box Office Mojo. Interesting thing was that it was No. 3 for the weekend in terms of per screen average, behind Ghost Rider and The Number 23, both of which opened on thousands of screens. That means that where Grace was playing, a lot of people were interested in seeing it.

Audio A: A bit of a disappointing note on the MercyMe-Audio Adrenaline concert coming to Rupp Arena April 21. Guitarist Tyler Burkum and drummer Ben Cissell are not on this portion of the tour. Vocalist Mark Stuart and bassist Will McGinnis will be playing along with guitarist Brian Whitman, who's been touring with the band for a few years. Burkum and Cissell will be back with the band for its April 28 final show in Hawaii. Audio A is breaking up due to Stuart's chronic vocal problems.

New music: This week was very light, but next week, you have new Brian Doerksen, Nicole C. Mullen and Relient K.