The good news is that we’re spared the endless, obnoxious semi-finals this year. The bad news is we have two weeks of its replacement, a new Sudden Death Round. Each of the next four episodes will feature 10 contestants (still separated by gender) performing in front of the judges and a studio audience in Vegas. […]
Eric Rezsnyak
Posted inArts & Entertainment
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 5, Episode 4: Faux pas de deux
It was fitting that an episode that focused on ballet would signal the end of Act 1 of “Drag Race” Season 5. This week’s episode really moved things along to the next stage. The remaining chaff got wiped out brutally. The frontrunners were solidified. And now that the Alyssa/Coco drama has seemingly settled (if it […]
Posted inMusic
Concert Review: RPO “Classic Bond”
This weekend the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra presents music from 50 years of James Bond films. If you managed to totally screw up Valentine’s Day, or just want a sexy, swinging night on the town, this is a program that will hit the target. Guest conductor Carl Davis, anything but undercover in flashy attire, including a […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
“American Idol” 2013: Hollywood Week, Part 4: The Top 40 revealed, kind of
After Wednesday night’s semi-baffling all-girl group rounds the ladies were shaved down to 20 via final solo auditions. Some of these were quite impressive, and the show is definitely pushing the, “Is it time for a girl to win the competition again?” line. Hell yes, it’s time! Stop sabotaging all your top female talent and […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
“American Idol” 2013, Hollywood Week, Part 3: Girls just want to implode
After the guys were whittled down to 20 semi-finalists last week (well, kind of), this week it’s all about the ladies. There were a few cuts in the Sudden Death round, but most of the action focused on groups. So I’ll do the same. After Sudden Death 72 girls remained for group round. As we […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 5, Episode 3: Drag is for the children!
Sorry this blog is going up a day late. I was crazy sick, y’all. This week’s episode of “Drag Race” delivered several things fans have been waiting for: Alaska finally stepped up her game, the Alyssa/Coco rivalry came to a head, and RuPaul finally confirmed that Michelle Visage is an extremely believable ventriloquist doll (with […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
“American Idol” 2013: Vegas Week, Part 2: So many crying men
It was the final solo auditions for the guys in Vegas. We started with 43 with a goal of getting down to 20. That’s not quite how it went down, but it’s nice to have dreams. Paul Jolley, who reminded me of a Canadian version of Adam Levine, was having a total freak out both […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
“American Idol” 2013, Vegas Week, Part 1: Let’s raise the bar a little bit
So the show is changing up the semi-finals and finals process this year, and we started to see some of that come into play as we started Vegas Week tonight. Only 20 guys and 20 girls will make it to semi-finals this year, and there will be only a Top 10 — no wild cards, […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Local plays link college, community, and theater
Our local college theater programs, as well as local playwrights, rarely get significant community exposure. This month, a production by the University of Rochester’s International Theatre Program will bring those two elements of the local theater scene together
Posted inArts & Entertainment
THEATER REVIEW: “A Life in the Theatre”
Playwright David Mamet got straight to the point when he titled his 1977 work “A Life in the Theatre.” The play, a combination comedy/drama, gives the audiences snapshots of two theater actors at very different points in their careers. One, John, is young excited, sure that he’s on the way up, eager to learn (at […]
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“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 5, Episode 2: Paying lip service
So I missed the first 10 minutes of the episode because the bar I watch it at decided to blare the local Top 40 radio station and run muted episodes of “2 Broke Girls” on the TVs until the bartender got around to changing the channel. If anyone would like subsidize my personal cable bill, […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
“American Idol” 2013, Episode 6: Thank you for being a superstar
We wrapped up the initial audition process in Oklahoma City, which of course included a huge group sing to the title song from the musical. Blessedly the show was only an hour so I’ll try to touch on most of the featured contestants. Interesting to note that the theme of the evening seemed to be […]
