Comments (Brad Linzy
Spring is in the air, Bambi is busy getting “twitterpated,” Easter has come and gone for those of us in the Western world, but here, from the barrel of your trusty News 4U cannon – flying forth like a thousand rounds of truth, justice, and the American way – are your bullet points for the month of April.
Mannheim Steamroller will be at the Centre on April 2nd at 7:30pm.
• In spite of the assured ostracism of being the only “journalist” to cover The Mannheim Steamroller without using some sort of “steamrolled into town” pun, I will avoid such passé manipulations of language in favor of something that makes very little sense …like “Mannheim Steamroller, the highly acclaimed new age orchestra will be ‘The Centre’ of attention as they tractor into town,” or “Mannheim Steamroller, incredible, internationally renowned pops orchestra will be tri-cycling into the tri-state for a show at The Centre,” or even “Mannheim Steamroller, the orchestral group whose Christmas albums have all gone platinum, the group whose collected sales top 27 million units in the U.S. alone, will be puttering into The Centre of our little universe on a caravan of electric golf carts on April 2nd for a 7:30 p.m. performance as part of the ‘Broadway at the Centre’ series.” I think I might also tell you about how The Mannheim Steamroller have been “steaming up” audiences since 1975 without stooping to some tired line of how they’ve “paved the way” for new-age traveling orchestras everywhere, because, frankly, how many of those do you even know about? No, I think I’ll just leave all the puns aside for the moment and state the facts: The Mannheim Steamroller are coming to The Centre for a one night only performance that will not fall flat with audiences …DOH! Tickets available by calling 435-5544.
Eric Schlosser, the author of muckraking books like Fast Food Nation and Reefer Madness. In any case, he will be giving a, no doubt, fabulous lecture at The Victory Theatre on April 8th at 7 p.m. and this “journalist” is not bitter or jealous about that in the least. Call 435-6287 for tickets, which are free.
• Sometimes, for one reason or another, a journalist will decide he or she wants more out of life than strictly reporting the “facts” as they stream out of the office of the Vice President or Speaker of the House. When this happens he either A) gets a job at one of the major cable news networks as a highly paid anchor, reading mindless vitriol from a teleprompter, B) he writes a bestselling book on a politically divisive topic and soaks up the fame, fortune, and accolades of international stardom that brings, or C) he becomes completely homeless, destitute, and without friends. Being the son of the president of NBC, while his wife is the daughter of actor Robert Redford means that only options A and B are really possible for Eric Schlosser, the author of muckraking books like Fast Food Nation and Reefer Madness. In any case, he will be giving a, no doubt, fabulous lecture at The Victory Theatre on April 8th at 7 p.m. and this “journalist” is not bitter or jealous about that in the least. Call 435-6287 for tickets, which are free.
• Whenever I hear Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, I cannot help but think of that scene in Oliver Stone’s The Doors movie where Jim Morrison, played by Val Kilmer, runs around the room with that freaky dark-haired chic on some kind of pagan-charged cocaine high. (Jim Morrison’s untimely death is reason #8,496,757 to stay clear of drugs, kids.) At any rate, despite the dark connotations of the O Fortuna movement in this piece, the lyrics are actually taken from a manuscript found in 1803 in a Bavarian monastery. The title of the manuscript was Carmina Burana too! What a fortunate coincidence! The Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra will be performing Orff’s masterpiece, sans Lizard King, on April 26th at The Victory.
• Readers of mine will quickly discover that I can often be very oblivious
for someone who is supposed to be informative. I am ashamed to say that upon
hearing the world famous Lipizzaner
Stallions were coming to town, I thought either the excellent Bill and Ted
had teamed up with some Italian dude who actually knew how to play – like
Rocky, but with more rock – or a brigade of male strippers were going to be
parading through the streets. As per usual (and my wife will concur with this),
I was totally wrong, and my ignorance seems to be an isolated case as more than
23 million people have witnessed the spectacle that is the Lipizzaner Stallions
through the 38-year running show. Turns out, the Lipizzaner is a breed of
stallion that was once prized for its performance in battle and as a horse of
nobility, but is now regarded highly for its artful show characteristics. The
show itself shows what these horses can do through a variety of maneuvers and
formations that have dazzled crowds the world over. This family oriented
spectacle has been called by many "The Equestrian Treat of the Century.”
Ya learn somethin’ everyday. Catch the Stallions on April 27th at
Roberts Stadium. There will be two shows, one at 2 p.m. and one at 6 p.m. Seats
are $20.50 & $24.50 for adults, $18.50 and $22.50 for seniors and kids.
Groups of 15 or more receive a $5 discount on each ticket. Charge tickets by
phone by calling (812) 423-7222 in Indiana and (270) 926-6661 in Kentucky or on
the Internet at Ticketmaster.com.
