Category: Arts & Culture

On March 26 there was an extraordinary amount of traffic around the Prudential Building…

Produced in partnership by the USM Department of Theatre and School of Music, “The Pajama Game” is set during a labor dispute in a pajama factory where the union girls, lead by Babe, played by Emily Holton, have reached an impasse with the Factory Head Myron Hassler over his refusal to raise wages by seven and a half cents.

Local 188 at 685 Congress Street, is one of those places that every Portlander should experience at least once. The vibrant, artsy atmosphere welcomes all diners – from business professionals in suit and tie, to the young scholars dressed in USM sweat pants and t-shirt – to pick a seat, sit down and enjoy.

Warning: Tim Burton’s latest film, “Alice in Wonderland” is not a remake of Lewis Caroll’s classic tale of childhood misadventure. Rather it is an adaption of the famous gibberish poem, “The Jaberwocky,” from “Through the Looking Glass.” The essence of the original “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” is completely wiped from the story.

The Gorham Events Board last Wednesday held the second semi-annual USM’s Got Talent competition. The variety show and competition was organized by Dominque Hilton who also served as a judge along with two other students.

Contestants competed for prizes such as a basket of nick knacks for third place, sweat shirt and sweatpants for second place, and for first place, an IPod Shuffle.

The 2005 winner of the Man Booker prize – a yearly award given to the best novel published by an author native to any territory of the former British Empire -“The Sea” by John Banville is exactly the kind of novel that seems to win the award. Banville’s prose is elegant, erudite, subdued and focuses on the power and frailty of memory in the void left by death.

October 19. Dublin. Originally this was supposed to be a day off. Who needs those? We were only on day 3 and didn’t quite need one yet, especially when a day off usually just becomes an excuse to not take it easy. Plus, we would be taking an overnight ferry from Liverpool (the home of The Beatles) to Dublin, Ireland, a place I have always wanted to see.

Around the USM campus you have probably seen ads for the new collaborative band Broken Bells. This highly advertised band is a techno/indie collaboration between the Shins’ James Mercer and award winning producer and self proclaimed auteur musician Danger Mouse, of Gnarls Barkley.

Last Friday night at the bottom of Hastings Hall, something unusual and loud occurred from 7 pm to almost midnight. You’d think an RA would serve a warning, or even a fee for all the noise complaints from above, but they knew better than to mess with the young punks putting on a rock show in Hastings Formal Lounge.

“Little Bee,” by Chris Cleave, is the “story of two women,” as it says on the back cover, and how their “lives collide” at two points, two years apart. The back cover implores the reader not to spoil the book for others because “the magic is in how the story unfolds.

From Paris, With Love follows James Reece , played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers(August Rush), an employee at the U.S embassy who dreams of one day becoming a Bond-like secret agent. He is given the opportunity to show his worth by being partnered with Charlie Wax, John Travolta(Taking of Pelham 123), an eccentric American spy with an unorthodox approach to his job.

Stephanie MacDonald isn’t afraid to get naked.

When not in class, the undeclared junior runs her own business as a freelance model booking her own shoots, which sometimes involve nude modeling.

In MacDonald’s opinion, freelance modeling is completely different from what you see on shows like Americas Next Top Model.

On the evening of Wednesday, Feb. 24, seven students came together at the Woodbury Campus Center in Portland to compete in Portland Events Board’s first USM Idol competition. The students competed for the first place prize of $100 while performing a variety of compositions, ranging from “When You Believe” from the Prince of Egypt Soundtrack to cult classic, “Rocky Raccoon.

Martin Scorcese’s newest movie begins in 1954 on a tugboat carrying US Marshal Teddy Daniels, played by Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic, The Departed) to Shutter Island, a small island off the coast of Boston and home to a renowned high-security mental institution.

This is the story of Leisel Memminger, a foster child in Nazi Germany. In 1939, her brother died on the train to Molching, their new home, and nine year-old Leisel stole her first book. She couldn’t read, but she would learn. The act was a prelude to what she would become: A book thief.

Europe for a month. And this was coming after only being home for two days. I was not prepared. I wasn’t trying to be, and I didn’t pretend to be, but by then we were all used to being on the road together. It was an old hat. We just took it off for a few days, put it in the wash and put it back on before it was dry.

If you’re ever wandering around the Old Port craving sushi, head down to Yosaku for some excellent Japanese cuisine. Yosaku is located at 1 Danforth Street, just outside the Old Port. In less complicated terms, it’s just a walk to the far end of Fore Street to Gorham’s Corner.

A friend of mine explained, “it’s like ‘Harry Potter’ except with Greek Gods,” which turned out to be an apt description of “The Lightning Thief,” the first in a five book series by Rick Riordan. Perseus “Percy” Jackson is a “troubled” kid. He’s an aggressive, sarcastic, ADHD dyslexic with terrible grades, who gets into fights on a daily basis. Percy’s been to five boarding schools in six years and is about to get kicked out of his sixth. When his pre-algebra teacher morphs into a Fury, right out of Greek mythology, and tries to kill him, a chain of events is set in motion leading him to Camp Half-Blood, a safe haven for children of divine parentage. It turns out that Percy is the son of Poseidon, the Greek god of the seas and is suspected of a supernatural theft. Percy, his satyr friend Grover, and Annabeth – daughter of Athena and wholly unimpressed with Percy – are sent on a cross-country divine quest to the underworld to retrieve Zeus’ thunderbolt from the fiery depths of Hades and prevent Olympian war.

Ladies, are you looking for a girls’ night out movie? Tired of the same old chick flicks? You know, the ones with a really obvious plot line and poorly written jokes? Despite the fact that this film is aimed at a middle-aged female audience, “It’s Complicated” is the type of movie that will make you laugh until you cry.

The anticipation radiated from everyone in front of the stage before the band came on. As the lights went down, the chatter stopped and hands went up as the band ran in front of eager fans. They picked up their instruments and played the first chord as the fans’ hands flew into the air and they got ready to rock.

On a recent Thursday night, a woman in light-colored jeans and spiky high heels floated across the wooden floor of the Multi-Purpose Room of the Sullivan Gym in Portland. Her agile movements were carefully syncopated with the fast rhythmic beat emanating from the small boombox, and the twenty-four students watching her were struck, clearly amazed.

Originally a novella written by Neil Gaiman in 2002, Coraline was adapted into the graphic novel format in 2008 and into a stop-motion animated film the same year. This is an urban fantasy featuring 10-year-old Coraline, whose family has just moved into a mysterious old house in the English countryside. With only her elderly neighbors and busy parents for company, Coraline is often alone and bored. One rainy day, she explores the house and discovers a bricked up door that becomes a portal to a parallel world. It is the home of her “other mother” a spirit who will do anything to keep Coraline with her.

Have you ever gotten deja vu while sitting in a movie theater? If you haven’t, go see “The Book of Eli,” and you may find yourself wondering why this particular film makes you feel like you’ve seen it before. Then it will come to you: it’s “Mad Max” with religious overtones.

To the surprise of many music fans last Friday, The Flaming Lips was announced as one of the featured bands for the first annual Nateva Music & Camping Festival happening from July 2nd to the 4th in Oxford, Maine.