The Nerd: Be my guest An Army buddy refuses to leave Jennifer A. Smith on Friday 05/09/2008, (1) Recommendation These days, the word "nerd" conjures up images of a gently inept dork, someone who enjoys Dungeons & Dragons or tinkering with computers a little too much. But in Larry Shue's The Nerd, now playing at Madison Repertory Theatre, the misfit of the title is really more of a jerk. He's clueless about other people's feelings, wipes his nose with toilet paper found stuck on his shoe — and he just might stay at Willum Cubbert's tasteful home for good, if Willum doesn't take serious action. >More
DANCE
The UW Dance Program: Good move The UW Dance Program is looking better and better Susan Kepecs on Friday 05/02/2008, (1) Recommendation The Spring Concert last weekend in Lathrop Hall's Margaret H'Doubler Performance Space continued the UW Dance Program's recent trend toward stronger offerings. For the most part, the mostly student dancers looked good. The seven premieres on the bill were substantial, the choreography wide-ranging. >More
BOOKS
Kevin Henkes: Home away from home A resort town holds out hope in Kevin Henkes' new novel Jennifer A. Smith on Friday 04/25/2008, (2) Recommendations One of the toughest things about being a kid is, well, adults. And we're talking about things way more serious than bedtimes or what videogames are allowed; mundane rules are only the beginning. Adult pain, due to events like divorce or the loss of a child, seeps into the world of kids, who can neither control nor fully grasp the circumstances. >More
GAMES
The wheel world: Grand Theft Auto 4 Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Rated Mature Doug Elfman on Friday 05/09/2008, (1) Recommendation Grand Theft Auto 4 is a great game, though it does start slow and boring. (Do you really have to shoot pool and go bowling? Seriously?) >MoreSega Bass Fishing: Hook,line and sinker Wii, Rated Everyone Doug Elfman on Friday 04/25/2008, (1) Recommendation This update of Sega Bass Fishing Duel uses the interactive Wii wand as the pole. Jerk the wand forward to cast. Tug it to the left to reel in bass from the left. It's simple. >More
The better to eat you with The women plan to devour the men on Survivor Dean Robbins on Friday 05/09/2008, (1) Recommendation Survivor took a turn for the macabre at the end of April. The women banded together against the men in what they gleefully called "the Black Widow Brigade." Suddenly, the series didn't seem like a harmless game anymore. The women were treating it like a bloody sacrificial rite, with murder in their eyes. >More
Overture Center announces its 2008-09 season Kristian Knutsen on Thursday 05/08/2008 8:18 pm, (1) Recommendation The Overture Center for the Arts announced its new season of programming in a media soiree on Thursday afternoon, unveiling dozens of dates at its two primary venues of Overture Hall and Capitol Theater. A few big names include David Sedaris, Bill Cosby, Art Garfunkel, Travis Tritt, and Bobby McFerrin, along with productions of Avenue Q, Sweeney Todd, and a special Madison Repertory Theatre production of My Fair Lady. >MoreMadison Art Bikes Rally 2008: The bicycle as creative medium Saturday's ride around the Capitol to showcase fanciful ingenuity David Medaris on Thursday 05/08/2008 3:06 pm, (6) Recommendations Last weekend's Madison Art Bikes open house provided an opportunity to admire some of the bicycles that will be part of this coming Saturday's art bike rally around the Capitol. Scheduled to start at 11 a.m. from the Madison Children's Museum, the annual event promises to once again be quite a spectacle of creative imagination. >MoreHarry Dumpty sits on a wall outside Madison Municipal Building Brent George presents an incredible inedible egg David Medaris on Wednesday 05/07/2008 4:12 pm, (3) Recommendations You've heard that story about Humpty Dumpty, who sat on the wall, had a great fall and so forth. This is not the story of Humpty Dumpty. This is a short tale about Harry Dumpty and how he came to be perched on a wall outside the Madison Municipal Building's west entrance overlooking Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. >MoreEncore Studio's Lost Track puts bipolar disorder in a new light Andrea Harris on Tuesday 05/06/2008 11:08 am, (3) Recommendations Encore Studio's mission statement promises to "communicate, through the performing arts, a challenging and authentic message about disability and culture." In Lost Track, which addresses bipolar disorder, the company lives up to this claim in every detail. The cast is diverse. The audience was diverse. And KelsyAnne Schoenhaar and Wendy Prosise's smart, sensitive and nuanced writing cultivates greater understanding of bipolarity and, perhaps more importantly, of society's reactions to it. >MoreMadison Spring Gallery Night 2008 finds new venues on east side Linda Falkenstein on Thursday 05/01/2008 6:08 pm, (1) Recommendation The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art's Gallery Night has grown to the extent that even the most avid art lover probably couldn't take in every venue without being able to teleport from spot to spot. >More
Broom Street Theater goes over the top in Leprechaun Katie Reiser on Thursday 03/20/2008 1:08 pm, (12) Recommendations Playwright and director Callen Harty throws a lot at us in Broom Street Theater's Leprechaun, which follows an American couple touring Ireland in celebration of their first anniversary. Some of it is crazy fun, but some of it is crazy annoying. At points during the performance I had to shut my eyes for a few seconds to steal a little peace and quiet. >MoreStrollers Theatre kills for fun in The Lieutenant of Inishmore Lue Allen on Monday 03/17/2008 4:29 pm, (54) Recommendations Mutilated cats, blinded cows, a man's nose fed to his cocker spaniel; brace yourself. You might find PETA picketing the Bartell. The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Martin McDonagh's boisterous send-up of feckless Irish terrorists and soppy Irish sentimentality, is an uninterrupted 85 minutes of bloody black comedy. Outrageous, but very funny. >More
Badger creator Mike Baron talks comics Madison writer discusses locally set series relaunched last year Amelia Cook on Tuesday 03/04/2008 2:24 pm, (16) Recommendations Badger is a comic book character and series created by Mike Baron back in 1983. The star of this series is Norbert Sykes, a regular guy who suffers from multiple personality disorder, and one of Norbert's personalities is Badger, a costumed superhero who battles evil on a regular basis. What's particularly fun, though, is that much of the action is visibly set right here in good ol' Madison. >MoreBadger returns to Madison in comic-book relaunch Superhero once again saves city from cow tippers and criminals Amelia Cook on Monday 03/03/2008 1:04 pm, (25) Recommendations What might bring a comic-book neophyte into cozy Capital City Comics on a cold winter day? There's a new superhero in town. Again. >More
Preparations underway for Madison to host National Poetry Slam 2008 Katya Szabados on Thursday 01/24/2008 1:43 pm, (13) Recommendations The National Poetry Slam 2008 may be many months away, but Madison organizers are already laying the groundwork for a lively and successful festival. Held in Austin, Texas over the last two years, the competition is moving to Madison in 2008 and 2009 after Wisconsin organizers successfully won a bid over many other applicant cities around the nation. >MoreThe personal and political at the UW Collegiate Slam finals Jennifer Page on Wednesday 12/05/2007 2:05 pm, (12) Recommendations Poetry slams are intense. Filled with politics, hurt, laughter and always music, they have an energy and emotional involvement that can be compared to an amazing concert you just danced for hours at. And the finals for the inaugural UW Collegiate Slam on Tuesday night at the Wisconsin Union Theater were an impressive display of the young creative talent the state has to offer in a genre that is becoming more and more popular. >More
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