Category Archives: Features

May 7, 2009 · 9:10 am

TMCC producing ‘Rocky Horror’

Talk to Truckee Meadows Community College theater instructor Paul Aberasturi and it doesn’t take long for him to start gushing about students and colleagues.

“We have something that we’re proud of,” he said before a rehearsal for the school’s upcoming production of “The Rocky Horror Show.” “We think it’s probably one of the best theater companies around.”

That makes it meaningful when Aberasturi says the spectacle of TMCC’s version of “Rocky,” which opens Friday in Reno, goes beyond anything the company has produced in the past.

Click here for full story: http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009905070312

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May 3, 2009 · 7:31 am

Big plans for Reno’s Artown festival

Folksinger Richie Havens will open Artown with a free concert.

Folksinger Richie Havens will open Artown with a free concert.

Artown will kick off its 14th season July 1, and organizers are promising more entertainment options than ever, but presented in a slightly different fashion than in years past.

“We had 350 events last year,” Artown executive director Beth Macmillan said. “We have 400 unique events this year, and we’ve cut back on our ticketed events.”

Click here for full story: http://www.rgj.com/article/20090503/LIV/905030312

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May 3, 2009 · 6:34 am

Bringing fairy tales to Northern Nevada

Kelly Bevel, left, Gabrielle Tostado and Therese Curatolo were at a recent princess party in Kings Beach.

Kelly Bevel, left, Gabrielle Tostado and Therese Curatolo were at a recent princess party in Kings Beach.

Sometimes Susane Tagayev has to fight back tears while talking about her new business.

The 57-year-old Carson City woman was laid off from her job of more than 15 years in January, and after months of fruitless job hunting, unemployment was taking a toll. Then she watched a video of a friend singing in the persona of a fairy tale princess, and everything changed.

“It brought such joy,” Tagayev said. “I was really feeling like there was just nothing. There was something about that little video.”

It reminded Tagayev of young adulthood, when she worked at Disneyland in California. And, when she learned that her friend was making money portraying princesses at special events, it sparked an idea.

Click here for full story: http://www.rgj.com/article/20090503/LIV/905030315/Woman+finds+untapped+niche+in+princess+parties

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April 24, 2009 · 7:29 am

Copperfield is dedicated to magic

What you see is rarely what you get with David Copperfield.

What you see is rarely what you get with David Copperfield.

Magician David Copperfield is bringing his “Grand Illusion” show to Reno’s Pioneer Center on Wednesday, and I had the opportunity to conduct a short e-mail interview with him. Our conversation follows.

Question: You have been performing magic for more than 40 years, and the scale of illusions seems to be growing ever-larger. Do you feel like magic itself is changing or is it still based around the same principles as when you started?

Click here for complete story: http://rgj.com/article/20090424/ENT/904240375/1056

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April 4, 2009 · 2:40 pm

RCO spotlights local boy

Christopher Lin-Brande

Christopher Lin-Brande

The Reno Chamber Orchestra is putting a local boy in the spotlight this weekend when Christopher Lin-Brande appears as a featured soloist.

Lin-Brande, a violinist, grew up in the Biggest Little City and attended Reno High School before leaving the area to study economics and pre-med at Yale University. He was also a regular fill-in player with the Chamber Orchestra and a contract player with the Reno Philharmonic while living here.

Click here for full story: http://www.rgj.com/article/20090404/ENT/904040303/1056

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April 3, 2009 · 11:30 am

‘Scoundrels’ musical mimics the film

A scene from "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."

A scene from "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."

If you saw the 1988 movie “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” Brian McKay says the musical theater version will feel awfully familiar.

“The musical that opened on Broadway in 2005 is very, very closely based on that movie,” said McKay, who stars in the touring production of the show, which is in Reno this weekend. “The script has all of the fantastic humor that made the movie so successful.”

Click her for the complete story: http://rgj.com/article/20090403/ENT/904030388/1056

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March 28, 2009 · 4:22 pm

Reno Philharmonic names new music director/conductor

Laura Jackson

Laura Jackson

The Reno Philharmonic has hired Laura Jackson as its new music director and conductor, and executive director Tim Young says she was the favorite not only of the search committee but of orchestra musicians and the public. She is also the first woman to hold the orchestra’s top artistic post.

“I feel ecstatic,” Jackson said. “I really do. It’s often hard to sleep because I have so many ideas percolating in my head. Every piece I hear now, every piece I listen to, I think, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to do this.’ “

Young said the orchestra’s search committee found each of the five finalists impressive, but it was Jackson who made the biggest impression.

Click here for entire story: http://www.rgj.com/article/20090328/NEWS18/90328010&OAS_sitepage=news.rgj.com%2Fbreakingnews

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March 28, 2009 · 4:15 pm

Five facts about the circus

Everyone knows circuses are a great place to see acrobats and performing elephants. But, with the Kerak Shrine Circus in Reno this weekend, I thought it would be fun to look at some things you might not know. Here goes …

Click her for full story: http://rgj.com/article/20090327/NEWS18/90327051

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March 20, 2009 · 7:11 am

A.V.A. opening ballet on Saturday

Alexander Van Alstyne is watching more than four months of hard work come together this week, and the Reno choreographer likes what he’s seeing.

“I’m extremely pleased,” he said of A.V.A. Ballet Theatre’s production of “Alice in Wonderland.” “It’s pretty amazing.”

Click here for entire story: http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009903200388

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March 13, 2009 · 2:14 pm

Ladysmith Black Mambazo ready for Reno

mambazoLadysmith Black Mambazo won its second Grammy in February, and spokesman and original member Albert Mazibuko sees this as the ultimate honor.

“That’s amazing,” he said. “That’s the best thing that ever happened to the group, because if you talk about the Grammy, there’s no other award in the world that’s above it. That kind of recognition in the world, it’s great. It’s so wonderful.”

Renoites can catch the South African vocal group fresh off its win when it plays the Grand Sierra Resort on Sunday. The concert is a rare non-summer offering by Reno’s Artown festival.

For the full story, click here: http://www.rgj.com/article/20090313/ENT02/903130414/1056/ENT

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