Deirdre Marie Capone is alleged mobster Al Capone’s grand niece. She is singing like a canary about her family and her remembrances of “Uncle Al,” the notorious gangland figure of the 1930s and 1940s, in her new book, Uncle Al Capone: The Untold Story from Inside His Family, from Recap Publishing and Ascot Media. We…
There is a wonderfully warm and well-performed production of Visiting Mister Green playing at the North Coast REP through March 11. The play premiered in 1996 with Eli Wallach in the lead. You might have heard of it. I hadn’t. Not a thing. I drove up the coast to Solana Beach without any preconceptions. I…
thursday, march 1 Beethoven’s ‘Immortal Beloved’ The San Diego Symphony presents Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 . Ludwig Van Beethoven considered his Symphony No. 7 one of his best works. Beethoven completed the seventh just weeks before writing the famous letter to his “Immortal Beloved,” presumed to be Antonie Brentano, in July 1812. This letter and,…
There is a pocket of art downtown that you might not have heard of. It is located at 930 10th Avenue and is formally called the 10th Avenue Theatre and Arts Centre. I have only been once and I was charmed when I arrived for an art opening last year. In a world of strip…
Sometimes, it’s refreshing to see a dramatic play that deals with contemporary issues, rather than a production buried in costumes that requires historical familiarity to be fully appreciated. With a contemporary, topical production there’s at least a possibility, if not a probability, that you’ll already have an opinion about its underlying issues and the events…
I broke my rule last week. I read a review of This Means War before I saw it. I only read one: Roger Ebert’s vicious pan of the film. While I’ve not always shared Ebert’s taste, I have developed a deep affection for him as a champion of independent movies, liberal politics, and, after cancer…
thursday, feb. 23 Tower After Hours: Ireland Discover Balboa Park’s most popular cultural attraction: Tower After Hours: Ireland. The San Diego Museum of Man and the Irish community of San Diego invite you to experience the best of traditional Irish music, dance and story-telling performed by our city’s top talent. Part of an ongoing series…
If you have seen Mamma Mia, Rock of Ages or The Jersey Boys, you will understand the premise behind The Marvelous Wonderettes. Thread a paper-thin narrative through a catalogue of songs that revolve around a Swedish band (ABBA), genre (rock-n-roll) or an era (the 1950s) and hey presto you have a musical. The Marvelous Wonderettes…
Mention civil rights movements to most people and thoughts of old black and white news footage of marches, school bussing protests and Martin Luther King Jr. speeches come to the minds of many. Others think of Latino immigration and social-equality demonstrations, while still others highlight the LGBT struggles to overturn “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and…
A few weeks ago, I watched Dane DeHaan, one of the stars of the new teens-with-superpowers movie Chronicle, answering questions at a press conference about what made Chronicle different from other “found footage” movies. He claimed that the difference was that every shot of film – every spliced together piece of camcorder shots, close circuit…
