Steel PulseĪt Marina Grill Pier: Legendary reggae act headlines this big downtown Wilmington concert, billed as "Reggae at the Pier." Led by co-founder David Hinds, Steel Pulse formed in Birmingham, England, in the 1970s and went on to become the first non-Jamaican act to win the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. Fox has long been known as purveyor of hot licks, but he's increasingly a standout songwriter, with grooves both explosive and restrained, anthemic choruses and hearty vocals. Fox has been playing around town since he was a kid, and last week released his latest album, "New Southern," produced by Burgaw's Audley Freed (formerly of the Black Crowes) and Wilmington's own Tommy Brothers.
#Best of scott joplin series#
June 30-July 1, tickets are $10, $15 for ages 18 to 21, $15 for both nights.Īt the Eagle's Dare: Free concert series in downtown Wilmington features a great double bill of local acts with Striking Copper (folk rock) and Justin Cody Fox Band (rock, blues). Saturday's lineup is Hyperloops, The Unmentionables, Clouds Make Shapes, Speeding Kills Bear and Tweakk.
Friday night features the bands Fractured Frames, Escape Velocity, Dark Signs and Fox Noose. MetalfestĪt the Lookout at Iron Front: Nine heavy metal acts will play over two nights at this downtown Wilmington celebration of hard. Screened as part of the Cinematique film series from Thalian Hall and public radio station WHQR. 'You Hurt My Feelings'Īt Thalian Hall (studio theater): Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as a novelist who overhears her husband dissing her new book in this film from director Nicole Holofcener. (Last year's winner was Matt Coghlan.) With short, 5-to-7-minute sets during the preliminary rounds on Friday and Saturday, and sets as long as 8 minutes for the finals on Sunday. Port City's Top ComicĪt Dead Crow Comedy Room: Some of the Wilmington area's best stand-up comedians (48 in total) square off for bragging rights in this annual contest. If ever a show was a must-see, especially as we approach our nation's 247th birthday on July 4, "Ragtime" would fit the bill. The singing and acting, aside from some ho-hum romantic chemistry, are top-shelf, but they're matched by Opera House's technical team: choreographer Sydney Smith Martin's inventive movements Terry Collins' intricate, fluid set pieces Debbie's Scheu's eye-popping costumes, which range from staid to spectacular and of course Whitted's 14-piece band, which undergirds everything.
Former Miss North Carolina Carli Batson is lots of chirpy fun as the tarty showgirl Evelyn Nesbit, and Mathis Turner lends his portrayal of the great escape artist Harry Houdini an imposing athleticism, even at one point delivering lines while hanging upside down. But their acting brings things to the next level, with Wiley infusing Coalhouse with a forthright pride and dignity, Lewis giving Mother a deep if understated compassion, and Gallo playing Tateh with a kind of desperation that feels earned rather than over-the-top.Īs these characters' paths collide and their fortunes rise and fall - as dictated by violent racial bigotry and a rigid social structure that rewards the well-off and punishes the less fortunate - a mix of fictional and familiar characters help tell the origin story of a modern-day America that, while often called a melting pot, was more like a rancid stew for some.Īs Sarah, the mother of Coalhouse's child, Bianca Shaw delivers the show's most emotional moment with a heart-rending performance of the ballad "Your Daddy's Son." Cindy Colucci has a no-nonsense turn as the political activist Emma Goldman, with Kaleb Edward Edley the picture of decency (with blinders on) as Booker T. "Ragtime" tells the intersecting stories of three characters from vastly different worlds in and around New York City, circa 1900: genius Harlem musician Coalhouse Walker (Broadway veteran Curtis Wiley) an affluent yet sensitive white woman, known only as Mother (Broadway vet Megan Lewis) and a struggling but passionate Jewish immigrant, Tateh (Wilmington's Alex Gallo, more than holding his own with the ringers).Īll three of these performers provide multiple standout moments with their voices alone, with Lewis' take on the bittersweet "Back to Before" among the highlights. From the time that music director Brian Whitted starts things off with an expertly played rendition of Scott Joplin's bouncy "Maple Leaf Rag," the show offers an American history lesson that's rarely less than riveting.
hits the theatrical sweet spot where deep meaning meets relentless entertainment with its stirring, beautifully staged production of "Ragtime," the 1990s musical about racial, social and religious inequities in turn-of-the-20th-century America.ĭirected with a keen, insightful eye by Fracaswell Hyman,"Ragtime" runs through Sunday on the main stage of Thalian Hall.
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