The Nerd: Be my guest An Army buddy refuses to leave Jennifer A. Smith on Friday 05/09/2008, (2) Recommendations 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, (2) Recommendations 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
Monty Python meets Broadway in Spamalot at Overture Amelia Cook on Wednesday 05/14/2008 2:22 pm, (2) Recommendations You can't help but laugh at Spamalot. Even those of you whose Monty Python knowledge is a bit rusty will be moved by this touring musical comedy, which is, according to the playbill, "lovingly ripped off" from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Mimes doing the Macarena, bad French accents, fart jokes aplenty -- honestly, what's not to laugh about? >MoreSemifinalists vie for spot on the 2008 Madison National Poetry Slam team Twelve spoken word artists seek chance to compete at NPS Katya Szabados on Tuesday 05/13/2008 12:36 pm, (7) Recommendations Many of the city's top spoken word performers will compete for one of five spots on the Madison National Poetry Slam team on Friday at the Inn on the Park. This five-person team will go on to represent Madison and compete with more than 80 other teams that will converge in town for the 2008 National Poetry Slam in August. Dasha Kelly believes Wisconsin has a unique opportunity to help shape the spoken word landscape for the future. >MoreSex isn't too sexy in Broom Street Theater's Multiple O Bruce G. Bradley on Monday 05/12/2008 3:47 pm, (3) Recommendations The phrase "Sex is nice and pleasure is good for you" is repeated so many times during Broom Street Theater's production of Multiple O that it's hard to know if this is to reassure the performers or if it's to remind the audience how they're meant to feel. Either way, the mantra should be supplanted with the observation that "Sex is really kinda funny." >MoreThe Madison Art Bikes Rally returns for Bike to Work Week Watch a video of the parade around the Capitol Square on Saturday Kristian Knutsen on Sunday 05/11/2008 11:12 am, (2) Recommendations "Get out of your car, and get onto your bike" was the primary refrain at this year's Madison Art Bikes Rally, which returned once again to the Dane County Farmers' Market on Saturday morning. Dozens of participants brought modified bicycles both simple and fantastical for a parade around Capitol Square, both to share their creations and to advocate the oppotunities of self-propelled transportation. >MoreOverture Center announces its 2008-09 season Kristian Knutsen on Thursday 05/08/2008 8:18 pm, (2) Recommendations 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. >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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