Fall has fallen The twilit light The day neatly folded into night White wintry eve The silent loon The frostbit fingernail called the moon The world is cold, my son, and bare And this, our darkest even of the year, May seem to cling forever near But feel this heart, its warmth, its care It […]
Arts + Scene
Reviews, interviews and upcoming highlights from the week in visual and performing arts around Humboldt County.
Posted inScreens
Alone at the Movies
Netflix, Jay Kelly and Train Dreams In the long-ago of my youth, I would often defend my pessimism as realism; I didn’t actually know much about the world. Ever a contrarian, though, as I have aged and hopefully wised up, I find my reactionary nature producing some strain of homunculine optimism, born perhaps of an […]
Posted inFront Row
Arcata Playhouse Rolls the Dice
With The Dungeon, the Dragon and the Wizard of Doom: A D&D Holiday Show Adventure Arcata Playhouse is bringing the British tradition of a Christmas pantomime to Humboldt once again. Pantomimes are often thought of as silent endeavors but this incarnation is the opposite. Christmas pantomimes, or “pantos,” are community centered, derived theater that combines […]
Posted inPoetry
Deep Gratitude
Deep Gratitude For everything that sings For leaves rustling in the wind And blossoms returning every spring Deep Gratitude For the four directions For the brightly shining sun And the moon’s reflections Deep Gratitude For winter, summer, day and night For the world going ‘round And wild birds in flight Deep Gratitude For joy unplanned […]
Posted inScreens
Wake Up Dead Man Keeps Faith
WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY. Writer-director Rian Johnson’s Knives Out (2019) is marvelous on a number of levels, harkening back to the ensemble Agatha Christie adaptations of the 1970s and, like the work of the queen of whodunnits, its cheerful skewering of the rich and powerful. In it, we meet gentleman detective […]
Posted inFront Row
The Wizard of Oz Leads with Its Heart
The excitement for this beloved show coupled with the inspiration that wide-eyed children get when they see their peers on stage is already well worth the ticket price to Ferndale Repertory Theatre’s newest production of The Wizard of Oz. As more families swoop up the already scarce tickets, this is one of those shows that sparks the imagination of a new generation of superstars that we will be awed by in future productions. Where the […]
Posted inScreens
Sisu: Road to Revenge Stays Driven
SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE. The original Sisu (2022), written and directed by Jalmari Helander is a marvelously focused action movie with nods to American Westerns but roots firmly in the history and cold mud of Finland. The movie takes its name from a Finnish word for grim determination that allows a person to push beyond […]
Posted inFront Row
A Christmas Carol Sings in the Season
Devised theater is (or should be) an exciting and fun process. It is the process of collaboratively creating new work through improvisation and exploration. The final product can be inspiring, whimsical and impactful when executed perfectly, or messy, unfinished and forced as productions balance creating a cohesive ensemble and an innovative piece simultaneously. Further, predicting the impact on the audience can be challenging as some elements that the collaboration loves in rehearsal could be lost in its transference to the stage. Luckily, North Coast Repertory Theatre’s newest offering of the devised A […]
Posted inPoetry
Short days
Long short day and I feel Every moment of it. So late the sun Rises now, and so soon It’s set. Apparently my daily list Hasn’t got The memo yet. — Dottie Simmons
Posted inScreens
Getting Away
The Running Manand Keeper THE RUNNING MAN. Even back in the salad days of ridiculous action movies, of impossible physiques and ridiculous armaments, The Running Man (1987) struck me as second tier. Maybe because it wasn’t grounded in a recognizable reality, or because it was released so close to Predator (also 1987) and Die Hard […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Holiday Open Houses Ring in the Season
Eureka’s rolling out two holiday open houses to kickstart your shopping season and get you in the spirit. Old Town and Downtown go first with their Downtown and Old Town Holiday Open House happening Friday, Nov.14, from 5 to 8 p.m., with live music, face painting, food trucks, warm drinks, Humboldt Bay Fire’s truck and […]
Posted inFront Row
Exit Theatre’s Getting Dark Stays Sharp
While Cal Poly Humboldt stages Greek tragedy, above the Arcata Plaza, the Exit Theatre presents Getting Dark: Three One-Act Comedies by local playwright Daniel Lehman. The theme of getting dark is presented differently in each vignette where Lehman asks heavy questions in light ways without ever getting saccharine. The first, Is He Sick? is an […]