Irish Tradition on the Move

by Paul Heft

Sullivan’s bar, a long-time St. Patrick’s Day tradition, has served the midtown community since 1954, and the current owner is planning to continue that trend in a new location across the street. Owner Dan Houlihan has managed the establishment since 2001 when the chance presented itself. Houlihan had been working his way up in bars and restaurants for years before that. “I thrive on the high energy, fast-paced...

From Super Heros to Zombies

by William Grennan

Molly Welsh has worn many different hats at the Great Plains Theatre Conference. She’s been a house manager, an actor, a location manager, a sound designer and a participating playwright. This year, she dons the playwriting cap once again as one of only two Nebraska playwrights chosen for the GPTC PlayLab readings (and the only playwright from Omaha). This is Welsh’s second play selected for Great Plains (her...

Pushing the Artform and Connecting Communities

by William Grennan

Now into it’s 8th year, the Great Plains Theatre Conference continues to evolve into one of the premiere theatrical experiences both locally and nationally. The conference gathers top national artists and playwrights that respond and give feedback to new works from across the country while also hosting workshops for emerging writers to help craft their voices. Equally important, Producing Artistic Director Kevin...

The Hood Internet

by Kyle Eustice

             The mash-up phenomenon exploded when Girl Talk hit the scene and in 2007, two friends from Chicago decided they could do it, too. So they put up a music blog and called it The Hood Internet. Six years later, Steve Reidell (STV SLV) and Aaron Brinx (ABX) have boiled down mash-ups into an exact science. Taking indie rock and, often times, “crunk” rap, they smoosh them together, a formula which has...

Martin Sexton

by Kyle Eustice

             Like Neil Young, Tom Petty and many other acoustic musicians before him, Martin Sexton finds solace in the simple act of strumming a guitar. Whether it’s sitting on a rock at the Grand Canyon or on stage in front of thousands of people, if Sexton has his guitar, he’s going to be alright. The 47-year-old singer-songwriter has collaborated with everyone from John Mayer to Peter Frampton. He blends...

Addams Family and Gearing Up for Great Plains

by William Grennan

            In 1933 Charles Addams published his first cartoon in the New Yorker when was just 21. Over the course of nearly six decades, he became known as one of the magazines most cherished contributors. Today, he’s most widely known for his characters that came to be called The Addams Family, a group that evolved into multiple television shows, motion pictures, and now a Broadway Musical that opens this week...

Wow! 4-Star Comedy Smash Hit at Barn

by Warren Francke

It’s too bad Ben Beck wasn’t overweight when he started rehearsing as the leading man in The 39 Steps. He’d have shed any extra pounds during its six-week run at the Blue Barn.

Instead he gains the chance to be a 1930s Hollywood hero ala Alfred Hitchcock, whose portly presence even shows up silhouetted in as fast-paced an action comedy as you’ll ever see on stage. He’s helped by a comely and curvaceous Kirstin...