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Bruce Hetrick

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NOTIONS: Will the change bandwagon ever roll our way?

On the presidential campaign trail these past few weeks, the dominant exit-polling insight seems to be that Americans are hungry for change. Voters have told interviewers they’re weary of the direction we’re headed, tired of the politics of the past and eager to forego the status quo. And so the presidential candidates, Republican and Democrat alike, have jumped on the change bandwagon, ridden it from Iowa to New Hampshire, and tried to explain why they’ve been, are, or could be…

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Hamlisch and show music matters

Appreciative applause met Marvin Hamlisch when, just a few hours ago, he announced from the podium at the Hilbert Circle Theatre that he’d be conducting a medley of songs from “My Fair Lady” as part of his pops program with…

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Naked in Carmel

Few would object, on the one end, to a Norman Rockwell painting being hung in an art gallery window.

Few, at the other end, would approve of a city park screening of a Jenna Jameson skin flick.

But where is the line…

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Super hero museum closes

Superman leaps tall buildings in a single bound (note: If he can fly, why does he bother leaping? Just asking).

Dane Nash took his own enormous leap—of faith—when he decided to put his Superman and Batman memorabilia collection—including a full-sized Batmobile…

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You-review-it Monday

This weekend, I caught Dance Kaleidoscope’s “Funny Feet,” The Phoenix Theatre’s “End Days,” Beef & Board’s “Run for Your Wife” and stopped in, briefly, at the Midwest Museum of Contemporary Art’s “Backyard” at the Harrison Center.

In short, I spent a…

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Lining up for Romans

A three-hour wait to see a show at the Indianapolis Museum of Art?That’s what patrons report occurred in late December as Hoosiers took advantage of some free time to see “Roman Art from the Louvre” during its final…

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IBJ Night at the Movies

Want to join us at an advance screening of one of the most critically acclaimed movies of the year?

I’ll get to how in a second.

First, I wanted to ask if critics—of books, art, concerts, whatever—have influenced where you’ve decided to…

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Indy arts: The Ballard years

“…  Frankly, if it comes down to another piece of art or another cop on the street, that’s not a close call.”
So said Greg Ballard in a post-election interview with IBJ.

With Ballard now officially on the job as mayor of…

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Holiday Movies

The holiday movie season started for me with a sneak of “The Kite Runner,” continued with the flawed-but-fascinating “No Country for Old Men,” took me through the nail-biting “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead,” sidetripped into the domestic drama “The…

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NOTIONS: Upon the solstice, a passage about passage

We marked the winter solstice last week and ushered in the cold season. She arrived, however, on the arm of a promise that the days will grow longer and warmer, renewal waltzing in on their wake. As the seasons turn and the year wanes, indulge me a passage about passage. Early one morning long, long ago, my former wife Laura and I found ourselves seated across from one another at a small table in the basement cafeteria of Wills Eye…

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A&E dining: before and after

Last Friday, after catching the musical “Assassins” at Hedback Theatre, I barely made it to the new Meridian Bar and Restaurant in time for a late dinner.

What I want to talk about now, though, isn’t the show (that review will…

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Live … from the big screen

A few weeks back in my IBJ Daily A&E e-mail blast (you can subscribe for free here: http://www.ibj.com/2k6_2/forms/regform_nh.asp),  I wrote about a recent presentation of a LaScala opera on screen at the Rave movie theater at Metropolis.

Last night, at…

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A new ISO marketing move

Just yesterday, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra announced a new addition to its schedule–a Tuesday night preview concert of music excerpts from upcoming shows. The Jan. 8 coming-attractions evening ticket price is $5, which also includes a 2-for-1 offer for a future show.

Getting…

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IBJ movie night: “The Savages”

If you picked up your tickets to see the preview of “The Savages,” the first IBJ Night at the Movies, please share your thoughts on the film after Monday night’s screening.

And look to “Lou Harry’s A&E” for information on future…

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Price points

One of the productions I’ll be reviewing in the next IBJ is “Assassins,” the Stephen Sondheim musical staged by the new Indy-based company Lowbrow Productions (information at www.lowbrowproductions.org).

Something I probably won’t be mentioning in the article: The fact that…

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End Times/Good Times

Today, “I am Legend” opens in theaters and “The Mist” is still lingering. I’m hoping to see both this weekend.
Next month, “End Days” opens at the Phoenix Theatre, and Spotlight Theatre will stage the apocalyptic “Early One Evening at the…

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Mellencamp in the Hall of Fame

Just moments ago, it was announced that John Mellencamp will be inducted into Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A celebration of the honorees will occur March 10 at the Waldorf-Astoria in NYC.

 Is it too early for Mellencamp? Too…

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The Broadway series: What’s next?

A decent enough production of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” is being presented this week at Clowes Memorial  Hall as part of the Broadway in Indianapolis series (my review will appear in the upcoming IBJ) and lobby speculation at Tuesday’s opening had…

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Ballet in Indy: Another nut to crack.

For a town where dance lovers are still mourning the 2005 loss of Ballet Internationale, Indy seems to have an overabundance of sugar plum fairies this season, with Butler U.’s, Gregory Hancock’s, and the Indiana Ballet Co.’s   all going toe…

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NOTIONS: Read my lips: No taxes whatsoever. Nada. Zip.

I was driving through the Meridian-Kessler neighborhood when I spotted the sign. It was posted in the manicured front lawn of a brick bungalow on a wooded corner lot. It said: “Stop taxing our property.” At other nice houses up and down the same tree-lined street, other signs dotted other manicured lawns. Many of them bore the same message: “For Sale By Owner.” Below that, the signs cited the purported cause of the alleged listings: “excess taxation.” I had the…

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