Rudy Panucci On Pop Culture

Month: March 2010 (Page 2 of 2)

Old Abner, Live Music, Adventure, Toys, Spaceships and More

The PopCulteer
March 12, 2010

Dogpatch Blues

One of the worst-kept secrets in town over the last few months has been the just-officially-announced “Reunion” production of the musical “Lil Abner” that is supposed to take place this fall. Kanawha Players, an organization that’s been dealing with some pressing money and organizational issues of late, has apparently signed on to stage this musical at the behest of Charleston’s Mayor, Danny Jones (right). Jones is putting up the money for the production, but there’s one big string attached.

Danny Jones wants to reprise his role as Lil’ Abner. A role he played on stage before….in 1986.

I believe that, by the time the projected play dates come around, our illustrious Mayor will be 60 years old. The title character of “Lil’ Abner” is supposed to be 18. Now this should just be a fun little news story about our goofy mayor and his latest misadventures, but it’s taken a darker turn, and I have a personal stake in it.

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Eva Elution and Mother Nang On RFC 95

Radio Free Charleston‘s ninety-fifth episode, “Glen Brogan’s Visible Grimace Shirt,” is in the books, or at least in this post, up at the top (and if it isn’t, click here). This episode of RFC showcases new music from Eva Elution and vintage music from Mother Nang. We also have our usual animation and mind-hurting weirdness. Plus we revisit the very first 60 Second Art Show, featuring the art of Felix Krasyk.

We shot our host segments Saturday morning, taking advantage of the gorgeous weather. Our location was Kanawha Boulevard, just East of the latest prolonged blockage of Charleston’s favorite artery.

One of the reasons we picked this location is that it’s near The Boulevard Tavern, where Mother Nang is playing this Friday.

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Monday Morning Art: Saturn

Today’s artistic wake-up call is a digital painting, “Saturn.” It’s an exercise in color composition and black space. The yellow sphere is supposed to be Titan, but I moved it inside the rings because it looked better there. Click the image to see a bigger version.

Bonus Sunday Video: Not The Messiah

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Swiped from Mark Evanier’s blog,above you see the trailer for a UK cinema event. I’m sure it’ll come out on DVD over here eventually. Fans of Monty Python take note….this one’s for you.

Sunday Evening Video: Suddenly, Last Summer

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This week we’re going to revisit a couple of episodes of Radio Free Charleston from last summer. Up above you should see episode 73, with OVADA and The Limbs, plus A Plant Ro Duction Mini Movie, and host segments that were shot downtown, in front of FestivAll-related art installations by Amy Williams and Mark Wolfe.

After the jump, check out episode 74, with music from Slate Dump and J. Marinelli, plus another Plant Ro Duction Mini Movie, a quick visit from Mad Man Pondo and a friend, and end credit music from Jerry Fugate.

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Alice, Shazam And More

The PopCulteer
March 5, 2010

“Alice” A Winner

Tim Burton’s “Alice In Wonderland” is the closest yet that anyone has come to capturing the magic of Lewis Carroll on the big screen. This is darker, by far, but it seems truer to the spirit of the original works than other movie attempts.

Part of the reason for this is the nature of Carroll’s two “Alice” books. The surrealism takes precedent over the plot and the experience of the stories is dependent upon the imagination of the reader. It’s an example of the art of description.

Once interpreted visually, a little bit of the magic is depleted, and the weaknesses of the story become more apparent. The innocence of Carroll’s work doesn’t hold up to a strict intepretation.
Screenwriter Linda Woolverton gets around this by telling a different story than Carroll did. In this telling, Alice is a nineteen year old woman about to be married, who is drawn back to Wonderland (or “Underland”) in its time of crisis. There are slight echoes of King Arthur returning to Britain in its time of greatest need, only in this case, Alice is not a king, but merely a stabilizing force of near-sanity in a pre-Dadaistic world of Victorian surrealism.There is a reason for Wonderland in this telling.

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