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Carolyn Lamberson

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News >  Features

Spotlight: Lake City Playhouse to open with ‘Les Mis’

Fans of “Les Misérables” will have cause to visit Coeur d’Alene in the fall, as Lake City Playhouse plans to open its 2014-15 season with the massively popular musical . George Green, Lake City’s artistic director, will helm the show, which will run Sept. 12-Oct. 12. For those unfamiliar with the story, “Les Mis” is based on Victor Hugo’s epic novel and centers on Jean Valjean, convicted for stealing bread, and Javert, the policeman who pursues Valjean relentlessly. It’s all set against the backdrop of the French Revolution and includes the song “I Dreamed a Dream.”
A&E >  Entertainment

Symphony rings in year with joy

Ludwig van Beethoven’s final symphony, his ninth, is one of the best known pieces of classical music and considered by many to be among the composer’s masterworks. Ted Libbey, in his “NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection,” called Beethoven’s Ninth a “revolutionary innovation,” one that in its famous fourth movement “Ode to Joy” reflects Beethoven’s notion that “high moral truths – joy in the embrace of brotherhood, awe in the presence of the Creator of the universe – have to be felt on that level if they are to have any meaning at all.”
A&E >  Entertainment

Symphony rings in year with joy

Ludwig van Beethoven’s final symphony, his ninth, is one of the best known pieces of classical music and considered by many to be among the composer’s masterworks. Ted Libbey, in his “NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection,” called Beethoven’s Ninth a “revolutionary innovation,” one that in its famous fourth movement “Ode to Joy” reflects Beethoven’s notion that “high moral truths – joy in the embrace of brotherhood, awe in the presence of the Creator of the universe – have to be felt on that level if they are to have any meaning at all.”
News >  Features

Book Notes: Walter, Wrigley shortlisted for PNBA awards

Two area authors have been shortlisted for the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association’s 2014 Book Awards. Spokane’s Jess Walter was nominated for his short story collection, “We Live in Water.” University of Idaho professor and poet Robert Wrigley made the list for his collection of poetry, “Anatomy of Melancholy and Other Poems.”
News >  Features

Spotlight: Civic, Symphony team up for ‘Les Mis’

Jim Swoboda made quite a splash this fall in what was in essence his musical theater debut. In Spokane Civic Theatre’s production of “Les Miserables,” Swoboda walked into the challenging role of Jean Valjean and turned in a performance S-R critic Nathan Weinbender called remarkable. Now, he’ll get to do it all over again, when Civic and the Spokane Symphony team up to stage the epic musical for one weekend in March. For many in the Civic cast, it will be their first foray onto the stage at the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox.
A&E >  Entertainment

Rimes relishes fans, freedom

It’s been a year on the road for LeAnn Rimes. The country star, who hit the big time with her debut album “Blue” in 1996 – at age 13 – has been touring in support of her latest record, “Spitfire.” The tour brings her to Northern Quest Resort & Casino on Sunday night.
News >  Spokane

‘Les Miserables’ at The Fox pairs Spokane Symphony, Civic Theatre

Spokane Civic Theatre and the Spokane Symphony will team up for the first time in March to stage Civic’s production of “Les Miserables” on the stage at the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox. Resident conductor Morihiko Nakahara will lead the full symphony during the two performances, March 1 and 2.
News >  Features

Spotlight: SpokAnimal donation earns tickets to Civic’s latest

Through today, patrons who make a donation to SpokAnimal can see Spokane Civic Theatre’s production of “The Christmas Schooner” for $11. This offer is good today only through the Civic box office, 1020 N. Howard St. Among the items SpokAnimal seeks are: Purina kitten food, Purina puppy food, high-end treats for Pawsitive Prison Dog Program, chew toys for puppies, dog and cat toys, tennis balls, cat litter and scoopers.
News >  Spokane

‘Million Dollar Quartet’ recreates iconic day

In early December 1956, four musicians gathered by chance at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tenn. As they jammed, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis couldn’t have known that nearly 60 years later, people would be reliving that day.
News >  Features

“Million Dollar Quartet” a lively trip back in time

In early December 1956, four musicians gathered by chance at Sun Studios, in Memphis, Tenn. As they jammed, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis couldn’t have known that nearly 60 years later, people would be reliving that day. With “Million Dollar Quartet,” the jukebox musical that spent a year on Broadway and is now touring nationwide, fans of 1950s rock, country and rockabilly can enjoy a lively and entertaining trip back in time. The show runs through Sunday at the INB Performing Arts Center.
News >  Features

Spotlight: Want to see ‘Christmas Cabaret’ in CdA? Act fast

If you’re interested in seeing “A Christmas Cabaret” at the Coeur d’Alene resort this holiday season, move quickly. The run is nearly sold out, said producer Ellen Travolta. The show stars cabaret singer Mark Cotter and features special guest Jack Bannon and is scheduled Thursdays to Sundays through Dec. 21. Call the Coeur d’Alene Resort’s business office at (208) 765-4000, ext. 21, for ticket information.
A&E >  Entertainment

Boys bringing ‘Elvira’ to Spokane

As unlikely as it seems, “Elvira,” the country crossover hit from 1981, has a Spokane connection. That’s according to one of the men behind the song, Oak Ridge Boy Richard Sterban.
News >  Features

Chris does Christmas

Chris Isaak’s reason for doing an annual holiday tour is simple: He likes to sing Christmas songs. The San Francisco-based singer known for the smoldering hit “Wicked Game,” said by telephone recently he knows other artists – and he won’t name names – who make Christmas records quickly and with the sole purpose of knocking off a contractual obligation. Not so for him.
A&E >  Entertainment

Show offers up menagerie of traditions

When “Traditions of Christmas” takes to the Kroc Center stage starting today, there will be a few assorted animals and 87 local performers – including an Oscar winner. Longtime Coeur d’Alene resident Patty Duke (“The Miracle Worker”) is playing Mrs. Claus. Her husband, Mike Pearce, will be putting on the red suit to play Kris Kringle.
A&E >  Entertainment

Chris does Christmas

Chris Isaak’s reason for doing an annual holiday tour is simple: He likes to sing Christmas songs. The San Francisco-based singer known for the smoldering hit “Wicked Game,” said by telephone recently he knows other artists – and he won’t name names – who make Christmas records quickly and with the sole purpose of knocking off a contractual obligation. Not so for him.
News >  Features

Spokane’s Sophia Caruso part of televised ‘Sound of Music’

When NBC’s ambitious live production of “The Sound of Music” hits the airwaves tonight, Spokane will have a big reason to watch. And that big reason is a 12-year-old girl. Sophia Caruso, who last wowed local audiences as the lead in Spokane Civic Theatre’s production of “Annie” in 2012, will be playing Brigitta von Trapp, one of the seven von Trapp children, in tonight’s live broadcast starring country superstar Carrie Underwood as Maria, Stephen Moyer (“True Blood”) as Capt. von Trapp and Broadway legend Audra McDonald as the Mother Abbess.
A&E >  Entertainment

Alive … and well

As the Seattle rock band Pearl Jam marches to the end of its latest U.S. tour, the reviews are in. And the reviews say fans lucky enough to score tickets to Saturday’s sold-out show at the Spokane Arena can expect a rockin’ and raucous night.
News >  Features

Festival promoters hope to cash in on early sales

It’s not even December and already summer at the Gorge Amphitheatre is taking shape. First, there was word that Arcade Fire will be hitting George, Wash., on Aug. 8 in support of “Reflektor,” the Montreal-based band’s recently released fourth LP. (Those tickets are on sale now. Interesting note: LiveNation.com, the online ticketing agent, urges those attending to wear “formal attire or costume.” Have fun with that.)
A&E >  Entertainment

Alive … and well

As the Seattle rock band Pearl Jam marches to the end of its latest U.S. tour, the reviews are in. And the reviews say fans lucky enough to score tickets to Saturday’s sold-out show at the Spokane Arena can expect a rockin’ and raucous night.
A&E >  Entertainment

‘American’ appeal

In 2004, the pop-punk trio Green Day proved they had more in them than songs about getting off and getting high. In their ambitious album “American Idiot,” the Berkeley-based trio – Billie Joe Armstrong, Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt – raged against the Bush administration, against apathy, against post-9/11 paranoia. As Pitchfork noted in its review, “For all its grandiosity, ‘American Idiot’ keeps its mood and method deliberately, tenaciously, and angrily on point.”
News >  Features

Book Notes: De la Peña puts young adults first

Award-winning author Matt de la Peña has made a career out of writing for teenagers. The San Diego native who now lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., has published four novels for teens, contributed an entry in a sci-fi/fantasy series for middle readers, and created a picture book about boxing legend Joe Louis. His newest book for teens, “The Living,” hits store shelves Tuesday, and two days later he’ll be in Spokane as part of Gonzaga University’s Visiting Writers Series.