‘River Murders’ opens at Lantern
“The River Murders” is now showing at the Magic Lantern Theatre, 25 W. Main Ave., but you may remember it under a different name: “The River Sorrow.”
This Ray Liotta-Christian Slater-Ving Rhames thriller was filmed as “The River Sorrow” in Spokane last fall. It still carried its old title at the Cannes Film Festival in May, when it had its premiere and gala party.
Sometime between then and now, it had a title makeover.
The director, Rich Cowan (“The Basket”) of Spokane’s North by Northwest production company, said that Sony now owns the movie and they changed the name for marketing reasons. They didn’t consult with Cowan, who is still partial to the original title.
The movie opened Friday at the Magic Lantern, but it won’t have a wide theatrical release. In fact, the DVD release is scheduled for Tuesday.
The film features a number of local actors – Wes Deitrick, Nike Imoru, Kelly Eviston and Patrick Treadway, to name just a few.
Newly announced shows
Here are a few new entries in the event list:
• Gaelic Storm, Nov. 6, 7:30 p.m., Bing Crosby Theater; $22, through TicketsWest outlets. A Celtic band out of the British Isles, by way of Santa Monica.
• Soul Salvation: Ruthie Foster and her band with Paul Thorn, Feb. 3, 8 p.m. at the Bing Crosby Theater; $27, through TicketsWest. Foster is a folk-blues-soul powerhouse (and one of the best performers I have ever seen at the Festival at Sandpoint) and Thorn is a contemporary blues-rock singer-songwriter.
• “Pop Goes the Rock” by Cirque Dreams, April 29, 6:30 p.m., INB Performing Arts Center; $25-$65, on sale Sept. 30 through TicketsWest. The troupe (not to be confused with Cirque du Soleil) bills this as a “rock ’n’ roll party set in a carnival funhouse.”
Theater galas
The new theater season opens this week and both of Spokane’s stage institutions are holding special opening-night fundraising events:
• Interplayers Professional Theatre’s Opening Night Gala for “The Boys Next Door,” Friday beginning at 6 p.m. with catered appetizers and a silent auction. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. and dessert will be served at intermission. Tickets are $24 and $20, by calling (509) 455-PLAY or through TicketsWest.
• Spokane Civic Theatre’s 65th Anniversary Gala for “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” Friday, doors open for catered food and live and silent auctions at 6:30 p.m., show starts at 7:30. Tickets are $35, by calling (509) 325-2507 or TicketsWest.
A giant Gendron mural
Artist Ric Gendron has begun work on the final touches to the new American Indian Activity Center at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture: a 200-square-foot wraparound mural.
Gendron, a member of the Colville and Umatilla tribes, has been commissioned to create a narrative-style mural which will cover three of the new center’s wall spaces, floor to ceiling.
He began work on Friday and should be finished by mid-October. Visitors can watch him work during regular museum hours, but please don’t distract him. He has a lot of painting to do.
The American Indian Activity Center is on the museum’s second level and will host lectures, storytelling and art experiences centered on Plateau cultural traditions.
A Nobel winner visits
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Muta Maathai of Kenya, founder of the Green Belt Movement and advocate for African democracy, will be featured in Gonzaga University’s Presidential Speaker Series event on Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
Her presentation will include a screening of the award-winning documentary “Taking Root,” which chronicles her work in pan-African forest conservation.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and $5 for students and employees of any educational institution. They can be purchased at www.gonzaga.edu/wangari or through TicketsWest outlets (800-325-SEAT or www.ticketswest.com).
By the way, this means that Gonzaga will be hosting a Nobel Peace Prize winner and two Pulitzer Prize winners during this school year.
We previously noted that Jennifer Egan, author of the 2011 Pulitzer fiction winner “A Visit from the Goon Squad,” will speak on Jan. 31, and Junot Diaz, 2008 Pulitzer fiction winner for “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” will speak on Feb. 22 as part of Gonzaga University’s Visiting Writers Series. Those two events will be free.
No Campbell show
The Glen Campbell concert scheduled for Nov. 20 at the Northern Quest Casino and Resort has been canceled.
No explanation was given, although it looks like Campbell’s schedule has been cleared off from Nov. 13 through Dec. 2.