IndyStar.com: Entertainment
Indiana's leading news source for all the top stories, local news, sports and weather.
Oprah decides to end show after reflection
CHICAGO — Oprah Winfrey says her powerhouse daytime television show will end its run in 2011 after 25 seasons on the air. Winfrey said today that her decision to end “The Oprah Winfrey Show” came “after much prayer and careful...
Raconteurs' Brendan Benson returns to flying solo
Brendan Benson has been making clever, emotive power pop since the mid-’90s. But it took a role with Jack White as co-leader of the Raconteurs to introduce Benson to the masses. Scheduled to perform Saturday at the Music Mill, Benson is on tour...
Sound Bites
For a cause: Widespread Panic’s Wednesday appearance at the Murat Theatre will benefit Gleaners Food Bank. Attendees who donate non-perishable food will be eligible to win a tour poster autographed by the band. Visit www.live nation.com. Right...
Hot Tickets
Tickets go on sale at 4:20 p.m. today for a Cheech&Chong performance scheduled Jan. 22 at the Murat Theatre, 502 N. New Jersey St. Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong rose to fame as counterculture jesters during the 1970s, and reunited in 2008 after a...
Curtain Call
‘Peter Pan’ aloft Footlite Musicals knows a thing or two about flying. Fruma-Sarah dive-bombed Tevye’s dream in Footlite’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof,” and Gabriel did his last-trump thing on wires in...
Critic suggests promising pictures this holiday season
What do you want for Christmas? Movie-wise, it’s gotten to the point where a good story and maybe a star or two would do. But with Hollywood feeling the financial pinch along with the rest of the country, the studios are more inclined than ever...
'2012' brings fame in 2009 to Chiwetel Ejiofor
London-born actor builds on past stage and screen work NEW YORK — If the world comes to an end, don’t expect Chiwetel Ejiofor to hand you a lifeline. “I’d be very choosy. It would just be family and close friends. Sorry, dude,...
Music of Dylan, Led Zeppelin to rock Tonic Ball fundraiser
One night, two stages, more than 30 bands and a whole lot of art. Tonic Ball is back. Started in 2002 by Ken Honeywell, the Tonic Ball brings together bands to raise money for Second Helpings, an organization that reclaims surplus food from hotels...
Energy, entertainment define Cyrus juggernaut
Regardless of whether Miley Cyrus has been anointed by the Disney promotional machine and foisted to stardom, she’s a dynamite concert attraction. Cyrus, who will turn 17 next week, overpowered a capacity crowd Monday night at Conseco...
Cheech & Chong to bring 'Get It Legal' to Murat
Cheech&Chong will perform Jan. 22 at the Murat Theatre as part of the comedy duo’s “Get It Legal” tour. Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong rose to fame as counterculture jesters during the 1970s and reunited in 2008 after a lengthy...
$2.8M deficit is highest ever for ISO
Orchestra says it plans to work its way into the black without cutting programs When the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra takes the stage these days, it will carry the weight of a $2.8 million deficit on its shoulders — the largest in its...
Other organizations also feeling the pinch
The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra isn’t alone in its financial woes. Leaders of arts organizations across the city report difficulties raising funds in the tight economy. The Indianapolis Opera ended its 2008-09 fiscal year June 30 with a...
Cheech & Chong to play Murat on Jan. 22
Cheech&Chong will perform Jan. 22 at the Murat Theatre as part of the comedy duo’s “Get It Legal” tour. Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong rose to fame as counterculture jesters during the 1970s, and reunited in 2008 after a lengthy estrangement....
Best bets
Spirit Place: A Public Conversation When: 3:30 p.m. today. Where: St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W. 86th St. Admission: Free. For more information, visit www.spiritandplace.org, or call (317) 278-3623. On the final day of this...
No trophy is required for actor to enjoy his role
Like Rainn Wilson of “The Office” and Neil Patrick Harris of “How I Met Your Mother,” Kevin Dillon has been nominated for a best supporting actor Emmy the past three years and each time has gone home empty handed. On two of...
Tonight's Letterman show has Indy focus
David Letterman will be talking about his Hoosier roots on tonight’s show. Seems Letterman (who was in Broad Ripple High School’s Class of 1965 and regularly refers to Indianapolis on his late night talk show) dropped a smoke bomb in...
Prof: End-of-times fad rises from hard times
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A Purdue University assistant professor says the recent Hollywood focus on apocalyptic movies is no surprise given the nation’s economic climate. Assistant professor of history Michael Ryan says every culture has a...
Young 'Two and a Half Men' star is acting naturally
Is it fair that one of Hollywood’s richest and most successful young actors didn’t set out to be a performer — in fact, never took an acting class — when there are thousands of others like him, sweating auditions, posing for...
Chris Botti's crossover style lends pop to ISO
How does a trumpeter associated with the smooth-jazz genre make his mark in appearances with symphony orchestras? “It’s a combination of a few things,” said Chris Botti in a phone interview, “starting with the great band I...
Aerial assault all in good fun in Footlite's 'Pan'
Footlite Musicals has a little bit of flying experience — Fruma-Sarah dive-bombed Tevye’s dream in “Fiddler on the Roof,” and Gabriel did his last-trump thing on wires in “Blow, Gabriel, Blow” (“Anything...
Curtain Call
New string quartet Ensemble Music Society welcomes the St. Lawrence String Quartet to its series Wednesday in a program featuring a new work written for it by John Adams, one of the most prominent living American composers. Adams’ work was...
Eiteljorg exhibit shows new-look works
Artists show Native American pieces needn’t be limited to beads, baskets and blankets It took eight, 50-pound bags of rice to create Edward Poitras’ “Home and Garden,” the largest piece in an exhibit opening Saturday that...
Singer took an unconventional path to her opera career
Maureen O’Flynn’s rsum includes stint as medical aide Maureen O’Flynn may not end up with a safe academic post at the end of her singing career. “In today’s world, they don’t accept an international career...
Meat Puppets persevere through the years
The Meat Puppets were punk-rock outsiders in the 1980s and grunge hitmakers in the 1990s. In the 21st century, they’re survivors. Bass player Cris Kirkwood is back in the band after battling heroin addiction and serving prison time for...
Lou Dobbs, CNN part ways
NEW YORK — Lou Dobbs may have left his anchor chair, but he says he’ll keep talking. The last of the original CNN hosts, Dobbs told viewers on Wednesday that he was quitting his nightly show — effective at the end of the hour...
Taylor Swift wins CMA entertainer of the year
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It’s been Taylor Swift’s year, and Wednesday was her night as she became the youngest person and the first solo female act in a decade to win the Country Music Association’s entertainer of the year award....
Zac Brown Band has Pepsi Coliseum date
The Zac Brown Band, nominated in the new artist and vocal group categories at Wednesday’s CMA Awards, will perform Dec. 29 at the Pepsi Coliseum, 1202 E. 38th St. Tickets, $38.50 and $31, go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. For tickets, visit...
Zac Brown Band to play Pepsi Coliseum
The Zac Brown Band, nominated in the new artist and vocal group categories at Wednesday’s CMA Awards, will perform Dec. 29 at the Pepsi Coliseum, 1202 E. 38th St. Tickets, $38.50 and $31, go on sale 10 a.m. Saturday. Tickets will be available by...
Indiana musicians find the road to country music success goes to Nashville
To go from being a little-known singer to a Country Music Association award nominee, Joey Martin made a logical move from Indiana to Nashville. She didn’t have any contacts in “Music City, U.S.A.” in 1998, but Martin wanted to do...
Quaint setting helps showcase quality show
It’s ironic that the label on Saturday night’s Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra concert was “Freedom Without Walls” — a slogan even available on T-shirts for sale in the lobby — when walls had so much to do with its...
