Author: Lisa Olson
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Guthrie Theater’s “South Pacific” Soars
I walked into the Guthrie’s new production of South Pacific perhaps a little sadistically eager to measure it against the national tour of the 2008 Broadway revival. That tour’s performance at the Ordway was one of my favorite theatrical experiences of all time. South Pacific is a musical set during World War II, about two…
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“X-Men: Apocalypse” and the Saturation Point of Serial Comic Entertainment
I work in a comic book store. Like, full time, benefits, get sent to San Diego Comic Con, seriously-Mom-and-Dad-this-is-a-viable-life-choice, work in a comic book store. I hear a lot about comic book movies and we need to establish something about comic books. Comics are much weirder and dumber and more glorious than you think. When…
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Marvel Wins Again With “Captain America: Civil War”
I found myself thinking about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice a lot while I was watching Captain America: Civil War. The films both address the evergreen comic-book question of acceptable losses. Is any civilian casualty in the fight against demon aliens attacking New York from a portal in the sky acceptable? Is it the…
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“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2”: It’s Heavy
Essentially, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2 does exactly what you want it to: it faithfully portrays the final cluster of action sequences and delivers on that cathartic epilogue. The ongoing love triangle that so defined the first three films is largely absent in this, the orgy of thinly veiled social commentary and inevitable…
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We’re never truly landlocked
The projectile vomit just sprang into being. I don’t remember a transitional state or any inkling that it would happen like that—just the timeless, world-ending nausea of “before” and then the “oh my God.” This was how I learned that I had become susceptible to sea sickness. Previous family deep-sea fishing trips had been one…
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Transatlantic Love Affair wears “These Old Shoes” well at Illusion Theater
If you’re scrambling for a last-minute Valentine’s idea, make yourself look like a romantic genius for snagging tickets to one of the last performances of These Old Shoes. The show is the latest from local theater and Fringe-Festival-audience-slaying group Transatlantic Love Affair at their home away from home, Illusion Theater. I’m kind of a groupie—I’ve…
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Cindy Lou Who is Beowulf
When I explain, at length, to people why The Grinch Who Stole Christmas is a retelling of Beowulf, they always assume it’s some kind of insult to one of the iconic texts. This is just untrue. I know this because I’ve spent a generous amount of time over the last several holiday seasons thinking about…
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Meet the Gävlebocken, Sweden’s Christmas goat that dies a thousand deaths
The Gävlebocken, or the Gävle Goat, is a 42.5-foot-tall goat made entirely out of straw that resides in the town square of Gävle, Sweden for part of each winter. Each year, you can place bets on its survival. To the descendants of the somewhat mysterious early Scandinavians and earlier Germanic people of northern Europe, the…
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An open letter to the New York Times’ David Tanis re: #Grapegate
David, call your mom. We don’t have heiresses here, we have the Royal Court of Princess Kay of the Milky Way and sometimes Kim Kardashian bangs a professional athlete in town. Whatever pale, gold-plated woman you found in NYC was lying to you. She is not the long-lost daughter of a Swedish royal who is…
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“I’ll Be Me”: Glen Campbell documentary is a must-see chronicle of a family living with Alzheimer’s
If you’d told me that in the same summer as The Fault in Our Stars I would see an even more emotionally taxing film I would not have believed you. If you’d told me that film would be about Glen Campbell, I would have told you to stop drinking and called you a cab. But…
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“The Fault In Our Stars” Survival Guide
However useless I would be in the event of plagues, natural disasters and the like, I am your best friend when it comes to social phenomena launched by teenagers. Give up trying to ignore this Fault in Our Stars thing with those weird clouds and girls who cry when you say the word “okay” to…
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My Internal Tweet Monologue During “Divergent”
No mystery behind teen apocalypse phenom: Your feelings are literally the center of the world & u get hot bf. SOLD. Gasp! It’s Rose! Where’s Jack, Rose? Where’s Jack? Still in the ocean where u let him freeze and die? #1997 #NeverForget No one ever mentioned Skrillex in the books. Who’s making this music? The…