Arts/Leisure
Review: Market Theatre’s “Tick, Tick, Boom” Full of Angst, Hope
It’s easy to see that “Tick, Tick, Boom” was originally conceived as a one-man show. Instead, it was rewritten for Broadway as a work for three performers, who often flash notebook covers to remind the audience of character changes.
MTP Crooner Tribute a Kick in the Head
The musical jukebox, featuring songs stamped forever in many of our memories, pays tribute to Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Andy Williams, Bobby Darin, Nat King Cole and others, had an almost-full house at opening night smiling, bobbing their heads and even a few snapping their fingers for the tribute.
Arts Center Awards Student Artists
As part of the annual Youth Art Month activities, the Anderson Arts Center hosted the student art exhibit show on Sunday. More than 400 entries from Anderson County schools and home school students were on display.
S.C. Lawmakers Split on Tort Reform Bill
The first big fight of the 2025 legislative session in South Carolina is splitting Republicans and Democrats as well as attorneys, businesses and insurers as the Senate looks to change how the state handles some civil lawsuits.
A bill that supporters said is far from a finished product is making its way to the Senate floor this week.
MTP Bring Agatha Christie Murders to Life
If you are a fan of Agatha Christie or any of the BBC detective shows, you are not likely to find a more enjoyable and satisfying production than MTP’s “And Then There Were None.”
Shows continue through March 2. Tickets here.
Review: “Ma Rainey” a Dark Blues Wonder
In the end, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is a recollection on the socioeconomic and psychological legacies of racism against African Americans which are at the root of so much of the generational self-destruction still evident today.
Market Theatre’s presentation is not to be missed and runs through Feb. 24. Tickets here.
Art a Family Legacy for New Arts Center Director
As executive director, she hopes to expand the center’s involvement in public art with both the City of Anderson and Anderson County.
Artist, Educator to Retire from AU
Her work as a painter, mixed media artist and photographer has been included in more than 200 exhibitions around the world, and retirement will not mean an end to her creative efforts.
MTP Cornbread Christmas a Holiday Treat
The production is an enthusiastic deep-fried tribute to cornbread Christmas, and a throwback to the energy of “The Arthur Smith Show,” which was televised nationwide from 1951-1982 or “The Porter Wagoner Show.” The only thing missing was Speck Roads, although Mill Town Players founder Will Ragland brings a fried chicken breath performance, complete with Whispering Bill Anderson wig.
Market Theatre "Rocky Horror" a Time Warp
The Market Theatre kicked off a Halloween offering this weekend, with “The Rocky Horror Show,” a mixture of horror, science-fiction and sexual coming of age story intended exclusively for an adult audience. This one is not for the kids.
The show is based on the movie of the same name which debuted in London in 1973 as a sendup of corny sci-fi films from the 1950s, the same fare “Mystery Science Theater” later tackled on cable television (which did not feature a transvestite host).
Review: "Sugar Bean Sisters" a Treat Full of Tricks
There are too many surprises for me to say any more other than this one is among the most entertaining local plays I’ve seen, with engaging performances, fine directing and the perfect set.
Photo credit: Escobar Photography
"Rocky Horror" to Rock Market Theatre
In this stage version of the cult classic movie, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Along the way they meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker and a creepy butler. Through elaborate dances and rock music, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named “Rocky.”
The stage play includes extra songs and verses not in the movie, and there are a few other changes, but the spirit of the story and audience interaction remain the same.
MTP Bring Spooky "Sugar Bean Sisters" to Pelzer
The aging Nettles sisters are determined to escape spinsterhood. Willie Mae plans to head out to Salt Lake and finding a good Mormon husband. Faye is ready to hop on a spaceship when the "space people" return for another visit (She witnessed the first landing 25 years earlier in her daddy’s sugarcane field. Her daddy claims to have seen dead people walking through Sugar Bean).
Market Theatre to Bring "James and the Giant Peach" Downtown
The Market Theatre, in cooperation with the City of Anderson, will present the family-friendly musical “James and The Giant Peach” Aug. 22-26 in Carolina Wren Park.
The production is free, and those who attend are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket, and picnic baskets and coolers are welcomed (though no glass or outside alcohol is allowed), but pets are not allowed in the park for the show.
24-Hour Musical Celebrates 10 Years Saturday
Tickets are free for the production, which will be performed at 7 p.m. at Anderson University’s Henderson Auditorium, but reserved seating is $25 and will go to offsetting costs of the musical.
Solid Performances Drive Mill Town Players "Bonnie & Clyde"
“Bonnie & Clyde” runs through Aug. 11 at the Mill Town Players. Tickets here.
Review: MTP "Barefoot" an Engaging Walk in the Park
The Mill Town Players’ "Barefoot in" the Park" is a carbonated, wacky comedy, with a small cast bubbling with big jokes and a running bit that leaves the actors breathless and the audience laughing.
Art Slam Winner Moss Work on Exhibit at Library
Moss is the winner of the Anderson Arts Center “Art Slam” held in February, a competition where artists from the area were provided with a box of random items and given two hours to create an original piece of mix-media art.
Her work will be on display at the library through June 14.
SculpTOUR Adds 5 New Works for 2024
Five new public sculptures have joined other works on the streets downtown as part of the Anderson Arts Center’s SculpTOUR, a public partnership between the Anderson Arts Center and the City of Anderson to increase public art downtown.