Live Culture

Birnam Woods' Pathogen Is Spreading

by Cathy Resmer Posted on November 10, 2013 at 7:26PM

In last week's Seven Days, arts writer Ethan de Seife checked in with Burlington-based Birnam Wood Games about its new release, Pathogen. The strategy game, published by Boston-based Gameblyr, debuted on the App Store on Thursday. BWG held a Pathogen launch party on Friday night, complete with pizza and beer.

Movies You Missed & More: The Playroom

by Margot Harrison Posted on November 8, 2013 at 5:34PM

This week in movies you missed: Two "Deadwood" stars play parents too busy finding themselves to notice their kids in this drama set in 1975.What You MissedTeenage Maggie Cantwell (Olivia Harris, pictured right) and her three younger siblings return home from school to find their parents' suburban living room full of liquor glasses and party detritus — a mess they tidy without comment. Said parents are nowhere to be found.Mom (Molly Parker, left) eventually arrives while Maggie is attempting to lose her virginity in the garage.

A Review: Alison Bechdel's Fun Home the Musical

Posted on November 8, 2013 at 4:35PM

This review was contributed by former Seven Days associate editor Ruth Horowitz, who now lives in Providence, R.I. She and her husband, David Christensen, recently headed to Manhattan to see Fun Home the Musical, at the Public Theater off-Broadway. It is based on Fun Home, the graphic memoir, written/drawn by Vermont-based cartoonist Alison Bechdel.

When the Ogre Met the Princess: 'Shrek' at Town Hall Theater

by Pamela Polston Posted on November 8, 2013 at 7:38AM

Mike Meyers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy are hard acts to follow, but that hasn't stopped any number of contenders from taking on the roles of the grumpy green ogre Shrek, the demanding Princess Fiona and a nonstop-talking Donkey in Shrek the Musical.In the production that launched last night at Middlebury's Town Hall Theater, they are Leigh Guptill, Kim Anderson and Justin Bouvier, respectively (pictured right).THT's newest resident company, called, um, the Company, is tackling the stage-musical version of the Oscar-winning 2001 DreamWorks movie. The Hollywood actors named above lent their voices only to the animated characters.

Better Late Than Never, the Burlington Fringe Festival Is Back

by Pamela Polston Posted on November 7, 2013 at 10:25AM

Andy Gordon called it a "big mix of whatever" last year. But that minimalist description from one of the actors in Potato Sack Pants Theater certainly didn't augur the three-night variety show that was Burlington's Fringe Festival in August 2012.

R.I.P. Vermont Filmmaker Ed Pincus

by Margot Harrison Posted on November 6, 2013 at 5:13PM

UPDATE 11/8: Here is Ed Pincus' obituary in the New York Times.We've received reports that Vermont filmmaker Ed Pincus passed away yesterday.Pincus spent decades farming in Roxbury, Vt., but his renown as a documentarian of the '60s and '70s is national. His film Diaries (1982) helped kick off the trend of personal documentaries that continued in later years with Ross McElwee and prefigured the YouTube generation.Pincus founded MIT's Film Section and coauthored The Filmmaker's Handbook, a standard text for generations of aspiring filmmakers.

An Interview with Phish's Mike Gordon

by Paul Heintz Posted on November 6, 2013 at 12:26PM

Photo courtesy Julia Mordaunt, copyright PhishAs we reported in thisweek’s cover story about Phish’s 30th anniversary, we had theopportunity to speak with bassist Mike Gordon. It was early October, and he andthe band were finishing up rehearsals in Vermont before embarking on their12-date fall tour.We know now that theband was practicing a batch of new songs, 12 of which they performed at theirHalloween show in Atlantic City.

An Interview With Bluesman James Blood Ulmer

by Ethan de Seife Posted on November 5, 2013 at 6:27PM

James Blood Ulmer's music isequal parts blues, free jazz, funk and a lot of other things. He's a ferocious guitarist whose playing is tinted with shades of JimiHendrix, Sonny Sharrock, Gary Lucas and Son House, but his work is verystrongly his own.

Mug-gate Update: Step Away From the 2005 Cup, Please

by Pamela Polston Posted on November 4, 2013 at 7:33PM

UPDATE NOVEMBER 6, 2013: VPR clarifies that it is unable to test mugs from 2002 and older, and that is why it recommends owners of those mugs discontinue use.Also, the issue with the 2005 mug is, in fact, lead detected in the ceramic, not in the design printed on it. It was the only mug out of 34 tested that did not meet FDA requirements.

Seth Jarvis Makes the Theater Scene With New Series

by Pamela Polston Posted on November 4, 2013 at 9:20AM

Like live theater? Seth Jarvis has got a "play group" for you!