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Nathan Weinbender

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All Stories

A&E >  Entertainment

Civic to play ‘A Little Night Music’

In helming his first show on the Civic’s main stage, Lenny Bart isn’t pulling any punches. The theater’s artistic director is taking on “A Little Night Music,” a Tony-winning show from the revered Stephen Sondheim, and he’s filled his cast with actors who have headlined countless local productions. It should make for quite a debut.
A&E >  Entertainment

Spokane Symphony bridges classical and contemporary on upcoming Classics program

The Spokane Symphony performs as many timeless classics as it does 21st century curios, and this weekend’s Classics concert further bridges the divide between contemporary and classical. The upcoming program features two of P.I. Tchaikovsky’s Shakespearean tone poems from the late 1800s alongside a prominent cello concerto that’s only a couple years old.
A&E >  Entertainment

‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’ is about regret, but it’s very funny

Near the end of Christopher Durang’s play “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” one of its titular characters, named after a famous creation of Anton Chekhov, unspools a lengthy monologue about the good ol’ days. Things were a lot better half a century ago, Vanya admits. Humans were more connected. Technology hadn’t become a mass distraction. Popular culture was admittedly simplistic, but it was more wholesome. “The ’50s were idiotic,” Vanya says, “but I miss them.”
A&E >  Entertainment

The Spokane Symphony goes to the movies with the silent classic “The Phantom of the Opera”

As with previous screenings of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” and Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights,” the Spokane Symphony will be providing a live musical accompaniment for the 1925 silent film “The Phantom of the Opera.” The event, part of the ongoing Spokane International Film Festival, will feature pianist Rick Friend, who also composed the score.
A&E >  Entertainment

Best of Broadway’s season continues with the beloved musical ‘Annie’

You know the story. A plucky orphan girl and her scruffy dog are begrudgingly adopted by a cantankerous billionaire in Depression-era New York, and his emotional resistance toward her is eventually worn down by her irrepressible charm. That’s the plot of the beloved musical “Annie,” which lands at the INB Performing Arts Center this weekend.
A&E >  Entertainment

In its 19th year, the Spokane International Film Festival continues to celebrate the world of cinema

Now in its 19th year, the Spokane International Film Festival continues its mission of bringing cinematic diversity to Spokane theaters during the doldrums of January and February. This year’s lineup features a wide range of genres and mediums, with features and shorts from the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, Germany and – no surprise – right here in Spokane.
A&E >  Entertainment

Spokane Civic Theatre goofs on Chekhov in ‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’

The characters in Christopher Durang’s play “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” are either named after or inspired by figures in the canon of Anton Chekhov, and the plot synthesizes elements from a number of works by the Russian playwright. But this isn’t some kind of postmodern send-up or cheap parody. The show, opening at Spokane Civic Theatre on Friday, is an original study of eccentrics who are forced to confront their own eccentricities. It’s also a pretty wild comedy.
A&E >  Entertainment

Exciting artists emerge from an underwhelming Sasquatch lineup

The Sasquatch Music Festival, which has made the Gorge Amphitheater an annual pilgrimage for thousands of music fans every Memorial Day, recently released its lineup for the upcoming three-day concert. The general reaction to this year’s lineup has been lukewarm, but there are still some interesting names in the mix.
A&E >  Entertainment

Spokane stages promise to be crowded through March

After a brief respite during the Christmas season, activity on area stages is starting to pick up again. A few shows are currently running – the heartwarming drama “Tuesdays With Morrie” at Ignite Community Theatre and the provocative satire “Disgraced” at Stage Left Theater – but here’s what you can expect to see on Spokane stages in the coming months.
A&E >  Entertainment

Female AC/DC tribute band Hell’s Belles return to Spokane with high energy live show

Hell’s Belles are like any AC/DC tribute act. Its members dress up like the Australian heavy metal legends. They rip through the band’s catalog of popular songs. They sound as close to the real thing as you can get. But there’s a slight difference between this band and the one they’re imitating: All five members of Hell’s Belles are women. The Seattle-based group typically hits Spokane a couple times a year, and they perform at the Knitting Factory on Saturday.
A&E >  Entertainment

Pulitzer winner ‘Disgraced,’ opening at Spokane’s Stage Left, offers a complex look at modern life

It sounds like the setup for a cheap joke. A white woman, a black woman, a lapsed Muslim man and a Jewish man, all wealthy and opinionated, go to a dinner party. The booze starts to flow, the conversation veers into religion and politics and a pleasant evening becomes an ideological minefield. But this isn’t some dumb gag: It’s the plot of Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Disgraced,” opening Friday at Stage Left Theater.
A&E >  Entertainment

‘Pippin’ a flashy, splashy stage staple

“Pippin,” the postmodern medieval musical, has been a staple of the stage since its 1972 premiere. It was revamped for a Tony Award-winning Broadway revival in 2013, and the touring production of that new version hits the INB Performing Arts Center next week as part of the Best of Broadway series.