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Home > Blogs > Things to do in Butler County > Archives > 2010 > January
January 2010
Ever been to a public cooking class?
Sometime in February, I was planning on writing a feature story about the cooking classes held at The Learning Kitchen in West Chester and/or at Jungle Jim’s in Fairfield. Does anyone know of any more besides these? And has anybody been to a public cooking class? I want to get a taste of what I’m in for, I guess you might say.
And for the record, I probably will not be cooking myself, as most of my culinary skills are of the microwave variety. And besides all that, it’s rather messy to cook and take notes at the same time.
Clue me in, if you could.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Hamilton-area events
La Comedia gets ‘Revenge’ on country critic
Country music has never rung my bell. Just a few bars of “Achy Breaky Heart” are enough to give me an achy-shaky stomach.
So when I found out La Comedia Dinner Theatre was staging a show called Bubba’s Revenge, featuring several country music tunes, I shuddered a little at the prospect. And to top it all off, “Achy Breaky Heart” was in the show.
Still, La Comedia has a way of making subjects that aren’t normally to my liking appealing. They did it with High School Musical last year, and they’ve done it again with Bubba’s Revenge, which is ridiculously entertaining.
By ridiculously entertaining, I mean that the cast of this show is willing to go to almost any lengths for a laugh. I don’t want to give too many of the gags away, but suffice it to say some of the countrified shenanigans are positively shameless. Not every country show features a guy wearing a dress on stage.
The show is a sequel to Honky Tonk Angels, about three women who struck out on their own to realize their dreams of being country singers. In Bubba’s Revenge, the hand of fate plays a cruel trick on the trio, leading to the reopening of a bar called Honky Tonk Heaven that proudly serves O’Douls. Not to mention there’s also a seance that prompts the playing of the theme to Ghostbusters.
It’s that kind of show.
La Comedia’s shows almost always feature at least a few local faces, but Bubba’s Revenge has even more than usual. Leslie Jo Bissett of Carlisle directs the show and stars as Angela, one of the Honky Tonk Angels. Chris Beiser, who has directed many local shows over the years, has become a fixture at La Comedia, and in this show, he has the flamboyant, scene-stealing role of Little Jimmy Timmy, who often hogs the spootlight.
Tina Shatto plays Suellen Smith-Barney-Fife, another of the Angels, and she has directed shows for Middletown’s Summer Youth Theatre. Dustin Farris of Hamilton plays Cornell Crawford, Suellen’s beau, a retired professional wrestler prone to bursting into tears. Harold Skaggs of Carlisle plays the titular character, whose slovenly ways belie a fine stage presence. Rounding out the players is Jackie Snyder as the third Angel, Darlene, who spends most of her time, playing a ghost.
Yep - it’s that kind of show - but it’s a very funny one, and the performers are all in great voice - so much so that I didn’t even mind all that much when “Achy Breaky Heart” came on.
The show plays through Feb. 28. Here’s my feature story about it.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: La Comedia Dinner Theatre
Where in the world is the local music scene?
Recently when I wrote a story about a local band playing a New Year’s Eve event in Middletown, and he told me one reason this event happened was because there were no places in Middletown for local bands to play anymore, and most of them go to Cincinnati or Dayton.
And I wondered, is that really true? I know a number of places in Middletown where local bands played, like Barb’s Pub and Coconuts have closed, so there aren’t as many places as there used to be. But what about places outside Middletown, like Froggy Blues in Monroe or Mutt’s Brewery in Trenton?
And for that matter, what’s the scene like in the Hamilton area? I’m less familiar with the music scene there, having only started to cover that region recently.
I’m going to be writing a news story on this topic that will publish in February, but I thought I would use this blog as a place to start getting some comments and ideas. Is it true there are no places for local bands to play? If you want to see a local band play, where do you go?
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What entertainment events do you most want to see?
Last week we compiled a comprehensive list of events coming up in 2010 in Butler and Warren counties, and you can see that list here.
Among all those, what events are you most looking forward to this year? What changes would you like to see?
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Look what they found at the holiday light display!
I’ve never been much for New Year’s resolutions, but one I WILL make for 2010 is to update this blog much more frequently to provide you with insight on things to do in Butler County and beyond.
One way I would like to do that is by telling quirky stories about events you might not hear otherwise. For instance, I’m working on a story about the 2009 attendance figures for Light Up Middletown, that city’s holiday light display, and from publicist Ann Mort, I received a list of unusual items left behind in the donations box:
2- Cans Tuna
1-Can SeaLife Fortables
1-Can mixed vegetables
1 can green beans
1-can Cream of Mushroom soup
1-can Manwich
1-can corn
3-cans peas
2-cans mandarin oranges
1-can sliced carrots
1-can refried beans
1-can vegetarian beans
1-piece tree bark
1-electrical tie
1-piece plastic
1-piece metal
1-gum wrapper
1-Field of Dreams token
1-Family Dollar receipt - plates, napkins, LED clip lights
3-Pocket Change tokens
3 - unknown tokens
1-Strike Zone token
1-set of keys to master lock #2179
1-watch battery
1-screw
1-thank you note from Community concepts - Ohio Group Home for MRDD
1-poorly spelled obscene note
1-coupon for Scope
1-coupon for Advil
2-car wash tokens
1-Dayton RTA bus token
1-200 peso coin - 20 cents in US money
1-pop top
1-Iraqi Freedom 2003 pin
3-religious pamphlets
1-Speedway receipt for $38 in gas
Anybody missing anything?
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment | Categories: Holiday events, Middletown Arts Center
