Michelle Jarboe

Stage-Born 'Chicago' Melds to Screen

"Chicago" 3 Stars Applauding a film may be considered a theater faux pas but Rob Marshall's on-screen version of "Chicago" merits myriad accolades. Musical theater breached the movie genre with a bang when "Chicago" hit select theaters earlier this month. Perhaps the 2001 success of "Moulin Rouge" paved the way for other musicals-turned-movies to make some headway -- but the two films take place on entirely different imaginative stages.

PRC to Open 3rd Show of Season

Potter Finds Darker Secrets in 2nd Magical Film Voyage

"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" 3 Stars With his return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter's life has become dramatically darker -- and considerably more cheesy. For those who have not read the novels, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" tracks Harry's second year at wizarding school, where a dark plot is terrifying students and teachers alike. Someone has opened the feared Chamber of Secrets, and a monster has been unleashed upon the school to rid Hogwarts of students not of pure wizarding blood.

UNC Professor Illustrates Anti-War Sentiments

Aesthetics plus politics is Elin O'Hara Slavick's formula for her newest exhibition, "Protesting Cartography or Places the United States has Bombed." A gallery show at Duke University's John Hope Franklin Center, "Protesting Cartography" features 21 multimedia drawings of sites the United States has bombed. Part of Slavick's larger body of work on the subject, the drawings are based on surveillance work, aerial photos, military records and maps.

Deep Dish Masters 18th-Century Comedy About Deceit

- Four Stars In the corner of the University Mall there were two violinists serenading shoppers in front of a crowded doorway. One only had to walk through that door to discover a world far different than its commercial surroundings -- the world of the Deep Dish Theater Company and "The Game of Love and Chance."

Games, Technology Growing Up With Original Players

From Atari's original "Pong" game to the elaborate graphics and special effects of "Final Fantasy X," the video-game industry has come a long way. The simple schematic of games such as Nintendo's original "Super Mario Bros." has become a distant memory, eclipsed by elaborate characters and storylines.

'White Oleander' Captures Novel's Drama in Rushed Format

"White Oleander" 4 Stars The more extreme the physical beauty, the more trauma and dysfunction is masked by that beauty in the blonde-ridden movie adaptation of Janet Fitch's "White Oleander." Following the lines of the novel, the film centers on Ingrid Magnussen (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her daughter Astrid (Alison Lohman), a distinctly Aryan mother-daughter team.

Massive Works Demand Effort, Creative Splash

Brushes, rollers and paint might be purchased at the store, but you can find canvas almost anywhere if you only know where to look. Murals are a twist on traditional painting, taking small-scale works of art from canvas and wood backing and enlarging them on brick walls. The art of murals takes the painting out of the home, blending works of art with the daily surroundings of Chapel Hill residents. James Hirschfield, a UNC studio art professor and the director of the program in studio art, said murals help create a sense of place and enliven the community.

DiFranco Raps Personal, Political on Charged LP

Ani DiFranco So Much Shouting So Much Laughter 4 Stars George W. Bush certainly doesn't have a friend in Ani DiFranco. On DiFranco's second live double album, So Much Shouting So Much Laughter, she scatters political and personal statements over jazzy tunes that span the extremes of her ascending music career.

'Rita' Provides Big Laughs on Small Stage

"Educating Rita" tells a surprisingly universal story in a couple of hours -- using just two actors, one set and the small West End room of the Carrboro ArtsCenter. Willy Russell's British story of an aging alcoholic teacher turned tutor and his prodigal working-class student kicked off its nine-show run 8 p.m. Sept. 5.