We're digging deep this week into all of your burning questions.
What does it take to craft gigantic puppets for Broadway? Does art history as we know it need a drastic makeover? And how exactly did a small record label in Vancouver, Wash. come across new music from Prince that has them in a battle with the Purple One's estate?
Local Puppet Legend Michael Curry Conjures the Myth of Persephone with the Oregon Symphony - 1:24
This weekend, the Oregon Symphony will wade into the wonderful world of puppets with a production of "Persephone" (May 13\u201315). For the first time, it\u2019s collaborating with Michael Curry, the puppet master behind the animals in the Broadway production of "The Lion King," as well as Olympic opening ceremonies and other massive events. OPB's Molly Solomon takes us to Curry\u2019s massive warehouse in Scappoose, Oregon to see his magical operations.
Shaking Up The Classics at Oregon Shakespeare Festival - 3:30
For our money, the hottest ticket at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival this spring is a show with an ancient story: \u201cMojada: A Medea in Los Angeles,\u201d which runs through July 6. It\u2019s a retelling of Euripides\u2019 classic tale of a princess witch who\u2019s followed her lover into exile in a foreign land. When he rejects her, she kills her own children in an act of vengeance. Adapted by the MacArthur-winning playwright Luis Alfaro, \u201cMojada\u201d reforms the classic Greek tale into a story about Mexican immigrants trying to make it in Los Angeles.
World Premiered Play Asks: Is the American Dream All It's Cracked Up to Be? - 10:21
Seattle-based playwright Yussef El Guindi scandalized Portland, in a good way, with the world premiere of his play \u201cThreesome\u201d at Portland Center Stage in 2015. It\u2019s about a Muslim couple\u2019s failed attempt to invite a non-Muslim into their bed, but there\u2019s a lot more going on in the show than pillow talk. El Guindi returns to the dynamics of a troubled immigrant couple with his new play, \u201cThe Talented Ones,\u201d which is getting its world premiere at Portland\u2019s Artists Repertory Theater through May 21.
How Did Vancouver Become the Center of a Fight over Prince's Music? - 17:42
Last month, when a Minnesota judge halted the release of an album featuring six previously unreleased songs from the late artist Prince, something caught our eye. The record label in the middle of the legal battle was a largely unknown company from Vancouver, Washington called Rogue Music Alliance. Before a federal judge halted its release, the EP, \u201cDeliverance,\u201d was the top selling pre-order on iTunes, with the single \u201cDeliverance\u201d hitting the No. 1 rock single spot.
The Fallen Heroes of Comic Book Writer Chris Sebela - 23:16
Chris Sebela\u2019s comic \u201cHeartthrob\u201d is the furthest thing from a romance novel. With art by Robert Wilson, \u201cHeartthrob\u201d tells the story of a woman who gets a heart transplant that not only saves her life, but throws her into a chaotic affair with the man who originally housed the heart \u2014 or at least his specter. Turns out he was a criminal and wants her to carry on some unfinished heists. Turns out, Sebela has a thing for heroes with flaws, from the disgraced snowboard at the center of his hit graphic novel \u201cHigh Crimes,\u201d to the out-of-work movie monsters in "Screamland."
opbmusic Session with Kelli Schaefer - 32:27
Portland songwriter Kelli Schaefer crafts ghostly rock songs that explore themes of capitalism and mortality \u2014 songs that're spurred by a big, dark voice that\u2019s drawn comparisons to PJ Harvey. Her new album, \u201cNo Identity,\u201d is a loosely-organized concept album following a family\u2019s run-ins with tragedy and the mundane. Schaefer will perform at Mississippi Studios on May 16. Want a taste? Check out videos of her opbmusic session.
Why Everything You Need to Know You Did NOT Learn in Art History - 39:10
A little while ago, we had on the writer, artist, and art activist Jennifer Rabin to talk about two projects she's behind: Artists Resist and Art Passport PDX. But the original reason we contacted her was to talk about an article she wrote for "Willamette Week" about the "Constructing Identities" exhibition at the Portland Art Museum. She wrote that her education in art history left her woefully unprepared to write about a show by African-American artists \u2014 or any underrepresented artist for that matter. So for our latest installment in our "What Are You Looking At?" series, we invited her to walk through the show with us.