WIGBUBBLESWednesday Feb. 8

Last thoughts on Whitney Houston

by Allan Wigney

Leaving us as she did literally on the eve of the Grammy Awards ceremony, Whitney Houston assured herself a centrestage status she had essentially abandoned in recent years. Tragically, it was her offstage behaviour that brought her there, one last time. But at the Grammies, every tribute was sincere, and surely deserved.

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WIGBUBBLES>>

Those were good times

a look all the way back to 2011Sunday Jan. 1

by Allan Wigney

Oh, I could list the best albums of 2011, but it's been done. Odd, really, as it's Jan. 1, 2012, and chronologically speaking it is not possible for one to accurately sum up 2011 before this day. But media have no time for such inconveniences when there are deadlines to meet. And if it's all a bit like reporting the final score of a game 15 minutes into the third period, so be it.

TODAY'S SURE THING, STAGE>>

Secrets of an actor mom

how Kate Smith's surprise career led to a Summer FlingWednesday Jul. 13 - Jul. 30

by Dan Lalande

Actor. Teacher. Mother.

In that order? Uh, well…

Suffice it to say Kate Smith, the fresh faced actor you’ve seen in every company in town (Third Wall, Odyssey, Salamander, etc.) and now, as one in a trio of soul-searching mothers in Kathleen Clark’s Secrets of a Soccer Mom, suffers from a serious case of overlap.

MUSIC, WIGBUBBLES>>

Relaxation songs

a brief look back at the fest so farFriday Jul. 8 - Jul. 17

by Allan Wigney

Pleading guilty to not being able to keep track of the multitude of local summer festivals, my pal Bijon recently proposed the city consolidate said celebrations into two month-long events: “Drunken Yahoofest and Lawnchair Fascistfest.”

No prizes for guessing which one got underway this week.

THE WEEKEND GUIDE, MUSIC>>

Everybody's blues singer

Jolie Holland offers a pint of wisdom on the music businessFriday Jul. 8 - Jul. 10

by Allan Wigney

Jolie Holland, the Texas-born Brooklynite whose emotive voice from another era turned heads seven years ago through a laidback, old-timey blues album called Esondida, is not coming to Bluesfest to sing the blues.

STAGE>>

David and Cleopatra

theatre according to actor-writer-director-producer-translator-Fool David WhiteleyMonday Jul. 4 - Aug. 20

by Dan Lalande

In show business, particularly in a market the size of Ottawa’s, survival is spelled, “versatility.” One-trick ponies are the industry’s road kill; to the multi-talented go the spoils ― er, jobs. And nobody is busier these days than the local theatre community’s jack-of-all-trades, David Whiteley.

THE WEEKEND GUIDE, MUSIC>>

Embracing the Grill

Boston-based vocalist Laura Grill is a little bit bluegrass, a little bit jazzFriday Jul. 1 - Jul. 2

by Allan Wigney

“This,” Boston-based vocalist Laura Grill enthuses, “will be my third year coming up for the jazz festival.”

Well, not strictly for the festival. For while you may see Grill in the audience at Confederation Park or the National Arts Centre this weekend, the New England Conservatory alumnus has her own show to do. The songwriter’s expressive vocal style ensures jazz will be a factor at her Raw Sugar performance, but Grill prefers to think she’s more than a little bit folk.