This week we take you on a sleigh ride from operatic strippers to poetry by veterans.
What Do You Get When You Mix Opera And Stripping?
This month a subversive group of classical musicians called the Cult of Orpheus are staging a holiday performance like no other. Viva’s Holiday is a short opera based on the memoirs of Portland's most famous exotic dancer, Viva Las Vegas.
Christopher Rothko on Sharing His Father's Art with the Portland Art Museum + The Museum Hires a New NW Curator - 5:38
Mark Rothko is one of the 20th century’s most famous painters, and his formative years were spent in Portland: he immigrated here at age 10 from Latvia and took classes at the Museum School at the Portland Art Museum before graduating from Lincoln High School. In October, the museum announced plans for the Rothko Pavilion, a new multi-story glass structure. The art museum also announced a partnership with Rothko’s children to cycle his works through the museum on a rotating basis.
opbmusic Session with Singer-Songwriter Sara Jackson-Holman - 13:00
Sara Jackson-Holman's second album, "Didn’t Go to the Party," charts the arc of a romantic relationship and breakup set to a lush backdrop of strings and her own classically-trained piano. Jackson-Holman’s songs have appeared in TV shows like "Grey’s Anatomy," "Castle," and "Orange is the New Black."
American Legion Post 134 Drafts New War Stories - 19:37
Nationally, American Legion membership is shrinking, but one hall in Northeast Portland found revival by becoming an oasis of community and expression, where veterans rub shoulders with queer kids, and street people mix with art curators.
Music in a Time of War - 26:21
In the new book, "My Music, My War: The Listening Habits of U.S. Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan," UO English professor Lisa Gilman discovers what soldiers listen to in times of strife — from heavy metal to Sarah McLaughlin — and how music and the methods of listening to music during war have changed over time.
New National Guard Armory Is a Model of Architecture - 32:41
Many of Oregon’s National Guard armories are old, barely functioning, and sorely need of safety updates, but Oregon also has a couple of new armories—now called National Guard Readiness Centers. The newest one, the Colonel James Nesmith Readiness Center for the 162nd Engineer Company of the Oregon National Guard in Dallas Oregon, also has great architecture.
Imago's Ambitious New Puppet Musical Puts a Steampunk Spin on 'Beauty and the Beast' - 40:50
Internationally famous for their masked theater shows "Frogz" and "ZooZoo," Imago Theatre has unveiled its mammoth new production — the hard work of four years and around $250,000. "A story within a story within a ship" is the tagline for the new production, "La Belle," which runs through Jan. 9. It is the story of two strangers in the engine room of a 1920's steamship who re-tell the story of Beauty and the Beast through puppetry, shadow theater and song. Of course, their budding love comes to mirror the "tale as old as time" they tell each other.
Nu Shooz Is Back: Older, Wiser, and Funkier - 44:54
Somewhere in the world right now, chances are the '80s hit “I Can’t Wait” is playing. The Portland band Nu Shooz, consisting of husband and wife John Smith and Valerie Day, released it some 30 years ago to almost instant global success. Earlier this year, the pair slipped back into the Nu Shooz name to put out a new album, " and they stopped by OPB to play some songs live.