No matter how well done a recording of a Broadway musical is, it can never really capture the magic or power of seeing it live, with a full bedazzling cast and in the swoon of the excitement. I can sing every word of The Book of Mormon, but without actually seeing it live, I still […]
Jared Rasic
Film critic and author of food, arts and culture stories for the Source Weekly since 2010.
Posted inCulture
Mozart and Mystery
OperaBend unveils its new season
Bend has an opera company! Which hopefully is not news since OperaBend has been around since 2013, and already has mounted a few handsome productions such as Love: The Bitter and the Sweet and Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief. Executive Director Jason Stein also had a large part not only shaping the vocal […]
Posted inCulture
The Glass Slipper
Eugene Ballet returns to Bend
When I moved here in 1999, the Tower was closed, there was no Les Schwab Amphitheater and the idea of being able to see opera or ballet here seemed impossible. Fifteen years later there are film festivals, a burgeoning theater community putting on challenging and thought-provoking work, live music almost every night of the week […]
Posted inCulture
Beards of a Feather
Central Oregon’s finest facial hair takes the world’s stage
I love my beard. It is full, evenly distributed across my face and pretty ladies (and some handsome gentlemen) come up and touch it all the time, mostly without permission. The only real downside is that it keeps me extra warm in the summer and sometimes children under 5 burst into tears when they see […]
Posted inCulture
A Friend With Weed is a Friend Indeed
Reefer Madness infects 2nd Street Theater
Reefer Madness: The Musical is not at all what I expected it to be. The play is based on the 1936 propaganda film that extolled the evils of marijuana by luridly depicting innocent teens descending into attempted rape, murder and madness once the devil weed touched their lips. In the 1970s, the film was rediscovered […]
Posted inCulture
Film Events 10/8-10/16
Beetlejuice (1988) Fresh-faced Winona Ryder and perpetually middleaged Michael Keaton create one of the most original and unexpected Halloween treats. A tale of conjuring, humor and good-natured frights, Beetlejuice is a peculiar but fun entry from the greatest hits of the 80s. One installation of the Deschutes Public Library’s Frightful Films series at Tin Pan […]
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Keep Calm, Panic is Here
CTC opens an intense new thriller
Panic is the perfect example of a slow burn thriller. Act One: We meet the characters, get a good handle on their relationships and, once settled in, throw a wrench into the works, letting the gears slowly, but surly stop turning. Act Two: We see the characters reacting to the machine breaking down to the […]
Posted inCulture
Film Events 10/2-10/9
Gone With the Wind Just in case interested parties have an extra four hours to kill, Gone With the Wind will play for only two showings. The mega-film tells the story of Scarlett O’Hara and her pursuit of a dude married to his cousin and her eventual marriage to rough-and-tumble Rhett Butler. Set during the […]
Posted inCulture
Film Events 9/25-10/2
Untrammeled & The Meaning of Wild Deschutes National Forest and the nonprofit organization Discover Your Forest presents a double feature of films celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. Untrammeled features the Scapegoat and Bob Marshall wilderness areas and focuses on a group of Montana high school students who have never experienced wilderness before. […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Muy Delicioso
Tortilleria Reyes gives Bend authentic Mexican cuisine
Tortilleria Reyes is not just great Mexican food “for Bend,” but great Mexican food for anywhere in the country. While Bend has a few pretty tasty Mexican eateries, most of them are Americanized with fish bowl-sized margaritas and cheese on everything. Reyes keeps it authentic. And that authenticity can be tasted in every bite. Tortilleria […]