Kansas.com: Denise Neil

Big arena acts encouraging even if you don't dig country

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:08 CST

I'll admit that when I first heard Brad Paisley would be the opening act at Intrust Bank Arena, I wasn't exactly kickin' up the heels of my cowboy boots. (And not just because I don't own any, y'all.)

I'd been hearing the U2 and Eagles rumors for months like everyone else and had developed seriously inflated expectations for the opening act.

Not that Brad Paisley isn't a big deal. As a country music fan I know pointed out, he's won both Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music male vocalist of the year awards for three years in a row, including this year. And that's a very big deal — if you like country music.

'Twilight' fans thirst for 'New Moon'

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:06 CST

You'd think that the big day for vampires this year would have been Halloween, when a whole lot of bloodsuckers were roaming the streets freely and without impediment.

If you thought that, though, "Twilight" is clearly not on your undead radar.

The popular young adult book series by Stephenie Meyer focuses on a beautiful young misfit named Bella Swan and the gorgeous, brooding love of her teenage life, Edward Cullen, who inconveniently turns out to be a vampire torn between his desire for sucking face and sucking blood.

Shall I risk falling under 'Wicked's' spell?

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:03 CDT

I'm having a wickedly fierce internal debate over "Wicked."

I desperately want to see it but am not sure I can justify paying $70 for a seat in the nosebleeds. Doing so would no doubt result in my becoming a hopeless fan who must then spend more money purchasing the soundtrack and even more money buying expensive tickets for myself and all my relatives anytime "Wicked" plays anywhere nearby.

I'm among those in the female population easily sucked in by musicals. The more melodramatic, the better.

Maybe you can dress as auto bailout

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:06 CDT

Your witch costume is wickedly old, and those naughty nurse getups don't exactly accentuate your positives.

What's a grown-up in need of a Halloween costume to do?

You could take a cue from me and just outright refuse to participate in any costume-required Halloween activity.

Farmville: An addiction worth cultivating?

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:06 CDT

For weeks now, Farmville — the popular and excessively addictive Facebook game everyone's talking about — has been demanding my attention.

But not because I'm playing it.

In fact, based on what I've learned, I'm going to do everything in my power to avoid playing it.

Heights part of premiere of 'Laramie' follow-up

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:07 CDT

Student actors at Heights High School will be part of a high-tech, international theater project on Monday night when they debut the play "The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later."

It's a pretty impressive undertaking, dealing with pretty heavy subject matter. But theater teacher Stuart Graham says his cast students and alumni are up to the task.

The play, which focuses on the 1998 death of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyo., will debut simultaneously in about 150 theaters across the United States and in several other countries, including some in England, Australia and Hong Kong (who because of time zone issues will perform it only semi-simultaneously.)