Native peoples’ stories in Hollywood are, more often than not, depicted as sad and monolithic. And while the stories of historical trauma inflicted upon our nation’s first inhabitants serve a purpose, it seems a sea change may be afoot. “Rutherford Falls,” a half-hour series for NBC’s Peacock streaming service, is one of a few Native […]
Leslie Bridgers
Columnist
Leslie Bridgers is a columnist for the Portland Press Herald, writing about Maine culture, customs and the things we notice and wonder about in our everyday lives. Originally from Connecticut, Leslie came to Maine by way of Bowdoin College and never left. She joined the Portland Press Herald in 2011 as a reporter and spent seven years as the paper’s features editor, overseeing coverage of arts, entertainment and food.
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Local & State
Society Notebook: In virtual format, Source awards sharpen focus on environmental work
The annual recognition of Maine’s sustainability leaders was held virtually on April 21.
advertisement
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Deep Water: ‘Going to Church,’ by Gibson Fay-LeBlanc
This week’s poem, Gibson Fay-LeBlanc’s “Going to Church,” is a beautiful litany of graces. I love the music, intimacy and devotion of this poem, in praise of the “church” that exists all around us. It appears in Fay-LeBlanc’s new poetry collection, “Deke Dangle Dive,” which explores grief, masculinity, brotherhood and hockey, and which launches with a […]
Posted inDo This, Food
Bar Guide: Don’t be fooled by the plain facade, it’s a party inside Bueno Loco
The Falmouth restaurant’s owners describe the vibe as ‘Mexidelic.’
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Do This
Indie Film: Eastport among the small towns profiled in uplifting HBO documentary
‘Our Towns,’ based on a book, is streaming on HBO Max.
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Review
Theater review: Annie Henk charms as star of ‘Bad Dates’
The warm, one-woman show from Portland Stage follows a single mom’s return to dating.
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Review
Uneven comedy-drama ‘My Wonderful Wanda’ has a dash of ‘Parasite’ and a smidgen of ‘Juno’
We meet Wanda on a bus from Poland to Germany, where she is returning to work for a prosperous family in their gracious lakeside villa. The patriarch has suffered a stroke and is bedridden; he’s sent all the other help away. He wants Wanda back. There’s also work to do preparing for his upcoming 70th […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Review
Art review: Maine Jewish Museum presents three disparate shows
The presentation of the works in wood, paint, paper and photography could have benefited by swapping places.
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Review
‘Sasquatch’: 3 takeaways from the new true-crime series on the folkloric beast
For the skeptics, conspiracy theorists and true-blue believers among us, monsters are everywhere. Lurking in the shadows. In closets. In the woods. In the murky depths of our waters. Maybe even living in our midst. “Sasquatch,” a new Hulu documentary series produced by brothers Mark and Jay Duplass (“Wild Wild Country”), takes America’s long fascination […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
This year, the Oscars underscore an existential question: What do movies mean?
Does anyone need reminding that the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday will be the weirdest ever? Or the most lackluster? We get it: No one’s seen the movies. These Oscars are going to tank. Next! Honestly, was anyone expecting rabid excitement after a year of pandemic, when theaters shuttered across America, studios postponed their […]