Last weekend’s fall weather preview made neither Mainers nor Vacationland-visitors too happy. What should have been an Old Port retailer’s dream didn’t turn out as such. Various reports of high head counts and lower average checks (meaning lower average tips) from the restaurant grapevine echoed the disappointment. “Oh, there were people in and out all […]

This week’s picks of the tix all represent voices from the past that continue to the present. The biggest item on this weekend’s calendar is an appearance by folk-rock legend Bob Dylan, who visits Portland this Saturday. Juice Newton, whose heyday was the 1980s, is one of numerous nationally known acts that have been booked […]

Greater Portland Auditions “Beauty and the Beast,” Lyric Music Theater, 176 Sawyer St., South Portland, July 10, 6:30 p.m.; July 11, 5:30 p.m., lyricmusictheater.org, 799-1421. Pie Man Theatre Company at Mayo Street Arts, 10 Mayo St., Portland, for 2016-17 season, 7-9 p.m. July 24 & 25. Sign up for 10 minute slots at  piemantheatre.org Exhibits Erin […]

Making a last-minute, Saturday night dinner reservation was no small order. The assignment was for “upscale, casual” in a bustling, tourist-infused, Downeast town with which I am only remotely familiar. The conversation went something like this: “You’re the ‘sponteur,’ so why don’t you find us someplace for dinner,” The Weatherman said. “Sponteur?” I thought. This […]

With the Fourth of July behind us, the most intense portion of the summer arts and entertainment calendar lies ahead in the next six or so weeks. Tops this week is Maine State Music Theatre’s current production of “Evita,” the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice Broadway epic. Operatic in its concept and intensity, “Evita” recounts the […]

Greater Portland Auditions “Beauty and the Beast,” Lyric Music Theater, 176 Sawyer St., South Portland, July 10, 6:30 p.m.; July 11, 5:30 p.m., lyricmusictheater.org, 799-1421 Exhibits Sunday 7/10 Paint for Preservation Wet Paint Auction and cocktail reception, 5-8 p.m. Spurwink Farm, Cape Elizabeth. Reserve for $60 a person at Cape Elizabeth Land Trust, 330 Ocean House Road, […]

Maine has long been known for its myriad artists, and singer-songwriters are among those in the mix. Two upcoming shows spotlight six of them. On July 5, Lula Wiles, a trio of women singer-songwriters who grew up in Maine, takes the stage in Portland in support of their debut album. Another three take the stage […]

The recent glorious days have served as an annual booster shot reminding me why I continue to live in Maine. Like many, I have willfully forgotten about winters past when my steep driveway (aptly dubbed Mt. Deepwood), saw heavy sledding action. Fears around my youngest daughter diving in the ice and snow in the Boston […]

Greater Portland Auditions Freeport Players, open auditions for “The Complete Works of Wm. Shakespeare (Abridged)”  6:30-8:30 p.m. June 27, 28.  Roles for three adults for performances in September, fcponline.org/auditions/. Exhibits “Starting and Stopping,” oil paintings by Kathy Wagner, Townsend Real Estate & Art Gallery, 553 Shore Road, Cape Elizabeth, through June 30. The Studio Group, Thomas […]

Southern Maine’s arts and entertainment activities reach full throttle this week with the arrival of astronomical summer and the opening of a few of the season’s signature events. “Anything Goes,” Cole Porter’s masterpiece of musical comedy, gets top billing in my estimation. Broadway star Andrea McArdle leads a wonderful cast of oddball characters who meet […]