Review: 'Crazy' kicks troubles away

There's something about one Gershwin show that goes with economic recessions.

• New-generation Gershwin musical returns

A teacher who honored his own

Time management must be James David Christie's other talent. He teaches organ at two colleges that are hardly neighbors: Oberlin in Ohio and Holy Cross in Massachusetts. He leads a Baroque ensemble in Boston and plays with other ensembles in the city, including the Boston Symphony. Somehow, when he isn't sitting in airplanes, rehearsals or lessons, he find time to practice for recitals of his own.

A look back 1,927 years ago

It has been 1,927 years since the Mount Vesuvius volcano erupted and decimated all life in Pompeii. Yet the tragedy and its aftermath are still haunting, fascinating and relevant today. Slideshow

• Video | A look at the 'Pompeii' exhibit

'Think You Can Dance?' features NCDT choreographer

Two contestants on Fox television's “So You Think You Can Dance?” will perform choreography by N.C. Dance Theatre's Dwight Rhoden on tonight's show.

Cabarrus kids take on 'Carousel'

Beginning Thursday, high schoolers take the stage, directed by a pro who loves the music.

Tommy Bradley had dreamed of bringing “Carousel,” his all-time favorite classical musical, to Cabarrus County since he heard the music at age 16.

• Video | Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Carousel"

The next chapter: It's digital

E-readers such as Kindle hold hundreds of books. But they aren't perfect – yet.

Paul Miller is a word guy – a Davidson College English professor who makes his living reading, writing and teaching.

The lettuce alone is 11 feet high

A dome at the Research Campus gets a massive mural

Standing on a wooden platform about 100 feet off the ground, Brenda Councill weaves a paintbrush across the outline of an asparagus tip the size of her arm.

• Slideshow: Photos of the mural

Art meets beer at South End gallery

The champagne will flow tonight at the Hidell Brooks Gallery in South End as Katharine Hidell and Rebecca Brooks use the 6-9 p.m. gallery crawl to celebrate their gallery's 10th anniversary.

Play portrays lives of illegal immigrants

Plaza Midwood show aims to offer particular insight into the experience of children.

A local theater group in Plaza Midwood is trying to bring clarity to an emotional debate over what to do about the children of illegal immigrants.

• La experiencia inmigrante en 'Limbo'

Gallery Calendar

Center of the Earth Gallery

Photos document a dark era

Upcoming exhibit at Gaston library focuses on century-old images of child labor in mills.

The haunting portraits photographer Lewis Hine made in November 1908 of Gastonia's cotton mill kids were meant to document abuses of child labor laws.

Ty Boyd will be back on the radio Monday

Longtime listeners of WBT-AM (1110) will be forgiven if they tune in groggy Monday morning and think they've been hurled back in time.

Shakespeare Carolina plays on

Directors say their productions of ‘Twelfth Night' and ‘Richard III' are good enough to pry people away from their television sets.

Shakespeare Carolina kicked off its annual Queen City Shakespeare Festival last week at Theatre Charlotte with “Twelfth Night.” “Richard III” opens Thursday and the two classics – one comedy, one drama – will play on alternating days between then and the festival's July 26th finale. The Observer recently spoke to directors John Hartness (“Twelfth Night”) and Chris O'Neill (“Richard III”).

A new old face takes over the theater beat

Yes, it's me – the same guy you saw a few pages back in the movie section. Former theater critic Julie York Coppens left to take a job in Ohio, and I'll be theater critic for the fifth time at The Observer.

Art works of a work in progress

Two hours before show, she was still painting

Two hours before the