Live Entertainment

The Syracuse Comic-Con is growing. Bringing in top talent is the best way to draw the attention of out-of-town con goers, ultimately increasing attendance and notoriety.

According to a tweet, posted to Ron Marz's official twitter account, he will be attending the Syracuse Comic-Con.

Having long-time comic book writer, Ron Marz, in attendance will certainly help. Known for his work on Silver Surfer and Green Lantern, Marz has tackled many different projects for both DC and Marvel. As versatile as he is creative, he has found himself writing for lesser-known publishers as well.

The always adventurous New Line Theatre in St. Louis kicked off their 26^th season with the world premiere of the recently revised show, CELEBRATION, a musical by the team of Tom Jones (no, not that one) and Harvey Schmidt. The team also wrote the book, lyrics and music for the better known show THE FANTASTICKS. The show has been revived off and on since its debut in 1969, and never really seemed to find its audience. Writer Tom Jones revised the ending and that’s the version New Line Co-Directors Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy-Windsor are presenting through October 22, 2016 at the Marcelle Theatre in St. Louis’ Grand Center.

The 2016 - 2017 Broadway Series at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis got underway with the national tour of the Tony Award-winning A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER. The story comes from a novel written by Roy Horniman way back in 1907 called ISRAEL RANK: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A CRIMINAL. That tales was the basis of film called KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS starring Sir Alec Guinness. The production clearly has a classic pedigree, and yet, I didn't like the Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak, production, directed by Darko Tresnjak, as much as I'd expected to. Maybe my expectations were too high. Maybe I'm getting harder to please in my old age. Maybe you'll absolutely love it and I'm completely fine with that!

I have a roommate named Lex. He generally keeps to himself but he can be a little demanding at times. For the most part, we get along pretty well. I like all kinds of music, but he generally prefers hip-hop, from Outkast to Beastie Boys, Ludacris to Method Man, Killer Mike to Snoop Dogg. His number one jam is “Boyz in the Hood” by Eazy-E, but he’s happy with anything from the N.W.A. He loves football, he watches WWE wrestling so much he often refers to himself in the third person like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson would in his colorful promos. His favorite curse word is the same as Samuel L. Jackson’s, and if you’ve seen any Samuel L. Jackson movies you can probably guess that it’s four syllables long and printed on his wallet. Lex is pretty mellow but he does not like being called a chicken—he’ll get right in your face instantly, ready to throw down. He has a bit of a lisp, like Iron Mike Tyson, but the ladies think it’s cute.

I got the chance to see the Harry Potter Concert Series live at Powell Hall last Friday, and it was a fantastic experience! 

One of the best parts of the Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone movie is the iconic score composed by the incomparable John Williams. I remember first seeing the film when it came out and getting chills during "Hedwig's Theme." For such a popular franchise with such great characters, intense action, and magic, I'm so happy John Williams was able to lend his immeasurable talent to the score. 

But the only thing better than seeing the movie in theaters is seeing it on an equally big screen while the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra plays the score live below. The movie Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone plays on a massive screen, but with the music removed - the soundtrack is instead played live by the orchestra.

Justin Freer is performing stage magic. No, he's not pulling rabbits from his hat or sawing women into two pieces. It's much more enchanting than that.

Freer is a conductor and producer of film music, as well as the founder and president of CineConcerts, a company dedicated to the preservation and concert presentation of film, TV and media performances live with film. His current project, HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, is currently playing at the St. Louis Symphony as part of a mind-blowing concept that blends film with live music.

Tell our readers what sets what you're doing apart from your standard afternoon at the symphony.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a big fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber. I don’t typically enjoy sung-through musicals. I thought EVITA had all of the warmth and depth of Eva Perón’s Wikipedia page, PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is a grossly overrated love story with no characters to like much less love, and I’m highly allergic to CATS. There is, however, this one short little gem of Webber’s that is equally funny and heart-wrenching, hopeful and melancholy. The show is called TELL ME ON A SUNDAY, and while I can’t predict what day it is that you find yourself reading this, I can predict that you’ll find this one-woman show as heartfelt and surprisingly affecting as I did.

The world of spies and foreign intelligence has always intrigued me. I suppose it comes from growing up in the Cold War era, with the Watergate scandal, President Reagan telling Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, and that suave, debonair secret agent of British intelligence, James Bond, in regular rotation on early cable. Even though “my” Bond will always be Roger Moore, I was hooked from the first moment. Gadgets, hidden weapons in secret compartments, remote listening devices, enigmatic codes, I devoured everything I could find on the subject of spycraft. I soon learned that the life is not nearly as glamorous as Hollywood makes it out to be. Maintaining relationships based on trust is difficult when your very life hinges on the fact that you can trust no one.

St. Louis has more than enough comic, anime, cosplay, sci-fi and fantasy geeks within its general market area to support a substantial pop culture convention or “comicon.” Yet we don’t have one, or at least we don’t really have one in the traditional sense. The Wizard Worlds conventions have run downtown for a few years now and some comic creators have said they’ve done okay there, but they are grossly overpriced for admission which grants you the privilege to hand over an even bigger wad of cash to the likes of T.J. Hooker, some random cannon fodder Jedi gal from one of the what-should-be-non-canon STAR WARS prequels, or some dude who got ate by one of THE WALKING DEAD three seasons ago.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas...right? Well not if your America's #1 Gold Record Award-Winning band of all time: KISS!

For this all-time great Rock-n-Roll event, 'KISS Rocks Vegas', they are changing the mantra to: "what ROCKS in Vegas, ROLLS into your home"!

Contamination, Saint Louis’ Horror, Sci Fi, Pop Culture convention returned this year in Fenton and runs Friday thru Sunday,  June 17, 18, 19.

I must confess that although this show has been an annual event for several years, this was the first year I had heard of it.

My top five favorite concerts are all act that have been around for several decades: Chick Corea’s Return to Forever, John Fogerty, Rush, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and now Paul Simon. I will let you draw whatever conclusions you will from that with regards to the staying power—or presumable lack thereof, of many contemporary pop acts. These acts are all Hall of Famers for a multitude of reasons, be it musicianship, songwriting, the ability to connect to a wide audience of diverse demographics, and more. On a hot humid Sunday evening at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, Paul Simon demonstrated that fantastic music is absolutely timeless.

Saint Louis's premiere horror, sci-fi and pop culture convention, Con-Tamination, returns for another spine-tingling, hair-raising, jaw-dropping year, this June 17 through 19th at The Stratford Inn, 800 S. Highway Drive, Fenton, Mo 63026.

Among the many guests this year are BATTLESTAR GALACTICA original cast members Dirk Benedict (Starbuck), Richard Hatch (Apollo), Herbert Jefferson Jr. (Boomer), Anne Lockhart (Sheba) and Jack Stauffer (Bojay). They'll be joined by Gary Graham (STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE, ALIEN NATION) and STAR TREK: ORIGINAL SERIES legend, The Gorn Commander (Bobby Clark).

Wrestling superstars Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Atomic Dog will be flexing muscle and signing autographs. Fans can also meet screen sirens Kayla Perkins, Kristina Klebe, and Seka in her last U.S. appearance.

When I saw the lineup for the 25^th Anniversary season of New Line Theatre, I immediately noted ATOMIC as the one that interested me the most. Why, you ask? I knew HEATHERS from the 1988 film, I knew AMERICAN IDIOT from Green Day’s music, and I knew TELL ME ON A SUNDAY from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s pedigree. ATOMIC I knew nothing about. Heck, this is only the fourth time anyone has ever staged this show, and the first in the Midwest. I assumed it would have something to do with bombs—maybe a rock opera about the Reagan years, or perhaps a declaration against nuclear power in favor of safer, greener, renewable forms of energy? As it turned out, it was a biography of one of the lost names of the Manhattan Project, presented as a moving and tense rock musical from Danny Ginges (book and lyrics), Philip Foxman (music and lyrics) and Andy Peterson (orchestrations).

While several artists have cancelled appearances as an expression of dissent over North Carolina's House Bill 2, aka the "bathroom bill" established as a protection from potential predators posting as transgendered people, pop bands Death Cab for Cutie and Chvrches have released a statement that, while they oppose the sentiment of the bill, they will honor their commitment to fans and play the venues in North Carolina for which they have been booked -- but that these would be the last concerts played so long as HB2 remains the law.

In their statement today, released through Atlantic Records, the groups collectively state:

On Saturday, May 14, Geek Time Entertainment, Critical Blast and The Iron Room presented the First Annual Costume Party in Atlantic City!  The party served as a thrilling capstone for the day's events at ACBC Con.  Seriously, is there anything better than a cool party after an exhilarating day on the convention floor?

The winners always go home with an extra special smile, but just about everyone in attendance seemed to have a great time.  Here is a rundown of the winners:

On Saturday, May 14 from 9 PM - Midnight, Critical Blast and Iron Room will present the First Annual Post-Con Costume Party in Atlantic City!  So, enjoy the day at ACBC then head over to the Iron Room!  

First off, let's talk money.  And we're talking a lot of money.  There are $1,100 in total cash prizes!  The event kicks off at 9 but judging begins at 10pm in a wide variety of categories.  

Want a breakdown, well check this out:

I've regularly attended comic and sci-fi conventions, or whatever you want to call them these days, since the '80s.  Let me tell you, the experience has changed quite a bit in those decades.  In the past, cons were mostly a place to shop for merchandise, dress in costume, meet like-minded people, or schmooze comic creators.  Today, it's more about celebrity signings, video games, or movie and television panels.  Geeks have seemingly overwhelmed the Earth and every niche wants in on the con action.  Including more than comics and sci-fi means larger attendance for the shows, which is great in many ways.  Unfortunately, it also caused overcrowded convention floors, admission costs have skyrocketed, and worst of all, it's increasingly difficult to get tickets for huge shows like San Diego Comic Con or New York Comic Con.

LOS ANGELES, April 26, 2016 – Wizard World, Inc. today announced the appointment of John D. Maatta as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Wizard World is the leading producer in North America of events and comic conventions that celebrate the very best of pop culture, celebrity, movies, TV shows, gaming, technology and live music.

“John brings Wizard World his solid entertainment industry experience and proven success in creating innovative content and distribution strategies. Wizard World is poised to expand its already significant footprint, and John will work with us to guide the company to its next phase of growth and beyond,” said Paul Kessler, Chairman of the Wizard World Board of Directors.

Heroes and Villains FanFest has expanded their celebrity guest list for the upcoming event in NY/NJ. This time their bringing in Caity Lotz, who is currently a time-traveling LEGEND for DC's latest CW hit series.

WARNING: This announcement / analysis contains SPOILERS for a recent episode of CW's ARROW.

Her character, Sara Lance, went from party girl (sneaking off with her sister's boyfriend, Oliver Queen) to a deadly assassing with a crew of time-travelers; trying to stop a madman from destroying the world as we know it.