Entertainment

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Those in attendance at this year’s Chamber Bash, set for Saturday, March 29, should be in the mood for some good entertainment that evening.

This year’s entertainment to help wrap up the Bash will be comedian Brian Kiley, who is no comedy novice.

“I started doing stand-up when I was in college, and I started getting some paid gigs when I was a senior. Then, I graduated and started doing stand-up full-time and traveled around. I started out mostly in the New England area, which is where I'm from, but I would also go on the road to other areas,” Kiley said. “I did that for about 10 to 12 years, and then I got hired to write for Conan O'Brien's show, and I did that for 27 years. That show ended, and then I jumped on the writing crew during the last season of Ellen DeGeneres' show. I've gone back to doing some stand-up, and then Conan just hosted the Oscars ceremony near the beginning of the month, so I got to work on that, which was amazing. Right now though, I'm rather back in the wild.”

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Wichita will soon have a haunting and musical presence wending through its streets and  the Century II Performing Arts Center.

The national tour of the Tony Award-nominated show "Beetlejuice" will be making its way to Wichita's Century II April 2 through 6. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on April 2; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on April 3; 7:30 p.m. on April 4; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on April 5; and 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on April 6. The show is  based on Tim Burton's 1988 film and follows a deceased couple, Adam and Barbara Maitland, who try to haunt the new inhabitants of their former home and call for help from a devious bio-exorcist ghost named Beetlejuice, who can be summoned by saying his name three times. One of the new inhabitants is a young girl, Lydia Deetz, who is dealing with her mother's death and her neglectful father.

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Founded in 1842, the New York Philharmonic orchestra is one of the oldest musical institutions in the United States and the oldest of what have been dubbed the "Big Five" orchestras.

However, it was not until 1966 when the orchestra welcomed its first woman musician, Orin O’Brien, as a double bass player under conductor Leonard Bernstein. O’Brien remained with the orchestra for 55 years, retiring in 2021. Part of O’Brien’s story is illustrated in the recent Oscar-winning documentary “The Only Girl in the Orchestra,” directed by her niece, Molly O’Brien.

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

The funk music group Sly and the Family Stone was a juggernaut during the 1960s and 70s, producing such hits as “Everyday People” and “Stand!” among many others before breaking up in 1975 due to drug issues and other issues between the original band members.

Recently, Oscar-winning director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (who some might remember directed another one of my past review subjects, “Summer of Soul”) released  his newest documentary, “Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius).” The film focuses on the band's rise, reign and subsequent fall while also shedding a spotlight on the unseen burden that comes with success for Black artists in America.