No Frog, It’s Good!

A salad with olives and tomatoes on top of it.

Bullfrog Bar A Restaurant Review The best thing about two restaurants sharing the same building? If you don’t like one, you patronize the other. I was initially was assigned to review Andy’s Ale House & Grill. It looked like a fun place to meet friends what with its pool tables and live bands as I…

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Odd-O Show

A car is in the grass with a spider made of sticks.

Schaefer’s Auto Art An Art Review With an art gallery that I was supposed to check out unexpectedly closed, I asked myself Now what? As I headed back to my car, I started googling Erie art galleries, hoping to find a nearby site to review”so the GURU wouldn’t be reviewing my employment status with ErieCulture.Guru.  …

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The Wizard of Oz at the Academy Theatre

A wizard of oz book cover with the yellow brick road.

I Don’t Think We’re in Meadville, Anymore, Toto A Dance Review If ever a book-to-movie treatment deserved a left-turn transformation into a dance recital, it has to be The Wizard of Oz. With its fantastical tale, imagery of far-off lands and colorful characters, you know it’s going to pop. Also, strip away dialogue and replace…

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Everything Will Be Okay & Space is Not Enough

A pile of stuffed animals sitting on top of each other.

Two for the Price of Free Admission a Dual Art Review at Allegheny College In his current show, Everything Will Be Okay, Ian F. Thomas confronts a singular topic: gun violence. His forthrightness offers an honest, aesthetic vision on a serious topic that Americans witness almost daily.  My works are ruminations on this dark undercurrent…

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Anastasia at Academy Theatre

A woman in white dress standing next to yellow letter.

(Don’t) Pass the Duchess A Musical Review It’s every little girl’s dream to be a princess. Few are born royals, others may become royalty after marrying their Prince Charming. But only one was a princess and later became a princess. Again. Anastasia. (Okay, okay! I know her official title was grand duchess, but Google says…

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Man, What a Woman!

A close up of the words " footsie ".

Tootsie A Theater Review Erie Playhouse™s present show asks two serious questions about success: First, how bad do you really want it? And, secondly, if you get it, was it really worth it? When blind ambition and I™ll-Show-You-Revenge join hands in one man™s frustrated psyche, the only answer can be¦a comedy musical, of course! Rejiggered…

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Weird “Science?”

A poster of weird romance with the cast and crew.

Weird Romance A Theater Review Love can sometimes turn divisive, but a current Erie play is divisional.         But it™s a good thing.         It™s evident in the Performing Artists Collective Alliance™s current production, Weird Romance. A two-tale, one-cast musical comedy, it demonstrates that love can be found in the most unusual of circumstances.        …

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Steel City Eats Meets Flagship City Streets

A close up of food on the table

Primanti Bros. Restaurant and Bar A Restaurant Review Call it serendipity. While returning some Christmas gifts at the Millcreek Mall Complex (Yes, I still shop in stores!) AND realizing that I was hungry AND that the GURU expected a review from me, when I drove past Pittsburgh-based Primanti Bros. Restaurant and Bar, it all merged:…

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Why Can’t We Have a Biennial Every Year?

A woman in white dress and green head piece.

The 2023 Women’s Biennial at 1020 Collective An Art Review Hosting the 2023 Women’s Biennial might seem like a chore to an ordinary art gallery/venue, yet 1020 Collective meets the task. Though I’d heard of 1020 Collective, the show was my first visit to the site that not only hosts exhibitions but contains a recording…

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You Say You Want a Resolution?

A person is standing in front of an open book.

Hope Springs Eternal…, Alexander Pope What’s your New Year’s resolution? Or should I say, resolutions? According to Forbes.com the most popular goals for 2024 are:  * Improved fitness (48%) * Improved finances (38%) * Improved mental health (36%) * Lose weight ((34%) * Improved diet (32%) But the big question is: Will anyone stick to…

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