In the May 12 Washington Post, columnist Chris Cillizza ponders the question can Mitch Daniels save the GOP. The very fact that the question is raised clearly shows the lowly state of the current national GOP.
Cillizza's column follows a William Kristol article in the conservative mouthpiece the National Standard, that praises Gov. Daniels address to the graduating class at Butler University.

In most ways, the new "Star Trek" is a well-made movie and means to bring the story of the USS Enterprise and its crew up to the events of the 1966 TV series. The uniforms are familiar, as are computer sound-effects, starship styles and the names of characters. Various nods to the original series are scattered throughout, from verbal catchphrases to the appearance of a tribble in the background of one scene.

Plotwise, this ain't your father's Star Trek.

I noted this week that the GOP has announced it has chosen an individual to lead the fight against Obama's choice to fill the upcoming Supreme Court vacancy. Since no one has been selected as the President's nominee this is a case of putting the cart before the horse. Rather than wait to see who the nominee is going to be and what legal issues they might disagree upon, Republican leadership has determined it is just going to say no to anything and everything this Administration brings to the table.

We all know how a story begins. Something happens, and events are set in motion. The end is what we look for, how the circumstances play out, with a satisfying, if not happy, conclusion.

But what if you're stuck in the middle?

Footlite Musicals, 1847 N. Alabama in downtown Indianapolis, once again produces one of Broadway's best with "Miss Saigon," opening this weekend and running through May 17. The cast includes Greenfield residents Ian and Nathalie Cruz. Curtain is 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Call 317-926-6630.

In the past few days I have seen in Indy two very different automotive-oriented shows: Neil LaBute's "Autobahn" short play cycle by StageWorthy Productions in Broad Ripple, and the touring production of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" at Clowes Memorial Hall on the Butler campus.

Moderate Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter’s defection to the Democratic Party reflects badly on the GOP and not simply because it places the Democrats closer to a filibuster-free Senate. Senator Specter’s defection reflects upon the direction the GOP has taken the past several years.

Don’t tell me.

Don’t tell me that the events in “The Soloist” (PG-13), opening nationwide today including Greenfield’s Legacy Cinema, are nothing like the true story on which this is based.

It’s distracting and off-putting when you know reality has been rewritten too much, and this is such an excellent movie that I would hate to have anything like that spoil it.

Oscar-worthy actor Robert Downey Jr. plays L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez, who discovers homeless street musician Nathaniel Ayers (Oscar winner Jamie Foxx) and discovers that the cellist’s life journey has taken him from Cleveland to studies at Juliard in New York to ending up on the streets of Los Angeles — driven to the fringes of society by the voices and paranoia of schizophrenia.

Riverdance is finally on its last run through the country after years and years of touring. Its final dates in Indianapolis are Friday through Sunday at the Murat theatre downtown. The show features dancing, dancing and more dancing. The most surprising thing to me when I saw it a couple of years ago was it wasn't all just Irish step-dancing.

Why on earth would you want to see a play called, "Does This Show Make My Butt Look Fat?" Well, for one thing, it's funny. And for another, you get chocolate. With the possibility of more if you get caught up in the audience participation bits.

The show, playing weekends through May 2 at Theatre on the Square in downtown Indianapolis, is a mostly one-woman show starring Juli Inskeep (longsuffering Sharon Cruz is on hand to help when needed).