WRITER: Kim Callahan

'Elf' signals return of 'real big musicals' to Theatre Lawrence stage, just in time for Christmas

Spencer Greenwood spent the tail end of his high school years “all cooped up” because of the coronavirus pandemic. That’s why when Theatre Lawrence opened up auditions for its first two shows of this season — both musicals — he leapt at the chance to try out. “After two years of sitting around the house, something super physical and full of dancing and movement was just so appealing to me,” says ...

Lawrence sculptor's joyful ode to dogs takes top design prize in national competition

After winning the world championship in the pentathlon in 1989, Lori Norwood finally got the dog she had always wanted — and it was way more than she had hoped for. That first dog, Sadie, an Australian shepherd, became “the love of my heart,” she said. “When I retired from sport, I’d saved up some money, and she and I traveled through the Northwest up to Alaska, and we just drove in my truck and ...

Thankful for Mom's spirit: Her soaring tree stands as a lesson in taking a stand

When April Dwyer drives down West Sixth Street she’s treated to a towering reminder of her late mother’s grit. The enormous pin oak on the grounds of Pinckney Elementary School, planted by her mother, Carol Francis, nearly a half-century ago is something like her mother’s backbone: It has weathered a lot of storms. Francis died six years ago at age 87, and the tree — which could easily live another 100 ...

Gathering to support people who have lost someone to suicide; 'We just want people to not be alone with their grief'

Every day is difficult if you’ve lost a loved one to suicide, but the holiday season, with its emphasis on togetherness and communal good cheer, is well known to radically magnify the sense of loss. “Man, those dates are hard when this person was so much a part of them and they’re no longer alive to be there,” said Marcia Epstein, a longtime Lawrence resident and specialist in suicide grief support. ...

Giant flower paintings on new East Lawrence building are about 'celebrating the community'

A restaurant’s sprawling, colorful garden used to bloom where an apartment complex and parking lot now sit in East Lawrence — a fact that wasn’t lost on developer Tony Krsnich, who has paid tribute to that garden by commissioning a pair of enormous painted flowers to adorn the complex’s brick exterior. Krsnich, who has revitalized the Warehouse Arts District, is putting finishing touches on the $11.8 ...

Hundreds in Lawrence rally for reproductive rights as nationwide marches take place

Hundreds of people rallied Saturday in Lawrence in support of reproductive rights. The event, one of hundreds that took place across the U.S. this weekend, began in Watson Park with a series of speakers, including various legal experts and state politicians, and ended with a march up and down Massachusetts Street, where “My body, my choice!” and other chants reverberated. The event came in the wake of a ...