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July 17, 2008...

• Think it was easy making the first Batman movie?
• Park Players presents Shadowlands
• Alabama Shakespeare Festival presents West Side Story
• Birmingham's Blue Galaxy String Project is game for just about anything

Fans of Gotham City's caped crusader are packing movie theaters this weekend, eager to take in the latest big screen version of Batman. The Dark Knight is a sinister, serious vision, and a far cry from the "Zip, Baff, Pow" Batman of 1960's TV. It also represents a crusade for producer Michael Uslan. When Uslan acquired the movie rights to Batman in 1979, he found a Hollywood that recoiled at the idea of a film emerging from a comic book. It took 10 years to bring Batman to the movies and Uslan will recount that journey in a lecture next week at the Alys Stephens Center. He spoke with WBHM's Andrew Yeager and detailed his two favorite studio rejections.

Michael Uslan interview...

Producer Michael Uslan speaking with WBHM's Andrew Yeager. Uslan's lastest movie The Dark Knight opens in theaters this weekend. He'll speak Monday evening at the Alys Stephens Center.

Author C.S Lewis created a fantasy world for children to explore in his classic series, Chronicles of Narnia. But the man behind this fictional world was a great theologian who lived a life of suffering, confusion, and unlikely love. Park Players presents Shadowlands, a play based on the life and times of C.S Lewis. It is a story that teaches the true meaning of strength and faith as WBHM's Katie Turpen reports.

Park Players presents Shadowlands...

Shadowlands runs through this weekend at Deerfoot Community Bible Church in Trussville.

Place Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in Manhattan and turn the feuding Montagues and Capulets into rival street gangs of different ethnicities. Add great songs and soaring music and you have West Side Story, the 1957 Broadway musical that won 10 academy awards as a movie. Because of its timeless themes, West Side Story is one of America's most often produced shows. And it's staging a run at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery. New York native Karen Azenberg directs and choreographs this revival. She talked with Greg Bass.

Karen Azenberg interview

Karen Azenberg directs and choreographs West Side Story which opens tomorrow night at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. The show runs through August 10th.

What to know what's going on around town? Activeculture.info is a one-stop source for finding out what's going on in the Birmingham metro area.

The Blue Galaxy String Project is game for just about anything, musically. As individuals they're accomplished in genres as diverse as classical and celtic or jazz and rock. But as the Blue Galaxy String Project, you might find them playing Beatles tunes at a wedding reception or Radiohead at a club gig. Violinist Susan Nuckols founded the group. Abe Becker arranges most of the music and plays upright bass. Melanie Rodgers adds viola and Niamh Clarke plays violin. Here's their version of The Talking Heads' This Must Be the Place from their upcoming self-titled EP.
(AUDIO MONTAGE).

The Blue Galaxy String Project plays Marty's on July 27th.

Tapestry is produced by Tanya Ott and Michael Krall, with reporting this week by Katie Turpen, Andrew Yeager and Coleman Lipsey with production help from Colin Quarello, Marlon Glenn and Islara Vazquez. I'm Michael Krall. Greg Bass returns next week.