Want to ride a colt that has not been broken? Want your dog to come when called? Want a masters degree in people management? You have Wednesday and Thursday nights left to see Buck.

What an awesome man! Buck was mistreated and abused so bad that a football coach got him taken away from his father and put him in a foster family that had 22 other boys. There he was taught by a foster father who used kindness and positive reinforcement to curb bad behavior and reward good behavior. Buck went on to be a cowboy and met a second generation “horse whisperer.” They became friends and a shy, self conscious young man began to understand how to treat horses and people with respect and kindness. Watching Buck train colts is like ballet with a touch of NASCAR.

While the movie shows the positive ease with which Buck trains people to understand their horses, it is not all roses and kumbya. There is an episode that deals with a ahorse that has had such a botched life that …. well, see the movie and learn what happens. Watching Buck deal with the owner is a worth a degree in communication in itself.

I can’t recommend this movie highly enough. It teaches as it documents Buck’s life. The interview with Robert Redford is very informative and insightful about how Buck can et a horse to do what special Hollywood horse trainers can’t. Buck.. See it.

Beginners - a likeable movie with interesting characters that sort of drags along in a fog, but that is part of the whole experience.

This movie used coming out as a homosexual as a jumping off point for exploring relationships in general. While the gayness was flaunted throughout, and done quite tastefully, it is more about, as the title suggests, beginnings. The characters are all people who have failed in relationships. They are good at beginnings but the endings fizzle out.

This is a movie of character studies but it fails to study very deeply. What do these people do with their lives? Two are shown to have actual jobs but they all seem to drift in a cloud of ambiguity. Arthur the dog is the most likeable and affable character in this movie. He is witty, erudite, and just all around the happiest character. He is the glue that holds the movie together. This is not to say this is a bad movie, just that the basic premise lends itself to ambiguity. While the humans stumble through discoveries, Arthur is happy and speaks with authority.

Hal is the epicenter of the movie as Oliver searches his memories to find out what was really going on throughout his life. His father was a closet homosexual and his mother was a card carrying Jew who said she could fix that. Her thoughts on passion are revealing in how the marriage progressed. The secrecy and dishonesty carries through to Oliver’s failed relationships with women until he finds Anna. But Anna cannot stand the sadness that Oliver exudes in his journey through discovery.

Lots going on here. It tends to drag some but editing would have been criminal. The dragging is necessary to the whole tenor of the movie. Endings can be as startling discoveries as beginnings.

Wednesday and Thursday are the last two days to see it. I would say “go for it.” Maybe not a summer blockbuster but definitely an interesting choice.

Lots of opportunties are opening up for volunteers at live events and movies at the Lyric Theatre.

Become A Lyric Volunteer!

We need your help! Each evening volunteers form an essential part of the Lyric team. Ushers, ticket takers, box office workers, and concessions cashiers at our movies and live events are all volunteers! Volunteers also help us address newsletters and other mailings, maintenance the theatre building, and keep other aspects of the theatre going. Our dedicated volunteers help us to keep overhead costs low and our ticket and concessions prices affordable! In return for their time, volunteers receive complementary movie passes, popcorn, and drinks.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Josette Torres, the Volunteer Coordinator by calling the office (540-951-4771) or by e-mailing volcoord@thelyric.com. Josette will be happy to tell you more about volunteering and to sign you up for our online volunteer scheduling calendar! Send us your e-mail address to sign up for our volunteer newsletter!

What movies are coming to the Lyric in August & September ? For details, check the Community Calendar at thelyric.com but for a quick run down, here they are:

Beginners, Buck, Harry Potter and the Deadly Hollows Part 2, Snow Flowers and the Secret Fan, Last Mountain, Another Earth, and Page One: Inside the New York Times.

There will be a special showing of Where The Wild Things Are at 3 pm on September 28.

Monday movies are Free Pop Corn Days, Tuesdays are Senior Citizens Get in for Member Price Days. Look for us on Groupon. Check our website and visit/like us on FaceBook!

The Lyric Theatre: The HEART of Downtown Blacksburg.

While the Lyric Theatre showcases some of the nation’s greatest talent, we also have local organizations who rent the Theatre to bring in wonderful acts to help support their organizations. Keep your eyes and ears open for the following shows to be presented at the Lyric:

On September 2 we have the Alumni Comedy Tour in what is becoming an annual event. VT alumni laugh masters will again showcase their work in this special show.

Continuing in that vein, on September 19, James Gregory: The Funniest Man In America will bring his brand of humor to the Lyric.

Actors Theatre of Blacksburg (AToB), featuring Michael Anthony Williams, will bring the play Top Dog/Under Dog to our stage on September 10,11,24 and 25.

October 15, in conjunction with VT, will highlight classical music with the English Concert featuring Harry Bickert.

NRV Land Trust brings Mountain Heart with opening act Laura Beth & Clover Hollow to rock the Lyric with old time and bluegrass music with a contemporary beat.

There will be many more such events in the spring but one I would especially like to highlight now is the return of Imani Winds on April 23. I was TOTALLY BLOWN AWAY when they last graced our stage. This is one you won’t want to miss!

Look for times and ticket details in the Roanoke Times, Collegiate Times and by checking Live at the Lyric’s tab on thelyric.com. Click on “Buy Tickets Now” and if the Lyric is selling tickets to the event, you can buy on line.

The Lyric Theatre: The HEART of Downtown Blacksburg!

It has been a long dry summer but Live At The Lyric is about to slake your thirst for live entertainment.

Thursday September 22 at 8 pm brings the Steep Canyon Rangers (minus Steve Martin and minus Ronnie Bowman). Hard driving, fresh, HOT bluegrass - original and on the edge. Tickets on sale NOW!

Sunday October 23 brings Charlotte Blake Alston. This 3 pm show brings songs and stories of the common human condition done in the African tradition. Tickets go on sale September 19.

Thursday November 3, we present the Barter Theatre’s production of Civil War Voices. History told in the participants voices and music! Tickets on sale September 19th as well.

OMG - It is Dar Williams with a little help from Mary McBride on Sunday, November 13. Joan Baez with a twist, this singer-songwriter is awesome. Tickets go on sale October 3rd and will go fast.

A slight spoiler here - as good as the Fall Season is, the Spring season will Rock Your World!!!!!

On 3 pm Saturday 8/13 and 3 pm Wednesday 8/17, the Summer Arts Festival and the Lyric Theatre bring you a FREE showing of To Kill a Mockingbird. “Based on Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize winning book of 1960. Atticus Finch is a lawyer in a racially divided Alabama town in the 1930s. He agrees to defend a young black man who is accused of raping a white woman. Many of the townspeople try to get Atticus to pull out of the trial, but he decides to go ahead. How will the trial turn out–and will it change any of the racial tension in the town?”

This is the third in this year’s Summer Arts Festival trilogy and perhaps the best of the three good movies. The air conditioning is cool and the popcorn is hot, so take a last guilty pleasure trip to the past and check it out!

Hard driving bluegrass by two hot groups come to the Lyric on Thursday, September 22, opening a fall series of great music and theatre. The Steep Canyon Rangers are nationally known for their work with Steve Martin but will be coming to the Lyric sans Steve. They have a wide range of songs from traditional to home growed and self written. The Honey Cutters are less well known but have been tearing up venues here in the southeast and recently out in Colorado.

Get your tickets early so you won’t miss these two awesome bands. And keep your eyes and ears open for the likes of singer and story teller Charlotte Blake Alston in October, Dar Williams with Mary MacBride and the Barter Theatre’s Civil War Voices in November. What a wow of a fall series!!

The first show in our live event series, STEEP CANYON RANGERS with THE HONEYCUTTERS, goes on sale to the general public today! More information, as well as online ticket purchase, is available at our website.

SCR with guest banjo player Steve Martin at Capitol Fourth (7/4/2011)