Week of March 9, 2022

From the editor’s desk

Owen Gray of Reno, who spent 70 days alone rowing across the Atlantic Ocean to raise money for children with cancer, arrived in Antigua 30 pounds lighter—and with his effort resulting in $196,000 in donations for the kids. Gray told me how he battled rough seas, equipment snafus, winds that swept him miles off course—and enjoyed a peaceful encounter with a curious whale.

The pandemic floored the RN&R in March 2020, but we are continuing to rebuild with expanded arts coverage and reviews. This week, Jessica Santina takes a look at the show “#MILLENNIAL” (“hashtag Millennial”), now on the bill at The Theater. The production features aerialists; high-energy choreography set to ’90s and early 2000s tunes; spectacular costumes; jugglers; acrobatic roller skating; flashback videos; and comedy.

Matt King advances A Ghost for All Seasons’ performance at Alturas Bar’s “Metal Exorcism II” on March 11. The Reno-based five-piece metal band features guttural and doomy vocals sitting atop a combination of chugging, industrial guitar lines and driving drum parts. King also previews the March 20 show at the Grand Sierra by interviewing the frontman of Flogging Molly, a band that melds pop-punk sounds with Irish music.

Bob Grimm, meanwhile, reviews “The Batman,” which returns to a grittier, bleaker Caped Crusader than we’ve seen in recent Batman movies. Grimm says the flick probes “the true dark heart” of the iconic character.

In food news, a wine dinner at the Atlantis Resort will feature six Persian courses paired with pours from the Darioush Winery.

There’s lots more to come, as the RN&R, like Reno’s long-distance rower, emerges from the two-year storm we’ve all weathered and gets back on a strong course.

Take care,

—Frank X. Mullen, Editor