Ben Waldman
Winnipeg Free Press
Canada
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Past articles by Ben:
Winnipeg playwright’s ‘Narrow Bridge’ a living piece of theatre with innumerable lessons
In orthodox Jewish synagogues, there is a dividing line that separates women from men. It’s a practice steeped in thousands of years of tradition, and it is a decidedly important part of many people’s personal journey of focused prayer. → Read More
Pinsent's twisty, storied, occasionally duplicitous acting career began in Winnipeg
Before becoming one of the most iconic actors in Canadian history, Gordon Pinsent, who died last week at age 92, was a young boy in Grand Falls, Newfoundland with dreams of heading west to what was in those days a different country. → Read More
In need of nostalgia? C’mon Down!
A furniture salesperson is only as good as their finest pitch, and Nick Hill Sr.’s approach always consisted of the same three words squeezed down into two and made to sound like one: C’MONDOOOOWN. → Read More
The second coming of Begonia
A room full of Elvises, decked out in their Graceland best, waited at the bar of the Royal George Hotel for the biggest diva in Winnipeg’s musical galaxy. → Read More
Pawn-shop ticket to ride
All kinds of things come in through the front door of a Main Street buy-and-sell shop: flat screen TVs, Blu-rays, DVDs, Playstations, XBoxes and bongs. Vintage amplifiers, hardly used sets of pliers, and old guitars — it sounds like a song. → Read More
Decades after playwright fought for her vision, 'Trouble in Mind' is still spreading influence
Cherissa Richards arrives early for her interview, and after getting acquainted with a boardroom on the second floor of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, the director sits down at the conference table, staring at a wall filled with faces from the past. → Read More
Raitt gives Grammy thanks to Bros. Landreth
When Bonnie Raitt walked on stage Sunday to accept her Grammy for Americana performance of the year, the iconic artist had two brothers from Manitoba on her mind. → Read More
One-person emancipation proclamation
Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers: it’s a long title because it’s a long story, and to explain it in full would take Makambe K. Simamba far longer than one hour. → Read More
Playwright Jessica B. Hill creates an otherworldly, life-affirming theatre experience in 'Pandora'
Jessica B. Hill’s Pandora begins each night with an astral projection, and what ensues is an out-of-body experience that has never happened before and never will happen again after. → Read More
Michigan-born Chell Osuntade is following his post-punk passion in Winnipeg
Chell Osuntade is not from around here. To reach his hometown, you would need to take a 15-hour drive across the American border, through North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana, until you arrived in the village of Berrien Springs, Mich. It’s the type of place with lots of cows, lots of corn and lots of Saturday mornings spent reading bible verses. → Read More
The town with no Towne
Yellow triangles, lime green rhombuses, red rectangles and sharp black lines criss-cross the dark blue carpet on the floor of Towne Cinema 8, the first standalone multiplex to open in Winnipeg and the latest to close its doors forever. → Read More
Award-winning musical contains too many lessons to count
Jack is just a young boy. He makes little mistakes. He stumbles over his words, and he questions himself constantly. He loves his mother, and he loves his dairy cow, Milky White. But regardless of Jack’s (Chase Winnicky, with innocence) belief that Milky White is the greatest ungulate to ever chew its cud, his bovine friend, with her emaciated utters, can’t do her one job on the farm. So Jack’s… → Read More
Without Gary Plouffe’s work in the fly gallery, audiences at Into the Woods wouldn’t see the forest or the trees
Gary Plouffe can lift an enchanted forest into the sky. → Read More
An artist thrives in a precious, temporary gallery space in the increasingly unaffordable art heart of the city
Jedrick Thorassie sits cross-legged on 123-year-old floorboards, surrounded by paintbrushes, finished works, and dozens upon dozens of sketchbooks, each page filled with the pictures he’s seen and the ones he’s created. → Read More
Winnipeg theatre stage legend Brownstone dies at 100
The grand dame of Winnipeg theatre has taken her final bow. → Read More
Readers help Free Press celebrate 150 years
Subscribers, contributors, supporters, and patrons of the Winnipeg Free Press gathered at the Winnipeg Art Gallery Wednesday night to celebrate the 150th birthday of a newspaper older than the city of Winnipeg itself. → Read More
Yuk Yuk’s to tickle city’s funny bone again at the Hotel Fort Garry
The Fort Garry Hotel already has a spa, conference centre, and newly renovated restaurant and bar. → Read More
Musical production of ancient Greek tragedy is speaking our language
It’s literally been thousands of years since Sophocles sat down and wrote Antigone, one of the cornerstones of classic Greek drama and all of theatre. It was performed for the first time in 441 BC: Were any of you there? → Read More
Newcomer experience in 1970s Winnipeg explored in Royal MTC’s latest production
It all begins with a phone call. → Read More
Free Press has been on the beat for a century and a half, and counting
Thousands of people, but only one wearing a straitjacket. February 1923. Thirty feet in the air, hoisted up by his ankles. → Read More