It is with sadness and nostalgia that LakeFrontRow bids farewell to theĀ weekly calendar.
Like so much overĀ LakeFrontRow‘s past three years, our “What’s Playing, Madison?” feature has changed a lot. In the halcyon days, it was (embarrassingly) a text recreation of the kind of coverage one could glean from a simple RSS feed. In the years since, we’ve gradually honed itsĀ focus in the name of taste (and time) in the hopes of fostering aĀ more discerning local culture. While it’s been fun to pull out odds and ends hidden under the onslaught of black-and-white revivals and superhero cash cows, one could argue with the feature’s success, much less its dependability.
Quite frankly, “What’s Playing, Madison?” has always meantĀ a lot of work with little payoff, especially when other tremendousĀ resources in Madison callĀ its existence into question. Madison Film Forum‘s convenient screening calendar ties into the RSS feeds of theaters and venues already, andĀ Tone Madison‘s weekly feature is basically “What’s Playing?” with an expanded arts circle and more perspective. (including some recent contributions from our own Grant Phipps.) Why reinvent the wheel when you can retweet it?
This is not a death rattle. Our coverage of stuff in the Madison area is not going away. We’ll still featureĀ previews of special engagements and join in the fracas that is localĀ festival coverage. If anything, this change allows for a deeper dive into what we’re excited about, like Kim Jee-woon’s nail-biter of a horror folktale,Ā A Tale of Two Sisters, which is at the Union South Marquee this week. (Sorry, one last time.)