Tinsel and spotlights; costumes and sparkles: this is what dreams are made of. For little girls who long to be superstars, landing a part in a Christmas show is a dream come true. Aliemah Bradley is the envy of those budding actors this Christmas. The 11-year-old novice auditioned for a part with Portland Center Stage's A Christmas Story, and was rewarded with two understudy roles and a part in the ensemble cast.

Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun for movies opening Nov.12, 2010

Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) was born in Brooklyn to a Puerto Rican mother and a father of Haitian extraction. Blessed with a rebellious nature, he ran away from home a lot during adolescence, finally leaving for good at 17. Moving to Manhattan, he dropped out of school to fritter away his days spray-painting his alias "Samo" all over the city, because as he put it, "The whole object of doing graffiti is fame."

Set inside a bar in the Congo, where music, drink and sex provide a respite from the long-running war, Ruined won a 2009 Pulitzer prize. This year the play was a hit at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where it was part of the 2010 season.  If that's a surprise to you, you might not know that Oregon Shakespeare Festival does a lot more than present classic Shakespeare plays ...

Michael Jackson's record label released a new single over the weekend. "Breaking News" is available for free and many people are speculating whether the late pop star is actually the one singing or not.

Trumpeter/Composer/Arranger Jason Palmer is one of the most in-demand jazz musicians of his generation. He is starring in the new film "Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench."

Weekly previews that make choosing a film fun

For three days this November, seven area high schools and the Portland Playhouse are bringing Shakespeare to town.
For Brian Weaver, Shakespeare and the drama of high school are a perfect fit. They're both bawdy, they're both a little over the top and high school actors seem to be a perfect fit for navigating many of the double entendres of Eliza­bethan England.

NEW YORK (AP) — An 11-year-old girl who played young Nala in "The Lion King" on Broadway has died after a battle with leukemia.

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) -- Femi Kuti speaks like one of his many saxophone solos -- hands aflutter, voice rising quickly before a steep fall and hitting disparate pitches.