Leslie Bridgers

Columnist

Leslie Bridgers is a columnist for the Portland Press Herald, writing about Maine culture, customs and the things we notice and wonder about in our everyday lives. Originally from Connecticut, Leslie came to Maine by way of Bowdoin College and never left. She joined the Portland Press Herald in 2011 as a reporter and spent seven years as the paper’s features editor, overseeing coverage of arts, entertainment and food.

Arts & Entertainment, Do This

Indie Film: ‘The Long Coast’ lets the stories of Maine fishermen convey the challenges facing the ocean

by Dennis Perkins March 15, 2021March 12, 2021

Rent the 86-minute documentary through PMA Films.

Arts & Entertainment, Review

Art review: Geometry and gestures make up the abstract art of Jaap Helder

by Jorge S. Arango March 14, 2021March 11, 2021

Fifteen works by the midcoast painter are on display at Elizabeth Moss Galleries in Falmouth.

Arts & Entertainment

Kelly Marie Tran’s journey to becoming a fighting Disney princess: ‘It feels like an absolute miracle’

by Leslie Bridgers March 14, 2021March 11, 2021

If the remarkable life and times of Kelly Marie Tran were a Disney movie, the opening scene would not spotlight the young, hungry unknown hustling to yet another post-college audition in her Honda Civic, or the multi-hyphenate talent being plucked from relative obscurity to become the most prominent actress of color in a “Star Wars” […]

Arts & Entertainment

Deep Water: ‘Rock Bowl,’ by Jason Grundstrom-Whitney

March 14, 2021March 11, 2021

Maine poems edited and introduced by Megan Grumbling.

Arts & Entertainment, Review

Inspired by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, a new play ponders race, gender and inclusion

by Celia Wren The Washington Post March 14, 2021March 11, 2021

Images of two duchesses linger in playwright Vivian J.O. Barnes’s mind: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, standing at a lectern, with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II looming behind her. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, looking glamorous soon after giving birth. The appearances by Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton – as the titled women are better known […]

Arts & Entertainment

What to expect from the 2021 Grammy Awards

by Sonia Rao The Washington Post March 14, 2021March 11, 2021

This week marks a year since everything began shutting down because of the pandemic, including concert venues across the country. We’ve made it four full seasons without dancing to blaring music, without swaying alongside a spellbound crowd, without exaggeratedly mouthing beer orders to friends headed for concessions. To those with postponed concert tickets still wasting […]

Arts & Entertainment, Review

Disney’s ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ dazzles and delights the senses

by Michael O'Sullivan The Washington Post March 14, 2021March 11, 2021

Taking its core inspiration from the naga of Asian folklore – semi-divine beings that shapeshift between serpent and human form, a la Nagini of the Harry Potter universe, which most famously borrowed the idea – Disney’s gorgeously animated, entertainingly told fantasia “Raya and the Last Dragon” is a visual feast. If the ingredients of the […]