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Ilene Raymond Rush has published essays, fiction, nonfiction, and reviews in a wide variety of national publications, including Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Reader’s Digest, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Washington Post.
Her short fiction has been awarded an O. Henry Prize and has been nominated for the National Magazine Award.
She has taught fiction and magazine writing at Temple and Penn State. Currently, she works as an editor and writing coach and teaches “Writing the Personal Essay” at The Word Studio in Chestnut Hill. She can be reached at .
More articles by Ilene Raymond Rush, newest first
| Ira Glass’s ‘One Radio Host, Two Dancers’ |
April 23 2013 |
Can a popular Public Radio host connect the dots between radio journalism and dance? More to the point: Why should he?
One Radio Host, Two Dancers. Conceived by Ira Glass. April 20-21, 2013 at Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St. www.kintera.org.
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After I retired from working for money in product development and sales in high-tech, I began to follow my curiosity about the origins of Tirjan. I joined a memoir-writing class. Their encouragement inspired me and settled any doubts I had about how to spend the beginning of my retirement. Thus began the book I hope to publish in 2013: Tirjan: What Kind of a Name is That? The Haycock Historical Society Newsletter published two chapters from it in 2012, an exhilarating experience as any new writer knows.
I was born at home in Haycock, near the town of Quakertown, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Lehigh University in 1963. Neither my Lehigh education nor my M.S. in industrial administration from Union College (1968) taught me one damn thing about writing. But my wife, the writer Reed Stevens, has. First, that writing reveals what you didn’t know you knew and, second, that it’s very hard work.
Once you discover how much fun it is to prowl around in your own mind, you can’t stop.
More articles by Jim Tirjan, newest first
| My ticket to glory, 1950 (a memoir) |
April 13 2013 |
I was a small town boy of eight when I was drafted into a children’s accordion band. My musical efforts paid off with a TV appearance and my first mind-boggling visit to a real city— Philadelphia— where I rode my first elevator and subway train, ate in my first automat, and saw my first black people.
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Pete M. Wyer is a UK-based composer. He has created works for the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Opera House, Juilliard Orchestra and many others as well as producing and arranging numerous pop songs and writing scores for TV drama and documentaries, such as BBC television’s ‘Roman Mysteries’.
He is the author and creator of a number of internationally touring music-theater works that include Adam’s Apple (2004 UK, USA), Johnny’s Midnight Goggles (2007 – 10 UK, USA, India, Eire) and Finkelstein’s Castle (2009 – 10 UK, USA, India). In 2012 he was commissioned to write the closing song for the Olympic Torch ceremony in Coventry, performed by a number of celebrities to an audience of 20,000.
He is known for innovative practice, including the creation of ‘time-structured mapping,’ a system that has been used for combining seemingly disparate musical forces, such as with the hour-long ‘Insomnia Poems’ for BBC Radio 3, which was selected for ‘Best of 2009’ by BBC Radio 3.
He is the recipient of five international fellowships and a ‘Best Composer’ award at London Fringe Report Awards, 2011. A book of his poetry, The Dance Around the Fire, was published by Alternating Current Press in 2013.
More articles by Pete M. Wyer, newest first
| We speak in music |
April 09 2013 |
Our written language may be poetic, but a large part of our spoken communication is music. And often it’s our music rather than our words that reveals our inner landscape to each other.
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Jane Grey Nemeth was assistant general director of the Opera Company of Philadelphia from 1980 to 1991 and its acting general director from 1991 to 1992. She was concurrently director of the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition.
More articles by Jane Grey Nemeth, newest first
| Who saved the Opera Company? |
March 30 2013 |
Robert Driver claims he saved the Opera Company of Philadelphia in the 1990s— and the Inquirer critic has swallowed his self-serving narrative. As Driver’s predecessor, I can attest that he takes credit that he doesn’t deserve.
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Clark DeLeon was born in the hospital founded by Benjamin Franklin and he studied journalism at the university founded by Russell Conwell.
During his senior year at Temple, DeLeon won a national collegiate writing award for a column he wrote in the Temple News about assisting his wife, Sara, in the the birth of their son, Daniel. The award money paid for his last semester’s tuition. As DeLeon joked, “My son worked his father’s way through college.” Hired by the Philadelphia Inquirer in May 1972, within two years DeLeon was writing a daily column, The Scene, which appeared five or six times a week for the next 20 years. In that column, he celebrated his love affair with the city of his birth and made such an intimate connection with readers that Philadelphia Magazine dubbed him “Philadelphia’s favorite columnist.” Both during and after his Inquirer days, DeLeon appeared regularly on KYW-TV and NBC-10 news as a reporter/commentator. He hosted a daily talk show on WCAU-AM immediately before former Mayor Frank Rizzo’s show. In jest DeLeon called his own show Good Cop, Bad Cop. In addition, he wrote a column for AOL called Digital DeLeon, and between 2000 and 2010, wrote a weekly column in Metro. He is the author of four books.
DeLeon now teaches English and journalism at Montgomery County Community College. In May 2012 he rejoined the Inquirer as a Sunday columnist in the Currents section. The column is called “Clark’s Park,” not to be confused with Clark Park in West Philadelphia, where, for 27 years, he and his wife and have lived and raised their three children. Their two grandchildren love the park.
More articles by Clark DeLeon, newest first
This contributor has not yet published any articles.
Nick Puglisi is a product designer who lives in Manayunk.
I graduated from the University of Notre Dame as a mechanical engineer and recently started doing freelance product design and writing after five years of working as an engineer. I love to draw and sketch, play the guitar and, most importantly, hang out with my wife and young daughter.
I write mostly so that I can hash out my own thoughts in the hopes that they converge into something important and meaningful. But I also enjoy entertaining and hope to spark conversation. My online portfolio is located at www.nickpuglisidesign.com.
More articles by Nick Puglisi, newest first
| The day I realized I’d changed |
March 18 2013 |
During a raucous escape weekend with an old childhood buddy, I suddenly realized I’d really rather be home with my wife. Exactly when did that happen?
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I’m a dance teacher and principal of the Roger Lee Dance Company in Philadelphia.
I taught at The Rock School of Dance Education and Koresh School of Dance, performed live on FOX 29’s “Good Day Philadelphia” and Boscov’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, wrote for Dance Magazine and Dance/USA e-journal and received a Young Artists’ Tuition Scholarship from the American Dance Festival. I earned my master’s degree in arts administration from Drexel University, and earned my bachelor’s degree in dance and media communications from Ursinus College… all by the age of 24!
More articles by Roger Lee, newest first
| Can dance reach young audiences? |
March 09 2013 |
The music and movie industries have no problem reaching younger audiences— the very people dance companies need to reach to assure their future. Yet dance packs more action than any other form of entertainment short of the circus. Why not take to social media and the streets and beat the movies and video companies at their own game?
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More articles by Nathan Skethway, newest first
| The education of Toby Zinman |
March 05 2013 |
American Theater Magazine recently named the Inquirer’s Toby Zinman one of the nation’s 12 most influential theater critics. How did she reach that lofty plateau? And how did a gentle academic develop a skin thick enough to survive a public assault on her character?
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Becca Kaplan is a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in Communications. I am chair of a student-run theater company, Front Row Theatre Co., and have directed and produced a variety of shows for them. Currently I am working at some Philadelphia theaters and film companies.
More articles by Becca Kaplan, newest first
| Beckett’s ‘Endgame’ at the Arden (3rd review) |
March 05 2013 |
Beckett’s Endgame— an often baffling intellectual relic of the ‘50s— can be off-putting to a young theatergoer like me. The Arden production bridged the generation gap with brilliant performances and a mesmerizing set that created a genuine sense of sensory deprivation.
Endgame. By Samuel Beckett; Edward Sobel directed. Through March 10, 2013 at the Arden Theatre’s Arcadia Stage, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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Ms. Lehman is a screenwriter, actor, and director who is currently assistant professor of TV/Film at DeSales University in Pennsylvania. She has won the Austin Film Festival, the Set in Texas Screenplay Award, and the prestigious Horton Foote Excellence in Screenwriting Award. She is a recipient of a 2008 Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship in Scriptwriting. Her work has also been recognized by the Moondance Film Festival, Cinephile, Best in the West, Writers Digest and others.
Her book, Directors: From Stage to Screen and Back Again, is now available on Kindle and listed on all websites. For more information, click here.
More articles by Susan Beth Lehman, newest first
| My parents and my housekeeper |
February 09 2013 |
My parents were appalled by the blatant race prejudice they found in San Antonio in 1958. But they lacked the standing and courage to do much about it. Yet in their own quiet way they passed a message to their more assertive children.
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| Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘The Master’ (1st review) |
October 06 2012 |
Contrary to its misleading title, The Master isn’t about a false messiah but about one of his pathetic acolytes. Director Paul Thomas Anderson seems not to understand that sumptuous photography and penetrating acting are no substitute for story.
The Master. A film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| Remembrance of a first love |
September 28 2012 |
Like most adults, I’ve had my share of encounters with death. But nothing haunts me quite like the senseless loss of my first childhood love, perhaps because the emotions I felt then were so genuine.
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| HBO’s ‘Girls’: Where feminism failed |
August 25 2012 |
Lena Dunham’s “Girls,” on HBO, has been called the voice of the generation. But I can’t help wondering: What generation is she addressing? My generation of women changed the world in the 1970s. To judge from “Girls,” not much has changed since then.
“Girls.” A TV series created by Lena Dunham. www.hbo.com/girls.
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| What I learned from Nora Ephron |
July 24 2012 |
I long for Nora Ephron’s recognition, especially since I’m just as witty and urbane as she was. So what was the secret of her success? Let me suggest a few possibilities.
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Merilyn Jackson, a dance critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Pointe and Dance Magazine, also writes about food and Eastern European literature.
She was awarded an NEA Critics Fellowship in 2005 and a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship in 1999 for her novel-in-progress, O Solitary Host. A chapter of that novel, “A Sow of Violence,” appeared in the Massachusetts Review in the Fall 2004 “Food Matters” issue.
In 2012 several of her poems were published in Exquisite Corpse, The Rusty Nail and Broad Street Review, and she attended poetry workshops at Colgate University and Sarah Lawrence College, working with poets Peter Balakian and Tom Lux, respectively.
She likes to say that dance was her first love, but when she discovered writing she began to cheat on dance. Now that she writes about dance, she’s made an honest woman of herself, although, she also writes poetry.
More articles by Merilyn Jackson, newest first
| Aspen Santa Fe Ballet: Doing something right |
March 30 2013 |
With its home in Aspen, a season in Santa Fe and a healthy touring schedule, the 16-year-old Aspen Santa Fe Ballet is as good a role model as any ballet company could follow.
Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. De la Cruz, Square None; Kylian, Stamping Ground; Elo, Over Glow. March 22-23, 2013 at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale, Ariz. www.aspensantafeballet.com.
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| Orchestra’s ‘Rite of Spring’ (3rd review) |
March 02 2013 |
Let’s not forget that Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring was originally composed for a ballet. And there’s no right or wrong way to imagine this work. Of the dozen interpretations I’ve seen, Dan Safer’s fell somewhere in the middle— more exercising than engaging.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Stravinsky, Le Sacre du Printemps ("The Rite of Spring"). Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Ridge Theater Company dancers, Dan Safer, choreography. February 23-24, 2013; also March 2, 2013 (without theatrical element) at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Jim Quinn’s ‘Waiting For the Wars to End’ |
January 21 2013 |
The former food and language critic Jim Quinn now writes unflinching yet tender characterizations of people slogging through life. Both of these stories are sadly funny and horrifically real.
Waiting for the Wars to End. Two novellas by Jim Quinn. Pressed Wafer, 2012. 120 pages; $12.50 (paperback). www.amazon.com.
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| A New Year’s Mummer kaleidoscope |
January 07 2013 |
It’s New Year’s night on Broad Street in Philadelphia. Do you know where your grandparents are?
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| Deborah Hay, queen of improv |
December 01 2012 |
Unlike most choreographers, Deborah Hay encourages dancers to stamp their own personalities on her work. The short-term results of this experimentation can be underwhelming, but over the long run the rewards are profound.
Deborah Hay Solo Festival. November 6-11, 2012 at The Fidget Space, 1714 N. Mascher St. www.thefidget.org.
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| Techno-orgy: ‘Science Per Forms’ and ‘Fresh Juice’ |
November 03 2012 |
At its best, the new genre of “dance and technology” is a wonderfully realized integration— in which the viewer doesn’t have to choose between watching the dance or the technological elements, but can experience both as a synthesized medium.
Science Per Forms, by Carbon Dance Theatre; choreography by Meredith Rainey. October 25-28, 2012 at Christ Church Neighborhood House, Second St. above Market. www.carbondancetheatre.org.
“Fresh Juice,” by Mascher Space Cooperative. October 26-28, 2012 at Christ Church Neighborhood House, Second St. above Market. mascherdance.com.
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| Dance at the Fringe: Something missing |
October 05 2012 |
This year’s Philadelphia Live Arts/Fringe Festival offered a great deal of movement but precious little in the way of genuine dance. A loss of funding was the culprit.
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| How to write a dance review |
August 07 2012 |
The New York Times Book Review’s recent male-dominated issue on “How-To” books provoked an anguished plea for more “How-To” pieces by women. As a long-standing member of the shrinking society of professional American critics, I offer my modest contribution to the cause of gender balance.
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| ‘Beards Are For Shaving’: 007 spoof at the Wilma |
July 28 2012 |
The collaborative Bearded Ladies Cabaret has been around for a couple of years now, peppering Philadelphia theaters and hotel lobbies with snide remarks, grimacey glances and mimey antics worthy of silent film villains. James Bond is its latest victim.
Beards are for Shaving: An 007 Cabaret. Bearded Ladies Cabaret. Musical direction and compositions by Heath Allen. Closed July 27, 2012 at The Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). (215) 546-7824 or www.beardedladiescabaret.com.
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| Finding my voice at poetry camp |
July 17 2012 |
After years of dabbling in poetry and even after marrying my husband upon hearing his poems, this summer I attended two grueling but exhilarating college poetry workshops. Now I have just one question: Why didn't I do this 30 years ago?
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| Pennsylvania Ballet plays it safe |
June 11 2012 |
The Pennsylvania Ballet could be an international sensation instead of a regional stalwart if it didn’t play it so safe.
Pennsylvania Ballet: Neenan, Beside Them, They Dwell; Robbins, New York Export: Opus Jazz; Martins, Barber Violin Concerto. May 31-June 3, 2012 at Merriam Theatre, Broad and Spruce St. (215) 893-1999 or www.paballet.org.
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| Confessions of an ex-go-go dancer |
May 05 2012 |
As the sweat pours down my fishnet stockings, these guys think they're gonna take me home and score, while I'm wondering if I can throw in a load of laundry before I heat up the leftover lasagna.
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| ‘Chimera’: DNA anomalies at Swarthmore |
May 01 2012 |
Is a little knowledge about DNA a dangerous thing? Chimera is a dizzyingly smart, awfully witty yet ultimately tragic play about a new medical phenomenon.
Chimera. By Suli Holum and Deborah Stein. April 14, 2012 at Lang Performing Arts Center, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pa. Swarthmore College. (888) 495-8358 or www.swarthmore.edu.
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| Gombrowicz’s ‘Ivona’ at Swarthmore |
April 13 2012 |
Witold Gombrowicz wrote with a sneering savagery, most of it directed at aristocrats and their sense of entitlement but also at the middle and lower classes who envied them. Swarthmore’s production of Ivona wholeheartedly abandoned itself to his frenetic sense of absurdity.
Ivona, Princess of Burgundia. By Witold Gombrowicz; K. Elizabeth Stevens directed. March 23-25, 2012 at Pearson-Hall Theatre, Lang Performing Arts center, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pa. www.swarthmore.edu.
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| Max Raabe’s Weimar cabaret at the Merriam |
March 17 2012 |
Max Raabe’s burnished baritone voice, pomaded hair, white satin bow tie, tails and patent leather shoes all speak of a gentler time in Germany, before the unspeakable crimes committed in World War II.
Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester. March 2, 2012 at Merriam Theatre, Broad St. above Spruce.
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| Arizona: The new global ballet crossroads |
March 10 2012 |
To retired Americans with creaky joints, Arizona beckons with its warm temperatures and dry air. To up-and-coming dancers from places like Poland, Albania and Taiwan, increasingly, Arizona has become a magnet for cutting-edge ballet. Who knew?
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| ‘Charlotte’s Web’ at the Arden (1st review) |
January 13 2012 |
My seven-year-old grandson had plenty of opportunities to interact with the Arden’s marvelous cast of actors as animals. The grownups had a good time too.
Charlotte’s Web. By Joseph Robinette, from the book by E.B. White; Whit MacLaughlin directed. Through February 12, 2012 at Arden Theatre, Haas Stage, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| 2011 highlights: Critic’s choice |
January 08 2012 |
Even a dance critic can’t help stumbling into the theater now and then— especially since so many plays these days seem to be about dance. Here are a few of my serendipitous highlights of the past year.
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| Critic’s choice: Dance highlights of 2011 |
January 08 2012 |
Even with a six-month toothache, I took in countless wonderful dance performances in 2011. The programs I mention here especially stand out for the way they caught me by surprise and often left me flustered and panting for more.
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| Poles, Jews and ‘Our Class’ (3rd comment) |
November 07 2011 |
Our Class, which concerns a World War II atrocity committed by Polish Catholics against their Jewish neighbors, is currently raising questions all over Poland, as well it should. But the Polish church has ignored it— and so, apparently, have my fellow Polish-American Philadelphians.
Our Class. By Tadeusz Slobodzianek; English version by Ryan Craig; Blanka Zizka directed. Through November 13, 2011 at the Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). (215) 546-7824 or www.wilmatheater.org.
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| Headlong Dance Theater’s ‘Red Rovers’ |
September 08 2011 |
In Red Rovers, Headlong Dance Theater once again comes up with a clever setup that leads nowhere. And would it kill them to do a little more dancing?
Red Rovers. Headlong Dance Theater production for Philadelphia Live Arts Festival through September 10, 2011 at Live Arts Studio, 919 N. Fifth St. (at Poplar). (215) 413-1318 or www.livearts-fringe.org.
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| Priestly sex abuse: Blaming the hippies |
May 21 2011 |
A report on priestly sex abuse prepared for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops pins the blame not on celibacy but on the sexual revolution that began in the ’60s. Take it from one who was victimized by a priest even before that era began: The 1960s were the best thing that ever happened to victims of clerical sex abuse.
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| Thaddeus Phillips’s ’17 Border Crossings’ (2nd review) |
April 11 2011 |
Thaddeus Phillips transcends the kind of one-man water-sipping show that the late raconteur Spalding Gray created. Phillips ramps his performances up with physical, acting, authentic-sounding accents in any language, and ingenious stagecraft that includes lighting, the latest high-tech gadgetry and the oldest low-tech slight-of-hand.
17 Border Crossings. Conceived and performed by Thaddeus Phillips. April 1-2, 2011 at Painted Bride Arts Center, 203 Vine St. www.17borders.tumblr.com or www.paintedbride.org.
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| Kun-Yang Lin’s quest: Connecting body to soul |
September 04 2010 |
The innovative choreographer Kun-Yang Lin has launched a daring dance workshop that seeks to transcend mere movement by getting inside dancers’ souls as well. It’s a fresh approach with the potential to galvanize today’s sometimes forgettable world of dance.
Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers: Body and soul workshops. Through December 5, 2010 at Chi Movement Arts Center, 1316 S. Ninth St. (267) 687-3739 or www.kunyanglin.org.
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| The dance season: Nine highlights |
June 26 2010 |
Whether because of the economy or burnout, Philadelphia’s 2010 dance season was thinner and weaker than in past years, in terms of intelligent dancers opening themselves to the choreographer’s vision and then channeling it to us. Merilyn Jackson finds nine encouraging exceptions.
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| Priestly abuse: It happened to me |
March 30 2010 |
Believe me, no one wants to go public with admissions that they were abused by a priest. That is why so many of us have kept silent for 40 or 50 year and more. Now I am so seriously nauseated by the Church’s apologists that I am moved to describe here what it’s like to be molested by a priest.
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| Elizabeth Streb’s ‘Brave’ at Annenberg (1st review) |
February 06 2010 |
Elizabeth Streb's take on dance and space has added danger, experimentation and a fascination with things mechanical that can propel the body beyond what it can achieve on its own, but not much in the way of dance moves.
Brave. Choreographed by Elizabeth Streb. February 5-6, 2010 at Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St.
(215) 898.3900 or www.pennpresents.org/tickets.
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| Philadanco’s 40th anniversary |
November 24 2009 |
Philadanco’s 40th anniversary show made for a night of happy heinies– one of creation’s cutest assets. Three of the four works on the program featured swaying, vibrating and bumpin’ butts. Even the company’s 77-year-old matriarch, Joan Myers Brown, gave her shapely rear a shake.
Philadanco: Danny Ezralow, Pulse; Christopher l. Huggins, Bolero Too;
Jawole Willa Jo Zollar: The Walkin', Talkin', Signifying Blue Hips, Lowdown Throwdown (Batty Moves); George Faison, Suite Otis. November 12-15, 2009 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 387-8200 or www.philadanco.org.
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| ‘Fraulein Maria’ by Doug Elkins (1st review) |
November 14 2009 |
When is a parody better than the original? When it’s choreographer Doug Elkins spoofing The Sound of Music. His Fraulein Maria lets the movements of his gay, Asian and male Marias speak for itself.
Fraulein Maria. Choreography by Doug Elkins. Through November 14, 2009 at Zellerbach Theatre, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St. (215) 898-3900 or www.pennpresents.org.
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| ‘Mortal Engine’ by Chunky Move at Live Arts Festival |
September 18 2009 |
Rarely have we seen such a full integration between body and technology as the Australian choreographer Gideon Obarzanek’s Mortal Engine achieved at the Wilma.
Mortal Engine. Performed by Chunky Move; choreography by Gideon Obarzanek. Live Arts Festival production through September 19, 2009 at Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). (215) 413-1318 or www.livearts-fringe.org/details.cfm?id=6845.
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| Gombrowicz’s ‘Operetta’ at Live Arts Festival (1st review) |
September 13 2009 |
The Polish émigré satirist Witold Gombrowicz never lived to see the gleeful mayhem of his Operetta onstage. This is a fresh production with some priceless performances, although American audiences may not know what to make of much of it.
Operetta. By Witold Gombrowicz; directed by Michal Zadara. Production by Teatre Muzyczny Capitol of Wroclaw/ Live Arts Festival, September 10-13, 2009 at Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). 215.413.1318 or www.livearts-fringe.org/details.cfm?id=6891.
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| A shipboard casino for Philadelphia |
August 25 2009 |
Is casino gambling in Philadelphia an either-or proposition? Not necessarily, if in the process a dazzling ocean liner can be rescued from the scrap heap. All it takes is a little imagination— and less money than the developers plan to spend on their ugly black-box facilities.
S.S. United States: Lady in Waiting. Documentary film will be screened on August 26, 2009 at 7 p.m. at the Independence Seaport Museum, 211 S. Columbus Blvd. Free admission. (215) 925-5439 or ssunitedstatesconservancy.org.
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| 90 years of Merce Cunningham |
August 02 2009 |
People I know who don’t quite respond to Merce Cunningham’s dance often complain that it looks too mechanical. Well, if it does, that’s what I always loved about it.
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| Pina Bausch: a personal memory |
July 04 2009 |
Pina Bausch, who died June 30, changed our perception of ballet, modern dance and theater. Wherever she went, she soaked up the essences of a community and then held what she absorbed back up to it like a mirror— as I discovered firsthand when she visited Arizona.
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| ‘Remembering Daniel Nagrin’ at Susan Hess Modern Dance |
June 01 2009 |
No other dancer commanded all the characteristics of the soloist Daniel Nagrin, who died last December at 91. But two of his protégés, Shane O’Hara and Donald Laney, gave an astonishing little concert in tribute to their incomparable mentor.
“Remembering Daniel Nagrin.” Shane O’Hara and Donald Laney. May 30, 2009 at Susan Hess Modern Dance Studio, 2030 Sansom St. www.hessdance.org. June 8, 2009 at St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery, 131 E. Tenth St., New York. (212) 674-8112 or www.danspaceproject.org.
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| In search of great bread |
April 04 2009 |
Vie de France is gone from the local scene, leaving Philadelphians no French bread quite so sublime. Whole Foods’ version of a baton is primitive— a poor bread on any level. If anyone can give us an authentic French loaf, it ought to be the folks at Metropolitan, and I wonder why they don’t. But a few others come close.
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| Death of a restaurateur: René Blaschke, 1997 |
February 21 2009 |
Each year around this time my thoughts inevitably turn to René Blaschke, an early Philadelphia restaurant pioneer who was literally destroyed by a disastrous Valentine’s Day— and, to be sure, by his own mercurial personality. This year I found the antidote at Marc Vetri's Osteria.
Osteria. 640 N. Broad St. (215) 763-0920 or www.osteriaphilly.com.
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Susan Erlandson Washburn is a writer, residential designer, and western affiliate of Philadelphia’s Millett Design. She lives in Taos, N.M. with a dauntingly intelligent horse, an obese miniature donkey, and a geriatric Weimaraner.
Susan graduated from Swarthmore College too long ago to remember and went on to pursue a variety of totally unrelated careers. After receiving a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley, she worked as an editor at Psychology Today before swanning off to New Zealand to participate in the startup of a gold mining company. Upon returning to the States, she inadvertently ended up living in Manhattan, where she did a course of study at Parsons School of Design and subsequently founded a small business remodeling historic properties in Massachusetts.
She is the author of a book on relationships, Partners (Atheneum, 1981), and has contributed articles on human behavior to Redbook, More and Playgirl. More recently, her poems and short stories have appeared in Poet Lore, Phantasmagoria, RiversEdge, and The Chaffin Review.
She recently completed a nonfiction book, My Horse, My Self: Life Lessons From Taos Horsewomen, a collection of interviews accompanied by portraits by Pennsylvania photographer Jett Ulaner Sarachek.
More articles by Susan E. Washburn, newest first
| Hooked on ‘Project Runway’ |
April 16 2013 |
Why am I hooked on “Project Runway” when I should be watching Public TV documentaries about global warming? For the same reason anyone gets hooked on a reality show. It’s the psychodrama that seduces us— specifically, our identification with the players in these simulations of real-life conflicts.
“Project Runway.” Lifetime TV network. www.mylifetime.com.
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| The day I 'got' Agnes Martin |
March 10 2013 |
When I first saw the late work of the abstract expressionist Agnes Martin I couldn't find any meaning in it. Later I realized that the problem was mine: I was thinking about her paintings instead of absorbing them.
“Agnes Martin: The New York-Taos Connection (1947-1957).” Through May 12, 2013 at Albright-Knox Art Gallery, 1285 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, N.Y. National tour continues at University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, September 13 through December 15, 2013. Thereafter at Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, Wash., January 25- April 20, 2014. www.albrightknox.org.
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| Do-it-yourself analysis at home |
February 02 2013 |
Forget about what your home tells the world about your social status. It may be able to tell you something about your psyche— something you may or may not want to acknowledge.
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| On rediscovering my ancestral silver |
January 12 2013 |
My family silver service is a relic of a chapter in my life that I’d rather forget. But it came to my rescue the other day, and in the process it taught me something about editing my past.
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| Fun with feng shui |
January 07 2013 |
I don’t exactly believe in feng shui, but my life had stubbornly resisted all rational efforts to improve it. So why not try something that’s seemingly irrational?
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Michael J. Boryla was a quarterback for the Philadelpha Eagles in 1974-76 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1978. He was an All-America at Stanford University. In the 1976 Pro Bowl he threw two touchdown passes in the final minutes of the game to lead the National Football Conference team to a 23-20 win.
He is a former attorney and former mortgage banker in Denver. He has recently morphed into a writer.
He is now a playwright gone rogue. In the last few years he has written seven plays: Long Ago And Far Away, Shannon’s Hope, Ministers Of Satan, The Clone, Overtime, Black Oak and QB. His plays are all Nouveau Theatre.
Long Ago And Far Away will be staged sometime in 2013 by Inspire Creative at the PACE Theatre in Parker, Colorado.
He is happily married to Ann with four sons (Daniel, Tim, Pete and Ryan) and living small somewhere in Colorado. For the last 26 years he has been a director of Shannon’s Hope, a Christian home for unwed mothers, which owns and operates a twelve bedroom and twelve bath house in Arvada, Colorado.
He is a serious student of the French language, French culture, French music and French theater. Where in the world did that come from? Oh well…
“Theater should never be harmless!”
More articles by Mike Boryla, newest first
| A pro quarterback’s confession |
December 31 2012 |
During my playing years, I knew that there was something wrong with pro football, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Our coaches tried to pretend that the team was a family. But it wasn’t a family at all. It was a meat grinder.
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Joseph Franklin is a graduate of the Philadelphia Musical Academy and Temple University’s Graduate School of Music. He has composed works for mixed instrumental/vocal ensembles, film, video, theater and dance. In 1977 he co-founded The Relâche Ensemble, which evolved into Relâche Inc. a presenting and producing organization in support of the Relâche Ensemble. He served as founding executive and artistic director of Relâche until 1998. Independently, and as director of Relâche, he has produced concerts, festivals, recordings, radio programs, residency programs, international tours and other related music events, including the New Music in America 1987 Festival, New Music at Annenberg at The University of Pennsylvania and Music in Motion, a nationwide audience development project.
He formerly served as artistic director for Helena Presents--The Myrna Loy Center, a performing arts and film center in Helena, Montana. He has published criticism and book reviews in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia City Paper.
While living in Louisiana, he developed and taught courses in arts administration and an overview of 20th-Century music at the University of New Orleans while serving as an independent consultant to arts organizations. More recently, he served as executive director for Chamber Music Albuquerque, a presenting organization dedicated to presenting world-class chamber music ensembles in concert.
He was born and raised in Philadelphia and now lives in Corrales, New Mexico.
More articles by Joseph Franklin, newest first
| Portrait of a survivor |
April 16 2013 |
My mother endured extreme poverty, dysfunctional relationships and traumatic upheavals. Yet wherever life took her for 91 years, she carried a quiet dignity within her own head.
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| A Kensington Christmas tragedy, 1950 |
December 15 2012 |
It was a Christmas like any other in Kensington, until an unexpected tragedy undermined all my father’s hard work. But my father’s response to it left an indelible impact on my six-year-old mind.
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More articles by David Liss, newest first
This contributor has not yet published any articles.
As founder and CEO of Healthcare Media International (HMI), I publish periodicals on management, communication, risk management, and managed care ... and provide consulting and editorial services in these areas, as well as on healthcare policy.
Recent activities include:
Consulting Editor, Christiana Healthcare System, Delaware.
Presenter at Yale University on the current state of managed care
Publisher of Philadelphia Medicine
Producer of 140 abstracts of online CME lectures for physicians
Fellow, College of Physicians of Philadelphia
Member, Association of Healthcare Journalists
More articles by David Woods, newest first
| Don’t call me old! |
April 04 2013 |
Just think: A 60-year-old in reasonable health will likely have 25 years more on this planet. It’s time we started thinking of age 60 as a beginning, not an end.
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| Remedial English for public officials |
March 16 2013 |
A recent study provided the alarming news that 75 percent of California community college students need remedial English courses. What the percentage is for public figures we can only guess at.
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| The next pope |
March 01 2013 |
What the Catholic Church needs now is neither a saint nor a scholar but something it has really never had before: a turnaround specialist.
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| The decline of wit in public life |
December 28 2012 |
Incivility and intemperate language are on the rise in political and public discourse. But as Churchill and Disraeli demonstrated, there’s a way to get your point across and have a little fun, too.
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| ‘Hyde Park on Hudson’ (1st review) |
December 25 2012 |
It’s role reversal time, as Britain’s king and queen visit President Franklin D. Roosevelt, crowns in hand, to beg for his military support. Only in a Hollywood film would FDR’s paramour wind up stealing the show.
Hyde Park on Hudson. A film directed by Roger Michell. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| Those drug ads on TV |
December 15 2012 |
Thanks to an inundation of pharmaceutical ads on TV, millions of essentially normal people now believe they need long-term drugs to cope with minor complaints.
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| Mamet’s ‘The Anarchist’ and its audience |
December 08 2012 |
David Mamet’s turgid The Anarchist opened to deservedly negative reviews and will close soon. But why are Broadway audiences so meek about expressing their reactions when they’re served a turkey?
The Anarchist. Written and directed by David Mamet. Through December 16, 2012 at John Golden Theatre, 252 West 45th St., New York. (800) 432-7250 or theanarchistbroadway.com.
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| Physical fitness fascism |
December 01 2012 |
A sound mind in a sound body is a great idea— if only exercise weren’t so boring, not to mention a waste of valuable time.
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| The age of euphemism |
November 13 2012 |
How can modern society, with its bandying about of the F word and its graphic depiction of sex in theater and film, be so squeamish about language?
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Roz Warren’s work appears in the New York Times and The Funny Times, as well as in Good Housekeeping, The Christian Science Monitor, Vegetarian Times, Seventeen Magazine, and on www.womensvoicesforchange.org.
Visit her website at www.rosalindwarren.com.
More articles by Roz Warren, newest first
| Confessions of a New York Times blogger |
January 29 2013 |
I was elated when the New York Times recruited me to write for its new blog for Baby Boomers. I was even more thrilled when my essay received more than 100 comments. Then I actually read a few.
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| On spotting homosexuals |
October 02 2012 |
When gays come out of the closet, I’m never shocked, because I’m endowed with terrific gaydar— the ability to recognize homosexuals. Does this gift mean I might be a latent lesbian myself?
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C. Natale Peditto was born and raised in South Jersey and resided in Philadelphia for nearly 20 years. In the early 1980s, he was actively involved in the local poetry scene, as a writer, performer, editor and co-founder of the Open Mouth Poetry series. His stories, essays and poetry have appeared in various literary publications, including Painted Bride Quarterly, Home Planet News, VIA-Voices in Italian Americana, Chiron Review, Rain Taxi Review of Books, and New Review of Literature. He is the editor/publisher of Heat Press and currently lives in Los Angeles.
More articles by C. Natale Peditto, newest first
| ‘Poetry Brothel’ at Live Arts Festival |
September 28 2012 |
In the best of all worlds, we’d get our kicks from poetry instead of sex. That’s what happened one night at the Live Arts Festival.
"Poetry Brothel." Secret Order of the Libertines production for Philadelphia Fringe Festival, September 12-20, 2012 at Grasso’s Magic Theatre, 103 Callowhill St. (215) 413-1318 or
livearts-fringe.org.
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| Poets’ Night at the London Pub: A 1980 memoir |
August 25 2012 |
The poets who once showed up for Monday night readings at the London Pub seemed an odd assortment of professionals and neophytes, from all racial and ethnic backgrounds. But we shared one thing in common: an urge to feel the musicality of the language.
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| A noir memoir: Philadelphia before the ‘60s |
August 04 2012 |
The early ‘60s, before the Cultural Revolution, was a time when a hipster could read books and be a tough guy too. We suburban children of the Greatest Generation yearned to rediscover what was left of our underclass roots. My search focused on the dives and jazz joints of Center City Philadelphia.
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Derek Davis is a former editor at the Welcomat and the Pennsylvania Gazette. He lives in Dushore, Pa., where he writes plays based on local history, edits translations of German PR, writes bits of fiction and introspection and generally wonders how other people see themselves when “retired.”
Derek’s novel, Gifts of a Dead Man, is available in both print and e-book editions from amazon.com, and in a variety of e-book formats at smashwords.com.
More articles by Derek S.B. Davis, newest first
| They call me the arts king of Sullivan County |
March 16 2013 |
In Philly, I never joined anything. In rural, culturally deprived Sullivan County, Pa., I’ve been president of the arts council for the last five years. We have no paid staff and no home, but it's strangely satisfying in its hands-on immediacy.
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| On throwing stuff out |
December 11 2012 |
As a writer, I have no paintings or pots to my credit. All I have to show for my life's work is my words. So why do they take up so damn much space?
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| Welcomat memories: The old composition shop |
July 22 2012 |
The South Philly composition shop where the old weekly Welcomat was pasted together epitomized the dying days of pre-desktop publishing. But it was a bizarre place by any standards.
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Philadelphia Theater
The Night of the Iguana Charlotte Dir: Randall McCann South Camden Theater Co.
Overnight Theater Lead Dir: Mark Knight Plays&Players Theater Co.
Negative Space Lead Dir: Kathy Russo Painted Bride Art Center
(Self- conceived solo show)
Bus Stop Elma Dir: Tom Quinn Montgomery Theater
Plant/Flower Lead Dir: Alyse Rowen Haigh Walking Fish Theater
Franklin Tales Storyteller Dir: Geoffrey Berwind Historical Philadelphia
New York Theater
Uncle Vanya Sonya Dir: Austin Pendleton HB Studios Workshop
Summer and Smoke Nelly Ewell Dir: Austin Pendleton HB Studios Workshop
Travesties Lead Dir: Trav S. Dee Surf Reality
Michigan Theater
Orphan Train Angel Dir: Guy Sanville Purple Rose Theater
Come Back, Little Sheba Marie Dir: Owen Nash Orpheus Productions
Fifth of July Shirley Dir: Kathy Krater Phoenix Productions
University Theater
Via Toledo Leopoldo Colletta Dir: Lenora Champagne SUNY Purchase
(Performed in Italian)
Nickels Lead Dir: Lenora Champagne SUNY Purchase
(Self-conceived solo show)
This Property Is Condemned Willie Starr Dir: Imani Douglas SUNY Purchase
Gas House Gorillas Lead Dir: Justin Case SUNY Purchase
Additional Theatrical Employment
Intern Joanne Rile Artists Mgmt. August 2011
Production Dramaturge The Dead Dir: Eleanor Holdridge Purchase Acting Co.
Administrative Assistant Pearl Theater Dir: Shepherd Sobel New York, NY
Sound Op. Performance Net. Dir: Dan Freidman Ann Arbor, MI
Special Skills
Dialects: Standard British, Irish, Texan, American Southern, Polish, New York: Brooklyn, and Queens. Sketch Comedy, good with kids; dancing: partnered Irish Ceili, basic tap and ballet; Makes perfect eggs-over-easy.
Education
Acting coach: Bill Roudebush
Bachelor of Arts, Drama Studies,
SUNY Purchase College, New York, GPA 3.6
F.H.LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts, New York
More articles by Jessica Foley, newest first
| Soho Rep’s ‘Uncle Vanya’ in New York |
August 25 2012 |
It took me a week of standing in line to see Annie Baker’s updated adaptation of Uncle Vanya. But where else can you see cutting-edge theater for 99 cents, not to mention climbing over Kevin Kline to reach your seat?
Uncle Vanya. By Anton Chekhov; adapted by Annie Baker; Sam Gold directed. Through August 26, 2012 at Soho Rep, 46 Walker St., New York. (212) 941-8632 or sohorep.org/uncle-vanya.
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| Suffering for art: An actress speaks |
July 10 2012 |
Is suffering for art ultimately a romantic but masochistic notion? As an actress, I disagree with BSR’s Jackie Atkins. Artists don’t measure our success by the material rewards. And we shouldn’t.
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After graduating from Oxford and earning a Ph. D. from the University of Pennsylvania, I served as assistant for special projects to three Penn presidents and was the founding director and curator of the Arthur Ross Gallery.
Espousing, until my retirement, Samuel Johnson’s precept that “No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money,” I nonetheless published poetry, essays, short stories, and learned articles on Montaigne and other unrelated topics in American Voice Ariel, Symposium, L’Esprit Créateur, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, The Volunteer Journal of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and The Pennsylvanian Gazette.
Exploring Penn’s colonial history (from the loyalist perspective) withMartin Meyerson (Gladly Learn and Gladly Teach, Penn Press), I aired skeletons (real and metaphorical) in Through Time, Across Continents (Penn Museum Press)— and contributed an article on “The Book Trade,” in A Critical Bibliography of French Literature, The Sixteenth Century (Syracuse University Press), as well as writing and editing innumerable books and catalogues on art over my 25-year tenure at the University’s exhibition gallery.
More articles by Dilys Winegrad, newest first
| On surviving the Barnes Foundation uproar |
July 03 2012 |
What was the Barnes Foundation experience really like for an immigrant art lover? How has it changed now that the collection has moved downtown? The founder of Penn’s Arthur Ross Gallery recalls her frustrations with the old Barnes galleries and her exhilaration with the new.
Barnes Foundation. 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway. (215) 778-7000 or www.barnesfoundation.org.
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Now retired, I describe myself as a recovering nephrologist. In addition, having earned an MPH degree in mid-life, I developed a number of community health projects related to domestic violence, bullying and firearm violence.
I was the 2009 recipient of the Philadelphia County Medical Society Practitioner of the Year award.
More articles by Joel Chinitz, newest first
| Annals of medicine: The Gone-A-Gram |
July 03 2012 |
Computerized guidelines for terminating life? Rhesus monkeys programmed to perform surgery? If only patients responded less emotionally and more rationally to the innovations of modern biotechnology, America's health care headaches would vanish overnight.
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Tom Quinn is the co-founder (with his wife, Hope deFrenes) and artistic director of the Montgomery Theater, an Equity Playhouse in Souderton, Pa. He has been at the position since 1993.
More articles by Tom Quinn, newest first
| A life lesson from Ray Bradbury (3rd tribute) |
June 30 2012 |
The late author Ray Bradbury— best known for his novels, children’s books and TV scripts— appreciated above all the irreplaceable value of live theater. A chance meeting more than 20 years ago led to a lifelong friendship that inspired me to launch and nurture my own theater company.
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Wisconsin winters and a good book were made for each other. I learned to read for pleasure at a young age, whether it was Nancy Drew or Dickens. Then came the joy of writing: diaries and journals, letters to pen pals, relatives, and movie stars.
Imagine my excitement knowing that I could be a reader and a writer and enjoy a long career that demanded both. I loved college so much I never wanted to leave, so I became an English teacher and university administrator. Freshman composition was a great ride from the other side of the classroom.
I earned my B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (1971), M.S. in Education from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (1980), and teaching credential in English as a Second Language from the University of California-Davis (1998). Now that I’m retired, I live with my husband in Sacramento, California, where I enjoy creative writing, design art quilts and experiment joyfully in mixed media collage (including wordplay).
More articles by Kathleen L. Erlich, newest first
| A Ray Bradbury remembrance (1st tribute) |
June 11 2012 |
After years of reading the late Ray Bradbury’s work, I heard his voice: a genuine melody of words and images tumbling in mid-air until they hit the ear just as they hit the page.
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Robert Zaller is Distinguished University Professor at Drexel at Drexel University, as well as a playwright and poet, and a critic whose contributions have appeared in the New York Times and The Nation and locally in the Inquirer, Seven Arts, the Welcomat, Philadelphia Forum and Schuylkill Valley Journal. He lives in Bala Cynwyd.
More articles by Robert Zaller, newest first
| Baz Luhrmann’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ |
May 21 2013 |
Why do film directors seem intent on trashing great literature? Baz Luhrmann’s glitzy, elaborate version of The Great Gatsby is all self-important spectacle, and, like Joe Wright's recent Anna Karenina, a travesty of the original.
The Great Gatsby. A film directed by Baz Luhrmann, from the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. For Philadelphia are show times, click here.
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| Jayson Collins, Jackie Robinson and gay politics |
May 21 2013 |
Gay rights and gay equality may have a way to go, but treating Jayson Collins as a hero akin to Jackie Robinson for coming out at the end of his pro basketball career conflates an act of self-promotion with one of genuine courage and historic significance.
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| Rattle and Hannigan with the Philadelphia Orchestra (1st review) |
May 18 2013 |
Simon Rattle, conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra’s penultimate concert of the season, reminded us that it’s easier for a visiting conductor to choose the road less traveled than for the helmsman of the Orchestra, for whom the risk of empty seats is not to be taken lightly.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Anton Webern, Passacaglia, Op. 1; Alban Berg, Three Fragments from Wozzeck; György Ligeti, Mysteries of the Macabre; Beethoven, Symphony #6 in F, Op. 68 (“Pastorale”). Barbara Hannigan, soprano; Simon Rattle, conductor. May 16-18 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce St. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Rattle and Lang Lang with the Orchestra |
May 14 2013 |
A varied program by Sir Simon Rattle included a most peculiar linking of the Sibelius Sixth and Seventh Symphonies. The histrionic Lang Lang, conversely, is beginning to appreciate that the music is more important than the musician.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Sibelius, Symphony No. 6 and 7; Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 3; Norman, Unstuck. Lang Lang, piano; Simon Rattle, conductor. May 9-11, 2013 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce St. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Musicians from Marlboro at the Perelman |
May 14 2013 |
In a concert of highly contrasting works by Stravinsky, Britten and the young Johannes Brahms, the young Musicians from Marlboro played as if they’d been together for years. A happy audience dispersed to face, alas, Philadelphia’s annual summer chamber music drought.
Musicians From Marlboro: Stravinsky, Concertino for String Quartet; Britten, Third Quartet; Brahms, Piano Quartet in A. May 8, 2013 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 569-8080 or www.pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Mumia again: Stephen Vittoria’s 'Long Distance Revolutionary' |
May 11 2013 |
Is Mumia Abu-Jamal a cop-killer rightly locked up for life, or a political prisoner whose conviction embodied a racist era in Philadelphia the city will never get past until he is set free? This new documentary argues strongly for the latter viewpoint but passes too quickly over the central question: Was Mumia guilty or innocent?
Long Distance Revolutionary. A film directed by Stephen Vittoria. At the Ritz at the Bourse, 400 Ranstead St. . (215) 440-1181For show times, click here.
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| The Gosnell trial and the abortion debate |
May 05 2013 |
The Kermit Gosnell case has brought abortion back into the national debate, not that it’s ever far from it. It may serve some purpose if it makes people on both sides think a little harder about when life begins, and the reality that poor women often face.
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| Robert Redford’s ‘The Company You Keep’ |
May 04 2013 |
Robert Redford’s political thriller, The Company You Keep, tracks a former radical on the run from a long-ago crime. It’s a liberal’s cautionary tale about the dangers of assumed virtue, but not without a sneaking admiration for those who see issues in black and white rather than a mass of gray.
The Company You Keep. A film directed by Robert Redford. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| A library for George W. Bush |
April 28 2013 |
The pharaohs had their pyramids, and the imperial presidency has its libraries. But, as an authoritative voice declared at the opening of the George W. Bush Library in Texas, this particular emperor has no clothes.
George W. Bush Presidential Library. 2943 SMU Boulevard (Southern Methodist University), Dallas, Tex. (214) 346-1557 or www.georgewbushlibrary.smu.edu.
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| Opera Philadelphia’s ‘Magic Flute’ (1st review) |
April 23 2013 |
Mozart’s The Magic Flute is a triumph of comic genius over turgid plot and Masonic mumbo-jumbo. Opera Philadelphia’s highly entertaining production, first staged by the Canadian Opera Company, brings it off nicely.
The Magic Flute. Opera by W.A. Mozart; Ashlie Corcoran directed; Corrado Rovaris, conductor. Opera Philadelphia production through April 28, 2013 at the Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. (215) 893-1018 or www.operaphila.org.
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| The Barnes raises its rates |
April 19 2013 |
The Barnes Museum, short of cash and also apparently seeking a better class of visitor, has raised its admission rates just 11 months after it opened. But wasn’t bringing the art of the Barnes collection to the common people at an affordable cost the whole point of moving it in the first place?
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| Cate Shortland’s 'Lore': Germany, year zero |
April 13 2013 |
Cate Shortland’s Lore deals with a moment that Germany— and modern Europe generally— would prefer to forget: the immediate aftermath of the Nazi collapse. Its heroine is a 14-year-old girl who must lead her four younger siblings to safety in a world where rules have ceased to exist.
Lore. A film directed by Cate Shortland. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| Philip Guston’s centennial, in New York |
April 09 2013 |
Philip Guston (1913-1980) remains for many a perplexing and controversial painter, who made his reputation as one of the foremost Abstract Expressionists of the New York School and then created a riddling, neo-figurative world in his final decade in which nothing was as it seemed. In many ways, he saved the best for last.
“A Centennial Philip Guston Exhibition.” Through April 20, 2013 at the McKee Gallery, 745 Fifth Ave., New York. (212) 688-5951 or www.mckeegallery.com.
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| MOVE: A documentary film, at last |
April 09 2013 |
MOVE. A documentary film directed by Ben Garry, Ryan McKenna, and Matt Sullivan. Screened March 25, 2013 at Earle Mack School of Law, Drexel University.
Two fatal confrontations between the Philadelphia police and MOVE in 1978 and 1985 have deeply scarred the history of modern Philadelphia, and to this day the city hasn’t reckoned with them. A recent documentary represents a small step in the right direction. But where is Oliver Stone?
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| ‘Drawing Surrealism’ at the Morgan in New York |
April 06 2013 |
The Surrealists wanted to liberate the imagination in all its forms, using the dream as its prototype. Reality ultimately caught up with them, however, in the form of nightmare.
“Drawing Surrealism.” Through April 21, 2013 at the Morgan Library, 225 Madison Ave. (at 36th St.), New York. (212) 685-0008 or www.themorgan.org.
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| Borodin Quartet plays Shostakovich and Beethoven |
April 02 2013 |
The Borodin Quartet, in its first Philadelphia visit in 15 years, brought a more burnished Shostakovich than we’re accustomed to hearing. That’s because these Russian musicians are no longer “discovering” Shostakovich, as the West still is.
Borodin Quartet: Shostakovich, Third and Fifth Quartet; Beethoven, Grosse Fuge. March 28, 2013 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 569-8080 or www.pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Piero della Francesca at the Frick in NY |
March 30 2013 |
No painter of the Italian Renaissance exudes more mystery than Piero della Francesca, or tantalizes us more. He makes us linger in front of his canvases, always wondering a bit just where we are and what that slight but decisive thing is that we’re missing.
“Piero della Francesca in America.” Through May 19, 2013 at the Frick Museum, 1 East 70th St., New York. (212) 288-0700 or www.frick.org.
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| Christian Petzold’s ‘Barbara’ |
March 23 2013 |
Barbara. A film directed by Christian Petzold. At Ritz Five, 214 Walnut St. (215) 925-7900 or www.movieclock.com.
Christian Petzold’s new film, Barbara, revisits the Baltic terrain he favors to tell the story of a political exile in East Germany adjusting to her circumstances while trying to escape them. It’s a subtle portrait of the dehumanizing effects of a totalitarian society, with the expressive Nina Hoss in the title role.
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| Lantern’s ‘Henry V’ (1st review) |
March 22 2013 |
Shakespeare looks at war in Henry V, and, as usual, sees his subject from all sides. The new Lantern Theater production, with Ben Dibble in the title role and a fine supporting cast, brings the play vividly to life under Charles McMahon’s direction.
Henry V. By William Shakespeare; Charles McMahon directed. Lantern Theater Co. production through April 21, 2013 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| Dror Moreh’s 'The Gatekeepers' |
March 19 2013 |
The Gatekeepers. A film directed by Dror Moreh. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
Dror Moreh’s documentary, The Gatekeepers, assembles six of Israel’s former spy chiefs to speak candidly about the often-unsavory steps that protect their nation’s security. But are true confessions what they really seem?
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| Adventures with SEPTA |
March 15 2013 |
Trains made the modern city possible, and the modern city made suburbs necessary. Now, SEPTA seems dedicated to the proposition that Philadelphia and its suburbs should be kept as far apart as possible, and the journey between them a penance.
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| Harumi Hanafusa with the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra |
March 15 2013 |
The Japanese pianist Harumi Hanafusa, a welcome addition to the New York cultural scene, brought two very different concertos to her Pace University performance with the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra: Ravel’s familiar Concerto in G and Akira Nichimura’s A Shaman, in its debut.
Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra: Ravel, Concerto in G; Nichimura, A Shaman; Weill, Maria Galante; Weill, Mahagonny. Harumi Hanafusa, piano; Gary S. Fagin, conductor. March 8, 2013 at Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts, 3 Spruce St., New York. (215) 346-1715 or www.pace.edu/schimmel.
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| Dohnányi conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra (2nd review) |
March 12 2013 |
How do you save a modern orchestra? Restoring public education is the first step. Then, can the gimmicks and play great music as well as conductor Christoph von Dohnányi and soloist Rudolf Buchbinder did this past weekend.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Lutoslawski, Funeral Music; Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor; Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 ("Eroica"). Rudolf Buchbinder, piano; Christoph von Dohnányi, conductor. March 8-10, 2013 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or philorch.org.
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| Beckett’s ‘Endgame’ at the Arden (2nd review) |
March 05 2013 |
Edward Sobel’s production strives to make Beckett’s Endgame more user-friendly without sacrificing its values. A strong performance by Scott Greer goes a long way toward validating his approach.
Endgame. By Samuel Beckett; Edward Sobel directed. Through March 10, 2013 at the Arden Theatre’s Arcadia Stage, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| ‘Matisse and the Truth’ in New York |
February 26 2013 |
Matisse approached both the mystery of his world and his own response to it through painting in series. It’s a kind of sequential Cubism, in which each painting comments both on its subject and its predecessors, and the process matters more than the final product.
“Matisse and the Truth of Painting.” Through March 17, 2013 at Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue and 82nd St., New York. (800) 468-7386 or www.metmuseum.org.
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| Papal authority in a democratic world |
February 26 2013 |
As a new papal election approaches, the pope’s absolute religious authority seems an anomaly in a democratic, secular world. But a glance at contemporary Protestantism suggests that Christianity itself may be at stake in the papacy’s survival.
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| Michael Haneke’s 'Amour': Love and death |
February 23 2013 |
An elderly French couple faces mortality with courage and devotion in a game that can’t be won but does reveal both the tragedy and the honor of the human condition. With Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant in restrained but almost unbearably poignant performances.
Amour. A film directed by Michael Haneke. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| East Coast Chamber Orchestra at the Perelman |
February 16 2013 |
The East Coast Chamber Orchestra, an exceptionally talented and cohesive string ensemble, made a vivid impression with two masterworks of the war-haunted 1930s.
East Coast Chamber Orchestra: Part, Fratres; Mozart, Divertimento in F; Britten, Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge; Bartok, Divertimento for Strings. Presented February 10, 2013 by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 569.8080 or www.pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Elem Klimov’s ‘Come and See’ |
February 09 2013 |
Elem Klimov’s searing account of the genocidal massacres by Nazi troops in Byelorussia in 1943 has been called the greatest anti-war film ever made. But Come and See is almost beyond critical categories. No one who does see it will ever forget it.
Come and See (1985). A film directed by Elem Klimov. Screened February 5, 2013 at International House, 3701 Chestnut St. (215) 895-6527 or www.ihousephilly.org.
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| ‘Hyde Park on Hudson’ (2nd review) |
February 05 2013 |
King George’s visit to Franklin D. Roosevelt on the eve of World War II is a subject worth exploring, but Roger Michell’s Hyde Park on Hudson bites off more history and a little more drama than it can chew.
Hyde Park on Hudson. A film directed by Roger Michell. At AMC Neshaminy 24, 3900 Rockhill Dr., Bensalem, Pa. For show times, click here.
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| Caravaggio: The first human painter |
January 29 2013 |
Caravaggio was a revolutionary in the boldest sense. He taught us a new way to paint, a new way to see, and a new function for art itself: seduction.
“Bodies and Shadows: Caravaggio and His Followers.” Through February 10, 2013 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5935 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 857-6000 or www.lacma.org.
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| Richard Goode plays late Beethoven |
January 26 2013 |
Richard Goode’s annual Philadelphia recital brought a lifetime of engagement to Beethoven’s last three piano sonatas, which collectively constitute one of the summits of musical literature.
Richard Goode, piano: Beethoven piano sonatas, Opp. 109, 110, and 111; Bagatelles, Op. 119. January 23, 2013 at the Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, 260 S. Broad St. (215) 569-8080 or www.pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Good riddance to Texas |
January 22 2013 |
So some Texans want to leave the Union? Maybe this time we should think hard about letting them go. There’d be little to lose except a really large Death Row population, and a lot to gain.
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| Tokyo Quartet’s farewell at the Perelman |
January 22 2013 |
The Tokyo Quartet has been one of the world’s premier ensembles for nearly half a century. In its penultimate Philadelphia recital, it fittingly provided a sense of the continuity of the Western Classical tradition
Tokyo Quartet: Mozart, 20th Quartet, K. 499; Bartok, Quartet No. 4; Brahms, Sextet No. 2. January 20, 2013 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 569-8080 or www.pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Gus Van Sant’s ‘Promised Land’ |
January 21 2013 |
Promised Land pits bad natural gas interests against the true grit of Pennsylvania townsfolk, and guess who wins— in Hollywood, I mean, not real life.
Promised Land. A film directed by Gus Van Sant. At the Ritz at the Bourse, 400 Ranstead St. For show times, click here.
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| Ricardo Morales in clarinet recital |
January 21 2013 |
Ricardo Morales left the Philadelphia Orchestra for the greener pastures of the New York Philharmonic— much greener, after the Orchestra’s recent bankruptcy. But now he has returned, playing as splendidly as ever in his recital with the excellent Natalie Zhu.
Ricardo Morales, clarinet. Works by Stanford, Higdon, Debussy, Weber. With Natalie Zhu, piano. January 14, 2013 at the American Philosophical Society. 427 Chestnut St. (215) 569-8080 or www.pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Orchestra’s ‘inter-war’ concert (1st review) |
January 19 2013 |
Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s mid-month program with the Philadelphia Orchestra featured three works composed during Europe’s interwar decades, each in its way bearing the marks of that tumultuous period.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Ravel, La Valse; Szymanowski, Violin Concerto # 2, Op. 61 (with soloist Leonidas Kavakos); Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5, Op. 47. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor. Jan. 14-17, 2013 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts., and Carnegie Hall, New York. (215) 893.1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| ‘Inventing Abstraction’ at the Museum of Modern Art |
January 15 2013 |
The Museum of Modern Art’s broad survey of the first generation of abstract art conveys for the first time an adequate sense of the scope and excitement of the movement toward abstraction as it swept— and permanently transformed— Western art, not to mention literature, dance, film and even science.
“Inventing Abstraction, 1910-1925.” Through April 15, 2013 at the Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd St., New York. (212) 708-9400 or www.MoMA.org.
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| Robert Richenburg in New York |
January 08 2013 |
Robert Richenburg’s work can stand without apology beside the greatest Abstract Expressionist names of the New York School of the ’40s and ’50s. But wouldn’t you love to see his “black paintings” side-by-side with Jackson Pollock’s drips?
“Robert Richenburg: Abstract Expressionist.” Through January 26, 2013 at David Findlay Jr Gallery, 724 Fifth Ave., 8th floor, New York. (212) 486-7660 or www.davidfindlayjr.com.
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| Sacha Gervasi’s ‘Hitchcock’ |
January 05 2013 |
Sacha Gervasi’s Hitchcock depicts the making of Alfred Hitchcock’s best-known (if not actually best) film, Psycho, and uses it as a vehicle to peer into the director’s complex marriage. Gervasi’s attempt to get behind Hitchcock’s own carefully crafted persona is less successful, but co-stars Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren offer a master class in screen acting.
Hitchcock. A film directed by Sacha Gervasi. Ritz at the Bourse, 400 Ludlow St. Fr show times, click here.
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| How good was Stanley Kubrick? |
January 05 2013 |
Stanley Kubrick’s films lacked a characteristic look; on the contrary, he seemed determined to explore every conceivable film genre. He may have been a genius, but precisely how?
“The Art and Myth of Stanley Kubrick.” Through June 30, 2013 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5935 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles. (323) 857-6000 or www.lacma.org.
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| The modern female nude |
December 22 2012 |
Two New York shows featuring the female nude have thrown fresh light on the shifting vocabularies of the world’s oldest artistic subject.
Lee Friedlander: “Nudes.” Closed December 22, 2012 at the Pace Gallery, 32 East 57th St. New York. (212) 245-6734 or www.pacegallery.com.
Egon Schiele “Schiele’s Women.” Through December 28, 2012 at Galerie St. Etienne, 24 West 57th St., New York. (212) 421-3292 or www.gseart.com.
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| Grant Gee’s 'Patience (After Sebald)' |
December 17 2012 |
In the 11 years since his accidental death in 2001, the German writer W. G. Sebald has been acknowledged as one of the significant literary figures of the late 20th Century. Grant Gee’s Patience (After Sebald) is a fine attempt to capture the textures of Sebald’s elusive but compelling prose in cinematic terms.
Patience (After Sebald). A film directed by Grant Gee. Screened December 12, 2012 at International House, 3701 Chestnut St. (215) 387-5125 or www.ihousephilly.org. For the DVD, click here.
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| Drawings from Munich and London in New York (1st review) |
December 09 2012 |
In a so far rather thin New York art season, two superb drawing shows stand out, one drawn from the Munich civic collection and the other from London’s Courtauld Gallery. Both vividly remind us that nothing in the arts conveys a greater sense of immediacy than a drawing.
“Durer to de Kooning: 100 Master Drawings from Munich.” Through January 6, 2013 at Morgan Library and Museum, 29 East 36th St. (at Madison Ave), New York. (212) 685-0008 or www.themorgan.org.
“Mantegna to Matisse: Master Drawings from the Courtauld Gallery.” Through January 27, 2013 at the Frick Museum, 1 East 70th St. (at Fifth Ave.), New York. (212) 288-0700 or frickmuseum.org.
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| ‘Anna Karenina’ on film, again |
December 09 2012 |
Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina has been filmed 13 times in the past century. The fussy, shallow current version, directed by Joe Wright from a Tom Stoppard script, reminds us again that great novels often make disappointing films. Maybe it’s time to just read the book.
Anna Karenina. A film directed by Joe Wright. For Philadelphia area showtimes, click here.
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| Orchestra’s All-Rachmaninoff concert |
December 08 2012 |
The Philadelphia Orchestra plays Rachmaninoff as well as any in the world, so why not double down? A risky proposition, you might think— but if great orchestras didn’t embrace risky propositions, where would Mozart and Beethoven be today?
Philadelphia Orchestra: Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3; Symphony No. 2. Denis Matsuev, piano; Gianandrea Noseda, conductor. Through December 8, 2012 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-19999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Spielberg’s 'Lincoln' and his legacy |
November 27 2012 |
Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln is, as usual with this director, a tract for the times, in this case plumping for a liberal vision of America and extolling the virtues of bipartisanship and compromise. As usual, too, a hero comes riding in to save an embattled community. If only history itself were that simple.
Lincoln. A film directed by Steven Spielberg. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| ‘This Wild Joy’: Bill Van Buskirk’s poetry |
November 25 2012 |
Bill Van Buskirk’s verse collection is a powerfully engaging book by a poet whose work depicts the hard pains and joys of living, and who deserves wider recognition.
This Wild Joy That Thrills Outside the Law. Poems by Bill Van Buskirk. Infinity Publishing, 2010. 100 pages; $9.95. www.amazon.com.
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| Ben Affleck’s ‘Argo’: CIA in Iran |
November 20 2012 |
Ben Affleck’s Argo, about the real-life rescue of six U.S. embassy personnel from Iraq in 1980, begins promisingly as a satire on Hollywood filmmaking and CIA ineptitude but soon settles into Hollywood formula. Despite Affleck’s liberal bona fides, it’s finally a contribution to political reaction.
Argo. A film directed by Ben Affleck. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| The real Petraeus scandal |
November 18 2012 |
A juicy sex scandal was the missing ingredient in the Obama administration, now happily supplied for us by Generals Petraeus and Allen. But the real scandal is a military that plots new wars even as it loses the ones it’s fighting, and Americans' 200-year infatuation with generals and admirals.
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| Takács Quartet at the Perelman |
November 18 2012 |
The Takács Quartet brought three substantial works to its recital in the Chamber Music Society series, with Marc-André Hamelin joining it for one. The haunting Britten Third Quartet was the program’s centerpiece.
Takács Quartet: Schubert, 13th Quartet; Shostakovich Piano Quintet; Britten, Third Quartet. Marc-André Hamelin, piano. Presented by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society November 14, 2012 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 569-8080 or www.pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Carson Kreitzer’s ‘Behind the Eye’ (3rd review) |
November 12 2012 |
Carson Kreitzer’s Behind the Eye offers a kaleidoscopic view of Lee Miller, an American girl from Poughkeepsie who charmed, fascinated and sometimes tormented some of the great figures of the 1920s and 1930s in Paris, London, and New York, and became a significant artist in her own right.
Behind the Eye. By Carson Kreitzer; Lisa Jo Epstein directed. Gas & Electric Arts production through November 18, 2012 at Philadelphia Shakespeare Theater, 2111 Sansom St. www.GasAndElectricarts.org.
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| 2012: An election post-mortem |
November 11 2012 |
After a seemingly endless campaign, a 50-50 election has ratified the economic polarization of our 99-1 society, in which an elite as small as any Old Regime aristocracy controls nearly half the nation’s wealth. Until Americans deal with this problem, our politics will remain on a symbolic level only.
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| Lantern Theater’s ‘The Liar’ |
November 10 2012 |
David Ives’s breezy “translaptation” of Pierre Corneille’s classic farce contends that, in human relations, lies are the coin of the realm. But isn’t that the truth of comedy itself?
The Liar. By Pierre Corneille; translated by David Ives; Kathryn MacMillan directed. Lantern Theater production through December 9, 2012 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.theater.org.
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| Guggenheim’s ‘Picasso Black and White' |
November 04 2012 |
“Picasso Black and White” displays yet another under-appreciated aspect of the great Spaniard’s protean genius: his attraction to chiaroscuro and the uses he made of it at critical moments throughout his career.
“Picasso Black and White.” Through January 23, 2013 at the Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave. (at 89th Street.), New York. (212) 423-3500 or www.guggenheim.org.
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| Orchestra plays Bernstein and Brahms |
October 27 2012 |
The first post-bankruptcy season of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the first of Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s tenure as music director, has begun. The Orchestra, happily, still holds, and Yannick seems determined to inject fresh energy into it. But will finances, and morale, keep up with the pace?
Philadelphia Orchestra: Frank, Concertino Cusqueño; Bernstein, Serenade for Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion; Brahms, Symphony No. 4. Joshua Bell, violin. October 25-28, 2012 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| New City’s ‘RFK’ at the Adrienne |
October 20 2012 |
Jack Holmes’s RFK is a play for our political season, but also a sympathetic and sometimes searching portrayal of Americans’ last political icon. Russ Widdall’s performance is a tour de force.
RFK. By Jack Holmes; Ginger Dayle directed. New City Stage production through November 5, 2012 at Adrienne Theater, 2030 Sansom St. (215) 563-7500 or www.NewCityStage.org.
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| Terry Williams, Part III: A Life in the balance |
October 20 2012 |
Terry Williams ducked his date with death on October 3, but his life continues to hang in the balance as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court considers whether to uphold or reject his death sentence for the murder of one of the men who raped him as a teenager. Will justice finally be done in this case? And what would real justice be?
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| Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘The Master’ (2nd review) |
October 16 2012 |
Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master hauntingly juxtaposes two stories of American madness in the aftermath of World War II, one about a berserk veteran and the other about a cult leader. With a superb Philip Seymour Hoffman, and an astonishing Joaquin Phoenix.
The Master. A film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| Terry Williams case: Score one for justice |
October 02 2012 |
In the latest installment of the Terry Williams murder case, Philadelphia Judge Teresa Sarmina delivered a scathing rebuke to the district attorney’s office for concealing evidence that could have spared a man from death row. But District Attorney Seth Williams continues to press for the execution to proceed, thereby aligning himself with the city’s often-sordid capital jurisprudence of the 1980s.
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| Nick Jarecki’s ‘Arbitrage’ |
September 30 2012 |
Nick Jarecki’s debut film is a slick Wall Street drama with a police thriller grafted on. Are Wall Street’s Masters of the Universe destined to get away with everything forever? Apparently; but they do pay a price.
Arbitrage. A film directed by Nick Jarecki. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| Pennsylvania’s rusty machinery of death |
September 23 2012 |
The recent clemency hearing in Harrisburg for Death Row prisoner Terry Williams, Pennsylvania’s first such hearing in 50 years, was like a trip much further back in time. Whether or not you favor the death penalty, no one seems to like the system, including those who enforce it.
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| Walking Fish Theatre’s ‘Three Wishes’ |
September 17 2012 |
Gerald van Wilgen’s spirited spoof of corporate life provides a refreshing reminder of the Fringe Festival’s original mission: to provide a local showcase of offbeat fun and (decidedly adult) games.
Three Wishes. By Gerald van Wilgen; Stan Heleva directed. Philadelphia Fringe Festival production through September 23, 2012 at Walking Fish Theatre, 2509 Frankford Ave. (Kensington). (215) 427-9255 or www.walkingfishtheatre.com.
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| Dinesh D’Souza’s '2016: Obama’s America’ |
September 11 2012 |
Dinesh D’Souza’s 2016: Obama’s America poses as a documentary but is a cynically over-the-top appeal to the lunatic fringe that sees Barack Obama as the fount of all evil and the antithesis of American values. Go for the laughs; this presidential campaign could sure use a few.
2016: Obama’s America. A film directed by Dinesh D’Souza and John Sullivan. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| ‘Visions of Arcadia’ at the Art Museum (3rd review) |
September 09 2012 |
The 2,000-year-old ideal of a bucolic utopia met the reality of an industrialized society and the shock of World War I, but in its final heyday it stimulated such artists as Cézanne, Rousseau, Gauguin, Seurat and Matisse to produce some of their greatest works.
“Visions of Arcadia: Gauguin, Cézanne, Matisse.” Closed September 3, 2012 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. & 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Neil Armstrong: Cold War by-product (2nd comment) |
August 31 2012 |
The self-effacing Neil Armstrong went to the Moon for all the wrong reasons, and the manned space flight program is now in mothballs. Yet future ages may remember the Moon landing as the signal event of the 20th Century.
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| Frances Diem Vardamis’s 'Time Running Out' |
August 18 2012 |
Frances Diem Vardamis’s Time Running Out, the latest installment of her Yannis Lavonis detective series, carries her hero to the top of the world for a confrontation with a breed of Christian apocalypticists spawned by the new Russia. Vardamis is a shrewd observer of the contemporary scene with a sharp eye for character and detail, and her protagonist is worth caring about.
Time Running Out. By Frances Diem Vardamis. Silk Label Books; $10. timerunningout.wordpress.com.
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| David Frankel’s ‘Hope Springs’ |
August 14 2012 |
Hope Springs is a women's wish-fulfillment film about rekindling that lost spark in your marriage when sex has become more of a job than a joy. If only the Baby Boomers had known the ’60s sexual revolution would come to this.
Hope Springs. A film directed by David Frankel. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| An ancient computer, in Athens |
August 11 2012 |
Around the time of Julius Caesar, a cargo ship in Greek waters sank with great treasure, including what has now been identified as the world’s oldest surviving computer. The recovery of the treasure and the reconstruction of the mechanism form the subject of a fascinating and historically significant show.
“The Antikythera Shipwreck.” Through April 28, 2013 at the National Archaeological Museum, 44 Patission St., Athens, Greece. www.namuseum.gr.
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| Nakagawa’s ‘Thousand Portraits of Hope’ in New York |
July 07 2012 |
Naoto Nakagawa’s extraordinary suite of survivor portraits, created in response to the 2011 natural and nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Japan, is a moving human testament and a permanent artistic monument.
Naoto Nakagawa: “1,000 Portraits of Hope.” Through August 8, 2012 at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, 112th Street and Amsterdam Ave., New York. (212) 316-7490 or www.stjohndivine.org.
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| Moving the Barnes: Now to pay the bills |
July 07 2012 |
As a new study suggests, the move of the Barnes Foundation was part of the nationwide rash of real estate and financial speculation during the Clinton-Bush era. Chicago’s Art Institute gambled and lost heavily on its own expansion. That’s a scary prospect for the new Parkway Barnes, whose projections contain no margin for error.
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| ‘Renaissance Venice’ at the Morgan in New York |
July 03 2012 |
The Morgan Library’s “Renaissance Venice” provides a rich portrait of the city-state that was also a major Mediterranean empire, and the bridge between the ancient and modern republican traditions.
“Renaissance Venice: Drawings from the Morgan.” Through September 23, 2012 at the Morgan Library, Madison Ave. at 36th St., New York. (215) 685-0008 or www.morganlibrary.org.
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| Thomas Frank’s ‘Pity the Billionaire’ |
June 30 2012 |
Thomas Frank’s new book seeks to explain the resurgence of the Republican Party over the past four years in terms of the Tea Party phenomenon and its shrewd exploitation by Republican strategists. He is far less persuasive in accounting for the dissipation of the once-in-a-generation mandate Democrats seemed to have won in 2008.
Pity the Billionaire: The Hard-Times Swindle and the Unlikely Comeback of the Right. By Thomas Frank. Metropolitan Books, 2012. 225 pages, $25. www.amazon.com.
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| ‘Churchill and the Power of Words’ in NY |
June 24 2012 |
Very few men are suddenly called to greatness. Winston Churchill was one of them, and, though virtually disarmed, he defied history’s greatest tyrant with the first and last of all human weapons.
“Churchill and the Power of Words." Through September 23, 2012 at the Morgan Library, Madison Ave. and 36th St., New York. (212) 685-0008 or www.morganlibrary.org.
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| Lantern’s ‘The Island’ (4th review) |
June 12 2012 |
The Island, Athol Fugard’s co-authored play about prisoners on South Africa’s infamous Robben Island, is both historically dated and timelessly relevant— especially to America’s own carceral society, and our own political prison at Guantanamo Bay.
The Island. By Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshuma; Peter DeLaurier directed. Closed June 10, 201 at the Lantern Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| The anti-Barnes on the Parkway |
June 02 2012 |
The Barnes Foundation’s home in Merion was the Chartres of Modernism, designed by Albert Barnes to proclaim that the greatest European art of his own time represented a radically new way of seeing the world, as well as a reaffirmation of the great art of the past. So, would the French move a great cathedral to Paris to double the tourist draw?
The Barnes Foundation, 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia; (215) 278-7000 or barnesfoundation.org.
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| ‘Deco Japan’ in New York |
May 22 2012 |
“Deco Japan” is a first and fascinating look at the extraordinary artistic experimentation of interwar Japan, with its unique synthesis of Western subject matter and native forms. It’s also a remarkable look at Japan’s troubled identity at the moment it emerged as a world power.
“Deco Japan: Shaping Art and Culture, 1920-1945.” Through June 10, 2012 at the Japan Society, 333 East 47th St., New York. (212) 832-1155 or www.japansociety.org.
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| Lost Soviet classic: Klimov’s ‘Agony’ |
May 15 2012 |
Agony, Elem Klimov’s 1975 masterwork about Nichols II and Rasputin, was banned in Brezhnev’s Russia, which isn’t surprising. That is it was made at all, and on an epic scale that clearly required substantial state resources, is the real mystery.
Agony. A film directed by Elem Klimov (1975). Screened May 12, 2012 at International House, 3701 Chestnut St. ihousephilly.org/arts-programs/film.
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| Joseph Cedar’s ‘Footnote’ (2nd review) |
May 05 2012 |
Joseph Cedar’s Footnote is a savagely brilliant comedy of ideas that humanizes as prickly a set of personalities— Israel academics at the summit of Talmudic studies— as one could hope (or fear) to meet. It also raises significant issues of honor, authority and truth.
Footnote. A film directed by Joseph Cedar. At the Ritz Five, 220 Walnut St. and other Philadelphia venues. For show times, click here.
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| Shakespeare Theatre's ‘Titus Andronicus’ (1st review) |
April 28 2012 |
Titus Andronicus is early Shakespeare, more gore than glory, but still well worth seeing in Aaron Cromie’s canny and inventive staging.
Titus Andronicus. By William Shakespeare; Aaron Cromie directed. Through May 19, 2012 (alternating with Twelfth Night) at Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, 2111 Sansom St. (215) 496-8001 or www.phillyshakespeare.org.
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| J. M. Ledgard’s ‘Submergence’ |
April 21 2012 |
Part international thriller, part philosophical romance, J. M. Ledgard’s Submergence is that rare postmodern fiction, a work whose disparate parts cohere finally into an unexpected whole. It also suggests that our hyperintelligent species may be too clever to survive.
Submergence. By J.M. Ledgard. Jonathan Cape, 2011. 191 pages. www.amazon.com.
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| Agnieszka Holland’s ‘In Darkness’ |
April 17 2012 |
Agnieszka Holland’s In Darkness, based on the true story of a Polish Gentile who kept a dozen Jews alive in the sewers of Lvov, is as close as anyone has come to depicting the most infernal event of human history without trivializing it— a moral accomplishment no less than an artistic one.
In Darkness. A film directed by Agnieszka Holland.
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| ‘Van Gogh Up Close’ at the Art Museum (3rd review) |
April 10 2012 |
“Van Gogh Up Close” is a nuanced if misnomered exhibition, for what we see is not Van Gogh himself but nature studied and depicted with a passionate fidelity. This is not, for the most part, the Vincent we think we know, but a poet-scientist whose keen exploration of the world must have been a source of joy and wonder for him, as it is for us.
“Van Gogh Up Close. ” Through May 6, 2012 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Ben. Franklin Parkway and 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| ‘Cyrano’ at the Arden (2nd review) |
April 10 2012 |
Cyrano de Bergerac is the only French play between the 17th and 20th Centuries to hold its place on the international stage. Michael Hollinger’s pungent adaptation gets about as much of Edmond Rostand’s epic conception as a modern audience can probably digest.
Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano. Translated and adapted by Michael Hollinger; adapted and directed by Aaron Posner. Arden Theatre production through April 15, 2012 on the Arden’s F. Otto Haas Stage, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| Henry O. Tanner at Pennsylvania Academy (3rd review) |
April 03 2012 |
Henry Ossawa Tanner’s retrospective at Pennsylvania Academy shows a distinctive artist who went his own way, painting Biblical scenes after they’d gone out of fashion but adapting the currents of early 20th-Century art to his own vision.
“Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit.” Through April 15, 2012 at Hamilton Hall, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 128 N. Broad St. (at Cherry). (215) 972-7625 or www.pafa.org.
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| Trayvon Martin: Rush to judgment? (2nd comment) |
April 01 2012 |
The Trayvon Martin case has drawn national attention, and properly so. Justice must be done, especially in a case with so many racial overtones. What we’ve had so far, though, looks more like a circus.
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| Lanna Joffrey’s ‘Valiant,’ by InterAct |
March 31 2012 |
Lanna Joffrey’s Valiant relates the suffering of 13 women in conditions of war and exile, as if war is an exclusively male activity. The cumulative effect of their recitations is more stultifying than enlightening.
Valiant. Adapted by Lanna Joffrey; directed by Tamilla Woodward. InterAct Theatre production March 27-29 at Adrienne Theater, 2030 Sansom St. (215) 568-8079 or www.InterActTheatre.org.
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| Rich man, beggar man— and Albert Barnes |
March 27 2012 |
Albert Barnes intended his art collection to serve the common person: He famously refused to admit the rich to his premises in Merion. Now, for the sake of the collection’s new home on the Parkway, it’s the poor and hungry who are being turned away.
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| ‘Curse of the Starving Class’ at the Wilma (3rd review) |
March 27 2012 |
The Wilma’s revival of Sam Shepard’s Curse of the Starving Class is strikingly relevant to our present Age of Foreclosure, yet dated in its Pinteresque violence. It also suggests the limits of Shepard’s notion of the imploding nuclear family as a metaphor for America.
Curse of the Starving Class. By Sam Shepard; Richard Hamburger directed. Through April 8, 2012 at Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). (215) 546-7824 or www.wilmatheater.org.
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| Claude Lanzmann at the Free Library |
March 24 2012 |
In Philadelphia to promote his autobiography, the formidable Claude Lanzmann touched on his personal Jewish heritage, his experience as a wartime resistance fighter, his relationship with Jean-Paul Sartre, and the making of his classic Holocaust documentary, Shoah.
Claude Lanzmann: March 19, 2012 at the Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine St. ( 215) 567.4341 or www.freelibrary.org.
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| Mussorgsky’s ‘Khovanshchina ’ at the Met |
March 20 2012 |
The Metropolitan Opera’s revival of Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina, rarely performed outside Russia, is a primer in the history of that country’s unexampled suffering, and, for all its flaws, a testament to our common humanity.
Khovanshchina. Opera by Modest Mussorgsky; production by August Everding; stage director, Peter McCormick; Kirill Petrenko, conductor. Metropolitan Opera production ended March 17, 2012, Lincoln Center, Broadway and 65th St., New York. (212) 362- 6000 or www.metopera.org.
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| Jerusalem Quartet plays Shostakovich |
March 17 2012 |
The Jerusalem Quartet’s traversal of three mid-period Shostakovich quartets took stamina of every variety, but its musicians met the challenge, and brought out something other groups haven’t: Shostakovich’s deep affinity with Jewish music.
Jerusalem Quartet: Shostakovich String Quartets No. 4, Op. 83; No.10, Op. 118; No. 9, Op. 117. March 14, 2012 at Independence Seaport Museum, Penn’s Landing. (215) 569-8080 or www.pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Lantern’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (2nd review) |
March 13 2012 |
The Lantern’s Romeo and Juliet is an American production in the best sense of the word: fresh, brisk and inventive, with insightful direction by Charles McMahon and an able and energetic cast.
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Charles McMahon directed. Lantern Theater production through April 8, 2012 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| Ellsworth Kelly: Shame on the Parkway |
March 10 2012 |
The new Ellsworth Kelly sculpture announced for the Parkway Barnes puts the stamp of a major artist on an act of desecration and commercial greed.
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| AVA’s ‘Pelléas et Mélisande’ (2nd review) |
March 06 2012 |
The Academy of Vocal Arts’ production of Debussy’s seldom-performed Pelléas et Mélisande made the most of its slender means in projecting the work’s richness. This Wagnerian riposte to Wagner’s assertion of the primacy of human passion is only partly realized dramatically, but superbly garbed musically.
Pelléas et Mélisande. Opera by Claude Debussy; Luke Housner, music director; K. James McDowell, director. Academy of Vocal Arts production through Saturday, March 3, 2012 at Helen Corning Warden Theater, 1920 Spruce St. (215) 735-1685 or www.avaopera.org.
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| ‘The Clinton Years’ on Public TV |
February 28 2012 |
The Clintons are back with a PBS documentary, but did they ever go away? Was Bill Clinton a political genius or just a born seducer? In four hours, this quasi-hagiographical biopic manages to say remarkably little of substance about the first two-term Democratic presidency since FDR’s.
The Clinton Years. Produced and directed by Barak Goodman for “American Experience.” www.pbs.org.
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| Philadelphia Orchestra’s Vienna week |
February 25 2012 |
Spanish maestro Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos returned to conduct two eminent Austrians with the Philadelphia Orchestra: Mozart in a familiar serenade and the less-often played 25th Piano Concerto, and Brahms in his First Symphony, a work that both looks back to Beethoven and forward to modernism.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Mozart: Serenade #6 in D major, K. 239 (Serenata notturna) and Piano Concerto #25 in C, K. 503; Brahms, Symphony #1 in C minor, Op. 68. Emanuel Ax, piano; Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, conductor. February 23-25, 2012 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Curtis Orchestra plays Bernstein and Prokofiev |
February 18 2012 |
The 1940s were the climactic period of the modern symphony, a fact not unrelated to the programmatic needs of World War II. Prokofiev’s Fifth celebrated the end of the war, while Leonard Bernstein’s Second explored postwar Angst. Both were vigorously performed by the Curtis Orchestra in its midwinter concert.
Curtis Symphony Orchestra: Danielpour, Toward the Splendid City, (Vinay Parameswaran, conductor); Bernstein, Symphony #2 (The Age of Anxiety); Prokofiev, Symphony #5 in B-Flat, Op. 100 (Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor). February 12, 2012 at Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-7902 or www.curtis.edu.
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| Tina Howe’s ‘Museum’ at Villanova |
February 11 2012 |
Tina Howe’s Museum, her first play, still has legs in Villanova’s revival, smartly and effectively staged by Joanna Rotté. If anything, this witty satire is even more relevant to America’s commercialized art culture today, especially in Philadelphia.
Museum. By Tina Howe; Joanne Rotté directed. Through February 19, 2012 at the Villanova Theatre, Vasey Hall, Villanova University. (610) 519-7474 or www.villanovatheatre.org.
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| Nicola Luisotti leads the Orchestra |
February 04 2012 |
Guest conductor Nicola Luisotti opened his debut performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra with the hokiest of Stokowski’s Bach transcriptions. More substance emerged in the Shostakovich Violin Concerto and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, but Luisotti’s podium antics didn’t enhance his otherwise straightforward readings.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Bach, Chaconne, from the Partita #2 in D Minor (arranged by Stokowski); Shostakovich, Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 77; Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade, Op. 35. Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin; Nicola Luisotti, conductor. February 2-4, 2012 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Ss. (215) 893-1999; or www.philorch.org.
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| Phyllida Lloyd’s ‘The Iron Lady’ |
January 31 2012 |
Like Clint Eastwood’s recent J. Edgar, Phyllida Lloyd’s biopic of Margaret Thatcher tries to humanize a polarizing figure seen by many as a villain. This reviewer, who remembers admiring Thatcher’s panache while hating her politics, remained unpersuaded despite Meryl Streep’s finely crafted performance.
The Iron Lady. A film directed by Phyllida Lloyd. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| Peter Serkin at Curtis |
January 31 2012 |
Beethoven’s sublime Diabelli Variations, one of the summits of Western art, capped Peter Serkin’s benefit recital at the Curtis Institute, his alma mater. With family members both in attendance and on the program, it was in every sense a successful homecoming.
Peter Serkin, piano recital: Wolpe, Toccata; Wuorinen, Adagio; Ludwig, Five Bagatelles; Beethoven, Thirty-three Variations on a Waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op. 120. January 29, 2012 at Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute, 1726 Locust St. (215) 893-7902 or www.curtis.edu.
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| Nézet-Séguin conducts Mahler (2nd review) |
January 28 2012 |
Yannick Nézet-Séguin returned to his new Orchestra on a flying visit but with a weighty load: Mahler’s titanic Sixth Symphony, which shared the program with Bach’s Fifth Brandenburg Concerto. The lightly scored Bach was a bit swamped in Verizon Hall’s cavernous spaces, but Mahler’s mightiest score amply filled it in a disciplined and expressive reading.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 5; Mahler, Symphony No. 6. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor. January 26-27, 2012 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Roman Polanski’s ‘Carnage’ (2nd review) |
January 24 2012 |
Roman Polanski’s Carnage is, for him, a minor chamber piece, but focused with his usual unerring eye for human weakness and absurdity. It’s also a reminder of the judicial farce that has barred the celebrated director from America for more than 30 years.
Carnage. A film directed by Roman Polanski, from the play by Yasmina Reza. At the Ritz at the Bourse, 400 Ranstead St. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| Ticciati conducts Beethoven and Sibelius (2nd review) |
January 17 2012 |
In his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conductor Robin Ticciati made a strong impression with the Sibelius Second Symphony. The Orchestra can play this work in its sleep, but it was wide-awake for this occasion.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Beethoven, Violin Concerto in D; Sibelius, Symphony No. 2. Arabella Steinbacher, violin; Robin Ticciati, conductor. January 12-14, 2012 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Annie Baker’s ‘Body Awareness’ at the Wilma (1st review) |
January 14 2012 |
Annie Baker’s comedy, Body Awareness, pounces eagerly on its too-predictable targets, and the laughs come a bit cheaply despite good ensemble work by its cast. Theater should ask, and deliver, more.
Body Awareness. By Annie Baker; Anne Kauffman directed. Through February 5, 2012 at the Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad Street. (215) 546-7824 or www.wilmatheater.org.
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| Denver’s new Clyfford Still Museum |
January 10 2012 |
The new Clyfford Still Museum in Denver is now the permanent home of more than nine-tenths of the work of one of the great masters of American Abstract Expressionism. Though its first weeks have been marred by a shocking act of vandalism, the museum’s opening is the past year’s pre-eminent art event.
Clyfford Still Museum. 1250 Bannock St., Denver, Colo. (720) 354-4880 or www.clyffordstillmuseum.org.
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| Lars von Trier’s ‘Melancholia’ (2nd review) |
January 03 2012 |
In Lars Von Trier’s quasi-operatic Melancholia, a wedding party by way of Bergman and Woody Allen gives way to a meditation on the end of the world, courtesy of an approaching rogue planet. As a disaster film, it’s unclassifiable, but it does invite us to ponder our destructive social and psychological mores.
Melancholia. A film directed by Lars von Trier. At the Ritz at the Bourse, Fourth and Ludlow St. (215) 915-7900. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| Joan Mitchell and Matta in New York |
December 24 2011 |
Joan Mitchell’s expatriate career in France married her Abstract Expressionist style with French landscape tradition to produce a uniquely vibrant and attractive fusion. Matta, a Chilean artist of outsized ambition in every sense of the word, never quite recaptured the magnetic power and authority of his earliest work, but remained an interesting figure to the end.
“Joan Mitchell: The Last Paintings.” Through January 4, 2012 at Cheim & Read, 531 W. 25th St., New York. (212) 242-7727 or www.cheimread.com.
“Matta: A Centennial Celebration.” Through January 28, 2012 at the Pace Gallery, 534 W. 25th St., New York. ,
(212) 242.7727 or www.thepacegallery.com.
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| Christopher Hitchens, right or wrong |
December 17 2011 |
My old friend Christopher Hitchens had an omnivorous mind and an insatiable need to speak it. He possessed tremendous courage as well. But inexplicably, he and I wound up on opposite sides of an implacable political divide.
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| On worshipping Steve Jobs |
December 13 2011 |
The late high-tech innovator Steve Jobs created products that no one had previously realized they couldn’t live without, and that transformed millions of people into plugged-in zombies who seem to have lost all consciousness of inhabiting a common public space.
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| J. C. Chandor’s ‘Margin Call’ |
December 13 2011 |
J. C. Chandor’s Margin Call depicts the financial meltdown of 2008 from inside the executive suites of a company that resembles Lehman Brothers but, unlike its prototype, aims to survive. Chandor's film is that rare serious attempt to put a human face on an economic crisis. But its characters, however vivid, are far less appealing than the Corleones of The Godfather, and also far more dangerous.
Margin Call. A film directed by J. C. Chandor. For Philadelphia-area show times, click here.
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| Alexander Payne’s ‘The Descendants’ |
December 10 2011 |
Alexander Payne is the best satirist of the current American film generation, and The Descendants is his most ambitious film yet. But his mordant wit too often exposes a vein of sentiment. He needs to decide where his art wants to go.
The Descendants. A film directed by Alexander Payne. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| Louvre treasures at the Morgan Library |
December 10 2011 |
“David, Delacroix, and Revolutionary France” is a feast of drawings from the Louvre, loosely tied to the politically volcanic period between 1789 and 1848. The historical references are mostly oblique if present at all, but the art needs no excuse.
“David, Delacroix, and Revolutionary France: Drawings From the Louvre.” Through December 31, 2011 at the Morgan Library, 225 Madison Ave. (at 36th St.), New York. (212) 685-0008 or www.themorgan.org.
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| Picasso’s early drawings, at the Frick in NY |
December 06 2011 |
Line— a relatively neglected aspect of his oeuvre— was always more important to Picasso than anything else. From his earliest academic exercises to the breakthrough of Cubism to the monumental neoclassic works of 1920-21 with which the show concludes, this is an artist who never ceases to surprise.
“Picasso’s Drawings, 1890-1921: Reinventing Tradition.” Through January 8, 2012 at the Frick Collection, 1 East 70th St., New York. (212) 288-0700 or www.frick.org.
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| Clint Eastwood’s ‘J. Edgar’ |
November 29 2011 |
Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar Hoover is less the fearsome FBI director who created the template for the modern security state than a closet homosexual whose prurience about others’ private lives masked his concealment of his own— above all from himself.
J. Edgar. A film directed by Clint Eastwood. For Philadelphia-area show times, click here.
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| Gardiner and Jurowski: Two period pieces (2nd review) |
November 25 2011 |
Sir John Eliot Gardiner led his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique in an all-Beethoven program on period instruments, followed two days later by Vladimir Jurowski’s magisterial reading of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony. That performance, too, had a period feel, but for quite different reasons.
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique: Beethoven, Overture to Egmont; Symphony No. 3; Symphony No. 5 ("Eroica"). Sir John Eliot Gardiner, conductor. November 15, 2011 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1955 or www.kimmelcenter.org.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Shostakovich, Symphony No. 7. November 16-18, 2011 at the Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce St. ( 215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org .
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| Braque: The painter’s painter, in New York |
November 22 2011 |
Georges Braque, Cubism’s co-founder with Pablo Picasso, has long played Joe Frazier to Picasso’s Muhammad Ali. But he’s a master in his own right, as his first exhibition in New York since 1988 makes clear.
“Georges Braque: Pioneer of Modernism.” Through November 30, 2011 at Acquavella Gallery, 18 East 79th St., New York. (212) 734-6300 or www.acquavellagalleries.com.
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| ‘Watt’ at Annenberg: Barry McGovern performs Beckett |
November 13 2011 |
Virtually everything Samuel Beckett wrote, in whatever form, is dramatic, but reducing the richness of a novel like Watt to the demands of an hour-long monologue necessarily involves tradeoffs. Nevertheless, Barry McGovern is an exceptional actor for whom Beckett comes as naturally as his own brogue, and the result is like standing under a rare and wonderful waterfall for an hour.
Watt. Adapted and performed by Barry McGovern from a novel by Samuel Beckett. Dublin Gate Theater production November 9-12, 2011 at Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St. (215) 898-3900 or annenbergcenter.org.
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| ‘Take Shelter': Prophecy vs. lunacy (1st review) |
November 08 2011 |
In Take Shelter, a young worker and husband in central Ohio can’t decide whether the apocalyptic visions that torment him are the mark of a prophet or a madman. Director Jeff Nichols provides no easy answers, but he does make us think hard about where all of us are at this moment.
Take Shelter. A film directed by Jeff Nichols. For Philadelphia area theaters and show times, click here.
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| Ying Quartet at the Perelman |
November 06 2011 |
The Ying Quartet’s recital offered a late work of the Tsarist era and a late one of the Soviet period. Plenty of history intervened between them, as the scores made clear, but Dvorák’s Piano Quintet in A, Op. 81, which rounded out the program, made for a rousing conclusion, with pianist Menahem Pressler adding his special touch to the youthful ensemble.
Ying Quartet: Arensky, A Minor Quartet; Shostakovich, Twelfth Quartet; Dvorák, Piano Quintet in A. Menahem Pressler, piano. October 28, 2011 at Perelman Theater, Broad and Spruce St. (215) 569-8080 or www.pcmsconcerts.org.
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| ‘Our Class’ at the Wilma (2nd review) |
November 01 2011 |
Tadeusz Slobodzaniek’s Our Class recounts the 1941 massacre of the Jews of Jedwabne by their Polish neighbors, and the subsequent cover-up that blamed it on the Nazis. That the Nazis had willing collaborators in their extermination of the Jews isn’t news; more interesting than the moral disintegration that led to the massacre is the subsequent history of rationalization and denial, which continues to the present day.
Our Class. By Tadeusz Slobodzianek; English version by Ryan Craig; Blanka Zizka directed. Through November 13, 2011 at the Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). (215) 546-7824 or www.wilmatheater.org.
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| Hamptons Abstract Expressionists in New York |
October 25 2011 |
David Findlay Jr. has opened its new digs on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue with a double exhibition. “East End: Artists of the Hamptons” shows nine painters, sculptors, and graphic artists from the heyday of Abstract Expressionism, while “Walter Kuhlman: Images from the West” offers a suite of splendidly executed monotypes whose dim figures suggest a Dantesque progress.
“East End: Artists of the Hamptons” and “Walter Kuhlman: Images from the West.” Closed October 22, 2011 at David Findlay Jr. Gallery, 724 Fifth Ave., New York. (212) 486-7660 or www.davidfindlayjr.com.
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| The end of the Orchestra? |
October 25 2011 |
The Philadelphia Orchestra under Charles Dutoit featured Lang Lang’s mannered performance of the Liszt First Piano Concerto between Faure’s wistful Pavane and Shostakovich’s epic Tenth Symphony. The Orchestra was in good form, but the looming question remains: for how long?
Philadelphia Orchestra: Faure, Pavane; Liszt, First Piano Concerto; Shostakovich, Tenth Symphony. Lang Lang, piano; Charles Dutoit, conductor. October 20-22, 2011 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Opera Company’s ‘Carmen’ (2nd review) |
October 18 2011 |
The Opera Company of Philadelphia’s production of Bizet’s Carmen was a split decision: competent but not probing as a traditional staging of a Romantic classic, with the female leads coming off decidedly better than the males.
Carmen. Opera by Georges Bizet. Directed by David Gately; Corrado Rovaris, conductor. Opera Company of Philadelphia production closed October 14, 2011 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust St. (215) 893-1999 or www.operaphila.org.
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| Lantern Theater’s ‘New Jerusalem’ (1st review) |
October 15 2011 |
How much freedom is too much? For the great Baruch Spinoza, there could be no limit; but for the community that judged him, there had to be. The Lantern Theater’s production does full justice to David Ives’s challenging play of ideas.
New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza at Talmud Torah Congregation, Amsterdam, July 27, 1656. By David Ives; Charles McMahon directed. Lantern Theater Company production through November 12, 2011 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| ‘Rembrandt and Jesus’ at the Art Museum (3rd review) |
October 11 2011 |
In attempting to humanize the image of Jesus while at the same time conveying the Christian sense of a divine presence in his features, Rembrandt tried to square the ultimate representational circle. At the same time, he acknowledged the Jewishness of Jesus, something no previous artist had done. The results represent the ultimate triumph of his own deep humanism.
“Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus.” Through October 30, 2011 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th St. and Benamin. Franklin Parkway. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Richard Burgin’s ‘Shadow Traffic’ |
October 04 2011 |
Richard Burgin’s new story collection, Shadow Traffic, confirms his standing as one of America’s masters of short fiction. With a voice uniquely his own, he creates a world of urban anomie and dread that Kafka would recognize.
Shadow Traffic. Stories by Richard Burgin. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011. 267 pages, $30. www.amazon.com.
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| Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Contagion’ |
October 01 2011 |
Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion, a film about a super-deadly virus on the loose, is a transparent parable of the War on Terror in which only dedicated scientists and stern-jawed military types can save the nation and the world. Really, with heroes like these, can’t we just bring back the Terminator?
Contagion. A film directed by Steven Soderbergh. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| Capital punishment as an oxymoron |
September 27 2011 |
Troy Davis was probably wrongly convicted of murder. Lawrence Brewer was almost surely guilty of an egregious racial killing. But both executions demonstrated why capital punishment is wrong in itself.
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| Harry Bertoia at Rosemont College |
September 25 2011 |
Harry Bertoia, an artist primarily known for his sculpture and design, created a significant body of graphic work that, if not ultimately of the very first rank, nonetheless deserves an honored place in mid-20th Century American art. The small but choice show of his drawings at the Lawrence Gallery of Rosemont College was one of the pleasures of the late summer season.
“Harry Bertoia: Four Decades of Drawings.” Closed September 20, 2011 at Rosemont College, 1400 Montgomery Ave., Rosemont, Pa. (610) 526.2697 or www.rosemont.edu.
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| John Madden’s ‘The Debt’ (2nd review) |
September 13 2011 |
In John Madden’s The Debt, an Israeli commando team decides to fudge the botched kidnapping of a notorious Nazi war criminal as a killing. “What price truth?” is the question posed. But, beneath the surface of an action thriller lurk even darker and more existential issues.
The Debt. A film directed by John Madden. For Philadelphia area showtimes, click here.
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| ‘What Alice Knew’: The hunt for Jack the Ripper |
September 10 2011 |
The James siblings— Henry, William, Alice— pursue Jack the Ripper through late Victorian London in a witty intellectual thriller that offers some uncomfortable truths about sex, violence and the city along the way.
What Alice Knew: A Most Curious Tale of Henry James and Jack the Ripper. By Paula Marantz Cohen. Sourcebooks, 2010. 341 pages; paperback, $14.95. www.amazon.com.
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| The 9/11 Anniversary: Enough already |
September 10 2011 |
I was as angry at 9/11 as anyone else, and as gung-ho about going after Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. That moment passed when I saw that what we were doing to ourselves and others far exceeded the harm that had been done to us, and with far more lasting consequences.
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| The King Memorial fiasco |
August 28 2011 |
Martin Luther King spoke of going up the mountain. He didn’t speak of becoming one. The new memorial to him on the National Mall is both a moral and aesthetic disaster. The blame lies not in the inadequacy of King’s vision, but of ours.
Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial. National Mall, 1964 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, D.C. www.mlkmemorial.org.
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| How to respond to tyrants? |
August 27 2011 |
America’s deeply inconsistent response to uprisings against three Middle East tyrants— Mubarak in Egypt, Qaddafi in Libya and Assad in Syria— suggests the confusion, inconsistency and (in Libya’s case) the cynicism of U.S. policy in the Middle East.
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| 'Myth and coinage’ in Athens |
August 22 2011 |
A fine show of ancient coins, hidden in the midst of this summer’s Greek financial crisis, reminds us of the time when the drachma, not the euro, dominated the Eurasian world.
“Myth and Coinage.” Through November 27, 2011 at National Archaeological Museum, 44 Patission, Athens, Greece. www.namuseum.gr.
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| Philadelphia Orchestra on the brink |
August 14 2011 |
Add trumpeter David Bilger to the growing roster of Philadelphia Orchestra musicians leaving for more secure if not greener pastures. But the executive and board leadership should walk the plank instead.
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| Obama’s unproclaimed war |
August 09 2011 |
As I kicked back on a sunny Aegean island, I was startled by the roar of NATO fighter jets returning from Libya. I could see that getting away from Obama this summer was going to be more difficult than I thought. Our president has been a puzzle to many: so prompt to confront a foreign dictator, so easily intimidated by any Republican.
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| Capitalism’s rolling crisis |
July 30 2011 |
The recently announced Greek bailout is a stopgap measure that won’t solve the country’s financial crisis but does confirm its loss of economic sovereignty. In a world where banks rule— not only in Athens but in Washington— the eclipse of the state by global capital is a profound systemic event with consequences for all.
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| Greece’s fiscal crisis— and ours |
July 05 2011 |
The key question in Greece’s current fiscal crisis goes something like this: When you already have a democracy that won't respond to its citizens, what do you revolt against then?
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| Cuba’s ‘Revolutionary Project’ at the Getty in LA |
July 02 2011 |
“A Revolutionary Project” displays Cuban history from three vantage points: colonial exploitation, revolutionary euphoria and a depleted present, in which the country waits for its new Wall Street conquistadors. The photographic record is extraordinary, and the historical prospect tragic.
“A Revolutionary Project: Cuba from Walker Evans to the Present.” Through October 2, 2011 at the Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles. www.getty.edu.
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| Malick’s ‘The Tree of Life’ |
June 28 2011 |
The Tree of Life, though flawed and at times exasperating, is Terrence Malick’s most beautiful and humanly realized film since Days of Heaven, and a work that will be studied for many years to come. But it shows too the limits of a filmmaker whose vision, though deeply and rewardingly poetic, is stuck in adolescence and the rituals of male bonding and conflict.
The Tree of Life. A film written and directed by Terrence Malick. At the Ritz East, 125 S. Second St. (15) 925-7900; and the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, Pa. (610) 527-9898. For times at both theaters, click here.
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| Why did Anthony Weiner resign? |
June 21 2011 |
Everybody agreed that Congressman Anthony Weiner had to resign for sharing his ego and his privates online. But he broke no laws and no rules of the House. He didn’t prostitute himself politically, at least any more than his self-righteous colleagues. Liberated by ostracism to speak his mind, he could have done a great deal of public good.
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| Henze’s ‘Phaedra’ by the Opera Company (2nd review) |
June 06 2011 |
Hans Werner Henze is the major composer of German opera since Richard Strauss, but productions of his work on this side of the Atlantic are infrequent at best. His 14th and latest opera, Phaedra, is static despite the dramatic legend on which it’s based, but the music is fresh and inventive, and Tamara Mumford outstanding in the title role.
Phaedra. Music by Hans Werner Henze; directed by Robert Driver; Corrado Rovaris conducted. Opera Company of Philadelphia production through June 12, 2011 at the Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 732-8400 or www.operaphila.org.
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| Why the Parkway Barnes will fail |
June 06 2011 |
The Barnes Foundation’s priceless art collection, we’re told repeatedly, must move to Philadelphia because it can’t make a go of it in Merion. But a close examination of the numbers leads to the opposite conclusion: The Barnes can survive only in Merion, whereas a Parkway Barnes is bound for financial disaster.
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| ‘In a Daughter’s Eyes,’ by InterAct (2nd review) |
June 04 2011 |
The shadows of Mumia and MOVE haunt the stage of InterAct Theatre’s world premiere production of A. Zell Williams’ In a Daughter’s Eyes, as they do Philadelphia itself. The play sheds more heat than light, though, as its two characters grope in a world of pain in which neither can truly find the other.
In a Daughter’s Eyes. By A. Zell Williams; Rebecca Wright directed. InterAct Theatre production through June 19, 2011 at Adrienne mainstage, 2030 Sansom St. (215) 568-8077 or www.interacttheatre.org.
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| ‘Gauguin: Maker of Myth’ at National Gallery |
May 30 2011 |
The current exhibit of Paul Gauguin at the National Gallery of Art casts interesting light on his self-construction as an artist in quest both of personal identity and cultural renewal. But if there’s no truth without ego— the Romantic assumption— that truth is necessarily limited and partial.
“Gauguin: Maker of Myth.” Through June 5, 2011 at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (202) 737-4215 or www.nga.gov.
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| Orchestra plays Beethoven and Stravinsky (1st review) |
May 24 2011 |
If Beethoven’s Ninth is the great choral symphony of the 19th Century, Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms is in many ways a 20th Century riposte. In pairing them, Charles Dutoit bridged two eras; in playing them, the results were uneven though the effort worthwhile.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Beethoven, Ninth Symphony; Stravinsky, Symphony of Psalms. May 19-21, 2011 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce St. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Paris Picassos at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts |
May 21 2011 |
What Beethoven did for music and James Joyce did for language, Picasso did for art: that is, he brought dissonance into the realm of art.
“Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris.” Closed May 15, 2011 at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 North Blvd., Richmond, Va. www.vmfa.museum.
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| Redford’s ‘The Conspirator’ |
May 17 2011 |
Robert Redford’s The Conspirator focuses on the trial of Mary Surratt for conspiracy in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Its real focus, though, is the contemporary War on Terror, and the question that perennially divides us— whether we are to be a society of laws or of men.
The Conspirator. A film directed by Robert Redford. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| The Orchestra, the Barnes and the courts |
May 14 2011 |
The Philadelphia Orchestra has bankrupt leadership, a problem that won’t be solved in court. The decision to move the Barnes Foundation was fraudulently obtained, and needs to go back to court. A great deal is riding on the proper resolution of both these issues, including perhaps the economic and cultural future of Philadelphia itself.
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| Orchestra plays Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky |
May 10 2011 |
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Russian Spring continued with performances of the Shostakovich First and the Tchaikovsky Sixth symphonies under guest conductor Kurt Masur. Barely 30 years separate these works, but it seems more like a century.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Shostakovich, Symphony No. 1 in f minor, Op. 10; Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 6 in b minor, Op. 74 (Pathétique). May 6-7, 2011 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Bin Laden and Petraeus: Two birds with one stone |
May 09 2011 |
Barack Obama neutralized his two great enemies in one week, the elusive Osama bin Laden and the excessively visible General David Petraeus. Each operation depended on the other; both succeeded. But what is the moral cost of a targeted assassination?
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| Opera Company’s ‘Tosca’ |
May 03 2011 |
The Opera Company of Philadelphia’s Tosca is well sung and for the most part well mounted. If you don’t look too closely at plot or character, the gorgeous arias will work their usual magic.
Tosca. Music by Giacomo Puccini; directed by Jonathan Eaton. Opera Company of Philadelphia production through May 8, 2011 at the Academy of Music, Broad and Locust St. (215) 732-8400 or www.operaphila.org.
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| Philadelphia Orchestra’s Stravinsky concert |
April 30 2011 |
Charles Dutoit reprised two strikingly paired and vividly contrasting Stravinsky masterpieces, in a program both intellectually and musically satisfying. Meanwhile, the Orchestra lost a key performer in clarinetist Ricardo Morales.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Stravinsky, Apollon musagète and Oedipus Rex. Charles Dutoit, conductor; Soloists, Peter Groves, Petra Lang, Robert Gierlach, David Wilson-Johnson, Matthew Plenk; narrator, David Howey; Philadelphia Singers Chorale, David Hayes, conductor. April 28-30, 2011 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| ‘Malevich and his American Legacy’ in NY |
April 24 2011 |
“Malevich and the American Legacy,” one of the most elegant and sheerly beautiful art shows of the season, traces the influence of the Russian Suprematist Kazimir Malevich on American art of the past half century, and makes a persuasive case for him as a seminal figure.
“Malevich and the American Legacy.” Through April 30, 2010 at Gagosian Gallery, 980 Madison Ave. (between 76th and 77th Sts.), New York. (212) 744-2313 or www.gagosian.com.
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| Stravinsky and Shostakovich at the Perelman |
April 23 2011 |
Pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn brought his fellow Russians Igor Stravinsky and Dmitri Shostakovich together for a rare conversation in a Chamber Music Society concert that also featured violinist Jennifer Frautschi and cellist Efe Baltacigil. They should speak more often, especially when given voice by musicians of this caliber.
Stravinsky, Suite Italienne; Duo Concertant; Shostakovich, Piano Sonata No. 1; Piano Trio No. 1 in C Minor. Ignat Solzhenitsyn, piano; Jennifer Frautschi, violin; Efe Baltacigil, cello. Philadelphia Chamber Music Society concert April 20, 2011 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Naoto Nakagawa’s 'Earth Wave' in New York |
April 19 2011 |
“Earth Wave,” the latest cycle of painting by the Japanese-American artist Naoto Nakagawa, arrives just in time to confront the disaster that has overwhelmed his native country, and also to challenge our headlong collision with the natural world.
“Earth Wave”: Paintings by Naoto Nakagawa. Through May 15, 2011 at Feature, Inc., 131 Allen St., New York. (212) 675-7772 or www.featureinc.com.
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| Orchestra confronts Berg, Mahler— and bankruptcy |
April 19 2011 |
Bankruptcy, once a moral disgrace, has become just another way of doing business. Or perhaps you thought the Philadelphia Orchestra was more than a business. This strategy may work in today’s de-unionized business world; it works less well when the affected employees are not tool and die workers but world-class musicians openly coveted by other orchestras.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Berg, Suite from Lulu; Mahler, Symphony No. 4. Jennifer Welch-Babidge, soprano; David Zinman, conductor. April 14-16, 2011 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| ‘Hopper and His Times’ at the Whitney in NY |
April 16 2011 |
Edward Hopper’s haunting canvases appear to inhabit a world of their own, perhaps because the world they reach for is indescribable. His sense is that nature is finally insufficient, and that reality can’t be represented as such.
“Modern Life: Edwin Hopper and His Times.” Closed April 10, 2011 at the Whitney Museum of Art, 945 Madison Ave. (at 75th St.), New York. (212) 570-3600 or www.whitney.org.
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| Paris, Philadelphia and the Barnes |
April 16 2011 |
First Philadelphia’s philistines created a faux Barnes museum on the Parkway. Now, with their current Festival, they’ve put up a phony Eiffel Tower, too. Is this the mark of a great cultural center?
Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts 2011. Through May 1, 2011 at various venues, centered at the Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 546-7432 or www.pifa.org.
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| ‘Theater of War’ at the Penn Museum |
April 09 2011 |
In the performance event Theater of War, a staged reading of scenes from Sophocles’ Trojan War drama Ajax was followed by a panel of soldiers and others directly impacted by our current wars, with discussion afterward. But politics was declared off limits by the show’s creator, Bryan Doerries, which left the event uncomfortably close to propaganda.
Theater of War. Created by Bryan Doerries; directed by Abigail Adams; produced by Phyllis Kaufman. April 2, 2011 at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, 33rd and South Sts. www.outsidethewirellc.com.
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| Pastor Jones, the Koran, and the rest of us |
April 05 2011 |
The Reverend Terry Jones, whose burning of the Koran provoked four days of rioting and 22 deaths in Afghanistan, may well be a bigot and a moron. Can any good come from his public displays of idiocy? As a matter of fact, yes.
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| ‘Pride of Parnell Street’ in Ambler |
April 05 2011 |
Sebastian Barry is the finest Irish playwright of his generation, and in The Pride of Parnell Street he recreates the Dublin of the 1990s with the most economical of means: two characters, one set, and a single, 90-minute act. The act of violence that lies at its core is never shown, but its trauma reverberates throughout the text.
The Pride of Parnell Street. By Sebastian Barry; Harriet Power directed. Through April 17, 2011 at Act II Playhouse, 56 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, Pa. (215) 654-2000 or www.act2.org.
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| Kasper Collection at the Morgan Library in N.Y. |
April 03 2011 |
The Herbert Kasper collection of drawings and photographs, ranging from 16th Century masters to the present, reflects a brilliant and astringent taste, and an informed sense of the evolution of the graphic arts.
“Mannerism and Modernism: The Kasper Collection of Drawings and Photographs” Through May 1, 2011 at the Morgan Library and Museum, 225 Madison Ave., New York. (212) 685-0008 or www.themorgan.org.
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| Three centuries of diaries at the Morgan in New York |
March 29 2011 |
Diaries are mostly meant to be private, and an exhibition of them might seem almost a contradiction in terms. Still, if it’s a guilty pleasure, it’s an irresistible one too. Diaries are the most personal and direct way we have of bringing ourselves to the world, and vice versa.
“The Diary: Three Centuries of Private Lives.” Through May 22, 2011 at the Morgan Library and Museum, 225 Madison Ave., New York. (212) 685-0008 or www.themorgan.org.
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| Houdini at the Jewish Museum in New York |
March 22 2011 |
Harry Houdini was the first Jew since Jesus who got people to care about his miraculous survival, and to witness his self-resurrection year after year. What’s more, he got them to pay good money to see it.
“Houdini: Art and Magic.” Through March 27, 2011 at the Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave. (at 92nd St.), New York. (212) 423-9200 or www.thejewishmuseum.org.
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| In Memoriam: The poet John Haines |
March 19 2011 |
For John Haines, poetry performed a double function: as the vessel of personal integrity, and as an encounter with the world.
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| Sarah Ruhl’s ‘In the Next Room’ at the Wilma (3rd review) |
March 15 2011 |
Sarah Ruhl’s new play links the dawn of the electric age with that of the sexual revolution. It’s an intriguing idea, and Ruhl makes her points wittily, although they’re undermined by a gay subtext and a very campy ending.
In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play. By Sarah Ruhl; Blanka Zizka directed. Through April 3, 2011 at Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). (215) 546-7824 or www.wilmatheater.org.
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| The war on education |
March 12 2011 |
Many recent state budgets take a battle-axe to public education. A full-bore assault on teacher unions may come next, jeopardizing the tenure protections that defend not just teacher rights but also public literacy.
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| Boris Vian’s ‘Empire Builders’ at Walnut Studio 5 (2nd review) |
March 01 2011 |
Boris Vian’s absurdist classic, The Empire Builders, received a timely revival by the Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium. Its protagonists, the Duponts, are being dispensed with— much like today’s middle and working classes.
The Empire Builders. By Boris Vian; Tina Brock directed. Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium production through February 27, 2011 at Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5, 825 Walnut St. (215) 285-0472 or www.idiopathicridiculopathyconsortium.com.
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| McDonagh’s ‘Lieutenant of Inishmore’ (3rd review) |
March 01 2011 |
If you like your stage bloody and your humor stuck in the fifth grade, Martin McDonagh’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore is the play for you. Theatre Exile is to be congratulated on every aspect of this production, except for its choice of a play.
The Lieutenant of Inishmore. By Martin McDonagh; Matt Pfeiffer directed. Theatre Exile production through March 13, 2011 at Plays and Players, 1714 Delancey Pl. (215) 218-4022 or www.theatreexile.org.
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| London Symphony plays Mahler’s Seventh |
February 26 2011 |
Mahler’s Seventh Symphony is one of the most rarely performed of his scores, in part because it lacks (or eschews) the overall dynamic structure of his more popular works. But it’s a satisfying work in the right interpretive hands, and Valery Gergiev was at least intermittently successful in it with the London Symphony Orchestra.
London Symphony Orchestra: Mahler, Seventh Symphony. Valery Gergiev, conductor. February 22, 2011 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Locust Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.kimmelcenter.org.
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| Curtis Orchestra: Modern and post-modern (1st review) |
February 18 2011 |
The Curtis Orchestra’s midwinter concert under Juanjo Mena, with soloist Hilary Hahn, featured a fine new Violin Concerto by Jennifer Higdon, flanked by the rarely heard Hindemith Concert Music for Strings and Brass, and the Shostakovich Fifth Symphony. Hahn was superb, and the strings of the Curtis particularly distinguished themselves.
Curtis Symphony Orchestra: Higdon, Violin Concerto; Hindemith, Concert Music for Strings and Brass, Op. 50; Shostakovich Fifth Symphony. Hilary Hahn, violin; Juanjo Mena, conductor. February 14, 2011 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-7902 or www.curtis.edu.
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| McDonagh’s ‘Skull in Connemara,’ by the Lantern (2nd review) |
February 15 2011 |
A dedicated production and a hard-working cast unfortunately couldn’t raise Martin McDonagh’s 1997 play about a sinister Irish gravedigger from the dead. Pinter did it all better.
A Skull in Connemara. By Martin McDonagh; M. Craig Getting and Kathryn MacMillan directed. Lantern Theater Co. production through February 13, 2011 at St. Stephen’s Theatre, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| OCP’s high-fashion ‘Roméo et Juliette’ (1st review) |
February 15 2011 |
Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, generally well sung in a noisy production originating in Italy, works best when the principals themselves hold the stage. Unfortunately, its visual elements too often pre-empt the music.
Roméo et Juliette. Opera by Charles Gounod; Manfred Schweigkofler directed. Opera Company of Philadelphia production through February 20, 2011 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. (215) 732-8400 or www.operaphila.org.
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| ‘The Cherry Orchard’ at Villanova |
February 15 2011 |
In Harriet Power’s fresh staging, Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard reveals itself as a startlingly modernist text that is in many ways the matrix of 20th-Century theater.
The Cherry Orchard. By Anon Chekhov; Harriet Power directed. Villanova Theatre production through February 20, 2011 at Vasey Hall, Villanova University, Villanova, Pa. (610) 519-7474 or www.theatre.villanova.edu.
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| Argentina’s Tango Fire at the Merriam |
February 05 2011 |
Like no other art form I know, the tango shows us who we are. But Tango Fire’s brief but intense visit to the Merriam raised an implicit question: Like jazz, where is the tango headed?
"Tango Inferno— The Fire Within." Tango Fire Dance Company, choreographed by Yanina Fajar. January 30, 2011 at the Merriam Theater, Broad St. above Spruce. (215) 731-3333 or www.kimmelcenter.org.
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| ‘Casino Jack’: Downfall of a lobbyist |
January 29 2011 |
Casino Jack portrays the legendary lobbyist Jack Abramoff as a Horatio Alger gone sour, working the system until it turns on him. But the film already wears a period air in our post-crash era, where crooks don’t merely steal millions but evaporate trillions and get away with it.
Casino Jack. A film directed by George Hickenlooper. casinojack-movie.com.
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| Lipkin plays Beethoven at Curtis |
January 25 2011 |
Pianist Seymour Lipkin’s technique is not what it once was, but there was still much to be culled from an artist who has devoted a lifetime’s study to Beethoven’s keyboard literature.
Seymour Lipkin, piano recital: All-Beethoven program. January 16, 2011 at Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute, 1726 Locust St. (215) 893-7902 or www.curtis.edu.
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| What Obama’s Tucson speech overlooked |
January 22 2011 |
President Obama to the contrary, Americans aren’t being killed in random bunches because politicians aren’t more polite. They’re being killed because Americans refuse to regulate guns.
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| ‘Moon For the Misbegotten’ at the Arden (1st review) |
January 18 2011 |
A Moon for the Misbegotten was Eugene O’Neill’s last play, and it touches the core of his compassion. Grace Gonglewski and Eric Hissom play finely against each other under Matt Pfeiffer’s direction.
A Moon for the Misbegotten. By Eugene O’Neill; Matt Pfeiffer directed. Through February 27, 2011 the Arden Theatre, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| Rendell’s casino addiction |
January 14 2011 |
Is there any hope for the poor and ignorant who seem incurably addicted to casinos? Better ask: Is there hope for a governor who seems incurably addicted to casinos?
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| ‘Black Swan’ (3rd review) |
January 11 2011 |
Darren Aronofsky’s much-hyped Black Swan is a high-concept slasher film whose director wreaks his fantasies on the world of ballet. Ostensibly a film about ambition and intrigue, it’s a phantasmagoric exercise in misogyny.
Black Swan. A film directed by Darren Aronofsky. For theaters and times in greater Philadelphia, click here.
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| ‘Secret Life of Drawings’ at the Getty in LA |
January 04 2011 |
An unusual show at the Getty Museum lifts the veil from the backroom trade secrets of the museum world, at least in part. Art is far more regularly spruced up than most casual viewers would suspect, and conservators form a kind of secret guild within the museum world.
“The Secret Life of Drawings.” Through February 13, 2011 at the Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles. (310) 440-7300 or getty.edu/art/exhibitions/secret_life_drawings.
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| Degas and Lichtenstein at the Morgan in N.Y. |
December 21 2010 |
Degas was a great and punitively fastidious voyeur. The gleefully rebellious Roy Lichtenstein, by contrast, hides his own eroticism behind the deadpan humor of a Jack Paar.
“Degas: Drawings and Sketches,” through January 23, 2011; "Roy Lichtenstein: The Black-and-White Drawings, 1961-1968," through January 2, 2011, at The Morgan Library, 225 Madison Ave., New York. (212) 685-0008 or www.themorgan.org.
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| Kiefer’s ‘Next Year in Jerusalem’ in New York |
December 14 2010 |
Anselm Kiefer’s huge installation on the theme of Jewish history and suffering is remarkable no less as a moral than an aesthetic event. Kiefer confronts his own past as a German as no other Gentile artist— or philosopher— has done, in the very Jewish spirit of tikkun, world-repair.
Anselm Kiefer: “Next Year in Jerusalem. Through December 18, 2010 at Gagosian Gallery, 555 West 24th St., New York. (212) 741-1111 or www.gagosian.com.
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| A Christmas Village at City Hall? |
December 11 2010 |
A Christmas Village was a clever marketing idea in 15th-Century Deutschland. But what is a medieval German shopping mall doing on the property of 21st-Century American taxpayers?
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| Monteverdi Vespers by Choral Arts and Piffaro (2nd review) |
December 07 2010 |
Choral Arts Philadelphia and the Piffaro Renaissance band combined forces to produce a richly satisfying performance of Monteverdi’s great Vespers for the Blessed Virgin to mark the quadricentennial anniversary of one of the seminal works of the Western art music tradition.
Monteverdi, Vespers of 1610. Choral Arts Philadelphia, chorus; Matthew Glandorf, music director. Piffaro Renaissance Wind Band; Joan Kimball and Robert Weimken, co-directors. December 5, 2010 at First Baptist Church, 17th and Sansom Sts. Choral Arts: www.choralarts.com. Piffaro: (215) 235-8469 or www.piffaro.com.
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| Whatever happened to symphonies? (1st comment) |
December 04 2010 |
The symphony— for more than 200 years the defining form of Western music— has all but vanished in the past 40. Concert audiences remain as addicted as ever to their Beethoven and Brahms, not to mention their Sibelius and Shostakovich. So why don’t contemporary composers try to oblige them?
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| Hans Hartung rediscovered in New York |
November 29 2010 |
Hans Hartung, a modern German master, disappeared from view in America for three and a half decades after being savaged in a review by Hilton Kramer. His reappearance, in a small but powerful show of work from the last year of his life, is a major event of the New York art season.
“Hans Hartung: The Last Paintings, 1989.” Through December 30, 2010 at Cheim & Read Gallery, 547 West 25th St., New York. (212) 242-7727 or www.cheimread.com.
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| ‘Coronation of Poppea’ by Juilliard Opera |
November 28 2010 |
In Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea, the sheer force of erotic passion subverts all moral categories. Such wisdom renders this nearly-400-year-old opera more than modern today. The Juilliard Opera Theater’s production, led by Harry Bicket, gave a fine account of the work.
The Coronation of Poppea. Opera by Claudio Monteverdi; Harry Bicket conducted; Edward Berkeley directed. November 17-21, 2010 at Peter Jay Sharp Theatre, Juilliard School of Music, 60 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York. (212) 799-500, ext. 514 or www.juilliard.edu.
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| Tony Goldwyn’s ‘Conviction’ and the death penalty |
November 20 2010 |
Tony Goldwyn’s Conviction tells one of the 254 stories of DNA exoneration through Barry Scheck’s Innocence Project, most of them grim parables of judicial incompetence, bias, or worse. The film’s subject spent 18 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit— luckily for him, in Massachusetts, a state with no death penalty.
Conviction. A film directed by Tony Goldwyn. www.innocenceproject.org/know/conviction.
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| InterAct Theatre’s ‘Silverhill’ |
November 16 2010 |
The InterAct’s premiere of Silverhill, a canny drama about a 19th-Century utopian community, freshly poses perennial questions about who defines social justice and how much of it we really want. Christopher Coucill heads a fine ensemble cast, and Seth Rozin’s direction is trenchant.
Silverhill. By Thomas Gibbons; Seth Rozin directed. InterAct Theatre production closed November 14, 2010 at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St. (215) 568-8079 or www.InteractTheatre.org.
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| Lantern Theater’s ‘Uncle Vanya’ (2nd review) |
November 09 2010 |
Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya is, like his other works on turn-of-the-20th-Century Russia, a comedy that breaks the heart. It’s well served in the Lantern Theater’s current production.
Uncle Vanya. By Anton Chekhov; directed by Kathryn MacMillan. Lantern Theater Company production through November 21, 2010 at St. Stephen’s Theatre, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| Bourgeois morality tales: ‘Traviata’ vs. 'Lulu' (3rd review) |
November 07 2010 |
Verdi’s La Traviata and Berg’s Lulu seem worlds apart sonically and dramatically, but they share a vision of the bourgeois world in which an untrammeled female temptress is sacrificed, in one case on the altar of respectability and on the other to Jack the Ripper’s knife. Now, where is the composer who’ll do justice to the Age of Madoff?
La Traviata. Opera by Giuseppe Verdi; directed by Robert B. Driver; Corrado Rovaris conducted. Opera Company of Philadelphia production May 7-16, 2010 at the Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. (215) 732-8400 or www.operaphila.org.
Lulu. Opera by Alban Berg; directed by Gregory Keller; Fabio Luisi conducted. May 8-15, 2010 at Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, Broadway and 64th St., New York. (212) 362-6000 or metopera.org.
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| Yannick and the Orchestra: a dissent (4th review) |
November 05 2010 |
Yannick Nézet-Séguin can wow a crowd, but can he keep them? Haydn seemed closer to his own sunny disposition in his debut performances, but it’s far too early for judgment yet. In the meantime, the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Dutoit semi-era continues.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Haydn, Symphony No. 100 (“Military”) in G; Mahler, Fifth Symphony in C-sharp minor. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor. October 29-31, 2010 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Clint Eastwood’s 'Hereafter' |
November 02 2010 |
Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter speculates about what may— or may not— lie in the Great Beyond. A brilliant opening sequence is worth the price of admission, but Eastwood, himself a professed skeptic, loads his dice too easily, and brings his plot lines together too patly at the end.
Hereafter. A film directed by Clint Eastwood.
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| Stormy Weather: Jon Schueler in New York |
October 23 2010 |
Jon Schueler arrived on the art scene only as Abstract Expressionism was beginning to yield ground to Pop Art, and his achievement has been obscured. It’s well worth discovering. This small but sharply focused exhibition shows Schueler at a moment of crucial transition.
“Jon Schueler: The Castelli Years, 1955-1959.” Through October 28, 2010 at David Findlay Jr. Fine Art, 41 East 57th St., New York. (212) 486-7660 or www.davidfindlayjr.com.
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| ‘Macbeth at the Wilma (2nd review) |
October 12 2010 |
I’m all for aggressive staging of Shakespeare, and certainly Blanka Zizka’s has its virtues. But staging should serve rather than distract from the text, which in Macbeth particularly is crucial to establishing atmosphere.
Macbeth. By William Shakespeare; Blanka Zizka directed. Through Nov. 13, 2010 at Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). (215) 546-7824 or www.wilmatheater.org.
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| The case for anger |
October 11 2010 |
Dan Rottenberg to the contrary, righteous anger can indeed be constructive if it is focused on a good cause. Consider, for example, the constructive anger of Jesus, Gandhi and Martin Luther King.
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| Opera Company’s ‘Otello’ (2nd review) |
October 05 2010 |
The show went on without a serious hitch as the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s Iago, Mark Delavan, sang from a wheelchair, serendipitously adding a new dimension to his otherwise invulnerable character. Verdi’s Otello, unlike Shakespeare’s Othello, is more archetype than flesh and blood; nonetheless he is an imposing figure in this, Verdi’s finest opera.
Otello. Opera by Giuseppe Verdi; libretto by Arrigo Boito, from Shakespeare; Robert Driver directed; Corrado Rovaris, conductor. Opera Company of Philadelphia production through October 15, 2010 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. (215) 893-1018 or www.operaphila.org.
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| Dutoit conducts Grieg and Shostakovich |
October 05 2010 |
Grieg and Shostakovich make strange bedfellows, but both the former’s Piano Concerto and the latter’s Fourth Symphony were well performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. Andre Watts was the admirable soloist, and the Orchestra’s departing music director Charles Dutoit seems intent on leaving his own legacy.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Grieg, Piano Concerto in A Minor; Shostakovich, Fourth Symphony. Andre Watts, piano; Charles Dutoit, conductor. September 30-October 5, 2010 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Charles Burchfield in New York (2nd review) |
October 02 2010 |
Charles Burchfield, the less-esteemed peer of Hartley, Hopper, and O’Keeffe, ranks with them as a master of American landscape. Two New York shows, one recently concluded and the other still in progress, make the case for him as an artist of the first rank.
“Charles Burchfield: Fifty Years as a Painter.” Ended September 25, 2010 at D. C. Moore Gallery, 724 Fifth Ave., New York. (212) 247-2111 or www.dcmooregallery.com.
“Heat Waves in a Swamp: Paintings of Charles Burchfield.” Through October 17, 2010 at Whiney Museum of American Art, 945 Madison Ave. (at 75th St.), New York. (212) 570-3600 or www.whitney.org.
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| Friedlander’s ‘America by Car’ at the Whitney in N.Y. |
October 02 2010 |
Lee Friedlander’s “America by Car” is a tour of the U.S. and a tour de force of the photographer’s art. Each of the 192 black-and-white images in the suite is framed by the interior of the car Friedlander is driving, which makes it a co-participant in the journey and raises subtle questions about the nature of our vision— human and mechanical— and its relation to landscape.
“America By Car”: photographs by Lee Friedlander. Through November 28, 2010 at the Whitney Museum of Art, 945 Madison Avenue (at 75th St.), New York. (212) 570-3600; or www.whitney.org.
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| Why an anti-Muslim backlash now? |
September 27 2010 |
The growing anti-Muslim backlash in the U.S. raises a question: Why now? There’s no simple answer to the question, but I can suggest a place to start: A black president caught in a perfect storm of Muslim terrorism, relentless unemployment and a politically manipulated nativist movement.
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| Mumia again: ‘Justice On Trial’ |
September 26 2010 |
Justice on Trial, one of two documentaries about Mumia Abu-Jamal, puts Philadelphia’s criminal justice system in the dock, showing how the dubious circumstances that made Abu-Jamal’s trial and conviction in the 1981 slaying of Officer Daniel Faulkner were typical rather than exceptional— then and now.
Justice On Trial. A film by Johanna Fernandez and Kouross Esmaeli.
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| Aaron Schneider’s ‘Get Low’ |
September 21 2010 |
Robert Duvall delivers a career performance in Get Low, a modest but penetrating film about the secrets of the heart by first-time director Aaron Schneider. Amid the summer’s usual trash, it’s a small gem.
Get Low. A film directed by Aaron Schneider. At Ritz East, 125 S. Second St. (on Sansom). (215) 925-7900 or www.sonyclassics.com/getlow
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| In defense of the Reverend Jones |
September 13 2010 |
Burning a book for any reason is a bad idea. But preventing the Reverend Terry Jones from burning the Kuran is even worse. If he’s not free to express his views however he sees fit, the rest of us will lose that freedom as well.
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| Richard Burgin’s ‘Rivers Last Longer’ |
September 07 2010 |
Evil, Richard Burgin suggests in his new novel, is a radical form of schizophrenia, and the Devil has an address in a Pennsylvania exurb. Burgin writes knowledgeably about the literary scene in New York and Philadelphia and hair-raisingly about sexual predation in his continuing exploration of the underside of American life.
Rivers Last Longer. By Richard Burgin. Texas Review Press, 2010. 224 pages, $18.95. www.amazon.com.
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| ‘Late Renoir’ at the Art Museum (5th review) |
September 04 2010 |
In a conventional and somewhat lazy show, the Art Museum has thrown in a dozen-odd pieces to illustrate Renoir’s influence. The elephant in the room is the collector Albert Barnes, whose valuation of Renoir as a seminal figure in modern art has been co-opted with scant acknowledgment.
“Late Renoir”: Through September 6, 2010 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th St. and Benj. Franklin Pkwy. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| The imam, the mosque and Ground Zero |
August 28 2010 |
The controversy about whether to build a huge Muslim study and worship center two blocks from Ground Zero in lower Manhattan isn’t about freedom of religion or constitutional rights. It’s about a decent respect for the dead.
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| Gérôme revival at the Getty in Los Angeles |
August 17 2010 |
Jean-Léon Gérôme, once perhaps the world’s most famous artist, plummeted into obscurity in the 20th Century, his work largely relegated to the domain of kitsch. The Getty Museum’s revival show hides no faults but reveals a painter of exceptional talent who produced some historically significant paintings amid the dross, and who never merely pandered to his public.
“The Spectacular Art of Jean-Léon Gérôme.” Through September 12, 2010 at the Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles. (310) 440-7330 or www.getty.edu/museum.
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| Michael Douglas as the 'Solitary Man’ |
July 03 2010 |
Sometimes it takes a bad film to draw out an extraordinary performance. So it is when Michael Douglas plays Ben Kalmen in Solitary Man, another in his gallery of self-destructive heroes. Kirk should be proud of Michael’s work here.
Solitary Man. A film directed by David Levien. At the Ritz East, Clearview’s Bala Theatre, the Hiway Theatre and the Bryn Mawr Film Institute.
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| Opera Company’s ‘Orphée et Eurydice’ (2nd review) |
June 19 2010 |
The Opera Company of Philadelphia’s Orphée et Eurydice offers a rare staging of Gluck’s opera, a work of great historical significance that has retained its freshness and loveliness after two and a half centuries. Robert B. Driver’s production has good singing and pacing to commend it, and fine scenic design. This version of the Orpheus legend has a happy ending, but not before going through its tragic paces too.
Orphée et Eurydice. Opera by Christof Willibald Gluck (Hector Berlioz adaptation) directed by Robert B. Driver; Corrado Rovaris, conductor. In French with English supertitles. Opera Company of Philadelphia production through June 25, 2010 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 732-8400 or www.operaphila.org.
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| SEPTA: The tragedy and the prevarication |
June 15 2010 |
SEPTA had a tragedy when a woman was killed on the tracks at the Bryn Mawr station. It compounded it by leaving stranded passengers to fend for themselves, and then lying about the mess it left them in.
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| Early Diebenkorn, Late Monet in New York |
June 15 2010 |
Richard Diebenkorn’s refinement of Matisse and other masters makes him a significant figure in 20th-Century art, and a show of his early work shows him working out a distinctive vocabulary that synthesizes both abstraction and representation. Claude Monet’s late paintings from Giverny show a similar process at work, and they rank among the glories of modern art.
“Richard Diebenkorn: Paintings & Drawings 1949-1955.” Through June 25, 2010 at Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, 730 Fifth Avenue (at 57th St.), New York. (212) 445-0444 or www.gvdgallery.com.
“Claude Monet: Late Paintings.” Through June 26, 2010 at Gagosian Gallery, 522 West 21st St., New York. (212) 741-1717 or www.gagosian.com.
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| On not pitying Palestinians |
June 12 2010 |
Nothing on earth seems more politically correct than pitying Palestinians. I have done my own share of it, but no more. Among stateless or secessionist peoples, they are the least deserving of sympathy, and if we actually want to do them good, we should tell them so.
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| Vaclav Havel’s ‘Leaving’ at the Wilma (2nd review) |
May 31 2010 |
Vaclav Havel’s Leaving, the first play in 20 years by the playwright-president, is well served by a cast led by David Strathairn, and well produced under Jiri Zizka’s energetic direction. But its importance lies less in its at-best fitful theatrical interest than as a testament of its author’s profound disillusionment with his career—and with that of capitalist modernity in general.
Leaving. By Vaclav Havel; translated by Paul Wilson; directed by Jiri Zizka. Through June 20, 2010 at Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). 215-546-7824 or www.WilmaTheater.org.
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| Double jeopardy: A Philadelphia scandal |
May 28 2010 |
The recent double jeopardy prosecution of William J. Barnes for a crime he’d already served his sentence for shows that the vengeful spirit of Lynne Abraham is still alive and well in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. Although Barnes was acquitted this time, the story, alas, doesn’t end there.
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| Utagawa Kuniyoshi works in New York |
May 15 2010 |
Utagawa Kuniyoshi is less well known in the West than his fellow artists of Japan’s “floating world,” Hokusai and Hiroshige, but the splendid exhibit currently on display at the Japan Society, culled from the Arthur R. Miller collection, should do much to remedy that. Few artists anywhere in the 19th Century had Kuniyoshi’s range of imagination and invention, and he touches our own modernity in fascinating and even startling ways.
“Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters: Japanese Prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi from the Arthur R. Miller Collection.” Through June 13, 2010 at the Japan Society, 333 East 47th St., New York. (212) 832-1155 or www.japansociety.org.
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| The forgotten MOVE victims |
May 15 2010 |
Twenty-five years after the Osage Avenue bombing and more than 30 years after the Powelton shootout, Philadelphia’s bizarre MOVE math remains clear: One police officer killed, nine life sentences; 11 men, women, and children killed, no indictment ever issued.
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| Robin Roberts: Gentle warrior |
May 07 2010 |
This was the great lesson I learned from Robin Roberts: Whether you’re mowing the lawn or writing a book, you finish what you start. On the field and off he remained the same unique symbol of baseball’s bygone integrity.
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| The vanishing Philadelphia Orchestra |
May 07 2010 |
Other orchestras go on tour, but few vanish for a month at a time as regularly as Philadelphia’s. You have to wonder if our great orchestra is considering a relocation to Tokyo.
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| Unindicted war criminal to play at Mann Center |
May 01 2010 |
No one seriously pretends that Condoleeza Rice is qualified to play the piano in public, much less with an orchestra that has played with Rubinstein and Horowitz. Her notoriety alone, as the Bush administration’s prime enabler, has attracted the Mann’s programmers.
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| McPherson’s ‘Shining City’ by Theatre Exile (3rd review) |
April 24 2010 |
Conor McPherson’s Shining City might more fittingly be titled Island of Lost Souls. Excellent performances, particularly by Scott Greer, can’t quite lift the play out of its existential funk, nor can a surprise ending that left the audience gasping.
Shining City. By Conor McPherson; directed by Matt Pfeiffer. Theatre Exile production through April 25, 2010 at Plays and Players Theatre, 1724 Delancey Pl. (215) 218-4022 or www.theatreexile.org.
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| Otto Dix at Neue Galerie in New York |
April 24 2010 |
Otto Dix (1891-1969), a pivotal figure in the revival of 20th-Century German art, receives the first American show dedicated solely to a major sampling of his work at New York’s Neue Galerie. It isn’t a full-blown retrospective, but it does focus undistracted attention on a man who created some of his century’s most iconic— and disturbing— images.
Otto Dix. Through August 30, 2010 at Neue Galerie New York, 1048 Fifth Avenue (at 86th St.), New York. (212) 288-0665 or www.neuegalerie.org.
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| Papadakis memorial concert at Drexel |
April 24 2010 |
Konstantinos Papadakis eulogizing Constantine Papadakis? That’s precisely what happened when the local Greek pianist performed a memorial recital in honor of Drexel’s late president and his own namesake. The program consisted of works by Chopin and Barber, and was finely performed by a musician of outstanding sensitivity and intelligence.
Papadakis Memorial Concert: Works by Chopin and Barber. Konstantinos Papadakis, pianist. April 9, 2010 at Rensselaer Hall, 3320 Powelton St., Drexel University. www.drexel.edu.
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| Lee Blessing’s ‘When We Go Upon the Sea’ |
April 17 2010 |
Lee Blessing’s new play, When We Go Upon the Sea, imagines George W. Bush in a place liberals would love to see him: awaiting trial as a war criminal in The Hague. Blessing has plenty of fun with “George,” as he calls him, but he points a darker finger at the rest of us, Americans and Europeans alike.
When We Go Upon the Sea. By Lee Blessing; directed by Paul Meshejian. InterAct Theatre Company production through May 9, 2010 at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St. (215) 568-8077 or www.InterActTheatre.org.
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| Bronzino drawings at the Met in New York |
April 13 2010 |
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s show of all 60 of the extant drawings by the Florentine master Agnolo Bronzino (plus several by his teacher, Pontormo) is a treat for the scholar, the connoisseur, and the lay museum-goer alike. They contain some of the most splendid examples of the draughtsman’s art you’ll ever see.
“The Drawings of Agnolo Bronzino,” Through April 18, 2010 at Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street, New York. (212) 535-7710 or www.metmuseum.org.
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| Lantern Theater’s ‘Henry IV, Part I’ (1st review) |
April 10 2010 |
Shakespeare’s Henriad— the history plays that span the reigns of Henry IV and Henry VI— are hard to stage and rarely performed. They’re especially challenging in the confines of the Lantern Theater’s cramped space, with multiple roles being played by all cast members save one. Charles McMahon’s production brings off the first of these plays with kaleidoscopic vigor and intensity, abetted by brilliant staging.
Henry IV, Part I. By William Shakespeare; Charles McMahon directed. Lantern Theater production through May 9, 2010 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St (215) 829-0935 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| Atom Egoyan’s ‘Chloe’ |
April 06 2010 |
Veteran filmmaker Atom Egoyan’s latest, Chloe, features a lethal sex triangle in which the victims are hard to tell from the victimizers— or is there a difference at all?
Chloe. A film directed by Atom Egoyan. At Clearview Bala Theatre, 157 Bala Ave., Bala Cynwyd, Pa. 610) 668-4695. Also Ritz Sixteen, 900 Berlin-Haddonfield Rd.,
Voorhees, N.J. (856) 770-0600. www.moviefone.com.
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| ‘Red Hot Patriot’: Kathleen Turner as Molly Ivins (3rd review) |
April 03 2010 |
Kathleen Turner does a star turn in Red Hot Patriot, a one-woman show about the maverick journalist and political iconoclast Molly Ivins. A more focused script would have served Molly better, but she’s welcome back.
Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins. By Margaret Engel and Allison Engel; directed by David Esbjornson. Philadelphia Theatre Co. world premiere through April 25, 2010 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St. (at Lombard). (215) 985-0420 or www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org.
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| Felix Vallotton’s working-class women in New York |
April 03 2010 |
Nine female portrait studies by the Franco-Swiss artist Felix Vallotton make for a small jewel of a show in Manhattan. Like Seurat’s Les Poseuses, Vallotton searches for the eternal feminine in working-class women, and rings his own variations on the theme.
“Paintings of Felix Vallotton.” Through April 10, 2010 at Michael Werner Gallery, 4 East 77 St., New York. (212) 988-1623 or www.michaelwerner.com.
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| Debating the Barnes move (sort of) |
March 27 2010 |
The Art of the Steal, still playing downtown, has also gone to the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, which is staging five panels dealing with the film and the move of the Barnes Foundation. It’s the first sustained public discussion of the biggest cultural issue in Philadelphia’s recent history.
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| San Francisco Symphony plays Mahler’s Second (1st review) |
March 27 2010 |
Michael Tilson Thomas, visiting Philadelphia for the first time in six years with his San Francisco Symphony, performed a Mahler Second Symphony thoughtfully conceived and transparently executed. With Mahler, attention to pacing and detail is what pays off. It did here, in one of the season's most satisfying performances.
San Francisco Symphony: Mahler Second Symphony. Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Katarina Karneus, mezzo-soprano; Laura Claycomb, soprano; Westminster Choir, Joe Miller, director. March 22, 2010 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 790-5800 or www.kimmelcenter.org.
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| ‘Language Rooms’ at the Wilma (2nd review) |
March 23 2010 |
Language Rooms takes place in the hermetic world of a private contractor whose job is to interrogate terrorist suspects, but which might be next door. The play invites us to ask Theater of the Absurd questions about ourselves but undercuts its own mise en scène with a drama-within-the-drama about immigrant acculturation that clearly belongs somewhere else.
Language Rooms. By Yussef El Guindi; directed by Blanka Zizka (world premiere). Through April 4, 2010 at Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). (215) 546-7824 or www.wilmatheater.org.
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| ‘The Ghost Writer’: Polanski’s revenge |
March 23 2010 |
Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer takes a swipe at imperial America and its far-reaching tentacles. Polanski, who still faces extradition to the U.S. on a decades-old rape charge, has an axe to grind, but he also holds up a mirror that reflects the way much of the world sees us.
The Ghost Writer. A film by Roman Polanski. At area theaters.
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| Barber’s ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ by Curtis |
March 20 2010 |
The Curtis Opera has revived the Edsel of American operas, Samuel Barber’s ill-fated Antony and Cleopatra. It’s a welcome opportunity to reconsider a work that, despite abiding flaws, has too much musical value to ignore.
Antony and Cleopatra. Opera by Samuel Barber; directed by Chas Rader-Schieber; conducted by George Manahan. Through March 21, 2010 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-7902 or www.curtis.edu.
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| Shostakovich’s ‘The Nose’ at the Met |
March 16 2010 |
After 80 years, Dmitri Shostakovich’s early satirical opera, The Nose, is at last getting its premiere at the Metropolitan Opera. The cast and orchestra perform with élan, but William Kentridge’s overbearing production threatens to hijack the proceedings.
The Nose. Opera by Dmitri Shostakovich; directed by William Kentridge; Valery Gergiev, conductor. Through March 25, 2010 at Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, Broadway and 65th St., New York. (212) 362-6000 or www.metopera.org.
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| Man Ray: The undefined artist (in New York) |
March 16 2010 |
Philadelphia-born Man Ray was the Zelig of 20th-Century art, a man who knew everyone and did everything except define himself.
“Man Ray: The Art of Reinvention.” Ended March 14, 2010 at the Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave., New York. (212) 423-3200 or www.thejewishmuseum.org.
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| Three Finns and Liszt, by the Orchestra |
March 13 2010 |
The Sibelius Second Symphony is almost the Philadelphia Orchestra’s signature piece, but visiting conductor Osmo Vänskä brought a refreshing perspective. The program also included the local premiere of Kalevi Aho’s busy Minea, and a fine-tooled performance of the Liszt Second Piano Concerto by young French soloist Jean-Frédéric Neuburger.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Sibelius Second Symphony; Aho, Minea; Liszt, Second Piano Concerto. Jean-Frédéric Neuburger, piano; Osmo Vänskä, conductor. March 11-16, 2010 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1955 or www.philorch.org.
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| Barnes Day in the ‘Inquirer’ |
March 09 2010 |
With no less than four articles and columns last Sunday, the Inquirer finally got around to acknowledging the fracas over the Barnes Foundation’s proposed move. But Barnes chairman Bernard Watson’s op-ed defense of the move is replete with evasions and distortions.
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| ‘The Hurt Locker’ and the endless war |
March 09 2010 |
For its realistic portrait of a bomb squad in Iraq, The Hurt Locker won six Academy Awards, including “Best Picture.” Yet the small truths within this film implicitly condone the larger lies that took us into that war in the first place.
The Hurt Locker. A film directed by Kathryn Bigelow. At the Ritz at the Bourse, Fourth and Ludlow Sts. (215) 925-7900 or www.landmarktheatres.com.
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| Orchestra’s odd couple: Brahms and Shostakovich |
March 02 2010 |
There’s nothing wrong with hearing the Brahms Violin Concerto and Shostakovich’s 11th Symphony, as in last week’s Orchestra performances. They just don’t inhabit the same musical universe.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Brahms Violin Concerto; Shostakovich 11th Symphony. Janine Jansen, violin; Charles Dutoit, conductor. February 25-28, 2009 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| The Barnes architects make their case |
February 23 2010 |
Three architects appeared at Penn recently to talk up their design for the Barnes Foundation’s new museum on the Parkway. The event, overlooked by the media, took special care to ignore the 800-pound gorilla in the room. It also raised a new question: Why abandon a building designed by Paul Cret for a project by Tod Williams, Billie Tsien and Laurie Olin?
The Art of the Steal, a documentary film about the Barnes Foundation directed by Don Argott, opens February 26, 2010 at the Ritz Five, 214 Walnut St. (215) 925-7900 or www.landmarktheatres.com.
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| Jason Reitman’s ‘Up in the Air’ (2nd review) |
February 22 2010 |
Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air is this year’s Hollywood morality tale. It’s a throwback to Preston Sturges and Howard Hawks— in short, a Depression-era film for our depressed times.
Up In the Air. A film directed by Jason Reitman, from the novel by Walter Kirn. At the Ritz Five, 214 Walnut St. (215) 925-7900 or www.landmarktheatres.com.
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| Villanova Theatre’s modernized ‘Medea’ |
February 09 2010 |
You wouldn’t want Medea for a nanny, but she’s always welcome on the boards if you know how to treat her. But the current Villanova production never does find a coherent way to project Euripides’s most famous drama onto a modern stage, and the result is an Oprahfied heroine with a knife in her waistband.
Medea. By Euripides; translation by Robin Robertson; directed by Shawn Kairschner. Villanova Theatre production through February 14, 2010 at Vasey Hall, Villanova University. (610) 519-7474 or www.theatre.villanova.edu.
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| The Pew confronts ‘The Art of the Steal’ |
February 02 2010 |
The Pew foundation has consistently ignored criticism of its de facto takeover of the Barnes Foundation. Now, confronted by a muckraking documentary, the Pew has deigned to post answers to “frequently asked questions” about its relationship to the Barnes. It’s a disingenuous exercise. Let us count the ways.
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| Egon Schiele exhibit in New York |
January 25 2010 |
Egon Schiele obsessively depicted the human form in the more than 3,000 works he produced in his all-too-brief 28 years. No one since Rembrandt captured its truth with greater honesty and penetration.
“Egon Schiele as Printmaker.” Closed January 23, 2010 at Galerie St. Etienne, 24 West 57th St., New York. (212) 245-6734 or www.gseart.com.
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| Orchestra tackles Mahler and Strauss |
January 19 2010 |
Replacement conductor Juanjo Maena performed the scheduled Adagio of Mahler’s great but incomplete Tenth Symphony and Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs, but substituted mid-period Beethoven for mid-period Martinu. The results were mixed, with Strauss faring best but sluggish tempos marring the Mahler and Beethoven.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Mahler, Adagio from Tenth Symphony; Strauss, Four Last Songs; Beethoven “Pastoral.” Juanjo Maena, conductor. January 14-16, 2010 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center at Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Mark McGwire’s steroid confession |
January 14 2010 |
The disgraced ex-slugger Mark McGwire has confessed to taking steroids but still expects us to believe that a broken-down player in his 30s could achieve naturally not only what he couldn’t in his 20s, but things no player had ever achieved before him. And he’s hardly alone in his delusions.
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| New Acropolis Museum in Athens |
January 05 2010 |
The new Acropolis Museum in Athens now houses, in addition to the artifacts of the old one, the marbles and statuary removed from the Parthenon to save them from the city’s pollution. Unfortunately, the whole museum is a dud, and the tendentious display of the marbles only caps the fiasco.
Acropolis Museum. Athens, Greece. www.theacropolismuseum.gr.
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| Clint Eastwood’s 'Invictus' (1st review) |
December 19 2009 |
Like the recent Precious, Clint Eastwood’s Invictus is a feel-good film about race that asks for a willing suspension of disbelief. Morgan Freeman is worthily dull as Nelson Mandela, but he’ll probably win an Oscar anyway. Eastwood owes us more, though.
Invictus. A film directed by Clint Eastwood. At area theaters.
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| Peter Serkin piano recital at Perelman |
December 15 2009 |
Peter Serkin’s recital at the Perelman Theater was a tutorial in the Western classical tradition, anchored in two seminal works of Arnold Schoenberg that began and ended the program. Chopin and Debussy were on hand too, but the evening’s highlight was a mesmerizing performance of Charles Wuorinen’s ferocious Scherzo, a work written for Serkin that few other pianists in the world could have played.
Peter Serkin: Piano recital. Works by Schoenberg, Chopin, Debussy, Kurtag, Wuorinen. Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presentation December 4, 2009 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Nézet-Séguin conducts the Orchestra (1st review) |
December 08 2009 |
Let the auditions continue: Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the young music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic and principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic, made a return appearance with the Philadelphia Orchestra and brought fresh energy to two Romantics and a modern.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Vivier, Orion; Brahms First Piano Concerto; Franck, Symphony in D minor. December 3-5, 2009 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. 215.893.1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Gorky retrospective at Art Museum (4th review) |
December 08 2009 |
The Art Museum’s fall blockbuster gives Arshile Gorky the full masterpiece treatment, in the process obscuring rather than illuminating Gorky’s genuine value as a painter. It also illustrates the fate worse than death being planned for the Barnes collection in its coffin on the Parkway.
Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective. Through January 10, 2010 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Mendelssohn Quartet’s farewell concert |
December 07 2009 |
The Mendelssohn String Quartet, disbanding after 30 years, played a program of early Mendelssohn, early middle Bartok, and late Beethoven to a capacity house. Whatever the reasons for the Quartet’s separation, they were in full communion for this finale. Their intimacy and feel for inner balances will be missed.
Mendelssohn String Quartet: Mendelssohn, Bartok, Beethoven. Presented by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, December 2, 2009 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 569-8080 or www.pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Orchestra plays Mozart and Bruckner (1st review) |
December 01 2009 |
The Dutch-born conductor Jaap van Zweden performed Mozart’s 19th Piano Concerto and Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony in his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra, with soloist Horacio Gutierrez giving a fine account of the Mozart. Van Zweden knows what he wants and mostly got it from the Orchestra, though the last, dying notes of the Bruckner were almost predictably fluffed in the horns.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Mozart Piano Concerto in F, Bruckner Ninth Symphony. Horacio Gutierrez, piano; Jaap van Zweden, conductor. November 27-29, 2009 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Guston miniatures, in New York |
November 28 2009 |
The McKee gallery’s latest show of the late work of Philip Guston displays a different but striking aspect of this American master’s genius: small oils that distill the remarkable imagery of his final decade in work of great power and originality. They are as well a portrait of the Nixon period, speaking truth to power in an era of lies.
“Philip Guston: Small Oils on Panel 1969-1973." Through December 31, 2009 at the McKee Gallery, 745 Fifth Ave., New York. (212) 688-5951 or www.mckeegallery.com.
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| Irving Penn’s 'Small Trades' at the Getty Museum |
November 24 2009 |
Irving Penn’s "Small Trades," an elegiac look at the independent contractors of yore by the famous Vogue fashion photographer, is no mere exercise in social slumming, but a catalogue of professions rendered obsolete by an economy that, increasingly now, no longer creates but rather devours work.
Irving Penn: “Small Trades.” Through January 10, 2010 at the Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles. (310) 440-7330 or www.getty.edu.
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| ‘Precious’: Ghetto fantasy film |
November 23 2009 |
Combining Horatio Alger and The Blackboard Jungle with a dash of Oprah, Precious examines the life of a desperately damaged black teenager in the Harlem of the 1980s. The message of moral uplift is as predictable as it is unconvincing.
Precious. A film directed by Lee Daniels. At UA Riverview Stadium 17, 1400 S. Columbus Blvd. (800) 326-3264, x. 650; The Bridge, 230 South 40th St. (215) 386-7971; Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 W. Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, Pa. (610) 527-9898.
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| Eschenbach conducts Mahler’s Seventh |
November 21 2009 |
Gustav Mahler’s seldom-performed Seventh Symphony lacks— or deliberately eschews— the narrative drive that makes his symphonies popular, but its appearance in Christoph Eschenbach’s assured performance was all the more welcome for its rarity. Make of it what you will, the music is glorious and the invention unflagging.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Mahler Seventh Symphony. Christoph Eschenbach, conductor. November 18, 20 & 21, 2009 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| French landscapes at the Getty |
November 17 2009 |
“Capturing Nature’s Beauty,” a small but scintillating show, misled only in its title, for it was not so much about nature as man’s relation to it. In its Italian and French landscapes lay a tale, not of French subservience to Italian taste but of subtler forms of the imperial assertions that marked early modern France before Napoleon.
“Capturing Nature’s Beauty: Three Centuries of French Landscapes.” July 28-November 1, 2009 at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles. (310) 440-7330 or www.getty.edu.
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| Another Barnes groundbreaking |
November 16 2009 |
A year ago the Barnes Foundation’s movers and shakers staged an elaborate groundbreaking ceremony for their proposed new home on Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Last Friday they broke the same ground all over again. Methinks the bigwigs doth break ground too much.
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| Beckett’s ‘Endgame’ by EgoPo (2nd review) |
November 14 2009 |
EgoPo’s latest Beckett production, Endgame, succeeds despite itself, largely due to Ed Swidey’s stylized but finely judged performance as Hamm, the play’s principal. Director Lane Savadove has given the play an incongruous South Jersey setting, but the text, thank goodness, speaks for itself, and Swidey makes sure that its poetry gets through.
Endgame. By Samuel Beckett; directed by Lane Savadove. EgoPo Productions presentation through November 15, 2009 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 552-8773 or www.egopo.org.
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| ‘Rabbit Hole’ at the Arden |
November 10 2009 |
In David Lindsay-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole, a decent husband and wife face the indecent horror of the loss of a child and try to deal with a grief that has left them in separate and opposed universes. Jim Christy’s thoughtful production respects the play’s bleak integrity and its message of chastened hope.
Rabbit Hole. By David Lindsay-Abaire; directed by Jim Christy. Through December 20, 2009 at the Arden Theatre, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| Martha Clarke’s ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’ |
October 25 2009 |
Last winter's revival of Martha Clarke’s dance theater masterwork, Garden of Earthly Delights, freely adapted from Hieronymus Bosch’s Renaissance triptych, was a work of astonishing beauty and rare erotic candor in its revival production, the first in more than 20 years.
Garden of Earthly Delights. Choreography by Martha Clarke. November 2008-January 2009 at Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane, New York. (212) 307-4100 or gardenofearthlydelightsnyc.com.
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| Michael Moore’s ‘Capitalism’ (2nd review) |
October 25 2009 |
Michael Moore’s latest film screed takes on the ultimate evildoer, capitalism itself. Slogging from scene to scene of the crime in his working-class version of The Tramp, Moore looks for a little truth and decency in all the mess. Good luck to him, and to all of us. But is the theology really so simple?
Capitalism: A Love Story. A film by Michael Moore. At the Ritz Five, 214 Walnut St. (215) 440-1184 or delaware.metromix.com.
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| ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’ by the Lantern |
October 15 2009 |
The Lantern’s mini-festival of Samuel Beckett, set against its mainstage production of Happy Days, featured Frank X in two performances of Krapp’s Last Tape, a tour de force for a male performer and, like all of Beckett’s work, a meditation on identity and time.
Krapp’s Last Tape. By Samuel Beckett. Lantern Theater production October 12, 2009 at St. Stephen’s Theatre, 923 Ludlow St. 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org
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| Opera Company’s ‘Madame Butterfly’ (1st review) |
October 12 2009 |
Director Cynthia Stokes evokes mythic resonances in the Opera Company’s Madame Butterfly, and soprano Ermonela Jaho gives a vocally and dramatically commanding performance in the title role. The striking set and lighting design complete this fresh and impressively conceived view of one of opera’s perennial classics.
Madame Butterfly. Opera by Giacomo Puccini; directed by Cynthia Stokes. Opera Company of Philadelphia production through October 18, 2009 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust St. (215) 732 – 8400 or operaphila.org.
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| The Barnes unveils its design |
October 10 2009 |
The newly unveiled design for what would be (contrary to Albert Barnes’s express instruction) a “Barnes museum” is dreary, insipid, and banal— yet another reason to keep the Barnes Foundation exactly where it is in Merion.
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| Philadelphia Orchestra: Brahms and Bartok |
October 06 2009 |
The Philadelphia Orchestra offered a seasoned warhorse, the Brahms Second Piano Concerto, freshly realized by soloist Yefim Bronfman, and a rare performance of the entire score of Bartok’s ballet-pantomime, The Miraculous Mandarin. The specter of Wagner hung over both works, each of which rejected it in its own way.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Brahms Second Piano Concerto; Bartok, The Miraculous Mandarin. Yefim Bronfman, piano; Charles Dutoit, conductor. October 1- 3, 2009 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893.1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Beckett’s ‘Happy Days’ by the Lantern (2nd review) |
October 03 2009 |
The Lantern Theater’s season is off to a good start with David O’Connor’s production of Beckett’s Happy Days, featuring Mary Elizabeth Scallen as Winnie. This inexhaustible role can never be fully realized in any performance, but Scallen projects her battered dignity and, in the play’s second act, creates a memorable picture of human consciousness at the end of its tether.
Happy Days. By Samuel Beckett; directed by David O’Connor. Lantern Theater Co. production through October 18, 2009 at St. Stephen’s Theatre, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| ‘The Art of the Steal’: The Barnes on film |
September 29 2009 |
The Art of the Steal is an ambitious attempt to relate the saga of the Barnes Foundation from its founding in Merion to its impending move to Center City Philadelphia. Don Argott has wisely chosen to tell it in terms of its principal personalities. It belongs on a short list of documentaries that have spoken truth to power.
The Art of the Steal. A film by Don Argott.
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| Albee’s ‘Zoo Story’ at Villanova |
September 26 2009 |
Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story may be historically important as the moment when American theater began to come out of the closet, but the play itself is dated, and difficult to perform convincingly unless played against the grain. In Joanna Rotté’s spacious direction, it reveals some forgotten strengths, but also exposes inherent weaknesses.
The Zoo Story. By Edward Albee; directed by Joanna Rotté. Villanova Theatre production through October 4, 2009 at Vasey Hall, Villanova University. (610) 519.7474 or www.theatre.villanova.edu.
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| James Ensor at Museum of Modern Art (2nd review) |
September 22 2009 |
The uncanny art of the proto-modernist James Ensor, in MoMA’s first substantial exhibition of his work since 1951, reveals a prophetic artist who anticipated many of the 20th Century’s horrors and who still speaks to the wired-up anomie of our present day.
“James Ensor.” Ended September 21, 2009 at the Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd St., New York. (212) 708-9400 or
www.moma.org.
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| Richard Long: Walking as an art form |
September 01 2009 |
The British artist Richard Long has made his country’s pastime, walking, into an art form for nearly half a century, and the Tate Britain’s retrospective of his work— graphic and photographic, textual and sculptural— is the record of a singular life’s journey.
“Richard Long: Heaven and Earth.” Through September 6, 2009 at the Tate Britain, north bank of Thames River at Millbank, London. www.tate.org.uk/britain.
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| Francis Bacon at the Met |
August 15 2009 |
Francis Bacon, Britain’s greatest modern painter, took the difficulty of modern perception as his subject, while heroically refusing to abandon the human image, as Abstract Expressionism had done. The result is, typically, an embattled figure on an ambiguous ground.
“Francis Bacon: A Centenary Retrospective.” Through August 16, 2009 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, New York. (212) 535-7710 or www.metmuseum.org.
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| Greek travesty: Euripides’s 'Helen' in London |
August 09 2009 |
The rarely performed Helen by Euripides is late Attic tragedy with a comic twist, as the beauty queen of ancient Greece is reunited with her husband Menelaus after the Trojan War. Deborah Bruce’s production misconceives its material, and the result, despite Penny Downie’s doughty performance in the title role, is neither comedy nor tragedy but travesty instead.
Helen. By Euripides; directed by Deborah Bruce. Through August 23, 2009 at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, 21 Bankside, London, United Kingdom. www.shakespeares-globe.org.
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| Brett Weston photos at Santa Barbara Museum |
July 07 2009 |
“Brett Weston: Out of the Shadow” is a superb retrospective of the man who may have been, even more than his more famous father Edward, America’s great photographer. The 146 images on display, taken as a whole, suggest a reconciliation between natural occurrence and human aspiration— that is, that we may have a place in the world after all.
“Brett Weston: Out of the Shadow.” Through August 16, 2009 at Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St., Santa Barbara, Calif. (805) 964-4364 or www.sbma.net.
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| Orchestra’s season finale |
June 18 2009 |
The Philadelphia Orchestra ended its season with a program that unprofitably yoked Debussy’s meandering composite, Images, with the Shostakovich Fifth Symphony. The latter, though unevenly played, sent the musicians home with a standing ovation that, one hopes, will leave them with a final good memory of what has been a difficult year.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Debussy, Images; Shostakovich Fifth Symphony. Charles Dutoit, conductor. June 12, 13, 16, 2009 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Opera Company’s ‘Rape of Lucretia’ (1st review) |
June 15 2009 |
The Opera Company of Philadelphia’s deft staging of Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia is both a welcome revival of a pioneering work of chamber opera and, in the midst of our own current wars, a timely reminder of man’s inhumanity to man.
The Rape of Lucretia. Opera by Benjamin Britten; directed by William Kerley. June 5-14, 2009 at the Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1018 or www.operaphila.org.
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| ‘Cézanne and Beyond’ post-mortem (4th review) |
June 11 2009 |
“Cézanne and Beyond,” the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s major show of the year, was its best in some time, but could have been a great deal richer for collaboration with the Barnes Foundation and its matchless trove of the great French master. VIP guests got to take the 15-minute ride to Merion, but for the masses the PMA and its corporate masters still pretend that the Barnes is somewhere west of Cleveland.
“Cézanne and Beyond.” Through May 31, 2009 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Philadelphia Orchestra’s eclectic program |
May 26 2009 |
Guest conductor David Robertson, in an eclectic Philadelphia Orchestra program, offered three works of a century ago, and one of our own moment: the Philadelphia premiere of Thomas Ades’s impressive new Violin Concerto, with Leila Josefowicz.
Philadelphia Orchestra: by Vaughan Williams, Sibelius, Scriabin and Ades. Leila Josefowicz, violin; David Robertson, conductor. May 22-23, 2009 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| McPherson’s ‘Seafarer’ at the Arden (1st review) |
May 22 2009 |
In Conor McPherson’s new play, The Seafarer, Humanity’s Oldest Friend visits four bibulous Dubliners on a Christmas Eve to collect an old debt from one of them. Though the play is flawed, the ensemble work of the all-male cast is as good as anything seen on local stages this season.
The Seafarer. By Conor McPherson; directed by David O’Connor. Through June 14, 2009 at the Arden Theatre, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or ardentheatre.org.
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| Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio at the Perelman |
May 16 2009 |
A late cancellation turned what promised to be an unusual and intriguing program of trios— with clarinet, horn, and piano joining the strings— into more ordinary fare. But the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, with guest Ricardo Morales, performed with the aplomb of a fine veteran group in works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Tchaikovsky.
Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio: Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky. Joseph Kalichstein, piano; Jaime Laredo, violin; Sharon Robinson, cello; Ricardo Morales, clarinet. Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presentation May 12, 2009 at the Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, May 12, 2009. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Simon Rattle conducts Bruckner’s Eighth |
May 11 2009 |
Is Sir Simon Rattle still the One Who Got Away? In the second of his recent concerts with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the flamboyant conductor offered a spacious and compelling reading of Bruckner’s sprawling Eighth Symphony that drew marvelous playing, especially from the strings.
Philadelphia Orchestra; Bruckner Symphony No. 8; Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25. Simon Rattle, conductor; Imogen Cooper, piano. May 7-9, 2009 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Pennsylvania Ballet’s ‘Tango With Style’ (1st review) |
May 09 2009 |
The Pennsylvania Ballet’s penultimate performance of the season was a pleasing mixture of one of the company’s repertory works, Robert Weiss’s Octet for Strings; Keep, a world premiere by its resident choreographer, Matthew Neenan; and Hans van Manen’s Five Tangos, a company premiere of a work that’s achieved international status. The corps was in good form, though the live musical accompaniment was often ragged in tone.
Pennsylvania Ballet: “Tango With Style.” Robert Weiss, Octet For Strings; Matthew Neenan, Keep; Hans van Manen, Five Tangos. May 6-10, 2009 at Merriam Theatre, 250 S. Broad St. (215) 551-7000 or www.paballet.org.
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| Picasso’s last years, in New York |
May 05 2009 |
The late work of Pablo Picasso has received short shrift, but it’s the magnificent culmination of the greatest artistic career since Goya— or Rembrandt and Velazquez, the 17th-Century masters whose persona Picasso adopted for his own. Curated by John Richardson, who knows more about Picasso than any man living, the current show at the Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea is a triumph in every respect.
"Picasso: Mosqueteros." Through June 6, 2009 at the Gagosian Gallery, 522 West 21 St., New York. (212) 741-1717 or www.gagosian.com.
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| Curtis Orchestra plays Russian masterworks |
May 02 2009 |
Curtis Orchestra’s final concert of the season featured second thoughts on Russian masterworks by Prokofiev and Stravinsky. I’m not sure why Philadelphia couldn’t hear some of Valery Gergeiev’s recent traversal of the Prokofiev symphonies (which went to Washington), but the Curtis performances were at least a consolation prize. The caliber of this student orchestra, despite the annual changeovers of its graduation cycle, easily stands comparison with most professional groups anywhere.
Curtis Symphony Orchestra: Prokofiev, Suites from Romeo and Juliet; Prokofiev, Sinfonia Concertante; Stravinsky, Petrushka. Michael Stern, conductor; Carter Brey, cello. April 27, 2009 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-7902 or www.curtis.edu.
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| Drawings in New York: Thaw and Bonna Collections |
April 23 2009 |
Drawing fanciers have had two exceptional shows to savor in New York: The Thaw collection at the Morgan Library and the Bonna hoard at the Met. Both will close soon, and shouldn’t be missed by anyone who savors the unique truth that lies in the perfectly executed line.
“The Thaw Collection of Master Drawings: Acquisitions since 2002.” Through May 9, 2009 at the Morgan Library, 225 Madison Ave., New York. (212) 685-0008) or www.themorgan.org/exhibitions.
“From Raphael to Renoir: Drawings from the Collection of Jean Bonna.” Through April 26, 2009 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue at 82nd St., New York. (212) 535-7710 or metmuseum.org.
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| Arden’s ‘Something Intangible’ (1st review) |
April 18 2009 |
Bruce Graham brings a Hollywood insider’s knowledge and a flair for dialogue to Something Intangible, now in its premiere production at the Arden. You can’t treat Tinseltown without a touch of schmaltz— a trap Graham doesn’t escape. But this play about Walt Disney and the making of Fantasia, though overwrought for its theme, provides a diverting two hours. Cast and production are excellent.
Something Intangible. By Bruce Graham; directed by Terrence J. Nolen. Through June 7, 2009 at the Arden Theatre, 40 N. Second St. (between Market and Arch). (215) 922.1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| Theatre Exile’s ‘American Buffalo’ (1st review) |
April 16 2009 |
Theatre Exile’s revival of David Mamet’s breakthrough play, American Buffalo, is driven by Pete Pryor’s brilliant performance as the testosterone-laced Teach. But while Teach’s bullying behavior might have been considered borderline psychotic a generation ago, it’s a reflection of daily life today.
American Buffalo. By David Mamet; directed by Matt Pfeiffer. Theater Exile production through May 3, 2009 at Plays & Players, 1714 Delancey St. (215) 218-4022 or www.theatreexile.org.
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| Lantern Theater's hyperactive ‘Hamlet’ (1st review) |
April 14 2009 |
The question in Hamlet may be less why the play’s hero fails to avenge his father’s murder than why he fails to claim his crown. The Lantern Theater’s fast-paced production of the play treats it as an action drama but misses its darker drives and subtler shades of meaning.
Hamlet. By William Shakespeare; directed by Charles McMahon. Lantern Theater production through May 17, 2009 at St. Stephen’s Theater, Tenth and Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| Ysaÿe Quartet at Perelman Theater |
April 07 2009 |
The Ysaÿe Quartet, named for the Belgian violinist Eugene Ysaÿe, plays with exquisite refinement and sensitivity. Unlike the steak-and-eggs mishmash offered by so many concert programs, the Ysaÿe’s combination of late and last works by Fauré, Bartok and Franck was thoughtful and suggestive.
Ysaÿe Quartet: Works by Fauré, Bartok and Franck. Presented by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, April 3, 2009, at the Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Art meets science: Ellen K. Levy at Rider U. |
April 04 2009 |
The maze and the void join in Ellen K. Levy’s challenging and complex paintings, which interrogate the juncture between science, art and a human imagination. Levy loves machines, but not the uses to which freebooting capitalism and the military-industrial complex threaten to put them.
“Ellen K. Levy: Decoding Metaphors for the 21st Century.” Through April 19, 2009 at Rider University Art Gallery, Luedeke Center, Top Floor,
2083 Lawrenceville Rd.,
Lawrenceville, N.J. 609) 895-5588 or www.rider.edu/888_1371.htm.
"Ellen K. Levy: Stealing Attention." Through April 18, 2009 at the Michael Steinberg Gallery, 526 West 26th St., Suite 215, New York. (212) 924-5770 or www.michaelsteinbergfineart.com.
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| Casinos and the Barnes: Perfect together |
March 31 2009 |
Philadelphia is about to get something it doesn’t want or need: a giant push toward municipal failure in the form of casino gambling and slots parlors. This heavy-handed movement shares much in common with another potential disaster: the effort to move the Barnes Foundation from Lower Merion to the Parkway.
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| ‘Women Forward’ at Williamsburg Art Center |
March 23 2009 |
Women Forward I, the first of a two-part show of women artists at the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center in Brooklyn, poses the question of whether there is such a thing as women’s art apart from the work of individuals who happen to be women. The answer, I think, is yes: and vive la difference.
Women Forward I: Through April 25, 2009; Women Forward II (artists after 1950): April 12-May 31, 2009, at Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, 135 Broadway, Brooklyn, N.Y. (718) 486.6012 or www.wahcenter.net.
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| Curtis Opera’s ‘Wozzeck’ (2nd review) |
March 21 2009 |
The Curtis Opera production of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck, the signature opera of German Expressionism, made the most of the cramped facilities of the Perelman Theater, with lead singers Shuler Henley and Karen Jesse in good voice and Mark Barton’s lighting particularly accenting the brooding and anguished score. Georg Buchner’s timeless story of a maddened soldier who kills the one thing he loves remains as relevant as ever.
Wozzeck. Opera by Alban Berg; directed by Emma Griffin; Corrado Rovaris, conductor. Curtis Opera Theatre production March 13-18, 2009 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-7902 or www.curtis.edu.
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| ‘Iron Kisses’ at Act II Playhouse |
March 17 2009 |
James Still’s Iron Kisses— the kind that come with locked lips— details a small-town family’s reaction to an only son’s homosexuality. Well acted, with its two actors taking multiple roles, and skillfully directed by Harriet Power, this play transcends its well-worn genre and offers an affecting evening of theater.
Iron Kisses. By James Still; directed by Harriet Power. Through April 5, 2009 at Act II Playhouse, 56 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, Pa. (215) 654- 0200 or www.act2.org.
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| Matt Phillips monotypes at Drexel |
March 14 2009 |
Along with Jasper Johns and Richard Diebenkorn, Matt Phillips is one of America’s finest masters of that most difficult of all graphic art forms, the monotype. Even the most casual viewer will take pleasure in its light-drenched evocations of the Mediterranean and the fluency of its color and line.
“Monotypes by Matt Phillips.” Through March 20, 2009 at Rincliffe Gallery, Drexel University, Main Building at 32nd and Chestnut St., Third Floor. (215) 762-4114 or www.drexelcollection.edu.
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| Jurowski's latest Orchestra 'audition' |
March 13 2009 |
In a well-conceived and generally well-executed program of Berg and Mahler, Vladimir Jurowski once more dropped his card into the Philadelphia Orchestra’s conductor sweepstakes. The performance of Mahler’s rarely heard choral masterwork, Das klagende lied, should be remembered as one of the season’s highlights. But please can the condescending pre-concert talks.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Berg, Three Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6; Mahler, Das klagende lied. Vladimir Jurowski, conductor; with the Philadelphia Singers Chorale under David Hayes. Twyla Robinson, soprano; Iris Vermilion, mezzo-soprano; Michael Hendrick, tenor; Stephen Powell, baritone. March 10, 2009 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| ‘Vita Nuova’ at Alice Tully Hall (New York) |
March 03 2009 |
New York’s renovated and reopened Alice Tully Hall is buxom and Botoxed, and there’s padding too in one of its featured premieres, Vladimir Martynov’s oratorio-cum-opera Vita Nuova, though some payoff in the end.
Vita Nuova. Opera by Vladimir Martynov. London Philharmonic Orchestra; Vladimir Jurowski, conductor. February 28, 2009 at Alice Tully Hall, Broadway and 65th St., New York. new.lincolncenter.org.
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| Vienna Philharmonic at Verizon Hall (1st review) |
March 01 2009 |
The Vienna Philharmonic, in its first Philadelphia appearance in six years, showed again why it’s in a class by itself among the world’s orchestras in a program of Wagner, Chopin, and Schubert. Soloist Lang Lang, alternately brilliant and frustrating by turns, left a more mixed impression.
Vienna Philharmonic. Zubin Mehta, conductor; Lang Lang, piano. February 24, 2009 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 790-5800 or www.kimmelcenter.org.
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| Vertigo String Quartet at Curtis Institute |
February 23 2009 |
The youthful Vertigo String Quartet, all Curtis graduates in their mid-20s, returned to give an alumni recital in Field Concert Hall with one of their teachers, Steven Tenenbom, in a program of late Brahms and Shostakovich, followed by compositions by two of their own members. Already accomplished, this group should, happily, be with us for some time to come.
Vertigo Quartet. February 22, 2009 at Curtis Institute of Music, (215) 893-7902 or www.curtis.edu.
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| 'Philip Guston: The '50s,' in New York |
February 21 2009 |
“Philip Guston: 1954-1958” occupies the ground floor of New York’s L & M gallery, and there is no more beautiful art space on display in that city. These Abstract Expressionist masterpieces reflect the haunting pressure of withheld images, but the sheer gorgeousness of their color and texture gives them a luminous splendor.
“Philip Guston: 1954-1958.” Through February 28, 2009 at L & M Arts, 45 East 78th St., New York. (212) 8610200 or www.lmgallery.com.
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| Public TV explains the Crash of ‘08 |
February 20 2009 |
Is a global economic meltdown about to consume the planet? Not to worry: Public TV is on the case, with cameras panning the glass canyons of Wall Street in between stints from talking heads and shots of an increasingly beleaguered-looking Henry Paulson.
“Inside the Meltdown”: Frontline documentary aired on PBS stations February 17, 2009. www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meltdown.
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| ‘Blackbird’ by Theatre Exile (3rd review) |
February 17 2009 |
Scottish playwright David Harrower’s narrowly constructed Blackbird puts two former lovers in a tight place from which neither can escape. The truth, as he suggests, doesn’t always set one free, but sometimes only leaves people more hopelessly apart.
Blackbird. By David Harrower; directed by Joe Canuso. Theatre Exile production through March 1, 2009 at Plays & Players, 1724 Delancey St. (215) 218-4022 or www.theatreexile.org.
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| Cleveland Orchestra plays Mozart and Shostakovich |
February 10 2009 |
With the Philadelphia Orchestra AWOL for the month of February, the visiting Cleveland Orchestra came to the Kimmel Center to pick up some of the slack. Conductor Franz Welser-Most has a habit of rushing fast passages and clipping end-phrases, but his reading of the Shostakovich Leningrad Symphony proved a crowd-pleaser.
Cleveland Orchestra: Mozart 25th Symphony, Shostakovich Seventh Symphony. Franz Welser-Most, conductor. February 8, 2009 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1999 or www.kimmelcenter.org.
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| Isherwood dying, drawn by Don Bachardy |
February 10 2009 |
The writer Christopher Isherwood (1904-1986) arranged for his lover of more than 30 years, the artist Don Bachardy, to record his final months while dying of cancer in a sequence of candid drawings. The result was a very modern ars moriendi, and a very moving one.
“Christopher Isherwood: Last Drawings,” by Don Bachardy. January 6-February 7, 2009 at Cheim & Read gallery, 547 West 25th St., New York. (212) 242-7727 or www.cheimread.com.
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| AVA’s ‘La fiamma’ (1st review) |
January 27 2009 |
Ottorino Respighi as an opera composer? Yes, he wrote ten of them, and La fiamma, in a 75th-anniversary concert revival by the Academy of Vocal Arts, showed itself worthy of a place on the international stage.
La fiamma. Opera by Ottorino Respighi; Christofer Macatsoris, conductor. Academy of Vocal Arts production January 23-24, 2009 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, January 27, 2009 at Centennial Hall, Haverford College. (215) 735.168 or www.avaopera.com.
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| Christoph Eschenbach returns |
January 24 2009 |
Christoph Eschenbach, the former and (by some) lamented music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, returned to take over the city’s symphonic January in concerts with the Orchestra and the Curtis Symphony. If he was trying to suggest what Philadelphia has lost with his departure, he mostly made his case.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Bartok Second Violin Concerto; Bruckner Sixth Symphony. Christoph Eschenbach, conductor; Leonidas Kavakos, violin. January 22-23, 2009 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1900 or www.philorch.org.
Curtis Symphony Orchestra: Dutilleux, Métaboles;
Barber, Piano Concerto;
Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique. Christoph Eschenbach, conductor; Meng-Chieh Liu, piano. January 20, 2009 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-7902 or www.curtis.edu.
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| Clint Eastwood: Mellowing archetype |
January 19 2009 |
Clint Eastwood, the nihilist gunslinger of Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Westerns and the cop run nearly amok of the Dirty Harry series, has reversed gears in the last 20 years and— as his current Gran Torino shows— found ways to raise dark questions about American manhood and American nationhood while persuading us we’re still being entertained.
Gran Torino. A film directed by Clint Eastwood. www.imdb.com/title/tt1205489
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| ‘Baroque Painting in Bologna’ at the Getty |
January 06 2009 |
Renaissance art made its last stand in late 16th- and 17th-Century Bologna, a backwater transformed by the talent of a single family, the Carracci, and the school of painting it produced. The Getty Museum’s current exhibit is welcome despite its misleading title: The Baroque influence is actually quite muted here.
"Captured Emotions: Baroque Painting in Bologna, 1575-1725." Through May 3, 2009 at the J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles. (310) 440-7300 or www.getty.edu.
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| Joan Mitchell’s Sunflowers in Chelsea |
December 30 2008 |
The Abstract Expressionist Joan Mitchell returned periodically to the subject of sunflowers over the last quarter-century of her life, finding in them much the same moral that Van Gogh did, and the same capacity to serve as a filter for emotion.
Joan Mitchell: Sunflowers: November 4-December 20, 2008 at Cheim & Read Gallery, 547 West 25th St., New York. (212) 242-7727 or gallery@cheimread.com.
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| Miro’s radical decade, at MOMA in New York |
December 20 2008 |
In 1927, Joan Miro set out to reinvent art, reducing it to its simplest elements and exploring its most radical possibilities. In the process he reinvented himself, and produced in the next decade the finest art of a long career.
“Joan Miro: Painting and Anti-Painting, 1927-1937.” Through January 12, 2009 at the Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd St., New York. (212) 708-9400 or www.moma.org.
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| 'Frost/Nixon' at the Ritz 5. |
December 16 2008 |
Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon, adapted from the London stage play, pits a ferrety David Frost (Michael Sheen) against a hulking Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) in the modern media’s version of Gunfight at the OK Corral. Both men won and both men lost; but Langella’s Nixon, a tour de force, is the real reason to see the film.
Frost/Nixon. A film directed by Ron Howard, from the play by Peter Morgan. At the Ritz 5, 214 Walnut St. (215) 925-7900 or www.landmarktheatres.com.
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| Daniel Barenboim’s all-Liszt piano recital |
December 14 2008 |
Daniel Barenboim’s all-Liszt recital of Italian-themed works combined scholarship, musicianship and technical brilliance in equal measure to make a forceful case for the problematic Hungarian master. I still can’t tell you how Barenboim does it, but his performance was astonishing, and, for me, revelatory.
Daniel Barenboim, pianist. Master Musicians recital Series, December 8, 2008 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1999 or www.kimmelcenter.org.
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| Lantern’s ‘The Government Inspector’ |
December 14 2008 |
Nikolai Gogol’s 1836 farce, The Government Inspector, was the first satire of modern bureaucracy— a precursor of Kafka and Beckett. David O’Connor’s edgy production, with a fine cast headed by a rather astonishing Luigi Sottile, keeps the laughter coming while chills tug at the spine too.
The Government Inspector. Comedy by Nikolai Gogol; directed by David O’Connor. Lantern Theater production through December 28, 2008 at St. Stephen’s Theater, Tenth and Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| Oliver Stone’s ‘W’ |
November 26 2008 |
Oliver Stone is no Shakespeare but an amusing cartoonist who paints in broad strokes and loves a good villain. That leaves him at a loss in dealing with George W. Bush, who seems to have wrought far more evil than he was intellectually capable of.
W. A film directed by Oliver Stone. www.wthefilm.com/
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| Tilson Thomas conducts Mahler’s Fifth |
November 10 2008 |
Visiting conductor Michael Tilson Thomas gave full measure with a concert consisting of Copland’s robust early Symphony for Organ and Orchestra, and Mahler’s Fifth. The latter is one of the signal works of the 20th Century, although its rich detail is not served by Verizon Hall’s acoustics, and its musical material was too often distended by Tilson Thomas’s erratically stretched tempos.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Mahler Fifth Symphony; Copland Symphony for Organ and Orchestra. Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Paul Jacobs, organ. November 6-9, 2008 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1900 or www.philorch.org.
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| Bush: The final days |
November 04 2008 |
Most Americans have forgotten George W. Bush as his administration winds down. Yet the pace of its destructiveness has accelerated as January 20th approaches. The case for impeachment still needs to be made, if only for America’s self-protection between now and the inauguration.
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| Adras Schiff plays Beethoven at Perelman |
November 02 2008 |
Four out of five isn’t bad usually, even in a piano recital, but when it’s the Appassionata you miss, that’s a problem. An exemplary performance of the Les Adieux sonata did make substantial amends in the second half of Andras Schiff’s all-Beethoven recital, but the major work on his program suffered from a studied underplaying that robbed it of its force, and even made parts of it sound dull.
Andras Schiff: All-Beethoven piano recital. Presented by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, October 31, 2008 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center. 215) 569-8080 or www.pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Kirchner’s Berlin street scenes at MOMA in New York |
October 28 2008 |
The Berlin Street Scene series of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, assembled for the first time in New York and presented with a generous selection of early work and sketches, is one of the great achievements of German art, and a prophecy no less relevant to our time than to its own.
“Kirchner and the Berlin Street.” Through November 10, 2008 at Museum of Modern Art, Fifth Avenue and 53rd St., New York. (212) 708) 9400 or www.moma.org.
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| The New Barnes: Our Potemkin Village (2nd comment) |
October 21 2008 |
Last week’s “groundbreaking” notwithstanding, there’s still no plan, and no money up-front, for the Barnes Foundation’s proposed new home on the Parkway. At this rate, Michelangelo would yet be painting the Sistine Chapel.
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| Jon Schueler paintings in New York |
October 14 2008 |
"Jon Schueler: Paintings from the 1950s and ’60s" displays work from the prime years of a neglected master of second-generation Abstract Expressionism who must be reckoned with in any accounting of what remains the most significant movement in modern American art.
Jon Schueler: Paintings from the 1950s and ’60s. Through October 25, 2008, at David Findlay Jr. Fine Art, 41 East 57th St., New York. (212) 486-7660 or www.davidfindlayjr.com.
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| ‘The Persians’ at People’s Light (2nd review) |
October 07 2008 |
Ellen McLaughlin’s version of Aeschylus’s The Persians is both timely and dated (it foretold our current quagmire in Iraq). Excellent staging sets this production apart, but the text partly weakens the original play, and the performers, while adequate, aren’t up to the tragic standard.
The Persians. By Ellen McLaughlin; directed by Jade King Carroll. Through October 19, 2008 at People's Light and Theatre Company, 39 Conestoga Rd, Malvern, Pa. (610) 644-3500 or www.peopleslight.org.
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| ‘Long Day’s Journey’ at Villanova |
October 07 2008 |
Villanova has opened its 50th drama season with a new production of Eugene O’Neill’s masterpiece, Long Day’s Journey into Night. The play opened the Vasey Hall stage forty years ago under Robert Hedley’s direction, and Hedley returned to bring it richly to life again.
Long Day’s Journey Into Night. By Eugene O’Neill; directed by Robert Hedley. Villanova Theatre production September 23-October 5, 2008 at Vasey Hall, Dougherty Drive, Villanova U. (610) 519-7474 or www.theatre.villanova.edu.
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| Turner and Morandi at the Met in N.Y. |
September 21 2008 |
Two deeply contrasting shows of work by the 19th-Century English master J. M. W. Turner and the 20-Century Italian Giorgio Morandi pose in different ways the modern problem of the sublime, and with it our own understanding of— and existence in-— the natural world.
“J. M. W. Turner,” through September 21, 2008. “Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964),” through December 14, 2008 at Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd St., New York. (212) 535.7710 or http://www.metmuseum.org.
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| Pinter’s ‘Hothouse’ at Lantern Theater |
September 21 2008 |
An early Harold Pinter play reveals a flawed but prophetic work that, unlike most revivals, has as much to say about our times as its own.
The Hothouse. By Harold Pinter. Lantern Theater production through October 12, 2008 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 10th and Ludlow Streets, through October 12. (215) 829-0395 or http://www.lanterntheater.org.
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| Gorbachev wins the Liberty Medal |
September 13 2008 |
Mikhail Gorbachev, winner of this year’s Liberty Medal, is indeed an overachiever. He lost his country. He lost a superpower. He lost the greatest land empire ever seen. And he did it all on his own.
Liberty Medal Award presentation. September 18, 2008 at National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St. (215) 409-6600 or constitutioncenter.org/libertymedal.
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| Woody Allen’s ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ |
August 26 2008 |
Woody Allen returns to top form in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, a wry comedy (or anti-comedy) that freshly explores his perennial theme, the anarchic consequences of love.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona. A film by Woody Allen. At the Ritz Five, 214 Walnut St. (215) 925-7900 or www.landmarktheatres.com.
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| Prokofiev festival at Bard College |
August 23 2008 |
Searching for classical music in the summertime? Philadelphia is a certifiable wasteland, but challenging repertory can be found in the hinterlands of New York and New England, as Leon Botstein’s ten-concert series at Bard College, “Prokofiev and His World,” recently demonstrated.
“Sergei Prokofiev and His World.” Weekends through October 25, 2008 at Bard Music Festival, Sosnoff Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.
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| Yumiko Izu’s flowers in Woodstock, N.Y. |
August 19 2008 |
Yumiko Izu’s exhibit of floral photography, Secret Garden, reveals the deep interaction between the flower world and the human one in images that focus us afresh on a well-worn but inexhaustible subject.
“Secret Garden”: Floral photography by Yumiko Izu. Through September 8, 2008 at Galerie BMG, Woodstock, N.Y. (845) 679-0027 or www.galeriebmg.com.
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| Herzog's 'Encounters at the End of the World' |
August 16 2008 |
Werner Herzog’s new film explores the bleakly beautiful landscape of Antarctica and its inhabitants, none stranger than its human ones. In the process Herzog raises philosophical issues rarely touched upon in recent cinema.
Encounters at the End of the World. A film by Werner Herzog. encountersfilm.com.
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| A watershed election (not) |
August 12 2008 |
This year’s election should be the left’s opportunity, but the conventional liberal alternative is timid and palsied. And Barack Obama’s performance is increasingly disappointing, not to say alarming.
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| Philip Guston at Morgan Library |
June 17 2008 |
“Philip Guston: Works on Paper” is a comprehensive show of 100 drawings by the modern American master Philip Guston that shows his graphic oeuvre as not merely a complement to his paintings but as a distinct and independent achievement.
“Philip Guston: Works on Paper.” Through August 30, 2008 at Morgan Library and Museum, 225 Madison Ave, (at 36th St.), New York. (212) 685-0008 or www.themorgan.o
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| ‘Bodies, Inc.’ |
June 17 2008 |
So you thought dead bodies are useless? Bodies….the Exhibition has attracted throngs of spectators in a wildly successful nationwide tour. Where do these bodies come from? Funny you should ask….
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| The Barnes Foundation rulings (Part 2) |
June 10 2008 |
Having approved the controversial move of the Barnes Foundation in 2004, Judge Stanley Ott has now denied standing to those who would offer new evidence against the move. He has also refused to examine such evidence himself.
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| Richard Diebenkorn monotypes in N.Y. |
June 08 2008 |
This fine show, mostly in the demanding medium of the monotype, displays the richness and technical mastery of the distinguished West Coast artist Richard Diebenkorn, who explored virtually every possibility of print and graphic art.
“Richard Diebenkorn: Ocean Park Monotypes and Drawings.” Through June 27, 2008 at Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, 730 Fifth Ave. (at 57th St.), New York. 212-445-0444 or gvdgallery.com.
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| Latest ruling on the Barnes move (Part 1) |
June 01 2008 |
Montgomery Orphans’ Court Judge Stanley R. Ott, the Great Enabler of the Barnes heist, has once again refused to hear proposals from the county that would, at no cost to the taxpayer, have made the Barnes solvent in Merion and thus obviated the alleged necessity to move it to Philadelphia.
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| ‘Our Town’ at the Arden (1st review) |
May 31 2008 |
Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, a play meant to challenge nostalgic illusions about American small-town life, is made instead into a celebration of them in the Arden Theatre’s wrap-up of its 20th anniversary season. Linking Grover’s Corners to Philadelphia itself only makes the city look provincial.
Our Town. By Thornton Wilder; directed by Terrence J. Nolen. Through June 22, 2008 at the Arden Theatre, 40 N. Second Street. (215) 922-1122
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| The orchestra prima donna syndrome |
May 25 2008 |
Arguments about the ugliness and fragmentation of the Kimmel Center's interior beg the real question: Why is one of the world's great orchestras going to be led by a second-tier conductor in a third-rate hall?
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| ‘Eurydice’ at the Wilma (4th review) |
May 25 2008 |
The play’s not really the thing in the Wilma’s final season production, but Blanka Zizka’s staging— a brilliant ensemble of music, dance, and drama— renders it more than worth the price of admission.
Eurydice. By Sarah Ruhl; directed by Blanka Zizka. Through June 1, 2008 at Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). (215) 546-7824 or www.wilmatheater.org.
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| Barbara Rosin’s Umbria landscapes |
May 20 2008 |
An old style and an old subject— yet Barbara Rosin’s responses are fresh and vivid, her brushwork is fluid and supple, and her imaginative engagement creates a crepuscular world where landscape trembles on the verge of vision.
Barbara Rosin: "Remembering Umbria: New Landscape Paintings." Through June 26, 2008 at Cosmopolitan Club, 1616 Latimer St. (215) 735-1057 or www.cosclub.org.
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| Chamber Orchestra: Mahler and Schoenberg (2nd review) |
May 10 2008 |
The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia performed Schoenberg’s highly forgettable foray into tonality, the Suite in G for Strings, but then acquitted itself with a radiant account of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde in the Schoenberg-Riehn version— an hour of music-making to rank with the finest heard in the city this year.
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia: Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde; Schoenberg, Suite in G. for Strings. Dirk Br
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| Curtis Orchestra with Leon Fleisher |
May 03 2008 |
Hindemith’s long-lost Klaviermusik mit Orchester was the centerpiece of a program that showed off the Curtis Symphony Orchestra to fine effect. Octogenarian soloist Leon Fleisher, himself long limited to the left hand repertory, made robust music with musicians a quarter his age.
Curtis Symphony Orchestra: Hindemith, Schuller, Dvorak. April 27, 2008 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. Leon Fleisher, piano; Christoph Eschenbach, conductor. (215) 893-7902 or Orchestra plays Sibelius and Bruckner |
April 29 2008 |
Christoph Eschenbach moved closer to the end of his abbreviated stay with the Philadelphia Orchestra in a program of Sibelius and Bruckner that demonstrated, particularly in the Bruckner, why he should be staying instead of leaving.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Sibelius Violin Concerto, Bruckner Sixth Symphony. Vadim Repin, violin; Christoph Eschenbach, conductor. April 24-26, 2008 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1900 or
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| Lee Miller photos at Art Museum (3rd review) |
April 26 2008 |
Lee Miller was a regal beauty and fashion queen, a Surrealist muse and photographer, and a correspondent who captured some of the most striking images of World War II— including herself in Hitler’s bathtub. A woman for all seasons, who led one of the most adventurous lives of the 20th Century.
“The Art of Lee Miller.” Through April 27, 2008 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway and 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or Corneille’s ‘The Illusion’ at Villanova |
April 22 2008 |
Tony Kushner’s free rendering of Pierre Corneille’s Baroque fantasy, The Illusion, captures the spirit if not the diction of the original in Harriet Power’s fine staging, with a few mordant modern touches thrown in. It’s a reminder that some of our best regional theater can be found on university stages.
The Illusion. By Pierre Corneille, adapted by Tony Kushner; directed by Harriet Power. Villanova Theatre production through April 27
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| ‘My Father’s Game,’ by Rick Wilber |
April 19 2008 |
Rick Wilber’s perceptive memoir of his father, his family and himself is also a book about the mythology of baseball. Del Wilber never lost the aura of entitlement that America accords a big league ballplayer, however modestly gifted.
My Father’s Game: Life, Death, Baseball. By Rick Wilber. McFarland & Co., 2008. 214 pages. $29.95. www.amazon.com.
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| Yuja Wang with St. Martin-in-the-Fields |
April 11 2008 |
Every now and then a concert comes along that reminds one why music-making is man’s most joyous activity. It would be nice to see our own resident orchestra loosened up and having such fun. As for Yuja Wang, we are going to hear much more of her.
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields: Mozart, Mendelssohn, Haydn. Yuja Wang, piano; Neville Mariner, conductor. April 9, 2008 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1999 or www.k
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| Lantern Theater’s ‘Othello’ |
April 05 2008 |
Frank X builds to an incandescent climax in the title role of this well-staged Othello. But an understated Iago prevents the production from capturing the play’s full power.
Othello. By William Shakespeare; directed by Charles McMahon. Lantern Theater production through May 4, 2008 at St. Stephen’s Theater, Tenth and Ludlow St. (215) 829.0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| ‘Drawings from the Uffizi’ in New York |
March 29 2008 |
“Drawings from the Uffizi,” is a superb sample from one of the world’s great collections that celebrates one of the West’s peak moments: the rise of Florence.
“Michelangelo, Vasari, and Their Contemporaries: Drawings from the Uffizi.” Through April 20, 2008 at the Morgan Library, Madison Ave. at 36th St., New York. (212) 685-0008 or www.themorgan.org.
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| ‘Jasper Johns: Gray” at the Met in N.Y. |
March 29 2008 |
In “Jasper Johns: Gray,” the Metropolitan Museum of Art has mounted a retrospective of perhaps the most signal American artist of the past half century, viewed through the prism of the single color that most aptly defines him. This intelligent show of a most elusively intelligent mind points up both the undoubted strengths and ultimate limitations of Johns’s riddling art.
“Jasper Johns: Gray.” Through May 4, 2008 at Metropolitan Museu
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| PTC’s ‘Third’ (1st review) |
March 29 2008 |
Third, Wendy Wasserstein’s last play, sends up tenured feminists and Wasserstein’s own liberal politics, but it arrives too late for satire and contains too little for drama. Plus, you have to listen to voice-overs from George W. Bush.
Third. By Wendy Wasserstein; directed by Mary B. Robinson. Philadelphia Theatre Co. production through April 20, 2008 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad (at Lombard). (215) 985-0420 or Fumo and the Barnes move |
March 15 2008 |
The departing power broker Vincent Fumo claimed to have delivered $8 billion in funding to Philadelphia in 30 years as a state senator. But his biggest allocation of all is one he refuses to take credit for— a secret fund to facilitate the move of the Barnes Foundation to Philadelphia.
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| Tokyo String Quartet at Convention Center |
March 15 2008 |
The excellent Tokyo Quartet, like most brand-name chamber groups, has retooled itself over the years. Its two newcomers are actually the best musicians in the group, especially first violinist Martin Beaver.
Tokyo String Quartet: Haydn, Beethoven Shostakovich. With Lydia Artymiw, piano. Presented by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, March 11, 2008 at Pennsylvania Convention Center, 13th and Cherry St. (215) 569-8080 or EgoPo’s ‘Something Cloudy, Something Clear’ |
March 04 2008 |
Even the usually resourceful EgoPo stage company can’t rescue Tennessee Williams’s last, lugubrious play from its defects: wooden characters, a sluggish plot and— worst of all for one of the theater’s great modern poets— pedestrian dialogue.
Something Cloudy, Something Clear. By Tennessee Williams; directed by Brenna Geffers. EgoPo production through March 22, 2008 at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St. (215) 552-8773 or
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| Chamber Orchestra plays the Moderns |
February 26 2008 |
The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia offered two works for brass by relative unknowns in its latest concert, and two for strings by recognized masters of the 20th Century. Both sections of the orchestra played their respective works with feeling and panache.
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia: Gross,
Watchman, tell us of the night; Tomasi, Fanfares liturgiques; Berg, Lyric Suite: 3 Pieces; Bartók, Divertimento. Ignat Solzhenitsyn, co
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| Lantern Theater’s ‘Skylight’ (1st review) |
February 09 2008 |
Can an old flame be reignited in the midst of a dreary London winter? David Hare’s Skylight asks us to buy into a plot that strains credulity while rehashing the political storms of yesteryear.
Skylight. By David Hare; directed by Dan Kern. Lantern Theater Co. production through March 2, 2008 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 10th and Ludlow Streets. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| Decline of Philadelphia architecture |
February 09 2008 |
Philadelphia is still, in parts, a noble city, but it is tearing down its beautiful old buildings while putting up some very ugly new ones.
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| Beckett’s ‘Happy Days’ in Brooklyn |
January 27 2008 |
The London production of Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days is soundingly heroic in Irish actress Fiona Shaw’s performance, but misses some of the play’s subtler notes of despair.
Happy Days. By Samuel Beckett; directed by Deborah Warner. National Theater of Great Britain production through February 2, 2008 at Harvey Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music, 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn. (718) 636.4100 or www.bam.or
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| ‘Wittenberg’ at the Arden (1st review) |
January 27 2008 |
Stir Martin Luther, Marlowe’s Faustus, and Shakespeare’s Hamlet together, and will a play come out of it? Not quite, in David Davalos’s Wittenberg, but there’s intermittent fun along the way, and also the larger question--not quite engaged--of our contemporary culture wars.
Wittenberg. By David Davalos; directed by J. R. Sullivan. Through March 16, 2008 at Arden Theatre, 40 N. Second St. (212) 922-1122 or What small galleries can do |
January 22 2008 |
Blockbuster art begets mediocrity, of which the Metropolitan Museum’s mammoth exhibition of Dutch art is a prime example. Many of the best-curated shows in New York are in the more intimate space of its galleries, as a swing along current offerings on Madison Avenue reveals.
“The Complexity of the Simple”: Through January 31, 2008 at L&M Arts, 45 East 78 St., New York. (212) 861-0020 or www.lmgallery.com
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| Orchestra plays Bernstein and Higdon (1st review) |
January 19 2008 |
As the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Bernstein festival proceeds, his youthful Jeremiah Symphony, and Schumann’s Second, framed the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s The Singing Rooms. It’s one of the few works I’ve heard in recent years that deserves not only the occasional performance but also a place in the permanent repertory.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Bernstein Jeremiah Symphony, Schumann Second Symphony, Higdon The Singing
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| Raping Europa— and the Barnes |
January 05 2008 |
The Rape of Europa is the moving story of the loss and preservation of art during World War II. On an even deeper level, it’s about the creation and destruction that defines civilization— the value that we place on our own humanity. It’s a reminder, too, of the threat to our heritage represented by the attempt to pillage the Barnes Foundation today.
The Rape of Europa. A film written and directed by Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen, and Nicole Newnham.
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| American Drawings in New York |
January 05 2008 |
Two shows of American drawings: a solo exhibition of Stuart Davis’s sketchbooks tracing more than 50 years of his art, and a joint show of Philip Guston and Jasper Johns that turns out to be a mismatch between a tiger and a zebra.
Dynamic Impulse: The Drawings of Stuart Davis. Through Jan. 21, 2008 at Hollis Taggart Galleries, 958 Madison Ave., New York. (212) 628-4000 or Solzhenitsyn plays Brahms |
December 18 2007 |
We don’t usually think of Brahms as a composer for the piano. So can an all-Brahms piano program work? Ignat Solzhenitsyn gave the answer in his Curtis Institute recital, and it was, resoundingly, yes.
Ignat Solzhenitsyn: Four piano works by Brahms. December 16, 2007 at Curtis Institute, 1726 Locust St. (215) 893-5252 or www.curtis.edu.
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| ‘Passports to Paris’ at Harrisburg |
December 04 2007 |
The novelist Baudelaire asked French artists of the 19th Century to render what he called “the heroism of modern life.” As this exhibition attests, by and large they responded— though in art’s oblique fashion.
“Passports to Paris: Nineteenth-Century French Prints from the Georgia Museum of Art.” Through December 30, 2007 at Susquehanna Art Museum, 301 Market St., Harrisburg. Pa. (717) 233-8668 or Orchestra’s ‘Das Paradies und die Peri’ (3rd |
December 04 2007 |
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s premiere performance of Das Paradies und die Peri under Sir Simon Rattle revealed buried treasure: an hour and a half of top-drawer Schumann that Wolfgang Sawallisch overlooked.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Schumann, Das Paradies und die Peri. Simon Rattle, conductor; Heidi Grant Murphy, soprano; Christine Brandes, soprano, Bernarda Fink, mezzo-soprano; Mark Padmore, tenor; Joseph Kaiser, tenor; Luca Pisaroni, bass-
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| Three new neo-noir films |
November 27 2007 |
Three stylish neo-noir films set in the recent American past reflect our current predicament in Iraq, partly by looking back.
American Gangster. Film directed by Ridley Scott.
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. Film directed by Sidney Lume
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| ‘Mother Courage’ at Villanova (1st review) |
November 17 2007 |
Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage is the right play at the right time as we face our own incipient Thirty Years’ War in the Middle East, and Villanova’s production gives a credible account of the play’s astringent honesty as well as its epic power.
Mother Courage and Her Children. By Bertolt Brecht; directed by Shawn Kairschner. Villanova Theatre production November 13-18 and November 27-December 2, 2007 at Vasey Theatre, Villanova U. (
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| Seurat drawings at MOMA |
November 13 2007 |
If Van Gogh offered us a new way of seeing, Seurat concentrated his formidable talent on the act of seeing itself. As great a painter as Seurat is, he is arguably an even greater draftsman, and the current exhibit of his drawings at the Museum of Modern Art is an event not to be missed.
“Georges Seurat: The Drawings.” Through January 7, 2008 at Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53 St., New York. (212) 708-9400 or Van Gogh letters at Morgan Library |
November 10 2007 |
A show of Van Gogh’s art and correspondence with Emile Bernard at the Morgan Library in New York offers an engaging portrait of one of modern art’s founders, while in the neighboring gallery four contemporary draftsmen construct their own dialogue with Old Masters.
“Painted with Words: Vincent Van Gogh’s Letters to Émile Bernard” and “Drawing Connections.” Through January 6, 2008 at the Morgan Library, (212) 685-0008 or
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| ‘Graphic Modernism’ at N.Y. Public Library |
November 10 2007 |
At the New York Public Library, an exhibit of interwar East European graphic art poignantly recreates the aspirations of a vanished age.
“Graphic Modernism: From the Baltic to the Balkans, 1910-1935.” Through January 27, 2008 at New York Public Library, Fifth Avenue and 41st St., New York. (212) 869-8089 or www.nypl.org.
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| Juilliard Quartet at the Perelman |
October 27 2007 |
The Juilliard Quartet has known better days. Its first of two Chamber Music Society concerts at the Perelman Theater this year, while serviceable enough in Haydn, fell short of the scope and intensity needed for Shostakovich’s Thirteenth Quartet and Beethoven’s First Rasumovsky.
Juilliard Quartet: Haydn E-Flat Quarter; Beethoven First Rasumovsky Quartet; Shostakovich Thirteenth Quartet. October 24, 2007 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Cen
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| 'An Empty Plate’ at the Arden (1st review) |
October 20 2007 |
Michael Hollinger’s An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf, in its excellent revival at the Arden, remains half a serving of well-crafted theater that’s still missing the real meal it might have served.
An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf. By Michael Hollinger; directed by Whit MacLaughlin. Through December 9, 2007 at Arden Theater, 40 N. Second St. (212) 922-1122 or www.ardent
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| Chamber Orchestra plays Berg |
October 02 2007 |
The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia’s second concert of the season was brilliantly conceived and executed, with Alban Berg’s exacting and rarely performed masterwork, the Concerto for Piano and Violin with Thirteen Wind Instruments, as the centerpiece. The result, for the happy few on hand, was what is likely to be one of the most memorable evenings of the season.
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia: Berg, Harbison, Stravinsky, Persichetti. September 28-30, 2007
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| Kirchner and Pousette-Dart in New York |
September 18 2007 |
An eclectic show at New York’s Neue Galerie, built around one of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s Berlin street scene paintings, is quietly stolen by several Kandinskys, while Kandinsky’s chief American heir, Richard Pousette-Dart, offers a show nearby at the scaffolded Guggenheim that should not be missed.
“Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: Berlin Street Scene.” Through September 17, 2007, at Neue Galerie, 1048 Fifth Ave. (at 86th St), New York. (212) 628-6200
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| A Tale of Two Philadelphias |
September 01 2007 |
The misnamed Youth Study Center is, frankly, a poor endorsement for the Museum Mile and its tony new high-rises. Here, on the pretext of making the Barnes Foundation’s art more accessible to the masses, was a perfect opportunity to raise another bulwark between the two cities, and to remove an uncomfortable reminder of those mean streets and playgrounds where Philadelphians actually live.
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| Michael Moore’s ‘Sicko’ |
August 18 2007 |
Michael Moore is quite deliberately deficient in neutrality, balance and objectivity. But in a country where satire has become almost the only means to tell the truth, his voice is invaluable.
Sicko. A film by Michael Moore.
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| 'Martin Creed: Feelings' at Bard College |
August 21 2007 |
“Martin Creed: Feelings” offers a cunning pastiche of retro styles and genres that conceals a troubling commentary on the state of contemporary art under its surface geniality and wit.
“Martin Creed: Feelings.” Through Sept. 16, 2007, at the Center for Curatorial Studies, Hessel Museum, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. (845) 758-7598 or www.bard.edu/ccs.
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| Three New York gallery shows |
July 03 2007 |
Thank heaven for New Jersey Transit: Three brilliant gallery shows cap off the New York season, and show why the small to medium exhibition, thoughtfully mounted, is still the happiest experience of art.
“Claude Monet,” through June 15, 2007 at Pace Wildenstein Gallery, 32 East 57thh St., New York. (212) 421-3292 or www.pacewildenstein.com.
“Sublime Convergences, through July 2
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| What did Albert Barnes really want? |
June 11 2007 |
In his proposal for the Barnes Foundation, Gresham Riley has misconstrued Albert Barnes's intent. Never at any time did Barnes regard his curriculum as suitable for schoolchildren. His was a program of adult education addressed to a general but fully mature public.
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| Georges Rouault in New York |
June 06 2007 |
A modest but impressive show of Georges Rouault offers at least a partial opportunity to re-evaluate an important but neglected modern master. It also poses the question of whether this deeply Christian painter can still speak to a secular age.
“Georges Rouault: Judges, Clowns and Whores.” Through June 9, 2007 at Mitchell-Innes & Nash, 1018 Madison Ave., (at 78th St.), New York. (212-) 744-7400 or
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| InterAct’s ’Skin in Flames’ |
June 05 2007 |
Catalan playwright Guillem Clua’s Skin in Flames seeks to explore personal guilt, political repression, and sexual brutality in an unnamed and generic Third World state. In leaving nothing to the imagination, however, it fails at any point to evoke it.
Skin in Flames. By Guillem Clua; directed Seth Rozin. Through June 24, 2007 at InterAct Theatre, 2030 Sansom St. (215) 568-8079 or www.interactheatre.
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| ‘Lookingglass Alice’ at Arden |
May 19 2007 |
Lookingglass Alice stages Lewis Carroll as a kind of metaphysical circus for adults. Despite a gifted and wonderfully athletic troupe, however, this ultimately reductive production falls between two stools.
Lookingglass Alice. Directed and adapted by David Catlin in association with the Actors Gymnasium. Through June 10, 2007 at the Arden Theatre, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.
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| ‘Orson’s Shadow’ at PTC (first review) |
May 12 2007 |
Orson’s Shadow, the Philadelphia Theatre Company’s final production at Plays & Players, is an intriguing if uneven study in theatrical genius, with a splendidly realized Sir Laurence Olivier dominating the play.
Orson’s Shadow. By Austin Pendleton; James J. Christy directed. Philadelphia Theatre Co. production through June 3, 2007 at Plays & Players, 1714 Delancey Street. (215) 985-0420 or Philadelphia Orchestra plays Mahler’s Second |
May 08 2007 |
How does a modern hero get to heaven? Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony is perhaps our closest approach to the Dantesque sublime, and Christoph Eschenbach mounted a convincing performance in the Orchestra’s penultimate performance of his penultimate season.
Mahler Second Symphony (Resurrection). Philadelphia Orchestra, Christoph Eschenbach conducting. May 3-5, 2007 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center; May 8, 2007 at Carnegie Hall, New York. (215) 893.190
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| Heyman’s Abu Ghraib prints (2nd review) |
May 05 2007 |
Daniel Heyman’s Abu Ghraib Detainee Interview Project combines image and text in portraits of former Abu Ghraib prisoners that are all the more devastating an indictment for their understatement. The victims retain their humanity and reassert their dignity, but what of us?
Daniel Heyman: The Abu Ghraib Project. Through May 5, 2007, at The Print Center, 1614 Latimer St. Free. 215-735-6090 or www.printcenter.org.
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| American String Quartet with Lydia Artymiw |
May 05 2007 |
The American String Quartet and pianist Lydia Artymiw dug into Haydn, Shostakovich and Dohnanyi with obvious relish, and paid tribute to Mstislav Rostropovich in a moving encore.
American String Quartet, with Lydia Artymiw, pianist. May 2, 2007 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center. Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, (215) 569-8080 or Wilma’s ‘Life of Galileo’ |
April 21 2007 |
Brecht (like Shaw) needs to be heard out at full length, and Blanka Zizka’s capable production has properly served him. To offer a work that takes not merely the play but the passion of ideas seriously, and to bring it off well, is daring enough these days.
The Life of Galileo. By Bertolt Brecht; translated from the German by David Edgar; directed by Blanka Zizka. Through May 13, 2007, at Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). (215
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| ‘70s revisited: 'Hoax' and 'Zodiac' |
April 17 2007 |
Just when you thought it was safe to come out of the ‘70s revival, two new films have arrived to immerse us anew in the bad hair, bad faith and low-grade paranoia of the period.
The Hoax. A film by Lasse Hallström. www.lassehallstrom.com.
Zodiac. A film by David Fincher. zodiacfilm.blogspot.com.
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| Boreyko conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra |
April 17 2007 |
The Russian conductor Andrey Boreyko brought an interestingly offbeat program to town, as well as a somewhat wayward beat of his own. Boreyko’s gyrations were so distracting that I had to avert my eyes in the end to hear the music.
Philadelphia Orchestra. Andrey Boreyko, conductor; Piotr Anderszewski, piano. April 12-14, 2007 at Verizon Hall, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1900 or www.philorch.org.
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| EgoPo’s ‘Spring Awakening’ (second review) |
March 28 2007 |
Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening, fresh and spirited in its production by Philadelphia’s newest company, makes yesterday’s avant-garde more exciting than most anything on today’s constipated stage.
Spring Awakening. By Frank Wedekind; directed by Lane Savadove. Presented by EgoPo Productions through March 25, 2007 at Mainstage at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St.
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| Naoto Nakagawa paintings in New York |
March 26 2007 |
Two New York shows, one of early paintings and one of recent ones, comprise a partial retrospective one of the most important and provocative Japanese-American painters of the past half century. Naoto Nakagawa offers the viewer much, but his violent, disturbing, and hallucinatory vision demands no less of us.
Naoto Nakagawa, Early and Recent. Through Match 31, 2007 at White Box, 525 W 26th St., Manhattan, (212) 714-2347 or ww
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| Ellen Levy's 'Public Secrets' |
March 19 2007 |
Ellen K. Levy’s fascinating and disturbing images of our increasingly threatened planet constitute not merely an indictment of technology run amok but a mirror in which we can see ourselves.
Ellen K. Levy’s Public Secrets. Feb. 15-March 17, 2007 at Michael Steinberg Gallery, 526 W. 26 S., New York. 212.924.5770 or www.michaelsteinbergfineart.com.
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| Orchestra plays Shostakovich and Mozart |
March 13 2007 |
Ingo Metzmacher’s eclectic program with the Philadelphia Orchestra included a radiant performance of Mozart’s Fifth Violin Concerto with Gil Shaham, and a welcome if not fully idiomatic reading of Shostakovich’s long-suppressed Fourth Symphony.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Weber Overture to Der Freischütz; Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5; Shostakovich Symphony No. 4. Ingo Metzmacher, conductor; Gil Shaham, violin. March 8-10, 2007 at Verizon Hall
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| Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra |
March 06 2007 |
Riccardo Chailly and his Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra were in fine form in a program that juxtaposed sunny early Schumann and conflicted mid-period Mahler. Chailly represents the sterner European ethic, which asks performers and listeners alike to put in their time, and so we got a gracious plenty.
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra performs Schumann and Mahler. Riccardo Chailly conducting. March 4, 2007 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center
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| Wilma’s ‘Enemies, A Love Story’ (second revi |
February 27 2007 |
Sarah Schulman’s theatrical adaptation of Isaac Bashevis Singer’s novel is a misbegotten venture that mixes bad humor and worse philosophy in a travesty about Holocaust survivors in postwar New York. This is the perfect Seinfeld prequel, with angst by Adolf and body tattoos from Josef Mengele.
Enemies, A Love Story. By Sarah Schulman, from the novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer; directed by Jiri Zizka. Through March 11, 2007 at Wilma Theater, Broad and Spruce
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| Nader Redux: ‘An Unreasonable Man’ |
February 13 2007 |
Ralph Nader is an American original, but An Unreasonable Man seems to subliminally exploit an issue that’s deeply troubling in his record. The film is the flawed story of a flawed man who is nonetheless as close to a public hero as we have.
An Unreasonable Man. Film directed by Henriette Mantel and Steve Skovran. At the Bala Theatre, 157 Bala Avenue,
Bala Cynwyd, PA
610-222-FILM or Solzhenitsyn in recital |
February 10 2007 |
The Russian-born pianist is more Teutonic than Russian in temperament, and the Hindemith Third Sonata was well suited to him. Solzhenitsyn is not a natural Schubertian, but he played the A major with a becoming gravity and many graceful touches.
Ignat Solzhenitsyn. Piano recital presented February 7, 2007 by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society at American Philosophical Society, 105 S. Fifth St. (215) 569-8080 or www.pc
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| ‘Tut and the Golden Age’ at Franklin Institute |
February 06 2007 |
In his latest encore, the ancient Egyptian ruler, who returned to life in the 20th Century to create the modern museum blockbuster, demonstrates that he’s still the boss.
Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs. Through September 30, 2007 at Franklin Institute, 20th St. and Benj. Franklin Pkwy. (215) 448-1200 or www2.fi.edu.
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| InterAct’s ‘House With No Walls’ |
January 27 2007 |
As a play of ideas and a rumination on the use and abuse of cultural memory, Thomas Gibbons’s new black-themed play about the Liberty Bell Center controversy and the struggle for cultural memory in America hits its marks deftly if with no great subtlety. What it foregoes, perhaps inevitably, is any real penetration of character.
A House With No Walls. By Thomas Gibbons; directed by Seth Rozin. InterAct Theatre production through February 18, 2007 at Adrienne Th
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| Eschenbach conducts Vivaldi and Bruckner |
January 20 2007 |
Vivaldi and Bruckner don’t jibe at all; they represent not only different styles but different sonic universes. This is why programming is best left to music directors. But if the Bruckner Ninth is the standard by which Eschenbach’s successors are measured, their work is cut out for them.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony. Christoph Eschenbach conducting. Jan. 17-20 at Verizon Hall. (215) 893-
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| Goya's 'Caprichos' at Penn (2nd review) |
December 23 2006 |
Goya’s grotesque vision is deeply rooted in Spanish sensibility and culture, and particularly the moment at which Enlightenment ideals clashed with a still-feudal and still-clerical society. The frankly naked witches, demons and warlocks who populate the series reveal a truth that wears its own guise— namely that of the hideous.
“Francisco Goya y Lucientes: ‘Los Caprichos’.” Through January 7, 2007 at the Arthur Ross Gallery. 220 South 34th Street
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| Philip Guston drawings in New York |
December 23 2006 |
If Goya’s world appears to totter on the point of savage regression, Guston’s seems to have experienced that regression in full: the two world wars of his own lifetime.
Philip Guston: Drawings. Through January 10, 2007 at McKee Gallery, 745 Fifth Ave., New York. (212) 688-9591 or mckeegallery.com/current.html.
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| Peter Serkin at Perelman |
December 16 2006 |
Peter Serkin isn't a pianist for all seasons or tastes. But he gives a master class on musical style through the centuries, with Beethoven’s mightiest sonata as both pivot and climax.
Peter Serkin: Piano recital. December 12 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center. Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, (215) 569-8080 or www.philadelphiachambermusic.org.
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| Orchestra's Shostakovich/Mahler bill |
December 02 2006 |
Conductor Christoph Eschenbach and soloist Alisa Wellerstein were looking over their shoulders in Verizon Hall the other night— and so were Mahler and Shostakovich.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Shostakovich First Cello Concerto with Alisa Wallerstein; Mahler Fourth Symphony; Christoph Eschenbach conducting. November 24, 2006 at Verizon Hall. Broad and Spruce Sts. 215-893-1900 or www.philorch.org.
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| Achin’ for Eakins? Count me out |
December 02 2006 |
The Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton is breaking Philadelphia’s heart just as she brokeNew York's. But in light of Philadelphia’s impending theft of the Barnes Foundation from Lower Merion, Philadelphia deserves to lose The Gross Clinic. It deserves to feel what it’s like to be on the other end of grand larceny.
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| Constable Landscapes at National Gallery |
November 15 2006 |
The National Gallery’s revelatory exhibit of John Constable places his large landscapes beside their equally large preparatory oil sketches, and shows us the dark and visionary genius behind some of the most familiar and best-loved paintings of the 19th Century.
“Constable's Great Landscapes: The Six-Foot Paintings.” Through December 31, 2006, at National Gallery of Art, East Building, Upper Level and Mezzanine, National Mall between 3rd and 7th Streets at Constit
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| Shostakovich in New York |
November 07 2006 |
Valery Gergiev wraps up his Shostakovich symphony cycle in New York, and reveals a composer on whom the 20th Century set its seal as on no other.
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| ‘Zoo Story’ at Society Hill Playhouse |
November 07 2006 |
A good cast can’t rescue a dated play or mask the misogyny at the heart of Edward Albee’s work.
The Zoo Story. By Edward Albee; directed by Steven Wright. Through November 18, 2006 at Society Hill Playhouse, 507 South Eighth St. www.societyhillplayhouse.org.
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| Robert Richenburg at Mishkin Gallery (NY) |
October 24 2006 |
Robert Richenburg’s black paintings constitute one of the summits of American Abstract Expressionism, and his recent passing makes the small but elegant retrospective of his work at Baruch’s Sidney Mishkin Gallery an historic as well as an aesthetic event in the new art season.
Robert Richenburg. Through October 27, 2006, at Sidney Mishkin Gallery, 135 East 22 Street, New York. (212) 802-2690 or www.baruch.cuny.edu/mis
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| Eminent Domain and the Barnes |
October 17 2006 |
Last year the Supreme Court ruled that government can seize private property for private interests. In the case of the Barnes Foundation’s move, a Pennsylvania court has taken that questionable notion one step further: In effect it let private interests do the seizing.
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| 'Waiting for Godot' at Annenberg |
October 16 2006 |
The Gate Theatre’s Waiting for Godot is a worthy production by a company with Beckett in its bones— not all one could wish for, but as good as we are likely to see for a while.
Waiting For Godot. By Samuel Beckett, directed by Walter D. Ausmus. Gate Theatre production through October 15, 2006 at Zellerbach Theatre, Annenberg Center, 215-898-3900 or www.pennpresents.org.
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| Lantern's 'Master Harold' (second review) |
September 26 2006 |
Athol Fugard's mid-period play "Master Harold"... and the Boys gets a good production at the Lantern Theater and a sterling performance from Frank X, but its flawed premise-- the relationship between a young white boy and a middle-aged black servant in apartheid-era South Africa-- vitiates its final impact.
"Master Harold"…and the Boys. By Athol Fugard; Lantern Theater Co. production directed by David O’Connor. Through Oct. 15, 2006,
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| Laurent Cantet's 'Heading South' |
August 24 2006 |
Here’s a plot with no hope but a tawdry ending: Three ladies of a certain age go shopping for sex in late-‘70s Haiti and get both more— and less— than they bargained for. Audiences get less.
Heading South (Vers Le Sud). A film directed by Laurent Cantet. Playing at the Ritz at the Bourse, Fourth and Ludlow Sts. (215) 925-7900.
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| The great Barnes shell game |
July 20 2006 |
If the Barnes Foundation failed to make a go of it on the Parkway, it could drag down the Art Museum, whose attendance revenues already lag. So why do the key players in the Barnes move seem unconcerned by the daunting financial projections? Is it possible that the Barnes’s fund-raising campaign itself is a shell game created to mask the real intent of the players: to capture the permanent gallery collection for the Art Museum itself?
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| Pig Iron's 'Love Unpunished' |
September 14 2006 |
Love Unpunished. Directed by Dan Rothenberg, choreographed by David Brick. Presented by Pig Iron Theatre Company, through Sept. 17, 2006 at Cinema at Penn, 3925 Walnut St. (215) 413-1318 or Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe.
This starkly minimalist 55-minute allegory of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina may be the most interesting work staged in Philadel
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| Wilma's 'A Number' |
May 16 2006 |
As a play of ideas, Caryl Churchill’s A Number raises significant issues about our human future. As drama, however, it’s largely mired in naturalistic convention.
A Number. By Caryl Churchill; directed by Jiri Zizka. Through June 4, 2006 at Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St., 215-546-7824 or www.wilmatheater.org.
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| Villanova's Irish Festival |
May 01 2006 |
In just 35 minutes, Sebastian Barry’s Fred and Jane provides a lifetime of experience, such as only theater can give in the hands of a master. Conor McPherson’s The Good Thief, at twice the length of Fred and Jane, is also twice the length it needs be.
Fred and Jane, By Sebastian Barry, and The Good Thief, by Conor McPherson. Irish Festival April 24- 30, 2006, at Villanova Theatre. 610-519-7474 or Shakespeare Festival's 'Tempest' |
April 28 2006 |
A mixed bag whose virtues— including at least one performance worthy of a Barrymore Award— outweigh its flaws and justify the admission price.
The Tempest. By William Shakespeare. Directed by Carmen Khan. Through May 21, 2006 (in repertory with Much Ado About Nothing and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare) at the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival, 2111 Sansom Street. www.phillyshakespear
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| Wilma's 'Cloud Nine' |
May 01 2006 |
This sendup of Victorian sexual repression and post-‘60s sexual confusion vaulted Caryl Churchill into prominence a generation ago. But from the perspective of the early 2000s, it is all rather shooting fish in a barrel, despite director Blanka Zizka’s brisk pacing and a lavish production.
Cloud Nine. By Caryl Churchill; directed by Blanka Zizka. Through May 28, 2006 at The Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (215) 893-9456 or Pig Iron's 'Hell Meets Henry Halfway' |
April 27 2006 |
An allegory about Europe’s doomed bourgeoisie exhausts its slender material early but redeems itself by the finale, with help from a uniformly capable cast.
Hell Meets Henry Halfway. Adapted by Adriano Shaplin from the novel by Witold Gombrowicz. Directed by Dan Rothenberg, presented April 11-16, 2006, by Pig Iron Theatre Company at
Mandell Theater, Drexel University. www.pigiron.org/home.html.
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| Shostakovich rediscovered (except in Philadelphia) |
April 24 2006 |
He speaks to us now as the representative artist of his time, a composer whose work uniquely documents both the vast tragedy of his century’s suffering and his own private anguish. Yet his centennial year has passed with little notice in Philadelphia, where Shostakovich was once uniquely welcomed.
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| An artist with Alzheimer's |
April 12 2006 |
In a unique and remarkable exhibit, an artist with Alzheimer’s seeks to document his condition: trying to the last to communicate in the language he still shared with us, or what remained of it.
“The Later Works of William C. Utermohlen.” Through April 30 at College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Admission free. 215-563-3737 or www.collphyphil.org/pdfs/utermohlen.pdf.
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| Lantern's 'Richard III' |
April 01 2006 |
Charles McMahon’s direction keeps the play moving briskly--a shade too much so, since the results sometimes teeter on confusion. But there's method in the occasional madness.
Richard III. By William Shakespeare, directed by Charles McMahon. Presented by Lantern Theater Co. through April 30, 2006, at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-9002 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| Why the Barnes is important |
March 28 2006 |
Why shouldn’t the Barnes Foundation be relocated? Because, unlike museums or even other private collections, the Barnes was designed as a complete aesthetic experience,
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| Is the Barnes really in trouble? |
February 24 2006 |
Does a $1 million problem really require a $150 million solution? The Pew Charitable Trusts could fix this whole mess with what is for them the equivalent of chump change. But that thrifty solution wouldn’t let Rebecca Rimel play queen of the ball. Second article in a series.
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| Villanova's Prayers of Sherkin |
February 14 2006 |
| Barry is a genuine poet of the theater, and James Christy’s final production at Villanova ought not to be missed.
Prayers of Sherkin. By Sebastian Barry, directed by James J. Christy. Through Feb. 19, 2006, at Villanova University Theatre, Vasey Hall. www.theatre.villanova.edu
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| The New World: Poisoning Paradise |
February 03 2006 |
| Terrence Malick’s take on the Pocahontas legend portrays America as an empire but not a community.
The New World. A film by Terence Malick. At the Ritz East, Front and Sansom, 215-925-9700.
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| Walnut's Lettice & Lovage |
January 31 2006 |
| Capable actors and just enough pathos to sustain this tale of an overheated tour guide.
Lettice & Lovage, by Peter Shaffer, directed by Neill Hartley. Through Feb. 5 at Walnut Street Theater?s Studio 5, 826 Walnut St., (215) 574-3550. www.wstonline.org
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| Arden's Opus |
February 15 2006 |
| The sheer heaven and sheer hell of musical collaboration, captured on stage.
Opus, by Michael Hollinger; directed by Terrence J.. Nolen. Through March 12 at Arden Theatre, 40 N. Second St., 215-922-8900. www.ardentheatre.org.
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| Twain as disillusioned patriot |
January 05 2006 |
Mark Twain Tonight! Hal Holbrook’s one-man show, at the Merriam Theater, December.
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| Lantern's 'Lady From the Sea' |
January 01 2006 |
The Lady From The Sea, by Henrik Ibsen, directed by Kathryn C. Nocero for Lantern Theater, October 2005.
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| Barnescam: Or, How to Steal $20 Billion |
January 01 2006 |
| The plan to move the Barnes Foundation will produce nothing but victims
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Terri Kirby Erickson is the award-winning author of three collections of poetry, including her latest book, In the Palms of Angels (Press 53), which won the Gold Medal for Poetry in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards as well as a 2012 Nautilus Silver Award for Poetry.
Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in American Life in Poetry, 2013 Poet’s Market, JAMA, the Christian Science Monitor, storySouth, North Carolina Literary Review, Land Rover Magazine and many others. She has twice been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and a Best of the Net Award, and was a finalist for the international Rita Dove Poetry Award as well as one of eleven winners of the 2011 Nazim Hikmet Poetry competition.
She lives in North Carolina with her husband of 20 years. For more information about her poetry, please visit her website at terrikirbyerickson.wordpress.com.
More articles by Terri Kirby Erickson, newest first
| E.L. James’s ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ |
May 22 2012 |
Just what the world needs: another romance novel about a blushing virgin who’s ravished by a wealthy, attractive and powerful sadomasochist. As an older woman who has known genuine pain and loss, I have a better idea.
Fifty Shades of Grey. By E.L. James. Vintage, 2012. 528 pages; $15.95. www.amazon.com.
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Kelly George is a doctoral candidate at Temple University’s program in Mass Media and Communication. She teaches courses in Public Speaking, Media & Society, and Communication & Public Life. Her current research examines controversies surrounding the emergence of disability history into the public consciousness.
More articles by Kelly George, newest first
| PIFA’s ‘Time Machine’ at the Kimmel Center |
March 24 2013 |
Is that a “Time Machine” dominating the Kimmel Center’s lobby? Or is it Big Brother? What’s the proper balance between art and marketing?
Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts. March 28- April 27, 2013 at various venues. “Time Machine” in Kimmel Center Lobby, Broad and Spruce Sts. www.pifa.com.
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| Theatre Confetti’s ‘Edith Can Shoot Things’ |
March 23 2013 |
For once, here’s a play about adolescence that’s aimed at adults rather than teenagers.
Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them. By A. Rey Pamatmat; Aaron Cromie directed. Theatre Confetti production through March 24, 2013 at The Power Plant Basement, 233 N. Bread St. (off New St., between Second and Third), Philadelphia, PA 19106. www.theatreconfetti.com.
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| Quintessence Theatre’s ‘Diary of a Madman’ |
March 08 2013 |
Who among us has not allowed our fantasies and obsessions to get the best of us from time to time? But this updating of Gogol’s short story treats the protagonist not as everyman or even as a clown, but as a diagnosis.
The Diary of a Madman. By David Holman; Alex Burns directed. Quintessence Theatre Group production through March 10, 2013 at Sedgwick Theater, 7137 Germantown Ave. (877) 238-5596 or quintessencetheatre.org.
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| Sylvain Émard’s Grand Continental at Live Arts Festival |
September 11 2012 |
In Le Grand Continental, ordinary citizens achieved the impossible. Is there a lesson here for local and national governments?
Le Grand Continental. Choreographed by Sylvain Emard. September 8-9 2012 at Philadelphia Museum of Art Steps, 26th St. and Ben Franklin Pkwy.
www.livearts-fringe.org.
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| Bruce Graham’s ‘Outgoing Tide,’ by PTC (2nd comment) |
April 28 2012 |
Bruce Graham’s The Outgoing Tide buys into a widespread assumption: that people with Alzheimer’s disease are better off dead. How and where can a dissenting theatergoer voice her objection?
The Outgoing Tide. By Bruce Graham; James J. Christy directed. Philadelphia Theatre Company production closed April 22, 2012 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St. (at Lombard). (215) 985-0420 or philadelphiatheatrecompany.org.
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Tom Goodman was born in Baltimore, Md., in 1948. After graduating from Wesleyan University in 1969 with honors in art, he received an MFA from the University of New Mexico in 1974.
In 1975 he was hired by the University of Texas at San Antonio to develop the photography program. Three years later he moved to Philadelphia to teach at the University of the Arts (then the Philadelphia College of Art). He also taught history of Art at the Curtis Institute of Music and during this period he began Tom Goodman Inc., an agency representing photographers and digital illustrators for commercial assignments.
In 2007 Goodman began photographing again for the first time in nearly 25 years, and in 2009 dissolved his corporation to devote himself full-time to photography.
Visit his website at www.tomgoodman.com.
More articles by Tom Goodman, newest first
| Alfred Stieglitz ‘Treasures’ at the Art Museum |
February 02 2013 |
No reputation in the history of photography has been more inflated than that of Alfred Stieglitz. The Art Museum, which owns a large cache of his works, took the path of least resistance in this undeserved homage.
"Treasures of the Alfred Stieglitz Center: Photographs from the Permanent Collection." Through April 7, 2013 at Honickman and Berman Galleries, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th St. & Benj. Franklin Parkway. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Zoe Strauss photos at the Art Museum (2nd review) |
March 20 2012 |
When the media hype surrounding the Art Museum’s “Zoe Strauss: Ten Years” finally subsides, maybe someone will ask the relevant question: Just how important is this proletarian photographer's work artistically?
“Zoe Strauss: Ten Years.” Through April 22, 2012 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benj. Franklin Pkwy. and 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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V Chapman-Smith is regional liaison in the Office of the Chief Operations Officer, National Archives at Philadelphia, an operation within the National Archives’ nationwide network that includes regional archives and Presidential Libraries. Chapman-Smith has worked locally in support of efforts to document and expand the Philadelphia region’s knowledge and commemoration of the nation’s civil right heritage.
More articles by V Chapman Smith, newest first
| Henry Tanner’s civil rights roots |
January 28 2012 |
With his retrospective at the Pennsylvania Academy Henry Ossawa Tanner is belatedly receiving his due as an artist. But the forces that shaped him— a family that fought courageously for racial justice— deserve to be acknowledged as well.
“Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit.” Through April 15, 2012 at Hamilton Hall, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 128 N. Broad St. (at Cherry). (215) 972-7625 or www.pafa.org.
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Martin Beck Matuštík is Lincoln Professor of Ethics and Religion and co-director of Center for Critical Theory and Cultural Studies at Arizona State University. He joined Arizona State’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences in Fall 2008.
After earning his Ph. D. from Fordham University in 1991, he was on the faculty in the Department of Philosophy at Purdue University.
Matuštík has published six single-author books, edited two collections, and co-edited New Critical Theory, a series from Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. Among his publications are Postnational Identity: Critical Theory and Existential Philosophy in Habermas, Kierkegaard, and Havel (1993); Specters of Liberation: Great Refusals in the New World Order (1998); Jurgen Habermas: A Philosophical-Political Profile (2001); and Kierkegaard in Post/Modernity (1995), co-edited with Merold Westphal. His most recent book is Radical Evil and the Scarcity of Hope: Postsecular Meditations (2008).
Martin Beck Matuštík’s unpublished memoir, Out of Silence: Repair Across Generations, depicts a journey that spans three generations and four continents as one man tries to define himself based on a past he never knew he possessed. Martin was born in 1957 with an impossible urgency to repair the irreparable. He became the child of a Holocaust survivor at age 40 when in 1997 he learned that family members perished in Auschwitz-Birkenau and surviving relatives managed to leave Czechoslovakia in 1946. At that time, he found the key to his mother’s story— and his own— stored in shoe boxes full of public and family secrets: his mother’s Jewish origins and the remarkable story of her life impacted by the Holocaust and the Communist takeover of Central Europe.
Fifteen years later, in 2012, Martin made his second discovery: his mother’s personal reasons for hiding their Jewish origins. Both discoveries would forever change Martin’s life. His memoir tells the story of their joint saga of survival.
After the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, Martin returned to Czechoslovakia from his adopted home in America to discover that his mother’s literary and personal archive, which he hid in Prague on the night before his escape in 1977, contained life-altering secrets. He learned that he was not who he thought he was. Martin was the son of a survivor who cloaked her tragic story in deep silence. Raised in an atheistic home by Communist intellectual parents, he became an orphan and a ward of the Socialist state at 14, a rebelling student and dissident who fled Prague at 19, and, while in America, a Jesuit. Interwoven with Martin’s own story of survival and escape is his mother’s tale of survival; she breaks all ties with her Jewish origins during the Holocaust and embraces the postwar Communist dream only to be betrayed by it during the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
Out of Silence provides an unusual opportunity for readers to accompany a Jewish and personal odyssey of multiple survivals and deaths, escapes and returns, while engaging theoretical and historical questions about whether and how children of survivors repair the shattered maps of memory, places, times, and identities. For more information, click here.
He is the author of six published books, including Radical Evil and the Scarcity of Hope: Postsecular Meditations and Jűrgen Habermas: A Philosophical-Political Profile. He has co-edited New Critical Theory, a series published by Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. After earning his Ph.D. from Fordham University in 1991, he served on the faculty in the Department of Philosophy at Purdue University from 1991-2008. His teaching interests range from critical theory to existentialism to post-Holocaust and reparative ethics and Central-East European thought.
More articles by Martin Beck Matustik, newest first
| Helga Weiss’s Holocaust diary |
December 04 2012 |
As Holocaust survivors and perpetrators die off, will that most horrifying human experience fade from memory? As a child of Holocaust victims, I can attest that the opposite is true: What the traumatized survivors wish to forget, their children are even more determined to confront.
The Diary of Helga Weiss, 1938-1945: A Young Girl's Account of Life in a Concentration Camp. Penguin Books (due February 2013). 240 pages. www.penguin.co.uk.
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| Vaclav Havel's legacy (1st commentary) |
December 25 2011 |
Who was the late Czech playwright/politician Vaclav Havel, and what was he trying to tell us? His message is both singular and universal: We have our leaving, our coming, our being and dying; we are in part witnesses, actors, and dramaturges.
Leaving. By Vaclav Havel; directed by Jiri Zizka. Performed in June 2010 at Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). 215-546-7824 or www.WilmaTheater.org.
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Miriam Lewin worked for the Opera Company of Philadelphia in the 1980s, and now produces documentary television and radio programs in New York. Visit her website at www.lavinegroup.com.
Her most recent project is the “Song of America” radio series with Thomas Hampson. For more information, click here.
More articles by Miriam Lewin, newest first
| Julian Rodescu: A life in the arts |
November 01 2011 |
My late friend Julian Rodescu was a cellist who became an opera singer, a teacher who became an impresario, a Romanian who became an American, and a New Yorker who became a devoted Philadelphian. His talent opened doors for him, but so did his willingness to try new things and push new limits.
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Known as an extremely versatile musician, Karl Middleman is familiar to classical music audiences as a conductor of many orchestras and choirs. The Suddeutsche Zeitung in Munich acclaimed Karl Middleman’s conducting as “resolute and impressive.” “Energetic, vivid, and hugely satisfying,” praised the Turkish Times.
A career educator, he has served on the faculties of Arcadia University, Cabrini, Philadelphia and Montgomery County Community Colleges. Currently he teaches at Temple University.
Recently he served as Arts Advocate and Trainer for the ‘Classroom Arts Project’ of Partners in Distance Learning, as well as Scholar in Known as an extremely versatile musician, Karl Middleman is familiar to classical music audiences as a conductor of many orchestras and choirs. The Suddeutsche Zeitung in Munich acclaimed Karl Middleman’s conducting as “resolute and impressive.” “Energetic, vivid, and hugely satisfying,” praised the Turkish Times.
A career educator, he has served on the faculties of Arcadia University, Cabrini, Philadelphia and Montgomery County Community Colleges. Currently he teaches at Temple University. Recently he served as Arts Advocate and Trainer for the ‘Classroom Arts Project’ of Partners in Distance Learning, as well as Scholar in Residence for the South Jersey and Philadelphia Jewish Community Centers. Currently he is a Commonwealth Speaker for the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. His “Dvorak in America,” TV program for PHC will be broadcast on Pennsylvania Cable Network in December 2011.
He is a regular workshop leader for Pendle Hill Retreat Center, where he teaches courses on music and aesthetics.
In 1994 Middleman initiated a series of legendary concerts with the Philadelphia Classical Symphony, mixing scholarship with showmanship. Middleman’s thematic concerts with that ensemble are noted for their spirited intellectual inquiry and for the bold, revelatory ways they reframe the essential classical music experience for seasoned as well as novice listeners.
He is a recipient of many awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. His artistry has been recently cited in 19th-Century Music and Philadelphia Magazine, from which his work with the Classical Symphony was twice awarded “Best of Philly.”
More articles by Karl Middleman, newest first
| Lessons for Philadelphia from the Bard Music Festival |
September 13 2011 |
Thousands of visitors flock to Bard College every August for Bard’s famous summer music festival. What’s the big draw, and what lessons can Philadelphians learn from Bard’s success? The real attraction is the promise of intellectual discovery.
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George Wilhelm is a graduate of Temple University with a bachelor’s degree in geography and urban studies. Visit his blog at lowbuck.blogspot.com.
More articles by George Wilhelm, newest first
| Our debt to Frank Furness |
August 23 2011 |
Many of Frank Furness’s quirky Victorian buildings have vanished, like the Victorian age itself. But his benign influence persists in the life of great American cities, especially Philadelphia.
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Jake Blumgart is a reporter and researcher who lives in West Philadelphia. His work has been published by The Stranger, The American Prospect, Alternet, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Follow him on Twitter.
More articles by Jake Blumgart, newest first
| Danny Boyle’s ‘Trance’ |
April 20 2013 |
Even a flawed premise can be swept away by real moral quandaries, sparkling dialogue, charismatic actors and characters we actually care about. Unfortunately, Danny Boyle’s alleged thriller, Trance, offers no such perks.
Trance. A film directed by Danny Boyle. At Ritz 5, 214 Walnut St. (215) 925-7900. For show times, click here.
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| Oscar Wilde’s ‘Ideal Husband’ at the Walnut (1st review) |
January 26 2013 |
At the fringes, Oscar Wilde’s characters in An Ideal Husband convey a spritely delight in mocking the staid practices of a moralistic society. But Wilde keeps dragging them into a ludicrous plot that he wants us to take seriously.
An Ideal Husband. By Oscar Wilde; Malcolm Black directed. Through March 3, 2013 at the Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut St. (215) 574-3550 or www.walnutstreettheatre.org.
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| Stoppard’s ‘Real Inspector Hound,’ at Curio |
December 18 2012 |
Unlike Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Tom Stoppard’s The Real Inspector Hound is pure farce. This time it’s theater critics who get caught in his existential web.
The Real Inspector Hound. By Tom Stoppard; Dan Hodge directed. Through December 29, 2012 at Curio Theatre, 4740 Baltimore Ave. 215-525-1350 or www.curiotheatre.org.
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| ‘Killing Them Softly’ |
December 15 2012 |
In Killing Them Softly, terrible people do terrible things to each other for relatively small amounts of money. Films like this could give movie crime a bad name.
Killing Them Softly. A film directed by Andrew Dominik, from the novel Cogan’s Trade, by George V. Higgins. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| The fog of ‘Cloud Atlas’ |
November 20 2012 |
As a novel, David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas is a work of sprawling, ambitious complexity linking six stories over three centuries. The film adaptation is equally sprawling and ambitious but makes little sense.
Cloud Atlas. A film written and directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer, from the novel by David Mitchell. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| ‘Skyfall’: The allure of James Bond |
November 18 2012 |
Why do we still care about James Bond? The films are mostly disappointing, and the Ian Fleming novels are downright embarrassing. No matter: We Americans are hopelessly hooked on British suavity and probably always will be.
Skyfall. A film directed by Sam Mendes. At Tuttleman Imax Theater, Franklin Institute, 222 N. 20th St. (215) 448-1200 or www.imax.com.
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| Kingsley Amis’s ‘The Old Devils’ |
October 02 2012 |
The Old Devils is a powerful example of a good writer’s ability to render sympathetic those who seem nothing like us and who, if made flesh, would quite possibly loathe us. That goes for its misogynistic author, too.
The Old Devils. By Kingsley Amis. Reprinted by New York Review of Books Classics, 2012. 320 pages; $14.95. www.nybooks.com.
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| Ridley Scott’s ‘Prometheus’ |
June 26 2012 |
With Prometheus, the acclaimed director Ridley Scott falls afoul of Blumgart’s Law, to wit: The bigger the author or director, the more likely he is to be given a free hand, to the detriment of his work.
Prometheus. A film by Ridley Scott. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| Drew Goddard’s ‘Cabin in the Woods’ |
April 24 2012 |
At last: A horror film that asks its audience, “Why are you paying to see young people being butchered?”
The Cabin in the Woods. A film directed by Drew Goddard. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| 'The Grey’: Man against nature |
February 14 2012 |
Stop searching for deeper meanings and just give yourself over to this surprisingly affecting film about seven oil grunts fist-fighting wolves for survival in the frozen north.
The Grey. A film directed by Joe Carnahan. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| ‘Inventing Our Lives’ and the kibbutz movement |
February 07 2012 |
Israel’s struggling kibbutz movement, once a utopian communal ideal of the left, is struggling for survival today. But with a little imagination and flexibility, it could provide a potent counterweight to Israel’s increasingly violent right-wing settler movement.
Inventing Our Lives: The Kibbutz Experiment. A documentary film directed by Toby Perl Freilich. Screened January 30, 2012 at Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival, various locations in Philadelphia. (215) 545-4400 or www.gershmany.org/pjff.php.
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| ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ (3rd review) |
January 10 2012 |
The misunderstood Tinker, Tailor is certainly a tale of a stagnant elite obsessed by its declining international prestige. But it’s also about the toll of a profession that we spy fans— and spies themselves— try to imbue with a glamour that quickly turns to dross in the sunlight.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. A film directed by Tomas Alfredson, from the novel by John Le Carré. At the Ritz East, 125 S. Second Street, (215) 925-7900. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| Lars von Trier’s ‘Melancholia’ (1st review) |
December 12 2011 |
Unlike most films about the end of the world, Lars von Trier’s haunting and disturbing Melancholia provides a much more oppressively vivid sense of what the apocalypse might actually feel like.
Melancholia. A film directed by Lars von Trier. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| George Clooney’s ‘Ides of March’ (1st review) |
October 15 2011 |
Power corrupts? Politicians must compromise? Interns put out? What else is new? George Clooney’s purportedly very serious film about an American presidential election is in fact clueless about how politics really work.
The Ides of March. A film directed by George Clooney. At Ritz 5, 220 Walnut St. (215) 925-7901 and other Philadelphia area theaters. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| ‘Drive’: Beyond casual violence |
September 20 2011 |
The hero of Nicholas Winding Refn’s Drive is a psychopath, but we don’t discover that until we’ve grown to empathize with him. That’s what sets it above the usual run of gangster/action films.
Drive. A film directed by Nicholas Winding Refn. At University City 6, 230 South 40th St. (215) 386-0869 or movies.eventful.com.
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| Rowan Joffé’s remake of ‘Brighton Rock’ |
September 10 2011 |
Graham Greene’s chilling 1938 novel, Brighton Rock, hinges on the passionate Catholicism of a cruelly violent teen gangster and his easily manipulated girlfriend. Without that powerful religious underpinning, the new film adaptation doesn’t make much sense.
Brighton Rock. A film by Rowan Joffé, from the novel by Graham Greene. Opens September 16, 2011 at Ritz Five, 214 Walnut St., (215) 925-7900 or www.facebook.com.
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| Michael McDonagh’s ‘The Guard’ |
August 16 2011 |
The Guard pumps new comic life into a worn-out genre: the buddy cop flick. Not the least of its joys is Brendan Gleeson’s turn as a shambling, shabby, happily corrupted bear of an Irish policeman who seems blissfully devoid of the Freudian hang-ups that plague most movie rogue cops.
The Guard. A film written and directed by John Michael McDonagh. At Ritz 5, 220 Walnut St. (215) 925-7900; also Ritz Center, 900 Haddonfield-Berlin Rd., Voorhees, N.J. (856) 783-2726. For show times, click here.
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I grew up in Detroit, was schooled in Vermont, and soon after arriving in Philadelphia (1972) co-founded the Bicycle Coalition. I’ve lived in the Republic of Powelton ever since, and am currently president of Save Our Sites (a preservation group).
I was schooled in Vermont (near Barre, Bellows Falls and Brattleboro). My “States of Emergency; the Federal Conscription of the National Guard,” can be found in Vermont Commons, fall 2007. My commentary on historic Hershey, Cuba (“A restoration project…”) appeared in the Harrisburg Patriot-News, October 4, 2011.
I’m currently launching a new “author series” at the Franklin Inn Club in Philadelphia, with Susan Cheever, Philip Levine and Paul Mariani among the invited authors.
More articles by John Dowlin, newest first
| The Brits in America: A Veterans’ Day thought |
November 03 2012 |
My ancestor fought in America’s War of Independence and went out of his way to stress the notion of defensive war to George Washington. In that spirit, I have a Veterans Day message for all presidents who send U.S. armies overseas.
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| What might have been: Coolidge in Cuba |
October 27 2012 |
Nixon went to China; and Calvin Coolidge, of all people, went to Cuba in 1928 to talk about peace and goodwill. It’s enough to make one hope that the logjam of America’s Cuban policy might be broken sooner or later.
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| Paul Hendrickson’s Hemingway |
November 29 2011 |
Paul Hendrickson has pursued Hemingway the way I once pursued e.e. commings. The lesson: Don’t be shy. If someone has written a poem or a book that means a lot to you, reach out.
Hemingway’s Boat; Everything He Loved in Life and Lost, 1934-1961. By Paul Hendrickson. Knopf, 2011. 544 pages; $30. www.amazon.com.
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| Eight questions about the Civil War |
August 14 2011 |
As we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, some questions are seldom if ever asked. For example: Was the bloodiest war in U.S. history really necessary?
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Clarence Faulcon is the former chairman of the Music Department at Morgan State University. He was also assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Concert Orchestra in 1955-56. For many years he performed with his wife as a two-piano team and as accompanist to her soprano.
Resumé
B.S. and M.S. in Music Education, University of Pennsylvania
Mus.D in Musicology, Philadelphia Conservatory of Music (now The University of The Arts). Thesis: “A History of Musical Firsts in Pennsylvania Before 1850”
Former Chairperson of Music, Cazenovia College and Morgan State University.
Lecturer: “The World of Music.
Accompanist for soprano Dr. Jacqueline Faulcon for the International Biographical Centre Arts and Communications Congress
Held at Cambridge University and Oxford University, Europe, Australia, Singapore, Africa, and United States.
Consultant in the arts; helped the State Library System of Delaware win a Gates Foundation Grant.
Member of the Musical Fund Society
More articles by Clarence Faulcon, newest first
| Stokowski’s lesson: Develop local talent |
June 30 2012 |
The Philadelphia Orchestra began as an ensemble consisting of European immigrant musicians. Stokowski, Ormandy and Mary Louise Curtis Bok nurtured the infrastructure for developing homegrown talent and audiences. Boston and Los Angeles have learned that lesson; why not Philadelphia, where the idea first took root?
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| Back to the future: Youth and the Orchestra |
May 05 2012 |
As the Philadelphia Orchestra’s audience dwindles, much has been written about the need to reach out to young audiences. But how exactly does this process work? Let me demonstrate the long-range effect of vigorous youth music programs on a single individual: me.
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| How to save the Philadelphia Orchestra |
November 29 2011 |
Just how many classical music lovers live in the Delaware Valley? Enough to make a difference for the survival of the genre, not to mention the Philadelphia Orchestra? Equally important, are the necessary tools available? I would answer yes on both counts— if only the Orchestra’s bean counters would get out of the way.
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| The Orchestra vs. the Phillies |
September 05 2011 |
The Philadelphia Orchestra is losing its audience while other orchestras— not to mention the Phillies— are growing their audiences. So why has the Philadelphia Orchestra board ignored or remained silent about a study that represents the best professional thinking for the future survival of American orchestras?
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| How today’s orchestras succeed |
July 19 2011 |
While the Philadelphia Orchestra struggles in bankruptcy, many major orchestras around the world are flourishing. These “21st-Century orchestras” have seized the marketing and PR possibilities of the Internet in imaginative ways that have so far eluded the timid Philadelphians.
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When, in 2005, my high school classmate Dan Rottenberg asked me to contribute to BSR, I had already enjoyed the honor of participating in Dan’s past enterprises, first as an occasional contributor to the Welcomat and later as the regular music columnist for the ill-fated Seven Arts magazine. I was delighted to again have the opportunity to express my views about music.
Because of my parents’ love for Beethoven, Mozart, and the like, I grew up surrounded by recordings and radio broadcasts of classical music. Foremost among the gods of my childhood were Franklin Roosevelt (even though he died when I was three), Duke Snider, and Arturo Toscanini. Although neither of my parents was a practicing musician, somehow I got the idea in my head very early on that I was supposed to be a conductor. I have vivid memories of standing on a little podium, using the New Yorker magazine as a score, and waving my arms around during a radio broadcast, egged on by the accolades of my grandparents.
I went on to major in music at Columbia College, and then to earn a Ph.D. in music history from the University of California at Berkeley. Along the way, I was accepted to the summer choral conducting program at the Tanglewood Music Festival. This meant that from time to time I got to conduct what was, for those eight short weeks, one of the world’s strongest choruses.
Although I knew that I did not have the goods to be a professional choral conductor, one afternoon near the end of the session I was allowed to conduct, in its entirety, the monumental fugue that ends the Gloria of Mozart’s Mass in C Minor. There I was, waving my arms around on a real podium using a real score, carried along by wave after wave of Mozart’s ecstatic music.
I went on to join the music faculty at Penn for seven years, but, even though I published my share of scholarly articles and even though I like to think that I was a very good classroom teacher, it soon became clear to my colleagues— well before I admitted it myself — that I was not suited for academic life. Instead of being the good little classical musicologist I been hired to be, I spent as much time as I could in Penn’s electronic music studio. There, I developed a course built around the Moog synthesizer that had been purchased the year before my arrival and had been sitting around unused ever since.
One of my students in this class, Harry Mendell, an undergraduate at the Moore School of Engineering, persuaded me to buy a state of the art PDP-8 computer — it had 8K of RAM! – and before long Harry and I had formed a company, Computer Music Incorporated, with the goal of selling a computer-based digital sampler and reverberation device to recording studios. CMI was not a commercial success, but Harry and I have since received recognition for the pioneering nature of our product, the Melodian.
Before long I found myself out of academia and starting a career as a software developer, one that I happily practiced until my retirement at the end of 2009. There is well-known connection between software development and musical aptitude, and even though most of my career was devoted to writing programs having to do with the radar on the U.S. Navy’s Aegis cruisers and destroyers, creating computer code always remained an essentially musical activity for me. For my thoughts on the connection between computers and music in my career, you can read my interview with Seth Brown at his website, Evolution of Sound.
Despite whatever practical training I may have received as a musician and despite my academic credentials, I regard myself as an enthusiastic and highly opinionated amateur who has been lucky enough to have been given a public forum to express his views. In early 2011, I took a self-enforced leave from Broad Street Review to devote my energies to a new Internet venture, a web site devoted to teaching music theory to music-lovers who have little or no formal training. It’s at dancoren.weebly.com. It started off as a noble effort, but went off the tracks after a few installments. Somewhere along the way, I lost interest in writing about my own musical opinions; these days, I devote my creative energies to making actual music.
More articles by Dan Coren, newest first
| Yannick at cruising speed (2nd review) |
March 01 2013 |
I now await Yannick’s Philadelphia Orchestra concerts with the same anticipation I felt for Leonard Bernstein in 1960. But were those visuals and the trapeze act grafted on to Le Sacre du Printemps really necessary?
Philadelphia Orchestra: Bach-Stokowski, Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor; Ravel, Piano Concerto in G major; Stravinsky, Le Sacre du Printemps ("The Rite of Spring"). Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Ridge Theater Company dancers; Dan Safer, choreography. February 23-24, 2013; also March 2, 2013 (without theatrical element) at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893.1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Yannick’s incomparable Brahms Fourth (3rd review) |
November 03 2012 |
Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s interpretation of the Brahms Fourth Symphony was one of the most intense and profound performances of this work— or any work, for that matter— that I’ve ever witnessed.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Frank, Concertino Cusqueño; Bernstein, Serenade for Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion; Brahms, Symphony No. 4. Joshua Bell, violin. October 25-28, 2012 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts.(215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Solzhenitsyn plays Mozart for non-purists (1st review) |
March 08 2011 |
Are Mozart’s scores sacrosanct as they are written? Or are they an invitation to play 18th-Century jazz? Ignat Solzhenitsyn, appearing as piano soloist and conductor laureate with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, left no doubt about his answer.
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia: Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466; Lutoslawski, Funeral Music; Haydn, “Drum Roll” Symphony No. 103 in E-flat Major. Ignat Solzhenitsyn, pianist and conductor. March 5, 2011 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. (215) 545-1739 or www.chamberorchestra.org.
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| St. Lawrence Quartet at the Perelman |
February 15 2011 |
The St. Lawrence Quartet played beautifully, albeit like a group of hyperactive teenagers. If there was a flaw in their performance of Mozart’s G Minor String Quartet, it was, ironically, their subtle lack of intensity.
St. Lawrence String Quartet: Music of Beethoven, Golijov, and Mozart. February 11, 2011 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. Presented by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. (215) 569-8080 or www.pcmsconcerts.org.
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| The ‘Times’ picks the top classical composers |
January 29 2011 |
The New York Times music critic Anthony Tommasini spent the past month compiling his list of the greatest classical composers, with suggestions he drummed up from hundreds of Times readers. BSR’s critic Dan Coren disdains such gimmickry, of course. Except…
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| Noseda conducts Orchestra’s Dvořák |
January 16 2011 |
Gianandrea Noseda, pinch-hitting for Donald Runnicles, put his own stamp on a seemingly innocuous program. His aggressively dramatic interpretation of the Dvořák Eighth Symphony was unlike any I’ve heard before.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Bach, Concerto for Two Violins; Respighi, Suite For Strings; Dvořák, Eighth Symphony. David Kim and Juliette Kang, violins; Gianandrea Noseda, conductor. January 13-15, 2011 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Valentina Lisitsa: Who needs concert halls? |
January 04 2011 |
The Ukrainian-American pianist Valentina Lisitsa has been playing for years at a level worthy of comparison with the likes of Vladimir Horowitz and Sviatislav Richter. Yet she’s easier to find on YouTube than in concert halls.
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| Jazz pianist Trudy Pitts: an appreciation |
December 21 2010 |
What defines a musical treasure? For me, it was the pleasure that the jazz pianist and organist Trudy Pitts brought to many a weekend evening and Sunday brunch.
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| Whatever happened to symphonies? (A reply) |
December 07 2010 |
My BSR colleague Robert Zaller laments that the symphony as a musical form is vanishing after more than two centuries. Perhaps. But there really never was such a thing as “the Romantic version” of the Classical symphony, and certainly not in the sense that Zaller implies.
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| Yannick and the Orchestra (2nd review) |
October 31 2010 |
Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s childlike enthusiasm transformed his post-appointment debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra into one of the most joyous nights of music making I’ve ever seen or heard.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Haydn, Symphony No. 100 ("Military"); Mahler, Symphony No. 5. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor. October 29-30, 2010 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1955 or www.philorch.org.
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| The Met’s ‘Das Rheingold’ in HD-Live (1st review) |
October 16 2010 |
The Metropolitan Opera's recent HD-Live broadcast of Das Rheingold was a more successful realization of Wagner’s dramatic and musical intentions than I could have ever believed possible. The overall result was gripping psychological drama in which Wagner’s marvelous music operated subliminally beneath the action, just as Wagner intended.
Das Rheingold. Opera by Richard Wagner; James Levine conducted. Metropolitan Opera HD-Live performance October 9, 2010. www.metoperafamily.org.
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| Why piano students cry |
August 07 2010 |
Somewhere in the world, a student cries at a piano lesson every 21 seconds. Why all this anguish? I believe that the emotional power of the classical piano literature itself is a powerful contributing factor. I speak from agonizing personal experience.
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| Varèse festival in New York |
July 26 2010 |
Edgard Varèse’s music has no melodies and virtually no tonal implications; it’s all wild, intense blocks of sound filling up musical and physical space. New York audiences went wild over it, and so did I.
The Complete Works of Edgard Varèse. International Contemporary Ensemble and New York Philharmonic. July 19-20, 2010 at Alice Tully Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, Broadway and 65th St., New York. new.lincolncenter.org/live/index.php/lcf-2010-varese.
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| Dutoit’s masterful Mahler Third |
June 15 2010 |
Dan Coren buys rush tickets to the Mahler’s Third and, too late, realizes what Charles Dutoit has meant to the Philadelphia Orchestra: “I hadn’t fully understood this aspect of the work until Dutoit’s calm, spacious, evenly paced reading of it revealed it to me at this concert.”
Philadelphia Orchestra: Mahler, Third Symphony. Mihoko Fujimura, mezzo-soprano; Charles Dutoit, conductor. June 10-12, 2010 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1955 or www.philorch.org.
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| Utopia on earth: Choral singing |
May 31 2010 |
Does analytical thought add value to one’s enjoyment of music? Dan Coren examines his experience as a choral singer in his continuing attempt to answer this baffling question.
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| Listening to music: Aesthetics or psychology? |
April 27 2010 |
What constitutes beauty in music? How do the conscious and unconscious interact when we make aesthetic judgments? Is a Beethoven quartet in some way a more worthy experience than Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians?
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| Reich, Glass and Bryars at Annenberg |
March 09 2010 |
The Zellerbach's dry acoustics and a battery of mirambas and xylophones almost swamped the Philadelphia Singers' delivery of Steve Reich's You Are. And I loved every minute of it.
Philadelphia Singers, Relâche and Orchestra 2001: Steve Reich, You Are; Philip Glass, Persephone; Gavin Bryars, Laude 22 & 23. David Hayes, conductor. March 6, 2010 at Zellerbach Theater, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St. (215) 898-3900. or www.pennpresents.org.
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| Orchestra’s new season (good news) |
February 27 2010 |
The Philadelphia Orchestra's newly announced 2010-2011 season is the most attractive I have seen in years, a felicitous blend of standard repertory and new music.
Philadelphia Orchestra: 2010-11 season announcement. www.philorch.org.
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| The Orchestra’s inane marketing |
February 06 2010 |
Against his better judgment, Dan Coren reads a mailing from the Philadelphia Orchestra. Looking for something new? Don’t open this brochure!
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| Bruce Nauman’s ‘Notations’ at the Art Museum (2nd review) |
January 09 2010 |
Philadelphia’s art critics and Art Museum guards sneer at Bruce Nauman’s sound installations, but to Dan Coren they evoke the hip, modern sounds of beautiful music and cocktail conversation.
“Notations/Bruce Nauman.” Through April 4, 2010 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th St. and Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Concerts to watch in 2009-10 |
September 08 2009 |
Dan Coren, liberated from his obligations to orchestral music for the first time in years, previews a sumptuous season of chamber music, jazz, and contemporary music.
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| Beethoven’s ‘Appassionata’ turning point |
August 15 2009 |
I used to sneer when that superficial crowd-pleaser Horowitz sat down to play Beethoven. But getting reacquainted with the “Appassionata” through Horowitz recordings lately made me think more about the circumstances that brought Beethoven’s groundbreaking sonata into being.
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| Composing vs. writing about music (a reply) |
July 21 2009 |
If I had Beeri Moalem’s talent and vision as a composer and player, I wouldn’t even bother to write about music. But when you're expressing ideas, you must accept a certain amount of responsibility for facts.
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| Composing music: A reply to Beeri Moalem |
July 13 2009 |
Dan Coren, responding to Beeri Moalem’s recent article, “So You Want To Compose Serious Music?”, finds it “a mishmash of half-baked ideas and some very odd perceptions of music history.”
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| Chamber Orchestra turns cautious |
May 24 2009 |
After two seasons of adventurous programming, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia has reacted to hard economic times with a coming season that will offend nobody. Symphonic repertory in Philadelphia has become the musical equivalent of the menu at a high-end retirement community: pretty good, meal by meal, but deadly dull over the long run.
The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. www.chamberorchestra.org.
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| Mitsuko Uchida at the Perelman |
May 02 2009 |
Mitsuko Uchida’s piano recital at the Perelman was, in some surprising ways, a deeply unsettling experience. But in the end, she demonstrated why she is a musical legend.
Mitsuko Uchida, pianist: Works by Mozart, Beethoven, Berg and Schumann. Presented by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society April 27, 2009 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center. (215) 569-8080 or www.philadelphiachambermusic.org.
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| Sonata form (Part 11): Recapitulation |
April 28 2009 |
Beethoven devoted most of his career to intensifying the inherent drama of sonata-form. Ultimately he drilled so deeply into its bedrock that the form itself became barely recognizable in his very last works. In this 11th installment in his series on sonata-form, Dan Coren moves on to the recapitulation section.
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| Curtis Opera’s ‘Wozzeck’ (1st review) |
March 19 2009 |
Here I am in my mid-60s, having devoted most of my life to the study of classical music, and I still haven’t come to terms with the music of Alban Berg. The Curtis Institute’s production of Wozzeck was superb, but listening to it was an appalling experience I have no desire to repeat.
Wozzeck. Opera by Alban Berg; directed by Emma Griffin; Corrado Rovaris, conductor. Curtis Opera Theatre production March 13-18, 2009 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-7902 or www.curtis.edu.
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| Lucinda Williams at the Keswick |
March 10 2009 |
Dark though her subjects have been over the years, Lucinda Williams now gives the impression of being completely at ease with herself and her fellow musicians and reveling in 30 years of her own repertory.
Lucinda Williams. March 6, 2009 at Keswick Theatre, Glenside, Pa. www.keswicktheatre.com.
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| Astral Artists’ ‘Musical Tapestry’ |
February 26 2009 |
So you want challenging new music that’s nevertheless comprehensible and digestible? Astral Artists’ “Musical Tapestry” offered young musicians who are not only talented but also eager to recruit converts to their unusual repertory.
“A Musical Tapestry”: Doug O’Connor, saxophone; Susan Babini, cello; Spencer Myer, piano. Astral Artists presentation, February 22, 2009 at Trinity Center for Urban Life, 2212 Spruce St. (215) 735-6999 or www.astralartists.org.
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| Brahms German Requiem by Chamber Orchestra (1st review) |
February 17 2009 |
The Choral Arts Society’s performance of Brahms’s German Requiem was in many ways a cornucopia of musical riches. But the acoustics of the Perelman Theater made it as frustrating as it was satisfying.
Brahms German Requiem. Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia with Choral Arts Society. Susanna Phillips, soprano; Randall Scarlata, baritone; Ignat Solzhenitsyn, conductor. Feb 13 & 15, 2009 at Perelman Theater, Verizon Hall. (215) 545-5451 or www.chamberorchestra.org.
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| Sonata-form (Part 10): Mozart’s brilliant move |
February 07 2009 |
The development section of the finale of Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony ends with a move as brilliant as a Bobby Fischer chess combination. In the tenth installment of his series on sonata-form, Dan Coren contemplates this passage.
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| Do happy musicians play better? |
January 17 2009 |
Does it matter whether or not musicians– especially musicians in a classical orchestra– seem to be personally enjoying the music they’re playing? Given a certain level of musical excellence, it’s really a very simple question in the end.
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| Lucinda Williams and Bob Dylan |
December 14 2008 |
I can’t believe that the renowned perfectionist Lucinda Williams doesn’t know, in her heart of hearts, that her latest album, “Little Honey,” is a mess. Bob Dylan’s impact on our culture, on the other hand, continues to be as deep as Beethoven’s or Shakespeare’s.
Lucinda Williams will perform at the Keswick Theater in Glenside, Pa., on Friday, March 6th at 8 p.m. (215) 572-7650 or www.keswicktheatre.com.
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| A music critic’s guilty plea |
November 15 2008 |
To loyal BSR readers waiting anxiously to find out how those augmented sixths in Mozart’s Jupiter and Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony work out: It's all my computer's fault.
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| Glenn Gould vs. Roslyn Tureck |
November 08 2008 |
As a teenager, our critic Dan Coren fell so completely under the spell of the young Canadian pianist, Glenn Gould, that it took him more than 30 years to catch up with the great pianist whom Gould pushed off the stage: Roslyn Tureck.
A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould’s Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano. By Katie Hafner. Bloomsbury, 2008. 272 pages; $24.00. www.amazon.com/Romance-Three-Legs-Obsessive-Perfect/dp/1596915242
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| Susan Babini cello recital (review) |
October 21 2008 |
The end of Susan Babini’s cello recital represented some of the most honestly self-revealing playing I’ve ever heard.
Susan Babini: Solo Cello Debut Concert. Presented by Astral Artists, October 19, 2008 at Trinity Center for Urban life, 2212 Spruce St. (215) 735-6699 or www.astralartists.org.
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| Susan Babini debut cello concert |
October 12 2008 |
Astral Artists protégé cellist Susan Babini will give her Philadelphia solo debut on Sunday Oct 19th at the Trinity Center for Urban Life. If Pablo Casals or Jacqueline DuPré had selected this program, the concert would have sold out months in advance.
Susan Babini: Solo Cello Debut Concert. Presented by Astral Artists October 19, 2008 at Trinity Center for Urban life, 2212 Spruce St. (215) 735-6699 or www.astralartists.org.
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| Baseball or Beethoven? |
September 30 2008 |
Our music critic confronted a painful choice: The concert hall or the ballpark? Then Jimmy Rollins solved the dilemma for him.
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| Sonata-form, Part 9: The augmented sixth |
September 27 2008 |
In Part 9 of his series on sonata-form, Dan Coren discusses one of the most sophisticated devices available in the toolkit of classical harmony: “For me, hearing a dominant seventh become an augmented sixth is one of the miracles of the natural world, something akin to seeing a chameleon change color.”
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| Simone Dinnerstein: A concert not to miss |
September 23 2008 |
The young pianist Simone Dinnerstein makes a practice of playing complicated works and making them look easy.
Simone Dinnerstein, pianist: Copland, Webern, Bach, Lasser, Beethoven. October 24, 2008 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Parkway and 26th St. Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, (215) 569-8080 or http://www.pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Frank Zappa’s prophecy |
August 16 2008 |
An unexpected and much needed musical kick in the pants stimulates Dan Coren to revisit one of the great musical artifacts of the 1960s: Frank Zappa’s “Trouble Comin’ Every Day.”
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| Two books on music and the brain |
August 02 2008 |
I recently revisited two provocative books about music and the brain. On second reading, Daniel Levitin’s hyperactive This Is Your Brain On Music is actually sloppy and superficial. Oliver Sacks’s thoughtful Musicophilia remains a low-key delight.
This Is Your Brain On Music. By Daniel Levitin. Penguin, 2006. www.yourbrainonmusic.com
Mus
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| Development sections (Sonata-form, Part 8) |
July 12 2008 |
In sonata-form, development sections celebrate the inexhaustible complexities of Classical tonality. Do they, like expositions, have a common underlying floor-plan? Or are they downright unpredictable?
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| ‘Evolution of Sound,’ a unique website |
July 03 2008 |
Seth Brown’s website, “Evolution of Sound,” offers a perspective on the history of musical technology that you’ll find nowhere else. On this site, Brown has uncovered material that’s as much a part of my musical self as the essays I write for Broad Street Review.
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| ‘The Rest is Noise,’ by Alex Ross |
June 08 2008 |
Nobody writes more eloquently about music (especially contemporary music) than Alex Ross. He makes me feel that I’ve wasted the last 20 years obsessing about Mozart and Beethoven when I could have been listening to Morton Feldman and Steve Reich.
The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the 20th Century. By Alex Ross. 640 pages. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2007. $30.00. Eschenbach’s mysterious failure |
May 20 2008 |
How did Christoph Eschenbach get such wonderful playing out of musicians who don’t like him very much? Call me a naïve idiot, but even after all the anecdotal evidence we’ve heard, Eschenbach’s failure in Philadelphia remains a mystery to me.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Schubert Eighth ("Unfinished") and Ninth ("Great") Symphonies. Christoph Eschenbach, conductor. May 15-17, 2008 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1900 or
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| Sonata-form No. 7: Role of repetition |
May 10 2008 |
Should sonata-form expositions be repeated? Do you care? To the Classical masters, the question was critical. Repetition of the exposition was an occasion for dramatizing the power of the tonic key and their attempts to escape its gravitational pull. (Seventh in a series of essays about sonata-form.)
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| Chamber Orchestra plays Mozart and Beethoven |
May 06 2008 |
I can’t think of a better antidote to the excesses of the Mahler Eighth than the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia’s performances of Mozart’s 21st Piano Concerto and Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony that I attended the following afternoon.
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia: Mozart 21st Piano Concerto; Beethoven Sixth Symphony (Pastorale). Ignat Solzhenitsyn, conductor and piano solo. May 4-5, 2008 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center. (215) 545-5451 or
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| WPRB: My favorite radio station |
May 03 2008 |
A 20-year-old classical music DJ on Princeton’s WPRB epitomizes this remarkable radio station.
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| Three spring concerts to watch |
April 15 2008 |
Dan Coren recommends three imminent local concerts, one of which he will actually perform in.
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| Schubert vs. Beethoven |
April 05 2008 |
Dan Coren meditates on Schubert’s Eighth and Ninth Symphonies, which Christoph Eschenbach will conduct in mid-May, and on the paradoxical co-existence of Schubert and Beethoven in the Vienna of the 1820s. No other composer's death left such a gaping hole in a world that might have been.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Schubert Eighth (“Unfinished”) Symphony in B minor, Ninth (“Great”) Symphony in C major. Christoph Eschenbach, conductor. May 15-16-17, 2008 at
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| Sonata-form (part 6): Mozart the juggler |
March 04 2008 |
In the sixth in his series of essays on sonata-form, Dan Coren shows how Mozart, in the course of riding his own piano concertos to fame and fortune, adapted the sonata-form exposition to his own dramatic ends.
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| Orchestra’s 2008-09 season |
February 23 2008 |
Charles Dutoit announces a new Orchestra season that achieves levels of stodginess unheard of in Philadelphia since the reign of Eugene Ormandy. The Chamber Orchestra may offer better alternatives.
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| Gilbert conducts Philadelphia Orchestra (1st revie |
February 12 2008 |
The Philadelphia Orchestra's concert of Hillborg, Bartok, and Nielsen proved that these days you don't need the standard repertory to attract a large and enthusiastic audience. The Orchestra has become a much younger group since Christoph Eschenbach’s arrival, and they play as if they’re having a ball.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Hillborg Exquisite Corpse; Bartok Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion; Nielsen Second Symphony. Emanuel Ax and Yoko Nozaki, piano; Alan G
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| Israeli Jazz and Pierre Boulez |
January 29 2008 |
Jazz and Pierre Boulez— the perfect antidote for a classical musician’s malaise.
Anat Cohen Quintet. Israeli Jazz Festival 2008, January 24, 2008 at World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St. (215) 222-1400 or www.worldcafelive.com.
Orchestra 2001: Boulez, Le Marteau Sans Maitre. James Freeman, conductor. January 26, 2008 at Independence Seaport Museum, 211 S. Columbus Blvd.
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| Tunes in sonata-form (Part 5) |
January 22 2008 |
In the fifth in his series on sonata-form, Dan Coren corrects some common misconceptions about the role of tunes in a sonata-form. Along the way, he re-introduces Haydn at his wittiest and most sophisticated.
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| Critic’s alert: Catch these concerts |
January 19 2008 |
If you have a taste for the unusual – or for Mozart -- here are some concerts you won’t want to miss.
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| Orchestra’s program gobbledygook |
January 01 2008 |
How, Dan Coren wonders, could the Philadelphia Orchestra’s program notes mangle the definition of a simple term like “octave” so badly? And how could they be so misguided about the nature of Mozart’s music? And haven’t you always wondered what “diatonic” and “chromatic” really mean? Read on.
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| Stockhausen: The road not taken |
December 11 2007 |
At a critical point in his career, the composer Karlheinz Stockhausen took the wrong fork in the road. That’s a shame, because he inspired me to take the right fork.
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| Hélène Grimaud plays Beethoven |
December 11 2007 |
The pianist Hélène Grimaud plays as if she has thought deeply about every single note. It’s as if Grimaud is hearing Beethoven’s lyrics in her inner ear.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto; Edgar Varèse’s Ameriques; Ravel’s La Valse. James Conlon, conductor; Hélène Grimaud, piano. December 7-8, 2007 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1900 or www.philorch.org.
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| Understanding tonality (Sonata-form, Part 4) |
December 04 2007 |
In his fourth article on sonata-form, Dan Coren invites readers to sing along as he explains not only tonality— the sense of being in a key— but the concept of modulation to the dominant, the glue that holds sonata-form together.
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| Chamber Orchestra plays Beethoven et al. |
October 30 2007 |
The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, under Ignat Solzhenitsyn, established a benchmark for the interpretation of Classical repertory that will be hard for anyone to beat, unless it’s Solzhenitsyn himself.
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia: Schubert Fifth Symphony; Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2 (Fabio Bidini, piano); Haydn Symphony No. 16 and 102. Ignat Solzhenitsyn conducting. October 28-29, 2007 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 545-5451 or www.chamberorchestra.org.
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| Those slow introductions to symphonies |
October 16 2007 |
In Dan Coren’s third essay on sonata-form, he examines the way symphonies begin. Using the slow introduction of Mozart's 36th Symphony as a point of departure, he builds the first elements of a road map of a full-scale sonata-form movement.
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| Orchestra’s ‘Rite of Spring’ |
September 25 2007 |
Christoph Eschenbach’s authoritative and ferocious reading of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring more than made up for my sitting inside on a perfect autumn day.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Tchaikovsky First Symphony, Stravinsky Rite of Spring. Christoph Eschenbach, conductor. Sept. 23, 2007 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. www.philorch.org or (215) 893.1900.
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| Best of the 2007-08 season |
September 15 2007 |
If you’re a Philadelphian whose tastes are eclectic and adventurous, and if you have a special liking for the French avant-garde of the 20th Century, this is your year.
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| Classical music and golf |
September 11 2007 |
Golf, like Classical music, is based on a set of immutable rules and stylistic conventions. Haydn and Mozart regarded their procedural rules the same way Tiger Woods, the Beethoven of golf, follows the rules of golf— that is, almost as unconsciously as we regard oxygen.
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| Sonata-form made easy (Part 2) |
September 01 2007 |
An elegant little tune from a Haydn Symphony contains in embryonic form all the essential ideas of sonata-form. The trick is learning to hear the same ideas on a time scale ten times as long. Listen closely and you’ll appreciate how a slight shift can send a tune off in an entirely new direction.
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| You too can enjoy sonata-form (really) |
August 11 2007 |
Sonata-form is to me what the New Testament is to a born-again Christian. If I can sell you on the beauties and pleasures of examining how Classical music is put together, you’ll hear sounds of a magnificence you’ve never encountered before.
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| Mendelssohn’s real tragedy |
July 14 2007 |
What would the world have been like if the Fates had been just a little kinder and allowed Schubert and Mendelssohn to know each other’s music as contemporaries? Mendelssohn was, I believe, the most musically gifted of all his famous contemporaries: the only composer in music history smart enough to assimilate Mozart’s music successfully. Yet his music makes we want to scream.
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| The case for electronic music |
June 23 2007 |
Electronic music has become so accessible that a good deal of it is pretty primitive— the kind you might want your neighbor to turn down at 3 a.m. But this proliferation of new sounds strikes me a lot like 18th-Century musical Vienna must have seemed. All we lack is a new Joseph Haydn.
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| Fresh air from the Chamber Orchestra |
June 21 2007 |
The Chamber Orchestra will devote almost half its repertory in the coming season to works by daring experimental composers, past and present. If Ignat Solzhenitsyn keeps up this sort of programming, perhaps Charles Dutoit’s arrival at the Philadelphia Orchestra won’t stultify Philadelphia concert life as much as I’d feared.
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| Orchestra plays John Adams |
April 28 2007 |
I had the impression that the Orchestra had become a collective ecosystem, like a coral reef, teeming with the minute details of self-perpetuating organic processes. Has anyone at the Orchestra considered trying to hire Donald Runnicles? This guy is the real deal.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Works by John Adams, Bruch. Donald Runnicles conducting; Janine Jansen, violin solo. April 20-21, 2007 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. 215. 893.1900 or Kronos Quartet plays ‘Sun Rings’ |
April 28 2007 |
Sun Rings is a meditation on the Voyager space probes of the 1970s, full of furious action, accompanied by non-stop visual projections. I loved it. The audience loved it. Then we read the Inquirer critic's review.
Sun Rings. Composed by Terry Riley. Kronos Quartet, April 19, 2007 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center. www.kronosquartet.org.
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| Lucinda Williams (Round Two) |
April 17 2007 |
Dan Coren responds to reader comments about his paean to Lucinda Williams: “Do you have Google alerts set for Lucinda Williams? Surely you haven’t been reading my classical pieces in the hope that one day I’d write about her music.”
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| Lucinda Williams discovered (belatedly) |
April 05 2007 |
Discovering the singer Lucinda Williams has exerted an Elvis-like impact on this classical critic’s musical taste. Although her latest album, West, is disappointing, Williams remains an extraordinary creative force: the thinking person’s country/rock star.
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| Eschenbach's last hurrah |
March 19 2007 |
After a season marked by staid and timid programming, Christoph Eschenbach is going out in 2007-08 with a spectacular blend of tradition and novelty. With Charles Dutoit in the wings, apparently poised to take the Orchestra back to the musical equivalent of the Eisenhower administration, I fear next season may be the last Orchestra season like this for a long time.
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| Penn Symphony plays Berlioz |
March 03 2007 |
I regard the Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique as a grisly accident on the highway of music history. It took guts for Penn’s student orchestra to perform it. Few other amateur orchestras could do as well with this hair-raising piece.
Penn Symphony Orchestra
February 24, 2007 at
Irvine Auditorium. 215-898-6244 or www.sas.upenn.edu
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| Contemporary concert alert |
February 13 2007 |
Mark your calendar for these adventures in contemporary music with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Penn Orchestra and the Kronos Quartet.
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| Dianne Reeves, Jason Moran at Verizon Hall |
February 06 2007 |
Reeves treated her audience to an hour of lucid, swinging jazz in the grand classical style. Jason Moran’s relentless piano runs were less successful.
Dianne Reeves, vocalist, and pianist Jason Moran. February 2, 2007 at Verizon Hall, Broad and Spruce. (215) 893-1999 or www.kimmelcenter.org.
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| 1807 & Friends play Brahms and Mozart |
January 27 2007 |
Dan Coren's mania for chamber music was more than satisfied by the Mozart and Brahms performed by 1807 & Friends. Our critic also believes he may have found the secret behind the mysteriously unchanging demographics of Philadelphia's chamber music audiences.
1807 & Friends: Brahms C minor Piano Quartet, Op. 60, and Mozart E-flat major Piano Quartet, K. 493. January 22, 2007 at Academy of Vocal Arts, 1920 Spruce St. w
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| The Orchestra’s loopy substitution |
January 16 2007 |
The Philadelphia Orchestra is substituting Vivaldi’s inappropriately cheerful Four Seasons for Mahler’s neurotic Kindertotenlieder. What on earth were they thinking?
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| Why classical audiences don’t boo |
January 03 2007 |
Why are classical concert audiences so much more staid than their operatic counterparts? The answer may lie in the difference between a church service and a battle of gladiators at the Roman Coliseum.
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| What was Mozart thinking? |
December 19 2006 |
Throughout his life Mozart remained basically clueless when it came to understanding other people’s musical capabilities or perceptions. Beethoven’s struggles endowed him with empathy for the lesser musicians who performed his pieces. But was Mozart capable of intentionally writing an easy piece? I don’t think so.
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| Natalie Zhu plays Mussorgsky |
November 22 2006 |
Even in the thoroughbred world of concert pianists, very few have what it takes to play the piano version of "Pictures at an Exhibition" in concert. But Natalie Zhu took the piece beyond virtuosity to something approaching the mystical.
Natalie Zhu, piano recital. November 15, 2006, at Fleisher Art Memorial. Presented by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, (215) 569-8080 or www.philadelphiachambermusic.org.
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| Dylan the Romantic |
November 08 2006 |
What is Romanticism, really? If you won’t listen to the song cycles of Schubert or Schumann, you can find the answer in the song cycles of Bob Dylan.
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| Orchestra's thin skin |
October 30 2006 |
Peter Dobrin, it appears, really does get under the skin of the Orchestra's management after all.
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| Survival in the digital age |
October 18 2006 |
Bob Dylan’s career arc— from records to movies to DVDs to books to the Internet— is a tribute to the power and versatility of modern media. Other modern composers like Luciano Berio— not to mention old stalwarts like Beethoven— weren’t so fortunate. But whose work will survive the next time the electric power grid fails?
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| Eschenbach pro and con |
September 26 2006 |
The Inquirer’s Peter Dobrin says Christoph Eschenbach should go because the Philadelphia Orchestra’s musicians don’t like him. Is Dobrin too young to remember legendary martinets like Fritz Reiner and George Szell?
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| Critic's choices for 2006-07 |
September 20 2006 |
Contrary to his earlier declaration, our music critic finds a way to attend the Philadelphia Orchestra’s concerts this year after all. Some of them, at least. Here's his concert schedule for 2006-07.
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| A feast from the Chamber Music Society |
September 11 2006 |
The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society reminds me of Southwest or Frontier Airlines competing against a legacy carrier: the Philadelphia Orchestra. The Orchestra can’t come close to meeting PCMS’s prices or to offering its richness of repertory. And not a single PCMS ticket is priced above $22.
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| Chamber music lovers' alert |
August 10 2006 |
If you’re looking for an opportunity to hear some of the greatest chamber music masterpieces— works that are much too rarely performed— here are two dates to circle on your calendar in 2007.
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| How Andrew Wyeth manipulated me |
July 20 2006 |
The Art Museum’s recent Wyeth exhibit moved my wife and me to tears. Only upon later reflection did we conclude that we’d been conned. From the audio tour to the paintings themselves, the enterprise was characterized above all by the art of calculation.
“Andrew Wyeth: Memory and Magic.” March 29- July 16, 2006 at Philadelphia Museum of Art Dorrance Galleries, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. www.philamuseum.org.<
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| Emanuel Ax plays the 'Emperor' Concerto |
July 03 2006 |
Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto, performed by Emanuel Ax with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Mann Center, June 21, 2006. www.philorch.org.
All this, plus the Yankees and the summer solstice, too.
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| Fresh insight into Eschenbach |
July 03 2006 |
In an old recording of Beethoven’s last piano sonata, our critic finds a link between Christoph Eschenbach and Thomas Mann’s fictitious stammering organ professor Wendell Kretschmar. And then he encounters Mitsuko Uchida.
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| Pay to play on the Kimmel's organ |
June 03 2006 |
Contrary to what you read in the Inquirer, the Kimmel's "Pay to Play" organ event was no mere public-relations exercise. It was a showcase for a serious but often disrespected constituency: organists and composers of organ music.
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| The Kimmel organ's debut |
May 29 2006 |
It was a pleasure to find a full and enthusiastic house at a Philadelphia Orchestra concert. But it took a novelty act to do it. The Kimmel organ’s debut concert itself was a sedate affair, notwithstanding the Gallic charm of Olivier Latry.
Philadelphia Orchestra. Christoph Eschenbach conducting, Olivier Latry, organist. May 11-13, 2006. at Kimmel Center. www.philorch.org.
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| Penn's student orchestra shines |
April 26 2006 |
Yet another surprising source of good symphonic music— this from students who don’t even attend a conservatory.
Penn Symphony Orchestra. Brad Smith, conductor. At Irvine Auditorium, April 23, 2006. www.sas.upenn.edu/music.
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| Why I canceled my Orchestra subscription |
April 26 2006 |
The Philadelphia Orchestra has never sounded better. Nevertheless, after scrutinizing our Friday “B” Orchestra series for 2006-07 and the competing Kimmel series schedule, we had to decide if the Orchestra was really worth more than $800 of our disposable income.
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| The music and the money |
March 31 2006 |
So much money and so much work to produce a great concert? At the Orchestra, yes. At Astral Artistic Services, no.
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| Eschenbach conducts Beethoven's Sixth: One small question |
February 28 2006 |
| One small esoteric question about Eschenbach's interpretation that's driving me nuts.
Beethoven's Sixth Symphbony. Philadelphia Orchestra, Christpoph Eschenbach conducting, at Verizon Hall, February 23-26, 2006.
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| A lesson from Simon Rattle |
February 24 2006 |
| If a conductor possesses complete mastery of the music and can make an emotional connection with the players, magical things can happen— a power apparently not enjoyed by local music critics.
Philadelphia Orchestra. Simon Rattle conducting. February 2006. www.philorch.org.
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| Jazz for the ages at the Kimmel |
February 02 2006 |
| These musicians go bravely where no man has gone before— even Mozart and Beethoven.
Mellon Jazz Fridays concert. Verizon Hall, Jan. 27, 2006. www.kimmelcenter.org
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| Learning to love Christoph Eschenbach |
January 01 2006 |
| His conducting may not stick with you, but his music does.
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| My debt to Birgit Nilsson |
January 16 2006 |
The great Wagnerian soprano died in December at age 87, unaware of her pivotal role in the writer's complicated relationship with Richard Wagner.
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AUTHOR
• Re Designing Design, Copyright © 2012, Revised Edition
• Today’s Historic Interiors, Copyright © 2011, with E. Ashley Rooney, Schiffer Publishing Company.
• Broad Street Review, Cultural commentary, art and design critiques, 2008-2013.
• Columnist, Ranch and Cove, “Narrative Style” home design columns, 2004-2005.
REAL ESTATE & INTERIOR DESIGN
• President, Millett Design, 1992-2013: This full service residential design firm based in Philadelphia offers consultations throughout the United States and the Caribbean. The firm specializes in custom design concepts, historic preservation, renovations, and teaching interior design.
• President, Millett Enterprises, 1985-1991: A residential and commercial real estate development firm that owned, designed, and managed over 180 properties in Philadelphia – primarily historic preservations and renovations. Millett owned, rebuilt, and landscaped The Cloisters, a school, church, and rectory in historic Powelton Village. During this period she redesigned and renovated the twin neo-Palladian townhouses that serve as Millett Design’s current headquarters.
• Adjunct Professor, University of Pennsylvania, 1987-1989 and 1992-2005: Taught entrepreneurial real estate courses and taught interior design in the College of General Studies.
• Real Estate Developer, 1974-1982: Beginning with her own 3-unit home in Logan Circle, Washington, DC, subsequently, with her investment partners, she bought, renovated and sold over 75 residential and commercial properties in Washington as well as 20 townhouses in Baltimore, Md.
EDUCATOR
• Vice President, University of the Arts, 1984-1985, Millett supervised fine arts gallery, fundraising, public relations, and special events.
• Adjunct Professor, University of Pennsylvania, College of General Studies, 1992-2005; She taught interior design courses; and 1987-1989 real estate entrepreneurial courses.
• Volunteer Teacher, Washington Public Schools, 1979-1980, Training program for disadvantaged teenagers.
• Director, U.S.-Brazilian Binational Colleges, 1969–1970, In Brasília and Goias, Brazil, Millett supervised colleges with a total of about 2,000 adult students.
• Director, São Paulo Alumni Association, 1967-1969, Established and directed a new American-Brazilian language and cultural studies center.
• Teacher and Counselor, California public high schools, 1964-1965: In Palo Alto and San Jose, California (Certificate of Education in 1964).
DIPLOMATIC SERVICE
Foreign Service Officer with Diplomatic Status, from 1966 to 1982, Assignments Included:
• Advisor on the Arts, Department of State and U.S. Information Agency (USIA), 1979–1981.
• Executive Secretary, Inter-Agency Committee on the Arts (coordinating the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, Department of State, USIA, and the National Collection of Fine Arts) 1975-1978.
• Department of State Delegate, President’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, mid 1970’s.
• Film Director at USIA, produced news releases featuring Secretary of State Kissinger and other dignitaries, for overseas distribution.
• Coordinator, Venice and São Paulo Biennials, international arts exhibitions, including “Made in Chicago,” U.S. Contribution to São Paulo in 1973.
• Coordinator of Architectural Programs, USIA, programmed library and multimedia materials for all posts overseas, and arranged State Department “leader grants,” 1972-1973.
• Cultural Attaché, Brasília, Brazil, 1969–1970.
UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
• Stanford University, M.A., 1963, in American cultural history; also Stanford School of Law, 1961-62; Graduate School of Education, 1964; Graduate School of Art and Design, 1965.
• University of Wisconsin, B.A., 1961, in U.S. history and comparative literature.
• University of Edinburgh, Scotland, 1959-1960, one year of course studies in fine arts, architecture, and British colonial history.
PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY SERVICE
In recent years, Caroline has devoted herself primarily to University City educational and arts programs. These included a landscape “Art Walk” above the railroad tracks and river— for which SEPTA had agreed to donate the land.
Formerly she served as a Trustee of the Preservation Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and as Trustee of the Wilma Theater. At Andalusia, in Bucks County, Millett sponsored special events with James Biddle, featuring his historic estate, where she had a country retreat for twelve years.
She also worked with the West Philadelphia Coalition of Neighborhoods and Businesses, and the Print Center. She was Vice President and board member of the Powelton Village Civic Association. The Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia honored her for most outstanding contribution to the interior design profession in 1999.
More articles by Caroline Dunlop Millett, newest first
| ‘Narrative style’ in interior design |
March 16 2013 |
Napoleon defined his unique persona through his imperial furnishings. Nowadays, thanks to the Internet, "Empire Style" is out and “Narrative Style” is in when it comes to home décor. It’s a good way to express yourself and maybe even save your marriage— but only if you know yourself.
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| Artistic freedom and Brazil’s ‘Man of the Monkey’ |
December 28 2012 |
On a Brazilian jungle island that housed a prison for political dissidents, inhabitants told tales of a shadowy "Man of the Monkey" who possessed multiple talents and exercised awesome powers. Was he real, or a figment of superstition? Under a government bent on driving its subjects crazy, who could say for sure?
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| The man cave as intimate space |
November 27 2012 |
Henpecked husbands are rebelling by carving out their own domestic retreats where they can smoke cigars, watch porno films and slurp pizza free from wifely constraints. It’s a psychologically healthy method of escaping without getting away.
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| Cave dwellers, home design and the Penn Museum |
March 13 2012 |
How did prehistoric cave dwellers decorate their homes? What can they teach an interior designer like me? In my personal sanctuary, the awesome but underappreciated Penn Museum, I’ve found some answers.
"Beauty Through the Ages." Final program April 17, 2012 at University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology. 3260 South St. (215) 898-4000 or www.penn.museum.
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| ‘Out of Order’ at Chestnut Hill Gallery |
June 21 2011 |
Four well-known artists, with little in common beside their intensity and their mutual friendship, sit wondrously well together at this innovative exhibit.
“Out of Order”: Works by Ted Victoria, Harry Anderson, Chuck Connelly and Hal Hirshorn. Through July 9, 2011 at Chestnut Hill Gallery, 8117 Germantown Ave. (215) 248-2569 or www.chestnuthillgallery.com.
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| Ralph Lauren at Monticello (Part 2) |
August 07 2010 |
Ralph Lauren and Monticello’s curator now insist Lauren had nothing to do with revamping Thomas Jefferson’s dining room (aside from funding it). But somebody did indeed revamp it.
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| Ralph Lauren’s Monticello makeover |
July 27 2010 |
The designer Ralph Lauren sells fashion, not history. So why is this darling of America’s nouveau riche redesigning Thomas Jefferson’s dining room?
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| The home as art: practical advice |
November 19 2009 |
Home design is one of the few opportunities American adults have to express themselves with genuine creative freedom. The process really can be pleasurable— even exciting— if you develop the basic design skills and seek expert advice when it’s necessary.
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| Down with minimalist design! |
May 30 2009 |
In contemporary minimalist homes, the best imagery is usually the view out the window. How can enlightened homeowners infuse color, chaos and character into their rooms? It’s not difficult if you follow a few basic principles.
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| Pre-fab dwellings at MOMA in New York |
October 07 2008 |
Where I grew up, factory-made homes meant trailer trash or cookie-cutter suburban sprawl. But the creative pre-fab homes on display at MOMA provide us with intelligent solutions to many pressing environmental and economic issues.
“Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling.” Through October 20, 2008 (Part I) and October 26, 2008 (Part II), at Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53 St., New York. (212) 708-9400 or www.moma.org.
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| Home design: My ideal kitchen |
August 16 2008 |
The kitchen has become the social center of the American home. But most designs fail to satisfy homeowners’ yearning for beauty, relaxation and personal identity. Why not take a lesson from those 17th-Century Dutch kitchens celebrated by Rembrandt and Vermeer?
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| Home design: The personal style |
April 29 2008 |
Not long ago, most people were satisfied if their homes were simply beautiful, functional and comfortable. Today every homeowner wants to make a personal statement too. But discovering the “real you” is no simple task. A few suggestions from a home designer.
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| The home as art |
March 08 2008 |
Americans spend fortunes on their homes. Why, then, do so many affluent homes look as if they were lifted from a magazine spread or a Ralph Lauren catalogue? Why not think of our homes as artistic expressions of ourselves?
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Margaret Chew Barringer is an American poet and filmmaker born in 1946. Her poems have appeared in journals and anthologies in America and Russia. In 1983, she founded the American Poetry Center, a statewide nonprofit organization that sponsored readings and symposia in Philadelphia and coordinated all literary events for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, leading directly to the creation of National Poetry Month.
In 2005, the organization changed its name to American INSIGHT, and began featuring authors, scholars, artists, and civic leaders in a series of historical documentaries about Philadelphia. American INSIGHT’s first annual Free Speech Film Festival will culminate in an Awards Ceremony at the American Philosophical Society in May, 2012.
More articles by Margaret Chew Barringer, newest first
| What messages do today's women send? |
July 09 2011 |
Today’s media revolution has eliminated millennia of intergenerational knowledge about what it means to be a human being. And if we women don’t fully understand ourselves and the messages we’re sending, how can men?
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Natalie Davis is a professional free-lance writer based in Yakima, Wash. She has written more than 150 articles in various outlets, and is currently working on several books, both fiction and nonfiction. You can find her blog at ”Little Writer’s Notebook.” Her email is .
More articles by Natalie Davis, newest first
| Hitler’s ultimate irony |
June 28 2011 |
How did Hitler manage to hijack Wagner’s Aryan ideal when he wasn’t an ideal Aryan himself?
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Christopher Munden is a freelance writer and editor who has worked for many leading Philadelphia cultural institutions. He is an avid theatergoer and the editor/publisher of the Philly Fiction book series, collections of short stories written by local writers and set in Philadelphia.
Find more of his theater writing through his blog, or visit his music website.
More articles by Christopher Munden, newest first
| ‘Vigil’ and older audiences at the Lantern |
May 30 2011 |
The wicked humor of Morris Panych’s Vigil comes mostly at the expense of older audiences. That’s bad news for cutting-edge theater in Philadelphia.
Vigil. By Morris Panych; Peter DeLaurier directed. Lantern Theatre Company production through June 12, 2011 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheatre.org.
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Ledger has written, edited, photographed and, when captivated by brightly colored, shiny materials, she has made things. She writes most often now about biomedical research, but also likes to write about the visual arts. “It’s a way of better understanding those things that really give pleasure,” she says.
She is a former board member of the University City Arts League and a current board member of the Garden Court Community Association, through which she has brought some choral music to a local public school that has no music teacher.
She is a fancier of Bakelite jewelry, a perpetual student of the Spanish language, and a practitioner of tai chi. She used to dance Argentine tango obsessively, and she still loves the music of Pugliese and Piazzolla.
Ledger lives in West Philadelphia.
More articles by Martha Ledger, newest first
| Art Safari to Kensington |
June 17 2012 |
The artist’s art scene, which over the last half century has shifted from South Street to Old City to Northern Liberties, has now moved to Kensington and Port Richmond. Anyone really interested in contemporary art is going to have to find out where these neighborhoods are.
Art Safari, www.theartblog.org.
Pterodactyl, 3237 Amber St. pterodactylphiladelphia.org.
Fjord Project Space, 2419 Frankford Ave. www.FJORDspace.com.
Highwire, 2040 Frankford Ave. highwiregallery.com.
Part Time Studios, 2031 Frankford Ave. (215) 948 2242 or parttimestudios.com.
Crane Arts Building, 1401 N. American St. cranearts.com.
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| ‘In Material: Fiber 2012’ at the Arthur Ross Gallery |
February 21 2012 |
What can you do or say with fiber, aside from wearing it? Just about anything, as the Ross Gallery’s breathtaking installation demonstrates.
“In Material: Fiber 2012.” Through March 25, 2012 at Arthur Ross Gallery, 220 South 34th Street. (215) 898-2083 or www.upenn.edu/ARG.
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| Zoe Strauss photos at the Art Museum (1st review) |
January 31 2012 |
Conceptual artist and photographer Zoe Strauss takes an unflinching look at hard lives in tough times. She documents the struggle, but wherever she looks, she also finds humor, ironies, and truths about being human.
“Zoe Strauss: Ten Years.” Through April 22, 2012 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benj. Franklin Pkwy. and 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Diane Burko’s photographs at Locks Gallery |
July 16 2011 |
The landscape painter Diane Burko applies her skills with color and form to photography, with good reason: No painter could possibly reproduce the multitude of rich and subtle detail in these camera images.
“Diane Burko: Photographs.” Through August 19, 2011 at Locks Gallery, 600 Washington Square South. (215) 629-1000 or www.locksgallery.com.
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| 'Roberto Capucci: Art into Fashion' at the Art Museum (2nd review) |
April 12 2011 |
No longer tied to fashion shows and market demands, Roberto Capucci works on his own terms. His fabric sculptures resemble haute couture, but they’re really works of art well worth celebrating.
“Roberto Capucci: Art into Fashion.” Through June 5, 2011 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Ben Franklin Parkway and 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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Richard da Silva is a cataloguing technician and the amateur archivist of the volunteers’ archive at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, a collection of all documents related to the Kimmel. He also writes a column for the collection’s newsletter. He is currently working on a book.
More articles by Richard da Silva, newest first
| Orchestre National de France at Verizon Hall |
April 19 2011 |
Is spring really as violent as Stravinsky imagined? Whatever— 98 years after its premiere, his Rite of Spring provoked not a riot but a standing ovation.
Orchestre National de France: Debussy, La Mer; Ravel, Piano Concerto in G Major; Stravinsky, Rite of Spring. Daniele Gatti, conductor. April 1, 2011 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. www.kimmelcenter.org.
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| How Paris transformed T.S. Eliot |
March 19 2011 |
In 1910, Paris was the world’s intellectual and cultural center and T.S. Eliot was only 22. His year there served as life-long inspiration for his groundbreaking poetry, plays, and criticism.
T.S. Eliot’s Parisian Year. By Nancy Duvall Hargrove. University Press of Florida, 2010. 336 pages; $29.95 (paperback). www.amazon.com.
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Marshall Ledger is a warhorse of the in-house magazine world. He was founding editor of Trust, the magazine of The Pew Charitable Trusts, and Penn Medicine, the alumni magazine of the University of Pennsylvania’s medical school. He also served the Pennsylvania Gazette, Penn’s general alumni magazine, as staff writer, associate editor and interim editor. He has been recognized as an Invited Member of the Robert Sibley Society “of extraordinary institutional editors and their distinguished colleagues in American journalism” (Council for Advancement and Support of Education, or CASE).
Marshall originally thought he was going to be an English professor, and he taught at Penn, the University of New Hampshire and La Salle College until he was hired by Farm Journal to help create a centennial-celebrating keepsake publication. His later writing credits include The New York Times Magazine, Philadelphia Magazine, Boston Magazine and many periodicals that now are merely remembered, sometimes even fondly, such as the Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine.
Marshall and his wife, Martha, collaborated to write and produce Dear Old Penn in Postcards: The University of Pennsylvania, 1900-1923, which won three CASE awards. And he worked with David Y. Cooper III, M.D., on Innovation and Tradition at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine: An Anecdotal Journey (University of Pennsylvania Press).
Marshall earned a B.A. from Dartmouth College, an M.A. from Penn State, and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. He lives in Philadelphia with Martha, who also writes. Their children are now far-flung: Daughter Kate is author of the 2009 novel Remedies, and son Gabriel is an emergency physician and creator of the short film, The Rest of My Life: Stories of Trauma Survivors. Marshall’s hobbies include cooking, Spanish language study, tai chi, Argentine tango, watercolor painting and drawing.
More articles by Marshall A. Ledger, newest first
| Penn Singers’ 'Patience' at Annenberg |
March 30 2013 |
Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience is a Victorian romp concerning jealousy among poets, soldiers and lovesick maidens. But the most jealous character of all was in the audience: me.
Patience, or Bunthorne’s Bride. Music by Arthur Sullivan; libretto by W. S. Gilbert; Julie May directed. Penn Singers production March 21-23, 2013 at Zellerbach Theatre, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St. (215) 898-3900 or www.annenbergcenter.org.
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| The School District and the Olympics |
March 03 2013 |
Philadelphia’s School District is starved for cash and weak on educational vision but steeped in empty classrooms. The U.S. Olympic Committee needs a large city with a ready-made Olympic village. Here’s a sure-fire idea for some bright real estate developer.
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| McDonagh's ‘Beauty Queen of Leenane’ at the Lantern (1st review) |
January 21 2013 |
What is it about modern Ireland that produces so many playwrights intent on cutting through that charming Gaelic sentimentality to expose the human brutality underneath?
The Beauty Queen of Leenane. By Martin McDonagh; Kathryn MacMillan directed. Lantern Theater production through February 10, 2013 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| ‘Freud’s Last Session’ at the Arden (2nd review) |
December 18 2012 |
The last thing you might expect from an encounter between the founder of psychoanalysis and a great Christian apologist is a snore.
Freud’s Last Session. By Mark St. Germain; Ian Merrill Peakes directed. Through December 23, 2012 at the Arden Theater’s Arcadia Stage, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| ‘Red-Eye to Havre de Grace’ at Live Arts Festival |
September 14 2012 |
Edgar Allan Poe, that master of the macabre, couldn’t tell the best story of all: his own mental disintegration and collapse. But Thaddeus Phillips and his team could, and did.
Red-Eye to Havre de Grace. By Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental and the Wilhelm Brothers; directed by Thaddeus Phillips. Live Arts Festival production through September 16, 2012 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad Street (at Lombard). (215) 413-1318 or www.livearts-fringe.
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| ‘Tulipomania’ at the Arden (1st review) |
June 02 2012 |
Tulipomania concerns greed, not as a deadly sin but as a by-product of market opportunity. For a musical about 17th-Century Holland, it sounds all too contemporary.
Tulipomania. Book, music and lyrics by Michael Ogborn; Terrence J. Nolen directed. Arden Theatre production through July 1, 2012 at Arden’s F. Otto Haas Stage, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| Lantern’s ‘The Island’ (2nd review) |
May 29 2012 |
Since South African Apartheid no longer officially exists, this 1973 Athol Fugard work might seem merely historical. Yet The Island’s relevance transcends its criticism of one particularly cruel and arbitrary state.
The Island. By Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona; Peter DeLaurier directed. Lantern Theater production through June 10, 2012 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| 1812 Productions does Mamet’s ‘Boston Marriage’ |
May 12 2012 |
David Mamet supposedly wrote Boston Marriage to prove he can write substantive roles for women. He still hasn’t.
Boston Marriage. By David Mamet; Jennifer Childs directed. 1812 Productions, through May 20, 2012 at Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey St. (215) 592-9560 or www.1812productions.org.
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| Bruce Graham’s ‘Outgoing Tide,’ by PTC (1st review) |
April 10 2012 |
Bruce Graham’s The Outgoing Tide confronts Alzheimer’s disease with wisecracks like, “Are you crazy?” The playwright’s immense talent, a first-rate cast of three, and innovative staging create a powerful theater experience nevertheless.
The Outgoing Tide. By Bruce Graham; James J. Christy directed. Philadelphia Theatre Company production through April 22, 2012 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St. (at Lombard). (215) 985-0420 or philadelphiatheatrecompany.org.
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| Lee Benson: The historian as activist |
March 24 2012 |
The late Penn historian Lee Benson contributed significantly to his field, but his shining moment may have occurred when he told his fellow historians to leave the sidelines and get involved.
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| ‘Cyrano’ at the Arden (1st review) |
March 17 2012 |
The polymath playwright Michael Hollinger has done it again. This time he takes a too-familiar century-old classic tragicomedy and infuses it with new allusions and linguistic flights of fancy suitable for the 21st Century.
Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano. Translated and adapted by Michael Hollinger; adapted and directed by Aaron Posner. Arden Theatre production through April 15, 2012 on the Arden’s F. Otto Haas Stage, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| ‘Big River’ at the Arts Bank |
February 25 2012 |
Big River, an adaptation of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, paradoxically shows how Americans can be entertained while being completely humiliated by our nation’s history.
Big River. Music and lyrics by Roger Williams; book by William Hauptman; adapted from Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; Frank Anzalone directed. University of the Arts production through February 25, 2012 at the Arts Bank, 601 S. Broad St. (at South St.). (800) 616-2787 or www.uarts.edu.
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| Anthony Lawton’s ‘The Great Divorce’ (2nd review) |
February 10 2012 |
Anthony Lawton reprises his one-man tour de force adaptation of C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce, which explains to a highly misguided world the right way to get to heaven.
The Great Divorce. Adapted and performed by Anthony Lawton, from the C.S. Lewis novella. Lantern Theater Company production through February 12, 2012 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-9002 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| Kander & Ebb’s ‘Scottsboro Boys’ by PTC (1st review) |
January 28 2012 |
This first-rate production of an ingenious musical appropriately recalls an American racial nightmare of the 1930s. Unfortunately, in its preoccupation with laughing at racism it overlooks or, worse, lampoons some of the real heroes of that Alabama tragedy.
The Scottsboro Boys. Music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb; book by David Thompson; Susan Stroman’s original direction and choreography recreated by Jeff Whiting. Philadelphia Theatre Company production through February 19, 2012 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St. (at Lombard). (215) 985-0420 or www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org.
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| Coward’s ‘Private Lives’ at the Lantern (1st review) |
December 17 2011 |
Noël Coward worried endlessly whether his works would endure. The Lantern Theater’s current production of Private Lives suggests one answer: The only way to prove that an old play continues to breathe is to revive it as an unforgettable theater experience.
Private Lives. By Noel Coward; Kathryn MacMillan directed. Lantern Theater Co. production through January 8, 2012 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| Fo’s ‘Accidental Death of an Anarchist’ at the Curio |
December 11 2011 |
Dario Fo’s efforts have always irritated the authorities and delighted the public with his farcical attacks on government corruption and social injustice. His work shares much in common with David Mamet's. So why is Mamet a darling of American theater, while Fo hasn't been performed in Philadelphia since 1997? Here's my theory.
Accidental Death of an Anarchist. By Dario Fo; translated by Gillian Hanna and adapted by Gavin Richards; M. Craig Getting directed. Curio Theatre Co. production through January 7, 2012 at Calvary Church, 4740 Baltimore Ave. (215) 525-1350 or www.curiotheatre.org.
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| America through a Spanish lens |
November 13 2011 |
For an American, there’s nothing like a sojourn in Spain to get a fresh perspective on our own current economic and political malaise. Both countries have made their share of mistakes since 1492. But the real problem is the reluctance to learn from those mistakes.
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| Lantern Theater’s ‘New Jerusalem’ (3rd review) |
November 05 2011 |
In David Ives’s play, Baruch Spinoza’s very abstract notions test a 17th-Century congregation’s tolerance for new ideas, not to mention age-old ideals. But the Lantern Theater production makes it clear that this 21st-Century audience is being tested as well.
New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza at Talmud Torah Congregation, Amsterdam, July 27, 1656. By David Ives; Charles McMahon directed. Lantern Theater Company production through November 12, 2011 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| Pig Iron’s ‘Twelfth Night’ (2nd review) |
September 18 2011 |
I’ve never before heard a Twelfth Night audience so quickly drawn in emotionally as well as intellectually. Pig Iron had us in its grip and never let go, in the process demonstrating what makes a drama dramatic.
Twelfth Night. By William Shakespeare; Dan Rothenberg directed. Pig Iron Theatre Company production for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival through September 17, 2011 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St. (215) 425-1100 or www.pigiron.org.
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| ‘The Arsonists’ at the Fringe (1st review) |
September 03 2011 |
When arsonists arrive to burn down your house, should you invite them to dinner and try to dissuade them? Max Frisch’s The Arsonists (formerly called The Firebugs), written in 1953, speaks of moral responsibility and action in the face of personal threat. It doesn’t seem the least bit outdated in this Fringe Festival offering.
The Arsonists. By Max Frisch; translated by Alistair Beaton; Tina Brock directed. Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium production through September 18, 2011, at the Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5, 825 Walnut St. (215) 285-0472 or www.IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium.org or www.phillyfringe.org.
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| Conservatives, liberals and socialized booze |
July 23 2011 |
It’s that time of year again, when legislators wonder why the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is in the liquor business. As a free-lance writer for whom this subject has become something of a cash cow, I say: Hey, the system works for me.
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| ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ in Clark Park |
July 23 2011 |
Much Ado About Nothing triumphed over multiple distractions in its open-air West Philadelphia venue. But then, Shakespeare himself confronted similar challenges in the 16th Century.
Much Ado About Nothing. By William Shakespeare; Alex Torra directed. Shakespeare in Clark Park production though July 24, 2011, at Clark Park, Chester Ave. between 43rd and 45th St. In case of rain, Curio Theatre, 815 S. 48th St. (215) 462-2115 or www.shakespeareinclarkpark.org.
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| ‘Pirates of Penzance’ in Oregon |
July 05 2011 |
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, in its 76th year, has discovered new territory: Gilbert and Sullivan. In The Pirates of Penzance, the Festival demonstrates that lampooning Victorian assumptions remains as relevant as ever.
The Pirates of Penzance. Music by Arthur Sullivan; libretto by W. S. Gilbert; directed by Bill Rauch. Through October 8, 2011 at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, Ore. (800) 219-8161 or www.osfashland.org.
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| Abbas Kiarostami’s ‘Certified Copy’ |
May 03 2011 |
Is an exact copy of a great artwork just as good as the real thing? Well, yes, suggests Abbas Kiarostami’s Certified Copy— in much the same way that a film like this one is cleaner and more accessible than the messy complexity of real life.
Certified Copy (Copie conforme). A film directed by Abbas Kiarostami. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| Gregory Burke’s ‘Black Watch’ in Brooklyn |
April 26 2011 |
Black Watch is a darkly convincing portrayal of young men who enlist in the military and, sadly, find themselves out of their element. It put me in mind of my own dubious military experience a long time ago.
Black Watch. By Gregory Burke; John Tiffany directed. National Theatre of Scotland production through May 8, 2011 at St. Ann’s Warehouse, 38 Water St., Brooklyn, N.Y. (718) 254-8779 or www.stannswarehouse.org.
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| Tracy Letts’s ‘Superior Donuts’ at the Arden (1st review) |
March 07 2011 |
Making perfect donuts day after day might be an achievement, but it doesn’t quite add up to a life for Arthur, the proprietor of the Superior Donuts store in Uptown Chicago. But one day he hires an enthusiastic neighborhood kid, who manages to strip the glaze off everything.
Superior Donuts. By Tracy Letts; Edward Sobel directed. Through April 3, 2011 at the Arden Theatre, F. Otto Haas Stage, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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More articles by Maralyn Lois Polak, newest first
| My mother’s cherished possessions |
August 07 2012 |
I’m the last survivor in my family, and so I’ve become my family’s museum— the repository of all our lost dreams and desires. What am I supposed to do with all these crystal, porcelain and lace symbols that once defined the finer things in life?
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| To a brother who died of AIDS |
July 24 2012 |
My brother Marty was gay, but not happy. As adults we weren’t especially close. It wasn’t until he died of AIDS 20 years ago that I really came to know and appreciate him.
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| How green is my carbon footprint? |
June 03 2012 |
Excuse me, but isn't all this environmental correctness becoming a convenient marketing ploy?
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| Between fiction and self-deceit: A writer’s fable |
May 22 2012 |
When Literature becomes Life, watch out! What is life, after all, but a series of interlocking narratives?
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| Death and life of a friend |
April 01 2012 |
Let him die on a Sunday, she decides. And so she calls me, and I come.
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| Prostate cancer and radioactive love |
February 28 2012 |
Thanks to modern medical science, most men survive prostate cancer. But the doctors don’t tell you that sometimes the process can transform a macho man into a girly-girl, at least temporarily.
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| A belated Valentine to the body |
February 07 2012 |
Back in the day, we never thought of betrayals of the body— only betrayals of lovers. Now that the tide has turned, to whom should I send my Valentine?
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| Newt’s open marriage, and mine |
January 24 2012 |
Did the talk of Newt Gingrich's open marriage actually help him win the South Carolina primary? Maybe so. Many Americans cherish the same fantasy, as I can attest from personal experience.
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| A few not unkind words about Kim Jong-il |
December 20 2011 |
North Korea’s late leader was demonized in the West as a tyrant preoccupied with bombs and gulags. Yet away from his day job, this creative soul pursued other passions, as a prolific writer, filmmaker and critic.
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| Open letter to film producer Jeffrey Lurie |
March 05 2011 |
Producer Jeff Lurie is miffed because the director of his Oscar-winning film neglected to thank him at the awards ceremony. As a small-scale filmmaker looking to crash the big time, I will eagerly perform any requisite display of gratitude in exchange for your support.
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| ’Tis the season for ungifting |
January 02 2011 |
A challenge for the post-Christmas season: Do I really want the ratty Ralph Lauren bathrobe my grumpy ex-boyfriend gave me? Does anyone want it?
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Henrik Eger, Ph.D., professor of English and Communication, Delaware County (Pa.) Community College. Bilingual playwright. Martin Luther Kingís (German) Nobel Peace Prize mail translator. Contributor: Literary Exile in the Twentieth Century. Producer-writer: All About Jewish Theatre, The World’s Largest Secular Synagogue and Open University (YouTube). Philadelphia correspondent: AAJT. Producer-director: Multilingual International Shakespeare, London. Philadelphia judge: Barrymore Theatre Awards. Member: Board of Directors, Theatre Ariel. Visit his website at www.henrikeger.com.
More articles by Henrik Eger, newest first
| ‘Playing Leni,’ by Madhouse Theater |
June 12 2011 |
Playing Leni, a drama about a power-hungry filmmaker willing to walk over bodies, encourages the American audience to discover not only some of the inner workings of a Third Reich mind, but also our own.
Playing Leni. By David Robson and John Stanton; directed by Seth Reichgott. Madhouse Theater Company production closed June 11, 2011 at Adrienne Theater, 2030 Sansom St. (267) 571-9623 or www.madhousetheater.org.
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| Scrooge vs. Madoff: A distant mirror |
January 01 2011 |
The similarities between two notorious symbols of greed— Ebenezer Scrooge and Bernard Madoff— are obvious enough. But the Madoff story continues to unravel. Is it possible that Madoff may yet be redeemed with the help of a ghost, just like Scrooge?
A Dickens Christmas. Written, directed and performed by Jared Reed, from the works of Charles Dickens. Closed December 12, 2010 at Hedgerow Theatre, 64 Rose Valley Rd., Media, Pa. 610-565-4211 or www.hedgerowtheatre.org.
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Although erstwhile supermarket cashier Tashamaria Tromer currently makes her home in Center City Philadelphia, she’s a forever Jersey Girl at heart as well as a researcher, workshop leader, former freshman composition lecturer, cat-and-dog companion and Reiki channel.
More articles by Tashamaria Tromer, newest first
This contributor has not yet published any articles.
Kile Smith’s music is hailed for its “sparkling beauty” by Gramophone, which called his one-hour Vespers, for Piffaro, The Renaissance Band, and The Crossing, “spectacular.” His works are praised for their emotional power, direct appeal, and strong voice.
Commissions include The Waking Sun and Where Flames a Word for The Crossing, The Nobility of Women, a dance suite for Mélomanie, the song cycle Plain Truths for the Newburyport Chamber Music Festival, and Mass for Philadelphia for the 2012 Conference of the Association of Anglican Musicians. He’s composed for Concertmaster David Kim and Principal Horn Jennifer Montone of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Current commissions include The Red Book of Montserrat for the Philadelphia Sinfonia, Red-tail and Hummingbird, a joint commission by Orchestra 2001 and Piffaro, and a new work for the Newburyport Festival.
For 18 years Kile was the curator of the Fleisher Collection of Orchestral Music in the Free Library of Philadelphia. He is on the adjunct faculties at Cairn University, teaching composition, advanced orchestration, and post-1900 music history, and at Temple University, teaching music notation. He now composes full-time (when he isn’t hosting ”Discoveries from the Fleisher Collection” and ”Now is the Time,” subbing on-air at WRTI 90.1 FM in Philadelphia, writing for the Broad Street Review and WRTI, and teaching).
He lives in the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia. His website is kilesmith.com, where he writes about his music and musical activities, and (he promises) hardly anything else.
More articles by Kile Smith, newest first
| The great debate: Sackbut or trombone? |
April 30 2013 |
Is the modern trombone a better instrument than its Renaissance ancestor, the sackbut? That’s like asking, "is Mahler better than Monteverdi?"
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| Palm Sunday’s musical miracles |
March 26 2013 |
Our church continued our tradition of the chanted Passion this past Palm Sunday. Over the years we’ve tweaked it to accommodate the singers and musicians, most of whom are amateurs. The result is itself one of the miracles of the Easter season.
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| Thomas Lloyd’s ‘Bonhoeffer’ (2nd review) |
March 15 2013 |
Thomas Lloyd calls his Bonhoeffer a “choral theater piece,” which is exactly right. It’s 70 minutes of choral singing, but this tribute to a World War II martyr doesn’t present itself as a choir performance. Watching it is like watching an elaborate church service play out.
The Crossing: Lloyd, Bonhoeffer. Maren Montalbano, Rebecca Hoke, Rebecca Siler, sopranos; Maren Montalbano Brehm, alto; Guillaume Comber, violin; Ulrich Boeckheler, cello; Mike Sparhuber, percussion; John Bailey, organ and piano; Tim Early, Carrie Ellmore-Tallitsch, dancers. Tim Early, choreographer; Donald Nally, conductor. March 10, 2013 at Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, 38th and Chestnut Sts. www.crossingchoir.com.
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| Composing on deadline (Part IV) |
February 19 2013 |
My piece was pretty much finished when I sent it to both of the intended performing groups for feedback. They informed me that my high F’s weren't playable on the shawms. What to do? Rewrite everything? No time for that.
Orchestra 2001: Joint concerts with Piffaro, the Renaissance Wind Band, and soprano Julianne Baird. February 22, 2013 at Trinity Center, 2212 Spruce St.; Feb. 23 at Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, 8855 Germantown Ave.; Feb. 24 at Lang Concert Hall, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pa. (215) 893-1999 or www.orchestra2001.org.
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| Composer’s quandary: Ideas vs. music (Part III) |
February 12 2013 |
Throwing out music is one of the composer’s most necessary jobs. People ask composers how we get ideas, but ideas are easy. The hardest part is throwing out every idea except the one that’s perfect.
Orchestra 2001: Joint concerts with Piffaro, the Renaissance Wind Band, and soprano Julianne Baird. February 22, 2013 at Trinity Center, 2212 Spruce St.; Feb. 23 at Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, 8855 Germantown Ave.; Feb. 24 at Lang Concert Hall, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pa. (215) 893-1999 or www.orchestra2001.org.
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| Two birds, one composer (Part II) |
February 05 2013 |
Watching a fight between two birds had inspired me. Now came the real challenge: to pinpoint my emotion and translate it into music. Generic emotion, I knew, produces generic music, just as it produces bland acting, uninvolving painting, and vanilla poetry.
Orchestra 2001: Joint concerts with Piffaro, the Renaissance Wind Band, and soprano Julianne Baird. February 22, 2013 at Trinity Center, 2212 Spruce St.; Feb. 23 at Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, 8855 Germantown Ave.; Feb. 24 at Lang Concert Hall, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pa. (215) 893-1999 or www.orchestra2001.org.
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| The hawk, the hummingbird and the composer (Part I) |
January 21 2013 |
Outside my porch, a hawk struggled for survival with a hummingbird. On my porch, I struggled to produce a commissioned work of music. And you wonder where composers find our inspiration.
Orchestra 2001: Joint concerts with Piffaro, the Renaissance Wind Band, and soprano Julianne Baird. February 22, 2013 at Trinity Center, 2212 Spruce St.; Feb. 23 at Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, 8855 Germantown Ave.; Feb. 24 at Lang Concert Hall, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pa. (215) 893-1999 or www.orchestra2001.org.
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| 'Let's Hang On': A composer’s search for his culture |
December 11 2012 |
I’m an American composer with German roots that I can’t shake off (and don’t really want to). But I love my sweet land of liberty above all. So what defines my place in America’s manufactured culture? What defines yours?
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| How composers really work |
November 20 2012 |
Many people think composers do our composing on long walks. But to get any real work done, you’ve got to attach your posterior to a chair and have music paper in front of you. Consider how I composed “Softly and Tenderly.”
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| On music and politics |
October 19 2012 |
What was Beethoven trying to say about Napoleon? What was Shostakovich trying to say about Stalin? Whom am I voting for? And why does it matter?
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| Why computers can’t replace composers |
September 11 2012 |
Computers already beat chess masters and produce notes for composers. But could they replace Beethoven or Puccini some day? The answer is no, for three reasons.
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| Can computers replace composers? |
July 24 2012 |
When Beethoven was a little baby/ Sittin’ on his daddy’s knee,/ He picked up an iPhone, little CD-ROM,/ Said, “Computer’s gonna be the death of me, Lawd, Lawd….”
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| What I learned from whale watching |
June 26 2012 |
What do composers and conductors share in common with sea captains, farmers and Major League baseball managers? As I learned on my first whale-watching expedition, it‘s a certain fixity in the eyes that enables you to see things no one else ever noticed before.
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| The Gospels: Fact or fiction? |
May 29 2012 |
What did Jesus really say on the cross? Are the Gospels fairy tales or journalism? How can you take them seriously when they contradict each other? A colloquy between two aficionados of Bach’s St. John Passion.
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| Of composers and bridges |
May 22 2012 |
Once no bridges crossed the Delaware River; now 120 do. There’s a lesson here for composers like me, since we build bridges all the time.
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| Bach, Christians and anti-Semitism: A reply |
April 24 2012 |
Bach wasn’t anti-Semitic, and neither is his St. John Passion. Neither was St. John himself. True Christians understand that Christianity is Jewish through and through.
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| View from the percussion section |
April 10 2012 |
So you think it’s easy to play percussion in an orchestra? That's what I thought, until I tried it.
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| Between Bach and ‘O-o-h Child’ |
March 20 2012 |
What does the drummer in “O-o-h Child” by the Five Stairsteps have in common with the cellist in a Bach Cantata? Well, try listening to either work without them.
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| Rock 'n roll: Doomed to disappoint |
March 03 2012 |
There’s no rock if there’s no backbeat. It’s the element that teases you into believing any direction is open, any option is possible. Which is a delusion, of course.
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| Recalling Etta James and ‘At Last’ |
December 31 2011 |
“At Last” had been covered by a handful of artists, but the song became immortal in 1961 because of Etta James, who died January 21; and because of her, it’s the icon of a poignant era in American music.
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| Samuel Hsu: A polymath’s giant shadow |
December 06 2011 |
The polymath Dr. Samuel Hsu, who died last week, was a pianist and musicologist who spoke eight languages and was conversant in linguistics, philosophy, science, theology, history, fine arts, archaeology, literature, ice hockey. He was a Presbyterian elder who was steeped in Buddhism and Judaism. He was elite but never elitist.
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| ‘What a Wonderful World': The drummer’s difference |
September 25 2011 |
Louis Armstrong draws us in with a voice that makes the sentimentality real. The drummer Grady Tate keeps us honest. That’s why “What a Wonderful World” is something other than just a pretty song. And that’s why it’s unsettling.
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| Sports and music: a common link |
September 13 2011 |
Long before I became a composer, I played soccer. In the process I learned a useful lesson: In sports as in music, the ultimate goal isn’t perfection; it’s humility and humanity.
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| My 15 minutes as Shakespeare |
August 14 2011 |
After years of devoted service as a Free Library petty bureaucrat, I got my mom
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| In search of a forgotten composer |
April 26 2011 |
Why on earth is Alexander Gretchaninoff buried in central New Jersey? Why on earth am I searching for his grave? In some strange way, this obscure and forgotten Russian composer speaks to my own struggle to compose.
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| How I learned to love Milton Babbitt |
February 08 2011 |
Audiences didn’t understand Milton Babbitt’s music. For a long time, I didn’t, either. But as he would say, who understands particle physics? For that matter, who understands James Joyce?
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| Are symphonies really dying? (A response) |
December 12 2010 |
BSR contributor Robert Zaller laments the demise of the symphony in our times. Out of curiosity, I conducted a census of symphonic composers from Haydn to the present. The surprising numbers and ratios I found suggest almost the opposite conclusion.
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Like many life-long Philadelphians, Madeline Schaefer grew up attending local Quaker schools, where she developed a deep love for language and learning. After graduating from Germantown Friends School in 2005, she took a break from the East Coast to study English at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. There Madeline was heavily involved with Carleton’s student-run radio station, where she produced radio documentaries about art and culture around the campus.
The past year after graduation took Madeline around the world, but she never stopped writing. Now that she has returned home she is excited to work with Dan Rottenberg and learn about arts editing as well as the future of online magazine publishing. Madeline hopes to learn how to use the internet to foster vigorous and stimulating dialogue in order to create a thriving arts community.
She lives in Philadelphia’s Chestnut Hill section.
More articles by Madeline Schaefer, newest first
| ‘Girls’ and the new feminism (a reply) |
September 04 2012 |
Thanks to those pioneering feminists of the ’70s, women are now free to pursue careers just like men. But my 20-something generation is discovering the emotional costs of conventional success.
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| ‘Look! on Lancaster Avenue’ |
October 04 2011 |
Forlorn and barely noticed, Powelton Village has been populated for decades by a vibrant, talented and insular group of artists. Now it’s trying to create public buzz, which could be the neighborhood’s undoing.
"LOOK! on Lancaster Avenue." Through November 30, 2011 at various locations on Lancaster Ave. between 34th and 41st Streets in West Philadelphia. www.lancasteravenuearts.com.
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| ‘Moneyball’ and male values |
September 30 2011 |
Moneyball is a new twist on a classic American movie plot: Here, a rugged, aggressive and somewhat misogynistic man learns the value of two things money can’t buy: patience and thought. If such a transformation can happen to a Brad Pitt character, is there hope for our macho country?
Moneyball. A film directed by Bennett Miller. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| ‘Dan Rottenberg Is Thinking About Raping You’ |
June 28 2011 |
Cara Blouin’s satire of Dan Rottenberg’s views on sex abuse is witty fun. But she’s preaching to her own younger generation here. Our parents hold views that are sincere and well intended too. Who among my contemporaries will reach across the generation gap to converse with them?
Dan Rottenberg is Thinking About Raping You: An Educational Presentation. By Cara Blouin. Forearm Productions presentation June 25, 2011 at Plays & Players Theater, 1714 Delancey Place. (215) 735-0630 or www.playsandplayers.org.
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| Sex abuse: How to respond to Dan Rottenberg |
June 28 2011 |
To correct Dan Rottenberg and simply say that women are never responsible for male sexual aggression isn’t really addressing the very real male reactions to cleavage, legs, etc. And why are women still buying into male definitions of what is "sexy"?
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| Simon’s ‘Lost in Yonkers’ at Plays & Players |
June 06 2011 |
In an age that’s overrun with “coming of age” stories, Neil Simon’s Lost In Yonkers takes a different tack, examining the coming-of-age of an entire dysfunctional family. A superb production expertly navigates the journey.
Lost in Yonkers. By Neil Simon; Betty Chomentowski directed. Plays & Players production through June 19, 2011 at Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Pl. (215) 735-0630 or www.playsandplayers.org.
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| 'Through the Skin' by Koresh Dance Company |
May 10 2011 |
Through the Skin, Koresh Dance Company's new performance, articulates with breathtaking beauty the modern relationship between body and mind and invites the audience to do likewise.
Koresh Dance Company: Through the Skin. Ronen Koresh, choreographer. May 5-8, 2011 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St. (at Lombard).
(215) 751-0990 or www.koreshdance.org.
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| ‘Slam Nation’s’ night of story telling |
May 03 2011 |
It's harder to tell a good story than you might think, especially without a script, as I discovered during a recent night of storytelling at the Kimmel.
Slam Nation. Produced by First Person Arts for Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts, April 26, 2011 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. www.firstpersonarts.org/slamnation.
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| BalletX and Wilma re-imagine Apollinaire (2nd review) |
April 19 2011 |
Apollinaire and the surrealists reveled in the absurd. But these performers aren’t surrealists— they’re modern-day artists performing an old piece of surrealist art. It’s a treat for the senses, but there’s not much here for the mind to chew on.
BalletX/Wilma Theater: Proliferation of the Imagination. Choreographed by Matthew Neenan, based on Guillaume Apollinaire’s Les mamelles de Tiresias; Walter Bilderback, director. Through April 24, 2011 at the Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). www.balletx.org.
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| Cary Fukunaga’s ‘Jane Eyre’ on film (1st review) |
April 04 2011 |
In a world where love is over-analyzed and over-articulated, there’s something incredibly refreshing about witnessing love portrayed as magic.
Jane Eyre. A film directed by Cary Fukunaga, based on the novel by Charlotte Brontë. For Philadelphia-area show times, click here.
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| Blue Man Group: An ‘80s relic |
January 04 2011 |
Blue Man Group was quite avant-garde in the ’80s. But this male trio can’t seem to accept that modern society has outgrown the group’s message and even its form. Flashing lights on stage screens just don't do it any more.
Blue Man Group. Closed January 2, 2011 at the Merriam Theatre, Broad St. above Spruce. www.kimmelcenter.org.
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Chris Braak is a playwright and novelist from Philadelphia. He writes regularly for Threat Quality Press, and on the blog for Iron Age Theatre’s Special Operations Executive.
You can find more from him at www.chrisbraak.com.
More articles by Chris Braak, newest first
| Should actors address the audience? |
October 29 2010 |
The New York Times theater critic Charles Isherwood recently decried the spread of “direct address”— in which actors speak directly to the audience rather than “naturally” to each other. So much for Euripides, Shakespeare, Beckett, Brecht and Thornton Wilder. Besides, is "natural" theater really natural?
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Perry Block is a writer, humorist, and human resources professional who lives in Havertown, Pa., just outside of Philadelphia.
In his humor website, Perry Block— Nouveau Old, Formerly Cute (www.perryblock.com), Perry chronicles the world through the eyes of one Baby Boomer warily poised on the cusp of an age he thought was exclusively reserved for people’s parents.”
Many of his humor pieces have been featured in print and on-line publications. Perry’s comedic Twittersite is known as @PerryBlock, and you can reach him directly at .
More articles by Perry Block, newest first
| A Baby Boomer gets a haircut |
March 09 2013 |
In the ‘60s, when I was adolescing, it was parents from the “Greatest Generation” who told their Baby Boomer kids to get a haircut. When did the world change?
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| Impertinent questions about halos |
December 28 2012 |
The “halo effect” in paintings of the Medieval and Early Renaissance periods raises many intriguing questions, all of them blasphemous.
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| War on Christmas: The Ken Burns version |
December 16 2012 |
It was the worst of times, when atheists and humanists waged warfare against elves and gnomes, and an entire nation came apart at the seams. Fortunately, Ken Burns and his intrepid research crew were on hand to record the whole bloody mess for posterity.
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| The Pope’s Tweets |
December 07 2012 |
When I learned that Pope Benedict had joined Twitter, I sensed a job opportunity as the Pope's Twitter mentor. In the process I secured for myself the highest— and pretty much only— celebrity follower I've ever had.
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| Schwarzenegger’s ‘Total Recall’ |
October 13 2012 |
Move over, Marcel Proust. The Terminator’s memories are bigger, badder and surely more shameless than anything you conjured up by biting into a cookie.
Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story. By Arnold Schwarzenegger. Simon & Schuster, 2012. 656 pages; $35. www.amazon.com.
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| You too can appear on a postage stamp |
October 02 2011 |
The U. S. Postal Service recently announced that it will soon issue stamps featuring people who are still alive, which it hopes will appeal to collectors. But what happens if you’re stuck with an old roll of Eliot Spitzers?
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| Congressional sex scandals: Do it yourself |
August 06 2011 |
Another member of the U.S. House of Representatives has resigned his seat due to a sex scandal. And by now you can write the news story yourself.
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| Antidote for sex addicts: chocolate |
July 05 2011 |
Always another sex scandal in the news. And what’s the big deal about sex, anyway? Eating chocolate, on the other hand, produces pleasure that extends from your mouth and taste buds all the way down to your tummy.
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| A baby boomer looks at tattoos |
June 16 2011 |
Baby boomers like me connote tattoos with bikers and drunken sailors on shore leave. But these days it’s difficult to find an athlete or movie star who believes tabula rasa is an acceptable approach to one’s epidermis.
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| Secrets of Cecily Tynan, weather queen |
April 30 2011 |
What explains the success of TV weather lady Cecily Tynan? Better ask: Why does my barometric pressure rise whenever she smiles at me?
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| A man’s guide to aging gracefully |
March 12 2011 |
What is the cut-off age for admiring young girls? Plus other practical tips for men who don’t want to be perceived as old and dirty.
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| My Greco-Roman Christmas |
December 14 2010 |
Christmas is a tough time for Jews, as my ancestors and I can personally attest. But suppose that 2,000 years ago Christianity had flamed out and worship of Zeus had prevailed?
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| Apologies: Ginni Thomas vs. Anita Hill |
October 23 2010 |
Clarence Thomas’s wife recently phoned Anita Hill out of the blue to ask Hill to apologize for accusing Justice Thomas of sexual harassment 19 years ago. Recognizing that Ginni Thomas was on to something, I placed a few calls of my own.
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| Farewell to the ’50s |
August 17 2010 |
It’s high time I faced the facts: My beloved ’50s are indeed dead, and I need a new set of conversational reference points. But before I take my leave, allow me one last farewell to my faithful ’50s friends.
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Jonathan Pappas teaches in the Intellectual Heritage Department at Temple University. He writes fiction and lives in the East Falls section of Philadelphia. Follow his Twitter feed at @jonathanpappas.
More articles by Jonathan Pappas, newest first
| First Friday find: Excursion to Fishtown |
September 07 2010 |
Don’t overlook the forgotten child of Philadelphia “First Friday” arts events— Fishtown’s scruffy, eccentric version. It’s less polished but just possibly more fun. Less expensive, too.
Frankford Avenue First Fridays. First Friday evening of every month. www.Frankfordavearts.org.
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| On renaming my commuter train |
August 13 2010 |
Can you espy the connection between a nameless commuter train and a limbless Iraq war veteran?
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More articles by Candy Kean, newest first
| School budget cuts: A view from the front lines |
April 29 2011 |
Philadelphia's School District must slash its budget again. In abstract terms, that sounds onerous. But how does it actually affect children and teachers? As one of the latter, allow me to provide a firsthand illustration.
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| Test scores: A teacher’s tale |
July 08 2010 |
As the school year ended, I was summoned to see the principal. Our preliminary PSSA scores have come out, and my class did terribly, and so I am to blame. It doesn’t matter if your kids have learning issues or attendance issues. All that matters is their scores.
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Robert P. Levin was born and raised in Philadelphia but has lived in Toronto for nearly a quarter century now. He’s an editor at The Globe and Mail (Canada’s national newspaper). Previously he was executive editor of Maclean’s (Canada’s national newsmagazine) and a Newsweek writer in New York before that. He’s long been known as Bob Levin but has assumed the byline of Robert P. Levin to avoid confusion with another BSR contributor named Bob Levin, who’s a lawyer in Berkeley, California.
More articles by Robert P. Levin, newest first
| Farewell, old Newsweek |
October 22 2012 |
I don’t know whether print is dead. I just know the famous magazine that informed my world as a kid, and then gave me a wondrous break into big-time journalism, is now but a digital shadow.
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| The Zen of getting canned |
August 19 2011 |
Surely surviving cancer, three different times, would throw everything else in life into perspective, I thought. Then I got fired.
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| What's cancer really like? |
June 28 2011 |
Take it from one who knows from experience: We do cancer patients a disservice if we see the fight but not the rage, the fear, the full storm of emotions that strikes mortals facing their own mortality.
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| Fear and integration in Wynnefield, c. 1970 |
June 26 2010 |
To a kid growing up there, Wynnefield was a far more interesting, vital neighborhood in the years after integration and before our parents’ panic ended that all too brief era.
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In the past 35 years I made art with conventional art materials as a sculptor, potter and painter. I taught myself to create art on the computer and in the last 13 years, the challenge has been to combine technology with artistry, a complex and difficult process.
My art was exhibited in 9 solo exhibitions and more than 60 juried and invitational shows. My digital work is permanently exhibited at the University of Pennsylvania, cited in 2 art textbooks and is listed on London’s Saatchi Gallery website by invitation. Currently I work in a Jewish Museum creating graphics and digital art with a Jewish theme.
My computer paintings are printed on paper, canvas or other materials in sizes ranging from letter to mural size. In addition to original computer paintings I make custom photo montages with personal materials supplied by clients.
More articles by Joan Myerson Shrager, newest first
| Why so many Jewish artists? |
August 28 2010 |
Why are there so many Jews in the visual arts? And why now? Is it just a coincidence? Or did the unique experience of the Holocaust engender an unequally unique psyche that looks powerfully inward for self-expression and for an outlet for hidden fears?
“Art and the Holocaust.” Illustrated lecture series by Rabbi Lance J. Sussman, Oct. 17, 24 and 31 at Congregation Keneseth Israel, 8339 Old York Rd., Elkins Park, Pa. (215) 887-8700 or www.kenesethisrael.org.
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| Germantown’s stained-glass miracle |
June 08 2010 |
In a remarkable stained-glass workshop in an old church in Germantown, streetwise teens developed a whole new way of looking at themselves and each other. And I found an inspiration I’d never experienced in my 40 years as a professional artist.
“Windows That Open Doors”: On display through July 31, 2010 at Fairmount Park Welcome Center, Love Park, J.F. Kennedy Blvd. and 16th St. (215) 683-0246 or www.fairmountpark.org.
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Rebecca Ritzel is a Washington, D.C.-based arts journalist who contributes to the Washington Post and other publications. She also teaches writing at the University of Maryland. She previously spent five years as the arts writer at the Lancaster (Pa.) Intelligencer Journal. She left that paper in 2005 to earn a master’s degree in arts journalism at Syracuse University.
Visit her website at www.rjritzel.com.
Photo: Mark Weinhold.
More articles by Rebecca J. Ritzel, newest first
| Philadelphia Orchestra’s Washington concert |
May 28 2010 |
If ever the Philadelphia Orchestra and its interim music leader Charles Dutoit need a quick morale boost, their best bet is to jump on the Acela and head south to Washington. Consider their recent all-Russian program and its frenzied reception.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3; Stravinsky, Petrushka; Glinka, overture to Rusian and Lyudmila; Nikolai Lugansky, piano; Charles Dutoit, conductor.
May 26, 2010 at the Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, Md. (301) 581-5100 or www.strathmore.org.
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I am a freelance technical writer who splits his time between Philadelphia and New York. In my free time I like to see plays and movies in both cities. Maybe it’s because I write for a living, but I usually prefer to review plays in a bar after the show rather than write about them. But recently, at the urging of friends, I’ve published reviews in print and on the internet.
More articles by A.Q. Torby, newest first
| Brecht’s ‘Arturo Ui’ in Delaware (2nd review) |
May 15 2010 |
I never understood Hitler’s charismatic hold on the German people, but this adept ensemble performance provides a clue: It keeps us so astonished that we’re blinded and immobilized from calling his bluff.
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, by Bertolt Brecht; directed by Heinz-Uwe Haus. Resident Ensemble Players production through May 16, 2010 at Thompson Theatre, Roselle Center for the Arts, University of Delaware, 110 Orchard St., Newark, Del. (302) 831-2204 or www.rep.udel.edu/Arturo.html.
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Norm Roessler is an assistant professor at Temple University and the editor of Communications, the Performance Journal of the International Brecht Society. He writes on German and American Theater and reviews plays along the Northeast Corridor as well as in Germany.
More articles by Norman Roessler, newest first
| Theatre Exile’s ‘Iron’ at the Fringe (1st review) |
September 13 2010 |
In Theatre Exile’s production of Rona Munro’s Iron, the stunning proximity of a converted South Philadelphia garage allows the audience to peer voyeuristically into the psychological dissection that occurs onstage.
Iron. By Rona Munro; directed By Deborah Block. Theatre Exile production through October 10, 2010 at Studio X, 1340 South 13th St. (215) 413.9006 or www.livearts-fringe.org.
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| EgoPo’s ‘Marat/Sade’ (1st review) |
September 13 2010 |
Taking up where it left off with last season’s Beckett Festival, EgoPo once again thumbs its nose at Philadelphia’s conservative theater scene with Marat / Sade. Crash-land this cruel concoction in the enormous Sanctuary space at the Rotunda Theater and you just might find the year’s most terribly satisfying theater pleasure.
The Persecution and Assassination of Jean Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade. By Peter Weiss; adapted by Geoffrey Skelton; directed by Brenna Geffers. EgoPo Theater production for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival through September 18, 2010 at the Sanctuary at the Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St. (215) 413.9006 or www.livearts-fringe.org/details.cfm?id=13580.
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| Temple Repertory Theater’s ‘Measure For Measure’ |
July 20 2010 |
It’s a wonder that anyone would take on such a complex and difficult work as Shakespeare’s Measure For Measure. Yet director Douglas C. Wager and his new Temple Repertory theater team have navigated this riddle of a play with two original (albeit flawed) features.
Measure for Measure. By William Shakespeare; directed by Douglas C. Wager. Temple Repertory Theater production through July 30, 2010 at Tomlinson Theater, 1301 W. Norris St. (215) 204-1334 or sct.temple.edu/blogs/repertory-theater.
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| John Waters and his ‘Role Models’ |
June 26 2010 |
The renegade filmmaker John Waters’s latest book is a paean to reading as a revolutionary act. His recent appearance at the Free Library was tame by comparison.
Role Models. By John Waters. Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2010. Hard cover. 320 pp. $25. www.amazon.com/Role-Models.
Author Event: “A Conversation with John Waters.” June 1, 2010 at Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine St. libwww.freelibrary.org/authorevents.
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| Martha Nussbaum's ivory tower |
June 08 2010 |
Professor Martha Nussbaum deplores the decline of liberal arts education, which she sees as the engine of democracy. And she champions Socratic dialogue as the stimulant for the liberal arts. So why was her recent Free Library appearance more monologue than dialogue?
Martha C. Nussbaum. Not For Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010. 178 pp.; $23. press.princeton.edu.
An Evening With Martha Nussbaum. May 24, 2010 at Free Library, Central Branch, 1901 Vine St. (215) 686-5322 or www.freelibrary.org.
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| Brecht’s 'Arturo Ui' in Delaware (1st review) |
May 08 2010 |
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Bertolt Brecht’s 1941 Hitler parable set within a fictionalized Chicago underworld, is easily resistible. But once we hear the all-American “Looney Tunes” soundtrack of our childhood, our defenses are disarmed.
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, by Bertolt Brecht; directed by Heinz-Uwe Haus. Resident Ensemble Players production through May 16, 2010 at Thompson Theatre, Roselle Center for the Arts, University of Delaware, 110 Orchard St., Newark, Del. (302) 831-2204 or www.rep.udel.edu/Arturo.
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More articles by Neal Zoren, newest first
| Tracy Letts’s ‘August: Osage County’ on tour (1st review) |
May 01 2010 |
At a time when so many American plays build their plots around political and social issues, Tracy Letts’s family free-for-all, August: Osage County, is a refreshing change of pace. And this touring cast is more realistic and consequently even more devastating than the original 2007 Broadway ensemble.
August: Osage County. By Tracy Letts; directed by Anna D. Shapiro. Through May 2, 2010 at the Forrest Theatre, 1114 Walnut St. (215) 893-1999 or www.kimmelcenter.org.
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Wendy Rosenfield has written freelance features and theater criticism for the Philadelphia Inquirer since 2006. Her “Drama Queen” blog for ArtsJournal.com covers “drama, onstage and off.” She was also chief theater critic for the Philadelphia Weekly from 1995 to 2001. Currently an M.L.A. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, she received a 2008 National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in Theater and Musical Theater, participated in the Bennington Writer’s Workshop, and holds a B.A. in English literature from Bennington College. She was the 2009 and 2010 Guest Critic for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival’s Region II National Critics Institute and is the proud mother of two small but enthusiastic theater aficionados.
More articles by Wendy Rosenfield, newest first
| ‘American Idiot’ on Broadway |
April 27 2010 |
Is American Idiot just another punk rock jukebox musical fouling the Great White Way? Or is it an earnest and even passionate attempt to recapture a moment a few years ago when the concept of “coming of age” changed irretrievably?
American Idiot. Musical based on the album by Green Day; Michael Mayer directed. St. James Theatre, 244 West 46th St., New York. (800) 432-7250 or americanidiotonbroadway.com.
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More articles by Jane Biberman, newest first
| ‘The Assembled Parties’ on Broadway |
May 21 2013 |
In Richard Greenberg’s witty comedy drama, The Assembled Parties, life doesn’t turn out as expected for an extended upper class New York family. But does Greenberg have a substantive message to deliver, or is he just out to entertain us with witty dialogue and plot contrivances?
The Assembled Parties. By Richard Greenberg; Lynne Meadow directed. Manhattan Theatre Club production through July 7, 2013 at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 West 47th St., New York. (800) 432-7250 or www.manhattantheatreclub.com.
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| Philip Dawkins’s ‘Failure: A Love Story’ |
May 18 2013 |
Failure: A Love Story is an enchanting poetic fable in which members of the Fail family make the most of life's tragedies by spinning their own narratives to turn back the clock.
Failure: A Love Story. By Philip Dawkins; Allison Heishman directed. Through May 26, 2013 at Azuka Theatre, 1636 Sansom St. (215) 563-1100 or www.azukatheatre.org.
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| Durang’s ‘Vanya and Sonia….’ in New York (1st review) |
November 25 2012 |
The good news is: I scored a ticket to Christopher Durang’s sold-out comedy at Lincoln Center. The bad news is: In the evening of my life, I squandered a beautiful fall day when I could have been outdoors walking my dog or riding my horse.
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. By Christopher Durang; Nicholas Martin directed. Through January 13, 2013 at Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center, 150 West 65th St. (between Broadway and Amsterdam Ave.), New York. www.lct.org.
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| The little bookshop that could |
July 28 2012 |
In the age of chain mega-bookstores that entice customers with cappuccino bars and special events, one independent Center City shop has survived the old-fashioned way— with personal attention to its books and its patrons.
Joseph Fox Bookshop. 1724 Sansom St. (215) 563-4184 or www.foxbookshop.com.
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| ‘The Big Bang’ at Kimmel’s Innovation Studio |
October 15 2011 |
This endearing musical about two theatrical producers in search of investors is original, funny, blissfully brief and blessed with the comic genius of two quick-change artists, Ben Dibble and Tony Braithwaite.
The Big Bang. Book and lyrics by Boyd Graham; score by Jed Feuer; Richard Parison Jr. directed. Through October 30, 2011 at Innovation Studio, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-199 or www.kimmelcenter.org.
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| Maira Kalman’s ‘Crazy World’ at the Jewish Museum in NY |
April 17 2011 |
Maira Kalman finds strange analogies and metaphors in everything from boxes to kitchen sinks. Of course, these somewhat childlike, naïve paintings and perceptions are actually highly sophisticated.
“Maira Kalman: Various Illuminations (of a Crazy World).” Through July 31, 2011 at The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave. (at 92nd St.), New York. www.thejewishmuseum.org.
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| Hitchcock’s ’39 Steps’ at the Walnut (2nd review) |
April 12 2011 |
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 thriller, The 39 Steps, wasn’t his greatest film, but it’s a perfect vehicle for a spoof. Patrick Barlow’s adaptation is part vaudeville, part farce, and always hilarious.
Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps. Adapted by Patrick Barlow, from the novel by John Buchan; William Roudebush directed. Through May 1, 2011 at Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut St. (215) 574-3550 or www.walnutstreettheatre.org.
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| Tracy Letts’s ‘Superior Donuts’ at the Arden (4th review) |
April 02 2011 |
What distinguishes this play is its humanity. I cared about the characters, and that’s all too rare in contemporary theater.
Superior Donuts. By Tracy Letts; Edward Sobel directed. Through April 3, 2011 at the Arden Theatre, F. Otto Haas Stage, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| Sam Maitin’s prints at Woodmere Art Museum |
January 11 2011 |
The late Sam Maitin’s dedication to both art and social causes is legendary. The Woodmere Art Museum’s current show, recently expanded, offers a precious opportunity to revisit an artist whose signature colorful paintings, murals, sculptures and posters were integral to Philadelphia’s cultural life.
“Sam Maitin” Prints and Places.” Through March 6, 2011 at Woodmere Art Museum, 9201 Germantown Ave. (Chestnut Hill). (215) 247-0476 or woodmereartmuseum.org.
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| ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ in New York |
December 24 2010 |
Why spend money on seats that cost many times the price of the DVD? To see three of the finest actors of our times share a stage and work their own particular magic on Alfred Uhry’s classic.
Driving Miss Daisy. By Alfred Uhry; David Esbjornson directed. Through April 9, 2011 at John Golden Theater, 252 West 45th St., New York. www.telecharge.com.
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| ‘Black Swan’: a ballet/horror film (1st review) |
December 18 2010 |
Black Swan purports to be a film about ballet. Is ballet really this vulgar, violent and tasteless?
Black Swan. A film directed by Darren Aronofsky. For theaters and times in greater Philadelphia, click here.
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| Guy Glass’s ‘Last Castrato’ in New York |
November 23 2010 |
The Last Castrato sheds light on an important chapter of musical history, one that’s as fascinating as it is complex. Playwright Glass, a practicing psychiatrist by day, uses a reform moment in the Catholic Church, circa 1904, to examine the issues of art, music, gender and posterity.
The Last Castrato. By Guy Fredrick Glass; directed by John Henry Davis. Through December 4, 2010 at the Connelly Theater, 220 E. Fourth St., New York. www.lastcastrato.com.
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| Lantern Theatre’s ‘Uncle Vanya’ (3rd review) |
November 20 2010 |
When a play focuses on a family, great ensemble acting is required if the audience is to believe that the characters are related. This mishmash failed that test.
Uncle Vanya. By Anton Chekhov; directed by Kathryn MacMillan. Lantern Theater Company production through November 21, 2010 at St. Stephen’s Theatre, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| Beau Willimon’s ‘Spirit Control’ in New York |
November 02 2010 |
In Spirit Control, the high drama of an airport tower fades as a controller picks up the pieces years later. He's haunted by a tragedy; I was haunted by the aftermath.
Spirit Control. By Beau Willimon; directed by Henry Wishcamper. Through December 5, 2010 at Manhattan Theatre Club, New York City Center Stage I, 131 West 55th St., New York. www.nycitycenter.org.
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| Lee Hall’s ‘Pitmen Painters’ on Broadway (2nd review) |
October 30 2010 |
In Lee Hall’s The Pitmen Painters, paintings are the stars of the play, and seemingly pedantic dialogue about the meaning of art offers a window into men’s souls.
The Pitmen Painters. By Lee Hall; directed by Max Roberts. Live Theatre Newcastle/National Theatre of Great Britain co-production through December 12, 2010 at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 267 West 47 St., New York. www.broadwaybox.com.
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| Emma Rice’s ‘Brief Encounter’ in New York (1st review) |
October 19 2010 |
Emma Rice’s inspired adaptation of Noel Coward’s play and David Lean’s film has made the transition from off-Broadway to the Great White Way with all of its charm and intimacy intact.
Brief Encounter. Directed by Emma Rice, from Noel Coward’s Still Life. Roundabout Theatre Co. presentation through January 2, 2011 at Studio 54, 254 West 54th St., New York. (212) 719-1300 or www.roundabouttheatre.org/54.
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| Hollinger’s ‘Ghost-Writer’ at the Arden (1st review) |
September 14 2010 |
Michael Hollinger’s drama about a novelist, his typist and his wife creates characters with whom we can empathize, and whose fates we actually care about.
Ghost-Writer. By Michael Hollinger; directed by James J. Christy. Through November 7, 2010 at Arden Theatre Co.’s Arcadia Stage, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| ‘Ellis Island Ghosts’ at Michener Art Museum |
August 31 2010 |
At a time when anti-immigrant feelings run high in America, two photographers of different generations remind us of the need to show compassion to newcomers.
“Ellis Island: Ghosts of Freedom”: Photographs by Stephen Wilkes and Lewis Hine. Through October 10, 2010 at James A. Michener Art Museum, 138 S. Pine St., Doylestown, Pa. (215) 340-9800 or www.michenermuseum.org.
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| ‘La Cage Aux Folles’ on Broadway |
July 31 2010 |
The current Broadway production of La Cage Aux Folles won the 2010 Tony for best revival of a musical. So why was I constantly checking my watch through two hours and 40 minutes of this heavy-handed extravaganza?
La Cage Aux Folles. Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman; book by Harvey Fierstein; adapted from the play by Jean Poiret; Terry Johnson directed. At the Longacre Theatre, 220 West 48th St., New York. (212) 239-6200 or www.lacage.com.
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| Cavalia: Man and horse in the Meadowlands |
June 15 2010 |
Who are the more talented performers— people or horses? This two-hour collaboration between highly skilled horses, riders, dancers, acrobats, aerialists, singers, musicians and sound and light designers will make you wonder.
Cavalia. Directed by Normand Latourelle Through June 27, 2010 under the White Big Top, The Meadowlands (next to Izod Center), E. Rutherford, N.J. (866) 999-8111 or www.cavalia.net.
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| ‘Sunday in the Park’ at the Arden (1st review) |
June 07 2010 |
The Arden’s production of Sondheim’s musical paean to Impressionism pulls out all the stops, with a 15-piece orchestra, sophisticated sound and light effects and a first-rate cast that steps in and out of Seurat’s painting while giving voice to Sondheim’s brilliant lyrics.
Sunday in the Park With George. Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; book by James Lapine; directed by Terrence J. Nolen. Through July 4, 2010 at Arden Theatre, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| ‘Icons of Costume’ at Michener Museum |
June 01 2010 |
This crowd-pleasing show celebrates the sometimes-unsung heroes of the film industry: the costume designers. It’s the equivalent of light summer reading, fast-paced and fun.
“Icons of Costume: Hollywood’s Golden Era and Beyond.” Through September 5, 2010 at James A. Michener Art Museum, 138 Pine St., Doylestown, Pa. (215) 340- 9800 or www.michenermuseum.org.
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| Red Grooms paints artists, at Bryn Mawr |
May 07 2010 |
A new (and free) show at Bryn Mawr offers a chance to mingle intimately with Red Grooms’s playful images of his fellow 20th-Century artists, uncrowded with the legions that attend blockbuster events at big city museums.
“Old Masters and Modern Muses: Red Grooms’s Portraits of Artists, 1957-2009.” Through June 5, 2010 at Canaday Library, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa. (610) 526-5335 or news.brynmawr.edu.
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| ‘Travels With My Aunt’ at Walnut’s Studio 3 |
April 13 2010 |
Giles Havergal’s stage adaptation is faithful to Graham Greene’s mischievous comic novel about the travels of an amoral adventuress and her straitlaced nephew. But the real marvel however, is the cast— a perfectly synchronized quartet, each playing about 22 madcap roles with pitch-perfect precision.
Travels With My Aunt. By Giles Havergal, from the novel by Graham Greene; directed by John Peakes. Through April 18, 2010 at Independence Studio on 3, Walnut Street Theater, 825 Walnut St. (215) ) 574-3550 or www.walnutstreettheatre.org.
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Matthew Green is a painter who lives and works in South Jersey. After graduating Rowan University, Green began as a printmaker and mixed media artist. Eventually he moved into realist painting, with decaying, dilapidated buildings as his trademark subject matter. He looks for beauty not in the physical structure of his subjects but in the raw emotion brought upon by neglect and decay.
Green’s most recent project is a painting study of the mysteries and irony of the New Jersey Meadowlands called “Five Miles From Times Square.”
Visit his website at www.mgreenartist.com.
More articles by Matthew Green, newest first
| Canoeing through the Meadowlands |
May 28 2010 |
Searching for the ultimate battleground in the endless war between Man and Nature, an obsessed artist finds himself paddling in a canoe through the notorious New Jersey Meadowlands, whose ground is literally constructed of garbage.
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| The Meadowlands: Quest for dilapidation |
April 06 2010 |
According to popular belief, the New Jersey Meadowlands is a swamp where things go in and never come out. I went there in search of an idea for a grant proposal about the eternal struggle between Man and Nature. Couldn’t find that, either.
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Kristen Eaton’s work has appeared in the periodicals Seven Days and Stage Directions, as well as online at hostelz.com.
Kristen earned a degree in Character Studies (a self-designed major) at Cornell University, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with her thesis: a novella entitled The Kelpie. She has trained with authors Helena Viramontes, Maureen McCoy and Robert Morgan.
Kristen has worked and traveled extensively in Ireland, Italy, Maine and Philadelphia, and now lives in Vermont. She is currently seeking an agent for her first full-length novel.
In her spare time, Kristen studies herbalism, storytelling and media culture. She practices yoga and contact juggling, and develops and maintains the websites VaguelyBohemian.com and TalkToStrangers.org.
For more information, please visit KristenEaton.com.
More articles by Kristen Eaton, newest first
| Pennsic’s medieval make-believe |
July 27 2010 |
Every year thousands of enthusiasts gather to turn a Pennsylvania campground into a medieval city. Then as now, it’s one way to escape the drudgery of the real world.
Pennsic War 39. July 30-August 15, 2010 at Cooper’s Lake Campground, Slippery Rock, Pa. www.pennsicwar.org.
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| Virtual goodbyes: Death and the Internet |
May 01 2010 |
Since the jeweler Dan Henley died unexpectedly last year at the age of 49, his life has assumed a dimension it never possessed before— on the Internet.
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| Artists, writers and taxes: Another Philadelphia story |
March 30 2010 |
Philadelphia makes struggling free-lance writers and artists purchase a Business Privilege License, just like Comcast. Am I the only creative soul who’s been driven from the city for this reason?
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Thom Nickels is a Philadelphia-based author of eight published books, including Philadelphia Architecture (2005), which won the Philadelphia AIA Lewis Mumford Architecture Journalism Award.
He is also author of the play, Lincoln in Louisville. In 1990, Mr. Nickels was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award and a Hugo Award for his book, Two Novellas.
He has written feature stories, celebrity interviews, and social commentary columns for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Bulletin, City Paper, Philadelphia Weekly and Philadelphia Style magazine. Mr. Nickels is the architectural writer/critic for the Philadelphia Bulletin, the religion editor for Lambda Book Report, a contributing editor at the Weekly Press, a feature writer for ICON magazine, and a weekly columnist for Philadelphia’s STAR publications. Mr. Nickels’ new novel, Spore, will be released in June 2010.
More articles by Thom Nickels, newest first
| Discovering myself in Lapland |
February 06 2011 |
When winter comes, some Philadelphians head for Florida. I headed instead for Finland and the Arctic Circle. The price was right— and in any case I think I got the better deal.
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| Changing habits: What I learned about nuns |
December 04 2010 |
As a suburban Catholic grade school student, my meager education in the mysteries of the opposite sex came by watching— and fantasizing about— nuns.
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| Sugarhouse Casino: Color me convinced |
October 23 2010 |
Concerned Philadelphians say the new Sugarhouse Casino will ruin its surrounding neighborhood. But if you lived in that decaying neighborhood, as I do, you’d feel differently. You might just perceive it as our best hope for the future.
Sugarhouse Casino. 1001 N. Delaware Ave. www.sugarhousecasino.com.
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| Can positive thoughts make you rich? |
August 10 2010 |
My wealthy friend tells me I won’t make big money until I cast off my “poverty mentality.” To get rich, she and others in her class insist, you must think rich. Why do I remain unpersuaded?
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| A Caribbean cruise from hell |
July 16 2010 |
I’d never taken a cruise before. In fact I'd always derided cruises as an artificial form of travel. Then I took a ten-day cruise to the Caribbean and discovered I’d been right all along.
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| Fighting Steve Wynn: A civics lesson |
April 17 2010 |
Philadelphians were shocked recently when the Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn abruptly withdrew from his deal to develop the Foxwoods casino. But some of us— who successfully fought Wynn’s attempt to hijack the Maxfield Parrish Dream Garden mural in 1998— knew better. There’s a lesson here for timid Philadelphians: The supposed movers and shakers aren’t always as tough or resourceful as you think.
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| Priestly sex abuse: Who’s to blame? |
March 27 2010 |
Who is to blame for the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandal? The vast majority of cases coming to light today occurred 20, 30 and 40 years ago— the post-Vatican II years, when liberalizing experimentation within the Church was at its height, and sexual norms were tottering throughout society.
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Welcomat alumna Jennifer Baldino Bonett lives and writes in South Philadelphia. You can find her writing in the Philadelphia Inquirer and on her children’s homework.
More articles by Jennifer Baldino Bonett, newest first
| Mighty Ryan has struck out |
October 26 2010 |
Depressed because the Phillies failed to win their third consecutive National League pennant? Broad Street Review’s sports therapist will see you now.
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| My pool, my summer, my community |
September 07 2010 |
Despite the recession and Philadelphia’s budget crisis, this summer Mayor Nutter opened all 70 of the city’s public pools for six weeks. Was this public expense wise? Consider my firsthand experience.
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| Laura Bennett’s ‘Didn’t I Feed You Yesterday?’ |
July 07 2010 |
In Didn’t I Feed You Yesterday, Laura Bennett sends a sassy, irreverent look at motherhood down the runway. If that sounds familiar, it should: Most of her material is recycled from somewhere else.
Didn’t I Feed You Yesterday? A Mother’s Guide to Sanity in Stilettos. By Laura Bennett. Ballantine Books, 2010. 224 pages; $24. www.amazon.com.
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| ‘Sex and the City 2’ |
June 01 2010 |
This movie-going mom thinks critics should stop whining about Sex and the City 2. I got my mojo boost from seeing four of modern America’s sexiest women falling into the patterns of matrimony and parenthood— my patterns.
Sex and the City 2. A film written and directed by Michael Patrick King. At the Roxy Theatre, 2023 Sansom St. (215) 923-6699.
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| ‘Annie’ shows her age |
March 02 2010 |
Annie’s recent return to the Merriam provided an inadvertent reminder: The Great Depression has become ancient history, especially when we have a pretty good depression right here and now.
Annie. Music by Charles Strouse; lyrics by Martin Charnin; book by Thomas Meehan. 30th anniversary tour, February 26-28, 2010 at Merriam Theatre, 250 S. Broad St. (above Spruce). (215) 732-5997 or
www.kimmelcenter.org.
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Peter Burwasser has been the classical music critic for the Philadelphia City Paper since 1981. He was also an editor and contributor for Philadelphia Music Makers, and he reviews recordings and videos for Fanfare Magazine. His other freelance writing activities have included CD program notes for the Music and Arts label, articles for the WRTI Radio Guide, articles for the annual report of the Philadelphia Music Project, and concert reviews for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Peter serves on the board of directors of the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia and the Presser Foundation, as well as the Wagner Free Institute of Science. He lives in Bella Vista, Philadelphia with his wife and two children.
More articles by Peter Burwasser, newest first
| Philadelphia Orchestra plays Ligeti (2nd review) |
May 21 2013 |
When was the last time you heard a Philadelphia Orchestra concert that included the crumpling of newspaper as a part of the score? Not to mention the audience laughing out loud throughout the performance?
Philadelphia Orchestra: Webern, Passacaglia, Op. 1; Berg, Three Fragments from Wozzeck; Ligeti, Mysteries of the Macabre; Beethoven, Symphony No. 6 in F, Op. 68 (“Pastorale”). Barbara Hannigan, soprano; Simon Rattle, conductor. May 16-18 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce St. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Dohnányi, the ‘non-Yannick’ (1st review) |
March 11 2013 |
Amid the well-deserved hoopla over Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Christoph von Dohnányi reminded Philadelphia audiences why many musicians venerated an old-fashioned Central European conductor like Wolfgang Sawallisch.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Lutoslawski, Funeral Music; Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor; Beethoven: Symphony No. 3. Rudolf Buchbinder, piano; Christoph von Dohnányi, conductor. March 8-10, 2013 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or philorch.org.
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| Opera Philadelphia’s ‘Silent Night’ (2nd review) |
February 19 2013 |
Silent Night is a very effective new opera that could be made even better with some judicious tinkering. The drama exudes a raw energy that doesn’t shy away from the harrowing circumstances of war.
Silent Night. Opera by Kevin Puts; libretto by Mark Campbell; Eric Simonson directed; Michael Christie, conductor. Opera Philadelphia production ended February 17, 2013 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. (215) 732-8400 or operaphila.org.
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| Hugo Wolf’s ‘Spanish Songs’: Dual recital |
February 09 2013 |
The charming British tenor Ian Bostridge and the pitch-perfect Austrian mezzo Angelika Kirchschlager make something of an odd couple. But they found their chemistry toward the end of a recital of Hugo Wolf’s delightful Spanish Songs.
Angelika Kirchschlager, mezzo-soprano; Ian Bostridge, tenor; Julius Drake, piano. Wolf, Spanisches Liederbuch. Presented by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, February 5, 2013 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Sarah Shafer, shining new soprano |
December 09 2012 |
Which of today’s Curtis students will become tomorrow’s stars? In the case of the gifted and intelligent soprano Sarah Shafer, it seems obvious.
Sarah Shafer, soprano; Richard Goode, piano. Works by Schubert, Brahms, Mahler. December 7, 2012 at Benjamin Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut St. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Orchestra plays ‘Alexander Nevsky’ (2nd review) |
November 18 2012 |
This dusty old black-and-white film still packs a wallop, and the Philadelphia Orchestra deserves high praise for staging an exceptionally well prepared and powerfully executed production of this masterful mélange of art forms.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Prokofiev, Alexander Nevsky. Film directed by Sergei Eisenstein; Michelle DeYoung, mezzo-soprano; Stéphane Denève, conductor; Philadelphia Singers Chorale, David Hayes, music director. November 15-17, 2012 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Mendelssohn Club sings Clearfield and Fauré |
May 05 2012 |
Andrea Clearfield’s ambitiously sprawling Tse Go La is the latest fruit of the composer’s musical field trips to Tibet and by far the most substantial: a fantastic amalgam of cross-cultural influences.
Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia: Clearfield, Tse Go La; Fauré: Requiem. Alan Harler, conductor. Sunday, April 29, 2012 at Church of the Holy Trinity, W. Rittenhouse Square. (215) 735-9922 or mcchorus.org.
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| Curtis Orchestra plays Higdon, Bartók and Brahms |
April 30 2012 |
Jennifer Higdon, as much as any composer of her generation, has solidified the permanent significance of the American populist school, once led by Aaron Copland. Even from this youthful ensemble, her blue cathedral was rich and satisfying.
Curtis Symphony Orchestra: Higdon, blue cathedral, Brahms, Double Concerto; Bartók, Concerto for Orchestra. Juliette Kang, violin; Efe Baltacigil, cello; Robert Spano and Kensho Watanabe, conductors. April 23, 2012 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-7902 or www.curtis.edu.
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| New York Philharmonic with Joyce DiDonato (2nd review) |
February 28 2012 |
Joyce DiDonato, with her pitch-perfect, carefully modulated voice, sounded like one of the instruments— a haunting effect that would not have been possible without the wonderful chemistry between soloist and orchestra.
New York Philharmonic: Stucky, Son et lumière, Berlioz, Les nuits d’été; Mussorgsky-Ravel, Pictures at an Exhibition. Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano; Alan Gilbert conductor. February 24, 2012 at Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-7902 or kimmelcenter.org.
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| Curtis 20/21’s All-Stravinsky concert |
January 28 2012 |
Stravinsky throws an extraordinarily diverse range of influences— from early jazz to church hymns to folk music— into a breathtakingly concise package. I can’t recall hearing it performed with as much pungent clarity and disciplined vigor as this.
Curtis 20/21. All Stravinsky: Eight Instrumental Miniatures, Concertino for Twelve Instruments, L’Histoire du soldat. John De Lancie, narrator; David Effron, conductor; Bronwen MacArthur, choreographer. January 24, 2012 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Orchestre Révolutionnaire at Verizon Hall (1st review) |
November 19 2011 |
When this orchestra plays, the needle is always in the danger zone, lending a bracing, edgy quality to the performances that enhances the truly revolutionary spirit of Beethoven’s music.
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique: Beethoven, Overture to “Egmont”; Symphony No. 3; Symphony No. 5. Sir John Eliot Gardiner, conductor. November 15, 2011 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1955 or www.kimmelcenter.org.
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| Dutoit and the Orchestra: Breathing easy |
November 05 2011 |
A conductor’s pacing works best when the audience notices it least. Charles Dutoit’s beat created a pace that’s akin to breathing, as opposed to the unvarying tick-tock of a metronome.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Elgar, “Enigma” Variations; Strauss, Le Bourgeois Gentillehomme; Schumann, Cello Concerto. October 28, 2011 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce St. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Henze's 'Phaedra' by the Opera Company (1st review) |
June 06 2011 |
Hans Werner Henze's Phaedra demonstrates convincingly that contemporary opera can deliver the wow factor. The Opera Company of Philadelphia took a huge chance in staging this new production, and it paid off.
Phaedra. Music by Hans Werner Henze; directed by Robert Driver; Corrado Rovaris conducted. Opera Company of Philadelphia production through June 12, 2011 at the Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 732-8400 or www.operaphila.org.
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| Orchestra-Ballet’s ‘Pulcinella’ collaboration (1st review) |
April 11 2011 |
In a concert ballyhooed as an historic co-production of a ballet company and an orchestra, Falla’s Three-Cornered Hat was performed complete, but without the dancing. Which begs just one question: Why?
Philadelphia Orchestra: Falla, The Three-Cornered Hat. Pennsylvania Ballet: Stravinsky, Pulcinella. Jorma Elo, choreographer; Rossen Milanov, conductor. April 7, 2011 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 546-7432 or www.pifa.org.
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| Jeremy Gill works at Settlement (1st review) |
March 01 2011 |
Jeremy Gill’s music is particularly concerned with sound qualities, to the extent that he’ll move his performers to different parts of the hall during the course of a work. It seems to be a signature for this promising young composer.
Music of Gill, Reich, Britten, Messiaen. ToniMarie Marchioni, oboe; Feifei Zhang, piano; Jeremy Gill, piano; Mari Yoshinaga, percussion; Gabriel Globus-Hoenich, percussion. February 24., 2011 at Settlement Music School, 416 Queen Street. www.jeremytgill.com.
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| Pianist Mitsuko Uchida at the Perelman |
January 22 2011 |
When the bruisingly intense pianist Mitsuko Uchida sits down at her instrument, you sense that not only will the audience hear the music in some new way, but also Uchida herself will make discoveries along the way. It’s a brave and exciting way to make music, and fraught with risk.
Mitsuko Uchida, piano. Beethoven, Piano Sonata in e minor, Op. 90; Schumann, Davidsbündlertänze; Chopin, Prelude in c-sharp minor, Op. 45, Piano Sonata No. 3 in b minor, Op. 58. Philadelphia Chamber Music Society program January 18, 2011 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce St. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Khaner/Abramovic concert at Settlement |
December 18 2010 |
Flutist Jeffrey Khaner and pianist Charles Abramovic demonstrated what two superb musicians can do with music intended merely for gifted amateurs.
Jeffrey Khaner, flute; Charles Abramovic, piano: Krzywicki, Five Lyrics for Flute and Piano; Adam Wernick, Dream/Play; Cacioppo, Philadelphia Diaries; Arauco, Vistas. Presented December 9, 2010 by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society at Settlement Music School, 416 Queen St. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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| ‘South Pacific’ revival on tour (2nd comment) |
November 30 2010 |
Has opera been replaced by the Broadway musical? If so, is that good or bad? The recent revival of South Pacific demonstrated the pros as well as the cons of this brave new musical world.
South Pacific. Music by Richard Rodgers; book by Joshua Logan and Oscar Hammerstein II; lyrics by Hammerstein; Bartlett Sher directed; Lawrence Goldberg, conductor. November 23-28, 2010 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. November 30-December 5, 2010 at Hershey Theatre, Hershey, Pa. www.hersheytheatre.com.
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| Network for New Music’s ‘Trade Winds From Tibet’ |
November 26 2010 |
Four young American composers based their pieces on recent fieldwork conducted in Tibet by Philadelphia composer Andrea Clearfield. This self-consciously styled genre is too often laden with clichés— happily not the case in this concert.
Network for New Music Ensemble: “Trade Winds form Tibet.” Solitro, Passages; Moe, Spirit Mountain; Clearfield, Kawa Ma Gyur, Lung-ta. Djupstrom, Three Months; Jan Krzywicki, conductor. November 21, 2010 at Ethical Society, 1906 S. Rittenhouse Square. (215) 848-7647 or www.networkfornewmusic.org.
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| Dresden Staatskapelle’s ‘Brahms Requiem’ |
November 05 2010 |
Guest conductor Daniel Harding led a massive ensemble with firm control, but he sounded overly reverential and insufficiently emotive.
Dresden Staatskapelle: Brahms, German Requiem. November 2, 2010 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1955 or www.kimmelcenter.org.
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| Yannick and the Orchestra: So far, so good (1st review) |
October 30 2010 |
In his first test since his appointment, music director-designate Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s rhythmic freedom and steady pulse gave the Philadelphia Orchestra the confidence to bloom a bit more than usual.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Haydn, Symphony No. 100 ("Military"); Mahler, Symphony No. 5. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor. October 29-30, 2010 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1955 or www.philorch.org.
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| Yo-Yo Ma at the Kimmel (1st review) |
October 19 2010 |
Yo-Yo Ma delivered beautiful tone but neither bite nor flashes of anger in his confusingly bland Brahms. Brahms wants his Sonata No. 1 to both shout and whisper; Ma chose to sit comfortably somewhere in between.
Yo-Yo Ma, cello. Kathryn Stott, piano. Morricone, Gabriel’s Oboe, from The Mission; Gershwin, Prelude No. 2; Mariano, Cristal; Brahms, Sonata No. 1 in e minor for Cello and Piano; Fitkin, L.; Rachmaninoff, Sonata in g minor for Cello and Piano. October 17, 2010 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce St. (215) 893-1955 or www.kimmelcenter.org.
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| PRISM’s five pieces for saxophones |
June 08 2010 |
You will almost always hear some jazzy, syncopated rhythms in a PRISM saxophone concert, and that was the case in a number of the pieces in this season closer, featuring five world premieres and one local one, all by composers named Dave.
PRISM Quartet: Little, Raw Power; Ludwig, Density 15.1; Lang, Revolutionary Etudes; Laganella, Leafless Trees; Rainero-de-Haan, As of this Moment: Beidenbender, You’ve Been Talking in your Sleep. Timothy McAllister, soprano sax; Zachary Shemon, alto; Matthew Levy, tenor; Taimur Sullivan, baritone. June 5, 2010 at Settlement Music School, 416 Queen St. (215) 438-5282, or prismquartet.com.
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| Variations on Beethoven’s Variations, by Network For New Music |
May 07 2010 |
Inspired by Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, Network For New Music called for 25 new variations from 25 present-day composers. The result certainly didn’t sound like a single, cohesive work, yet it captured a range of drama, emotion and texture that honored Beethoven’s model.
Network for New Music: New variations on Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, by 25 modern composers. Jan Krzywicki, conductor; Edward Schulz, flute/piccolo; Arne Running, clarinet; Jason Calloway, cello; Charles Abramovic, piano. May 2, 2010 at Settlement Music School, 416 Queen Street. (215) 848-7647 or networkfornewmusic.org.
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| New music and so-called music 'lovers' |
April 27 2010 |
Is it really true that most music lovers dislike "new music"? As a critic for the past 25 years, I can attest that new music is becoming more accessible, and its audiences are expanding. This is an encouraging development. It means that music lovers are opening their minds to the creative voices of our time.
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| Network For New Music plays Michael Hersch (1st review) |
April 13 2010 |
Michael Hersch’s A Forest of Attics is complex, ferocious and disturbingly dark— in short, very refreshing at a time when ebullient tonality is all the rage. Hersch writes with an emotional honesty that leaves him naked.
Network for New Music: Caltabiano, Lines from Poetry; Jaffe, Light Dances; Hersch, A Forest of Attics. April 9, 2010 at Ethical Society, 1906 S. Rittenhouse Sq. (215) 848-7647 or networkfornewmusic.org.
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| Marcantonio Barone piano recital |
March 09 2010 |
Barone’s exceptionally vivid and smart playing pulled a diverse program together, with music that sprang to life as if the composers were all vivacious and engaging guests at a really good party (even if one or two of them might have had too much to drink).
Marcantonio Barone, Piano: Haydn, Piano Sonata in E, Hob. XVI/22; Maneval, Lines from a Poem– Ten Bagatelles for Piano, Op. 39; Finko, Piano Sonata No. 2; Mussorgsky, Pictures At An Exhibition. March 3, 2010 at Benjamin Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut St. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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| Network for New Music tackles Darwin (1st review) |
February 23 2010 |
Take an exhibit of Darwin material at a small, erudite museum, mix with young poets and musicians, add an excellent new music ensemble, and you get some illumination about the complex nature of the theory of evolution.
Network for New Music: Nelson, Megathere, Multiplexing; Shapiro, The Monogamous Man; Litts, Transmutation; Carpenter, The Monogamous Man; Munro, Megathere, Multiplexing; Wright, Darwiniana. Jeremy Gill, conductor; Randall Scarlata, baritone. February 19 and 21, 2010 at Benjamin Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut St. (215) 848-7647 or www.networkfornewmusic.org.
“Dialogues With Darwin.” Through October 17, 2010 at American Philosophical Society, 104 S. Fifth St. (215) 440.3442 or www.pachs.net/dialogues-with-darwin.
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| Richard Goode/Jonathan Biss piano recital (2nd review) |
February 19 2010 |
Yes, Richard Goode and Jonathan Biss conveyed the requisite precision. But it was the differences between them as artists that raised their recent duo piano recital to a higher level.
Richard Goode and Jonathan Biss: Piano recital. Works by Debussy, Schumann, Beethoven, Stravinsky and Schubert. Presented by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, February 4, 2010 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce St. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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Judith E. Stein is an art writer and independent curator, a recipient of a Pew Foundation Fellowship in the Arts, in literary non-fiction, for her writings on art (1994). Her publications in Art in America include a review of Judy Chicago’s first East Coast show (1973); features on Fred Wilson’s “Mining the Museum” (1993); Maya Lin (1994); the collaboration between John Ashbery and Jane Hammond (1995); Zoe Leonard (2001); and interviews with Jo Baer (2003), and Alfred Leslie (2009).
An art history major at Barnard College (1965), Judith Stein earned her M.A. (1967) and Ph. D. (1981) in art history at the University of Pennsylvania. She has taught at the Tyler School of Art, Temple University and the Maryland Institute College of Art. As curator of 20th Century art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, (1983-95), she organized 90 regional shows and national touring exhibitions, including “Red Grooms: A Retrospective, 1956-1984” (1985); “Figurative Fifties: New York Figurative Expressionism” (1988); and “I Tell My Heart: The Art of Horace Pippi"n (1994), which traveled to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This latter received the 1995 Award for Best Catalogue from the International Art Critics Association, American Section.
For New York’s New Museum of Art, she co-curated “Picturing the Modern Amazon: The Hypermuscular Woman” (2000), co-edited its catalogue and wrote on women’s bodybuilding and performance art in the ‘80s. She curated “Jules Olitski, An Inside View: A Survey of Prints, 1954-2007” (2008), a traveling show; and “Cool Man in a Golden Age: Alfred Leslie’s Films, Books, and Installations, 1957-2009” for the Slought Foundation, Philadelphia, in 2009.
The postwar New York art world is an abiding interest. In 2008, her biography-in-progress of the New York art dealer Richard Bellamy (1927-1998) received a major Warhol Foundation/Creative Capital Arts Writers Book Grant. Her related articles include “Art’s Wager: Richard Artschwager and the New York Art World of the ‘60s,” The Reading Room (2002); “A Bond of Steel: di Suvero and Bellamy,” Art in America (2005); and “Richard Tuttle on Richard Bellamy and the ‘60s,” Sienese Shredder (2006). Related lectures include “Richard Bellamy and his Circle of Friends,” Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam (2001); “Stepping into History: Richard Bellamy and the Sculpture of the Sixties,” Seattle Art Museum, (2003); “The Dealer as Co-Conspirator: Selections from the Richard Bellamy Papers at MoMA,” The New School, (2008).
Among her honors are writing fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and writing residencies at the Rockefeller Foundation Study and Conference Center, Bellagio, Italy, (1999); the Vermont Studio Center (2002); Blue Mountain Center for the Arts, (2005, 2008); the Millay Colony for the Arts, (2007); Ragdale (2009). She is represented by William Kingsland, Kuhn Projects, New York.
Visit her website at judithestein.com.
More articles by Judith Stein, newest first
| ‘Late Renoir’ at the Art Museum (3rd review) |
August 10 2010 |
The older Renoir became, it seems, the more voluptuous and freely painted were his women. It wasn’t only the subject matter of a naked woman that telegraphed unbridled sensuality; the loosely stroked way Renoir applied paint also connoted licentiousness and unacceptable pleasures. The Art Museum’s current show is a tribute to an aging man’s vigor, and also to the perspicacity of Renoir’s biggest fan: Albert Barnes.
“Late Renoir”: Through September 6, 2010 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th St. and Benj. Franklin Pkwy. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Diane Burko’s ‘Politics of Snow’ at Locks Gallery |
February 16 2010 |
In “The Politics of Snow,” Diane Burko’s painted sequences of the same vista incrementally pace us through the accelerating changes created by rising temperatures, as she charts the gradual disappearance of ice and snow in the face of global warming.
“The Politics of Snow”: Paintings by Diane Burko. Through March 13, 2010 at Locks Gallery,
600 South Washington Square. (215) 629-1000 or www.locksgallery.com.
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Alaina Mabaso () is a freelance writer and associate editor of Broad Street Review.
She lives near Philadelphia, holds a B.A. in Theater and English from Arcadia University, and has worked on the arts scene as a writer and reviewer for the last several years. She also contributes to many more outlets, including Flying Kite Magazine and WHYY’s “Newsworks.”
You can follow her on Twitter @AlainaMabaso, and check out her blog, where the only tagline is “Fiction Need Not Apply.” The world is so strange and funny that she never has to make anything up.
To reach Alaina at Broad Street Review, click .
More articles by Alaina Mabaso, newest first
| Abercrombie’s quest for ‘cool’ customers |
May 21 2013 |
The CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch lies awake nights worrying about what will happen if chubby or non-cool people set foot in his stores. As well he should.
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| Learning to love ‘The Avengers’ |
May 14 2013 |
The mindless “Avengers” films and their various comic-book spinoffs have already wasted hours of my life at a cost of hundreds of dollars, and there’s no end in sight. On the other hand, they may have saved my marriage.
Iron Man 3. A film directed by John Favreau. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| Woe to journalists at an arts festival |
April 28 2013 |
Flacks to the left of me, flacks to the right of me, all firing unintelligible press releases in my direction. Take it from an arts journalist: There’s nothing as exciting— make that terrifying— as covering an arts festival.
Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts. March 28-April 27, 2013 at various venues. “Time Machine” in Kimmel Center Lobby, Broad and Spruce Sts. www.pifa.org.
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| Lantern’s Henry V (2nd review) |
April 23 2013 |
How do you render Shakespeare’s histories appealing to folks who attend only because they think it’s good for them? Charles McMahon of the Lantern Theater seems to have cornered the formula.
Henry V. By William Shakespeare; Charles McMahon directed. Lantern Theater Co. production closed April 21, 2013 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| Mary Roach cruises the alimentary canal |
April 09 2013 |
Mary Roach is to writers what the Mütter Museum is to museums. She joyfully mines human taboos, from human cadavers to feces to the alimentary canal, and consequently seems to have cornered a lucrative market.
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal. By Mary Roach. W.W. Norton, 2013. 352 pages; $26.95. www.amazon.com.
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| On marrying your best friend (a response) |
March 26 2013 |
As a married woman of 29, it's no mystery to me why Nick Puglisi missed his wife as soon as she graciously dropped him off for a weekend with the boys: Absence— and friends— make the heart grow fonder. That's why control freaks have a hard time hanging on to their spouses.
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| Growing up with Mother Nature |
March 19 2013 |
Mom wasn’t one of those overprotective parents who tell their kids, “Don’t bring that in here!” Luckily for me, she applied the principles of tolerance and diversity to animals as well as people.
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| A day in the life of the home office |
March 12 2013 |
Yahoo’s new chief executive, Marissa Mayer, thinks employees are more productive under a supervisor’s watchful eye than working at a home. She ought to take a look at my home life as a telecommuter.
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| The gay ‘threat’ to religious freedom |
March 05 2013 |
The writer Damon Linker believes gay marriage will threaten the rights of religious conservatives. In a sense, he’s right: They'll lose the right to marginalize gay people, and they may wind up being marginalized themselves.
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| Good riddance to the Post Office (a response) |
February 26 2013 |
BSR’s Reed Stevens pines for the days when the local post office was a community gathering place. I can assure her that it still is— and so is the 12th circle of Hell.
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| Why I blog (a response) |
February 18 2013 |
Professional journalists can’t understand why bloggers write for nothing. As a freelance writer in the Age of the Internet, I can think of plenty of good reasons. Let me count the ways.
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| MacMillan’s ‘Lungs’ at Luna Theater |
February 18 2013 |
Duncan MacMillan’s Lungs portrays a young couple who spend maybe a little too much time analyzing whether or not to have children.
Lungs. By Duncan MacMillan; Gregory Scott Campbell directed. Luna Theater production closed February 16, 2013 at Adrienne Skybox, 2030 Sansom St. (866) 811-4111 or www.lunatheater.org.
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| Confessions of a female draft-dodger |
February 12 2013 |
Conservative pundits are alarmed about America’s declining birth rate. The future of American civilization, they say, rides on the shoulders of young married women like me. So why am I dodging this pregnancy draft?
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| Sound body, sound mind (a reply) |
February 05 2013 |
Are physical fitness and intelligence mutually exclusive? I used to think so, until my bodybuilder husband changed my mind.
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| Gun control lessons from ‘The Hobbit’ |
December 29 2012 |
When the characters in The Hobbit aren’t waging battle against the masses of Mordor, they’re delivering worshipful paeans to weaponry. But if you stick with this film to the bitter end, you’ll discover that the rallying cry of the National Rifle Association wouldn’t fly in Middle Earth.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. A film directed by Peter Jackson, from the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| Romney as the ‘Twilight’ candidate |
November 25 2012 |
Millions of young American women who voted against Mitt Romney have nevertheless gone belly-up for a fictitious character who exemplifies Republican notions about marriage, family and rape. Who needs Karl Rove when you have a conservative vampire on your team?
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2. A film directed by Bill Condon. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| ‘The Bucket Cure’ at the Fringe Festival |
September 11 2012 |
Where else but the Fringe Festival can you find a play about fear of vomit? But don’t be put off: Christine Cartafalsa’s script expertly zeros in on the ways that an outwardly insignificant issue can infect every part of a marriage when partners lack the ability to cope.
The Bucket Cure. By Christine Cartafalsa; Sean Toczydlowski directed. Little Sundance Production for Philadelphia Fringe Festival through September 22, 2012 at Moonstone Arts Center, 110A South 13th St. (215) 413-1318 or livearts-fringe.ticketleap.com.
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| Charlotte Ford’s ‘Bang’ at Live Arts Festival |
September 09 2012 |
The absurdities of Bang didn’t lie in the characters’ unapologetic nakedness, but in our own overwrought reactions to witnessing the human body.
Bang. Conceived by Charlotte Ford; directed by Emmanuelle Delpech. Live Arts Festival production through September 15, 2012 at Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 N. America St. (215) 413-1318 or livearts-fringe.ticketleap.com/bang.
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| High heels and female fantasies |
August 28 2012 |
In action movies, gorgeous women in high heels lash out at male attackers with nary a pinched toe. In real life, women in high heels are helpless and often miserable, as I’ve learned from personal experience.
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| Bright Light’s ‘The Fifth Floor’ |
June 26 2012 |
Why didn’t Shakespeare think of this? The Fifth Floor is a drama performed entirely in an elevator, complete with real (albeit unsuspecting) passengers who have no idea what they’ve stumbled into.
The Fifth Floor. Production and dramaturgy by Julian Karlen; Samantha Tower directed. Bright Light Theatre Company production June 16-17, 2012 at Foremost Building, 525 S. Fourth St. brightlighttheatre.org.
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| ‘Hysteria’ and female sex drive |
June 12 2012 |
Hysteria is a new film about the invention of the vibrator and its role in liberating women’s sexual needs. If only someone could liberate Hollywood from its cinematic cliché needs.
Hysteria. A film directed by Tanya Wexler.
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| Lantern’s ‘The Island’ (1st review) |
May 26 2012 |
When The Island was first performed in South Africa in 1973, it represented a courageous attempt to capture the inhumanity of Apartheid. It’s still compelling from the relative comfort of a theater seat in Philadelphia, but nothing like the real thing, as I can attest.
The Island. By Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona; Peter DeLaurier directed. Lantern Theater production through June 10, 2012 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| 'Tempus Fugit' at the American Philosophical Society |
May 22 2012 |
Antonia Contro’s rare collaboration of art and philosophy reflects on the passage, perception and human measurement of time. But visitors must reach their own conclusions.
Antonia Contro’s “Tempus Fugit”: Through December 30, 2012 at American Philosophical Society, 104 S. Fifth St. (215) 440-3442 or apsmuseum.org.
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| A few words about ladies’ restrooms |
March 24 2012 |
It’s time for somebody to say publicly what Philadelphia women have been muttering to each other in the line for years: The ladies’ rooms at many Philadelphia theaters are deplorable. Join me for a guided tour.
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| Lantern’s 'Romeo and Juliet' (1st review) |
March 10 2012 |
In the Lantern’s first production of Romeo and Juliet, director Charles McMahon presents Shakespeare’s story exactly as it ought to be: as the meeting, wooing and untimely death of two impulsive teenagers.
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Charles McMahon directed. Lantern Theater production through April 8, 2012 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| ‘Clybourne Park’ at the Arden (2nd review) |
February 07 2012 |
Clybourne Park deals with changing racial attitudes in a Chicago neighborhood. Unfortunately, playwright Bruce Norris opts for easy wit over genuine substance— and his wit isn’t all that witty.
Clybourne Park. By Bruce Norris; Edward Sobel directed. Through March 25, 2012 on the Arcadia stage, Arden Theatre, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-8900 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| Panel discussion: The Orchestra’s future |
December 05 2011 |
Why haven’t my 20-something peers and I been to the Philadelphia Orchestra, especially when it so desperately needs a new generation of patrons? Broad Street Review brought seven panelists together last week to attempt some answers. They might better have asked: Why don’t we read newspapers?
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| Sarah Treem’s ‘The How and the Why’ by InterAct |
November 08 2011 |
In The How and the Why, Sarah Treem rapidly unpacks a world of interpersonal aspersions, thwarted love, feminist struggle and scientific theory. Although her play is dense with themes and ideas, it’s a crackling two hours, thanks to Seth Rozin’s fast-paced direction and two character-driven actresses.
The How and the Why. By Sarah Treem; Seth Rozin directed. InterAct Theatre production through November 13, 2011 at the Adrienne mainstage, 2030 Sansom St. (215) 568-8079 or www.interacttheater.org.
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| ‘Paranormal Activity 3’: What ghosts really want |
October 29 2011 |
You know the old adage, “A watched pot never boils”? In Paranormal Activity 3, the opposite holds true: A mysterious household spirit seems to respond to an audience pretty much the way Bob Hope did.
Paranormal Activity 3. A film directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost. For Philadelphia-area show times, click here.
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| Art Anti-Gallery at the Fringe Festival |
September 20 2011 |
In a zany spoof, Homeskooled Gallery did to conventional art exhibits what should be done to conventional art exhibits. It was the most fun I had at the Fringe Festival, even if it failed to answer its own questions: Who owns art? And how should we interact with it?
The Art Anti-Gallery. Homeskooled Gallery production for Philadelphia Fringe Festival, September 15-16, 2011 at Philadelphia mausoleum of Contemporary Art, 531 North 12th St. (267) 519-9651 or www.homeskooledgallery.com.
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| Cathy Quigley’s ‘Female Trouble’ at the Fringe Festival |
September 17 2011 |
Who on earth would want to attend a performance about endometriosis? Let us now praise Cathy Quigley, who brought this painful condition to the stage with a combination of courage, aplomb and ingenuity.
Female Trouble. Written, directed and choreographed by Cathy Quigley. Philadelphia Fringe Festival production September 10-11, 2011 at Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St. (215) 413-1318 or www.femaletrouble.org.
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| Luna Theater’s ‘How to Disappear Completely’ (2nd review) |
September 06 2011 |
The British playwright Fin Kennedy’s How To Disappear Completely and Never Be Found is not so much a primer on vanishing as a meditation on the cruel impossibility of oblivion, especially in a virtual Internet world where things and people live forever.
How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found. By Fin Kennedy; Gregory Scott Campbell directed. Luna Theater Company production as part of the 2011 Philadelphia Live Arts-Fringe Festival through September 18, 2011 at Playground at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St. (215) 704-0033 or www.lunatheater.org.
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| Pig Iron’s ‘Twelfth Night’ at Suzanne Roberts (1st review) |
September 06 2011 |
This rollicking production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, an unusually mainstream choice for the customarily avant-garde Pig Iron, got a deservedly wild reception at this week’s opening, from the pickled herring to the boisterous final dance.
Twelfth Night. By William Shakespeare; Dan Rothenberg directed. Pig Iron Theatre Co. production for Philadelphia Fringe Festival through September 17, 2011 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St. (at Lombard). (215) 413-1318 or ticketing.theatrealliance.org.
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| Eric Singel’s ‘The Wedding Consultant’ at Walnut Studio 3 |
September 06 2011 |
Writer/performer Eric Singel rounds up every warmed-over wedding joke known to Western society to prove that weddings are indeed universally similar affairs– even gay weddings.
The Wedding Consultant. Written and performed by Eric Singel; José Aviles directed. Philadelphia Fringe Festival production through September 18, 2011 at Walnut Street Theatre’s Independence Studio 3, 825 Walnut St. (215) 413-1318 or ticketing.theatrealliance.org.
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| ‘The Help’: Racism, or just plain meanness? (1st review) |
September 03 2011 |
Does The Help resurrect shameful stereotypes or provide worthy human and historical perspective in its portrayal of black maids in 1960s Mississippi? Tate Taylor makes it too easy to detach ourselves from the real problem.
The Help. A film written and directed by Tate Taylor, from the novel by Kathryn Stockett. For Philadelphia area showtimes, click here.
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| Cary Fukunaga’s ‘Jane Eyre’ on film (2nd review) |
April 16 2011 |
The new Jane Eyre revels in the heroine’s physical world like no other: Candles flicker, the wind howls and mysterious drafts stir the curtains. But how you respond is largely a matter of gender. My husband, happy to say, passed the test.
Jane Eyre. A film directed by Cary Fukunaga, based on the novel by Charlotte Brontë. For Philadelphia-area show times, click here.
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| ‘Battle: Los Angeles’: War without complexity |
April 02 2011 |
At their heart, movies like Battle: Los Angeles aren’t allegories of patriotism. They’re fantasies on war without complexity.
Battle: Los Angeles. A film directed by Jonathan Liebesman. www.battlela.com.
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| Lantern Theater’s ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (2nd review) |
March 26 2011 |
Forget the drabness of the costumes and set. The Lantern’s Midsummer places the emphasis where it belongs— on the magic of Shakespeare’s luscious language. When you have a talented cast, who needs fancy props?
A Midsummer Night’s Dream. By William Shakespeare; Charles McMahon directed. Lantern Theater production through April 17, 2011 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829.0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| ‘Art of the American Soldier’ at Constitution Center |
February 01 2011 |
Since World War I, U.S. soldiers have recorded life in the armed forces through some 15,000 paintings. In military art, as in all art, the painter sees what the camera misses. The main difference is that the subject is more painful.
“Art of the American Soldier.” Through March 31, 2011 at National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St. (215) 409-6600 or www.constitutioncenter.org.
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| ‘Moon for the Misbegotten’ at the Arden (2nd review) |
January 22 2011 |
Grace Gonglewski brings a grounded, split-second nuance to O’Neill’s Irish Amazon Josie Hogan. But O’Neill’s theme— that people aren’t who they seem to be— is hardly a stunning insight in the age of Facebook.
A Moon for the Misbegotten. By Eugene O’Neill; Matt Pfeiffer directed. Through February 27, 2011 the Arden Theatre, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| Public transit, Johannesburg-style |
January 11 2011 |
Unhappy with American mass transit? Try getting around in South Africa, as I did recently. Johannesburg’s 15-seat taxi vans are a throwback to the stagecoaches of America’s Old West, and more disorganized. There are no websites, no signs, and no officious authority figures. Yet for all the chaos and uncertainty, commuters and drivers alike manage to get from one place to another. And there’s no extra charge for the priceless daily adventure.
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| Tribe of Fools’ ‘Dracula’ at the Fringe |
September 20 2010 |
For all their bragging about bringing the ultimate scare-fest to the stage, Tribe of Fools’ Dracula was mostly a marketing gimmick. It did, however, force me to think about the times in my life when I’ve been truly terrified in a theater— like finding myself empathizing with a pedophile, or being urged to go onstage.
Dracula. Directed by Jay Wojnarowski. Tribe of Fools production for Philadelphia Fringe Festival, September 2-11, 2010 at Lantern Theater, 923 Ludlow St. www.livearts-fringe.org/details.cfm?id=13649.
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| Straight talk about ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (2nd review) |
March 16 2010 |
I wish I could tear up over Romeo and Juliet like everyone else. And I have— when I was 14. But a more adult perspective on partnership has squelched my enjoyment. Why have we enshrined the fickle, maudlin, airheaded young Romeo as the ultimate synonym for “lover”?
Romeo and Juliet. By William Shakespeare; directed by Matt Pfeiffer. Through April 11, 2010 at Arden Theatre, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| In defense of Jane Austen’s prose |
February 06 2010 |
Some folks rejoice at the current spate of Jane Austen film adaptations because they find her novels impenetrable. But if Austen’s books are such a slog, why have they remained in print continuously for almost 200 years?
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Josette Bonafino is the founder and director of Culture Quest Tours (www.cqtours.com), an educational tour company that specializes in custom-tailored travel programs. She is also the co-founder and executive director of MYX: Multicultural Youth eXchange (www.myxworld.org), a nonprofit organization that uses the arts to help youth explore cultural diversity and social issues relevant to all people.
A native Philadelphian and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Josette is currently pursuing a Teaching Artists Certificate at the University of the Arts. She has previously been published in Language Magazine, Teach and Travel, Student Group Tour Magazine and Womensradio.com.
More articles by Josette Bonafino, newest first
| Iceland’s lesson for Americans |
January 30 2010 |
The global recession hit Iceland much harder than it hit America. And it's colder and darker there to begin with. So why do Icelanders seem so much happier than we are?
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Robert Murphy is a medical writer, guitarist and singer who has written and recorded two CDs. He contributed theater and pop music reviews to The News of Delaware County from 1985 to 1990 and to The Main Line Times from 1990 to 1996.
More articles by Robert J. Murphy, newest first
| Jane Austen novels on DVD |
January 30 2010 |
Jane Austen’s impenetrable prose is difficult to slog through— but her novels translate marvelously to the screen, as two DVD adaptations remind us. This is no accident. Long before the invention of cinema, Austen understood— as, say, Dostoyevsky or Proust or Mailer did not— the power of visual imagery.
Pride and Prejudice. A film directed by Joe Wright; screenplay by Deborah Moggach (2005). On DVD at www.amazon.com.
Sense and Sensibility. A film directed by Ang Lee; screenplay by Emma Thompson (1995). On DVD at www.amazon.com.
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J.F. Pirro, a nationally-recognized journalism and English teacher at Emmaus (Pa.) High School, is a widely-published and regarded writer. For the last 25 years, he’s written in nearly every journalistic genre, and has been published in 75-plus national and regional magazines as well as dozens of daily and weekly alternative city newspapers. He’s particularly interested in profiles, social trends, religion, historic preservation and 18th-Century America, agrarian culture, canine curiosities and sports and recreation topics.
Pirro, born in 1965, earned his bachelor of arts in English from Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa. and his master of science degree in print journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in Evanston, Ill. A Journalism Education Association Certified Journalism Educator (CJE), he’s also been on the summer-session faculty of Northwestern’s National High School Journalism Institute as well as the faculty of Penn State University’s Summer Journalism Workshop.
He has painstakingly restored a 1780 log and stone farmhouse and property in Quakertown, the heart of historic Upper Bucks County, Pennsylvania. There, he lives with two German Shorthaired Pointers, Braxton Brag Underwood (B.B.) and Miss Maudie Atkinson, as well as the saintly spirit of an English Chocolate Labrador, Dolphus Raymond. Each hound has been named after a character in To Kill a Mockingbird, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee that Pirro has taught throughout his career. He also raises Olde English Babydolls, descendant lambs of the original southdowns in Colonial America, and deals in baseball memorabilia, antiquarian books and early rustic, country antiques and furniture from his homestead and farm.
More articles by J.F. Pirro, newest first
| Wharton Esherick: American original |
December 25 2010 |
Wharton Esherick, the dean of American craftsman, was a renaissance man who defied pigeonholing in an age of narrow specialists. His continuing coming-out party has been remarkable for those who don’t know his work, and plain gratifying for those who do.
“Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern.”
Through February 13, 2011 at Kamin Gallery, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, 3420 Walnut St.; and Kroiz Gallery of the Architectural Archives, Fisher Fine Arts Library, 220 South 34th St. (215) 746-5828 or www.library.upenn.edu/exhibits/esherick.html.
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| The Who across the generations |
January 23 2010 |
For more than 30 years the legendary British band The Who has guided me through the vicissitudes of adolescence and adulthood. Now The Who is preparing to play the Super Bowl. Can I share my personal heroes with the rest of the world?
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J.T. Barbarese’s most recent book of poems is the The Black Beach (UNT, 2005). His poetry, translations and literary journalism have appeared widely. He teaches poetry and fiction in the MFA Program at Rutgers University’s Campus at Camden and is the editor of Story Quarterly. His web page is available at crab.rutgers.edu/~barbares.
More articles by J.T. Barbarese, newest first
| Lessons of a back yard |
January 03 2012 |
In the tiny South Philadelphia back yard where I grew up, something very important was transpiring. Only nobody realized it, least of all me.
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| The trouble with government arts grants |
December 01 2009 |
So you think the new Pew Fellowships procedures are flawed? Try negotiating the political thicket of government arts councils. For one thing, taste is never objective. For another, great artists aren’t necessarily good citizens or even nice people. Small wonder that most art contests are implicitly fixed in the first place.
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| Help me make it through the night |
November 24 2009 |
When you’re a blue-collar guy living paycheck-to-paycheck, without a sophisticated worldview or even a car or credit cards, how do you respond to impending natural disaster or nuclear holocaust? For that matter, what do you do when the military sends you to fight overseas?
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Anne Hamilton is the founder of Hamilton Dramaturgy, now located in Bucks County, Pa., and has worked in professional theater in New York, across the nation and the world since 1991. She is a Columbia University graduate and has worked with Lynn Nottage, Kathleen Chalfant, Andrei Serban, Michael Mayer, Leslie Lee and Classic Stage Company. She may be reached through www.hamiltonlit.com.
More articles by Anne Hamilton, newest first
This contributor has not yet published any articles.
I have worked on newspapers and literary journals for the past five years, both as a contributing writer and as an editor. In high school I wrote for the Bucks County Courier Times as a panelist for the teen section, “Reality,” and since my freshman year at Rider I have served as a writer and copy editor for the Rider News. I co-created and now head Rider’s first feminist literary journal, HerStory. My published work ranges from poetry to features articles, from opinion editorials to scholarly essays.
More articles by Julie Morcate, newest first
| ‘Memphis’ on Broadway |
November 17 2009 |
In the ingenious and lively Memphis, a white radio DJ falls in love with the music of his soul, and with the African-American woman singing it. These two rich characters from the ‘50s and their equally rich music crystallize the role played by rock n’ roll in the downfall of racial segregation.
Memphis. Book by Joe DiPetro; music by David Bryan; directed by Christopher Ashley. At Sam S. Shubert Theatre, 225 West 44th St., New York. (212) 239-6200 or www.memphisthemusical.com/news.html.
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Amy Small-McKinney’s second chapbook, Clear Moon, Frost, was published, in 2009, by Finishing Line Press.
In 2004, her chapbook, Body of Surrender (Finishing Line Press), was showcased at Poet’s House in New York. She was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2004 and again in 2006.
Her work has appeared in a number of journals, including The Cortland Review, The Pedestal Magazine, ForPoetry, Elixir Press, Mad Poets Review, upstreet, Rio Grande Review, and Wild River Review.
Small-McKinney was guest editor for the June 2006 issue of The Pedestal Magazine and interviewed Pulitzer Prize nominee poet, Bruce Smith, for its April 2006 issue.
More articles by Amy Small-McKinney, newest first
| My father’s clothes |
November 04 2010 |
I’m sure this gesture has been repeated a million times by a million women in mourning: a father’s coats and shirts and ties and hats, handed over to an uncle or a brother.
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| Aftermath of an accident |
November 10 2009 |
At first I thought myself lucky to survive a horrendous auto accident. My scars and broken bones have healed with the passage of time. But the memory loss, the rage, the inability to articulate my feelings— those have lingered much longer.
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Marilyn MacGregor is an artist, art historian, teacher, and writer who has lived and worked on both coasts and in Europe. She writes about art, culture and travel for local and national publications and on her award-winning blog ArtSmartTalk, teaches in Drexel University’s Pennoni Honors College, and exhibits her art widely.
She also speaks about art and art history and leads tours, and offers online learning with Postcard Art History. Her lifelong love of drawing is the basis for her own work, which includes works on paper and artist books, as well as commercial illustration. As a relative newcomer to Philadelphia, she’s excited by the city’s vibrant contemporary art scene and by Philadelphia’s great museums.
Visit her website at www.marilynmacgregor.com.
Contact Marilyn at .
More articles by Marilyn MacGregor, newest first
| Sargent watercolors at Brooklyn Museum |
May 21 2013 |
A landmark exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum showcases the brilliant watercolors of John Singer Sargent. It’s a rare opportunity to see an abundance of these rich intimate treasures by the 19th-Century master of fashion portraits.
“John Singer Sargent Watercolors.” Through July 28, 2013 at the Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Pkwy., Brooklyn, N.Y. (718) 638-5000 or www.brooklynmuseum.org.
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| El Anatsui at Brooklyn Museum |
February 12 2013 |
The extraordinary African artist El Anatsui crafts huge, richly beautiful works from ordinary but highly symbolic debris.
“Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui.” Through April 4, 2013 at the Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, N.Y. (718) 638-5000 or www.brooklynmuseum.org.
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| Three shows at the Morgan in New York |
January 15 2013 |
The Morgan Library can always be counted on for a rollicking good time, if your taste runs to the quietly magnificent and extravagantly obscure.
“Durer to de Kooning: 100 Master Drawings from Munich.” Closed January 6, 2013. “Beatrix Potter: The Picture Letters.” Through January 27, 2013. “Rosso Fiorentino.” Through February 3, 2013. All at Morgan Library and Museum, 29 East 36th St. (at Madison Ave), New York. (212) 685-0008 or www.themorgan.org.
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| ‘Light’: Longwood Gardens’ first art piece |
August 31 2012 |
As if Longwood Gardens wasn’t already sufficiently spectacular, Bruce Munro’s “Light” adds a magical combination of art, imagination and science.
“Light.” Installations by Bruce Munro. Through September 29, 2012 at Longwood Gardens, 1001 Longwood Rd., Kennett Square, Pa. (610) 388-1000 or
light.longwoodgardens.org.
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| Eric Fischl’s ‘Dive Deep’ at Pennsylvania Academy (1st review) |
July 15 2012 |
Eric Fischl made a big splash in the ’80s with his lush but facile narrative paintings of bored suburban white people. Has he grown or matured since then? Not to judge from “Dive Deep.”
“Dive Deep: Eric Fischl and the Process of Painting.” Through September 30, 2012 at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Brooks Gallery, Hamilton Bldg., 128 N. Broad St. (at Cherry). (215) 972-7600 or www.pafa.org/fischl.
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| Bill Viola’s ‘Ocean Without a Shore’ at PAFA |
June 26 2012 |
The characters in Bill Viola’s video installation, soaking wet and fully fleshed, seem more real than real, as if they have pushed right through their screens into the room. It’s a compelling experience of mythic human narratives.
Bill Viola: Ocean Without a Shore. Permanent video installation at Morris Gallery, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 118 N. Broad St. (at Cherry). www.pafa.org.
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| American painters in the Barnes |
June 18 2012 |
Notwithstanding all those Renoirs and Cézannes, the Barnes Collection also contains an important story of American artists who made significant contributions to modern art.
Barnes Foundation. 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway. (215) 778-7000 or www.barnesfoundation.org.
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| ‘Uncorked!’: Wine history at Winterthur |
June 02 2012 |
Winterthur’s “Uncorked!” looks at drinking over the centuries with an abundance of fascinating objects that tell stories about a favorite pastime.
“Uncorked! Wine, Objects, and Tradition.” Through January 6, 2013 at the Winterthur Galleries, 5105 Kennett Pike (Route 52), Winterthur, Del. (302) 888-4600 or uncorked.winterthur.org.
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| The new Barnes: Worth the wait (1st review) |
May 19 2012 |
In its new lodgings on the Parkway, the Barnes Collection looks reassuringly the same but wonderfully refreshed, and the art is as amazing as ever.
Barnes Foundation. 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway. (215) 278-7000 or www.barnesfoundation.org.
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| ‘Narrative Thread’ at Wexler Gallery |
April 13 2012 |
Five artists who happen to be women tell intriguing stories using time-honored methods and materials once reserved for “women’s work.”
“Narrative Thread.” Work by Dem Chau, Orly Cogan, Erin Endicott, Flore Gardner and Donna Rosenthal. Through April 28, 2012 at Wexler Gallery 210 N. Third St. ((215) 923-7030 or www.wexlergallery.com.
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| The new Barnes: a sneak preview |
April 06 2012 |
The Barnes Foundation’s new home on the Parkway, set to open on May 19, barely resembles its previous Beaux Arts building in Merion. My sneak-preview tour last week convinced me that’s not a bad thing.
Barnes Foundation. Opening May 19, 2012 at 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway. (215) 640-0171 or www.barnesfoundation.org.
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| Cindy Sherman retrospective at MOMA in New York |
March 31 2012 |
MOMA’s Cindy Sherman retrospective is a tribute to one of the most intriguing stars of contemporary art. In her iconic photographs, Sherman casts herself as a character in the stories of our obsessions.
Cindy Sherman Retrospective. Through June 11, 2012 at Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd St., New York. (212) 708-9400 or www.moma.org.
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| Orit Hofshi’s ‘Pharos’ at Locks Gallery |
March 06 2012 |
Orit Hofshi is a printmaker on a grand scale, with a freedom of vision and execution that’s exhilarating to witness.
Orit Hofshi: “Pharos.” Through April 13, 2012 at Locks Gallery, 600 Washington Square South. (215) 629-1000 or www.locksgallery.com.
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| 'After Tanner' at Pennsylvania Academy (1st review) |
February 18 2012 |
Pennsylvania Academy's Henry O. Tanner retrospective is a rich experience, made richer with the accompanying exhibit of African-American Artists since 1940. Together they provide a timeline of struggle, complexity, inspiration and accomplishment.
“After Tanner: African-American Artists since 1940.” Through April 15, 2012 at Hamilton Bldg., Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 128 N. Broad St. (at Cherry). (215) 972-7625 or www.pafa.org.
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| ‘Here and Now’ at the Art Museum (1st review) |
September 25 2011 |
Philadelphia’s Art Museum does a better job of showcasing local young artists than most major museums. Not surprising, with so many top-class art schools within walking distance.
“Here and Now: Prints, Drawings, and Photographs by Ten Philadelphia Artists.” Through December 4, 2011 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benj. Franklin Pkwy. & 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| 'Of Elephants and Roses' at the Philosophical Society (2nd review) |
July 16 2011 |
This exhibit from the early 19th Century evokes a time when science was still a guessing game and nature’s puzzling wonders were discovered almost daily.
“Of Elephants and Roses.” Through December 31, 2011 at Museum of the American Philosophical Society, 104 S. Fifth St. (215) 440-3440 or www.apsmuseum.org.
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| Cy Twombly’s fresh vision of antiquity |
July 16 2011 |
Cy Twombly, the great contemporary master of line and space who died July 5, drew deeply on the ancient foundations of Western culture, yet his wide-ranging freedom represents a complete break with all precedents in handling Classical subjects.
“Fifty Days at Iliam”: Works by Cy Twombly (1928-2011). Permanent exhibition at Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th St. and Benjamin Franklin Parkway. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Ron Isaacs at Snyderman-Works Gallery |
April 26 2011 |
The trompe l’oeil magician Ron Isaacs is a master of his craft, but he’s also a storyteller, creating finely detailed works that use vintage clothing to tell tales of past lives.
“Nature Morte Transfigured: Sculptural Still Life by Ron Isaacs.” Through May 14, 2011 at Snyderman-Works Gallery, 303 Cherry St. (215) 238-9576 or www.snyderman-works.com.
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| Roberto Capucci's 'Art Into Fashion' at the Art Museum (1st review) |
April 09 2011 |
Roberto Capucci’s extravagant fashion designs— an astonishing feast of color, form and imagination—have turned dresses into sculpture and clothing into art. Would you want to wear them? That’s another question.
“Roberto Capucci: Art into Fashion.” Through June 5, 2011 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benj. Franklin Pkwy. and 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Picasso’s Guitars at MOMA in New York |
February 26 2011 |
In a small and intimate exhibit in New York, Picasso’s flimsy and ephemeral guitar inventions make a powerful statement about his constant search for new and lasting forms and ideas.
“Picasso: Guitars, 1912-1914.” Through June 6, 2011 at Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd St., New York. (212) 708-9400 or
www.moma.org.
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| ‘Leonardo Da Vinci’s Workshop’ at Franklin Institute |
February 19 2011 |
Leonardo da Vinci’s incomparably intriguing mind and all its wonders are on display at the Franklin Institute, with models, drawings, and interactive technology. Leonardo himself would have loved it.
"Leonardo da Vinci's Workshop." Through May 22, 2011 at the Franklin Institute, 222 N. 20th St. (215) 448-1200 or www.fi.edu.
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| Sampling Google’s new Art Project |
February 19 2011 |
Google’s new Art Project, offering interactive tours of 17 participating museums (so far), can be great fun: Thanks to the zoom function, we can see paintings at closer range than even the artists did. But it’s a site run by tech wizards, not art scholars.
Google Art Project. www.googleartproject.com.
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| ‘Matisse: 1913-1917’ at MOMA in New York |
August 03 2010 |
Returning to Paris from his inspiring visit to Morocco in 1913, Matisse had to confront the new challenges of Cubism as well as the impending dangers of a terrible war. In so doing he created some of his most compelling, most beautiful, and most defining works.
“Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913-1917.” Through October 11, 2010 at Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd St., New York. (212) 708-9400 or www.moma.org.
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| First Friday’s ‘Fringe Festival’ |
June 07 2010 |
At First Friday in Old City, galleries give you a first look at their new shows, and the party atmosphere makes it a lot of fun. But watch where you step: there’s a whole lot of art underfoot on the sidewalk, some of it by talented artists who may be famous a few years from now.
First Friday. Gallery open houses in Old City, Philadelphia, first Friday of each month after 5 p.m. (215) 625-9200 or www.oldcityarts.org.
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| Children’s book illustrations at Brandywine |
May 01 2010 |
Children’s book illustrations are the portal to worlds of wonder, full of bright color, rich imagination and intricate visual storytelling. Some of the best of the past 73 years are on display at the Brandywine River Museum.
“Drawing from a Story: Illustrations from Selected Caldecott Winners.” Through May 23, 2010 at Brandywine River Museum, U.S. 1, Chadds Ford, Pa. 610-388-2700 or www.brandywinemuseum.org.
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| Contemporary ceramics invasion |
April 10 2010 |
Ceramics is one of the most exciting areas in contemporary art. In the wake of a recent national convention, some of the best recent work is on display at multiple Philadelphia venues right here right now.
National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA): 44th annual conference. March 31-April 3, 2010 at Pennsylvania Convention Center. nceca.net/static/conference_home.php.
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| Gabriel Orozco at MOMA in New York |
March 02 2010 |
You must be patient with conceptual art. Gabriel Orozco, for example, is an intriguing conceptual artist who wanders inner and outer worlds, freely exploring ideas, creating puzzles, and making connections between nature and human activity.
Gabriel Orozco. Closed March 1, 2010 at Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd St., New York. (212) 767-1050 or www.moma.org.
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| ‘Picasso and the Paris Avant-Garde’ at the Art Museum (2nd review) |
February 23 2010 |
The Art Museum’s Picasso show provides a fresh reminder that there’s always something more to learn about 20th Century art, and especially Picasso. Must we either love or hate everything about this complicated man?
“Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris.” Through May 2, 2010 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Supersized drawings at Gallery Joe |
January 12 2010 |
So you think of drawings as small, quiet and intimate? In this show they speak in a big, bold contemporary voice.
“Very, Very Large Drawings.” Through January 30, 2010 at Gallery Joe, 302 Arch St. (215) 592-7752 or www.galleryjoe.com.
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| ‘Watteau to Degas’ at the Frick in New York |
December 29 2009 |
The Frick Museum’s current exhibit of French drawing speaks quietly but clearly of the evolution of art from the academic 18th Century to the brink of Modernism in the 19th Century.
“Watteau to Degas: French Drawings from the Frits Lugt Collection.” Through January 10, 2010 at the Frick Collection, 1 East 70th St. (at Fifth Ave.), New York. (212) 288-0700 or www.frick.org.
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| Art Museum’s Craft Show |
November 14 2009 |
The Art Museum’s annual Craft Show, in its 33rd year, is the gold standard for fine crafts. Artists from all over the U.S., as well as this year from Korea, knocked out my eyes and expectations with an extraordinary wealth of skill and imagination.
Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show. November 11-15, 2009 at Pennsylvania Convention Center. www.pmacraftshow.org.
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| Gorky retrospective at Art Museum (2nd review) |
October 25 2009 |
Arshile Gorky made significant contributions to modern art, but he's less well known than many other artists. This is a wide, deep, rich retrospective that combines recognized masterpieces with many exciting surprises.
Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective. Through January 10, 2010 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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Julius graduated with a bachelor’s in English and a minor in theater from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York, where he was fortunate enough to preside over the student theater group and experience the excitement of collaborative arts. He currently lives in exile in Bucks County and peers towards Philly for his next step forward.
Visit his blog at francesandjune.blogspot.com.
More articles by Julius Ferraro, newest first
| ‘Sweeney Todd’ in Wilmington |
December 19 2009 |
Is Sweeney Todd growing too familiar? Michael Gray’s new conception of Stephen Sondheim’s horror musical focuses on its cast of desperate and volatile characters rather than its time and place. It’s like seeing the show for the first time.
Sweeney Todd. Book by Hugh Wheeler; music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; directed by Michael Gray. City Theater Company production through December 19, 2009 at Opera Delaware Studios, 4 S. Poplar St., Wilmington, Del. (302) 220-8285 or www.city-theater.org.
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| ‘boom’ by Flashpoint Theatre |
November 28 2009 |
Biology nerd meets nihilist, comet meets planet, and there’s a middle-aged woman pulling the levers. Peter Sinn Nachtrieb’s boom is often very funny, but the credit belongs to the actors, not his pretentious script.
boom. By Peter Sinn Nachtrieb; directed by Noah Herman. Flashpoint Theater Co. production October 28-November 21, 2009 at Adrienne Theatre, 2030 Sansom St. (215) 665-9720 or www.flashpointtheatre.org.
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| Beckett’s ‘Endgame’ by EgoPo (3rd review) |
November 17 2009 |
Purists object to setting a European work like Endgame in a cluttered South Jersey basement. But EgoPo’s idiosyncratic interpretation brings a fresh vision to Beckett’s classic: It’s no longer about post-nuclear holocaust but foremost a personal play of family relationships gone to rot but still clinging.
Endgame. By Samuel Beckett; directed by Lane Savadove. EgoPo Productions presentation through November 15, 2009 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 552-8773 or www.egopo.org.
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| Fringe/LiveArts Festival post-mortem |
October 06 2009 |
For one invigorating month, the Fringe/Live Arts Festival nudged commercial and community theaters out of the spotlight to remind Philadelphians of the awesome possibilities of experimental theater and dance. Still, in such a diverse set of artists, the works I saw tended to follow three trends, for better or for worse.
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Adam Lippe is a film critic as well as editor and publisher of the website “A Regrettable Moment of Sincerity.” He lives in the Germantown section of Philadelphia.
More articles by Adam Lippe, newest first
More articles by Franklin Roberts, newest first
| A Philadelphia Eagles morality play |
December 21 2010 |
A coach plagued with two wayward sons finds redemption by embracing a reformed sinner of a quarterback. Is this merely a game, or is this a morality play unfolding before us?
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| Society Hill’s revival: A memoir |
July 24 2010 |
In 1960 I took one look at Spike Stapleford’s decrepit block in Society Hill and realized: This street seemed to possess the potential for all the elements of the neighborhood I’d grown up in. And so it did.
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| On saving the U.S.S. 'Olympia' |
June 15 2010 |
The U.S. Olympia, Admiral Dewey’s flagship and long a prime Philadelphia attraction, seems headed for the scrap heap. But it was saved from that heap at least once before, as I can attest from firsthand experience.
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| Teen ‘flash mobs’: The brighter side |
March 23 2010 |
Another “flash mob” outing on South Street, another setback to civilized society? Not necessarily. For one thing, these rampages prove that teenage literacy and technical proficiency are in better shape then we’d thought.
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| How to save the Mummers Parade |
December 01 2009 |
So Philadelphia may have lost the Dad Vail Regatta to Rumson, N.J. The beloved but dwindling Mummers Parade could be next. How can it be saved? By turning the parade around.
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| Behind the Bicentennial, Part 3: Keep it simple |
October 26 2009 |
As 1976 approached, the National Park Service wanted a Bicentennial program that would appeal to visitors in all 50 states. I found the answer in one of Ben Franklin’s letters. And unlike my competitors, I kept things simple enough to please the most important audience: the Park Service staff in the field.
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| The spy who snatched Baryshnikov |
October 26 2009 |
Who was that distinguished gentleman who shared our hotel terrace overlooking the Pacific at Zihuatanejo? And what was a middle-class theatrical producer from Society Hill like me doing sharing a drink with him?
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| Behind the Bicentennial, Part 2: The Germans |
August 29 2009 |
If the Park Service and Bell of Pennsylvania perceived the PR benefits of getting into the 1976 Bicentennial act, I told myself, perhaps foreign democracies could be enticed to join this democracy birthday party as well. Which is how I wound up lunching with the striking blonde cultural minister of the Federal Republic of Germany.
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| Behind the Bicentennial: A memoir (Part 1) |
August 25 2009 |
Washington wanted to cross the Delaware. Max Bialystock wanted to climb back on top of Broadway. In the early '70s an unwieldy committee of Philadelphia’s usual suspects faced a more daunting challenge: winning approval from the Paris-based Bureau of International Expositions for a Grade 1 international exposition.
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John L. Erlich is emeritus professor of social work at California State University, Sacramento, as well as adjunct professor at Smith College School for Social Work. He played freshman and varsity basketball for Columbia University from 1955 to 1959, and has coached basketball “very part-time” at a settlement house and a children’s institution..
His past credits include:
Assistant director, program director, and executive director of urban renewal projects, New York City (1961-65).
Assistant/associate professor, University of Michigan School of Social Work (1965-73).
Professor, Division of Social Work, California State Universit, Sacramento (1973-2008).
Adjunct Professor, Smith School for Social Work (2005—present).
Co-author/author/editor of 18 social work books and numerous articles and essays, with an emphasis on community work, diversity and social change.
More articles by John L. Erlich, newest first
| Public libraries and the homeless |
March 30 2013 |
Instead of chasing the homeless out of their facilities and into the streets, some public libraries have begun reaching out to them. This is one of those counter-intuitive strategies that could go a long way to solving a chronic social headache.
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| Is there life after basketball? |
December 01 2012 |
Do the lessons of organized sport prepare you for the adult world? Or is it all nonsense? Two former college basketball players who played half a century apart sat down recently to ruminate about their subsequent lives.
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| How a teacher makes a difference |
July 15 2012 |
When she caught me cheating, Miss Rosenthal could have humiliated me. But she found a better way to get the message across.
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| ‘War Horse’: Animals as friends |
January 17 2012 |
In northern California, where I live, War Horse touched a special chord. Many of our families depended on horses not so long ago, and we learned to respect them.
War Horse. A film directed by Steven Spielberg. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| Beyond the Penn State scandal |
December 10 2011 |
Much has been written lately about children and athletes victimized by sex-abusing coaches at big-time sports programs like Penn State’s. But what about the innocent Penn State athletes whose reputations will now be sullied by their association with a scandalized program?
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| Tucson’s other victims |
January 14 2011 |
Last week’s mass murder spree in Tucson was a catastrophe for the victims, their families and friends and, in the case of two public servants, for the nation. But the stiffest psychological price of all may be paid by the killer’s family.
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| ‘Matterhorn,’ a Vietnam novel by Karl Marlantes |
August 13 2010 |
For those of us who lived through the Vietnam War, this powerful and compelling novel triggers haunting memories.
Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War. By Karl Marlantes. El Leon Literary Arts, 2009. 690 pages; $39.95 (paperback, $19.95). www.amazon.com.
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| The charm of minor league baseball |
August 07 2010 |
The minor league baseball game I attended produced no big moments but plenty of nice little ones. I’d forgotten how enjoyable a ball game can be when the owners, players and fans haven’t staked their lives and fortunes on the outcome.
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| Frank Loesser’s enduring power |
July 06 2010 |
As a pre-teen and young teen in the late 1940s and early ’50s, I often found myself singing two old songs to myself. I had no idea how they got there. Then one day my mother told me.
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| Coach John Wooden: A remembrance |
June 08 2010 |
UCLA’s legendary basketball coach John Wooden won ten championships and hundreds of games. But one of his lowly substitutes remembers Wooden for a small gesture of acknowledgment.
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| Salinger’s ‘Catcher,’ then and now |
January 30 2010 |
J.D. Salinger’s fundamental resistance to adult delusions spoke powerfully to a high school freshman like me. But his message didn’t resonate with everyone, even my age.
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| The winning basket (a memoir) |
October 31 2009 |
When I scored the winning the basket, the sense of power was briefly overwhelming— which taught me something about athletes today.
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| The playground basketball cure |
September 06 2009 |
It’s been half a century since I first cured the twitch in my shoulder with a few good games of city playground basketball. It still works for me today, too.
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| One August day in the park |
September 01 2009 |
It’s almost 100 degrees and too hot for outdoor basketball— or anything else for a senior citizen like me. But on the court I find a kid who might have been me, once upon a time.
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| Why Ted Kennedy was special |
August 29 2009 |
Unlike his brothers, Ted Kennedy was deeply flawed. But those flaws enabled him to identify with the rest of us, and we with him.
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| In Woodstock’s wake: a 1970 memoir |
August 25 2009 |
A year after Woodstock, I took my 12-year-old daughter to “Michigan’s Woodstock”— the ultimate generation-gap test for a young assistant professor trying very hard to be “with it.”
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| Basketball: The real thing |
August 11 2009 |
These guys playing pickup basketball are no professionals. Why, then, do I find them so much more fun to watch?
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Mitchell Gordon is a free-lance writer and futurist who lives in Philadelphia. He is also vice president of the Philadelphia Area Space Alliance, which is the local chapter of the National Space Society.
More articles by Mitchell Gordon, newest first
| James Herrick’s ‘Scientific Mythologies’ |
August 04 2009 |
James Herrick, a Christian apologist at a fundamentalist college, sees pop culture and science fiction supplanting traditional religious myths as the cutting force of spirituality today. Not to worry, professor: Steven Spielberg, Carl Sagan and the makers of Star Wars and Star Trek are mostly pouring old wine into new bottles.
Scientific Mythologies: How Science and Science Fiction Forge New Religious Beliefs. By James A Herrick. InterVarsity Press. 288 pages; $23. www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=2588
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After a false start in academia (Ph.D. in the sociology of religion from Drew University) and a detour through the rare book business, Judy ended up in magazine publishing. She worked for many years as an editor and creator of word puzzles (everything from crosswords to logic problems) and continues to test-solve the cryptic crosswords that run in Games and World of Puzzles.
She is currently writing, editing, and doing social media on a free-lance basis. As BSR’s managing editor, her chores include handling BSR’s accounts on Twitter (twitter.com/broadstreview) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/BroadStreetReview).
Her interests include world music, dance, and the visual arts.
For more, visit judyweightman.wordpress.com. Or you can follow her on Twitter at @JudyWEdu. Contact her at .
More articles by Judy Weightman, newest first
| Savion Glover’s ‘Dance Space’ at Academy of Music |
April 02 2013 |
Savion Glover is surely the best tapper dancing today. It would have helped if the folks in the pricey seats could have seen his feet.
Dance Space. Choreographed and performed by Savion Glover. Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts presentation, March 30, 2013 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. pifa.org.
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| Why I love ‘Dancing with the Stars’ |
March 26 2013 |
The pros and stars take this utterly absurd dance competition show completely seriously — but everyone involved remains keenly aware that the competition is, indeed, utterly absurd.
“Dancing with the Stars.” ABC, Mondays 8 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. CT; Tuesdays 9p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT. beta.abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars.
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| Behind the scenes at the Penn Museum |
December 29 2012 |
How can museums give visitors an experience that’s genuine rather than packaged and spoon-fed? The Penn Museum has come up with an ingenious response: It lets visitors watch conservators as they clean and restore mummies and other artifacts.
“In the Artifact Lab: Conserving Egyptian Mummies.” At the Penn Museum, 3620 South St.
(215) 898-4000 or www.pennmuseum.org.
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| Romney and the missing Mormon issue |
October 23 2012 |
The elephant in the room— Mitt Romney’s Mormonism— is being ignored in the current Presidential campaign by political liberals and religious conservatives alike, for very different reasons. Why is it acceptable to ask Catholic candidates about their religious values but not a Mormon?
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| ‘Marwencol’: The Outsider as artist |
October 02 2012 |
The emotionally damaged Mark Hogancamp never claimed to be an artist; his scale-model town is a therapeutic project, not an artistic one. Is his celebration in New York galleries good for him? Is it good for art?
Marwencol. A documentary directed by Jeff Malmberg, 2010. Available on DVD and Blu-Ray. www.marwencol.com.
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| ‘Mansfield Park’: Book vs. film |
August 14 2012 |
How much fidelity does a filmmaker owe to the source novel— especially if the novel’s heroine is deliberately plain, boring and unsexy?
Mansfield Park. A film written and directed by Patricia Rozema (1999), based on the 1814 novel by Jane Austen. www.imdb.com.
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| ‘Safety Not Guaranteed’: Comedies about real people |
July 22 2012 |
It’s easy to laugh at two-dimensional stock characters. But the best comedies find ways to make us laugh at real three-dimensional people.
Safety Not Guaranteed. A film directed by Colin Trevorrow. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| The BBC’s ‘Jekyll’ |
May 26 2012 |
How would we react to a Jekyll-Hyde split personality in the post-Freudian age? The BBC’s “Jekyll” provides a possible (and entertaining) answer.
“Jekyll.” A six-episode TV series written by Steven Moffat; directed by Matt Lipsey and Douglas MacKinnon. Available on DVD and download. www.bbc.co.uk/drama/jekyll.
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| ‘Martha Marcy’ and the truth about cults |
May 01 2012 |
As a movie, Martha Marcy May Marlene is an extremely scary thriller. As an examination of the cult phenomenon, it’s simplistic propaganda the likes of which I— an authority on cults— haven’t seen in 30 years.
Martha Marcy May Marlene. A film written and directed by Sean Durkin. Available on DVD and via download. www.foxsearchlight.com/marthamarcymaymarlene.
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| ‘Fela!’ at Academy of Music (2nd review) |
March 27 2012 |
Pity the Kimmel season subscribers who arrived at Fela! without advance preparation. This is a political musical with some very discomfiting edges— and that’s to its credit.
Fela! Music by Fela Kuti; directed and choreographed by Bill T. Jones. Through March 25, 2012 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.kimmelcenter.org/broadway.
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| ‘Take Shelter’ (2nd review) |
February 25 2012 |
Take Shelter is a movie well worth experiencing for yourself before reading any commentary— including this one.
Take Shelter. A film directed and written by Jeff Nichols. www.sonyclassics.com/takeshelter.
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| Alfredson’s ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ (1st review) |
December 31 2011 |
Am I unreasonable to expect a movie to make sense without significant advance preparation on my part?
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. A film directed by Tomas Alfredson, from the novel by John Le Carré. At the Ritz East, 125 S. Second Street, (215) 925-7900. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| Chunky Move’s ‘Connected’ at Annenberg |
November 22 2011 |
A collaboration between a choreographer and a sculptor sounds exciting in theory. In practice, it raises more questions than it answers about the nature of artistic connections.
Chunky Move: Connected. November 17-19, 2011 at Zellerbach Theater, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St. (215) 898-3900 or www.AnnenbergCenter.org.
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| Andrew Bird in Wilmington |
October 25 2011 |
Has technology changed the nature of musical performance? If a concert involves recordings, in what sense should it be considered a “live” performance?
Andrew Bird with Martin Dosh. October 22, 2011 at the Grand Opera House, 818 N. Market St., Wilmington, Del. (302) 652-5577 or thegrandwilmington.org.
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| George Clooney’s ‘Ides of March’ (2nd review) |
October 15 2011 |
The Ides of March is a thriller without guns or foreign spies; its drama concerns the intimate actions and reactions of individuals making choices in the high-stakes milieu of presidential politics.
The Ides of March. A film directed by George Clooney. At Ritz Five, 220 Walnut St. (215) 925-7901 and other Philadelphia area theaters. For Philadelphia area show times, click here.
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| Aszure Barton’s ‘Blue Soup’ and ‘Busk' at Annenberg |
May 10 2011 |
The Baryshnikov protégé Aszure Barton uses— and subverts— our expectations about how dancers move and how meaning is communicated in dance.
Aszure Barton & Artists: Blue Soup and Busk. May 5-7, 2011 at Zellerbach Theater, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St. (215) 898-3900 or www.AnnenbergCenter.org.
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| Parsons Dance at Annenberg |
December 14 2010 |
David Parsons doesn’t use dance to explore ideas. With Parsons, an evening of dance is just an evening of dance— and very enjoyable nevertheless.
Parsons Dance: Caught and Remember Me. December 2-4, 2010 at Dance Celebration at the Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St. (215) 898-3900 or www.AnnenbergCenter.org.
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| Mark Garvey’s ‘Stylized’: Admiration or adoration? |
November 30 2010 |
How many grammarians can dance on the head of a pin? The number pales beside the admirers and detractors of The Elements of Style, Strunk and White’s classic guide to basic writing principles. And don’t get me started about the proper usage of hopefully.
Stylized: A Slightly Obsessive History of Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style. By Mark Garvey. Touchstone (Simon and Schuster), 2009. 208 pages; $22.99.
books.simonandschuster.com.
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| Guitarist John McLaughlin at the Keswick |
November 16 2010 |
John McLaughlin is one of the best guitarists playing today. But technical proficiency isn’t easy to translate into passion.
John McLaughlin and the Fourth Dimension. November 12, 2010, at the Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside, Pa. (215) 572-7650 or www.keswicktheatre.com.
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| Paul Taylor at Annenberg (1st review) |
October 26 2010 |
Paul Taylor has been choreographing for more than half a century— long enough to gently tweak the pretensions of modern dance even as he seriously examines the interplay between the spiritual and the carnal.
Paul Taylor Dance Company: Phantasmagoria, Arden Court, Cloven Kingdom. Presented by Dance Celebration October 21-23, 2010 at the Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St.
(215) 898.3900 or www.pennpresents.org/tickets.
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| ‘Cleopatra’ at the Franklin Institute |
October 16 2010 |
Few artifacts survive from Cleopatra’s reign, but a show at the Franklin Institute makes the most of what little remains.
“Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt.” Through January 2, 2011 at the Franklin Institute, 222 N. 20th St. (215) 448-1200 or www.fi.edu/cleopatra.
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| ‘Saturday Night Fever,’ revisited |
August 31 2010 |
Saturday Night Fever evokes a brief moment in pop culture history: the sexual freedom between the dawn of the Pill and the advent of AIDS. To those of us born to that particular slice of the Baby Boom, this gritty 1977 movie and its buoyant songs often strike a contradictory note.
Saturday Night Fever (1977). A film directed by John Badham, based on an article by Nik Cohn.
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| Laurie Anderson at World Café Live |
July 20 2010 |
Laurie Anderson brings her quirky take on life in America to Philly, raising a question: How should an audience respond to an artist who has made a career of defying any categorization?
Laurie Anderson: “Another Day in America.” July 11-12, 2010 at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. (215) 222-1400 or www.worldcafelive.com.
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| ‘Musical of Musicals’ at Walnut Studio 3 (2nd review) |
June 29 2010 |
Unlike satire, which comes out of anger, pastiche comes out of love. The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) is definitely the latter.
The Musical of Musicals, the Musical. Music by Eric Rockwell; lyrics by Joanne Bogart, book by Rockwell and Bogart; Craig Fols directed. Through June 27, 2010 at Walnut Street Theatre, Independence Studio on 3, 825 Walnut St. (215) 574-3550 or www.walnutstreettheatre.org.
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| Fleck, Meyer and Hussain at the Keswick |
June 01 2010 |
At the Keswick, the astonishing musicianship of Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Zakir Hussain transformed the unlikely combination of banjo, tabla, and bass into an exploration of musical possibilities.
Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Zakir Hussain. May 27, 2010 at Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside, Pa. (215) 572-7650 or www.keswicktheatre.com.
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| BalletX’s Spring Series (1st review) |
April 24 2010 |
Classical ballet has become a closed and rigid system. BalletX offers an antidote, opening up ballet to new movements and new forms of expressiveness.
BalletX: Spring Series 2010. Carry Me, by Myra Bazell;
One Word Play, by Thang Dao;
Hide, by Lauren Putty;
X or Y, by Christine Cox. April 14-18, 2010 at Wilma Theater, 265 S., Broad St. (at Spruce). (215) 917-1513 or www.balletx.org.
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| 'Crazy Heart' vs. 'The Wrestler' |
March 13 2010 |
Crazy Heart is yet another “performer on the skids” story, but one with a killer soundtrack and masterful acting by Jeff Bridges. But the film lacks the gut-level truthfulness the less accomplished Mickey Rourke brought to every frame of The Wrestler.
Crazy Heart. A film directed by Scott Cooper, based on a novel by Thomas Cobb. At Ritz at the Bourse, Fourth and Ludlow Sts. (215) 925-7900 or www.landmarktheatres.com,
Also Bryn Mawr Film Institute, Ambler Theater, and local chains.
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| Elizabeth Streb’s ‘Brave’ at Annenberg (3rd review) |
February 09 2010 |
Elizabeth Streb, the eponymous “action architect and choreographer” of STREB, received a “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation in 1997. But is Brave a work of genius, or a very ambitious workout?
Brave. Choreographed by Elizabeth Streb. February 5-6, 2010 at Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St.
(215) 898.3900 or www.pennpresents.org/tickets.
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| Guitarists Kaukonen and Bromberg at the Keswick |
January 26 2010 |
Two great guitarists revisit their musical roots in an evening of virtuoso finger-picking.
David Bromberg and Jorma Kaukonen: An Evening of Duets. January 23, 2010 at The Keswick Theater, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside, Pa. (215) 572-7650 or www.keswicktheatre.com.
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| ‘Avatar’ vs. ‘The Imaginarium’ |
January 16 2010 |
James Cameron’s Avatar dazzles us with expensive high-tech special effects. But Terry Gilliam’s Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus dazzles us with the more substantive power of human imagination.
Avatar. A film directed by James Cameron. At area theaters. www.avatarmovie.com.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. A film directed by Terry Gilliam. At the Ritz at the Bourse, Fourth and Ludlow Sts. (215) 925-7900 or www.landmarktheatres.com.
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| Jason Reitman’s ‘Up In the Air’ (1st review) |
December 04 2009 |
Up in the Air is that rare find nowadays, a movie for grown-ups—specifically, grown-ups who are dealing with real economic hardship in the year 2009.
Up In the Air. A film directed by Jason Reitman, from the novel by Walter Kirn. At the Ritz Five, 214 Walnut St. (215) 925-7900. www.landmarktheatres.com.
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| ‘Birth of the Cool’: Barkley Hendricks at Pennsylvania Academy |
December 01 2009 |
Barkley Hendricks was born in North Philly, trained at PAFA and Yale, and traveled in Italy and North Africa. The results of this unique combination of influences are on display in his retrospective, “Birth of the Cool.”
Barkley L. Hendricks: “Birth of the Cool.” Through January 3, 2010 at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Hamilton Bldg., Broad and Cherry Sts. (215) 972-7600 or www.pafa.org.
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| ‘Fraulein Maria’ by Doug Elkins (3rd review) |
November 17 2009 |
With Fräulein Maria, choreographer Doug Elkins purports to radically deconstruct The Sound of Music. But how radical is it, really?
Fraulein Maria. Choreography by Doug Elkins. Through November 14, 2009 at Zellerbach Theatre, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St. (215) 898-3900 or www.pennpresents.org.
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| Reif Larsen’s ‘Selected Works of T.S. Spivet’ |
October 19 2009 |
You can tell when you pick up Reif Larsen’s The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet that it's not just another novel. The physical book, slightly larger than the standard octavo, is sized to accommodate the extensive marginalia interwoven with the story.
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet. Novel by Reif Larsen. Penguin Press, 2009. 400 pages; $27.95. www.tsspivet.com.
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| ‘Thank You, Gregory’ at Annenberg (1st review) |
October 12 2009 |
Thank You, Gregory successfully reaches both knowledgeable tap dance aficionados and novices who just want to be entertained. But why rely on video when there’s so much live talent in the wings?
Thank You, Gregory: A Tribute to the Legends of Tap. Directed by Anne Marie de Angelo; written by Tony Waag. Dance Affiliates Production October 6-10, 2009 at Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St. (215) 898-3900 or www.annenbergcenter.org/tickets/?id=65.
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| Rittenhouse Square’s fall art show |
September 22 2009 |
The Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show simultaneously satisfies three constituencies: Folks shopping for something to hang over the sofa, seekers of genuine art, and people-watchers.
Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show. September 18-20, 2009 in Rittenhouse Square. www.rittenhousesquarefineartshow.org.
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| Sharon White’s ‘Vanished Gardens’ |
August 25 2009 |
In Vanished Gardens, Sharon White takes readers on an impressionistic tour de force through Philadelphia’s green spaces, past and present. She’s a stylish writer, but fitting all the pieces of her broad mosaic together is no easy task.
Vanished Gardens: Finding Nature in Philadelphia. By Sharon White. University of Georgia Press, 2008. 240 pages; $28.95. www.ugapress.uga.edu/0820331562.html.
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| Martin Provost’s 'Séraphine' at the Ritz Five |
August 02 2009 |
Martin Provost’s Séraphine is a beautiful film based on the real-life relationship of an art critic and a self-taught artist on the eve of World War I. Provost intriguingly focuses not on the financial and artistic success that this partnership generated but on failures of communication between the artist and the wordsmith.
Séraphine. A film directed by Martin Provost. In French with English subtitles. At the Ritz 5, 214 Walnut St., (215) 925-7900 or www.landmarktheatres.com. Also the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, Pa. (610-527-1319 or www.brynmawrfilm.org) and County Theater, 20 E. State St., Doylestown, Pa. (215-345-6789 or www.countytheater.org).
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Matthew Jakubowski’s literary criticism appears regularly in the Philadelphia City Paper and the online magazine QuarterlyConversation.com. He has written reviews, essays and articles for The Brooklyn Rail, Grid magazine and Name Calling. He is an active member of the National Book Critics Circle and recently completed his second novel. He lives in West Philadelphia.
More articles by Matthew Jakubowski, newest first
| Berlin’s lesson in peaceful revolution |
November 10 2009 |
As the world marks the fall of the Berlin Wall, let’s not forget the real heroes of that revolutionary moment– neither Reagan nor Gorbachev, but East Berliners themselves, who left their weapons home to confront one of the world’s most heavily-guarded borders.
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| Solnit’s ‘Paradise Built in Hell’ |
September 15 2009 |
Do natural disasters bring out the best or the worst in people? Rebecca Solnit argues that such communal calamities trigger a “civic temperament” in human nature that leads people to shine rather than go for each other’s throats— which scares the hell out of political leaders.
A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster. By Rebecca Solnit.
Viking, 368 pages, $27.95. www.amazon.com.
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| Yale and those Muhammad cartoons |
August 21 2009 |
To avoid potential violence, Yale University Press has announced that the controversial 2005 Danish newspaper cartoons satirizing the prophet Muhammad (like the one at left) will be omitted from a forthcoming book about the global riots provoked by those cartoons. Is this a case of responsible behavior or intellectual cowardice?
The Cartoons That Shook the World. By Jytte Klausen. To be published in November 2009 at Yale University Press. For Yale’s statement, visit yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/KlausenStatement.asp
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| The Mann experience: A newcomer's perspective |
August 02 2009 |
Thursday’s showcase for pianists Herbie Hancock and Lang Lang with the Philadelphia Orchestra left many patrons swooning with delight. But it raised a few questions in the mind of a first-time visitor to the Mann who sat in the cheap seats.
Philadelphia Orchestra, with pianists Herbie Hancock and Lang Lang. July 30, 2009 at Mann Center for the Performing Arts. www.manncenter.org.
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Jeanne Wrobleski is an attorney who practices complex, commercial litigation. In addition to a law degree, she holds a master of arts degree. She has taught, lectured and been a president and a director and trustee of several civic and non-profit performing arts organizations, including The Wilma Theater and The Charlotte Cushman Foundation. Her full biography appears in Who’s Who in American Women, Who’s Who in American Lawyers and the Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory. She lives and practices in Center City Philadelphia.
More articles by Jeanne Wrobleski, newest first
| Sidney Goodman at Pennsylvania Academy |
July 07 2009 |
Like Munch and Goya before him, Sidney Goodman brilliantly combines a dark artistic vision with a masterful use of technique. In Goodman's work, ambiguity evokes as strong an emotional response as the obvious.
“Sidney Goodman: Man in the Mirror.” Through September 20, 2009 at Hamilton Building, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Broad and Cherry St. (215) 972-7600 or www.pafa.org/Museum/Exhibitions/35/.
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More articles by Richard Carreño, newest first
| Pittsburgh’s culture quest |
July 24 2012 |
The Mellons and the steel mills are gone, but Pittsburgh today boasts first-class museums, music, theaters and universities. The trouble is, they’re all in the wrong part of town.
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| Discovered: La Salle’s unsung art museum |
November 14 2011 |
An obscure museum in a North Philadelphia basement houses world-class treasures by masters like Tintoretto, Edouard Vuillard, Rembrandt Peale, Georges Rouault and Joseph Epstein. Most remarkable of all, admission is free.
La Salle University Art Museum. Olney Hall, 1900 W. Olney Ave., lower level. (215) 951-1000 or www.lasalle.edu/museum.
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| Matisse and Barnes: A tale of two museums |
October 04 2011 |
Henri Matisse was one of the three great revolutionary artists (with Picaso and Duchamp) of the early 20th Century; Albert Barnes was a brilliant collector of revolutionary art. They made a great team until Barnes’s insufferable personality drove Matisse away, with consequences that still reverberate today.
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| ‘Picasso and the Paris Avant-Garde’ at the Art Museum (3rd review) |
February 23 2010 |
Curator Michael Taylor has unveiled, for the first time in recent memory, the astonishing range, depth, and quality of the Art Museum’s Picasso holdings. But his show falls a few bricks short of an Anne d'Harnoncourt blockbuster.
“Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris.” Through May 2, 2010 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Antiquity, looters and the Penn Museum |
November 10 2009 |
Who are the best stewards of ancient artifacts— enlightened Western curators whose museums stole the loot long ago, or dictators of Third World lands where the treasures were originally found? James Cuno of the Chicago Art Institute (who believes the former) confronts the Penn Museum (which favors the latter).
"Iraq’s Ancient Past: Rediscovering Ur’s Royal Cemetery." Through Spring 2010 at University of Pennsylvania Museum, 3260 South St. (215) 898-4000 or www.penn.museum/sites/iraq.
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| ‘American Stories' at the Met in New York |
October 18 2009 |
“American Stories,” currently at the Met in New York, reveals an indebtedness to Philadelphia's artistic patrimony. Almost the whole show could have been assembled from Philadelphia holdings or works by Philadelphia artists. So why is the Art Museum so modest about its contributions?
“American Stories: Paintings of Everyday Life, 1765-1915.” Through January 24, 2009 at Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue and 82nd St., New York. 212-535-7710 or www.metmuseum.org.
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| Art Museum’s admission hike |
June 29 2009 |
The Art Museum recently raised its admission fees, a fund-raising model that is strictly 20th-Century. Then it hired as its new director Timothy Rub, a successful advocate of the 21st-Century model: free admission. Does the Art Museum’s left hand know what its right hand is doing?
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| Venice: Nice place to visit, but…. |
March 31 2009 |
There’s no place like Venice to jump-start your romantic gene. But before you move there, remember: The plumbing stinks. And try schlepping groceries, or hauling a suitcase, or finding a doctor or a decent restaurant or a neighbor who’s under 50.
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| Newspapers and the Internet |
March 03 2009 |
In the Internet age, what will happen to fact-based journalism as daily newspapers fold? Contrary to what you hear from print journalists, the quality of coverage could improve. Which would you prefer: The Inquirer, or a Philadelphia edition of the New York Times?
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| Vidocq: Philadelphia's Sherlock Holmes |
December 20 2008 |
Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan and Sam Spade are all legendary but fictitious private eyes. But Edgar Allan Poe and Victor Hugo were inspired by a real Philadelphia gumshoe of literary dimensions, as I discovered behind the door of the Vidocq Society in Center City.
The Black Tower. By Louis Bayard. William Morrow, 352 pages; $24.95. www.louisbayard.com
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| Sarah Palin and the ‘C’ word |
September 13 2008 |
Thanks to Sarah Palin, the 800-pound gorilla is out of the cage. The 'C' word— class— is the one word in the American lexicon that's even better hidden in polite public discourse than race. And it has little to do with money.
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| Alfred J. Munnings at Brandywine Museum |
July 29 2008 |
A remarkable new show at the Brandywine River museum is a tribute to the great sporting artist Alfred J. Munnings and also to the private collectors of Chester County who’ve accumulated his works without fanfare.
“Alfred J. Munnings From Regional Collections.” Through Sept. 1, 2008 at Brandywine River Museum, off U.S. 1, Chadds Ford, Pa. (610) 388-2700 or www.brandywinemuseum.org.
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| The horror of globalization |
February 16 2008 |
What is a German discount food chain doing in Philadelphia, pampering its customers and employees alike and otherwise violating cherished local customs? Don’t these foreigners know what we Americans did to the Hessians the last time we got really angry?
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| George Stubbs paintings at Penn |
April 17 2007 |
The English painter George Stubbs is largely forgotten outside racing stables, geezer men’s clubs and faux clubby steakhouses. But he transformed the way artists depicted horses and sporting scenes.
Equus Unbound: Fairman Rogers and the Age of the Horse. Through June 15, 2007, at Kamen Gallery, U. of Pennsylvania’s Van-Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, 3420 Walnut St., first floor. Free and open to the public; photo ID required. (800) 390-1829 or
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| Christie’s and ‘The Gross Clinic’ |
January 03 2007 |
As a leading art auction house, Christie’s well understands the role of a dummy bidder in jacking up the price of a work. In Jefferson University's recent sale of The Gross Clinic, Christie’s consultants apparently found an unwitting dummy in the Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton. Has Philadelphia’s art community learned anything from this $68 million lesson?
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| What price admission to the Barnes? |
August 12 2006 |
Hefty admisssion increases are the new order of the day at New York's Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum. Derek Gillman, new chief of the Barnes Foundation, may be tempted to follow suit. Here's one hard-nosed reason why he shouldn't.
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Victor L. Schermer is a contributing editor to the the ”All About Jazz” website, a practicing psychologist in Philadelphia, and a free-lance writer on music, psychology, and other subjects. He lives in Center City.
More articles by Victor L. Schermer, newest first
| Orchestra plays Bach’s ‘St. Matthew Passion’ (1st review) |
April 02 2013 |
In a magnificent performance of Bach’s transcendent St. Matthew Passion, Yannick Nézet-Séguin made the most of the drama and emotion contained in the story of Christ’s betrayal and crucifixion. That wasn’t necessarily Bach’s choice, but a work of genius lends itself to multiple interpretations.
Philadelphia Orchestra: J.S. Bach, The Passion According to St. Matthew. Malin Christensson, soprano; Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano; Andrew Staples, tenor; Andrew Foster-Williams, Luca Pisaroni, bass-baritones; The Westminster Symphonic Choir; American Boychoir. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor. March 28-30, 2013 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Yannick’s homage to Stokowski (1st review) |
June 25 2012 |
In four memorable concerts this past weekend, the Philadelphia Orchestra’s new leader, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, paid homage to the showmanship and musicianship of its late conductor Leopold Stokowski. He also demonstrated that he still has a thing or two to learn from Stoky.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Stokowski Celebration. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor. June 22 & 23 2012 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Rattle, the Orchestra and death |
April 28 2012 |
In its latter stages, Austro-German Romanticism mostly concerned the beauty of death. Simon Rattle demonstrated that he’s learned something in Berlin about the subtle German approach to emotion.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Brahms, Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90; Webern, Six Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6; Schumann: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97. Simon Rattle, conductor. April 26-29, 2012 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce St. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Orchestra plays Bartok and Stravinsky |
April 17 2012 |
Two milestone works by Bartok and Stravinsky are rarely performed together because of the massively difficult effort involved. The Orchestra provided a rare chance to compare two great modern composers who changed the face of 20th Century music.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Mendelssohn, Hebrides Overture (“Fingal’s Cave”), Op. 26; Bartok, Piano Concerto No. 2; Stravinsky, Petrushka (1947 Version). Yefim Bronfman, piano; Gilbert Varga, conductor. April 13, 2012 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| ‘Van Gogh Up Close’ at the Art Museum (2nd review) |
January 31 2012 |
“Van Gogh Up Close” reveals a brilliant artist who used every means at his disposal to stretch the limits of art in ways that anticipated future developments. More so than his contemporaries, Van Gogh recognized that we see (and artists paint) with everything that constitutes our experience in the world.
“Van Gogh Up Close. ” Through May 6, 2012 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Ben. Franklin Parkway and 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Blomstedt conducts Beethoven |
January 24 2012 |
Should Beethoven be performed in the grand Romantic style or in the tighter manner of Beethoven’s own times? Herbert Blomstedt managed to straddle both sides of that fence.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 3; Symphony No. 3 (Eroica). Leif Ove Andsnes, piano; Herbert Blomstedt, conductor. January 19-21, 2012 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Orchestra’s heavyweight Brahms Requiem |
November 08 2011 |
Brahms’s stirring German Requiem was performed with astonishing power by the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Westminster Choir and two outstanding soloists director-designate Yannick Nézét-Séguin. Yet it raised questions of just how this work should be interpreted and performed.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Brahms, Ein Deutsches Requiem. Matthias Goerne, baritone; Dorothea Röschmann, soprano; Westminster Choir (Joe Miller, director); Yannick Nézét-Séguin, conductor. November 3-5, 2011 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Mysteries of conducting, with Sean Newhouse |
October 09 2011 |
What does an orchestra conductor really accomplish when he waves his baton? The Boston Symphony’s young assistant Sean Newhouse, rushed into the spotlight this year to replace the ailing maestro James Levine, reflects on aspects of his job that most audiences take for granted.
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| The Marlboro mystique: Pros and cons |
August 22 2011 |
After 50 years, the Marlboro festival remains a remarkable incubator where promising young musicians form disciplined ensembles. But it’s also a pressure-cooker that can squelch an individual musician’s personal expression.
Marlboro Music 2011: Public Concert X. Works by Haydn, Mendelssohn, Brahms. August 12, 2011 at Marlboro College, Marlboro, Vt. www.marlboromusic.org.
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| Boston Symphony at Tanglewood: A Romantic mixed bag |
August 22 2011 |
Romanticism in music has had its ups and downs. A recent weekend of Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts at Tanglewood suggests that much of its success depends on the nature of the performance.
Boston Symphony Orchestra: Works by Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Johann Strauss, Jalbert, Mendelssohn, Smetana, Mozart, Tchaikovsky. Raphael Frühbeck de Burgos, Sean Newhouse, Lionel Bringuier conducting; Yuja Wang, piano; Emanuel Ax, piano; Sarah Chang, violin. August 5-7, 2011, at Tanglewood Music Center, Lenox, Mass. www.bso.org/bso.
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| Lenape Chamber Ensemble’s 25th anniversary concerts |
July 12 2011 |
For its 25th anniversary concerts, the Lenape Chamber Ensemble offers a quick lesson in modern sensibility: The line from Haydn to Dvorak to Shostakovich defines the ascent of individuality, self-consciousness and inner conflict in Western thought.
Lenape Chamber Ensemble 25th Anniversary concerts: Haydn, Piano Trio in E Flat; Shostakovich, String Quartet No. 7; Dvorak, Piano Quartet in D Major, Op. 23. Kathryn Eberle, Stephanie Jeong, violins; Arash Amini, cello; Marcantonio Barone, piano; Catherine Beeson, viola. July 9, 16 and 23, 2011 at Delaware Valley College, Route 202, Doylestown, Pa. (610) 294-9361 or www.lenapechamberensemble.org.
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| Jurowski conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra |
February 21 2011 |
This stellar Philadelphia Orchestra concert, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski and including a stunning rendition of the Beethoven Violin Concerto by Lisa Batiashvili, ennobled the Classical repertoire as few concerts do.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Wagner, Prelude to Parsifal; Beethoven, Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 61; Prokofiev: Symphony No. 6 in E-flat minor, Op. 11. Lisa Batiashvili, violin; Vladimir Jurowski, conductor. February 17-19, 2011 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Yannick and the Orchestra: Mozart’s ‘Requiem’ (2nd review) |
January 11 2011 |
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s stellar performance of Mozart’s Requiem reminded this listener that great music isn’t merely the work of a few giants. Consider the forgotten Franz Xaver Süssmayr, who selflessly finished Mozart’s work while others around the master engaged in a post-mortem feeding-frenzy.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Debussy, Nocturnes; Mozart, Requiem. With Philadelphia Singers. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor. January 6-9, 2011, at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1900 or www.philorch.org.
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| Yannick and the Orchestra (3rd review) |
November 02 2010 |
Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s choice of Mahler for his introductory concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra was no accident: The two musicians share a great deal in common. In the process, Nézet-Séguin demonstrated why the sometimes-scorned Mahler deserves a place among the great symphonic composers.
Philadelphia Orchestra: Haydn, Symphony No. 100 ("Military"); Mahler, Symphony No. 5. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor. October 29-30, 2010 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1955 or www.philorch.org.
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| Dolce Suono’s Barber celebration (2nd review) |
January 22 2010 |
With a little help from three of Samuel Barber’s protégés, Dolce Suono afforded a glimpse into the confluence of traditional and modern idioms that was Barber’s hallmark.
Dolce Suono: “Samuel Barber at 100: The Composer and his World.” Barber, Summer Music; Higdon, Autumn Music; Rorem, Trio for flute, cello, and piano; Ludwig, Haiku Catharsis; Barber, Capricorn Concerto. Mimi Stillman, flute; Geoffrey Deemer, oboe and English horn; Samuel Caviezel and Paul R. Demers, clarinets; Michelle Rosen, bassoon; Shelley Showers, horn; Hirono Oka, Mu Na, violins; Burchard Tang, viola; Yumi Kendall, cello; Robert Kesselman, double bass; Gabe Globus-Hoenich, percussion; Charles Abramovic, piano. January 17, 2010 at Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music. (215) 893-7902 or www.mimistillman.org/dolcesuono/index.html.
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| Handel’s ‘Messiah’ by Philadelphia Singers and Philadelphia Orchestra |
December 15 2009 |
Handel’s Messiah, often watered down to a benevolent Christmas carol, got the all-out passionate Baroque interpretation this magnificent oratorio deserves. Credit conductor Paul Goodwin, a stickler for historical intent.
Philadelphia Singers Chorale and Philadelphia Orchestra: Handel, The Messiah. Celena Shafer, soprano; Kelley O'Connor, mezzo-soprano; Anthony Dean Griffey, tenor; Andrew Foster-Williams, bass-baritone; Paul Goodwin, conductor. December 13, 2009 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Board and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-1999 or www.philorch.org.
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| Andre Watts Plays Schubert and Liszt |
November 03 2009 |
On an otherwise dreary Sunday afternoon, Andre Watts lit up the musical world with stellar performances of piano works by two stylistically different composers. Among other achievements, Watts brought out a depth in Liszt that few performers have accomplished.
Andre Watts: piano recital. Works by Schubert and Liszt. November 1, 2009 at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center. (215) 893-1999 or www.kimmelcenter.org.
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| Lenape Chamber Ensemble |
July 28 2009 |
Is a “pure” rendering of the composer’s intent indeed ever possible? A mid-summer concert of Beethoven, Faure and Prokofiev by the Lenape Chamber Ensemble conjured thoughts about each composer’s circumstances at the moment of creation.
Lenape Chamber Ensemble: Beethoven, Piano Trio, Op.1, no.1; Faure, Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major; Prokofiev: String Quartet No. 2. Ayano Ninomiya, Arnaud Sussmann, violins;
Arash Amini, cello; Marcantonio Barone, piano; Catherine Beeson, viola. July 11, 2009 at Delaware Valley College, Doylestown. (610) 294-9361 or www.lenapechamberensemble.org.
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| Dolce Suono’s ‘Rouge, blanc et bleu’ (2nd review) |
May 12 2009 |
The long and complex relationship between the U.S. and France is reflected in their music, but with distinct differences in style and approach. Dolce Suono contemplated the musical and historical connections in a concert of three French composers plus a new French-influenced work by Philadelphia composer Andrea Clearfield.
Dolce Suono: "Rouge, blanc, et bleu: American-French Connections." Mimi Stillman, flute and director; Coline-Marie Orliac, harp; Paul Arnold, violin; Burchard Tang, viola; Yumi Kendall, cello. May 8, 2009 at First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St. (267) 252-1803 or www.mimistillman.org/dolcesuono.
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A.J. Sabatini is Arthur J. Sabatini. For decades I wrote and worked in the arts in Philadelphia. I taught at Drexel University and The University of the Arts, worked with Relâche and The Yellow Springs Institute, wrote for the Inquirer and a bunch of publications that are no longer around.
I live in both in Philadelphia and Arizona and am associate professor of performance studies in interdisciplinary arts and performance at Arizona State University. Most of my writing is academic and focuses on the avant-garde and experimental artists. I also perform, have written a play and keep working on other projects. Nearly everything I know can be traced to some conversation in or related to Philadelphia. More at: www.public.asu.edu/~ieajs/Welcome.html
More articles by AJ Sabatini, newest first
| Banality as an art form |
May 11 2013 |
Do you have what it takes to be truly banal? Let me count the ways.
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| Andrei Codrescu’s ‘Bibliodeath’ |
January 26 2013 |
Andrei Codrescu grew up in Communist Romania, where printed words were deemed more dangerous than bombs. Now he lives in a virtual world inundated with too many instantly disposable virtual words. Ah, but he has a solution.
Bibliodeath: My Archives (With Life in Footnotes). Andrei Codrescu. Antibookclub, 2013. 168 pages; $25.00. www.antibookclub.com.
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| Art Museum’s ‘Dancing Around the Bride’ (2nd review) |
January 12 2013 |
By making art from ordinary objects, Duchamp and his colleagues sent a message: It’s not the work of art but the work of imagination that’s essential to creativity.
“Dancing Around the Bride: Cage, Cunningham, Johns, Rauschenberg and Duchamp.” Through January 21, 2013 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benj. Franklin Pkwy and 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Why Americans love guns |
December 22 2012 |
In a culture of disposable commodities, certain hand-held objects— like cell phones and iPods— seem to retain the quality of totems or fetishes. But no piece of machinery resonates with the feel of childhood control like a gun.
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| ‘Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry,’ at the Ritz Five |
August 15 2012 |
What could be more threatening to a dictatorship than an artist who acts like a free man? That is the question posed by Alison Klayman’s graceful documentary about the Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei.
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry. A film directed by Alison Klayman. At the Ritz Five, 220 Walnut St. (215) 725-7900. For show times, click here.
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| Searching for intelligent life at the shore |
July 10 2012 |
You’re down the shore, with six days to go. How many more miniature golf courses, mermaid key rings, seashell villages and jellyfish in your newspaper before your brain turns to applesauce?
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| Commotion Festival: The city as a work of art |
June 26 2012 |
What James Joyce did for Dublin, Commotion Festival is doing for three emerging Philadelphia neighborhoods— that is, savoring the poetry in the lives of ordinary urban people and places.
Commotion Festival. June 16-30, 2012 at various locations in Grays Ferry, Point Breeze and South of South Street neighborhoods. commotionphilly.org/festival.
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| Carlos Fuentes as I remember him |
May 19 2012 |
The magical but realistic novels of Carlos Fuentes are compendiums of pulsating narratives and capacious realms of knowledge. He wrote in a genre that raises questions at a time when all forms of story are suspect and knowledge is represented as what anyone can locate on the Internet.
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| Joseph Cedar’s ‘Footnote’ (1st review) |
April 24 2012 |
Writing, books and acts of reading and arguing about books and publications and words and ideas are to Joseph Cedar’s Footnote what martial arts are to Jackie Chan movies. And I’ve got the footnotes to prove it.
Footnote. A film directed by Joseph Cedar. At the Ritz Five, 220 Walnut St. and other Philadelphia venues. For show times, click here.
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| Another Titanic night to remember |
April 13 2012 |
If you still can’t comprehend why the rich refused to associate with the poor aboard the Titanic, you might consider inviting my wife and me to your next party.
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| Our dreams, our movies, and ‘Inception’ |
July 25 2010 |
Films with dreams, like dreams themselves, continue to fascinate us, mainly because dreams, like language, are at once common, immediate and identifiable, yet ultimately unexplainable. They seem to be meaningful. But are they?
Inception. A film directed by Christopher Nolan.
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| Opera Company’s ‘Orphée et Eurydice’ (1st review) |
June 19 2010 |
The Opera Company of Philadelphia’s Orphée et Eurydice, with its orchestra and 26-member chorus, along with dance by choreographer Amanda Miller, is a tightly-wound and satisfying production, albeit with a few strings attached.
Orphée et Eurydice. Opera by Christof Willibald Gluck (Hector Berlioz adaptation) directed by Robert B. Driver; Corrado Rovaris, conductor. In French with English supertitles. Opera Company of Philadelphia production through June 25, 2010 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 732-8400 or www.operaphila.org.
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| Mithen’s ‘Singing Neanderthals' |
June 12 2010 |
Archaeologist Stephen Mithen opened up a music-filled box of speculation about the ways humans think, dance, sing and speak. He says we owe it all to our much-maligned Neanderthal ancestors.
The Singing Neanderthals: The Origins of Music, Language, Mind and Body. By Stephen Mithen. Harvard University Press, 2007. 384 pages; $18.00. www.amazon.com.
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| The meaning of Havel’s ‘Leaving’ (4th review) |
June 01 2010 |
Some critics have attacked Vaclav Havel’s Leaving for ridiculing his own heroic political career. On the contrary, Havel is deeply concerned about what it means to be human in a globalized world. Leaving is his critique of uncritical language and careless thinking that allow scoundrels to leap into the void.
Leaving. By Václav Havel; translated by Paul Wilson; directed by Jiri Zizka. Through June 20, 2010 at Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). 215-546-7824 or www.WilmaTheater.org.
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| Hidden City Philadelphia (2nd review) |
June 29 2009 |
The recent Hidden Cities Arts Festival is an art experience that’s about much more than the effect of individual work. It also exemplifies the sort of current socially immersed art that’s too often hidden in favor of showier work.
Hidden City Philadelphia. Through June 2009 at various locations in Philadelphia. www.hiddencityphila.org. Sonambulo (1998-2009), by Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, at Shiloh Baptist Church, 2040 Christian St. inigomanglano-ovalle.com. Running True, by John Phillips and Carolyn Healy, at Disston Saw Works, 6795 State Rd. terragizmo.net/Healy&Phillips/H&P-Installations.html
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| Bruce Nauman at the Venice Biennale (1st review) |
June 14 2009 |
The in-your-face multi-media artist Bruce Nauman has been much feted since his Venice Biennale entry won the Golden Lion Prize for best national pavilion early this month. Would it be churlish to ask what his work means?
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Jackie Atkins, from Cape May, New Jersey, writes on cultural and social institutions for various publications. She also is working on a 26-episode drama series recently sold to EWTV through Family Theatre Productions.
More articles by Jackie Atkins, newest first
| One more time: Freedom vs. security |
May 07 2013 |
Dan Rottenberg mocked me for abandoning his stimulating streets of Philadelphia for the storm-ravaged coast of New Jersey. Hey, each of us cherishes a different version of the American dream.
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| Waiting for Sandy in Cape May |
November 03 2012 |
To every life comes a moment of truth. Mine arrived Monday as Hurricane Sandy approached Cape May, where my family had summered for more than a century. Should I flee or should I stay?
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| ‘Next to Normal’ at the Arden (2nd review) |
October 16 2012 |
Diana, the obsessively grieving mother in Next to Normal, has more than her share of hangups. But she’s far less dangerous than the “normal” relatives and mental health professionals who attend her.
Next to Normal. Book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey. Music by Tom Kitt. Terrence J. Nolen directed. Through November 4, 2012 at the Arden Theater’s F. Otto Haas Stage, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| Stan Sperlak’s ‘Rising’ at Cape May |
October 07 2012 |
Stan Sperlak’s Cape May County pastels almost make you believe there’s no difference between southern Jersey and southern France. Almost, but not quite.
“Rising”: paintings by Stan Sperlak. Through October 14, 2012 at Soma NewArt Gallery, 31 Perry Street (Carpenters Square Mall), Cape May, N.J. (609) 898-7488 or www.somagallery.net.
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| Lantern’s ‘The Island’ (3rd comment) |
June 02 2012 |
Island prisons like Robben Island and Guantánamo share one notable characteristic: They never solve the problems that created them.
The Island. By Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona; Peter DeLaurier directed. Lantern Theater production through June 10, 2012 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| Mauckingbird’s ‘The Temperamentals’ |
April 17 2012 |
Where were you at the dawn of the gay liberation movement? Jon Marans’s lyrical look back at the ’50s made me ask that question for the first time.
The Temperamentals. By Jon Marans. Mauckingbird Theatre Company production through April 29, 2012 at The Skybox at the Adrienne Theater, 2030 Samson St. (215) 923-8909 or www.mauckingbird.org.
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| Doubts about Shanley’s ‘Doubt’ at Walnut’s Studio 3 |
April 06 2012 |
Deep down, even a hard-assed nun is a woman, right? Which means she's a sexual creature. And if a charismatic priest doesn’t pay attention to her, well….
Doubt. By John Patrick Shanley; John Peakes directed. Through April 15, 2012 at Walnut Street Theatre’s Independence Studio 3, 825 Walnut St. (215) 574-3550 or www.WalnutStreetTheatre.org.
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| Lantern’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (3rd review) |
March 13 2012 |
The Lantern’s straightforward production of Romeo and Juliet got me thinking: What would become of these young lovers today, when instead of turning to a priest they could seek out Dr. Phil?
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Charles McMahon directed. Lantern Theater production through April 8, 2012 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| ‘Ethel’ at Walnut’s Independence Studio |
February 28 2012 |
There’s a hostile element in Terry Burrell’s representation of Ethel Waters that doesn’t quite ring true to the beatific soul I remember.
Ethel. By Terry Burrell; Kenneth L. Roberson directed. Through March 11, 2012 at Walnut Street Theatre Independence Studio, 825 Walnut St. (215) 574-3550 or www.WalnutStreetTheatre.org.
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| Anthony Lawton’s ‘The Great Divorce’ (1st review) |
February 10 2012 |
In Anthony Lawton’s vision, heaven welcomes even murderers as long as they display good manners at the pearly gates. Is this really what C.S. Lewis had in mind?
The Great Divorce. Adapted and performed by Anthony Lawton, from the C.S. Lewis novella. Lantern Theater Company production through February 12, 2012 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-9002 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| Kander & Ebb’s ‘Scottsboro Boys’ by PTC (2nd review) |
January 28 2012 |
What’s that you say? You can’t get into snappy tap dances and rousing cakewalks about racism and lynching? Hey, where’s your sense of humor?
The Scottsboro Boys. Music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb; book by David Thompson; Susan Stroman’s original direction and choreography recreated by Jeff Whiting. Philadelphia Theatre Company production through February 19, 2012 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St. (at Lombard). (215) 985-0420 or www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org.
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| Annie Baker’s ‘Body Awareness’ at the Wilma (2nd review) |
January 14 2012 |
Mimi Lien’s set for Body Awareness permits us to observe the public, domestic and private lives of a family. The snow falling in the background through the windows suggests a cocoon insulated from all foreign forces. It’s an effective allusion for Annie Baker’s tenderhearted and enjoyable comedy.
Body Awareness. By Annie Baker; Anne Kauffman directed. Through February 5, 2012 at the Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad Street. (215) 546-7824 or www.wilmatheater.org.
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| Coward’s ‘Private Lives’ at the Lantern (2nd review) |
December 17 2011 |
Unlike Edward Albee, who heaped pity and abuse on two dysfunctional married couples, Noël Coward’s Private Lives pokes fun at them— and at us for judging them.
Private Lives. By Noël Coward; Kathryn MacMillan directed. Lantern Theater Co. production through January 8, 2012 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| ‘Noël and Gertie’ at the Walnut’s Independence Studio 3 (1st review) |
December 06 2011 |
Noël Coward was a celebrated English wit and dramatist. Gertrude Lawrence was a legendary star of the musical stage. By most accounts, neither of them ever bored anybody. Until now.
Noël and Gertie. By Sheridan Morley; Will Stutts directed. Through December 31, 2011 at the Walnut Street Theatre Independence Studio 3, 825 Walnut St. (215) 574-3550 or www.walnutstreettheatre.org.
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| The Inquirer’s new home |
November 21 2011 |
After 86 years in an ivory tower on North Broad Street, the Inquirer is moving to modest third-floor quarters in a former department store. Farewell, elitist pomposity; hello humility.
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| ‘The Whipping Man’ at the Arden |
November 06 2011 |
The Whipping Man concerns the tribulations of a former Confederate soldier trying to run a proper Jewish household with two of his ex-slaves. Playwright Matthew Lopez apparently hopes you’ll be too busy gasping at his ironies to notice the holes in his plot.
The Whipping Man. by Matthew Lopez, Matt Pfeiffer directed. Through December 18, 2011 at the Arden Theatre, 40 N. Second St., (215) 922-1122 or ardentheatre.org.
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| Philadelphia’s aging theater audience |
October 01 2011 |
As a frequent theatergoer, I find it amusing and vaguely annoying when the only young people in a theater can be found on the stage. But it’s no joke: This age disparity is responsible for the current dearth of cutting-edge productions in Philadelphia theaters.
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| Those Civil War re-enactments |
August 14 2011 |
When Santayana said that those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it, he must have had today’s Civil War re-enactors in mind. These weekend warriors repeat actions that no one has any way of remembering or repeating. How authentic can you be if you don’t have to dodge real bullets and cannon fire?
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| Braly’s ‘Life in a Marital Institution’ |
July 10 2011 |
“Would you be married to this woman?” James Braly moans about his wife in this monologue on marriage. Better you should ask: Would anyone be married to him?
Life in a Marital Institution. Written and performed by James Braly; directed by Hal Brooks. Through July 16, 2011 at the Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). (215) 546-7824 or www.wilmatheater.org.
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| Rebeck’s ‘The Understudy’ in Cape May |
July 02 2011 |
Theater people gobble up the razor-sharp backstage backstabbing of Theresa Rebeck’s The Understudy. But in Cape May her best lines fell flat.
The Understudy. By Theresa Rebeck; directed by Roy Steinberg. Through July 30, 2011 at Cape May Stage, Robert Shackleton Playhouse, Bank and Lafayette Streets, Cape May, N.J. (609) 884-1341 or www.capemaystage.com.
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| Black domestics on stage |
June 16 2011 |
Hattie McDaniel said she’d rather make $700 a week playing a maid than $7 a week being one. Today actresses like Opal Alladin enjoy the luxury of portraying maids with genuine character.
My Wonderful Day. By Alan Ayckbourn; Richard Hamburger directed. Through June 19, 2011 at Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). (215) 546-7824 or www.wilmatheater.org.
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| Directors vs. critics: BSR’s debate (1st comment) |
May 30 2011 |
At Broad Street Review’s debate on theater criticism, three Philadelphia directors largely ignored the panel’s Internet-based critics and mostly complained instead about the Inquirer. Earth to directors: Hip theatergoers no longer care about, much less read, the Inquirer.
“Theater People vs. Theater Critics.” Debate sponsored by Broad Street Review. Bernard Havard, Charles McMahon, Seth Rozin, Gresham Riley, Robert Zaller, Jim Rutter; Dan Rottenberg, moderator. May 26, 2011 at Franklin Inn Club, 205 S. Camac St.
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| ‘My Way’: Sinatra tribute at Walnut’s Studio 3 |
May 14 2011 |
My Way is as much of a tribute to Frank Sinatra’s crowd and its ambience as it is to Old Blue Eyes himself. If you relish those folks and those times, here’s a chance to renew old acquaintances.
My Way: A Musical Tribute To Frank Sinatra. Directed by Fran Prisco; choreography by Ellie Mooney. Through July 3, 2011 at Walnut Street Theatre’s Independence Studio 3, 825 Walnut St. (215) 574-3550 or www.walnutStreetTheatre.org.
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| ‘Saturn Returns,” by Theatre Exile (2nd review) |
May 06 2011 |
Noah Haidle’s masterpiece about growing old without growing up comes together gracefully under the deft tutelage of director Brenna Geffers and dramaturg David White, insuring a three-dimensional drama in a single act.
Saturn Returns. By Noah Haidle; Brenna Geffers directed. Theatre Exile production through May 22 at Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 N. American St. (above Market between Second and Third). (215) 218-4022 or www.theatreexile.org.
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| 'Atlas Shrugged' on film |
April 30 2011 |
Even my date, a confirmed Ayn Rand acolyte, was disappointed by Atlas Shrugged, which looks even sillier on film than it reads on paper.
Atlas Shrugged, Part I. A film directed by Paul Johansson; screenplay by Brian Patrick O'Toole and John Aglialoro, from the novel by Ayn Rand. For Philadelphia area showtimes, click here.
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| ‘Wanamaker’s Pursuit’ at the Arden |
April 10 2011 |
Different strokes for different folks: In Paris of 1911, an American commercial family eager to make deals crosses paths with another American commercial family eager to embrace the new avant-garde culture. Playwright Rogelio Martinez has an intriguing idea here, but it’s still a work in progress.
Wanamaker’s Pursuit. By Rogelio Martinez; Terrence J. Nolen directed. Through May 22, 2011 at Arden Theatre, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-8900 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| ‘Speaking in Tongues’ at Walnut’s Studio 3 |
April 05 2011 |
Andrew Bovell’s Speaking in Tongues is based on the dubious premise that marital infidelity is the end of the world. And from where I was sitting, I got a stiff neck, to boot.
Speaking in Tongues. By Andrew Bovell; John Peakes directed. Through April 17, 2011 at Independence Studio 3, Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut St. (215) 574-3550 or www.walnutstreettheatre.org.
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| Hitchcock’s ’39 Steps’ at the Walnut (1st review) |
March 29 2011 |
In The 39 Steps, as in most Walnut Street Theatre productions, art never strays too far from public taste— for which let us be grateful.
Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps. Adapted by Patrick Barlow, from the novel by John Buchan; William Roudebush directed. Through May 1, 2011 at Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut St. (215) 574-3550 or www.walnutstreettheatre.org.
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| Lantern Theater’s ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (1st review) |
March 22 2011 |
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare’s take on love mistaken for infatuation and vice versa, is as endlessly inane and amusing as any episode of "Seinfeld.”
A Midsummer Night’s Dream. By William Shakespeare; Charles McMahon directed. Lantern Theater production through April 17, 2011 at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829.0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
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| Tracy Letts’s ‘Superior Donuts’ at the Arden (3rd review) |
March 19 2011 |
Not by happenstance has Tracy Letts placed this story in Chicago’s gritty Uptown section. It would be hard to place such a tale in any setting other than the Windy City.
Superior Donuts. By Tracy Letts; Edward Sobel directed. Through April 3, 2011 at the Arden Theatre, F. Otto Haas Stage, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| Sarah Ruhl’s ‘In the Next Room’ at the Wilma (2nd review) |
March 12 2011 |
In the Next Room is Sarah Ruhl’s amusingly nostalgic look at a repressed society seemingly liberated by Thomas Edison’s newfangled electrical power-driven gadgets. And the Wilma Theater’s production is surely a beautiful affair. But is it faithful to the playwright’s vision?
In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play. By Sarah Ruhl; Blanka Zizka directed. Through April 3, 2011 at Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). (215) 546-7824 or www.wilmatheater.org.
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| ‘The Ugly One’ at Walnut’s Studio 3 |
February 26 2011 |
Is beauty merely in the eye of the beholder? This 90-minute play by the German dramatist Marius Von Mayenburg is part Beckett and part Benny Hill. Depending on your taste, you’ll either love it or find it mildly annoying.
The Ugly One. By Marius Von Mayenburg, translated by Maja Zade; Debi Marucci directed. Through March 13, 2011 at Independence Studio 3, Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut St. (215) 574-3550 or www.walnutstreettheatre.org.
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| ‘Moon for the Misbegotten’ at the Arden (3rd review) |
February 15 2011 |
In O’Neill’s dramas, like those of Tennessee Williams, each character’s mental state teeters on the brink of psychosis; poverty isn’t necessarily financial; and the playwright’s poetic language abets their condition.
A Moon for the Misbegotten. By Eugene O’Neill; Matt Pfeiffer directed. Through February 27, 2011 the Arden Theatre, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.
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| Starving for art? Give me a break. |
February 12 2011 |
Suffering for your art is as romantic as it is nihilistic. But continuing on this path as you get older is downright masochistic.
The Understudy. By Theresa Rebeck; David Kennedy directed. Closed January 30, 2011 at the Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). (215) 546-7824 or www.wilmatheater.org.
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| David Mamet’s ‘Race’ by Philadelphia Theatre Company (2nd review) |
January 29 2011 |
When neither the facts nor the law are on your side, goes an old lawyer joke, shout loudly and bang on the table. Sounds like David Mamet’s kind of law firm.
Race. By David Mamet; Scott Zigler directed. Philadelphia Theatre Company production through February 20, 2011 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St. (at Lombard). (215) 985-0420 or www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org.
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| Countdown to Armageddon |
January 08 2011 |
Both the Mayan calendar and the radio prophet Harold Camping say the world will end next year. So why not take a few sensible precautions?
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| My job interview with Glenn Beck |
December 18 2010 |
All I wanted was a more stimulating job. How was I to know that the humorless manic-depressive who interviewed me would soon be acclaimed by millions of Americans as a modern messiah?
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| The day I wore a veil |
September 07 2010 |
Until 2001, a scarf was an accepted fashion statement among Western women. Veils and shawls have played important roles in both Judaism and Christianity for thousands of years. Only after 9/11 did wearing them become an exclusively Muslim practice.
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| Confessions of an illegal immigrant |
August 07 2010 |
Many Americans are applauding Arizona’s tough new immigration law. So I think it’s time I came clean: For three years I was an “illegal” in Rome. Italy benefited from my presence, just as Americans benefit today from our new arrivals, legal or not.
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| Aunt Millie’s legacy |
December 14 2009 |
While her younger sisters climbed the financial and social ladders of money and respectability, my Aunt Millie was content with her little row home and her job as an accountant. She managed to leave something of value nevertheless.
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| The Gosselins: An American travesty |
September 22 2009 |
Sometimes I wonder why I ever gave up country life for the big impersonal city. Then I think about the Gosselins of TV’s reality show, “Jon & Kate Plus Eight,” and I remember. I never met the Gosselins, but I know them all too well.
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| Urban oasis: The Lombard Swim Club |
May 19 2009 |
Summers in the city can be tough on the soul. But on a hot evening at the Lombard Swim Club, with the carnival lights flickering and Jimmy Buffet crooning, it’s easy to believe you are not in Center City at all, but on a cruise ship.
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Dr. Carol Rocamora is an educator, playwright, translator and critic. Her three volumes of his complete translated dramatic works of Anton Chekhov have been published by Smith & Kraus.
Her new play, I take your hand in mine...., based on the correspondence of Chekhov and Olga Knipper, premiered in September 2001 at the Almeida Theatre in London, starring Paul Scofield and Irene Worth, and opened in Paris in October 2003 at Peter Brook’s Theatre des Bouffes du Nord, under his direction, starring Michel Piccoli and Natasha Parry.
Now in her 15th year of teaching at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Dr. Rocamora has been the recipient of the David Payne Carter Award for Teaching Excellence. She also lectures on theater at the Juilliard School, the Yale School of Drama and Columbia University.
Formerly, she was the founder and artistic director of the Philadelphia Festival Plays at the Annenberg Center. Dr. Rocamora’s biography, Acts of Courage: Vaclav Havel’s Life in the Theatre, was published in 2005.
She has written about theater for The Nation and The New York Times, and currently contributes to The Guardian and American Theatre. She has recently completed Rubles, a collection of original plays inspired by Chekhov’s short stories. She is currently working on a biography entitled Chekhov: Portraits.
More articles by Carol Rocamora, newest first
| ‘Here Lies Love’: Imelda Marcos in New York |
May 18 2013 |
How could an entire starving nation fall under the sway of a dazzling charlatan like Imelda Marcos? The disco-style poporetta Here Lies Love will seduce you in much the same way. Unfortunately, it neglects to address the greatest irony of all: what happened to Imelda after the music stopped.
Here Lies Love. Concept and lyrics by David Byrne; Alex Timbers directs. Through June 30, 2013 at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette S., New York, www.publictheater.org.
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| ‘Orphans’ on Broadway: The Boston Marathon link |
May 11 2013 |
I saw Orphans when it opened in the 1980s, and remember being repelled by its violence and ferocity. Not now. This hilarious, harrowing absurdist drama sheds chilling insight into the two brothers charged in the Boston Marathon bombing.
Orphans. By Lyle Kessler; Daniel Sullivan directs. At Schoenfeld Theatre, 236 West 45th St., New York. www.orphansonbroadway.com
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| 'Pippin,' 'Kinky Boots' and 'Matilda' on Broadway |
May 04 2013 |
When it comes to musicals, Broadway is a three-ring circus this season. Pippin, Kinky Boots and Matilda are all high-flying spectacle and daredevil entertainment, offering instant gratification and plenty of cotton candy.
Pippin. Book by Roger O. Hirson; music/lyrics by Stephen Schwartz; Diane Paulus directs. At Music Box Theatre, 239 West 45th St., New York. www.pippinthemusical.com.
Kinky Boots. Book by Harvey Fierstein; music by Cyndi Lauper; Jerry Mitchell directs/choreographs. At Al Hirschfeld Theatre, 302 West 45th St., New York. www.kinkybootsthemusical.com.
Matilda, The Musical. Book by Dennis Kelly (based on Roald Dahl’s novel); music/lyrics by Tim Minchin; Matthew Warchus directs. At Shubert Theatre, 225 West 44th St., New York. www.matildathemusical.com.
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| Virgin Mary, Sue Mengers and Ann Richards in NY |
April 29 2013 |
With whom would you rather spend an evening alone? A Hollywood super-agent, the mother of Jesus, or the former governor of Texas? These are your choices among one-woman shows on Broadway.
The Testament of Mary. By Colm Toibin, Deborah Warner directed. Through June 16, 2013 at Walter Kerr Theatre, 219 West 48th St., New York. www.testamentonbroadway.com.
I’ll Eat You Last. By John Logan; Joe Mantello directed. Through June 30, 2013 at the Booth Theatre, 222 West 45th St., New York. www.illeatyoulast.com.
Ann. Written and performed by Holland Taylor. Through June 9, 2013 at Lincoln Center’s Beaumont Theatre, 150 West 65th St. (at Broadway), New York. www.lct.org.
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| An African ‘Julius Caesar’ in Brooklyn |
April 20 2013 |
Director Gregory Doran has made a bold, believable choice in setting his Julius Caesar in today’s strife-torn Africa. As a result, he shines new light on the Shakespearean play we all memorized in high school and thought we knew inside and out.
Julius Caesar. By William Shakespeare; Gregory Doran directs. Royal Shakespeare Company production through April 28, 2013 at Harvey Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn, N.Y. (718) 636-4100 or www.bam.org.
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| Nora Ephron’s ‘Lucky Guy’ on Broadway |
April 16 2013 |
The rise, fall, comeback and ultimate demise of the relentlessly ambitious newspaper columnist Mike McAlary makes a great story— but only in the romantic world of the Broadway stage.
Lucky Guy. By Nora Ephron; George C. Wolfe directs. At Broadhurst Theatre, 235 West 44th St., New York. www.luckyguyplay.com.
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| ‘The Revisionist’ in New York |
April 12 2013 |
Just when you thought Vanessa Redgrave had done it all, she turns up in a 200-seat West Village theater, playing a septuagenarian Holocaust survivor from Szczecin, Poland. Needless to add, the part— as well as the intimate venue— fits her like a glove.
The Revisionist. By Jesse Eisenberg; Kip Fagan directs. Through April 27, 2013 at Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce St. (Greenwich Village), New York. www.cherrylanetheatre.org.
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| ‘Macbeth’ in London, violence everywhere |
March 30 2013 |
Playwrights and directors are devoting more attention to the role of violence in the world, which is good. But some of them seem to be celebrating it rather than condemning it.
Macbeth. By William Shakespeare; Jamie Lloyd directed. Through April 27, 2013 at Trafalgar Studios, 14 Whitehall, London. www.atgtickets.com.
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| Three plays in London |
March 26 2013 |
Harold Pinter’s Old Times will make you question your memory, not to mention human trust and love. But a new play about a boy with Asperger’s syndrome will restore your faith in all of them.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Adapted by Simon Stephens from the novel by Mark Haddon; Marianne Elliott directed. At Apollo Theatre, Shaftesbury Ave., London. CuriousOnStage.com.
This House. By James Graham, Jeremy Herrin directed. In repertory at Royal National Theatre, London. www.nationaltheatre.org.uk. To be broadcast on HD Live at the Ambler Theatre, Ambler, Pa., on May 26, 2013 (www.amblertheater.org) and at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, Bryn Mawr, Pa., on May 30 and June 2, 2013. www.brynmawrfilm.org.
Old Times. By Harold Pinter, Ian Rickson directed. Through April 6, 2013 at Harold Pinter Theatre, Panton St., London. www.atgtickets.com.
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| ‘The Audience’ in London; ‘Ann’ in New York. |
March 22 2013 |
You’ll learn a lot about England and America by noting who is celebrated in the theater these days. Two fascinating women— the stoic and self-effacing Queen Elizabeth and the flashy and flamboyant Ann Richards— are featured this month on the London and New York stages respectively.
The Audience. By Peter Morgan; Stephen Daldry directed. Through June 15, 2013 at the Gielgud Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London. To be broadcast on HD on June 23, 2013 at Ambler Theatre, Ambler, Pa., and June 27 and 30, 2013 at Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, Pa. (610) 527-9898 or www.brynmawrfilm.org or www.theaudienceplay.com.
Ann. Written and performed by Holland Taylor. Through June 9, 2013 at Vivian Beaumont Theatre, Lincoln Center, Broadway and 65th St., New York. www.lct.org.
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| ‘Laramie Project Cycle’ in Brooklyn |
March 03 2013 |
The courageous Tectonic Theatre Project has dedicated more than a decade of its artistic life to a single tragedy: the brutal murder of a gay college student in Wyoming in 1998. It’s a demonstration of theater at its best, but it’s also a reminder of theater’s limitations.
The Laramie Project Cycle. By Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theatre Project; Kaufman and Leigh Fondakowski directed. A Tectonic Theatre production February 12-14, 2013 at Brooklyn Academy of Music, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn, N.Y. www.bam.org.
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| ‘Water By the Spoonful’ in New York |
January 29 2013 |
Tired of cynical plays about dysfunctional families? The beautiful Water By The Spoonful offers a refreshing change of pace: a “family” of lonely humans connecting and uplifting each other in cyberspace.
Water By The Spoonful. By Quiara Alegria Hudes; Davis McCallum directed. Through February 10, 2013 at Second Stage Theatre, 305 West 43rd St., New York. www.2st.com.
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| New York’s Under the Radar festival |
January 22 2013 |
Two troupes of “outsiders”— one from Australia, the other from Belarus— have forced themselves to center stage by dint of their sheer passion, courage and tenacity.
Ganesh Versus The Third Reich. Directed and devised by Bruce Gladwin, a production of the Back to Back Theatre, Geelong, Australia.
Minsk 2011: A Reply to Kathy Acker. Directed/adapted by Vladimir Shcherban, a co-production of Belarus Free Theatre and Fuel Theatre Company (UK). January 9-20, 2013, at Under the Radar Festival, Public Theatre, 425 Lafayette St., New York. www.publictheater.org.
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| Inge’s ‘Picnic,’ revived in New York |
January 15 2013 |
Behind William Inge’s sunny, gentle slice of small-town Americana from 1953 lies another, quite sobering story. A woman’s life in that sweet little Kansas town was rigid and restrictive, to say the least.
Picnic. By William Inge; Sam Gold directed. Roundabout Theatre Company production through February 24, 2013 at American Airlines Theatre, 227 West 42nd St. www.roundabouttheatre.org.
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| ‘Chaplin: The Musical,’ on Broadway |
December 31 2012 |
Charlie Chaplin thrived in the silent films and resisted “talkies” for years. Yet when he did speak, his career took a fatal turn.
Chaplin: The Musical. Book by Christopher Curtis and Thomas Meehan; music and lyrics by Curtis. Warren Carlyle directed. Through January 6, 2013 at Ethel Barrymore Theatre, 243 West 47th St., New York. www.chaplinthemusical.com.
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| ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ in NY revival |
December 24 2012 |
The current superb revival of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross raises a curious question: Has nothing changed in American business ethics since Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman?
Glengarry Glen Ross. By David Mamet; Daniel Sullivan directed. Through January 13, 2013 at Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, 236 West 45th St., New York. (212) 239-6200 or www.glengarrybroadway.com.
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| Wilson’s ‘Piano Lesson’ in New York |
December 18 2012 |
Here is the essential recurring conflict in August Wilson’s 20th Century cycle: the struggle of African-Americans to define themselves while at the same time bringing the past forward with dignity. Music, it turns out, plays a pivotal role.
The Piano Lesson. By August Wilson, Ruben Santiago-Hudson directed. Through January 13, 2013 at Pershing Square Signature Theatre Center, 480 West 42nd St., New York. www.signaturetheatre.org.
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| Van Hove shakes up Shakespeare |
December 04 2012 |
If you want to explore new frontiers in the theater world just follow the Dutch director Ivo van Hove wherever he goes. In his hands, all of our cherished theatrical conventions are suddenly rendered anachronistic.
Roman Tragedies. By William Shakespeare; Ivo van Hove directed. November 16-18, 2012 at Howard Gilman Opera House, Brooklyn Academy of Music, 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. (718) 636-4100 or www.bam.org.
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| ‘Mies Julie’ in Brooklyn |
December 01 2012 |
Yael Farber’s inspired but shattering metaphor for the struggles of modern South Africa is the most violent, sexually explicit and contextually insightful play I’ve seen in a long time.
Mies Julie. Adapted and directed by Yael Farber, from August Strindberg’s Miss Julie. Through December 16, 2012 at St. Ann’s Warehouse, 29 Jay St., Brooklyn, NY. www.stannswarehouse.org.
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| Durang’s ‘Vanya and Sonia….’ in New York (2nd review) |
November 27 2012 |
Christopher Durang’s blender version of Chekhov’s plays may go down in theater history, alongside the Bard mash-ups by the Reduced Shakespeare Company, as one of the funniest send-ups of the classics ever.
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. By Christopher Durang; Nicholas Martin directed. Through January 13, 2013 at Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center, 150 West 65th St. (between Broadway and Amsterdam Ave.), New York. www.lct.org.
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| Royal National Theatre’s ‘Timon of Athens’ |
November 16 2012 |
Shakespeare’s rarely performed Timon of Athens has been dusted off and given an updating that dazzles in its relevance to our troubled times.
Timon of Athens. By William Shakespeare; Nicholas Hytner directed. Royal National Theatre production broadcast in HD Live November 18 and 29, 2012 at Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, Pa. (610) 527-9898 or www.brynmawrfilm.org. November 25, 2012 at Ambler Theater, 108 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, Pa. 215-345-7855 or www.amblertheater.org.
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| Akhtar’s ‘Disgraced’ at Lincoln Center in NY |
November 11 2012 |
Ayad Akhtar’s explosive Disgraced concerns a Muslim determined to assimilate into American society, only to be betrayed and embittered for his efforts.
Disgraced. By Ayad Akhtar; Kimberly Senior directed. Through December 23, 2012 at Lincoln Center Theater at the Claire Tow, Broadway and 65th Street, New York. www.lct.org.
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| Albee’s ‘Virginia Woolf’ revived on Broadway |
October 23 2012 |
Rarely does a revival shed new light on a play with the same intensity as the blazing new production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? that just opened on Broadway on its 50th anniversary.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? By Edward Albee; Pam McKinnon directed. At Booth Theatre, 222 West 45th St., New York. www.virginiawoolfonbroadway.com.
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| ‘New Jerusalem’: Another side of Spinoza's story (2nd commentary) |
September 15 2012 |
No question, Baruch Spinoza was a heroic figure who stood up courageously for his principles. So were St. Thomas More, Joan of Arc, Galileo and other heroes of “test of faith” drama. But so was my marrano ancestor who was undoubtedly present at Spinoza’s excommunication.
New Jerusalem. By David Ives; Charles McMahon directed. Lantern Theater production through September 30, 2012 at St. Stephen’s Theatre, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org
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| Sam Shepard’s ‘Heartless’ in New York |
September 08 2012 |
Nothing is as it seems in Sam Shepard’s Heartless. But Shepard devotees may find his latest dysfunctional family a trifle too familiar— even if, for once, it’s dominated by women rather than men.
Heartless. By Sam Shepard; directed by Daniel Aukin. Through September 30, 2012 at the Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd St., New York. www.signaturetheatre.org.
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| Sondheim’s ‘Into the Woods’ in New York |
August 14 2012 |
There’s no place more magical than outdoor summer theater, and no setting more fitting for Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods than the woods of Central Park— even if Sondheim’s woods are as dark and disturbing as anything imagined by Maurice Sendak or Roald Dahl.
Into The Woods. Book by James Lapine; music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; Timothy Sheader directed. Public Theater/Shakespeare in the Park production through September 1, 2012 at Delacorte Theatre, Central Park, near 81st St. and Central Park West, New York. shakespeareinthepark.org.
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| Joyce Carol Oates contemplates Emily Dickinson |
August 11 2012 |
Why is Joyce Carol Oates so fascinated by Emily Dickinson? It may be because the two have much in common. As women writers, both have suffered scorn and rejection.
Wild Nights! and Grandpa Clemens and Angelfish. Two one-act plays by Joyce Carol Oates. Wild Nights! performed July 30, 2012 at Vineyard Playhouse, Martha's Vineyard, Mass. Samuel French, 2009. $8.95. www.samuelfrench.com.
The Essential Emily Dickinson. Selected by Joyce Carol Oates. Harper-Collins/Ecco Press, 2006.
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| ‘Other Desert Cities’ and ‘My Children! My Africa!’ |
June 30 2012 |
In two powerful plays about political protest— in the Vietnam-era U.S. and apartheid South Africa— everyone pays a price for discord between the generations.
Other Desert Cities. By Jon Robin Baitz; Joe Mantello directed. Lincoln Center Theater production closed June 2012 at the Booth Theatre, 222 West 45th St., New York. www.lct.org.
My Children! My Africa! By Athol Fugard; Ruben Santiago-Hudson directed. Closed Jun 17, 2012 at Signature Theatre Center, 480 West 42nd St., New York. www.signaturetheatre.org.
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| ‘Harvey’ on Broadway |
June 26 2012 |
Long before the American theater of the absurd, Mary Chase’s Harvey offered useful lessons about the value of an active imagination as a survival tool in an absurd world.
Harvey. By Mary Chase; Scott Ellis directed. Roundabout Theatre Company production through August 5, 2012 at Studio 54, 254 West 54th St. (between Broadway and Eighth Ave.), New York. www.roundabouttheatre.org.
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| ‘The Columnist’ and ‘The Best Man’ on Broadway |
May 15 2012 |
Mitt Romney might well seek consolation in the theater these days, where the spring season seems to be imitating the current political one in terms of accusations and revelations. The stage candidates, of course, are far more colorful than the real ones.
The Columnist. By David Auburn; Daniel Sullivan directed. Through July 1, 2012 at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, 261 West 47th St., New York. www.thecolumnistbroadway.com.
The Best Man. By Gore Vidal; Michael Wilson directed. At Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, 236 West 45th St., New York. (212) 239-6200 or www.thebestmanonbroadway.com.
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| Pinter and Chekhov in Brooklyn |
May 12 2012 |
Hopelessness seems be a recurrent theme at the Brooklyn Academy of Music this spring. Witness Pinter’s unforgiving The Caretaker, and Chekhov’s Three Sisters, taken to an expressionistic level that’s just not Chekhovian
The Caretaker. By Harold Pinter; directed by Christopher Morahan. Theatre Royal Bath/Liverpool and Everyman and Playhouse production through June 17, 2012 at Brooklyn Academy of Music, Harvey Theatre, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn, N.Y. www.bam.org.
The Three Sisters. By Anton Chekhov; directed by Lev Dodin. Maly Drama Theatre of St. Petersburg (Russia) production, April 18-28, 2012 at Brooklyn Academy of Music, Harvey Theatre, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn, N.Y. www.bam.org.
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| ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ on Broadway |
April 28 2012 |
Richard Bean, a standup comic, has reached into the oldest traditions of theater to deliver a hybrid farce of the highest order. Just don’t sit too close to the stage.
One Man, Two Guvnors. Adapted by Richard Bean from Goldoni; Nicholas Hytner directed. At Music Box Theatre, 239 West 45th St., New York. www.onemantwoguvnors.com. HD National Theatre Live screening June 17, 2012 at Ambler Theater, 108 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, Pa. (215) 345-7855 or www.amblertheater.org.
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| ‘Tribes’ and ‘4000 Miles’ in New York |
April 21 2012 |
A rare spring season of compelling new work brings two gems to the New York stage, both revealing something new about what it really means to hear and to listen.
Tribes. By Nina Raine; David Cromer directed. At Barrow Street Theatre, 27 Barrow St., New York. www.barrowstreettheatre.com.
4000 Miles. By Amy Herzog; Daniel Aukin directed. Through June 17, 2012 at Mitzi Newhouse Theatre, Lincoln Center, Broadway and 65th St., New York.
www.lincolncenter.org.
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| ‘Evita’ and ‘End of the Rainbow’ on Broadway |
April 17 2012 |
Without Patti LuPone’s complexity, Evita sinks to the level of caricature. By contrast, the flesh and blood Judy Garland breaks your heart.
Evita. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; lyrics by Tim Rice; Michael Grandage directed. Open-ended run at Marquis Theatre, 46th St. between Broadway and Eighth Ave., New York. www.Evitaonbroadway.com.
End of the Rainbow. By Peter Quilter; Terry Johnson directed. Open-ended run at Belasco Theatre, 111 West 44th St., New York. www.EndOfTheRainbowBroadway.com.
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| ‘Death of a Salesman’ on Broadway |
March 27 2012 |
Mike Nichols’s loving production, historically meticulous in every detail, plays curiously more like a museum piece than a fresh, dynamic new exploration of Arthur Miller’s 1949 masterwork. It performs a valuable service nevertheless.
Death of a Salesman. By Arthur Miller; Mike Nichols directed. Through May 27, 2012 at the Barrymore Theatre, 243 West 47th St. New York. www.deathofasalesmanbroadway.com.
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| Stalin meets George III in London |
March 24 2012 |
Two plays in London about Stalin, who died nearly 60 years ago? Maybe it’s taken that long to appreciate the full measure of Uncle Joe’s tyranny — over Russians in general and artists in particular.
Collaborators. By John Hodge, directed by Nicholas Hytner, now running in repertory at the Royal National Theatre, London. www.nationaltheatre.org.uk.
The Master and Margarita. Adapted by Complicité from Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel, directed by Simon McBurney. Through April 7, 2012 at the Barbican Center, Beech St., London. www.barbican.org.uk.
The Madness of George III. By Alan Bennett; directed by Christopher Luscombe. At the Apollo Theatre, 31 Shaftesbury Ave., London. www.apollotheatrelondon.co.uk.
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| Albee’s ‘Lady From Dubuque’ on Broadway |
March 10 2012 |
Amid the slings and arrows of callous critics, Edward Albee has persevered at his craft for 52 years. Now Jane Alexander has lifted his difficult play about the angel of death into the land of surreal, provocative black comedy.
The Lady From Dubuque. By Edward Albee; David Esbjornson directed. Through April 15, 2012 at Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd St., New York. www.signaturetheatre.org.
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| Fugard's 'Blood Knot' in New York |
February 19 2012 |
After Athol Fugard’s racial drama Blood Knot was first performed in South Africa in 1961, he was arrested and his play was banned. To revisit this seminal work today, 18 years after the end of apartheid, is a doubly moving and meaningful experience.
Blood Knot. By Athol Fugard; directed by Fugard with Colman Domingo and Scott Shepherd. Through March 11, 2012 at Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd St., New York. www.signaturetheatre.org.
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| Margaret Edson’s ‘Wit’ on Broadway |
January 31 2012 |
When a professor of metaphysical poetry encounters the ultimate metaphysical challenge, the result is a dazzling and unforgettably heroic struggle.
Wit. By Margaret Edson; Lynn Meadow directed. Manhattan Theatre Club production through March 11, 2012 at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 West 47th St., New York. www.witonbroadway.com.
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| Kevin Spacey’s ‘Richard III’ in Brooklyn |
January 28 2012 |
Anyone who complains about Kevin Spacey’s larger-than-life, over-the-top performance as Richard III is just plain jealous. What makes Spacey’s Richard so fascinating is the way he seduces the audience along with his amorous conquests onstage.
Richard III. By William Shakespeare; Sam Mendes directed. Bridge Project Production through March 4, 2012 at Brooklyn Academy of Music, Harvey Theatre, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn, N.Y. www.bam.org.
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| ‘Porgy and Bess’ on Broadway |
January 21 2012 |
Can you improve on a classic like Porgy and Bess, let alone Shakespeare or Chekhov? Diane Paulus thought she could make Gershwin’s classic more relevant to modern audiences. The result is a merely entertaining show, bereft of the passion and grandeur of the 1935 original.
The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. Music by George Gershwin; book and lyrics by DuBose and Dorothy Heyward and Ira Gershwin; adapted by Suzan-Lori Parks and Diedre L. Murray; Diane Paulus directed. Through June 24, 2012 at Richard Rodgers Theater, 226 W. 46th St., New York. www.porgyandbessonbroadway.com.
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| ‘Alexis’: Political theater in New York |
January 17 2012 |
How can political theater bring audiences to their feet and change the course of history? Why does it happen in Europe and not here? Motus, a daring new Italian theater company, has provided a vivid model for Americans.
Alexis. A Greek Tragedy. By Motus; directed by Enrico Casagrande and Daniela Nicolo, in collaboration with Michalis Traitsis and Giorgina Pilozzi. January 4-16, 2012 at Public Theatre’s Under The Radar Festival, at La MaMa, 66 and 74A E. Fourth Street, New York. (212) 475-7710 or lamama.org.
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| Vaclav Havel’s legacy (2nd commentary) |
December 27 2011 |
As a human rights activist who helped overthrow Communism, Vaclav Havel’s political legacy seems assured. But the question remains: What is this playwright’s dramatic legacy?
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| ‘Titus’ in New York, ‘Carnage’ on screen |
December 20 2011 |
Five centuries apart, Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus and Yazmina Reza’s Carnage wallow in violence that’s so outrageous it’s actually entertaining. If you think you’ve never contemplated eating the entrails of yours sons, these and similar works will cure you of your illusions.
Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. Directed by Michael Sexton. Closed December 18, 2011 at the Public Theatre, 425 Lafayette Street, New York. www.publictheater.org.
Carnage. A film directed by Roman Polanski, from the play by Yazmina Reza. At Lincoln Plaza Cinema, Broadway and 63rd Street, New York. www.lincolnplazacinema.com. Opens January 13, 2011 at Ritz Theaters, Philadelphia. www.landmarktheatres.com.
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| ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’ in Brooklyn |
December 13 2011 |
In 55 fleeting minutes, Samuel Beckett and John Hurt give us an icy blast of raging age with the same ferocity and velocity that Shakespeare provides in his full-length play King Lear— with one critical difference.
Krapp’s Last Tape. By Samuel Beckett; Michael Colgan directed. Through December 18, 2011 at Harvey Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn, N.Y. (718) 636-4100 or
www.bam.org.
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| ‘Blood and Gifts’: Afghanistan’s tragedy at Lincoln Center |
November 22 2011 |
J.T. Rogers wants to teach us how the U.S. got bogged down in Afghanistan. His heart’s in the right place, and if you stick with Blood and Gifts to the end, your patience will be rewarded. But it’s a struggle.
Blood and Gifts. By J. T. Rogers; directed by Bartlett Sher. Through January 1, 2012 at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi Newhouse Theatre, Broadway and 65th St., New York. www.lct.org.
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| The fury of today’s stage heroines |
November 15 2011 |
Today’s revived stage heroines like Medea, Lady Macbeth, Desdemona and Hedda Gabler will clearly do anything– even the unspeakable, including infanticide and suicide— to preserve their dignity. Apparently the image of a powerless woman is one that we simply can’t tolerate today.
Desdemona. Script by Toni Morrison; music by Rokia Traore; directed by Peter Sellars. Though November 19, 2011 at Billy Rose Theatre, 59th Street and Columbus Circle, New York. www.whitelightfestival.org.
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| The human Dr. King: Katori Hall’s ‘The Mountaintop’ |
October 23 2011 |
This startling, unconventional and inspiring play by a young African-American playwright takes us to the mountaintop (Martin Luther King’s metaphor) of American dreams and expectations by way of an unexpected, uplifting route.
The Mountaintop. By Katori Hall, directed by Kenny Leon, with Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett. Now playing on Broadway at the Bernard R. Jacobs Theatre, 242 West 45th St., New York. (212) 239-6200 or www.themountaintopplay.com.
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| ‘Threepenny Opera’ at Brooklyn Academy of Music |
October 11 2011 |
Robert Wilson's gorgeous and ghoulish innovative production of Brecht’s Threepenny Opera generated standing ovations but left me chilled and puzzled as to what I was supposed to think or feel, beyond being numbed by the production’s brute force.
The Threepenny Opera. Book and lyrics by Bertolt Brecht; music by Kurt Weill; directed by Robert Wilson; music direction by Hans-Jorn Brandenburg and Stefan Rager. Berliner Ensemble production October 4-8, 2011 at Brooklyn Academy of Music Opera House, 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. (718) 636-4100 or www.bam.org.
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| ‘Traces’: Dazzling spectacle from 7 Fingers |
September 13 2011 |
The brilliant dancer/acrobats of 7 Fingers seek a new form of performing art. Their Traces— part circus act, part dance theater, part cabaret— is a dizzying, dazzling spectacle that defies definition.
Traces. Directed and choreography by Gypsy Snider and Shana Carroll. 7 Fingers production for Fringe Festival, September 15-18,2011 at Merriam Theatre, 250 South Broad St. (above Spruce). (215) 413-1318 or www.livearts-fringe.org. Thereafter at Union Square Theatre, 100 E. 17th St., New York. www.newyorkcitytheatre.com.
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| Jez Butterworth’s ‘Jerusalem’ on Broadway |
August 06 2011 |
Jez Butterworth’s pulsating, profane Jerusalem will shock Anglophiles who, like me, cling to a vision of England as a quintessentially gracious land. Even before last weekend's rampant riots and looting in London and Birmingham, Butterworth astutely perceived a darker Britain, peopled by the descendants of primitive Celts and Normans who persist today on the margins of English society.
Jerusalem. By Jez Butterworth; directed by Ian Rickson. Through August 21, 2011 at Music Box Theatre, 239 West 45th St., New York. www.jerusalembroadway.com.
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| ‘Spider-Man’ on Broadway (1st review) |
July 02 2011 |
The musical score may be forgettable, the book may be pedestrian, and the atmosphere in the theater is a hybrid between a circus and Disneyworld. But oh, those flying Spider-Men….
Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark. Music and lyrics by Bono and the Edge; book by Julie Taymor, Glen Berger and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa; original direction by Taymor. At Foxwoods Theatre, 213 West 42nd St., New York. (877) 250-2929 or spidermanonbroadway.marvel.com.
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| Finding the 'new' in Shakespeare |
June 20 2011 |
The Royal Shakespeare Company is finding the “new” in Shakespeare in a variety of compelling, captivating ways. If you think you’ve seen it all when it comes to The Bard, you’ll have many surprises in store.
Cardenio, Shakespeare’s ‘Lost Play’ Reimagined. Adapted and directed by Gregory Doran. Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, directed by Michael Boyd. Through October 6, 2011 at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford Upon Avon, United Kingdom. www.rsc.org.uk.
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| Taking liberties with Chekhov |
June 06 2011 |
Why would the Royal National Theatre mount a “version” of The Cherry Orchard laced with lines Chekhov never would have written, rather than a faithful translation? What is meant by a “version,” anyway? As a Chekhov translator, I wonder: Who would hang a "version" of Monet?
The Cherry Orchard. By Anton Chekhov; adapted by Andrew Upton; directed by Howard Davies. At Royal National Theatre, London. www.nationaltheatre.org.uk. Also in HD broadcasts in movie theaters around the U.S. on June 30, 2011; at Ambler Theatre, July 10; at Bryn Mawr Film institute, July 17 and 20. www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/ntlive.
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| Derek Jacobi as ‘King Lear’ in Brooklyn |
May 21 2011 |
No dramatic work rails against the injustice of aging like Shakespeare’s King Lear. So imagine the surprise of visiting the Brooklyn Academy of Music this month to find, in Derek Jacobi, a robust and defiant King Lear not at the nadir but at the height of his powers, with an audience laughing and cheering him on.
King Lear. By William Shakespeare; Michael Grandage directed. Donmar Warehouse production through June 5, 2011 at Brooklyn Academy of Music, Harvey Theatre, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn, N.Y. (718) 636-4100 or www.bam.org.
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| A wordless ‘Macbeth’ in New York |
May 14 2011 |
Sleep No More, the bizarre “immersive theater” experience, has emerged as this season’s most popular Macbeth. Yet it’s performed without any text. What does that say about how to reach audiences today with the classics?
Sleep No More. Punchdrunk production through June 25, 2011 at McKittrick Hotel, 530 West 27th St., New York. playing now through June 25, www.sleepnomorenyc.com.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Directed by Arin Arbus. Theatre For a New Audience production closed April 22, 2011 at The Duke on 42nd Street, 220 West 42nd St., New York. www.tfana.org.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Directed by Declan Donnellan. Cheek by Jowl production April 5-16, 2011 at Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn. www.bam.org.
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| ‘Born Yesterday’ and ‘House of Blue Leaves’ on Broadway |
May 03 2011 |
Nothing revives Broadway glamor like the dazzling moment when a new star is born.
That's happening right now in the current revival of Born Yesterday. Meanwhile, a star-studded revival of John Guare’s 1971 black comedy, The House of Blue Leaves, reminds us of its influence on subsequent American comedy.
Born Yesterday. By Garson Kanin; Doug Hughes directed. At Cort Theatre, 138 West 48th St., New York. ppc.broadway.com/shows/born-yesterday.
The House of Blue Leaves. By John Guare, David Cromer directed. At Walter Kerr Theatre, 219 West 48th St., New York. www.HouseOfBlueLeaves.com.
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| ‘Bengal Tiger At the Baghdad Zoo’ in New York |
April 12 2011 |
The hyperactive Robin Williams as a philosophical tiger seeking moral truth in Baghdad— what tragicomedy could be more imaginative, thought-provoking and haunting?
Bengal Tiger At the Baghdad Zoo. By Rajiv Joseph; Moises Kaufman directed. At Richard Rodgers Theatre, 226 West 46th St., New York. www.bengaltigeronbroadway.com.
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| ‘War Horse’ at Lincoln Center in New York |
April 11 2011 |
World War I as seen through the eyes of a horse? Yes, and thanks to a remarkable team of puppet makers, puppeteers and actors, it’s more magical than a show with live animals would have been.
War Horse. Adapted by Nick Stafford, from the novel by Michael Murpurgo; directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris. National Theatre of Great Britain/ Handspring Puppet Company production through June 26, 2011 at Vivian Beaumont Theatre, 150 West 65th St., New York. www.warhorseonbroadway.com.
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| ‘Comedy of Errors’ in Brooklyn |
March 28 2011 |
What Shakespeare did to Plautus in The Comedy of Errors, Edward Hall’s production now does to Shakespeare, in this wild, inspired version set in an all-inclusive holiday package resort somewhere in South America in the 1980s.
The Comedy of Errors. By William Shakespeare; adapted by Edward Hall and Roger Warren; directed by Hall. Propeller production closed March 27, 20111 at Harvey Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn, N.Y. www.bam.org.
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| Rinne Groff’s ‘Compulsion’ in New York |
March 01 2011 |
Rinne Groff’s haunting play springs from her long fascination with the writer Meyer Levin, whose own obsession with Anne Frank provides a compelling coda to the Holocaust.
Compulsion. By Rinne Groff; Oskar Eustis directed. Through March 13, 2011 at The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St. (at Astor Pl.), New York. (212) 967-7555 or www.publictheater.org.
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| ‘Diary of a Madman’ in Brooklyn |
February 22 2011 |
Geoffrey Rush, who seems to have cornered the market on inspired lunacy, has done it again. This time he’s Aksenty Poprishchin, Gogol’s immortal definitive urban "little man," driven mad by an uncaring world. Rush and director Neil Armfield have turned the story into a tragic vaudeville, both hilarious and harrowing, acted out with spectacular theatricality.
The Diary of a Madman. By Nikolai Gogol; directed by Neil Armfield; adapted by David Holman, with Armfield and Rush. Through March 12, 2011 at Harvey Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn, N.Y. (718) 636-4100 or www.bam.org.
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| Jews and slavery: ‘The Whipping Man’ in New York |
February 08 2011 |
How could Jews, of all people, have owned slaves in the antebellum South? Matthew Lopez’s inspiring new play, The Whipping Man, uses one such family as a parable of faith, family, freedom and the brotherhood of man.
The Whipping Man. By Matthew Lopez; Doug Hughes directed. Manhattan Theatre Club production through April 10, 2011 at City Center, Stage 1, 131 West 55th St., New York. (212) 581.1212 or www.nycitycenter.org.
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| Three ‘divas’ do Ibsen and Wilde in New York |
January 22 2011 |
When would you ever expect to read about Oscar Wilde and Henrik Ibsen in the same review? Better you should ask: Why are you reading this review when you could be hopping on a train to New York to catch three lionesses of the English-speaking stage, one of them a man?
John Gabriel Borkman. By Henrik Ibsen, James MacDonald directed. Abbey Theatre production, through February 6, 2011 at Brooklyn Academy of Music, Harvey Theatre, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn, N.Y. (718) 636.4100 or www.bam.org.
The Importance of Being Earnest. By Oscar Wilde; Brian Bedford directed. Roundabout Theatre Company production through March 6, 2011 at American Airlines Theatre, 227 West 42nd St., New York. (212) 719-1300 or www.roundabouttheatre.org.
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| Belarus Free Theatre’s ‘Being Harold Pinter’ |
January 15 2011 |
So you think standing on line for tickets is an act of perseverance? Meet the Belarus Free Theatre, a company whose members are literally prepared to die for their work and for free expression.
Being Harold Pinter. Adapted and directed by Vladimir Scherban; performed by the Belarus Free Theatre, January 7-16, 2011, at LaMama Experimental Theatre Club, 74 East Fourth St., New York. (212) 475-7710 or lamama.org/first-floor-theatre/being-harold-pinter.
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| ‘The Great Game: Afghanistan’ in New York |
December 21 2010 |
In 12 short plays lasting more than seven hours, this unique “total immersion” production provides a vividly dramatic and crucial context for understanding Afghanistan.
The Great Game: Afghanistan. Twelve plays by Richard Bean, Lee Blessing, David Edgar, David Greig, Amit Bupta, Ron Hutchinson, Stephen Jeffreys, Abi Morgan, Ben Ockrent, Simon Stephens, Colin Teevan and Joy Wilkinson; directed by Nicolas Kent and Inhu Rubasingham. Tricycle Theatre production, presented December 1-19, 2010 by the Public Theatre at New York University’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, Washington Square South, New York. www.tricycle.co.uk.
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| Kneehigh’s ‘Brief Encounter’ and ‘Red Shoes’ in N.Y. (2nd review) |
December 10 2010 |
From its studio barn in remote Cornwall, Kneehigh Theatre is finding unique new ways to remind us how the primitive power of storytelling can enchant and transport us.
Brief Encounter. Directed by Emma Rice, from Noel Coward’s Still Life. Kneehigh Theatre production through January 2, 2011 at Studio 54, 254 West 54th St., New York. (212) 719-1300 or www.roundabouttheatre.org/54.
The Red Shoes. Adapted and directed by Emma Rice. Kneehigh Theatre production through December 12, 2010 at St Ann’s Warehouse, 38 Water St., Brooklyn, N.Y. (718) 254-8779 or www.kneehigh.co.uk.
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| F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘Gatz’ in New York |
November 07 2010 |
The entire Great Gatsby, read word for word on stage aloud, in the course of seven hours plus a dinner break? Yes— and it’s one of the most valiant coups de théâtre I’ve ever seen: a stunning theatrical feat of virtuosity and sheer audacity.
Gatz. Adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby; John Collins directed. Elevator Repair Service Theatre Company production through November 28, 2010 at the Public Theatre, 425 Lafayette Street, New York. (212) 539-8500 or www.publictheater.org.
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| Shakespeare, Shylock, anti-Semitism— and Al Pacino (1st comment) |
July 11 2010 |
At least since the Holocaust, Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice has been widely reviled as an anti-Semitic screed. But Al Pacino’s majestic portrayal of Shylock in New York suggests an entirely different interpretation: of Jews (and Israel too) surrounded by a hostile world.
The Merchant of Venice. By William Shakespeare; Daniel Sullivan directed. Through August 1, 2010 at Delacorte Theater, Central Park (near 80th St.), New York. shakespeareinthepark.org.
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| Early O’Neill and Williams, together in London |
June 12 2010 |
The British director Laurie Sampson had the brilliant idea of pairing the earliest full-length efforts of Eugene O’Neill and Tennessee Williams, and directing, cross-casting and producing them in repertory with a unifying set. The effort reveals many intriguing common characteristics– as well as the debt that Williams clearly owed to O’Neill.
Beyond the Horizon, by Eugene O’Neill, and Spring Storm, by Tennessee Williams. Both directed by Laurie Sampson. At Royal National Theatre, South Bank, Belvedere Road, London, U.K. www.nationaltheatre.org.uk.
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| Stage adaptations: a British foursome |
June 04 2010 |
How do you revitalize the plays of the past, when the author is no longer around to protest? British theater is addressing this issue in four provocative productions this spring.
Women Beware Women. By Thomas Middleton; directed by Marianne Elliott. At the Royal National Theatre, London. www.nationaltheatre.org.uk.
Romeo and Juliet. By William Shakespeare; directed by Rupert Goold. Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-on-Avon,U.K.. www.rsc.org.uk.
The White Guard. Adapted by Andrew Upton from the novel and play by Mikhail Bulgakov; directed by Howard Davies. At the National Theatre, London. www.nationaltheatre.org.uk.
Homer’s Odyssey. By Mary Zimmerman; directed by Rafaella Marcus. At the Oxford Playhouse, Oxford, U.K.. www.oxfordplayhouse.com.
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| Liv Ullmann’s ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ |
December 27 2009 |
In her interpretation of Blanche DuBois, Cate Blanchett appears to be channeling the spirit not only of Blanche but also of Tennessee Williams himself. In her happy first-time collaboration with director Liv Ullmann, it’s clear that it takes a great actress to direct a great actress.
A Streetcar Named Desire. By Tennessee Williams; directed by Liv Ullmann. Sydney Theatre Company production through closed December 20, 2009 at Brooklyn Academy of Music, 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. (718) 636.4100 or www.bam.org.
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| Jude Law as ‘Hamlet’ on Broadway |
November 24 2009 |
Jude Law, the latest in a seemingly endless line of Hamlets, is a deeply emotional Hamlet who wears his heart on his sleeve, holding nothing back. In the process he brings out all the colors and complexities of what it means to be a man today, or any day.
Jude Law in Hamlet. By William Shakespeare; directed by Michael Grandage. Donmar Warehouse production through December 6, 2009 at Broadhurst Theatre, 235 West 44th St., New York. www.broadway.com/shows/hamlet-jude-law.
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| The storm over Caryl Churchill’s ‘Seven Jewish Children’ |
May 16 2009 |
Seven Jewish Children, Caryl Churchill’s eight-minute play about January’s Israel-Gaza war, has been attacked as a dishonest anti-Israeli rant. But the reactions and counter-reactions may matter more than the play itself. In triggering a global dialogue, Churchill has dramatized the power of theater to respond rapidly to political issues.
Seven Jewish Children. A play by Caryl Churchill. To read the complete script or view a video, click here.
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Marge Murray is a Philadelphia-based writer who is working on a book about Karin Larsson, the mother of modern Swedish design and the wife of Sweden’s most beloved painter, Carl.In the past she has specialized in scientific writing and editing, research, education and workshops, as well as academic writing for non-native speakers who wish to publisher their findings in English speaking journals.
More articles by Marge Murray, newest first
| Julia Roberts and ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ |
August 31 2010 |
Eat Pray Love is a forgettable work of escapist fantasy. But its star, Julia Roberts, is evolving in the opposite direction: from bimbo to mature woman with real brains and real-life problems.
Eat Pray Love. A film directed by Ryan Murphy, from the novel by Elizabeth Gilbert.
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| Stieg Larsson’s Swedish feminist heroine (1st comment) |
May 25 2010 |
What Ingmar Bergman did for Swedish private life— that is, expose its dark side— Larsson did for Swedish public life. His novels expose corruption and sexism in high places and provide a uniquely believable but heroic female figure to combat them.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. By Stieg Larsson. Alfred Knopf. 576 pages; $27.95. www.amazon.com.
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| The Phillies and my father: A memoir |
October 31 2009 |
My father rarely missed a Phillies game, even during spring training. Year after year, they broke his heart. When I imagine how happy he’d be with this year’s team, I miss him more than ever.
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