“Love Out of Darkness”: Q&A with Christopher Wheeldon of “An American in Paris”
After an early workshop of “An American in Paris,” the new hit Broadway musical directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, producer Roy Furman turned to his fellow producer Stuart Oken and...
View ArticleThe Political Subtext of “Mad Max: Fury Road” is a Sham
Each Mad Max movie is a product of its time. The original “Mad Max” (1979) was clearly aligned to the conservative law-and-order revenge thrillers of the 1970s. The sequel, “Mad Max 2: The Road...
View ArticleTaye Diggs Joins the Parade of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”
Some shows are snakebit (“Doctor Zhivago,” anyone?) and some shows are born under a lucky star. Count “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” the feverish brainchild of writer John Cameron Mitchell and composer...
View Article10 Films That (Almost) Won the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival
With “The Pianist,” “Pulp Fiction,” and “The Leopard” all having left the Cannes Film Festival with the top prize, the Palme d’Or award has proved to be a veritable sign of cinematic sucess over the...
View ArticleThe Chemical Brothers Return with “Born in the Echoes”
Five years after their last album, British electronica icons The Chemical Brothers announced their eighth studio album “Born in the Echoes” to be released on July 17, 2015. Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons,...
View ArticleBlurring the Lines: “Artists, Amateurs, Alternative Spaces” at BAM
On May 19, “Artists, Amateurs, Alternative Spaces: Experimental Cinema in Eastern Europe, 1960–1990” opened at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Highlighting the depth of work, much of it based in...
View ArticleThe Look of Silence: Annie Baker’s "The Flick"
Theatrical productions tend to be, well, theatrical, every movement and gesture rehearsed and choreographed, over and over again. There is little room for the ambivalence or nuance of natural...
View ArticleTiger JK, Yoon Mi-Rae & Bizzy Team Up for MFBTY Hip-Hop Supergroup
It started with a tweet. Tiger JK, founder of hip-hop group Drunken Tiger decided to poke fun at the rivalry in Korean pop culture. “My Fans are Better Than Yours!” he mockingly proposed … #MFBTYThe...
View Article"The Visit": One for the History Books?
The Tony nominations have provided a substantial bump in revenue for three of the four musicals vying for Best Musical, the top honor to be doled out on Sunday, June 7, broadcast live on CBS. “An...
View ArticleThe New Faces of “True Detective” Season 2
The Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson team from “True Detective” is a tough act to follow. The show does not give its new lineup, which includes Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams and...
View ArticleAida Without the Elephants? Pugnacious Opera Holland Park Shows How
Opera under a canopy in a London park? Can’t be done, said the scoffers. Just think of the poor acoustics. Major stars and conductors will never come. You can forget about sponsors. It’ll all be...
View ArticleReview: White Cube and "Poliuto," a Double Whammy at Glyndebourne Festival
You think you’re going to Glyndebourne for a UK opera premiere, and instead you’re dazzled by a series of brand-new rotating legs paintings. It gives a new meaning to the term “double first.”The...
View ArticleBroadway's Banner Year
“And the money kept rolling in,” is how Tim Rice’s lyric puts it in a song from “Evita.”And that aptly sums up the Broadway season of 2014-2015, which officially ended on Sunday. The cumulative...
View ArticleGrad Students Gone Wild: Whitney Horn and Lev Kalman’s “L for Leisure”
“L for Leisure,” the debut feature of Whitney Horn and Lev Kalman, comedically embraces the lives of graduate-student wanderers buzzed on critical theory and conspicuous consumption. By way of a series...
View ArticleTony-Nominated Director Scott Ellis Hits a Trifecta of Critical Acclaim
Whether or not Scott Ellis wins a Tony Award on June 7, when Broadway’s trophies are handed out in a live CBS telecast, he has the honor of being among the busiest directors on Broadway. The one-time...
View ArticleBetty Buckley and Rachel York Return to “Grey Gardens”
The Beales will be returning to the Hamptons this summer.That is, Betty Buckley and Rachel York will be playing the indestructible mother and daughter duo of “Big Edie” and “Little Edie” Beale in a...
View ArticleDramatic Cuts to Australian Arts Funding Announced
The new Australian federal budget, revealed last Tuesday in Canberra, included the shock decision to cut a significant portion of funding for the Australia Council, the national body for funding the...
View ArticleRemembering Mary Ellen Mark's Documentary "Streetwise"
In the past week, much has been said about the work of Mary Ellen Mark. The photographer, who passed away on May 25 at the age of 75, left behind an astounding body of work, extensive in scope and...
View ArticleBroadway Hot Ticket Alert! Book Now Before It Becomes Impossible
In 1994, the Broadway stage musical version of “Beauty and the Beast” walked away from the annual Tony Awards ceremony with only one win in the relatively minor category of Best Costume Design of a...
View ArticleThe Painful and Absurd in Roy Andersson's "Pigeon"
The absurdly long title of Roy Andersson’s latest film, “A Pigeon Sitting on a Branch Reflecting on Existence,” is actually the least absurd thing about it. Composed of loosely connected vignettes with...
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