The emergence of a global pandemic in 2020 was the last time Black Americans thought collectively about government conspiracy. Skepticism about true intent kept thousands from taking advantage of vaccines developed to protect against the Covid 19 virus and its variants. Although it transpired in the 1930s, memories of how the government deceived and victimized …
The Unrelenting Grip of Bias Examined from the Inside Out Read More »
Despite the brittle and bitter reality of America’s political divide, the US still attracts throngs around the world in need of refuge. Whether it be from economic instability or stiffling autocracy, people migrate to this and other democracies in search of a future. Always tucked within that search is also a wish for personal autonomy. …
Music swirls through the fabric of every age. In 1776 ballads, dance tunes, arias and sonatas were just a few of the styles of music Americans were listening to. Almost 250 years later and not much has changed. Some musical styles faded and new ones took root and flourished, just as they do today. The …
Earth, Wind and Fire Tribute a Celebration of Music and the Man Behind It Read More »
No matter how universal a story is, place can be as important as the story’s people. Caryl Churchill’s Fen takes us to a part of the United Kingdom whose existence is virtually unknown beyond the British Isles. On England’s eastern coast, the Fenlands, before being developed, were over 1000 square miles of wetlands. Soaked by …
Play Discloses the Cost of Surviving at the Bottom Read More »
In the 1920s, there wasn’t a lot of “if you can dream it, you can be it” going around. Boxes defining what people could do with their lives were much more rigid a hundred years ago, making it very difficult for some children to even dream of dreaming. Little girls and kids who didn’t have …
There are worse ways to spend a cold January night in Chicago than catching a hot little musical bubbling with sex. The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas first captivated Broadway with its humorously sympathetic saga about a bordello called the Chicken Ranch in the late 70s. The musical then went on to become a highly …
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas Turns Up the Heat and the Laughter Read More »
Buffalo Theatre Ensemble’s Season’s Greetings may just be the ticket for those looking for a different take on what the holidays mean to people. Written by the highly prolific British playwright Alan Ayckbourn, the slightly farcical, oddly dark play digs into the relationships of nine adults who’ve come together to celebrate Christmas in the English …
Season’s Greetings Tucks Hidden Treasures in Laughter Read More »
By striking the right balance in nearly every aspect, the Lyric’s current production of Verdi’s Don Carlos may be the perfect opera. The most transfixing element in the mix may be Robert Jones’s magnificent set. Color and lighting soften its dramatic dimensions, but they don’t detract from its galvanizing impact. Jones’s set is the constant …
There’s no shortage of people who believe their lives would make a killer movie. And given the differences in human beings, just as many don’t see their lives unique enough to warrant anything as ostentatious as a screenplay. Still, no matter how you parse it, all our lives are stories touched with pathos, humor, failure …
Man and Moon Underscores the Importance of Connection Read More »
The first thing you’re reminded of in Swing State, the quietly sensational Rebecca Gilman play now running at the Goodman, is that few things are as they seem. A woman is going through the steps of making zucchini bread in her cozy wood rich kitchen when suddenly she almost does something unthinkable. She shakes off …