Articles

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Hathaway (left), Jackman: Sighs and sobs.

"Les Misérables': Stage vs. screen

Two faces of Les Miz

The new film version of Les Misérables reminds us of what the classic stage musical mostly forgets: that the theme of Victor Hugo's novel is poverty and suffering.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 4 minute read
Higdon and friend: An eclectic tradition.

The search for an 'American culture' (a reply)

Good news for rootless Americans: The world is our birthright

Is America's mongrelized, fragmented culture a handicap for American artists? Or is it one of the special advantages of American birth?

Articles 3 minute read
'The City' (1960): Lyric dynamism, bracing form.

Robert Richenburg in New York

He kept his finger on the pulse of urban life

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 Zaller

Robert Zaller

Articles 5 minute read

Sacha Gervasi's "Hitchcock'

The voyeur gets the keyhole treatment

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.
Robert Zaller

Robert Zaller

Articles 10 minute read
Filming 'Barry Lyndon' in 1975: Impose nothing, demand everythng.

How good was Stanley Kubrick?

The ultimate 20th Century director: What made Stanley run?

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?
Robert Zaller

Robert Zaller

Articles 10 minute read
Radu's 'Hallelujah' was fast without seeming rushed.

The winning "Messiah': Vox Ama Deus

Who's the fairest Messiah of them all?

I heard four Messiahs during the recent holiday season. Three were respectably devout; only one was exciting. Vox Ama Deus focused on artistic concerns; three other major orchestras seemed preoccupied with cutting their overtime costs.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 4 minute read
Primosch: Never flashy, always reliable.

Lyric Fest, Astral Artists and a brief rant

Jack Kerouac didn't speak for me, but….

A few comments (and a brief rant) on three pieces by contemporary composers that didn't receive the attention they deserve.
Tom Purdom

Tom Purdom

Articles 3 minute read

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McClure: Artists vs. authorities.

"Chaplin: The Musical,' on Broadway

You have the right to remain silent: The rise and fall of Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin thrived in the silent films and resisted “talkies” for years. Yet when he did speak, his career took a fatal turn.

Carol Rocamora

Articles 5 minute read
The real Mason and Dixon at work, circa 1765: 'Where haven't we gone before?'

Pynchon's "Mason & Dixon' revisited

Into the wild, then and now: Setting boundaries, and pushing them

In Mason & Dixon, Thomas Pynchon emulates his protagonists by pushing new boundaries and venturing into unknown realms, both loony and profound, in the process risking not his life but his reputation and his worshipful constituency. It's a great novel; and I say this without having understood any more than, oh, 10 percent of it.
Bob Levin

Bob Levin

Articles 7 minute read
Warm spirits and close harmonies.

"Winter Wonderettes' at Norristown

Was Santa Claus Jewish?

The 11th Hour Theatre Company's holiday-season show got me thinking: How come virtually all secular Christmas songs have been written by Jews?
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 1 minute read