1812's "This Is the Week That Is"

Never mind the week. What year is this?

Just when presidential politics are turning ridiculous, Philadelphia's resident satirical troupe turns soft and fuzzy.

Steve Cohen

Dec 31, 2011 · Articles · 1 minute read

Billington's assault on absurdism

Absurdism isn't relevant? Don't be absurd!

Abdurdism, a European artistic response to the senseless horrors of World War II, has lost its relevance, according to critic Michael Billington. Yet from Greece to the Tea Party to the Occupy movement, millions of people today wander in aimless stupor like the hoboes in Beckett's Waiting For Godot.

Jim Rutter

Dec 31, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

"Washington's Crossing' as it really was

How do you like your history— straight or sugarcoated?

A Long Island artist has created a new, more accurate rendition of Washington crossing the Delaware. Surprise: It lacks the emotional punch to the iconic 19th-Century original. Can Americans bear to confront truth in art?

Andrew Mangravite

Dec 31, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Recalling Etta James and "At Last'

One immortal song, and one mortal woman who dragged us out of the '50s

“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.

Kile Smith

Dec 31, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

Alfredson's "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' (1st review)

Lost in the Cold War

Am I unreasonable to expect a movie to make sense without significant advance preparation on my part?

Judy Weightman

Dec 31, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

A four-year-old's "Nutcracker' (2nd comment)

Fear of mice, conquered

Our granddaughter was not quite three when we introduced her to The Nutcracker. Last week we brought her back for a second helping. Anyone interested in early childhood development may well ask: What was different this time around?

Dan Rottenberg

Dec 27, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Vaclav Havel's legacy (2nd commentary)

David had his slingshot, Havel had his pen

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?

Carol Rocamora

Dec 27, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

Vaclav Havel's legacy (1st commentary)

Where do people go? Reflections on Václav Havel's Leaving

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.

Martin Beck Matustik

Dec 25, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

Joan Mitchell and Matta in New York

Lions in winter, stll roaring

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.

Robert Zaller

Dec 24, 2011 · Articles · 8 minute read

Theatre Horizon's "Voices of Christmas'

Just like the ones I used to know

Unlike most story-driven musicals of this season, Voices of Christmas is a casual cabaret evening of songs and personal stories: low-key, introspective, nostalgic, reminiscent. Inevitably I found my thoughts turning to bygone people and things that once gave me great personal pleasure.

Steve Cohen

Dec 20, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read