Maira Kalman's "Crazy World' at the Jewish Museum in NY

Maira Kalman's stealth profundity

Maira Kalman finds strange analogies and metaphors in everything from boxes to kitchen sinks. Of course, these somewhat childlike, naÓ¯ve paintings and perceptions are actually highly sophisticated.

Jane Biberman

Apr 17, 2011 · Articles · 2 minute read

Pennsylvania Ballet: Balanchine and Millepied

When artists are athletes (and vice versa)

Arantxa Ochoa paired with Francis Veyette to match her strength and will against his in a pas de deux that blended gymnastics, contortionism and the execution of seemingly impossible poses.

Jim Rutter

Apr 16, 2011 · Articles · 6 minute read

Cary Fukunaga's "Jane Eyre' on film (2nd review)

Jane Eyre's coming-out party

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.

Alaina Johns

Apr 16, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

"Hopper and His Times' at the Whitney in NY

Why does Hopper still haunt us?

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.

Robert Zaller

Apr 16, 2011 · Articles · 7 minute read

BalletX and Wilma re-imagine Apollinaire (1st review)

So you want surrealism?

BalletX and the Wilma Theater team up for a riotous paean to the creative spirit and imagination based on a 1916 work by the daddy of surrealism, Guillaume Apollinaire.

Apr 16, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

Neil Simon's "Laughter On the 23rd Floor' by 1812

Make 'em laugh

With the aid of a uniformly strong cast of very funny character actors, Neil Simon's 1993 memoir based on his days as a young comedy writer recreates a landmark moment in the Golden Age of Television, when a group of inveterate wisecrackers confronted two serious existential threats.

Apr 14, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

Ibsen's "Master Builder' at People's Light (2nd review)

Memo to People's Light: Don't trifle with Ibsen

Ibsen's middle works explore a theme that's still relevant today: the balance between individual self-determination and the duty to one's family and the social order. But in the hands of director Ken Marini, a realistic drama like The Master Builder resembles a cartoon.

Jim Rutter

Apr 13, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

Sharr White's "The Other Place' in New York

When you think you're going out of your mind

Sharr White's The Other Place is a terrifying play, illuminated by an astonishing performance by Laurie Metcalf as a middle-aged scientist struggling with dementia.

Toby Zinman

Apr 12, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

"Bengal Tiger At the Baghdad Zoo' in New York

God made him a tiger…. in Baghdad, yet

The hyperactive Robin Williams as a philosophical tiger seeking moral truth in Baghdad— what tragicomedy could be more imaginative, thought-provoking and haunting?

Carol Rocamora

Apr 12, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

'Roberto Capucci: Art into Fashion' at the Art Museum (2nd review)

He gave up fashion for art

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.

Martha Ledger

Apr 12, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read