Articles
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The meaning of Havel's "Leaving' (4th review)
Art, politics and humanity: Václav Havel, in theory and practice
Some critics have attacked Vaclav Havel's Leaving for ridiculing his own heroic political career. On the contrary, Havel is deeply concerned about what it means to be human in a globalized world. Leaving is his critique of uncritical language and careless thinking that allow scoundrels to leap into the void.
Articles
7 minute read
Vaclav Havel's "Leaving' at the Wilma (3rd review)
We needed you. Now leave.
Like Moses, Vaclav Havel led his people to the promised land, but it's his own fault if he couldn't follow them in. While this production soars, its valedictory message stammers— as I can attest, having lived in Prague in the wake of Havel's presidency.
Articles
5 minute read
Fleck, Meyer and Hussain at the Keswick
When worlds collide
At the Keswick, the astonishing musicianship of Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Zakir Hussain transformed the unlikely combination of banjo, tabla, and bass into an exploration of musical possibilities.
Articles
3 minute read
Ben Yagoda's "Memoir: A History'
Everybody's doing it: On remembering your pasts
From George W. Bush to Facebook to Twitter, these days everyone is writing a memoir of some sort. Ben Yagoda catalogues the phenomenon from ancient times to the rest. But he left me wondering: Do we understand each other any better as a consequence?
Articles
4 minute read
Utopia on earth: Choral singing
The ultimate right-brain high: Why I sing in a chorus
Does analytical thought add value to one's enjoyment of music? Dan Coren examines his experience as a choral singer in his continuing attempt to answer this baffling question.
Vaclav Havel's "Leaving' at the Wilma (2nd review)
Havel's confession of failure
Vaclav Havel's Leaving, the first play in 20 years by the playwright-president, is well served by a cast led by David Strathairn, and well produced under Jiri Zizka's energetic direction. But its importance lies less in its at-best fitful theatrical interest than as a testament of its author's profound disillusionment with his career—and with that of capitalist modernity in general.
Articles
6 minute read
"Fiddler On the Roof' at the Walnut
Anatevka reborn
The Walnut Street Theater's production of Fiddler on the Roof is better than any I've seen, aside from the original Broadway staging that ran from 1964 to 1972.
Articles
3 minute read
Vaclav Havel's "Leaving' at the Wilma (1st review)
Will the real Vaclav Havel please stand up?
Here's a play about what happens when a statesman leaves office by a statesman who did leave office. But for all the insights he might have offered in Leaving, Vaclav Havel shoots for farce rather than drama.
Articles
4 minute read
Philadelphia Orchestra's Washington concert
They love him in Washington
If ever the Philadelphia Orchestra and its interim music leader Charles Dutoit need a quick morale boost, their best bet is to jump on the Acela and head south to Washington. Consider their recent all-Russian program and its frenzied reception.
Articles
3 minute read
"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' by PTC
Bigotry and its consequences
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom uses a blues band's 1927 recording session to illuminate the self-destructive black rage engendered by centuries of white oppression. This compelling revival by Philadelphia Theatre Company demonstrates that, like all works of art, August Wilson's modern classic succeeds at several other levels as well.
Articles
4 minute read