NIKOLAI GOGOL’S GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR
IT’S A “story as timely as today’s headlines.” Well, maybe only in that Nikolai Gogol is a Russian and his play The Government Inspector, 1842, is a satire about greed, … Continue reading
THE TSAREVICH AND THE BALLERINA, PART 2
THE RUSSIAN bioflick Matilda, detailing Tsarevich Nicholas’s affair with ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya, isn’t scheduled for release until October 2017. However, it has already generated lots of buzz in its homeland. … Continue reading
THE TSAREVICH AND THE BALLERINA, PART 1
SOMETIMES I encounter fascinating things even before they occur. Precognition? Or just stumbling into the right place at an earlier time? Recently here at SimanaitisSays I’ve mentioned the fall of … Continue reading
THEATER ARTS—BENOIS PÈRE ET FILS
LIKE FATHER, like son, they say. Fortunate indeed for the Russian-born theater arts pair of Alexandre and Nicolas Benois. Their careers extended from 1895 to 1978, encompassing costume and set … Continue reading
MIXING CHURCH AND STATE—THE GORDON RIOTS
A DECADE BEFORE American rebels ratified the United States Constitution, including its First Amendment definitively separating church and state, Britain was roiling in the Gordon Riots—largely on grounds of religion. … Continue reading
GREAT ACERBIC LINES
H.L. MENCKEN was a 20th-century journalist who specialized in acerbic writing that’s still a delight to read. I don’t always agree with Mencken’s view, but I savor his expertise with … Continue reading
COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE AND THE ART OF THE DEAL
COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE began as street theater in 16th-century Italy. It continues today around the world, reaching as far as the antipodes. Matriark Theatre, in New South Wales, Australia, has among … Continue reading
