HENRY IV 1,2 REDUX
“TOM HANKS, Rita Wilson to Star in Los Angeles Production of ‘Henry IV.’ ” So reads a February 13, 2018, headline in Variety. This play is a production of the … Continue reading
THE ADVENTURE OF FATS WALLER AND BOSTON BLACKIE
JAZZ PIANIST and composer Fats Waller wrote perhaps 400 songs, among them “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” “Ain’t Misbehavin,” and “On the Sunny Side of the Street.” Boston … Continue reading
#resistancegenealogy—ONE PERSON CAN MATTER
“IT’S HILARIOUS how easy it is to find hypocrisy,” says Jennifer Mendelsohn. Her hashtag #resistancegenealogy describes her response to hypocritical panderings concerning immigration. One person can matter, especially if she’s … Continue reading
SILVIO BERLUSCONI: ITALY’S DONALD TRUMP?
WHICH GUY is more insulted by this title? I’ve read that Berlusconi cannot stand the comparison. “Berlusconi is Back. Again. This Time, as Italy’s ‘Nonno’.” by Jason Horowitz in The … Continue reading
THE LECLAIR CAPER
TO CALL this item the Leclair Case might confuse it with how Jean-Marie Leclair carried his violin. Indeed, I’m referring to this French composer’s murder. As with any good mystery, … Continue reading
ETYMOLOGY: TRUMPERY
TODAY’S ADDITION to my series of Etymology for our Times almost wrote itself. For the word “trumpery,” I consulted my usual Merriam-Webster, The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, … Continue reading
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT AND JAPAN
“EVER SINCE I discovered the print,” Frank Lloyd Wright wrote in his 1932 autobiography, “Japan has appealed to me as the most romantic, artistic country on Earth.” The Frank Lloyd … Continue reading
THE $1.3 MILLION VODKA BOTTLE CAPER
AT FIRST, it sounded like fake news, or maybe a 21st-century version of Dada art: The New York Times, January 6, 2018, reported, “It was meant to be a collector’s … Continue reading
LEONTYNE PRICE—DIVA EXTRAORDINAIRE; THE MET—OPERA HOUSE DITTO
THE OPERA HOUSE is an award-winning documentary by Susan Froemke about the Metropolitan Opera’s Lincoln Center home and its mid-1960s construction. One of its stars is diva extraordinaire Leontyne Price, … Continue reading
DAVID HOCKNEY AT THE MET
NEW YORK’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is celebrating the career of David Hockney. The exhibit runs through February 25, 2018, and has a preview, complete with short video, at David … Continue reading
