David E. MorenoDanceBerkeley,
Mark Morris’ understated barefoot “Mozart Dances” (2006) launched the 2019-20 season for Cal Performances this weekend with three separate piano concertos that are superbly woven together. The first movement, choreographed for eight women titled “Eleven,” was danced to Mozart’s earliest piano concerto, No. 11 in F major, K. 413, ...
Karen WeinsteinTheaterLos Angeles,
Here is the question: What would you think if you saw “A Play is a Poem” and did not know it was written by Ethan Coen? If you had been living under a rock and had never heard of the Coen brothers? Or had you not seen any of ...
Toba SingerArt & Architecture
The Tijuana [Mexico] Cultural Center merits a far more titillating acronym than CECUT! It stands out as one of my two favorite Tijuana institutions (the other being the Dance Conservatory of Mexico/Conservatorio de Danza de Mexico-CDM). Built in 1982, CECUT sits just two kilometers from the U.S./Mexican border. Outside ...
Asher LubertoFilm
Who could have guessed that the race for best actor at the Oscars would be between Brad Pitt and Brad Pitt? As unlikely as it might sound, it's true. The only thing this 55 year old performer can't seem to do these days is age. That was the case with ...
Nancy S. BishopTheaterChicago,
"Howards End," the stunning new production by Remy Bumppo Theatre, weaves together strands of three families. The wealthy and elite Wilcoxes—father, sons and daughter—the Schlegel sisters, who belong to the intellectual gentry, and poverty-stricken Leonard Bast and his wife. The script by Douglas Post, adapted from E.M. ...
Nancy S. BishopBooks & CDsChicago,
Ensemble: An Oral History of Chicago Theater is a book you can enjoy in two ways. You can read it from beginning to end, as you would any narrative of fiction or nonfiction. Or you can dip in and out and read Mark Larson’s marvelous interviews with Chicago theater ...
Asher LubertoFilm
Life can be more than ups and downs, as "The Goldfinch" argues, it can be just downs. This drama/comedy means to create empathy in audiences by showing them so many depressing images that sympathy is the only response. But it's not. It's actually just depressing. To ...
Lynne FriedmannTheaterSan Diego,
The Old Globe's artistic director, Barry Edelstein, has crafted a memorable production of "Romeo and Juliet" that melds the timeless love story with pop and rock music, switches the gender of some of the supporting characters, and gives a playful nod to iconic contemporary treatments ...
Karen WeinsteinTheaterLos Angeles,
In what can be construed as a forward or prelude, John Leguizamo announces he is about to “undue your entire education.” Had you used some of that education to peruse the program you would have come across a daunting bibliography and reading list with 56 entries and nine “extracurricular ...
Emily S. MendelTheaterBerkeley,
The good news and not-so-good news is that Shotgun Players’ production of “The Flick” is three hours long (including a ten-minute intermission). Good news, because this brilliant 2014 Pulitzer Prize winner takes the time it needs to reveal naturally and fully the three main characters’ lives, personalities, fears, and, ...
