“Calm down, bro! It’s P.E. not the olympics.” - Noah’s shirt I’m spending the MLK holiday at my parents. Last night, I gathered with mom and dad, sisters, my nieces and nephews. Chinese food, NFC playoffs and a spirited game of Sequence. There is something about family and the MLK holiday that just works. Thanksgiving and ...
Review “Solstice” (A Red Orchid): Riveting!
A Red Orchid Theatre presents SOLSTICE. Playwright Zinnie Harris penned a disturbing tale. The setting and time period is anywhere in the near future. In a town separated by economic and religious differences, one family is the microcosm. Dad is a religious fanatic. Son is a rebellious teenager. Mom is afflicted with an environmental disease. Uncle tries to ...
Being Zenned out at Work
I had lunch with a colleague yesterday. In 2014, I’m committed to sitting down with each of our 23 staff for a purely social getting-to-know-you meal. This was the first one. Jen is the most senior person on staff. She started in 1999. I’ve been there since 2004. Although we’ve worked together for nearly ten ...
Recovering NRA Member
Yesterday, Steve texted me, “I hope you didn’t know anyone in the Elkhart shootings?” What the what? Two people were gunned down at a grocery store Wednesday night. I grew up in Elkhart, Indiana. My parents shop at that Martins. Earlier this week, a man was killed for texting during the previews at a movie theatre. I love to go to ...
Review “Phantom of the Opera” (Broadway in Chicago): Extraordinary!
Broadway in Chicago announces Cameron Mackintosh presents the new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. In one word, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is Extraordinary! I was supposed to see PHANTOM in 1990. My friend’s father had a heart attack and we gave our tickets to my parents. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s score has haunted and eluded me for 24 ...
The good, the bad, the worst, the best
What was the actual day I was first disenchanted? How old was I when I realized people lie... to your face. I remember I was an innocent for a long time. I believed in everything and everybody. I was certain we, the world, were all working toward a utopia. We were all striving to function as ...
You Go GirlS
Here’s what I love about Emma Thompson: She is a great actor. She is a great writer. She hates high heels. And she likes drinking martinis. At the Golden Globes on Sunday, she was accused of being a little boozy. She introduced the nominees for best screenplay with her high heels off and her drink on. It ...
“Our Country’s Good” (Shattered Globe): True Dramedy
Shattered Globe Theatre presents OUR COUNTRY’S GOOD. Timberlake Wertenbaker’s clever premise imagines the 1788 British export of criminal types to Australia. The penal colonization is managed by a collection of dignified and smarmy soldiers. Within this new world, Wertenbaker places a play within a play. The convicted are forced into theatrical roles. The coerced opportunity turns redemptive. ...
The Mandrake (Commedia Beauregard): A Hit or Miss Production
Reviewed by Jennifer Benoit-Bryan Commedia Beauregard’s interpretation of Machiavelli’s The Mandrake at Raven Theatre was scattered and overwrought. The plot of the Mandrake is full of comedic possibility with a playboy, Callimaco, scheming to trick another man in to allowing Callimaco to sleep with his beautiful and virtuous wife. However, the adaptation fell a bit flat, largely due ...
Gatsby Under Investigation
One of my goals was to start a Roaring 20s Book Club. My intention is to read a 1920s influenced book a month until December 31, 2019. It’s my personal attempt to welcome in the next 20’s decade in style. The January selection was “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I invited a bunch of ...