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 ...
I hope so…
I got behind on my daily meditations. In the whirlwind of travel-birthday-Christmas, I was sporadic with my Advent reflection book. So, I’m currently on Saturday, December 21st. (I’m pretending a little that Christmas is a few days away.) “Sometimes it seems like I’m spinning my wheels. I don’t want to wait for the snow to melt ...
Robert’s holiday wishes
I love Christmas cards. I sent them for years. I stopped sending them to save money a few years back. And I continue the non-practice because I’m lazy. I enjoy reading holiday newsletters, seeing kids’ pictures and basking in the joyful sentiments. For the last two years, my friend Robert sent out these poetic ...
Katy’s Kanji
This is the kanji, or Japanese character, for journey. My Aunt Sue and Uncle Rog bestowed it on my parents for Christmas. They have been sailing around the world for seven years. Now in their landlubber transformation, they will caravan across the USA. They ended their holiday note with the sentiment, ‘we are enjoying our journey. ...
My life in movies
I really don’t spend much time thinking about being single. I consider myself independent and self sufficient. Being husbandless is only a fleeting thought at unavoidable moments of validity. There are the wedding announcements requesting all the single ladies to pathetically chase flowers. The IRS annually demanding a declaration of tax categorization. And the occasional ...