Tag Archives: theatre

The Book of Mormon Musical is Coming to Los Angeles: West Coast Premiere at the Pantages Theatre, September 5 – November 25, 2012

Here’s a site to watch for tickets to go on sale. Should Mitt Romney appear headed for the presidency in the fall, the timing couldn’t be better. Here’s one of the songs. _____ And here’s the 60 Minutes piece on the musical: … Continue reading

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What’s Literature Good For?

Sometimes people ask, “What’s the value of literature—of reading poems, stories, and plays? In other words, why might one go to literature for sustenance or reflection, as opposed to something else?” One of the reasons a person might “go to literature” is akin … Continue reading

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“Nothing Staged Can Stay” (A Poem by Santi Tafarella)

  before the night’s glittering black curtain   the Father of dung   beatles moves the moon   ——————– What was I trying to do with this tiny poem? For one thing, I was trying to think about the things that … Continue reading

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John Wayne Cast as Hamlet: A Great Joke About the Plays and Language of Shakespeare

On the DVD Looking for Richard (a documentary), Al Pacino tells a great joke that goes something like this (I’m paraphrasing): In a city stage production, John Wayne is cast as Hamlet. On the opening night, characteristically, Wayne struts about the … Continue reading

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Book Review of “Spectacles of Empire: Monsters, Martyrs, and the Book of Revelation”

Christopher Frilingos’s Spectacles of Empire: Monsters, Martyrs, and the Book of Revelation (University of Pennsylvania Press 2004) is a great academic text about the Book of Revelation, but it is also a fascinating uncovering of Roman cultural curiosities. The author, for example, … Continue reading

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Death Proof: Quentin Tarantino Finds His Mojo in Foot Fetishism—and Shows His Feminist Side

I thought that with the two “Kill Bill” films, Quentin Tarantino had lost his way as a filmmaker. “Death Proof,” for me, is his comeback film. It’s an enduring, “Jackie Brown” quality piece, with a great feminist subtext (though if … Continue reading

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Euripides’s “Bakkhai”: Is Dionysus Jesus?

Euripides’s “Bakkhai” is an extraordinary play, and functions on many fascinating levels. At one level it can be read as an indictment of rationalism, and a warning to the audience against atheism. Toward the beginning of the play, for example, … Continue reading

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