Sunday afternoons after church during my childhood was frequently the time when Mother, Daddy, and I would “go visit” his side of the family. Daddy’s mother had moved in with his eldest sister when Big Mama’s arthritis had gotten so bad she couldn’t keep house for herself. So at least twice a month, on those Sundays, we could go to […]
In 1950, arguably the two greatest female characters ever written for the movies showed up a mere two months apart. On August 10, Norma Desmond arrived first, bringing a return (not a comeback) of Gloria Swanson to the screen after an absence of nine years. In Sunset Boulevard, Swanson proved that she was big and it’s the pictures that got […]
When it comes to the great female characters of 20th century drama, certain ladies come to mind. Blanche DuBois with her infamous streetcar and Maggie the Cat on that hot tin roof from Mr. Williams, while Mr. Albee gave us Agnes (A Delicate Balance) and Martha, who turned out to be afraid of Virginia Woolf, among them. Lillian Hellman gave […]
One of the many things about the English language for us to love is the plethora (profusion, abundance) of words that have the same meaning, but lack any real connotative differences between them. For example, I like the word “plethora” better than “profusion” or “abundance,” for no real reason. It’s just a preference, although I would say that talent comes […]
Karl and I are days away from our 40th anniversary, and I simply can’t let that go by without some reflection. Before marriage equality, same-sex couples could choose what day to call the anniversary. For some, it’s the day they met. Or it might be the first date. Some might use the day on which the relationship was, shall we […]
So last week marked the first time since this pandemic started that my feet hit the inside of an airplane. And it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I began looking for omens about how the trip would go as soon as we parked the car at the long-term lot that Karl favors. Once we got on […]
Released in 1947, when anti-Semitism was the meaty theme of more serious Hollywood fare (Gentleman’s Agreement, Crossfire), Good News was a vanilla souffle in Technicolor. An idealized musical look at college life in 1927, the movie is one of my feel-good favorites, portraying a world that probably never existed anywhere except the backlot at MGM. I can’t really recall the […]
The death last week of Stephen Sondheim undoubtedly jarred loose the memories of devotees of musical theater, reminding us of so many times that he and his work intersected with our lives. For me, it started with the movie version of Gypsy, for which Sondheim wrote the lyrics. Watching Natalie Wood strut around the stage to that insistent stripper drum […]
For those who may have sensed a whoosh of air blowing out of Texas earlier this week, it was probably the simultaneous sigh of relief from many Democrats in the state following Beto O’Rourke’s announcement that he is, in fact, running for governor. For those who are relatively new or unfamiliar with this game, I offer a brief and necessarily […]
Dreams may be sweet or sour, like pork or chicken. What part of the psyche they come from and what they can reveal about the unconscious mind are questions well above my pay grade. An actor’s nightmare may be about being on stage, perhaps naked, with no idea what the play might be. A surgeon operating on an unknown patient […]
