Ed Asner as Franklin Delano Roosevelt.By Hap ErsteinHe has played a slave ship captain in Roots, Pope John XXIII, adventurer Carl Fredericksen in Pixar’s Up and, of course, Lou Grant, the role that earned him five of his seven Emmy Awards. But for Ed Asner, 81, the opportunity to become Franklin Delano Roosevelt for a couple of hours each night was too good to … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2011
Asner as FDR: From one liberal icon to another
He has played a slave ship captain in Roots, Pope John XXIII, adventurer Carl Fredericksen in Pixar’s Up and, of course, Lou Grant, the role that earned him five of his seven Emmy Awards. But for Ed Asner, 81, the opportunity to become Franklin Delano Roosevelt for a couple of hours each night was too good to resist. Around the Kansas City household where young Ed grew up, … [Read more...]
Theater review: Controversial comic Maher pushes all the buttons at Kravis
Bill Maher.By Bill MeredithBill Maher can be -- and undoubtedly has been -- called many things, including the accurate (and printable) tags of talk show host, social critic, actor, author, and documentary filmmaker.But the 54-year-old Maher started out as a stand-up comic while attending Cornell University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in … [Read more...]
Controversial comic Maher pushes all the buttons at Kravis
Bill Maher can be -- and undoubtedly has been -- called many things, including the accurate (and printable) tags of talk show host, social critic, actor, author, and documentary filmmaker. But the 54-year-old Maher started out as a stand-up comic while attending Cornell University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English that’s come in handy since 1978. The New York … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: May 27-June 1
Ed Asner as the 32nd president of the United States.Theater: Ed Asner as Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It is one liberal icon playing another liberal icon in the one-man show FDR, opening a brief five-day run at the Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton beginning Wednesday evening. The play, written by Roosevelt scholar Dore Schary (Sunrise at Campobello), looks at the … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: May 27-June 1
Theater: Ed Asner as Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It is one liberal icon playing another liberal icon in the one-man show FDR, opening a brief five-day run at the Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton beginning Wednesday evening. The play, written by Roosevelt scholar Dore Schary (Sunrise at Campobello), looks at the public man who presided over the country during the Great Depression … [Read more...]
The View From Home 26: New releases and notable screenings, May 24 -June 10
Donatas Banionis and Natalya Bondarchuk in Solaris (1972).By John ThomasonAndrei Tarkovsky, the Russian New Wave’s most glorified director of rarefied museum pieces, represents, more than any director of his generation, the division between true cinephiles and casual “movie buffs.”The latter enjoys Fellini, some Godard and even an Antonioni picture or two, … [Read more...]
The View From Home 26: New releases and notable screenings, May 24-June 10
Andrei Tarkovsky, the Russian New Wave’s most glorified director of rarefied museum pieces, represents, more than any director of his generation, the division between true cinephiles and casual “movie buffs.” The latter enjoys Fellini, some Godard and even an Antonioni picture or two, but Tarkovsky’s art-house pedigree is so pure – so dismissive of the standard that films be … [Read more...]
Theater review: Young thespian’s strong debut makes ‘Secret Garden’ worth cultivating
By Hap ErsteinMore interested in spiritual rebirth than the usual romance that fuels musicals, with a score more attuned to British folk melodies than Tin Pan Alley hits, you can understand why 1991’s underrated The Secret Garden is rarely revived these days.And then there is the casting challenge of its main character, 12-year-old Mary Lennox, the suddenly … [Read more...]
Strong debut by young thespian makes ‘Secret Garden’ worth cultivating
More interested in spiritual rebirth than the usual romance that fuels musicals, with a score more attuned to British folk melodies than Tin Pan Alley hits, you can understand why 1991’s underrated The Secret Garden is rarely revived these days. And then there is the casting challenge of its main character, 12-year-old Mary Lennox, the suddenly orphaned tot saddled with … [Read more...]