A scene from Global Village, choreographed by Lula Washington. (Photo by Eric McGinnis) By Tara Mitton Catao Could there have been a better way to start off the Lula Washington Dance Theatre’s show at the Rinker Theatre on Jan. 22 than with Michael Tomlin III tipping the brim of his hat to us and proceeding to dance to the music of Terence Blanchard? It wasn’t long before … [Read more...]
Slow Burn’s ‘High Fidelity’ may be glib, but it’s fun
Habitual list maker Rob Gordon would probably never include High Fidelity on his “Top 5 All-Time Well-Written Musicals,” but that does not mean it lacks entertainment value. Or that it deserved to be panned so dismissively by the New York critics when it opened on Broadway in 2006 and closed 14 performances later. Because it was so negatively received there, High Fidelity … [Read more...]
The View From Home 41: New Releases and Notable Screenings, Aug. 7-31
It’s difficult for me to write about Grosse Pointe Blank and especially High Fidelity with any degree of objectivity. For almost 10 years since its theatrical release, High Fidelity held the unshakable position of my favorite film of all-time. This might sound like an eccentric or dubious choice coming from a lover of Tarkovsky, Bresson, Godard, et al. So be it. For the past … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Oct.28-30
Film: Director-screenwriter Jeff Nichols (Shotgun Stories) has made an involving yet disturbing new film about one man’s gradual drift into mental illness, Take Shelter. Michael Shannon (Bug, Reservation Road) again plays a guy who may not be playing with a full deck, a construction worker whose life becomes unraveled when he begins having nightmares about a coming apocalyptic … [Read more...]
Hopes high for world premiere ‘Academy’ at Maltz
The Maltz Jupiter Theatre’s artistic director, Andrew Kato, has had some major successes in his five years in the job, assembling impressive talent -- onstage and off -- for such well-received existing musicals as The Boy Friend, Barnum and Anything Goes. But what he really wants to become known for is directing and producing new work. “When I started here as artistic … [Read more...]