In lower Manhattan, in the unassuming former kitchen of the Lower Eastside Girls’ Club, a trio of cut-ups are making theater magic. Even more improbable than running away to join the circus, six years ago Emily DeCola, Michael Schupbach and Eric Wright formed a collective — The Puppet Kitchen — to design, build and operate puppets for plays, operas, cruise ship shows and … [Read more...]
Sundays: Magic carpet ride
By Myles Ludwig The red carpet has been a trope since the 5th century B.C., when the coy Clytemnestra welcomed home the wings beneath her feet from his travails in Troy. The not-always-humble monarch Agamemnon wisely demurred, according to Aeschylus. He was nervous about stepping onto the path reserved for the gods. Hey, he might have said, "I am a mortal, a man; I cannot … [Read more...]
Natalie Merchant finds magic in singing with orchestra
By Hilary Saunders Natalie Merchant says she feels like Wonder Woman. At 50 years old, the singer-songwriter has already helped define a genre through her first band 10,000 Maniacs, reinvented herself as a solo artist and sold millions of records, but it’s her current multiple roles that make her feel so empowered. Because now, Merchant’s (on average) tri-monthly … [Read more...]
Little magic in Disney’s shallow, sour ‘Saving Mr. Banks’
There is exactly one scene in the two hours of Saving Mr. Banks that feels real, organic and truthful. It happens about two-thirds of the way into the picture, when P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson), the irascible creator of the Mary Poppins books, taps her feet to the very first rehearsal of Let’s Go Fly a Kite by Richard and Robert Sherman (Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak), in a … [Read more...]
Lead performance clunky, but ‘Magic Mike’ has artistry, too
I recently rewatched Gray’s Anatomy, Steven Soderbergh’s film adaptation of Spalding Gray’s extraordinary monologue about his experiences with an obscure ocular condition. Released in a delicious Blu-ray transfer from Criterion, the film looks better than ever, with Soderbergh’s colorful aural and visual additions enhancing Gray’s already gripping narrative. As I watched … [Read more...]
PB Shakespeare Festival returns to magic of ‘The Tempest’
Twenty years ago, in Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival’s second season, the company took its first crack at The Tempest, the tale of an exiled Milanese duke who seeks revenge on his enemies through sorcery. Playing young Prince Ferdinand back then was 20-year-old Kevin Crawford, in his first involvement with the play, “back when I could still get away with playing young … [Read more...]