Andrew Samonsky and Elizabeth Stanley in the national tour of The Bridges of Madison County. (Photo by Matthew Murphy) In 1992, everywhere you looked, people were reading Robert James Waller’s pulpy romance novel, The Bridges of Madison County. But Broadway composer-lyricist Jason Robert Brown was not one of them. “I hadn’t read the novel. I’d seen about 15 minutes of the … [Read more...]
Robert Morse, and how he succeeded
He is featured in a documentary, Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age, to be screened in the 19th annual Palm Beach International Film Festival, and his résumé includes a handful of Hollywood films. Still, Robert Morse is not really sure why he will be receiving the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. “I am absolutely overjoyed,” he says. “To be honored, whatever that means, … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: ‘Book of Mormon,’ ‘Radio City Christmas Spectacular’
They call them musical comedies, but you can count on a couple of hands the stage shows that are truly, laugh-out-loud funny. Certainly on that short list is The Book of Mormon, fueled by humor that is irreverent and profane, sprung directly from the fertile brains of South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone. These two wags are rookies when it comes to writing stage musicals, … [Read more...]
The View From Home 42: Recent releases on Blu-ray and DVD
The View From Home may have seemingly taken a couple of months off, but our intrepid cineaste never stopped watching movies. Here are some highlights (and a couple of lowlights) to hit Blu-ray and DVD shelves in September and October. For almost 10 years, 1977’s The Devil, Probably (Olive, $22.46) has been on my personal short-list of Holy Grail films never released on DVD, … [Read more...]
Film expert Osborne to sound off on Oscars at Crest talk
The Academy Awards have been going through a transition lately, with notable rule changes to either improve the voting process or at least increase ratings for the annual telecast. Still, the awards themselves remain of value, says film historian Robert Osborne, the genial host of Turner Classic Movies. “I care about the process, and I do think we wouldn’t have as many good … [Read more...]
Cellist deMaine’s Beethoven survey exciting, important
One of the benefits of a complete-works concert series is that a composer's achievement can be measured not only in a specific genre but against itself. But getting a good assessment is only possible if the pieces are played well enough for the performers almost to drop away and leave the music standing alone, alive and independent, making its own proud representation. In … [Read more...]