In 2014, amidst complex machinations over Britain’s role in the European Union, Boris Johnson (in his pre-Prime Minister days) was prompted to write a biography of Winston Churchill. He wanted people to be reminded how a singular figure—in this case, the wartime British leader Churchill—could play an essential role in the life of a nation. When Churchill took office in 1940, appeasement of Hitler was still a popular idea, but Churchill fought to ditch such rubbish and instead led Britain to war. In Johnson’s words, Churchill’s leadership “saved our civilization.” (Johnson, Winston Churchill, p. 5)
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D.C.’s Phillips Collection with “Riffs and Relations: Af-Am Artists & European Modernism”
Elaine A. KingThe Phillips Collection along with Dr. Adrienne L. Childs, an independent scholar, art historian and curator, organized the exhibition “Riffs and Relations: African American Artists and the European Modernist Tradition”. It presents 72 works by 53 artists, leaning heavily on contemporary work juxtaposed with distinguished early 20th century European Modernists such as George Braque, Wassily Kandinsky, Henri Matisse, Piet Mondrian, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, and noteworthy African-Americans as Romare Bearden, Aaron Douglas, Jacob Lawrence and Alma Thomas.
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Provincetown’s 14th Annual Tennessee Williams Theater Festival
Edward RubinEach year, for the past fourteen, David Kaplan, the curator and co-founder of the annual Tennessee Williams Theater Festival in Provincetown, has had the daunting and, as he might say,’ blessed’ task of mounting a high-wattage festival that shines an incandescent light onto Williams’ fantastical multi-storied life and works. Guided by Kaplan’s fertile imagination, a large staff, and a healthy parade of donors, organizations, volunteers, businesses, and theater companies from around the world – it does take a small army – the Festival has grown every year since its inception in quality, content, and audience attendance. Nowhere, other than the cities of New Orleans and St Louis – both of which have their own annual Williams Festivals – can audiences get to grandly feast on a never-ending cornucopia of all things Tennessee.
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Washington’s National Gallery Showcases ‘Degas at the Opera’
Amy HendersonFor today’s audiences entranced by cell phone entertainments, the idea of going to a grand communal event is a rarity if not a total unknown. But there was a time when entertainment aimed at conveying a larger national character. For nineteenth century France, the Paris Opera declaimed itself the grandest of the grand—it was the nation’s cultural and social center, and people dressed in high foppery to showcase the importance of being French. It was all about unabashed spectacle.
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NYC’s The New Group: ‘Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice’
Edward RubinSurprise of all surprises, the 1969 movie “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,” thanks to The New Group and Pershing Square Signature Center, is back in the news again—this time, not as a film but as a play with music. Cleverly directed by Scott Elliott, from a book by Jonathan Marc Sherman, the musical has dialogue and locations nearly identical to those in the film.
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NYC’s Cherry Lane with ‘The Confession of Lily Dare’
Edward RubinIn or out of drag, whether on stage or page, the 65-year-old actor playwright Charles Busch, with some forty years of show business under his belt, is a force to be reckoned with. His signature calling card is in his allover inventiveness, his humorous tongue-in-cheek playfulness, looking outrageously spectacular in a gown and wig, and most importantly, a straightforward honesty in everything he touches. In short, Busch is entirely believable even when he is not.
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NYC’s Baryshnikov Arts Center: Tú Amarás (You Shall Love)
Edward RubinAfter performing around the world, Bonobo, the internationally acclaimed Chilean experimental theater company finally made its way to New York City’s Baryshnikov Arts Center, with Tú Amarás (You Shall Love), a socio-political offering with a surreal touch that examines what is an enemy, how do we create one, and how do we connect to others?
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Toronto’s New, Sleepover Gallery: An Interview with Founder, Apollonia Vanova
Emese Krunak-HajagosEmese Krunák-Hajagos (EKH): As you’ve said, Darren Gallery is reopening with a new concept, Sleepover Art Gallery, after a long and painful renovation. Where did this idea come from?
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A Stunning Exhibition (and Quagmire) at The Mattress Factory,“Factory Installed 2019”
Elaine A. KingThe Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh is internationally acclaimed for showcasing some of the most innovative and divergent selections of installation art in the United States. Its co-founders, the late Barbara Luderowski and Michael Olijnyk, very early recognized the importance of Installation art that celebrates a shift in focus from object-hood and what art visually represents to what site-specific work could communicate about a place while providing unique experiences for viewers. Since 1977, this institution has given over 600 artists the opportunity to experiment, take risks, and explore the creative process while engaging with the community through its residency program.
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Money, Matrimony & Madness, at Irish Rep’s ‘London Assurance’
Edward RubinFirst things first. Before I delve into the Irish Repertory Theater’s marvelous production of London Assurance by Dublin-born playwright Dion Boucicault (1820-1890) – extended now through Sunday, February 9 – I must say that the award-winning Irish Rep is a gift from heaven.
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