The brilliant 64th Annual Grammy Awards went a long way to helping me recover from the slap in the face that was the 94th Annual Oscars. There is now a concatenation of awful things happening the world over to knock us sideways: the horrors in Ukraine, the pandemic, global warming, corrosively divided politics, mass shootings... [...]
I have never understood what the color of a person's skin has to do with a person's character or worth. Color might indicate where someone or their ancestors originate; color most certainly signals how they have been treated in our pre-dominantly white culture. On MLK Day 2021, when a racial reckoning shakes loose yet another [...]
The two events I recommend here are among the most joyous presentations of the season, and are just as, if not more effective in virtual form! One marks its 5oth ANNIVERSARY this year, that medieval pageant celebrating the winter solstice known as THE CHRISTMAS REVELS. The second has been a classic on page, stage, and [...]
What a time, what a year. I wanted to let everyone who follows my site know that my mother Alice Kulhawik passed away this week peacefully overnight in her sleep at the age of 92. She died on the solstice, the first day of fall, a time of transition. I saw her just the week [...]
JUNETEENTH. It's a date whose history, because of the sweep of recent historic events, has been thrust into sharper focus. JUNETEENTH commemorates June 19, 1865 the date on which slaves in Texas were finally informed not only of the end of the Civil War, but also of their freedom more than two years after Abraham [...]
Our mourning and awakening continues this weekend as BLACK LIVES MATTER holds center stage. THEATER: From the BOCH CENTER watch this potent, hyper-relevant performance piece called “Ode To The Young Black Man” from the 2016 City Spotlights final showcase, written and performed by program alumnus Alex Drumm! MOVIES: The Coolidge Corner Theatre [...]
PHOTO: Carl Van Vechten, © Van Vechten Trust. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University HARLEM BY LANGSTON HUGHES What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar [...]
This is a tough weekend. MINNEAPOLIS looms large and soul searching goes deep as we come to grips with the festering wound that is racism in this country. And so I begin my round-up of virtual diversions with a magnificent piece of theater that gets right to the point and has gone from STAGE TO [...]
Looking for real entertainment on a virtual holiday weekend? Check out these suggestions including a theater opening night, music from one of the world's greats, a new movie, and some true tales out of Gloucester. THEATER: The Dog Lives Productions and Streaming Musicals has partnered with FoodTank to present the opening night of a new musical [...]
I have been FLOODED with virtual offerings by the creative artists among us. Here's the tip of the iceberg for this weekend! ***MOVIE: The executive producer for BLOOD AND MONEY, Jeff Stearns, reached out to me about his new crime thriller which opens today Friday May 15. It was filmed entirely in Maine [...]
