Trump's victory has been described as a populist revolt. Yet Clinton won a majority of the popular vote.
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Theater Review (NYC): ‘Two of Us’ by Ross Howard Explores Mark David Chapman’s Murder of John Lennon
The play imagines in detail Chapman's relationship with his wife and their religious milieu; his journey to New York, fraught with fury, confusion, and self-doubt; and finally the infamous murder itself.
Read More »Concert Review: PUBLIQuartet – ‘The New Baroque’ at the Met Cloisters (NYC, 11/5/2016)
The members of this adventurous quartet proved themselves masters of tonal variation, broad technique, and compositional creativity in a fascinating program that transformed and adapted Bach and Haydn and presented modern works that nod to the Baroque.
Read More »Book Review: ‘Tunes of the Twenties: The Stories Behind the Songs’ by Robert Rawlins
Rawlins is an engaging writer who obviously relishes digging out the meaty stories behind the songs he loves. His new book will delight anyone interested in music history or who loves early jazz.
Read More »Language Matters: Rescuing Dying Languages
Money and genius grants can't revive the hundreds of languages native to the Americas that have died out over the last few centuries.
Read More »Theater Review (NYC): Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’
This powerful little production of Shakespeare's depiction of one of the foulest sides of human nature makes the racial aspect of the tragedy ring resoundingly true, especially in today's climate of fear and prejudice.
Read More »Concert Review: Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys with Orchestra of St. Luke’s – Haydn’s ‘Creation’ (NYC, 10/27/2016)
A joyful, optimistic, brilliantly composed vision, Haydn's great oratorio jibed perfectly with Enlightenment philosophy, and went on to offer a couple of hours of comfort and relief as war darkened the start of the 19th century. Today, it continues to bring joy.
Read More »Theater Review (NYC): ‘The Motherf**cker with the Hat’ by Stephen Adly Guirgis
This brilliantly acted small-stage revival of the Pulitzer Prize winner's Broadway play dives into the culture of machismo and finds answers elusive.
Read More »Book Review: ‘The Secret Chord’ by Geraldine Brooks
This novel about the biblical King David gives strong personalities to the women of the story, who in the texts are mostly merely wives, pawns, and victims. And the richness of the flowing prose matches Brooks's heightened imaginative powers.
Read More »Theater Review (NYC): ‘BLDZR’ by Peter Galperin, a Musical About Robert Moses
This musical-in-progress about a legendary New York City innovator and force of nature – who isn't Alexander Hamilton – shows a lot of promise.
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