Meredith Monk muses on “our intimate connection to nature”
Perusing program notes after enjoying Meredith Monk’s wonderful ensemble of songbirds at CAP-UCLA last night, I was moved by the veteran performance artist’s statement. After a bruising week of human destruction, with cataclysms in Algeria and Moscow, where the head of the Bolshoi Ballet was horribly attacked, the essay struck me as tonic. Writes Meredith ...
Jerome Robbins hits the bull’s-eye
As this Saturday afternoon draws to a gloomy conclusion, it seems like a perfect time to fire up the “Prologue” from WEST SIDE STORY (1961). But when is not a great time to watch this? Jerome Robbins’s brilliant storytelling through dance … Leonard Bernstein’s tremendous original score — the anthem of an urban jungle. A ...
E.O. Hoppé’s “London” a jewel in Santa Monica
Jan
17
2013
“Hoppé is to London as Atget is to Paris,” art curator Graham Howe tells us in an email. Howe manages the E.O Hoppé estate as the CEO of museum services organization, Curatorial Assistance, in Pasadena. He’s just organized a special exhibit of Hoppé’s London photography now on view at Bergamont Station in tandem with PhotoLA. The German-born ...
Django’s jangling cinematic reflections
Jan
16
2013
We massively enjoyed Quentin Tarantino’s frontal attack on a hateful chapter of American history, “Django Unchained,” an ambitious and hilarious cinematic tour de force. The strength of the film is its use of the director’s best gift — his deep knowledge of his own metier — in a conversation not just with history, but with ...
Eötvös’s noir quartet, “Korrespondenz” (1993), by Calder Quartet @ Jacaranda
What a strange and intricate moment when composer Peter Eötvös’s Korrespondenz, Scenes for String Quartet opened Jacaranda’s “Fierce Beauty” program Saturday night in Santa Monica. The Calder Quartet played the 1993 work with Eötvös in the room, making the occasion extra special. The global music luminary is visiting Los Angeles from Hungary for a week of ...
Enjoy a Pall-Mall courtesy of commercial artist Mary Blair
Were we to select a brand of cigarettes, these concept sketches and the final advertisement (circa 1959) by the famed commercial and fine artist Mary Blair would surely influence our decision. Mary Blair Pall-Mall advertisement images, courtesy of the magic of mary blair
Mary Blair, the woman artist who inspired Disney’s “Nine Old Men” 1
At last night’s panel discussion of Walt Disney’s animated classic, “Peter Pan” (1953) (the new blu-ray version is now playing at Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre), we learned about the film’s core group of animators. Walt Disney jokingly referred to this crew not as “Pan-imators,” but rather as his “Nine Old Men.” The expression puns on ...
“I’m flying!” Pundits to prattle on Peter Pan panel
Jan
10
2013
“I taught you to fight and to fly. What more could there be?” ― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan and Wendy A special celebration takes place Friday night at the marvelous El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. It’s a “Peter Pan” panel discussion, moderated by Leonard Maltin, at 7pm, with Walt Disney’s animated classic from 1953, “Peter ...
The challenge of “‘Tis Pity” … a chat w/ CAP UCLA’s Kristy Edmunds
Jan
8
2013
Reading up on the 17th century play, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, I broke into a sweat. The work is about incest, tough stuff. Cheek by Jowl Theater, the celebrated troupe of British actors, brings playwright John Ford’s tragic drama about carnal knowledge between a brother and sister to UCLA’s Freud Playhouse for a five-performance ...
Hungarian maestro Peter Eötvös to conduct @ Jacaranda
Jan
7
2013
We’re super fascinated to learn that the acclaimed Hungarian composer-conductor Peter Eötvös (pronounced urt-vursh) will soon take part in a mini-residency in Los Angeles. It all kicks off with Eötvös’s personal participation in FIERCE BEAUTY, the January 12 edition of contemporary music series Jacaranda, Music at the Edge. He’ll conduct the U.S. premiere of his ...