REVIEW: Teatro Grattacielo’s operatic ‘Beyond The Horizon,’ angst by Eugene O’Neill

Music · Reviews · Theater
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photo credit: amanda vaill BEYOND THE HORIZONOpera in Three ActsMusic by Nicolas FlagelloLibretto by Nicolas Flagello and Walter SimmonsOrchestration by Anthony SbordoniPresented by Teatro Grattacielo at LA MAMA Shares, 66 East 4th Street, New York NYSunday, September 15, 2024 Eugene O’Neill is the most operatic of American playwrights — think of those conflict-ridden families, those ...

To Pyotr, with love: A conversation with Tchaikovsky biographer Simon Morrison

Music
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simon morrison, princeton professor, author Ed. note: We’re honored at artsmeme to share a conversation between arts journalist Marina Harss with author Simon Morrison, whose recent biography, “Tchaikovsky’s Empire,” is receiving critical kudos. In Morrison’s book, writes Harss, he “takes a fresh, humanizing approach, debunking myths like the composer’s supposed suicide, and focusing on the ...

Going! Panorama’s Mexico City screening-series continues with ‘Tivoli’

Film
A legendary vaudeville and burlesque theatre in Mexico City is slated to be torn down by developers, so a troupe of dancers, novelty performers and operators promiscuously mobilize to save their beloved theatre from demolition. That’s the subject of this cool documentary which will be screening Saturday September 28 at the Velaslavasay Panorama in Los ...

Let’s watch YouTube reactions to Jack Cole’s ‘Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend’

Dance · Film · Music
Well, I’ve studied it, screened it, spooled it, summarized it, synopsized it. I’ve analyzed, advocated, argued and addressed it. Glowed and kvelled over it, enjoyed and celebrated it. So it’s fun, for a change, to let YouTube queen, “India Reacts” take the reins as she watches (her first time, ever) a video of “Diamonds Are ...

‘Slow down the clock’ … chants Timur in nightmarish ‘Black Lodge’ @ CAP-UCLA

Film · Music · Theater
For a few years after COVID, I had no patience — squirming in my theater seat and super judgy at things that did make immediate sense. Often walking out! But somehow, I anticipate that in the dark confines of the very cool United Theatre on Broadway, the 1,600-seat legacy movie palace which, for an extended ...

Be a Yankee Doodle Dandy with BalletX — and call it ‘Macaroni.’

Dance · Film · Music
Two distinct takes on Yankee Doodle’s ‘Macaroni’ We all sang it as kids, didn’t we, and we loved it — the borderline-bombastic patriotic song with oom-pah-pah rhythm and funny lyrics. The alliterative “doodle-dandy” pays no rent in our ears ad infinitum. The opening stanza is custom made for those who don’t question the deep meaning ...

Let’s roll with new book, ‘Bowlarama’!

Architecture & Design
Did your mother belong to a bowling league? Mine did, in suburban Pittsburgh where I grew up. The co-authors of Bowlarama: The Architecture of Mid-Century Bowling—Chris Nichols of Los Angeles Magazine and founder of the Los Angeles Conservancy’s Modern Committee, with Adriene Biondo, a preservationist/activist, author of five books, and the reason Johnie’s Broiler still ...

Bernardo forever, aka George Chakiris at 92 1

Dance · Film
photo by jittlov I’ve spent a good deal of time watching the multiple Academy Award-winning West Side Story (1961), and have reached certain conclusions — you may have your own. First, if you haven’t seen West Side (as insiders shorten it) on a big screen, you haven’t seen it. This movie-musical is an operatic experience ...

Top this, Hollywood! The making of ‘Top Hat’ (1935) 2

Dance · Film
artsmeme is lucky to have good friends who collect fabulous Hollywood dance photos like the one above, given to us by Bison Archive’s Marc Wanamaker. It’s a soundstage shot of the making of the superlative movie-musical from RKO, “Top Hat” (1935). In our photo, director Mark Sandrich, in his own swank chapeau, directs a brief ...

Film review: ‘Meanwhile on Earth,’ a celestial odyssey of grief & hope

Film
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French writer/director/animator Jérémy Clapin‘s first live-action film, Meanwhile on Earth, presented by Metrograph Pictures, is a cinematic gem that defies genre expectations. It’s actually a science-fiction movie for the science-fiction averse. The film blends realism with celestial wonder, crafting a haunting, familiar, and profound alien world. This intimate film, penned by Clapin, unfolds as a ...