Hitting the mark with Robin Mitchell

Visual arts
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To see the world in a grain of sand is a goal shared by many creative people. In the case of Robin Mitchell, she sees the world in a mark. She’s a non-representational painter and, unlike others who work in that genre, her paint doesn’t sprawl, drip, stain or consist of hard-edge color blocks. Mitchell ...

REVIEW: ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ @ A Noise Within

Reviews · Theater
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When A Raisin in the Sun was first performed on Broadway in 1959, it became a landmark. Playwright Lorraine Hansberry was the first African-American woman to author a Broadway play, and at 29, she became the youngest playwright to receive New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play. While the setting of the piece ...

Distinguished Israeli pianist to perform in Palos Verdes

Music
A free Sunday concert — donations welcomed — in a beautiful location comes from music producer Jim Eninger, who presents the Berlin-based Israeli pianist Einav Yarden April 8. Yarden has appeared as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin and Rundfunk Chor, Minnesota Symphony, Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Bucharest Philharmonic, Calgary Philharmonic, Philharmonic of ...

Marilyn to have succeeded Bette in ‘Of Human Bondage’?

Film
“She said she’d settled the suit with Fox. They had fired her from Something’s Got to Give. She’d be restarting production in about a month. And she had signed with MGM to remake “Of Human Bondage” to be directed by Henry Hathaway.” The words above were spoken by Jane Russell, apropos a conversation with her ...

Modern dance revivified by Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble

Dance
Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble Odes, choreography by Anna Sokolow Photo: Melissa Sobel\Meems Images Adjacent to the tree growing in Brooklyn this weekend is a wonderful program of classical modern dance choreography presented by the Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble. The 14-member ensemble will be joined by guests David Glista of the Limon Dance Company; Jennifer Conley, former soloist ...

Surviving maulings and marriages: Mabel Stark, tiger trainer

Film
Looking forward to a screening of Mabel, Mabel Tiger Trainer written, produced and directed by Leslie Zemeckis, whom we last met in connection to her prior film Behind the Burley Q. “Mabel” is receiving a special screening in Los Angeles in connection with International Women’s Day, March 8. That is truly well timed, particularly in ...

Delicious, de-lovely, demonstrative Lena Horne, in centenary tribute 1

Dance · Music
Vocalist Candice Hoyes, draws from rare cinema, musical theater, jazz and soul music to debut a night of music inspired by the life of Lena Horne.  One of the most iconic jazz vocalists, Horne blazed a trail of remarkable song discography and bravery as one of the leading American civil rights activists across a sixty ...

Wicked and proud: choreographer Liz Lerman in conversation

Dance · Ideas & Opinion
Choreographer, dancer, and writer Liz Lerman will present an interactive lecture this week concerning a project she calls, “Wicked Bodies.” Lerman is researching the visual portrayal of women’s bodies throughout history. The Wicked Bodies project provides a format in which Lerman interviews guests, gathering data “real-time,” adding to her perspectives and understanding of the images, issues, ...

Before Tonya Harding, there was Vera Hruba Ralston

Film
The Flame. 1947. USA. Directed by John H. Auer. Screenplay by Lawrence Kimble, based on the story by Robert T. Shannon. With John Carroll, Vera Ralston, Robert Paige, Broderick Crawford, Henry Travers, Hattie McDaniel. DCP. 97 min. John Carroll plots to relieve his brother (Robert Paige) of his inheritance, with the help of femme fatale ...

Tonya Harding: “I am so happy with myself!”

Dance
Tonya Harding, age 20, spoke those words when interviewed after her sensational athletic performance February 16, 1991 at the National Figure Skating Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Harding skated a near perfect program and became the first American ladies skater to land the triple-Axel jump.