Category Archives: Theatre

“If someone spends his life writing the truth without caring for the consequences, he inevitably becomes a political authority in a totalitarian regime.” — Václav Havel

“Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” — Václav Havel Václav Havel, whose birthday … Continue reading

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R.I.P. Maggie Smith

I’m sometimes inconsistent in my tributes here but it doesn’t mean I don’t have thoughts about those I didn’t write about! James Earl Jones died on September 9 and I didn’t write anything here because I was in Scotland and … Continue reading

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“I didn’t think then, and I still don’t, that I was actually sick.” — Frances Farmer

“She’ll come back as fire To burn all the liars And leave a blanket of ash on the ground.” — Nirvana, “Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle” It’s her birthday today. When Nirvana’s album In Utero came out … Continue reading

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“I’ve been very lucky, considering what I look like and what I do.” — James Gandolfini

It’s his birthday today. The piece below was originally published on Capital New York, June 20, 2013, the day after Gandolfini died. James Gandolfini suddenly stood up, walked across the stage in a wild and raging manner, going nowhere in … Continue reading

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“I swear my next project is going to be something really simple and focused and minimal.” — Baz Luhrmann

It’s his birthday today. “I think what I’m saying is, when you get to where I am in your journey, you just have to start to accept that there’s something inside you that you’ve been trying to get out and … Continue reading

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For Liberties: John Cassavetes, Tennessee Williams, and Beautiful Insanity

My next article for my Movies Before Breakfast column at Liberties Journal is one I’ve wanted to write for years: how John Cassavetes’ Opening Night and Tennessee Williams’ The Two-Character Play are the same work of art to me – … Continue reading

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“The reality is you don’t arrive, you don’t have a crone ceremony and suddenly get wisdom.” — Olympia Dukakis

“I recognize that the real pulse of life is transformation, yet I work in a world dominated by men and the things men value, where transformation is not the coinage. It’s not even the language! Winning is everything in Hollywood. … Continue reading

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On Audra McDonald

For Audra McDonald’s birthday My good friend Ted and I were once talking about Audra McDonald and her performance of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” in the live televised version of The Sound of Music, and what a powerhouse it was. You … Continue reading

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Elvis Descending

I am psyched to have a piece in the Spring/Summer issue of the long-running Arty zine, run by Cathy Lomax. This particular issue is devoted to all things Tennessee Williams. It’s filled with beautiful art – some made by Lomax, … Continue reading

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“Language most shows a man. Speak that I may see thee.” — Ben Jonson

“O rare Benn Johnson.” — Jonson’s incorrectly-spelled epitaph in Westminster Abbey It’s his birthday today. Ben Jonson did everything. Plays, poems, satires, elegies, epigrams. His talent was wide and flexible. Everything he wrote feels inevitable. However, as Michael Schmidt writes … Continue reading

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