As You Like It Revival 1907 - Articles Page 8

Acclaimed traditional gidayu-bushi (specific to bunraku puppet theater) shamisen player and avant-garde musician Yumiko Tanaka provides a thrilling soundscape to the silent film Crossroads (Jujiro, 1928) on November 15th in the second show of Japan Society's 2014-2015 Performing Arts Season multi-month musical program, The Shamisen Sessions.

Walloomsac: A Roman Fleuve: ($20, ISBN: 978-1-937536-90-9, LCCN: 2014952145, 176pp, 6X9', October 2014; purchase on: CreateSpace, and Amazon; Kindle Edition: $2.99): If a novel is a work of prose of some length, this is a novel-but different in that it is more like life, which has no plots and does not reward virtue or punish vice, and in which characters appear and then, if the author doesn't kill them off, remain to the end. Life is messier than Tolstoy and Henry James were willing to admit. Here, in David R. Slavitt's farrago, one thing leads to another but without discernible direction until, at the end, there is a kind of resolution, a vision, however unreliable and approximate, of what the life of the speaker has been. It is a deeply thoughtful book but also laugh-out-loud funny. Like life, if we're lucky. David R. Slavitt: educated at Andover, Yale, and Columbia, is the author of more than 115 books-novels, poetry, reportage, and translations. He was the movie reviewer for Newsweek in the sixties and was co-editor of the "Johns Hopkins Complete Roman Drama" as well as the "Penn Complete Greek Drama." Among his recent publications: "The Sonnets and Short Poems of Francesco Petrarch "(2012, Harvard University Press), Civil Wars (2013, Louisiana State University Press), "The Four Other Plays of Sophocles" (2013 Johns Hopkins University Press), and "The Crooning Wind: Three Greenlandic Poets" (New American Press 2013), and "Shiksa" (C&L Press). His version of "The Mahabharata" will be published in the spring by Northwestern University Press. 'David Slavitt has (herein) written a book about or for which it is impossible simply to write a blurb-a word, it might interest you to know, coined in 1907 by Gelett Burgess. (Did you think of a purple cow, just then?) The text itself is indescribably (deliciously?) itself. Like the Waloomsac River, it just keeps rolling along, taking the reader irresponsibly with it-laughing out loud again and again and again; marveling at its rapid wit (white water?), the wide breadths of its erudition, the dangerous shallows of its overt and covert cheekiness; marking the vertiginous depths of its, yes, wisdom. To make a long blurb short, I haven't had this kind of significant fun since I stayed up 'til dawn one night in 1962 breathlessly reading Pale Fire for the very first time.' ?R. H. W. Dillard on Walloomsac: A Week on the River $20, Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1937536904 $2.99, Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O4FRIXE The Anaphora Literary Press was started as an academic press with the publication of the Pennsylvania Literary Journal (PLJ) in 2009. In the Winter of 2010, Anaphora began accepting book-length submissions. Anaphora has now published over 90 creative and non-fiction books. John Paul Jaramillo's collection of short stories received an honorable mention for the Latino Literacy Now's Mariposa Award Best First Fiction Book Award. Professors have taught from a few Anaphora books. Many Anaphora writers have scheduled readings at major bookstores. Anaphora books have also had several articles published about them in regional newspapers. PLJ has featured interviews with best-selling writers like Larry Niven, and Cinda Williams Chima, as well as interviews with the winners of the Sundance and Brooklyn Film festivals.

The theatre-going experience at Serenbe Playhouse is as exciting as anything I've ever seen. It's not the excitement manufactured by the tricks and effects of modern theatricality (not that I don't love those as well), but this is the type of excitement that you feel in your bones. The type of excitement that makes you forget that you are an adult watching other adults pretend. This is the type of excitement that makes you fall in love with live theatre.

North America's largest showcase of Japanese film and “One of the loopiest… and least predictable of New York's film festivals” (New York Magazine), JAPAN CUTS: The New York Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema returns for its eighth annual installment.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center and Subway Cinema in association with Japan Society announce the full lineup today for the 2014 New York Asian Film Festival

When Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak's musical comedy A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER opened on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre, it received rave reviews and was hailed by many as the best musical of 2013. Earlier this week, Ghostlight Records released the much-anticipated OBCR of the comical musical; however, after giving the CD a few spins, I couldn't help but feel that I was missing something.

This spring Japan Society continues to honor the late Donald Richie, whose criticism, commentary and advocacy contributed incomparably toward making Japanese art and culture, especially its cinema, revered throughout the world. As the second and final leg of the ongoing series, again curated by noted film scholar Kyoko Hirano, A Tribute to Donald Richie (1924-2013), Part 2: Richie's Electric Eight: The Bold & the Daring encompasses eight films that reflect the complexity, nuance, and brilliance of Japanese society, as seen through Richie's unflinching and insatiable eye.

This spring Japan Society continues to honor the late Donald Richie, whose criticism, commentary and advocacy contributed incomparably toward making Japanese art and culture, especially its cinema, revered throughout the world. As the second and final leg of the ongoing series, again curated by noted film scholar Kyoko Hirano, A Tribute to Donald Richie (1924-2013), Part 2: Richie's Electric Eight: The Bold & the Daring encompasses eight films that reflect the complexity, nuance, and brilliance of Japanese society, as seen through Richie's unflinching and insatiable eye.

In part one of my recent interview with Director Andrew Sinclair, he shared his insights and experiences directing San Diego Opera, from Aida to the 2014 opening of the powerful verismo opera 'Pagliacci.' In part two, Sinclair delves further into the subject of character in opera.

Cutting Ball Theater continues its 15th season with Alfred Jarry's UBU ROI in a new translation by Rob Melrose. Russian director Yury Urnov (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company) helms this irreverent take on world leaders. Featuring David Sinaiko, Ponder Goddard, Marilet Martinez, Bill Boynton, Nathaniel Justiniano, and Andrew Quick, UBU ROI plays tonight, January 24 through February 23 (Press opening: January 30) at the Cutting Ball Theater in residence at EXIT on Taylor (277 Taylor Street) in San Francisco. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the cast!

Cutting Ball Theater continues its 15th season with Alfred Jarry's UBU ROI in a new translation by Rob Melrose. Russian director Yury Urnov (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company) helms this irreverent take on world leaders. Featuring David Sinaiko, Ponder Goddard, Marilet Martinez, Bill Boynton, Nathaniel Justiniano, and Andrew Quick, UBU ROI plays January 24 through February 23 (Press opening: January 30) at the Cutting Ball Theater in residence at EXIT on Taylor (277 Taylor Street) in San Francisco. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the cast!

Cutting Ball Theater continues its 15th season with Alfred Jarry's UBU ROI in a new translation by Rob Melrose. Russian director Yury Urnov (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company) helms this irreverent take on world leaders. Featuring David Sinaiko, Ponder Goddard, Marilet Martinez, Bill Boynton, Nathaniel Justiniano, and Andrew Quick, UBU ROI plays January 24 through February 23 (Press opening: January 30) at the Cutting Ball Theater in residence at EXIT on Taylor (277 Taylor Street) in San Francisco. For tickets ($10-50) and more information, the public may visit cuttingball.com or call 415-525-1205.

Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis announces the Indiana premiere of Nina Raine's Tribes. Opening January 9, 2014 in the Livia and Steve Russell Theatre at the Phoenix, this show runs through February 9, 2014 and will be directed by Purdue University Professor and Coordinator of Undergraduate Theatre Studies, Richard Rand.

For the 8th year in a row, Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis will present the World Premiere of arguably Indy's most original and entertaining holiday offering: A Very Phoenix Xmas. This year's subtitle is Angels We Have Heard While High. 'I always ask the staff and cast for ideas for the subtitle and we get lots of great ones each year. The winning one this year comes with a great graphic - and we think it represents our edgy approach to the holidays. (click here to see the image.)

With the lines blurring between professional and amateur drama critics, and indeed between anointed critics and avid theatergoers, we thought it worth hearing from more alternative voices. Here are some reviews from the blogosphere of the new Broadway musical A Gentleman's Guide

Following critically acclaimed, smash-hit runs at The Hartford Stage and San Diego's Old Globe Theatre, A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER opens tonight, November 17, on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre.

John Millington Synge's , The Playboy of the Western World, was first staged at the Abbey Theatre in 1907, and caused riots. It has not been performed in Adelaide for over thirty years, so this is a rare chance to see this play.

For the 8th year in a row, Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis will present the World Premiere of arguably Indy's most original and entertaining holiday offering: A Very Phoenix Xmas. This year's subtitle is Angels We Have Heard While High. 'I always ask the staff and cast for ideas for the subtitle and we get lots of great ones each year. The winning one this year comes with a great graphic - and we think it represents our edgy approach to the holidays. (click here to see the image.)

In Richie's Fantastic Five: Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Ozu, Yanagimachi & Kore-eda, Japan Society's Film Program honors Richie's legacy, presenting five timeless classics and hard-to-see gems over five months in glorious 35mm presentations. Curated by Hirano, a former Japan Society Film Program Director, the series highlights five seminal Japanese directors, who first became known throughout the world through Richie's work. Co-presented with The Japan Foundation, the series launches with Akira Kurosawa's High and Low (October 18); continuing with Kenji Mizoguchi's The Life of Oharu(November 16); Yasujiro Ozu's Equinox Flower (December 12), screening on Ozu's birthday and the 50th anniversary of his death; Mitsuo Yanagimachi's Himatsuri (January 24), unavailable on DVD; and Hirokazu Kore-eda's After Life (February 19), marking the one-year anniversary of Richie's death.

American Stage Theatre Company is excited to announce their 2013-2014 season opening production, THE BIRDS by the acclaimed Irish Playwright Conor McPherson (The Seafarer). Previews are tonight and tomorrow, October 2 & 3. Opening Night is October 4 and the production runs through October 27.

In Richie's Fantastic Five: Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Ozu, Yanagimachi & Kore-eda, Japan Society's Film Program honors Richie's legacy, presenting five timeless classics and hard-to-see gems over five months in glorious 35mm presentations. Curated by Hirano, a former Japan Society Film Program Director, the series highlights five seminal Japanese directors, who first became known throughout the world through Richie's work. Co-presented with The Japan Foundation, the series launches with Akira Kurosawa's High and Low (October 18); continuing with Kenji Mizoguchi's The Life of Oharu(November 16); Yasujiro Ozu's Equinox Flower (December 12), screening on Ozu's birthday and the 50th anniversary of his death; Mitsuo Yanagimachi's Himatsuri (January 24), unavailable on DVD; and Hirokazu Kore-eda's After Life (February 19), marking the one-year anniversary of Richie's death.

I sat down with Ray Kennedy, long time director/choreographer for Opera House Theater Company at the Oklahoma! wrap party on a warm Sunday afternoon in a saloon-like venue in Historic Downtown Wilmington, NC. A sense of graceful accomplishment sounded clearly in his sigh as we began to chat. Ray Kennedy has been with Opera House Theater Company for over 25 years in all of the many facets of theater.

American Stage Theatre Company is excited to announce their 2013-2014 season opening production, THE BIRDS by the acclaimed Irish Playwright Conor McPherson (The Seafarer). Previews are October 2 & 3. Opening Night is October 4 and the production runs through October 27.

The Michael Schimmel Center for the Performing Arts at Pace University today announced its 2013|2014 Pace Presents Season, under the Executive Direction of Martin I. Kagan, is a world-class performing arts series with an emphasis on music superstars from around the globe, charismatic and innovative dance performances, stunning opera stars in recital and spectacular contemporary cabaret. The Pace Presents season begins on September 21 with a big band tribute to the late, great lounge legend Esquivel from Mr. Ho's Orchestrotica, culminating onJune 1 with the reunion performance of Tina Croll and Jamie Cunningham'sdance/theatre piece From the Horse's Mouth.

The National Theatre's departing artistic director Nicholas Hynter had a lot to say when it came to the development plans for the Southbank Centre. Hynter recently submitted a 3,000+ word objection to the Lambeth Council regarding the project, which he claims would have a negative effect on the arts area.