In many ways Metamorphosis, based on the novel by Franz Kafka and adapted for stage by David Farr and Gísli Örn Gardarsson, is a play about denial. “We live ordinary lives” claims Lucy Samsa (Edda Arnljótsdóttir) when the employer of her son drops by demanding to know why Gregor Samsa (Björn Thors) is late for work. […]
After the explosive attack on the prison by the Governor and his forces, The Walking Dead has returned to deal with the aftermath. The mid-season premier begins seconds after the final ended. The walls of the prison have been torn down and the zombies poured into the once secure community forcing the survivors to spread […]
Firebrand, the newest site-specific piece from Single Thread Theatre Company, is like a poster child for what the company does. Or at least what they’ve been doing lately. The very nature of Single Thread’s process is (I believe unintentionally) locking them into a niche that is interesting but fairly limiting. They pick a space (often […]
The Canadian Opera Company’s current repertory program is one of its most delightful ever, beginning with Mozart’s fairly harmless Cosi fan tutte and raised to wonderful heights by Verdi’s magnificent Masked Ball. I don’t plan on wasting much time talking about Cosi since, at 3 hours and 30 minutes, it’s already taken far more than […]
Nebraska is a slow, quiet movie that revolves around a slow, quiet man. Bruce Dern plays Woody Grant, a confused old man convinced that he has won a million dollars because of a piece of junk mail he’s received. His son David, played by Will Forte, in an attempt to keep his dad from running […]
The 7th season of Laverne & Shirley (just released on DVD) is at once a perfect encapsulation of the series as it stands in TV history and a complete anomaly. The characters are exactly the same (Laverne= saucy, free-wheeling loudmouth; Shirley= uptight innocent; Lenny & Squiggy= strange and over-the-top; Carmine= all over the place but […]
Beertown. I know what you are thinking. It’s either a magical land or the name you gave the part of the restaurant that you “annexed” last Thursday night during Happy Hour after you finished a beer tower all by yourself. You are absolutely right (about the magic – I saw nothing last Thursday, I promise). […]
Of late, I’ve noted a growing trend of studios releasing successful female-driven comedies. Films like ensemble comedy Bridesmaids, buddy cop comedy The Heat, and coming of age comedy For A Good Time, Call, have turned out to be fine investments of valuable viewing time. The To Do List, released mid-2013, is one of the latest […]