Hercule Poirot appears late in 1963’s The Clocks, and the ostensible reason for this (disregarding Christie’s open dislike of the man late in her career) is that he is working on “his magnum opus, an analysis of great writers of fiction.” The first chapter where Poirot appears is mostly taken up with regaling his listener … Continue reading MISSTEP: Christie’s “Third Girl”
Author: Brad
REFEREEING THE BLOGGERS: “Death at Crane’s Court”
Bear with me, readers! I have to save a friendship! I’ve been blogging for ten months now, and I have enjoyed bobbing up and down at the fringes of a circle of powerful people who write about vintage mysteries. They are a complex and interesting bunch, and I enjoy our interactions, no more so than … Continue reading REFEREEING THE BLOGGERS: “Death at Crane’s Court”
A PORTRAIT OF “LAURA”
“I shall never forget the weekend Laura died . . . “ Otto Preminger’s Laura was one of the top films of 1944 (the year being celebrated all month over at Rich Westwood’s blog Past Offenses). It centers around a lovely girl named Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney) who, at the start, has been horribly murdered … Continue reading A PORTRAIT OF “LAURA”
ELLERY QUEEN AND THE POISONOUS QUARTET
Great minds think alike! It’s the final week for the Tuesday Night Bloggers to dedicate their efforts to all things related to poison, and without consulting each other in any way, my buddy JJ at The Invisible Event and I both set our sights on Ellery Queen, one of the foremost American practitioners of the … Continue reading ELLERY QUEEN AND THE POISONOUS QUARTET
THE SEVENTH HYPOTHESIS, or Why I’m Taking a Break from Paul Halter
“That’s the problem. No matter how far back I go, I can’t remember a case where we’ve talked so much . . . “ Amen, brother! That’s Inspector Archibald Hurst, the rotund Watson to Paul Halter’s super-sleuth, Dr. Alan Twist, channeling the complaints of this reader in what some fans seem to consider their favorite … Continue reading THE SEVENTH HYPOTHESIS, or Why I’m Taking a Break from Paul Halter
THE FINAL BON-BON: “Waitress”
Waitress is an odd duck. I saw the movie when it first opened, and I have a vague memory that I enjoyed it and that it made me hungry. The musical is even odder, though, because it takes the film’s identity as a comedy-drama and stretches the hybrid form into extreme shapes that sometimes made … Continue reading THE FINAL BON-BON: “Waitress”
SHUFFLE ALONG: Changing Things Up on Broadway
How fitting that a play about putting on a play in order to better integrate the theatre world should arrive during a season which, to all intents and purposes, has done just that! Hamilton, The Color Purple, even The School of Rock . . . the shows are packing them in, and the faces onstage … Continue reading SHUFFLE ALONG: Changing Things Up on Broadway
THE SECOND TIME AROUND: Fun Home
I saw Fun Home for the first time in New York City on July 4, 2015. This is what I wrote on Facebook (pre-blog) then: “In the program notes for Fun Home, book writer and lyricist Lisa Kron speaks of "a deep river of yearning" that she and composer Jeanine Tesori found throughout Alison Bechdel's … Continue reading THE SECOND TIME AROUND: Fun Home
JUKEBOX JIVE: Reviewing “On Your Feet”
I don’t think much of jukebox musicals. They are musical theatre junk food because they are essentially a lazy exercise. You take a composer, singer or group, open the songbook, and mash up the songs with an original libretto . It’s like one of those old ice cream shops where you mix in ice cream, … Continue reading JUKEBOX JIVE: Reviewing “On Your Feet”
THE STORY OF TONIGHT: The “Hamilton” Review
Ethel Merman. Ha! You didn’t think I was going to start there, did you? But see, I’m not a professional reviewer, just a person living his life and including theatre in it as much as possible. Bear with me for a moment. If there was one Broadway figure who knew what the people wanted, it … Continue reading THE STORY OF TONIGHT: The “Hamilton” Review
Ah Sweet Mystery! 