I think it’s very cool that the name of the new play at the Public is Privacy. As for my review, I’m afraid I can’t give you many specific details about James Graham’s new play, now in previews in New York, because I promised Daniel Radcliffe I wouldn’t. No boasting here of a personal relationship with … Continue reading PRIVACY: My Self-Censored Review
Author: Brad
GETTING IT RIGHT THIS TIME : “The Color Purple” on Broadway
Alice Walker’s novel The Color Purple came out in 1982 and took the literary world by storm. Told in a series of letters written to God over forty years by Celie, an oppressed black woman in the American South circa 1909 - 1949, it won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 1983. … Continue reading GETTING IT RIGHT THIS TIME : “The Color Purple” on Broadway
LIFE FRAYED AT THE EDGES: Reviewing “The Humans”
Sometimes drama chronicles the grand passions of grand people unfolding in palaces far away. Oedipus unwittingly kills his own father and sleeps with his mother, and everybody pays for it. Hamlet willfully causes the death of nearly every member of the royal court of Denmark. George and Martha consider excoriating each other in front of … Continue reading LIFE FRAYED AT THE EDGES: Reviewing “The Humans”
MORE THAN WITCHES: Reimagining The Crucible
I confess that at the intermission of the intriguing production of The Crucible at the Walter Kerr Theatre, I was full of questions. Why is this set in a modern day schoolroom? Why are these people dressed like our neighbors when their speech clearly marks them as from another century? Why are Ben Whishaw and … Continue reading MORE THAN WITCHES: Reimagining The Crucible
PICK YOUR POISON: Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle
“Merricat,” said Constance, “would you like a cup of tea?” “Oh, no,” said Merricat, “you’ll poison me.” “Merricat,” said Constance, “would you like to go to sleep?” “Down in the boneyard, ten feet deep.” July is the month that the Tuesday Night Bloggers have decided to focus on great books that center around poison. Here … Continue reading PICK YOUR POISON: Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle
WAXING JOYFULLY ON MY FAVORITE POIROT NOVEL
The last great Hercule Poirot novel opens, appropriately enough, with a funeral. It’s 1953. Agatha Christie will continue to write for twenty more years, and twenty two more novels will be published. Many of them will be grand stories. Miss Marple will come into her own with seven of her twelve novels appearing after this … Continue reading WAXING JOYFULLY ON MY FAVORITE POIROT NOVEL
NO FRIENDLY DROP: Agatha Christie and Poison
“A strangled cry from the bed startled me. A fresh access of pain seized the unfortunate old lady. . . A final convulsion lifted her from the bed, until she appeared to rest upon her head and her heels, with her body arched in an extraordinary manner . . . Mrs. Inglethorp cried out in … Continue reading NO FRIENDLY DROP: Agatha Christie and Poison
EUREKA! Found a Halter I Like
For those of you who know me, and for both of you who follow this blog, you will immediately understand that this post’s title does not refer to my love of horseback riding (went twice – fell off the horse both times) or wearing brief tops. (I guard my assets well.) No, I am referring … Continue reading EUREKA! Found a Halter I Like
THIS WAY LIES MADNESS: The 1944 Novels of Agatha Christie
By 1944, World War II had been raging for nearly six years. Started by a madman, the widespread death and devastation on the battlefield was matched by the enemy’s constant attempts to undermine the morale of the Allied nations through frequent random bombings of cities and towns and through vicious radio programs designed to shake … Continue reading THIS WAY LIES MADNESS: The 1944 Novels of Agatha Christie
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING: Norman Berrow Stumbles a Bit
“ Pretty boring job this, sir, to tell you the truth. Nothing happens. Nothing looks likely to happen.” Nobody pays closer attention to what bloggers recommend than other bloggers! I joined the GAD group on Facebook and started my own little operation here for two reasons: to locate others like me in this lonely world … Continue reading MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING: Norman Berrow Stumbles a Bit
Ah Sweet Mystery! 