A few weeks ago, my pal (and Book Club Arch Nemesis!) the Puzzle Doctor reached his 2000th post on In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel. Not bad for a man who’s only been blogging since 1954. I hit my 500th post last August (it was a dreary review of a dreary book, Dorothy L. Sayers’ The Documents in … Continue reading AIM (NOT SO) STRAIGHT AND TRUE: My Resolutions for 2023
Plays
A MURDER (ON THE NILE) IS ANNOUNCED
The text came over a year ago: Coastal Repertory Theatre Company in Half Moon Bay, California was planning its next season - a return to live theatre! – and they wanted to know if I was interested in directing one of their plays. See, they had heard from a mutual friend that I was really into the … Continue reading A MURDER (ON THE NILE) IS ANNOUNCED
THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: My Ten (or so) Favorite Courtroom Cases
(This is for Carol.) True story: after acing my bar mitzvah at the tender age of 13, I told my parents that when I grew up, I did NOT want to be a rabbi - I wanted to be a movie star. My mom and dad exchanged a look – correct that: it was a Look – … Continue reading THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: My Ten (or so) Favorite Courtroom Cases
BITING OFF MORE . . . (My 2022 Resolutions)
Here it comes – the moment when all the bloggers you visit try and entice you to keep coming back with our promises of things to come. Some of my plans are rather amorphous: I hope to do some spiffing up of the site itself so that Ah Sweet Mystery will be better organized, sport … Continue reading BITING OFF MORE . . . (My 2022 Resolutions)
SPIELBERG’S WEST SIDE STORY: Update or Improvement?
In 1957, when live theatre still rivaled movies for social relevance, and the latest Tin Pan Alley songs burst through the radio and were hummed everywhere, Broadway was teeming with musicals. Considering that the heyday of musical theatre was the 1930’s-1940’s, what’s interesting is how experimental the major composers got. Lerner and Loewe’s Brigadoon enchanted audiences with its … Continue reading SPIELBERG’S WEST SIDE STORY: Update or Improvement?
BEATING PUZZLE DOCTOR AND KATE TO THE PUNCH: The 2021 Mystery of the Year
It’s February 28, and I know exactly what you’re doing: you’re waiting with bated breath for 306 more days to go by, the amount of time it will for the Puzzle Doctor and Kate at Cross Examining Crime to finish sifting through the respective books they’ve read all year (about 2000 for PD, and 6953 … Continue reading BEATING PUZZLE DOCTOR AND KATE TO THE PUNCH: The 2021 Mystery of the Year
FAST FORWARDING INTO ‘21
“Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent.” (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) Does anybody want to hear me vent about 2020? Because, you know, I can do it, and I will . . . that is, if anyone wants to listen. To be honest, however, … Continue reading FAST FORWARDING INTO ‘21
A CENTURY OF AGATHA CHRISTIE, PART TWO: The Glittering 1930’s
“They say all the world loves a lover – apply that saying to murder and you have an even more infallible truth. No one can fail to be interested in a murder.” The Murder at the Vicarage (1930) WORKS Seventeen Novels (as Agatha Christie) The Murder at the Vicarage (1930) The Sittaford Mystery (1931) Peril at End House (1932) … Continue reading A CENTURY OF AGATHA CHRISTIE, PART TWO: The Glittering 1930’s
IMAGINE POIROT SINGING: A Look at That Rarest of Things, the Mystery Musical
Here it is, the middle of January, the perfect time to start making your summer plans! Seriously, my Seasonal Affective Disorder is kicking up, and having something to look forward to can really cheer you during these dreary days. This summer, I’m visiting two of my favorite cities. First stop is London, where I will … Continue reading IMAGINE POIROT SINGING: A Look at That Rarest of Things, the Mystery Musical
IT DON’T MEAN A THING IF YOU SLAY WITH NO SWING: Finding Murderous Inspiration from the Great American Songbook
When I’m at work, teaching drama students and musical theatre students and film students and credit recovery students (don’t ask!) and producing two musicals and one play a year and acting as department co-chair for the Visual and Performing Arts . . . well, there doesn’t seem to be much time for Golden Age anything! … Continue reading IT DON’T MEAN A THING IF YOU SLAY WITH NO SWING: Finding Murderous Inspiration from the Great American Songbook
Ah Sweet Mystery! 