Thursday, January 29, 2015
THE AMERICANS (THIRD SEASON)
THE AMERICANS is one of the most fascinating shows on TV.
Played with sophistication and commitment by Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, as an almost prototypical American family with marital issues, yet love for each other, a devotion to their children, and many problems at work, they turn the usual spy story upside down, by being the spies from the other side.
Portraying a Russian sleeper cell in DC that has come to life during the Reagan Era, and is targeting Americans and American interests with assassinations, murder, and espionage, assisted by sex, lies, and blackmail, Keri and Matthew are thoroughly despicable, dangerous enemies, and we root for them as if they were our own.
To follow the story, I think it helps to review the history of the period.
The third season of THE AMERICANS begins in 1982. Toward the end of the season premiere episode, Leonid Brezhnev dies. Brezhnev led the Soviet Union (as General Secretary of the Communist Party), following Nikita Khrushchev, from 1964 until his death on November 10, 1982. At the time, the Soviet Union was fighting In Afghanistan, while the United States was quietly trying to thwart the Russian incursion by supporting Afghan insurgents and their allies (such as Osama Bin Laden).
Brezhnev was succeeded by Yuri Andropov, who died just over a year later, to be followed by Konstantin Chernenko who lasted only from Feb 13, 1984 to March 1985, when the old men of the old order were replaced by Mikhail Gorbachev -- roughly twenty years younger -- on March 11, 1985. The Soviet Union crumbled a few years later, with the Afghan war ending in Feb 1989 and the Berlin Wall coming down in November 1989.
Meanwhile, in the US, Ronald Reagan was President from January 1981 to January 1989, when he was succeeded by his Vice President, George H. W. Bush (who had, earlier, by the way, been director of the CIA). During the Reagan administration, the US threatened to build a massive anti-missile defense system (although most analysts dismissed the "star-wars" project as technically impossible and strategically wrong-headed), threatening to de-stable the military balance between the Soviet Union and the US. In 1985, officials in the Reagan administration orchestrated an illegal deal to send arms to Iran in order to free some hostages and finance secret support of anti-Communist forces in Central America.
It is a fascinating property of cinema that whosoever you make the main characters, if they have a strong objective, believe in their own cause, and have good, human interactions with (some) other people, then as long as their actions are not criticized by stronger characters, they become sympathetic, however evil they might be in any objective context.
I wonder what the end-game of this series will be. Do they get caught? Do they escape to Russia? What happens when the Soviet Union collapses: do they assimilate into American life? Become real Americans? I also wonder how today's current events, including renewed conflict with Russia and non-Russian sleeper cells causing real tragedies, will affect this show and the public reaction to it.
KERI RUSSELL
Before THE AMERICANS... at HIFF 2007
Photo by Eric Roffman
THE AMERICANS is well plotted, well executed, generally "believable" (except for the silly, simplistic costumes the spies wear as disguises... without ever being detected), continually interesting, suspenseful and tough without being intolerable, and extremely well acted. I felt this show deserved significant Golden Globe recognition; and I think Keri Russell, better known for much lighter drama, would make a spectacularly fine Lady Macbeth!
THE AMERICANS - OFFICIAL SITE
http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/the-americans/episodes
KERI RUSSELL - WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keri_Russell
MATTHEW RHYS - WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Rhys
Labels: CIA, Keri Russell, Leonid Brezhnev, Matthew Rhys, Ronald Reagan, spies, THE AMERICANS
Saturday, January 24, 2015
PRINZ PROJECT
In Memphis, they are honoring Rabbi Joachim Prinz who, first, helped Jews escape from Nazi Germany before WW II then, after he emigrated to the United States, became an important associate of Dr. Martin Luther King.
A number of co-incident factors helped create this event, which includes the World Premiere of a Violin Concerto by Bruce Adolphe, dedicated to Rabbi Prinz, and performed by the IRIS Orchestra under Michael Stern, written for and performed by violin soloist Sharon Roffman.
Rabbi Joachim Prinz with Dr Martin Luther King
Sharon Roffman
Sharon Roffman, in addition to performing with orchestras and chamber music groups around the world, has been creating curricula and presentations for students, relating their classroom work to music and musical ideas, and bringing the world's finest young musicians to classrooms to perform with the students, who are encouraged and coached to contribute to a joint performance. Her visits to schools integrate the work of the class, whether it be science, math, or historical studies such as the holocaust, with the musical presentation. 'Though not part of the Prinz Project, Sharon has created a foundation, ClassNotes, to bring music and music education into concert halls, and public and private school classrooms around the country and internationally.
Note: My personal connection includes the fact that, as a further coincidence having nothing to do with this event, Rabbi Prinz assisted my wife's parents in escaping from Europe and at their request, along with Rabbi Eugene Sack (my uncle), officiated at our wedding.
Here is Sharon's description of this event, along with an article that appeared in the Memphis newspaper and links to the musicians:
SHARON'S "PRINZ PROJECT" WEBSITES
FROM SHARON'S "NEWS"
http://sharonroffman.com/news/
ARTICLE IN MEMPHIS PAPER
THE IRIS ORCHESTRA
MICHAEL STERN
BRUCE ADOLPHE
Labels: Bruce Adolphe, Joachim Prinz, Memphis, Michael Stern, Sharon Roffman, The Prinz Project. IRIS Orchestra
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Preview: NEW YORK NEO-FUTURISTS (& YOU) CREATE "THE HUMAN SYMPHONY"
The New York Neo-Futurists create
THE HUMAN SYMPHONY
at the New Ohio
January 22 - February 14 2015
One of my favorite groups, the performance collective, the New York Neo-Futurists (Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind - TMLMTBGB) have announced their next mainstage production, THE HUMAN SYMPHONY, created and directed by Dylan Marron.
When New York Neo-Futurist Dylan Marron took to the interwebs to find people willing to share their experiences with online dating, he received a treasure trove of funny, depressing, heartwarming, uplifting, and just plain terrifying stories. He crafted these first person accounts into a unique theatrical mosaic, offering an unflinchingly honest look at experiences (and experiments) in matters of the heart.
Performed in four "movements" by a cast of randomly selected audience members at each show, who are directed solely through instructional mp3 tracks, THE HUMAN SYMPHONY “performers” are guided through a theatrical Rube Goldberg experience. The remaining audience witnesses the action unfold as they listen to these first hand accounts of internet dating in NYC.
The cast features...you (or the person next to you, behind you, or across from you).
The design team includes Ben Ahles (Set Designer), Sarah Livant (Lighting Designer), Nicole Hill and Daniel Mirsky (Projection Designers), and Kyra Sims (Music Designer). The dramaturg is Meg Bashwiner. The Stage Manager is Sophie Kurtze.
Dylan Marron (Creator & Director) has been an ensemble member with the New York Neo Futurists since 2012 where he has created his own original work as well as performing in the work of others. In 2013 he wrote and directed Online Dating, the predecessor of The Human Symphony where four randomly selected audience members performed three true stories of sexual encounters through the internet. He was an ensemble player in The Complete & Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O’Neill Vol. 2 (Drama Desk nom., N.Y.I.T. nom., New York Times Critic’s Pick) in May 2014. His original play Ridgefield Middle School Talent Nite (Capital Fringe Director’s Award winner, Washington Post Critic’s Pick) was featured at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Other stage credits: The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? (Arena Stage). Film/TV/Radio: Whatever this is. (Best Actor, Drama – Boston Globe) and Welcome to Night Vale.
- THE HUMAN SYMPHONY begins performances on Thursday, January 22 for a limited engagement through Saturday, February 14.
- Opening Night is Wednesday, January 28 at 8 PM.
- The performance schedule is Monday, Wednesday - Saturday at 8 PM, Sunday at 3 PM.
- Performances are at The New Ohio (the Archive Building at 154 Christopher Street, between Greenwich Street and Washington Street in the West Village).
- Tickets are $18 online, $20 at the door.
For tickets & more information, visit
For more about the NY Neo-Futurists, see our story
Labels: Dylan Marron, NYNF, The Human Symphony The Ohio Theater, The New York Neo Futurists, TMLMTBGB, Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind
Saturday, December 13, 2014
ANOTHER "SPECIAL" DATE
Thursday, December 11, 2014
GOLDEN GLOBES
GOLDEN GLOBES 2015
(PRODUCTIONS DEBUTING IN 2014)
The Golden Globe Nominations include mostly famous names in big projects.
Of my own favorites that I'd like to have seen recognized (but were not), I was particularly disappointed in the absence of THE AMERICANS, especially Keri Russell, Emmy Rossum in SHAMELESS, Chris Gorham - the blind agent in COVERT AFFAIRS, and the great (though little seen) performance of Scott Haze in CHILD OF GOD.
Here are the nominees:
FILM & TV
Best Motion Picture, Drama
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Into The Woods
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
St. Vincent
Pride
Best Animated Feature Film
The Lego Movie
How To Train Your Dragon 2
Big Hero 6
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
Best Foreign Language Film
Ida (Poland/Denmark)
Force Majeure Turist (Sweden)
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem Gett (Israel)
Tangerines Mandariinid (Estonia)
Leviathan (Russia)
Best TV Series, Drama
Downton Abbey (Masterpiece)
The Affair
Game Of Thrones
House of Cards
Good Wife, The
Best TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Orange is the New Black
Girls
Jane The Virgin
Transparent
Silicon Valley
Best TV Movie or Mini-Series
Olive Kitteridge
Fargo
The Missing
True Detective
The Normal Heart
ACTING
Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
Reese Witherspoon (Wild)
Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)
Jennifer Aniston (Cake)
Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)
Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
David Oyelowo (Selma)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler)
Best Actress In A Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Julianne Moore (Maps To The Stars)
Amy Adams (Big Eyes)
Emily Blunt (Into The Woods)
Helen Mirren (The Hundred Foot Journey)
Quvenzhané Wallis (Annie)
Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Michael Keaton (Birdman)
Bill Murray (St. Vincent)
Joaquin Phoenix (Inherent Vice)
Christoph Waltz (Big Eyes)
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year)
Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)
Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
Meryl Streep (Into The Woods)
Emma Stone (Birdman)
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)
Robert Duvall (The Judge)
Edward Norton (Birdman)
J. K. Simmons (Whiplash)
Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)
Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama
Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder)
Claire Danes (Homeland)
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)
Robin Wright (House of Cards)
Ruth Wilson (The Affair)
Best Actor in a TV Series, Drama
Kevin Spacey (House of Cards)
Clive Owen (The Knick)
James Spader (The Blacklist)
Dominic West (The Affair)
Liev Schreiber (Ray Donovan)
Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep)
Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie)
Gina Rodriguez (Jane The Virgin)
Lena Dunham (Girls)
Taylor Schilling (Orange is the New Black)
Best Actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Don Cheadle (House of Lies)
William H. Macy (Shameless)
Ricky Gervais (Derek)
Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent)
Louis C.K. (Louie)
Best Actress in a Mini-Series or TV Movie
Jessica Lange (American Horror Story: Freak Show)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Honorable Woman)
Frances McDormand (Olive Kitteridge)
Allison Tolman (Fargo)
Frances O'Connor (The Missing)
Best Actor in a Mini-Series or TV Movie
Martin Freeman (Fargo)
Matthew McConaughey (True Detective)
Woody Harrelson (True Detective)
Billy Bob Thornton (Fargo)
Mark Ruffalo (The Normal Heart)
Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie
Kathy Bates (American Horror Story: Freak Show)
Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black)
Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey)
Michelle Monaghan (True Detective)
Allison Janney (Mom)
Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie
Bill Murray (Olive Kitteridge)
Jon Voight (Ray Donovan)
Matt Bomer (The Normal Heart)
Alan Cumming (The Good Wife)
Colin Hanks (Fargo)
WRITING & DIRECTING
Best Director - Motion Picture
Ava DuVernay (Selma)
Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman)
David Fincher (Gone Girl)
Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl)
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone,
Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo (Birdman)
Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
Graham Moore (The Imitation Game)
MUSIC
Best Original Score - Motion Picture
Alexandre Desplat (The Imitation Game)
Jóhann Jóhannsson (The Theory Of Everything)
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross (Gone Girl)
Antonio Sanchez (Birdman)
Hans Zimmer (Interstellar)
Best Original Song - Motion Picture
“Big Eyes” (Big Eyes)
“Glory” (Selma)
“Mercy Is” (Noah)
“Opportunity” (Annie)
“Yellow Flicker Beat” (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1)
Labels: (Cake), (Foxcatcher), (Still Alice), (The Theory of Everything), (Wild), Eddie Redmayn, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Aniston, Julianne Moore, Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell
Thursday, December 04, 2014
THE ILLUSIONISTS - WITNESS THE IMPOSSIBLE
THE ILLUSIONISTS
WITNESS THE IMPOSSIBLE
MARRIOTT MARQUIS HOTEL THEATER
THRU JAN 4, 2015
THE ILLUSIONISTS is an energetic, exciting modern take on an age-old Magic Variety Show. Featuring a mix of comedy and magic ("If you don't laugh, then it's the magic..."), audience participation (almost voluntary), high voltage (but medium decibel) music, and some costumed dancers, the show is old-fashioned and fun.
The quality of the magic varies from lame to impressive, the comedy from lame to funny. But, overall, the show is magic-ally interesting, and entertainingly funny. Some of the banter is mildly adult, and some bits are a bit scary, but older children, especially those interested in magic, would find it a great show, I think.
%2B2O14%2BjOAN%2BMARCUS%2B-%2B3251.jpg)
It's not really designed for a magically sophisticated audience, but with seven fine magicians, it does provide a tasty sampler of magical styles from card tricks to escapes to weaponry to terrorizing an audience member.
Indeed, two children taken from the audience were treated well (though encouraged to lie: "How old are you?" "Eight. "Oooh! You have to be nine to come on stage ...How old are you?" "Eight" "You have to be nine to come on stage, how old are you?" "Eight." "How old are you?" "Nine!" "Great! Come up with me on stage..."). Adults... well, were not treated so gently: A trick with a wicked looking bow and arrow, an apple, and a audience member; and another with a variant of Russian Roulette (RR) and a very uncomfortable looking audience member, both looked like they could be dangerous if they went awry. (Indeed they showed "YouTube" video clips of how the RR trick could go wrong!) But in the end no humans were injured making the show.
(Just a thought... Do real audience members who participate in actually hazardous stunts ever have to sign a release?)
The show is in the middle of a tour of the world and has received some good reviews in far away places in some earlier stops.
The magicians featured are:
• The Manipulator, Yu Ho-Jin - Impressive card manipulations!
• The Anti-Conjuror, Dan Sperry
• The Trickster, Jeff Hobson - A low-rent Liberace wannabe (?)
• The Escapologist, Andrew Basso - Interesting to see -- live -- the escape from a case of water! Took 3+ minutes holding his breath!
• The Inventor, Kevin James - He was good with a child!
• The Warrior, Aaron Crow
• The Futurist, Adam Trent - I especially liked his interaction with a video screen!
The entire show is videotaped live and simulcast on a large, but not very high resolution, screen. It only kind of worked. Probably good for people in the very back or upstairs, but it was somewhat distracting and, except for a very fine piece with the Futurist, the screen did not really enhance any tricks. I kept looking to see if it gave a sharp perspective on the magic, but it rarely provided any insight that enriched a trick.
THE ILLUSIONISTS is a fun, undemanding, entertaining, sometimes exciting, often funny, and mostly "magical" Holiday entertainment.
LINKS:
THE ILLUSIONISTS - OFFICIAL SITE
http://www.theillusionistslive.com/
THE ILLUSIONISTS TICKETS - ON TICKETMASTER
http://www.ticketmaster.com/venueartist/24584/1736772
THE MARRIOTT MARQUIS - OFFICIAL SITE
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/nycmq-new-york-marriott-marquis/
(Some notes about the hotel and its elevators. I got lost more than once -- and the staff was not helpful. The theater is on the third floor, most easily reached from street level by an escalator. There is no second floor. The hotel lobby is on the eighth floor. Most floors can be reached by dialing the number on a keypad and then going to the elevator they send you to. The View, an after-show restaurant on the 48th floor, is only accessible from two special (marked) elevators, that depart only from the 3rd floor.
The theater itself, by the way, is modern and comfortable, but has one of those designs that have no center aisle, so if you have a center seat, be prepared to cross a lot of knees.
Also, if you park at the hotel, when you are ready for your car, you can call them and they will tell you how long it will take to get your car, and will page you when its down. It's convenient to park in the hotel, but it is expensive.)
Weekly Playing Schedule for the Broadway Engagement:
Monday, December 1 – Sunday, December 7 (week of opening):
Tuesday and Wednesday at 7PM, Thursday at 6:30PM (opening night), Friday at 8PM, Saturday at 3PM and 8PM, Sunday at 3PM and 7:30PM
Monday, December 8 – Sunday, December 14:
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 7PM, Friday at 8PM, Saturday at 3PM and 8PM, Sunday at 3PM and 7:30PM
Monday, December 15 – Sunday, December 21:
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 7PM, Friday at 8PM, Saturday at 3PM and 8PM, Sunday at 11AM, 3PM, and 7:30PM
Monday, December 22 – Sunday, December 28:
Monday and Tuesday at 7PM, Friday at 2PM and 8PM, Saturday at 11AM, 3PM, and 8PM, Sunday at 11AM, 3PM, and 7:30PM
Monday, December 29 – Sunday, January 4:
Monday and Tuesday at 7PM, Wednesday at 2PM
Labels: Adam Trent, Andrew Basso, Kevin James, magic, Marriott Marquis, The Escapologist, The Futurist, THE ILLUSIONISTS, The Inventor, The Manipulator, theater, WITNESS THE IMPOSSIBLE, Yu Ho-Jin
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
GIFT IDEAS 2014 - SHAKESPEARE
SHAKESPEARE WRITES GREAT PRESENTS!
>>CLICK ON ANY IMAGE!<<
LINKS TO
EVERYTHING SHAKESPEAREAN
EVERYTHING SHAKESPEAREAN
OXFORD PRINT KINDLE
SONNETS - ANALYZED
HELEN VENDLER STEPHEN BOOTH
THE MAN
RUSSELL FRASER JAMES SHAPIRO JAMES SHAPIRO
COMMENTARY
SONGS
Labels: analysis, biography, Harold Bloom, Helen Vendler, music, plays, Shakespeare, sonnets, Stephen Booth
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
GOTHAM IFP FILM AWARDS 2014
INDEPENDENT FILMMAKER PROJECT (IFP)
GOTHAM IFP FILM AWARDS 2014
DECEMBER 1, 2014 6:30
Talking about "discovering," this is a good place to mention IFP's MADE IN NY MEDIA CENTER, a significant resource for indie filmmakers and film lovers, (and other-media entrepreneurs...) which sponsors collaborations, classes, screenings, events, incubation... and other activities. (www.nymediacenter.com)
Some thoughts...
Looking through the list of distributors shows very few companies represented. Sony Pictures Classics, Fox Searchlight Pictures, IFC Films, and A24 seem to lead the list, and they have, mostly, the biggest small pictures with the best known actors. More distributors would be a good thing!
I was disappointed not to see Scott Haze on the list of nominees. His performance in James Franco's CHILD OF GOD is one of the all-time great film performances. It wasn't widely seen, perhaps since it did not have one of the more prominent distributors (and it was a brutally uncompromising performance in a brutally uncompromising film).
Channing Tatum, Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo
SPECIAL JURY AWARD: ENSEMBLE
FOXCATCHER
Photo by Eric Roffman
At a NYFF 2014 panel discussion
Here are the nominees:
PICTURE
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, director; Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole, producers
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Boyhood
Richard Linklater, director; Richard Linklater, Cathleen Sutherland, Jonathan Sehring, John Sloss, producers
(IFC Films)
(IFC Films)
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Wes Anderson, director; Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson, producers
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Wes Anderson, director; Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson, producers
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Love Is Strange
Ira Sachs, director; Lucas Joaquin, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Ira Sachs, Jayne Baron Sherman, producers
(Sony Pictures Classics)
(Sony Pictures Classics)
Under the Skin
Jonathan Glazer, director; Nick Wechsler, James Wilson, producers
(A24)
(A24)
DOCUMENTARY
Actress
Robert Greene, director; Douglas Tirola, Susan Bedusa, Robert Greene, producers
(The Cinema Guild)
(The Cinema Guild)
CITIZENFOUR
Laura Poitras, director; Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy, Dirk Wilutzky, producers
(RADiUS, Participant Media, and HBO Documentary Films)
(RADiUS, Participant Media, and HBO Documentary Films)
Life Itself
Steve James, director; Zak Piper, Steve James, Garrett Basch, producers (Magnolia Pictures and CNN Films)
Manakamana
Stephanie Spray & Pacho Velez, directors; Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Véréna Paravel, producers
(The Cinema Guild)
(The Cinema Guild)
Point and Shoot
Marshall Curry, director; Marshall Curry, Elizabeth Martin, Matthew Van Dyke, producers
(The Orchard and American Documentary / POV)
(The Orchard and American Documentary / POV)
ACTOR
Bill Hader
The Skeleton Twins
(Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate)
Ethan Hawke
Boyhood
(IFC Films)
Oscar Isaac
A Most Violent Year
(A24)
Michael Keaton
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Miles Teller
Whiplash
(Sony Pictures Classics)
ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette
Boyhood
(IFC Films)
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Beyond the Lights
(Relativity Media)
Julianne Moore
Still Alice
(Sony Pictures Classics)
Scarlett Johansson
Under the Skin
(A24)
Mia Wasikowska
Tracks
(The Weinstein Company)
BINGHAM RAY BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR
Ana Lily Amirpour
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
(Kino Lorber)
James Ward Byrkit
Coherence
(Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Dan Gilroy
Nightcrawler
(Open Road Films)
Eliza Hittman
It Felt Like Love
(Variance Films)
Justin Simien
Dear White People
(Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate)
BREAKTHROUGH ACTOR
Riz Ahmed
Nightcrawler
(Open Road Films)
Blue Ruin
(RADiUS)
Ellar Coltrane
Boyhood
(IFC Films)
Joey King
Wish I Was Here
(Focus Features)
Jenny Slate
Obvious Child
(A24)
Tessa Thompson
Dear White People
(Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate)
AUDIENCE AWARD
Actress
Robert Greene, director; Douglas Tirola, Susan Bedusa, Robert Greene, producers
(The Cinema Guild)
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, director; Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole, producers
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Boyhood
Richard Linklater, director; Richard Linklater, Cathleen Sutherland, Jonathan Sehring, John Sloss, producers
(IFC Films)
CITIZENFOUR
Laura Poitras, director; Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy, Dirk Wilutzky, producers
(RADiUS, Participant Media, and HBO Documentary Films)
Coherence
James Ward Byrkit, director; Lene Bausager, producer
(Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Dear White People
Justin Simien, director; Effie Brown, Ann Le, Julia Lebedev, Angel Lopez, Justin Simien, Lena Waithe, producers
(Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate)
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Ana Lily Amirpour, director; Ana Lily Amirpour, Justin Begnaud, Sina Sayyah, producers
(Kino Lorber)
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Wes Anderson, director; Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson, producers
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)
It Felt Like Love
Eliza Hittman, director; Eliza Hittman, Shrihari Sathe, Laura Wagner, producers
(Variance Films)
Life Itself
Steve James, director; Zak Piper, Steve James, Garrett Basch, producers
(Magnolia Pictures and CNN Films)
SPECIAL JURY AWARD – ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum
Foxcatcher
TRIBUTES
Bennett Miller
Ted Sarandos
Tilda Swinton
SOME STORIES...
FOXCATCHER
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2014/10/foxcatcher-at-nyff-2014.html
TRACKS
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2014/09/tracks.html
CITIZENFOUR
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2014/09/nyff-2014-adds-world-premiere-of-laura.html
SCOTT HAZE
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2014/07/child-of-god-scott-haze-and-james-franco.html
TRACKS
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2014/09/tracks.html
CITIZENFOUR
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2014/09/nyff-2014-adds-world-premiere-of-laura.html
SCOTT HAZE
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2014/07/child-of-god-scott-haze-and-james-franco.html
Labels: Birdman, Boyhood, Channing Tatum, GOTHAM IFP FILM AWARDS, IFP, Julianne Moore, MADE IN NY MEDIA CENTER, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Scarlett Johansson, Scott Haze, Steve Carell
Monday, November 17, 2014
MARLOWE'S TAMBURLAINE AT TFANA
THEATER FOR A NEW AUDIENCE (TFANA)
PRESENTS
CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE'S
TAMBURLAINE PARTS I AND II
with JOHN DOUGLAS THOMPSON
NOVEMBER 1, 2014 - DECEMBER 21, 2014
John Douglas Thompson as Tamburlaine
TAMBURLAINE PARTS I AND II
TFANA
Credit Gerry Goodstein
Christopher Marlowe was born in 1564 a few months before Shakespeare. His first play, Tamburlaine the Great was first performed in 1587. It was based on the career of Timur the Lame, written in blank verse, and was a major success. (Shakespeare's first play was likely Henry VI from about 1590.) Tamburlaine the Great Part II was a sequel.
Timur was a vicious warrior. According to references cited by Wikipedia, he may have been responsible for the deaths of as many as 17 million people -- about 5% of the world's population in his time, the mid 1300s.
Marlowe's Tamburlaine is charismatic, cruel, and a brilliant warrior. His tactics are to gain allies with his charisma, terrorize his foes with his cruelty, and win battles with his military acumen. A peasant and a thief, he is constantly being underestimated by the leaders of the great powers of his day. His victories in Persia, Iraq, Syria, and Egypt give this story an unmistakable modern currency.
As a play, Tamburlaine Part I is also a love story, as Tamburlaine woos his captive princess, Zenocrate of Egypt.
As a playwright, Marlowe writes elegant blank verse. But, unlike Shakespeare, there are few if any truly memorable lines. Also, the play is almost all plot; there is very little subtlety of characterization; only Tamburlaine, and hardly anyone else, gets any dimensionality.
The plotting is relatively simplistic. Tamburlaine and his adversary of the moment face off with bravado and insults, each predicting victory, after which the adversary either yields to Tamburlaine and switches sides, or Tamberlaine's armies prevail, and the enemy is killed, or enslaved and humiliated.
John Douglas Thompson as Tamburlaine
And in cage, Chukwudi Iwuji as defeated and enslaved Bajazeth
And in cage, Chukwudi Iwuji as defeated and enslaved Bajazeth
TAMBURLAINE PARTS I AND II
TFANA
Credit Gerry Goodstein
The action is rather brutal; however, in this production, the director stages murders stylistically, by simply splashing a bucket of red, bloody liquid over the actor.
Tamburlaine Part II, as mentioned before, is conspicuously a sequel, and seems to tread on much of the same ideas as Part I. The brutality escalates, including the drowning of all the men, women, and children from a city that resists.
One new idea in Tamburlaine Part II is Tamburlaine's attempts to turn over his legacy to his sons. Predating King Lear, two of Tamburlaine's three sons profess loyalty to their father's militarism, and one son embraces a peaceful life. Calling this third son effeminate and a traitor, Tamburlaine kills him.
Though it was obvious after Part I that this play could be about current events, the director includes some unnecessary anachronisms in Part II, perhaps to underscore the connections with the present time. This includes using photographs for paintings, using guns, and dressing one character in a modern suit. (By modern, here, though, the director seems to be using the 1900s as his stylistic model.) Also, perhaps to suggest some kind of universality, the director made the strange choice to cast the same actor as both Tamburlaine's love (and later, after her death, her statue) and -- in between her death and her reappearance as her statue -- as the adult son of Bajazeth, one of Tamburlaine's first victims.
Among the many reasons to see this production are John Douglas Thompson's great performance, a chance to experience Marlowe's rarely seen Tamburlaine, and to realize that this exciting play, written 500 years or half a millennium ago, could have been written today about today's news.
Theater For A New Audience (TFANA), which is now in its second season in its new home, the comfortable and elegant Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn, is not difficult to reach from Manhattan, either by car over the Brooklyn Bridge, or by subway. Nearby, one also finds restaurants, parking, and BAM, the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Inside, TFANA houses a well-stocked classic book stall, drinks and refreshments.
TFANA'S CURRENT SEASON
TAMBURLAINE PARTS I AND II
NOVEMBER 1, 2014 - DECEMBER 21, 2014
SOHO REP'S AN OCTOROON
FEBRUARY 14, 2015 - MARCH 8, 2015
TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA
APRIL 24, 2015 - MAY 24, 2015
LINKS
THEATER FOR A NEW AUDIENCE
www.TFANA.org
TAMBURLAINE ON WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamburlaine_(play)
TAMBURLAINE ON AMAZON
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Douglas_Thompson
CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE ON WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Marlowe
CHRISTOPHER MARL0WE ON AMAZON
SHAKESPEARE ON AMAZON
TIMUR THE LAME ON WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timur
Labels: Christopher Marlowe, Chukwudi Iwuji, John Douglas Thompson, Polonsky Shakespeare Center, TAMBURLAINE, TFANA, Timur The Lame
